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Should Trump Be Prosecuted?

History shows that holding former leaders to account pays off—if it’s done in the right way.

By , a former editor in chief of Foreign Policy.
A U.S. Capitol Police officer stands with members of the National Guard behind a fence surrounding Capitol Hill on Jan. 7.
A U.S. Capitol Police officer stands with members of the National Guard behind a fence surrounding Capitol Hill on Jan. 7.
A U.S. Capitol Police officer stands with members of the National Guard behind a fence surrounding Capitol Hill on Jan. 7. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

For almost as long as Donald Trump has been president, Americans have been debating whether or not he should be prosecuted for the various crimes he may have committed in office. That debate intensified on Saturday, when Trump called Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, and appeared to threaten him unless he came up with 11,000 more votes for the president. Then came Wednesday’s mass assault on Capitol Hill, which Trump did so much to incite.

Jonathan Tepperman is a former editor in chief of Foreign Policy and the author of The Fix: How Countries Use Crises to Solve the World’s Worst Problems. Twitter: @j_tepperman

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