Trump is always on about how the 'Establishment' is out to get him, so accusations against him often become evidence of his persecution to him and his allies. Does this mean that he can't be effectively held accountable?
I wrote last week that I disapprove of the way the American Department of Justice (DoJ) handled its raid on former president Donald Trump’s Florida home; the DoJ was after classified documents Trump had brought with him when he left office in 2021. One of my main arguments for why I think the DoJ made a mess of the situation was that it played into Trump’s narrative of him being hounded by Democrats, but over the past week I’ve begun to wonder if better handling of the raid would have made any difference. Trump is notoriously inconsistent, his views on political issues seem to change like the weather, but one of the few consistent beliefs he has is a deep seated resentment towards ‘The Establishment’. Since his bid for the presidency began in 2015 he has consistently disparaged the media and established politicians; one of his slogans for his successful 2016 candidacy was ‘Drain the Swamp’, i.e. clean up corruption in Washington DC, another was ‘Fake News’ i.e. the idea that the media lies. This persecution complex makes it difficult to convincingly accuse Trump of crimes and misdeeds, after all he has been saying for years that the Establishment hates him and does its best to sabotage his political career. Is it possible to hold Trump accountable?
I think that it is, but it requires careful thought, establishing a strong case, and a significant offence. In a way a case against Trump should be handled the exact opposite to how the American government handled the gangster Al Capone in 1931. Capone was probably guilty of many violent crimes as the head of a gang in Chicago but was convicted of the relatively mild crime of tax evasion. The idea behind using tax law was that a crime boss as successful as Capone would know how to cover his tracks well enough never to be caught for his gang activities but would not be as careful with his finances; essentially using a small crime to catch a big criminal. Trump might seem a prime target for precisely such a strategy, he has been at the centre for many misdeeds and potential crimes in his political career; his two impeachments and the fact that there is a rather lengthy Wikipedia entry titled “List of lawsuits involving Donald Trump” proves that there may well be grounds to think Trump has been committing crimes, but I think that the opposite strategy to Capone would be the better bet. Trump’s habit of constantly trying to undermine the credibility of his opponents in politics and the media muddies the waters, and the fact that law enforcement really does come after Trump can to some validate his claims; you’re not paranoid if they really are out to get you. To get rid of Trump one would have to convict him of one big preferably high profile crime, as that would be harder for Trump and his allies to dismiss than a litany of small offences.
Holding Trump accountable is possible, but it will be difficult and it’s vital to remember that due to his immense political influence any legal action against Trump has to be conducted differently than it would have been for any other person. I support the DoJ’s effort to hold Trump accountable, no one should be above the law, but I also think that the DoJ is clumsy in handling such a unique figure. I stand by what I wrote last week, the raid on Mar-a-Lago was poorly handled, but I sympathise with how difficult it is to hold Trump accountable, and I think that if the DoJ doesn’t realise that any case involving Trump will inevitably be about politics just as much as it is about law, then it won’t overcome Trump’s anti-establishment narrative.
If you liked this post you can read a previous post about the Mar-a-Lago raid here or the rest of my writings here. It would mean a lot to me if you recommended the blog to a friend or coworker. Come back next Monday for a new post!
I've always been interested in politics, economics, and the interplay between. The blog is a place for me to explore different ideas and concepts relating to economics or politics, be that national or international. The goal for the blog is to make you think; to provide new perspectives.
Written by Karl Johansson
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Cover photo by Carlos Herrero from Pexels, edited by Karl Johansson
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