Americans deserve the truth behind the raid on Donald Trump’s home

According to the US National Archives and Records Administration, some 15 boxes of White House documents were recovered from Donald Trump’s Florida home, some of which contained classified materials, a few months ago. They had been sent to Mar-a-Lago instead of the national archives, as required by federal law. Yesterday’s FBI raid should yield some more, albeit possibly not in pristine condition.

The question is, what were they doing there?

Some of the more innocent explanations may be reasonably discounted. Mr Trump, with a 2024 presidential bid in mind and in apparently rude health, is not ready yet to compose his presidential memoirs, proud as he is of classics such as The Art of the Deal, Think Big and The Art of the Comeback (particularly apt right now). He doesn’t seem the type to dwell on his past decisions or reflect on lessons learned.

There is much at stake, depending on how much sensitive material survives, including in Mr Trump’s safe. If the missing papers substantiate the claims that Mr Trump supported the January 6 insurrection, that will strengthen the chances of a successful prosecution for such unconstitutional action. The consequence may be that the 45th president will forfeit the right to try and be the 47th president. At the very least they will, if now released via judicial process, cast an unflattering light on the final days of the Trump presidency.

The chances, though, are that the raid and the long legal battles to come will take too long to prevent a 2024 bid for the White House by Mr Trump. It is far from improbable that he might win again, given the pressure on Americans’ living standards, and the dedication of the sizable band of core Trump fans. These people were radicalised in 2016 and after, for whom there can be no alternative to Donald Trump.

Still, many Americans may soon learn much more about the former president’s complicity in the attack on democracy on January 6, just as they may begin to understand what a return to Trumpism would mean for their freedoms.

Not least, Americans can now comprehend the clear and present danger to a woman’s right to control her own body, and the fragile racial and social cohesion of the nation. The more reminders there are of the excesses of the Trump presidency, the less chance there will be of a sequel.

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This is why the process of discovering the truth is now vital. Mr Trump complains that none of his predecessors had been persecuted in this way, warning that these are “dark days” for America. Yet that is precisely because no previous president has allegedly destroyed documents and stolen others. The more that comes out in court, congressional inquiries, leaks and in sworn and published testimony, the more Americans will surely turn away from the harshness, divisions and violence of the Trump era.

The revelations never end and never cease to appall us. A new book, for example, claims that during his term in the Oval Office, Mr Trump wanted the Pentagon’s generals to be like Nazi Germany’s generals in the Second World War (and had to be reminded that they tried to assassinate Hitler on three occasions).

Surely Americans will not want to stand by and watch all that protects their liberties – the rule of law for all, an independent judiciary, agencies and armed forces loyal to the constitution – dismantled by Mr Trump? They must think to themselves “never again”.