Since his start in 1973, Donald Trump has sought to discredit the American justice system. He learned it at the feet of his mentor, disgraced lawyer Roy Cohn. “He does not see the legal system as a means of delivering justice for all,” I wrote in my book, “Plaintiff in Chief: A Portrait of Donald Trump in 3,500 Lawsuits.” Rather, he sees it as a weapon to gain attention and, ultimately, power.
The most effective tools in Trump’s strategy are delay and distraction. He understands that the wheels of justice turn slowly. Currently, he has successfully had his justice halted, indicting him on 91 felonies in four courts across the country.
His most important trial was the one before District of Columbia Judge Tanya Chutkan that concluded on January 6, 2021, stemming from his conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Things were going well for the government in this trial. The trial was set for March 4, the day before the “Super Tuesday” primary election.
President Trump then moved to drop the charges, saying he has immunity from criminal prosecution for all his actions while in office. Judge Chutkan said that trying to overturn a follow-on election using a fake electoral plan, violently storming the Capitol to disrupt election counting, and threatening his own vice president were out of scope. The motion was summarily dismissed on the primary basis that: There are no boundaries between the duties of the president. On the contrary, the president has sworn an oath to “faithfully execute the law,” which would include abiding by a peaceful transfer of power.
Trump immediately appealed to the D.C. Circuit. The appeal automatically halted the trial.
The Court of Appeals placed the appeal on the “Rocket docket” and held oral argument on January 9th. In arguments, the justices appeared skeptical of President Trump’s claim that he would have total immunity from criminal prosecution after leaving office unless he is first impeached. Convicted by Congress of “high crimes and misdemeanors,” he narrowly escaped that fate.
Trump’s lawyers even argued in open court that the president could use the Navy SEALs to assassinate political opponents, and that he could do so with impunity if he somehow escaped impeachment.
The D.C. Circuit, clearly skeptical of Trump’s oral argument, is considering this outrageous filing among other things and has not yet reached a decision. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and the case has been removed from the trial calendar. Even if the circuit court rules against Trump, there would be an appeal to the Supreme Court, which would of course cause further delays.
The most public case against Trump is a lawsuit in Florida federal court over his mishandling of classified documents that are the subject of a grand jury subpoena. Special Prosecutor Jack Smith unfortunately nominated the Honorable Eileen Cannon to be the judge. Cannon, a Trump appointee, has no experience litigating classified documents and has been reprimanded twice by appeals courts for making erroneous decisions that favored Trump.
The filing lawsuit is moving at the pace of a snail’s Olympic sprinter. Cannon has set a nominal trial date for August 14, but the case is stalled in discovery and it is highly unlikely that the public will see the trial before the election.
There is also a state RICO lawsuit against Trump filed by District Attorney Fani Willis in Fulton County, Georgia. The case became a melodramatic sideshow as Willis admitted to having an affair with a senior prosecutor subordinate to him. Although this indiscretion seems unrelated to the merits of the case, the judge appears to believe the allegations are serious enough to warrant a hearing. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. Further delays.
The trial in New York’s election interference case will now be scheduled for March 25, three weeks after Super Tuesday, unless postponed. According to the indictment, Trump falsified his business records just before the 2016 presidential election to conceal hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, who had threatened to make his affair public.
Did you clumsily hide your porn star payoff to cover up your affair? A giant clam or a small potato? The prosecution of the former president should be strictly carried out. However, it appears that this case is the only one that has any prospect of going to trial before the election.
The problem is that President Trump posted a message on social media saying he would be arrested on this charge and calling on his supporters to “take back our country.” He strengthened his own base by characterizing District Attorney Alvin Bragg as an “animal” carrying out “the plans of a far-left lunatic.” Fortunately, the protests were small. President Trump has repeatedly violated the rule of law to avoid accountability. Regardless of the merits of the case, attacking prosecutors personally just because they indicted them is a classic example of undermining the rule of law.
I once trusted our courts. After all, judges are the guardians of our sacred right to justice. I thought judges were generally fair and independent, applying the law as they saw it. Even if I didn’t agree with the punishment, I accepted it. I don’t really understand it now.
“Legal delay” has been a problem in the justice system since the time of Hamlet, and Shakespeare saw it as a form of respect that would bring about “a long bane of life.”
I understand that presidents should be fairly and freely elected by the people, but President Trump makes an exception to this. But voters have a right to know whether he was convicted of the felonies imposed by prosecutors. Some Americans may not want a convicted felon in the White House.
At least one poll shows Biden leading Trump by 6 points nationally, but other polls show Trump with a narrow lead, leaving many voters undecided. Voters may want to know whether Mr. Trump is a convicted felon, but the truth is they will never know if he is elected.
The judicial system is meant to work for the people. But that may not be the case with Trump.
Author and legal analyst James D. Gillin is a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. He is also a public television talk show and podcast host. Conversation with Jim Gillin.
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