Being elected president truly is a get-out-of-jail-free card for Donald Trump, but the greater concern should be for what this means for the rule of law in this country. On Friday, New York Judge Juan M. Merchan upheld Trump’s 34 felony convictions for falsifying business records. Merchan set sentencing for Friday, Jan. 10, and indicated that he would likely take the very unusual step of unconditionally discharging Trump’s sentence. In plain English, this means that Trump will face absolutely no legal consequences from his convictions — not prison, not probation, not a fine.
Trump’s lawyers are trying to halt even the signaled unconditional discharge while they appeal. But Merchan realistically has no alternative.
A prison sentence is incompatible with Trump serving as president of the United States. The appellate courts surely would overturn a prison sentence, holding that, under the Constitution, being elected president preempts the ability of a state to interfere with that by imprisonment. Trump could not perform his constitutional duties as president from a prison cell in New York. Nor would it make sense for a state judge to put the president on probation and supervise his actions with the threat of revocation and imprisonment.
Trump faced up to four years in prison for the crimes for which he was convicted in New York. A study by the New York Times found that of 30 convictions for falsifying business records in Manhattan in the last decade, no other defendant received an unconditional discharge. All but five received sentences such as jail and prison time, probation and fines; some who entered into plea deals received sentences involving specific conditions, such as paying restitution or completing community service.
Indeed, Michael Cohen, the person who arranged the payment of the hush money that led to Trump’s conviction, was sentenced to three years in prison and served 13 months in custody. Trump, who the jury found orchestrated and was responsible for authorizing the payments, will never serve a day in jail.
But this is only a part of Trump’s get-out-of-jail-free benefit. He was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for his acts in attempting to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election. Had Trump lost in November, he would have been tried and faced a prison sentence if convicted. But the charges were dismissed after Trump was elected because of a Justice Department rule that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted.
This also was the basis for dismissing the indictment against Trump in federal court in Florida for improper handling of classified documents. The charges against him were serious: evidence tampering, willfully retaining national defense information and lying to investigators. If convicted, these charges also would likely have led to a significant prison sentence.
And it must be remembered that last summer the Supreme Court, in Trump vs. United States, ruled that Trump could not be prosecuted for anything he did using official powers granted to the president by the Constitution or a statute. This led to the dropping of some charges against him. The court’s decision provides protection for any official acts taken during his first term, and he assumes office knowing he faces little possibility of prosecution for any illegal acts in the next four years.
It is impossible to reconcile all of this with the most basic notion of the rule of law, the core of which is that no one, not even a president or former president, is above the law. It is captured in the idea, uttered from the beginning of American history, that we are “a country of laws, not people.” The last thing that the framers of the Constitution wanted was to create a president who could not be held accountable for breaking the law.
Trump still faces civil liability for some of his past conduct. Last week, a federal court of appeals upheld a $5-million verdict against Trump for his sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll. Another jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million against Trump for defamation. That verdict is now on appeal. Also, Trump is appealing a $355-million verdict for business fraud against him and his company.
But none of these civil suits involve the crimes he committed or was charged with. Nor does there seem any way to ever punish him for those felonies.
The assault on the rule of law is also reflected in Trump’s promise to pardon those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol. So far, more than 1,500 individuals have been charged with federal crimes in connection to Jan. 6. Most of those were misdemeanors, such as trespassing, but hundreds have pleaded guilty to or were convicted of assault or other felonies. The conduct of all was illegal and unconscionable in a democracy, yet they could be absolved of criminal liability.
It is perhaps too easy to ignore that this situation is unique in our republic’s history. Never before has a convicted felon become president. Never before has election as president meant the dismissal of criminal charges. It flouts the very essence of the rule of law that election as president could be a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Erwin Chemerinsky, a contributing writer to Opinion, is dean of the UC Berkeley Law School.
