The idea that support for the rule of law in the United States demands that we support the political persecution of Donald Trump with the unConstitutional Espionage Act is nothing more than political hogwash and horse hockey.

The Espionage Act itself has always been a legal sham for the Washington establishment to target political opponents. This was true when it was first enacted during WW1, it was true when Obama used it to illegally persecute journalist James Rosen, it has been true for the equally illegal persecution of Julian Assange, and it is true for the persecution of Donald Trump.

The evidence that the Espionage Act itself is the antithesis of the rule of law lies in the reality that it is applied arbitrarily and capriciously: Donald Trump is targeted, but Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden are excused, despite both having committed the exact same acts for which Donald Trump is accused.

The evidence that the Espionage Act is the antithesis of the rule of law is also found in the reality that for all the supposed “seriousness” of the offense, these documents the improper handling of which is supposedly so calamitous to national security as to be intolerable are in fact improperly handled for years before anyone does anything about it. The tardiness of the prosecutions that have been pursued under the Espionage Act alone proves that the law is a sick and pathetic and unConstitutional joke.

Dorothy A. Maddox is absolutely unequivocally and categorically wrong. No matter where we fall on the political spectrum, if we care about the rule of law we should with one voice demand that the law be repealed immediately, that all prosecutions pending under that law be stopped, and that all persons wrongfully convicted under that law have their records cleared and their reputations restored to them.

Pretending that violations of the Espionage Act are actual crimes is nonsense. The Espionage Act itself is the crime, and the governments using it to target political adversaries are the criminals.