The multiple ongoing criminal and civil cases against former President Donald Trump have been a stress test of the fundamental structures and principles of our legal system.
So far, the answer to one basic question—whether the rules apply equally to everyone—seems pretty clear, and discouraging.
The former president and current Republican candidate has demonstrated in each case that he is, as a practical matter, largely immune from much of the supposed authority that our law enforcement and court systems have over him—while thumbing his nose at every official and private citizen involved along the way.
The issue of whether courts should sanction Trump for his behavior as a defendant, for example, has been muddied by a related question about whether he might benefit politically if he faces such consequences. Trump himself has made the comical suggestion that he would be seen as a martyr in the mold of Nelson Mandela were he to be jailed for a gag order violation. ….more