MAUREEN CALLAHAN: Damn you Donald – America could have a jailer for a former president in no time… And the smug, delusional narcissist has only himself.

Donald Trump, the black swan, could presumably be considered one of America’s firsts: The former president was tried, convicted and despatched to jail.

He can scream “witch hunt” all he desires. But no one is accountable to Trump.

His self-importance, malignant narcissism, big ego – an ego that won’t tolerate any setback, whether or not it is an election loss or his son, Donald Jr., 4 years previous – all this led to 4 indictments in 4 states, a complete of 91 crimes.

Not that the civil go well with he filed towards E. Jean Carroll in May discovered Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation. He was ordered to pay her $5 million in restitution.

We New Yorkers know Trump higher than the remainder of the nation, and thoughts you, there’s nothing stunning about his habits.

Are you planning to ship posted voter lists? Account.

Attempt to hack voting machines? Account.

Ignore his then-Vice President Mike Pence’s wonderful recommendation to simply settle for the election is over, as a substitute for listening to the Nosferatu-turned-Rudy Giuliani ooze hair dye? Account.

Fueling the January sixth rebellion, storming out of the White House with categorized paperwork and presumably intentionally exposing them to the firm? Check, test, test.

Perhaps Trump’s biggest trick—telling his supporters that he’s being persecuted for all of them, for America itself, as if he had been Jesus and these accusers every Pontius Pilate—has marked a very nasty flip in American politics.

And it’s delivered to us all, not by a raging media or political enemies, however by the man himself, whose sleazy habits each inside and out of doors the office threaten to eclipse us all.

Of course, Monday was a tragic and horrible day for the nation as Trump was accused in Georgia of stealing the 2020 election. But it was additionally a heartfelt day. After all, America prides itself on a primary idea: no one is above regulation.

So why cannot our nation-large psyche deal with the concept of ​​a former commander-in-chief being imprisoned? Is this a cursed notion of American exceptionalism? Smudge resistance to our superior file? Afraid it would have an effect on our location?

I declare that it’s the different approach round. Trump is the inevitable manifestation of the want for the reverse technique. From minimization.

Nixon was not again, and then-President Gerald Ford’s determination to pardon his predecessor was controversial for a few years. Ford talked about that pardoning Nixon, who moreover tried to meddle in the presidential election, was the nation’s biggest curiosity. But was it?

Forty of Nixon’s co-conspirators have been convicted and despatched to jail, together with high officers. Years later, polls confirmed that just about all Americans opposed pardoning Ford and believed Nixon ought to have been tried for Watergate.

As they are saying, absolute vitality corrupts completely. So why should not US presidents, basically the simplest folks on Earth, fall sufferer?

The founders predicted a lot. That is why our federal establishments are divided into three branches, considered one of which appears to be extra environment friendly than the different.

The idea {that} the president of the United States, sitting or former, ought to by no means be tried or convicted of a crime on the document is complicated.

If you refuse that, you’re encouraging any president to do no matter he must, whether or not it is attempting to cancel an election or foment riots or divert tens of thousands and thousands of {{dollars}} from abroad governments, as a substitute of utilizing your individual son to remove. and a falcon, for instance.

Speaking of which, now that Trump has been indicted for racketeering underneath the RICO statute, would not it appear to be Joe Biden and Hunter Biden could be indicted for the similar technique?

Biden Sr. oversaw Ukraine’s international broadcasts, whereas Hunter extorted tens of thousands and thousands from Burisma, the nation’s largest gas agency.

Not to say the numerous international bills which will or might not have gone into Joe Biden’s account. But as a dependable Ukrainian-American FBI supply reported, it could take the FBI “10 years” to trace down such Joe funds.

So this nationwide allergy to presidential prosecutions has introduced us to this: Two alleged criminals in 2024 caught in a scandal.

Admittedly, that is what lies behind the nervousness and nervousness of voters. It’s nowhere close to a repeat in 2020. We want greater, a lot much less compromised selections. Not too many questions, proper?

If these two grow to be the nominees, I feel America is perhaps extra ashamed of it than the costs of wrongdoing, trials or convictions.

As for the argument that the justice system is politicized and weaponized, it’s typically true. But as we all know, what occurs in the shadows is normally worse—simply take a look at J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI or James Comey.

It may also be an insult to American people, voters, grand juries and juries to imagine that we can’t see such issues.

Alvin Bragg’s value to Trump in New York — which is a money-for-intercourse cowl-up that is laughable given what number of completely different exact crimes Bragg refuses to prosecute — smells like week-previous fish.

But Georgia’s RICO bids, together with Trump’s recorded cellphone title asking Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes that’s one more than we have,” actually appear reputable and related.

On Tuesday, the morning after the indictment, Rafensperger issued a assertion.

“The basic principles of a strong democracy are accountability and respect for the constitution and the rule of law,” he talked about. “You either have it or you don’t.”

Raffensperger is a Republican.

Other worldwide locations have processed their elected leaders, tried them and despatched them to jail. Their democracies have survived – grow to be even stronger.

Italy’s former prime minister, the late Silvio Berlusconi, was indicted on 35 prison counts, together with bribery, tax fraud, office abuse, witness tampering and cost for having intercourse with an underage prostitute.

In 2012, he was convicted of tax evasion, sentenced to 4 years in jail and suspended for six years.

South Korea’s Supreme Court upheld former President Park Geun-hye’s 2021 conviction on bribery and corruption costs, in addition to her $17 million nice. She is serving a 20-yr jail sentence.

Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian was convicted of corruption in 2008; he was launched from jail in 2015 because of poor welfare. His successor as president, Ma Ying-jeou, was sentenced to 4 months in 2018 for leaking categorized info.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial for corruption, bribery and fraud.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted of corruption and affect peddling in 2021; he misplaced his attraction in May this 12 months and is underneath home arrest for 12 months.

So for all the hand wringing about how the President of the United States would even be locked up logistically – in solitary confinement? Secret Service? Can we even survive seeing an orange jumpsuit or mug? – there are various examples of how to do that.

We have to evolve, recover from it, and are available to phrases with the proven fact that Trump might have been convicted of federal crimes — and that could presumably be a nice, even superior, issue. Cleaning, cleansing, cleansing. A warning to the subsequent president and the subsequent.

Also, if Trump or Biden are ever convicted, does anybody actually assume they might go wherever however Club Fed or home arrest itself?

You are very welcome. Time spent at Mar-a-Lago is no harsh punishment.