Trump Will Not Go On Trial

Not that I would not like seeing it happen, and even more enjoy a conviction.

I agree with Nathalie Baptiste's HuffPost op/ed, Donald Trump Is Not Going To Prison, in its description of the American criminal justice systems:

Here’s how the criminal justice system really functions in this country. Marginalized people, such as people of color, poor people, and religious and gender minorities, are more likely to be swept up in the system. Black people are more likely to receive life in prison and death sentences. Those with fewer resources often face harsher punishments due to insufficient counsel. Meanwhile, whiter and wealthier people often receive more lenient sentences if they are charged at all.

But that is not what I really see as the problem of getting Trump charged with a crime. American criminal courts depend on plea agreements; Trump will never enter into lea agreement, even if he is caught on film blowing out someone's brains; and I cannot imagine any jurisdiction finding an impartial panel for a jury. Then will the issues of money and class kick in.

Ms. Baptiste makes an even more important point here:

It’s important to remember that Trump going to prison would be a long way from solving the country’s current problem. A prison sentence may not even stop him from running for president, and there are plenty of Trumps-in-training waiting in the wings who would be more than thrilled to carry the mantle.

Meanwhile, The Guardian reports Capitol attack panel investigates Trump over potential criminal conspiracy:

House investigators are interested in whether Trump oversaw a criminal conspiracy after communications turned over by Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows and others suggested the White House coordinated efforts to stop Biden’s certification, the sources said.

What if we distract ourselves from the problems of American politics by lusting after the sight of Donald J. Trump in prison?

sch

1/7/21