Surprised At Unequal Justice?

So Donald Trump was finally sentenced for his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York State. But since he would be inaugurated as President of United States ten days after the sentencing, there would be no consequenses...at all. The sentence of "unconditional release" means no prison time, no probation, no restrictions, no conditions at all. Trump was whining on his social media site Truth Social that this someone meant that he was innocent...just another example of his ignorance on so many fronts. His conviction on these 34 counts (which were really piling on, since each of the counts traced back to the same crime: falsifying records in order to influence voters in the 2016 election - it was a separate count for each ledger entry, each check, each memo) were just one of the indictments. He was indicted by a Georgia State grand jury for his attempt to "find" enough votes to flip the states electoral votes to him. It's unlikely that this case will ever proceed since the prosecutor was banned from continuing with the case. Of the two federal indictments, one was for retaining federal documents and refusing to return them. The judge in the case dismissed the charges on the grounds that the position of Special Counsel was unconstitutional, despite there having been several Special Counsel appointments, at least one of which was confirmed as legal. The other federal indictment was for election interference for his actions not only for inciting the January 6th Insurrection, but for the numerous other actions he took to overturn the election results in 2020 and in January 2021. This case was delayed while the Supreme Court mulled over the concept of presidential immunity. Both the federal cases were effectively moot when Trump was re-elected - Department of Justice policy is such that the president cannot be prosecuted for anything while in office. The delays ran out the clock. 

Anyone who is surprised at this isn't paying attention.

There's several factors involved. His cultish following and compliant judges with novel interpretations of law, certainly. But the fact that someone with a lot of money to spend and/or with powerful connections can avoid or delay consequences for their actions is nothing new. Look at the whole concept of cash bail. In some jurisdictions people accused of crimes spend months, if not years sitting in a jail cell waiting for their trial. Not because this is what happens to everyone, but because many people have no financial resources and cannot afford even the most insignificant level of bail. Many will plead guilty just to get released. Meanwhile they've lost their job and have a criminal conviction on their record and have trouble getting a new job. But if you have a few million or billion in the bank, bail is seldom going to be a problem. 

Access to lawyers is another obstacle to equal justice. How many people who are reading this article have a lawyer? I have used a lawyer a couple of times in my life, but I don't have one in my smartphone contacts (I almost typed "speed dial"). If I was arrested I would need to use my one phone call to call my wife or other family member and ask them to Google "criminal lawyers in Lincoln NE". And I'm not poor. Even so, I would quickly drain my bank and retirement accounts to pay for any kind of defense. This doesn't just apply in criminal cases. Bringing suit in civil court is expensive. An ordinary person trying to sue a big company or a wealthy individual soon finds out how expensive delays can be. This is how people like Trump are able to avoid paying contractors - they don't have the resources to outlast the myriad delaying tactics. The delaying motions don't even have to be reasonable, but unless they're completely frivolous the judge has to consider them, and eventually the plaintiff runs out of money. Of course there is pro bono attorneys and public defenders exist of course, but many of them have such large case loads that they are no match for the gold-plated lawyers that billionaires have on retainer. 

Trump's escape from any consequences for his actions shine a spotlight on a problem with our legal system., but it's not new. And in nine days he will be in charge of the federal law enforcement apparatus, and has promised to use it to go after those he perceives as his enemies. Maybe it's just bluster, crazy talk to gin up support from his rabid base. But is that better? Marginally. 

But just the threat of retribution has inspired some to comply in advance. 

A Distraction, Or Just Batshit Craziness?

There's a lot of opinions going around on what Trump's plans are. Or if there are plans. Whether his talk about acquiring Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal is real, or just a distraction from some other nefarious scheme. 

There's two streams of politicking going on, and only one has anything to do with Trump. There's no doubt that the Republican Party has become less and less democratic, less genuinely representative, over the last decade or so. It doesn't take too much Googling to uncover plots by Republicans to keep themselves in power in state legislatures even when the majority of voters choose Democrats for statewide office; lawsuits to throw out thousands of votes when it looks like a Democrat will win; frivolous challenges to elections only when Democrats win. Mitch McConnell and his allies have been working on turning the federal judiciary into an arm of the Republican Party for as long as he's been in office. The Republican Party has abandoned any pretense of working for the good of all Americans and his intent on using their hold on power to do two things (1) Further enrich the ultra-wealthy among them and (2) Play upon the ignorance and bigotry of a significant percentage of the electorate to turn back the clock and erase people's hard-won rights. The cabal behind Project 2025 and similar lines of thought see Trump as an easily manipulated vehicle to put their plans into action. They'd be there and pushing their agenda no matter what Republican was in office.

Trump on the other hand cares only about himself. He allies himself with the far right only insofar as it feeds his ego and grows his bank account. Everything that he does is to shine a spotlight on him. He doesn't care about this country or its people. He takes no time to educate himself about the myriad issues that he is entrusted with overseeing. He doesn't even take care to install people with the necessary expertise into positions that affect millions of people here and abroad. His picks for high ranking positions are nothing more than a "screw you" to those he perceives as "enemies within". So does all his talk about annexing other countries, exacting retribution on his political enemies, or slashing one third of the federal budget  mean anything? 

The statements that he's been making are dangerous. They're dangerous if he means it. These other countries aren't going to sit by idly as we try to take them over. What will that do to the system of international alliances? We just got done with an ultimately useless intervention in Afghanistan, does the country want another war? Already? What if it's just talk? On many occasions in his first term and during the last four years Trump made outrageous statements, but then, when challenged about them, he claimed he was "joking", or being sarcastic (think about the whole injecting disinfectant debacle). Is this what we want the president to be doing? Talking nonsense about serious issues? Either way he's going to be doing things that are incredibly disruptive to the country, or he's joking about doing things that are incredibly disruptive to the country. I guess joking is marginally better than carrying them out. 

I've written a lot about Trumpism being a cult. Many people justified their vote for Trump as voting for economic stability, including low prices. He's already abandoned that "promise" and he isn't even in office yet. Some of his advisors are even now backing off the campaign rhetoric about deporting millions of people, "clarifying" that they're prioritizing deporting criminal illegals...which we're already doing. Not to mention expanding programs that will bring in more immigrants to fill jobs that theoretically would go to Americans. He'll break every one of his promises, but his cult will still love him. 

The best that we can hope for is that his mental decline and overall incompetence, paired with Republican Congressional infighting and unseriousness, will result in a four-year gridlock.