The special counsel investigating Donald Trump’s alleged theft of classified documents seems to be getting very close to an indictment decision. Jack Smith apparently has a tape recording in which Trump appears to brag about having just such a document related to Iran. This report has no doubt whet the appetite of progressives who hope someday to see the ex-president behind bars, if not for this misdeed then perhaps as a result of alleged hush money payments and alleged violations of New York law, alleged election tampering in Georgia or his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. (Trump has denied mishandling classified documents, denied breaking any laws regarding Stormy Daniels, denied tampering with election results in Georgia and denied inciting the Capitol riot.)
This report has no doubt whet the appetite of progressives who hope someday to see the ex-president behind bars.
In the New York case alone, Vanity Fair reports Trump could theoretically face a massive jail sentence. “While a conviction is not a sure thing,” writes Bess Levin “and a sympathetic judge could go for the lower end of the sentencing guidelines, Trump, who is 76 years old, would obviously die in prison if he were to get the maximum time behind bars.” According to MSNBC columnist and former U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade, prison time may be unlikely in Manhattan. But the Justice Department and Georgia cases could carry even heftier sentences.
It’s all hypothetical at this point. But some of the rhetoric we’re seeing from progressives is striking. And expectations do not necessarily match reality. Sentencing criminals to substantial prison time or to die in prison is usually not high on the agenda of progressives. Yet some seem prepared to carve out an exception for Trump. Even more problematic is the assumption that there can be no accountability without prison time, no matter the crime, especially among those who have long advocated for alternatives to incarceration.
I certainly…
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