Nuremberg 2.0
We need to start thinking about how to address the crimes of the Trump administration.
We won't just need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after Trump leaves office, as some have suggested. We'll need far more than that.
That kind of commission exposes what happened during a crisis and documents it for history. A 9/11-style investigation won't do, either. That just diagnoses policy failures. We're going to need prosecutions—and a lot of them.
I also don't think appointing one special counsel will be enough. We need a wide-ranging Nuremberg 2.0 kind of investigation. What this situation requires is teams of people looking into what happened during Trump's second term and prosecuting criminal and civil violations wherever they are found.
In terms of an American precedent, perhaps the Watergate Special Prosecution Force is in the realm of what we're talking about here. Essentially, what I think will be required is a division within the DOJ solely focused on the crimes of the previous administration and those associated with it.
Working alongside Congress, which can provide whatever legal authority and resources this effort requires, this investigation can look at corruption, the activities of ICE, the targeting of political opponents, DOGE, election meddling, appropriations, foreign influence and more. While the next president is focused on rebuilding what's been destroyed and taking us forward, the investigators can hold bad actors accountable.
Wherever this team can't prosecute someone because of pardons that were given out by Trump, Congress and states can step in to hold people accountable however possible. There are ways to deal with that obstacle, and perhaps I'll lay out the potential process in another article.
Thor Benson
But most importantly, we need to demand that our candidates and representatives commit to holding every person involved in corrupting our democracy and institutions accountable. Some have already voiced support for something along these lines. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) told me he supports this. I'm sure AOC and other key progressives will champion it as well.
When people think of Nuremberg, they think of the dramatic trials we've seen in pictures and video. Maybe they imagine it was one prosecutor and many defendants. However, the framework around those trials involved numerous prosecutors with distinct, specialized divisions. Different countries helped to investigate different aspects of the Nazi regime. For instance, the U.S. focused on the broader Nazi conspiracy. A Nuremberg 2.0 would be handled domestically, but the idea would be similar.
If we don't go forward with this type of plan, it will send a message to would-be authoritarians out there that they might be able to get away with the kinds of things we're experiencing right now. It will also stain this country's legacy forever. Furthermore, it will ensure that no one ever trusts the Democrats to fight for them again.
This doesn't need to become something that derails an entire presidency. It can be left to the prosecutors and those helping to assist them, and the next president can go about their business. It needs to be done, though, or we will surely come to regret not doing it.
