If all men in American society are equal, and “no one is above the law,” why does it appear that Donald J. Trump continues to get away with breaking the laws, something most folks would easily go to prison or at the minimum, get arrested and charged in court for.
I think the answer is yes and no, but if just barely, in the No category after all.
First, while he was widely suspected of financial crimes, or his organization, most of those fall under the heading of exaggeration, mis-representation, and concealment that tend to fly under the radar and need a deep look to prove.
Of the actions during his term as President, the DOJ felt bound by existing law saying he could not be charged during the administration, so the ‘law’ in question protected him (yes, tons of dispute on whether said rule is law, but again, debateable).
He was held accountable during the administration by being impeached twice, but the laws as written for impeachment DO NOT account for any sort of impartial trial, so his partisans had sufficient numbers to legally stop any such actions.
So, not above the law, if only just and due to circumstances. Above justice, don’t ask me, I don’t believe in it anymore.
And as circumstances play out with the many, MANY post-presidential investigations, we’ll have to find out. I’m still betting on him dying from age/his poor health before he ever sees the inside of a single jail cell, but I’d love to see his heirs finding out that after the many, many claims and trials against him and the estate, that all they’ll inherit is debt and disgrace.
Okay, so you have to know if that it is Joe Citizen, and you arrest and indict him, but he is found “not guilty” it is no big deal for the DA.
But guys like trump will get on Faux news and trumpet such a thing as a great victory that he was “exonerated” and so forth. In other words, before indictment, the AG or DA needs to be sure of the conviction.
As much as we all would like to see him in handcuffs. the joy would be momentary, followed by the long despair of seeing him get re-elected.
So far Donald Trump is above the law. I couldn’t tell you why. But that was a faintly optimistic “so far”.
This could also apply to people like the Murdaugh family in South Carolina, who have entered the nation’s awareness in the past year and a half, or so.
There has always been a certain tendency for rich and/or well-connected people to get away with things that a poor person, or one who doesn’t know anybody influential, would not get away with.
“There has always been a certain tendency for rich and/or well-connected people to get away with things that a poor person, or one who doesn’t know anybody influential, would not get away with.”
This. Despite all his business failures, Trump is still a wealthy man, and he continued making money during his presidency. He can afford the best and smartest lawyers, Rudy Giuliani is the exception that proves the rule. He has the resources to stall with appeals for years, even if he someday loses at trial.
Frankly, I am less interested in seeing him behind bars and more interested in seeing him barred from ever running for federal office again. With their charismatic leader permanently powerless, what else can his cult followers do but wither away? They don’t have the brains or guts for an all-out civil war, even if Trump leads them on horseback.
Life ain’t fair, the universe isn’t balanced, the pendulum doesn’t always swing back etc.
Yes, some people are above the law. They will die happy with all the toys and never suffer the consequences of their actions, without a pang of guilt or remorse. “Justice Will Prevail!” is a joke told by those who think that justice is a force unto itself that just…happens, and it most certainly is not. Justice takes hard work, a bit of selflessness and a willingness to lose ground in order to win the war. Talking about “justice” without actually working to bring it about is a fucking waste of time, in my humble opinion.
He doesn’t actually have them, though, because his ability to pay for them does not translate into his doing so.
In some ways I think this is the debate the US is having right now with Trump supporters apparently wanting a (their) president as a king/despot like figure who is above the law legally. Trump’s lawyers have used the term ‘elected king’.
Spiritually speaking, I do believe that powerful beings are living among us, using biblical definitions the ‘sons’ of God’ which include the devil’s angels and the hybrid children called nephilum who very well could be above human law, though it is possible that some may be fallen if I understand the term correctly, thus, if fallen (from a position of authority over humans) can be subjected to human law but that’s just a concept I have. If this is true then I hope to live to see Trump fallen, though his natural death would also be helpful for humanity. I do feel this is a test by God of what humanity wants, a king or a democracy, and if democracy will hold up against such attacks as Trump tried.
To expand on this - The LAW is just words put on paper created by imperfect human beings and administered by imperfect human beings. Some people are adept at creating the laws with chinks and cracks that let other adept people wiggle through them. And some people who administer the law respond to specious motivations. Some people understand that POWER gives them sway over other people and the law, so they make sure that they accumulate and exercise power.
I think it’s more an issue of money than influence. The law is the same for everyone. But wealthy people have the resources to “lawyer up” and protect themselves from legal problems. Non-wealthy people can’t afford the protection so they suffer the consequences of those legal problems.
Queen Elizabeth II cannot be prosecuted criminally or civilly in the United Kingdom. So here is at least one example of a person that is technically and factually “above the law.”
The lawless acts of a sitting or former president is an extremely special case that would challenge the notion of equal justice in even the most idealized society. I can forgive the difficulty the system has with such a case. What I can’t forgive is how we so totally abandon the concept when it comes to people who have a very direct power of life or death over us almost every day; the police.
Well, I can’t. Either someone is above the law, or they aren’t. It sounds like we’re saying while in office, we can’t do anything other than impeach, but once someone leaves office, they’re fair game. Where does it say you can’t indict a sitting president in the US Constitution?
It would certainly be problematic, but that’s why we have a vice president and a 25th Amendment so someone can take over if the president can’t do his or her duties. I would argue that a sitting president can no longer do their duties or function as president if they’re under indictment for a serious crime. Impeachment is a purely political process, an indictment isn’t.
Charles I argued that his trial was illegal, because, as monarch, the court had no jurisdiction over him. He possibly had a point, however, factually it was still off with his head.
In the end, he was dead right.
Nowhere. Because it doesn’t have to.
The Constitution is not a document that says, “The government can do everything except what’s listed here.” The Constitution is a document that says, “The government can do nothing except what’s listed here.”
Since impeachment, rather than criminal indictment, is the method prescribed for removing the president from office, it necessarily follows that indicting a sitting president is not allowed.
No. Since criminal indictment, rather than impeachment, is the method prescribed for charging all other people with crimes, it necessarily follows that indicting a sitting President probably is allowed.
Not under a Justice Dept policy going back decades.