Republican members of Congress must act to preserve the Republic
Benjamin Franklin famously warned, “A republic, if you can keep it.” That challenge, issued in 1787, now rings with terrifying urgency. A republic is not a guarantee—it is a sacred trust demanding perpetual vigilance from every citizen.
We are bound by an oath to a constitutional government and the inviolable principle of a "Nation of laws and not men." As America nears its 250th anniversary, we must confront the truth: Our republic is not merely challenged, it is under a calculated, wholesale assault orchestrated by President Trump.
The most brazen act of this assault is the creation of “The Anti-Weaponization Fund”—a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund established by the Department of Justice to "redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.”
This billion-dollar payoff was engineered as a settlement for a frivolous lawsuit filed by Donald J. Trump, his two sons, and the Trump Organization against the United States’Treasury and IRS.
The premise of the lawsuit was the leak of their tax returns by a contractor who is already serving a five-year prison sentence for the crime. The truly explosive betrayal lies in an addendum, signed by Trump's former criminal defense attorney—now the acting Attorney General—which contains an unprecedented, corrupt provision that permanently shields Trump, his children, and his organization from any current or existing IRS tax violation examinations or prosecutions.
The Fund is not about justice; it is part of President Trump’s depraved defense of the January 6th insurrectionists—violent criminals who attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election through brute force. This was the most profoundly undemocratic criminal action in our nation’s history. Five years later, not a single person, including President Trump, has produced one shred of credible evidence
that Joe Biden was not the lawful winner. Yet, Trump parades these terrorists as "patriots." They are convicts who desecrated our democracy and belong in federal prison. Pardoning them was a grave insult, but allowing them to be compensated for their federal crime—paid for by the American taxpayer—is a grotesque, unprecedented travesty of justice that must be immediately crushed.
The provision permanently barring the IRS from investigating the Trumps’ taxes is equally outrageous. James Madison, writing in Federalist 10, declared: “No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause; because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity.” This is more than a bias; it is a blatant, corrupt slap in the face to the separation of powers. President Trump has effectively declared himself the ultimate arbiter of his own guilt.
The Trumps filed a meritless lawsuit. The contractor's conduct was criminal, and he is rightly imprisoned. The law is unequivocal: the federal government is never liable when an employee or contractor commits a criminal act. Additionally, the Supreme Court has twice affirmed the legal principle that the federal government bears no responsibility for a contractor's actions because they are not government employees.
Trump, his sons, and his company had a zero percent chance of prevailing in any court of law. The Department of Justice’s agreement to give the Trumps a free pass on tax violations is an act of political corruption without a parallel in American history.
Theodore Roosevelt’s words from 1903 ring as an indictment:
"No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man's permission when we require him to obey it. Obedience to the law is demanded as a right; not asked as a favor."
President Trump, his sons, and his company have now been placed above the law—a corrosive stain that will scar the face of Lady Justice for generations.
I am a life long republican who believes firmly in the principles of the party. Three of the most important principles of the republican party, indeed foundations of a democracy, are personal responsibility, law and order and respect for the separation of powers. The moment of decision is here. Every Republican member of Congress must now act: Stand up, speak out, and ensure we remain a nation of laws, not men, and that no man is above the law. The future of the Republic—if you want to keep it—depends on your actions now.
This article was originally published by GoErie on May 28, 2026. Read the original article on goerie.com.