(CNN) The peaceful and orderly transition of presidential power is a hallmark of our constitutional democracy embodied in the 12th, 20th and 25th Amendments. The 2008 transition between President George W. Bush's administration and Barack Obama's is often referenced as the standard for presidential transitions because of the high level of bipartisan cooperation exhibited by both teams. Since 2016, President Donald Trump, members of his campaign and his administration have run roughshod over both the letter and the spirit of our laws. Some of them, along with a raft of former cabinet members and White House officials, have normalized brazen financial and ethical conflicts of interest. With the protections afforded by Presidential immunity ending in a matter of weeks, some officials may be tempted to cover the tracks of this administration and destroy evidence of wrongdoing.

Source: The Nation November 20, 2020 21:22 UTC