Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Trump Sentenced to Nothing
A jury in Manhattan found Donald John Trump guilty of 34 felonies related to fake business records. In such a case usually results in some jail time as it is a serious matter. Bad data in records often translates into tax issues, which harm everyone who pays their taxes as they should. In other words, this is not a victimless crime. However, Mr. Trump has broken the US legal system with ridiculous claims and outright lies that have swayed his minions. Judge Juan Merchan delayed sentencing in this case to allow the political campaign to play out. As a result when sentencing finally did occur today, the penalty was -- nothing at all.
The chatterati who claim that being labeled a convicted felon is a huge shame and will drive Mr. Trump crazy seem to believe this is acceptable. It is not. A convicted felon cannot serve in the US military, but Mr. Trump will be commander-in-chief. A convicted felon cannot get a job in the federal civil service, but Mr. Trump will be the head of it. The sentence makes a mockery of whatever justice the American system can produce.
This is not exclusively the fault of Judge Merchan. A great many people could have stopped Mr. Trump from being president again but chose not to do so. For example, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) could have moved a few other GOP senators to vote for conviction in either of the two impeachment trials. He did not. The Supreme Court could have kept him off the ballot in Colorado and elsewhere due to leading the January 6 coup attempt. The court did not do anything.The Republican Party could have nominated someone else, but it did not.
At every turn, every instance of legal matters clashing with politics saw politics prevail. Even in the case of Richard Nixon, that was not the case. Not only was there Watergate, but Mr. Nixon had a tax problem that was resolved by him writing a big check to the US Treasury while he was in the White House. When his criminality became clear, he was gone. Mr. Trump is clearly a criminal. A jury of 12 citizens has said so. Yet, because he is a somewhat successful politician, he has a free pass.
The question now is where does that leave the American legal system? Every legal system is imperfect, as each is a product of human beings, and humans are notoriously flawed. The well-connected and well-heeled usually receive less in the way of punishment that those who are not, and they usually see lower conviction rates. What the Trump case has done, though, is that it has shown the American system has given up on holding the powerful and wealthy accountable. No candidate for president will ever again face trial no matter how awful the crime, not matter how airtight the case is.
From there, it will spread. Immunity was a word the founding fathers knew and understood but did not choose to put in the Constitution. They did not want anyone immune from accountability. Now, the argument is that the president is too important to face trial or any penalties for crimes of which said president is convicted. If that is so, perhaps the same immunity should extend to the vice-president. What of cabinet officers? Should the Secretary of State be liable to arrest for sexual assault in the middle of negotiating with other nations? Would the trial of the Secretary of Defense undermine American national security.
The answer is simple. The officeholders should not be prosecuted, but that is only because they should resign and face the music. Now, they stay in office and claim they are too important to arrest. This journal responds with the examples of Charles I, Louis XVI and Nicholas II. Kings can be tried and executed (or in the case of the Tsar, simply executed), so why not presidents?
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment provides a mechanism to let the prosecution of presidents to happen. Pity no one used it when Mr. Trump failed in his coup attempt.
© Copyright 2025 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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