The US President Is Now Above The Law

A seminal moment in American history

History was made quietly this week when 44 federal charges were dropped against Donald Trump in anticipation of his second term.

When Trump was indicted in 2023, numerous historians declared that it was a seismic moment and asked if the rule of law would prevail, expressing faith that it probably would. That faith was misplaced.

I’d say this week was actually the seismic moment because it made clear that the rule of law has not prevailed. President Trump is above the law. Given the lack of fierce reaction in the media — I observed a deafening silence perhaps because those who speak out are fearful of retribution by Trump — the rule of law ended not with a bang but a whimper.

What this means is that decades, perhaps even centuries from now, a president of the US can:

• deny the results of a free and fair election, organize fake electors, inspire and incite a riot at the US Capitol, and even attempt a coup and face no legal consequences.

• lose an election and keep thousands of top secret documents in unsecured locations for years, share classified documents or secrets with friends and contributors, and refuse to return the documents to the National Archives despite repeated requests.

• ask a foreign adversary to hack or break into the online headquarters of a political opponent and expose sensitive private communication, without consequence.

• fire the director of the FBI and any agents on suspicions that they might be investigating or gathering evidence on his links or interactions with a foreign adversary.

• demand that a vulnerable ally who faces invasion and interference from an adversary announce, without evidence, that it is investigating the president’s strongest potential opponent if his vulnerable country wants to receive foreign aid.

• brazenly tell thousands of preposterous lies and still win re-election.

Descendants of today's Republicans and Democrats may take entirely different positions on these matters in the future if they perceive that their ox is being gored, or the president they support is accused of illegal actions. They may ultimately rue the day America’s legal system failed to hold the president to account.

"If a president does it, it's not illegal,"