Even Al Capone eventually was caught and went to jail for tax evasion. Vito Genovese, the leader of the Luciano/Genovese crime family, died in prison. Bank robber Willie Sutton spent more than half of his life in jail, although he escaped three times. What they and many other historically infamous criminals and heads of crime syndicates had in common was that they never assumed that they would be caught. They were sure they could beat the system. They were convinced that no one would ever testify against them, and they could buy off—or “rub out”—anyone who was waffling about taking the blame for crimes that the “Boss” had committed.
Like Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Donald Trump has assumed that he never would be caught and/or he would be able to talk or buy his way out of any crimes he committed. Following the indictments handed down by the federal grand jury in Miami on Thursday, a former president who operated similarly both in his business world and as President of the United States, may well be entering that moment where the walls are beginning to close in on him.
Perhaps what is saddest and most typical of criminal minds is the fact they believe they can get away with anything. President Trump’s entire demeanor and persona exhibited a belief that he would never be stopped. He could do things his way and no one would ever stop him. In the American political system President Richard Nixon was so arrogant that he did not dream of destroying the “tapes” (his personal historical record) which held the smoking gun that ultimately forced him to resign. So, too, Donald Trump could have handed over all the records immediately which he had removed from the White House when he was asked to do so by the National Archives and the Justice Department, but he wanted these “toys” and was not returning the “ball” to its owners.
Whether Donald Trump will ultimately be convicted and incarcerated for these alleged crimes or those brought by New York City’s district attorney will ultimately be decided by juries. Similarly, the outcome of the deliberations of the federal grand jury in Washington, D. C., and any indictments which might still come from it or the grand jury sitting in Fulton County, Georgia, are a long way from being decided. It is likely that the litigation of these cases will place former President Trump in court proceedings for several years, long after the 2024 presidential election.
In the years to come historians and political scholars will pour over the details of what transpired between 2016-2022. The records, the emails, the calls, and conversations will ultimately reveal the truth. For now, it rests in the hands of the Courts. Regardless of anyone’s political motives or desires or hopes, the guilt or innocence of Donald Trump will be in the hands of the American judicial system.
In fact, it is a sad time for the United States watching a former President indicted and having to anticipate what will undoubtedly be an ugly three-ring circus carried on by the former President and his lawyers for weeks and months on end. On the other hand, it should be somewhat reassuring for many Americans—even those who voted him. Only the most devote Trump “believers” will see these events as anything but an affirmation of the primacy of the rule of law in American democracy.
Trump will have his day in Court and the American people in the various jury boxes will decide his fate. Even if the former president never goes to jail it will be a testament and victory for American values and its justice system. If Trump’s attacks on the Judiciary and the efficacy of the judicial system prevail, American democracy as established by the Constitution in 1787 will follow Rome and Weimar into the dust bin of history.
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