Wednesday 2 October 2019

If the President has broken the law

then is the President subject to the same consequences as any other person?
If you know the President has broken the law - or even may have broken the law - should you tell someone who can do something about it?
There are some more questions to of course. Who did what? Who told who what? Where? When? Why? How? 
The question of whether Downunder's former Foreign Minister and High Commissioner in the United Kingdom should or should not have said anything about what he was allegedly told with respect to the President of the United States will no doubt rage on. Downunder's Prime Minister has now been drawn into the debate. What exactly did he or did he not "promise" the President? 
Although it is being blown out of all proportion in the media I suspect that the former FM/HC was simply sufficiently disturbed by the allegations being made (and the source from which they came) to realise that he had a duty to pass the information on. He would almost certainly have done so with the proviso, "This is what I have been told. This is the source of the information. I cannot comment on the credibility or otherwise of  that information."
And it would be the right thing to do.
And is a simple undertaking to provide available information to a formal inquiry  - if asked - a hanging offence?
 The media frenzy is designed to stir up more trouble of course.
But there was an interesting little piece in the paper this morning - reminding people that there are times when it is legal to break the law. I observed this some days ago. Not far from where I live there was an ambulance going through a series of traffic lights - there are four sets of lights in a very short stretch.  I was waiting at the pedestrian set and the pedestrian light was in my favour. I did not cross though because I could see and hear the ambulance. The car ahead of it slowed - and then went through the red light before pulling over to let the ambulance pass. It was a sensible, safe and legal manouevre. 
Despite that the man waiting next to me was all for getting his phone out, taking a photograph of the car and reporting driver. He wasn't happy when I said the driver had done the right thing. The ambulance went on through more red lights. They take risks every day. It's frightening to be in one when they are taking risks - not because of what they are doing but because of what other people are not doing.
And I thought of this when I read the reports in the paper this morning. Our leaders are not above the law. If there is potentially wrong doing then it must be investigated. People must cooperate. But if there are issues raised then they have to be issues of genuine concern with credible witnesses. Such people should not be used as the play things of the media or to the advantage of their political opponents. That will simply stop people from raising such issues - just as making it illegal for the driver to go safely through the red light would also prevent the ambulance from going through.

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