Trump, the mail and the unbinding of America

IN JUNE, the independent website Factcheck.org made a dig at Joe Biden, publishing a post titled Biden Floats Baseless Election Conspiracy. Mr Biden, you see, had suggested that Donald Trump "wants to cut off money for the post office so they cannot deliver mail-in ballots". There was, said the post, no evidence that Mr Trump's "stance toward the US postal system is related to the presidential election. A few days ago Factcheck.org conceded that Mr Biden had, in fact, been right. The confirmation? Mr Trump's own statements.

Nancy Pelosi is calling the House back from summer recess to consider legislation on the issue, and for good reason: There are not one but two possible constitutional crises looming. In one, millions of votes never get counted. In the other, delays in the counting of mail-in votes lead Mr Trump to claim victory in an election he actually lost.

These November nightmares are the reason we need to act urgently to secure the integrity of America's mail. But there's also a larger, longer-term aspect to the assault on the postal system. It is part of a broader attack on the institutions that bind us together as a nation.