Trump to be Sentenced: A Symbolic Reaction to a Systemic Failure
Trump will not face prison time, but remains a convicted felon. How the justice system failed the American people
President-elect Donald Trump is set to be sentenced on January 10th, Judge Merchan announced earlier this year. 1 The announcement is the final result of the historic 34-count conviction of a president, and it is yet another example of how fundamentally weak the justice system is. That same justice not only failed to hold Donald Trump accountable for his crimes, both alleged and convicted, but did so due to his previous position in the White House. While Mr. Trump was unable to get his conviction overturned, and he is appealing that decision, the fact remains that the justice system failed to prosecute the case against Trump quickly and efficiently. 2 3
Benefits Based in Power
The reality remains that Trump benefited extensively from the Justice Department’s deference. From the highest court in the land deciding that Trump is entitled to immunity not enumerated in the Constitution to Judge Aileen Cannon deciding, seemingly without basis, that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional, the justice system dragged its feet in prosecuting some of the most important cases involving Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. 4 5
It is worth noting that the classified documents case that Judge Aileen Cannon threw out was largely considered the strongest of the four cases against Trump.6 By arguing that the Special Counsel had no authority, Judge Cannon actively undermined and ignored long-standing precedent to shield Trump from the greatest legal threat he faced. 7 No other citizen could delay legal proceedings against them in the same way that Trump could, and those benefits only existed because he held power in the White House and sought to hold onto that power again.
Nobody like Trump
Yes, the cases against Trump were unprecedented for a former president, but so were the allegations of extensive criminality against him. In the New York case, Donald Trump was confirmed to have committed a crime, and despite having three years since he left office in 2021 and a year since his first indictment in 2023 to put him on trial, the justice system failed to act. 8 9 This failure undermines the stability and trust the American people can have in the justice system.
Many of his right-wing supporters will dismiss the importance of these cases as corruption or politically motivated. Such a perspective can only exist in a party that views itself as perpetually in a position of anti-establishment fighting while simultaneously supporting the same billionaire for three consecutive presidential elections. To say that the GOP perspective on Trump’s cases is worth less than nothing is an understatement.
Whether or not the justice system sought to appease this nonsensical perspective remains unclear. What is crystal clear is that the justice system’s failure to try and convict Donald Trump in a timely manner means that a known criminal will be able to hold the levers of power for the first time in American history, remaking the justice system he despises in his desired image. If there is any justice in the world, it lies in the fact that Trump can only hold power for four years, but given how the legal system accommodated him on everything else, nobody should be surprised if he tries to push the envelope on that, too.
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Griffin Eckstein, “Judge Orders Trump to Be Sentenced in Hush Money Case on Jan. 10,” Salon, January 3, 2025, https://www.salon.com/2025/01/03/orders-to-be-sentenced-in-hush-money-case-on-jan-10/.
Ben Protess and Kate Christobek, “Judge Upholds Trump’s Sentencing in Hush Money Case but Signals No Jail Time,” The New York Times, January 3, 2025, sec. New York, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/03/nyregion/trump-sentencing-hush-money-case-ny.html.
Jeremy Herb and Paula Reid, “Trump Asks Court to Delay Friday’s Sentencing for His Hush Money Conviction | CNN Politics,” CNN, January 6, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/06/politics/trump-delay-hush-money-sentencing/index.html.
Adam Liptak, “Supreme Court Says Trump Has Some Immunity in Election Case – The New York Times,” The New York Times, July 1, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/01/us/politics/supreme-court-trump-immunity.html.
Devan Cole, et al., “Judge Dismisses Classified Documents Case against Donald Trump | CNN Politics,” CNN, July 15, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/15/politics/classified-documents-case-trump-dismissed-aileen-cannon/index.html.
Shirin Ali, “This May Be the Strongest Legal Case Against Trump,” Slate, July 26, 2023, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/07/trump-indictment-legal-case-which-is-strongest.html.
Melissa Quinn and Graham Kates, “Trump’s 4 Indictments in Detail: A Quick-Look Guide to Charges, Trial Dates and Key Players for Each Case – CBS News,” September 13, 2024, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-indictments-details-guide-charges-trial-dates-people-case/.
Hugo Lowell and Jewel Wicker, “Donald Trump and Allies Indicted in Georgia over Bid to Reverse 2020 Election Loss,” The Guardian, August 15, 2023, sec. US news, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/14/donald-trump-georgia-indictment-2020-election.
Devlin Barrett et al., “Indictment Says Trump Lied, Schemed to Keep Highly Classified Secrets,” Washington Post, June 9, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/09/trump-tape-classified-documents/.
