Imagine a foreign leader with a growing reputation for corruption facing unrest at home amid a constant series of scandals. His own government attempted to remove him, and he is facing a number of damaging lawsuits. In order to quash them, he directs his government to fire the attorney leading these investigations. How would the media report this blatant corruption? How would our government respond? What conclusions would people draw about the government?

That is of course the situation we confronted last night when AG Barr attempted to remove the Attorney in NY last night. It’s wildly corrupt. (To his enormous credit, Geoffrey Berman refused to leave.) It’s far more dangerous than the lurid spectacle of a rally amid a pandemic or any tweet. It is a clear case of authoritarianism and an effort to undermine the function of democracy. And it’s happening four months before an election. If this isn’t telegraphing what kind of corruption we can expect if Trump is re-elected, I don’t know what it would look like.