Our institutions are not yet so weak. But they are not getting any stronger and they will not become stronger through a failure to exercise them. If we must have this confrontation, the sooner the better. Giving Trump special treatment out of fear he will provoke a constitutional crisis by ignoring a grand jury subpoena only weakens those institutions for the next confrontation. And such a confrontation is certain to come, if not from this president, then from a future one. You cannot deter bad behavior by rewarding it.

The president is merely a citizen entrusted with high office. While the courts must pay due deference to the president’s constitutional responsibilities, he is no more entitled to violate the laws or ignore a court order than is any other citizen. Like any other citizen, he has a duty to provide evidence in response to a grand jury subpoena.

Giving evidence before the grand jury is occasionally stressful, sometimes embarrassing, but essentially simple: tell the truth. If this is something President Trump is unable or unwilling to do, the sooner we find out, the better.