(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . US Democracy Stress Test - Trump Should be Jailed if Convicted Like Other World Leaders [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-06-09 In talking to friends, and haters of Trump alike no one believes Trump will be jailed. My reaction is a belief that he is guilty of the unthinkable, however this looming belief he will not face justice. And it isn’t just my bubble — I note that this is a poll after his NY indictments — but I doubt these percentages will/would change based on new indictments or charges: While a majority of Americans (66%) believe Trump has definitely or probably committed a crime at some point, fewer than half (41%) think he will probably ever be convicted, and about one-quarter (23%) say he will probably at some point serve time in prison. today.yougov.com/... But , I am starting to change my expectations after reading the indictment and digesting what it means he did at the very least (that is of course easily provable). I write this then as I know expectations matter. We should EXPECT he be treated as every other U.S. Citizen — the same rights but also the same punishments. If he avoids jailtime wherein it is clearly warranted we should expect that we will protest like never before — because the likely crimes are beyond our wildest imaginations. There is simply no way that the FBI would’ve recovered the documents hidden in the manner they did unless his offenses would make Nixon and Regan Blush. It is a Stress test of our Democracy. As Thomhartmann tells us thus far the US has failed this stress test repeatedly with Nixon and Reagan www.dailykos.com/… But this time is different. It is out in the public. It is egregious. Putting aside Nixon and Reagan with what we know and what we should expect to be uncovered -Why are we accepting the different treatment Trump will be afforded or expecting it? What’s behind it? Why do we pretend it’s a fantasy to believe in the rule of law? For many of us it’s complicated — from observing disparate treatment to implications of the belief in American Exceptionalism (in a twisted unintended way). A former President of the United States Cannot be brought to Justice because it seems so unimaginable. But let’s take a step back. First, I can promise each and every one of you that whatever you think will come out is considerably worse — that Trump is known as a Risk to National Security, and he has compromised the same . . . but in ways we cannot even imagine. We wouldn’t be on this path if that wasn’t the case. I have no doubt that he profited from these documents. As the indictment states (and you can be sure that they only are averring what is absolutely known in the most simple manner at present — he did have Nuclear Secrets, he did have Documents related to US vulnerabilities and allied Military Vulnerabilities, he did plans for foreign attacks and defense and weapons capabilities — ie he “allegedly” did have the absolute most sensitive documents imaginable. (Indictment at Paragraph 3). He also directed they be hidden from the FBI’s investigators, suggested they be destroyed and “Knowing(ly)” lied to the FBI and Grand Jury that he had no more documents. (see Paragraph 7). Second, Trump says indictment of a President is the makings of a Third World Country. In reality it is a function of a healthy Rule of Law. If he is guilty of Felony Crimes he should go to jail. Let’s accept that and look elsewhere to functioning democracies who are able to see past the Grandeur of a Presidency . . . Let’s educate ourselves that the Rest of the World does often Hold their Leaders accountable for violating the law and expect that Justice will be blind and expect the rule of law apply here as well www.axios.com/... The big picture: In reality, leaders who left office since 2000 have been jailed or prosecuted in at least 78 countries — including in democracies like France, Israel and South Korea. Since 1980, around half of the world's countries have had at least one such case, and that's not counting impeachments or coups . . . In the vast majority of these cases, the ex-leader was prosecuted or jailed for their activities in office , rather than before or after. , rather than before or after. We were only considering leaders who held the most powerful political office in each country, though that required judgment calls in a few cases. Let’s take a look at some who made the news and were from especially wealthy democracies: France Jacques Chirac: In 2011, the former French president, who died in 2019, was convicted of corruption and handed a two-year suspended jail sentence. He was also found guilty of influence peddling, breach of trust and embezzlement during his time as the mayor of Paris. Nicolas Sarkozy: In 2021, Sarkozy became the second former French president to be convicted of corruption and influence peddling. He was sentenced to three years in jail, two of them suspended. . . . South Korea Lee Myung-bak: In 2020, the former South Korean president was sentenced to 17 years in prison for bribery and embezzlement but was pardoned in 2022. Park Geun-hye: Former president Park, the first woman to hold the position, was found guilty in 2018 of charges related to bribery and coercion. She was handed a 15-year prison sentence but was also pardoned in 2021. . . . Taiwan Chen Shui-bia: Taiwan, former President Chen Shui-bian was convicted of bribery in 2009. www.aljazeera.com/… This is another stress test for our American Democracy courtesy of Trump can the state hold a former president accountable and apply the rule of law? There was a near miss for Richard Nixon, who could have faced federal charges over Watergate but was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford. www.theguardian.com/… Please also see the Boston Globe’s editorial titled “Future-Proofing the Presidency” embraces the deterrence rationale for putting Trump in jail. It argues that “presidents also need a clear message, one that will echo through history, that breaking the law in the Oval Office will actually be punished — that ethics policies and legal requirements, both the existing ones and those Congress will hopefully enact in the future, are more than just words on paper.” www.msnbc.com/… I am going to re-read the indictment. Every single word in it is there for a reason and edit. I also encourage you to include the names of other foreign leaders, US politicians and Celebrities who seemed above the law but were not. Even in our Broken justice System there has to be some kind of line and there is no doubt Trump has crossed it to me. Notes: Everyone saying that there is some grand conspiracy afoot where the Grand Jury et al chose a venue and judge favorable to Trump — please stop. You do not know or understand how Assignments or Venue work. No one knows who the actual Judge who will oversee the potential Trial will be. Listen to the people who are actually familiar with how you file in Federal Court and how Judges are assigned. Also, realize his ultimate path to jail isn’t simply up to a potential Judge Cannon — it’s not in this case and this is just 1 grand Jury of 1 investigation with more to come. Are they all going to end up in front of Cannon? I mean get real. The reality is an Extremely Competent Prosecutor and his team at DOJ and FBI know Trump is a threat to National Security, like a real walking threat to HUMINT and are doing their job to bring him to justice in a profoundly serious manner. Stop looking for reasons for our Democracy and System of Justice to disappoint you — so many have been doing so forever. First, the FBI will never do anything and they got a warrant, then he’ll never get charged until he did. What is happening is the wheels of justice are turning whether cynics like it or not. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/9/2174380/-US-Democracy-Stress-Test-Trump-Should-be-Jailed-if-Convicted-Like-Other-World-Leaders Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/