The Credibility of the American Justice System Comes Down to This

Will We, the People, get a fair trial when it comes to the crimes committed by former President Donald Trump?  

So far, the ability to manipulate justice in America, which, in my perspective, has been characteristic of the courts in this country going back to its founding in 1789, has depended on the influence of wealth.  Like everything else in a free market economy, the legal system has a supply and demand factor.  A good team of lawyers costs money, and increases the odds of either winning a case, or beating the system, whichever the outcome favors.  

We now have a former President facing indictments for allegedly committing a number of crimes against the people, related to tampering with the ability of Congress to certify an election by inciting an insurrection, stealing classified documents from the White House without authorization, attempting to coerce state officials in Georgia to falsify election results and intimidate election worskers, and now, in his personal business, committing massive fraud.  

He has already gotten away with multiple other crimes against the people, documented in the more than 500 pages of the Mueller Report, including collusion with a foreign power to sway the results of an election, with substantial supporting evidence.  The special investigator in that case, Robert Mueller, left the door wide open for the Justice Department, then under the corrupt leadership ofTrump appointee Bill Barr, to convene grand juries and issue indictments, which never happened.  Money and influence spoke quite loudly, and We the People lost a big part of what makes the Constitution work for us.  

No one was willing to risk their own selfish ambition to be a patriot and save the integity of the government.  On one side, hands were thrown up and concession was made to the fact that the sitting President can't be held accountable for crimes, and "there's nothing we can do."  The other side just let it all blow over, ignored it and went on about their business.  The credibility of American justice failed that test.  

It can't fail the next one.  If it does, We the People lose our Constitutional democracy.  It will not survive.  

Opinion, from where I sit and observe, runs the spectrum from "this is a big media show but in the end, there is no way someone like Donald Trump will ever be held accountable for anything he's done.  That would upset the status quo, and open the door to break the influence and hold of money and wealth over this country, and that's never going to happen," to "this is looking good and the guy is finally going to get what he deserves."  Being optimistic helps me sleep at night.  There are people who have, finally, stood up to take action and make things move along.  Even the Justice Department, which dragged its feet and hemmed and hawed and dawdled and fussed after Congress laid out a spectacular investigation with mountains of evidence ready to go, has finally moved.  I only hope it was in time to save us.  

Will the American justice system hold out against this onslaught against Democracy?  And is this a matter of principle winning over corruption, or is it simply going to come down to a decision that is dependent on which side invests the most resources and has the best lawyers money can buy?  That sounds like a very cynical question, but it's a relevant one given the circumstances.  The former President actually made the claim that he could break the law and get away with it, mostly because he has broken the law much of his life, and has gotten away with it.  He has wealth and wealth is influence and influence can trump justice.  

There is always the court of public opinion.  But that's not the place for a fair trial.  There is incredible ignorance about Trump and what he's done, unbelievable, but it's there nevertheless.  That's our own fault, but at this point, I don't see that there's much that can be done about it.  Adolf Hitler made his way to power over a Constitutional democracy by laying claim to belief in the ignorance and the short memory of the masses, and that wound up leading to the destruction of the country.  I hope we're not going to be in any position to compare our own level of ignorance to that.  

I have confidence in the people who are in charge of our democracy right now, especially the Biden Administration and most notably, the President himself.  There's real resolve there, to make government work the way it should.  On the other hand, we have a justice department that has been weakened by the appointment of losers, and I'm not using that term as an insult, I really mean it, to the federal bench and to the Supreme Court who ultimately hold justice in their hands.  But the people who are ultimately going to be accountable for making this work is We the People.  And we need to be willing to do whatever it takes to protect democracy and justice from its enemies.