Imagine if this series of events happened in a foreign country: A prosecutor who is most notable for being the president’s former personal lawyer, and who is not legally confirmed to her role, charges a member of the opposition party with serious crimes based on trumped-up evidence, and then announces it not on a government platform but on the social-media site owned by the president’s friend and major donor. What would outsiders conclude about the strength of democracy and rule of law in that country?