But we are left wondering: What if
Trump skates away again? What if, in other words, it’s still 1973 in this
country, and he gets away with it? Again: By any common-sensical standard, Trump
as president was obviously an officer of the United States. He obviously
incited an insurrection. It is obvious that no president should have total
immunity from prosecution for anything he does. Into the bargain, he obviously
stole classified documents he wasn’t entitled to have; he obviously tried to
rig the Georgia vote; and he obviously paid Stormy Daniels hush money. And
finally, it’s obvious that if he wins, the minute he’s president, he’ll nullify
all these prosecutions of himself.
When we talk about the failures of
American democracy, we talk about the Electoral College, we speak of the
unequal Senate, and gerrymandering, and so on. We rarely talk of the law. We
should. Americans see all the time that the law cuts deals with rich and
powerful people. Is that supposed to make them think we live in a truly
democratic society? It makes them think we live in a rigged society, and that
on the question of democracy, the law is agnostic.
So, in the nine months between now
and Election Day, we will see whether we have a system of laws that is capable
of stopping an obvious lawbreaker. If we do, great. We at least live in a
nation where the legal class finally rose up and said to one lawless and
dangerous man, “Enough. We are stopping you.” And if we don’t? We’ll spend the
next four years—at least—learning the full price of the law’s democratic
agnosticism.