
After 34 felony counts over hush money payments to sway the 2016 election, Donald Trump is still president. It’s a far cry from the “two-tiered” system he complains that is rigged against him. As Jessica Washington with the Intercept highlights, Trump benefited from injustice, not the other way around.
Money means access to defense lawyers and their resources on retainer — and better treatment from judges. Black defendants face higher conviction rates and longer sentences, even for things we didn’t do. Trump’s wealth and whiteness also enabled his ultimate advantage — the presidency.
The Supreme Court granted Trump immunity from prosecution for “official acts.” And despite making history as the first former, future, or sitting president tried on criminal charges, he was given “unconditional discharge.” His conviction will be on his record, but he won’t do time.
Still, Trump couldn’t have independently exploited the system when the system has already been exploiting us for generations. People like Gloria Williams, a domestic violence survivor who did a historic 51 years of Louisiana prison time. Or Christopher Williams, who spent 25 years on death row for murders he didn’t commit before being killed at a funeral for another formerly incarcerated man in Philadelphia.
While the average person suffers as a victim of violence, the criminal legal system has shown Trump’s rise as evidence of its commitment to injustice based on race, class, and power.