There is a movement afoot to “Get Trump,” at any cost. It is weaponizing the constitution

There is a movement afoot to “Get Trump,” at any cost.

The goal is to prevent him from running in 2024.

Many in this movement are willing to use any means to attain what they believe to be a necessary and admirable goal.

“Democracy is at stake,” they claim. They are prepared to weaponize constitutional rights, civil liberties, principles and the rule of law to stop Trump.

President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich
MLive Grand Rapids Press

Leftists opponents of Trump who railed against the breadth of the Espionage Act of 1917 now want to expand it to cover Trumps alleged misconduct.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has long objected to the overuse of search warrants instead of subpoenas is silent about the search of Mara Lago.

As long as the goal is to get Trump, anything goes including hypocrisy, inconstancy and unconstitutionality.

There is a legitimate way to stop Trump from being elected in 2024, just as he was not elected in 2020: a fair election defeated him once, and it can do so again – without weaponizing the Constitution and weakening the rule of law.

But it will take hard work, not unconstitutional shortcuts.

I voted against Trump twice. If he is renominated, I plan to vote against him a third time.

That is my right in a democracy, just as it is the right of Trump supporters to vote for him.

This important right should not be taken away by unconstitutional means, even if the result were to be the unlikely re-election of Trump.

That is the price of democracy.

Alan Dershowitz is professor emeritus of constitutional law at Harvard Law School. His most recent publication is: The Price of Principle: Why Integrity Is Worth the Consequences, July 2022