German denazification has lessons on how to deal with post-Trump America – Raw Story

For the past four years, President Donald Trump’s White House has been riddled with scandals, lawsuits and other incriminating allegations with evidence to support wrongdoing. But due to presidential protections, no one has been able to hold Trump accountable for his actions. As more and more evidence continues to accumulate against the president and many White House officials within his administration, calls for prosecution have grown deeper.

In fact, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has weighed in on Trump’s legal battles by admitting that if she were president his administration would sue Trump. So is there a real possibility that the president and his allies will suffer consequences for their actions? A Washington Post editorial offers a realistic perspective on the question of whether this could happen or not.

According to the editorial, there are liberal concerns that President-elect Joe Biden is hitting the highways and moving forward without looking back on Trump and his administration despite repeated Hatch Act violations. The editorial also raises awareness of the dangerous precedent that could be set if Biden ultimately refuses to prosecute Trump and members of his administration.

If Trump and his associates are not prosecuted, they say, it could set a devastating precedent. Others fear the desire to prosecute Trump may come down to “revenge” that further erodes democratic standards. This vigorous debate on the left asks how we, as a nation, can get to the bottom of the criminal behavior of the Trump administration, while ensuring that no future administration will be able to act in this way again.

The article then offered a comparison of Germany’s denazification period with the impending post-Trump era of the United States. Given that Trump’s base of support is still relatively strong, there are concerns about how a lawsuit against Trump might further polarize the country. The columnist also noted that denazification in Germany took decades. Thus, this may require a prolonged period of time before the end of the polarization.