A Trump Sandwich*

*Editor’s note: On March 4, 2022, Russia enacted a law that criminalizes public opposition to, or independent news reporting about, the war in Ukraine. The law makes it a crime to call the war a “war” rather than a “special military operation” on social media or in a news article or broadcast. The law is understood to penalize any language that “discredits” Russia’s use of its military in Ukraine, calls for sanctions or protests Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It punishes anyone found to spread “false information” about the invasion with up to 15 years in prison.

Political scientist Alexander Vedrussov discusses how the Biden administration is making a mockery of the U.S. justice system.

“A grand jury could indict a ham sandwich,” was how Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals Sol Wachtler ironically described the U.S. justice system in the late 1980s. Since then, the courts have only taken a turn for the worse. Nevertheless, there is probably no bottom that “New York-style justice” hasn’t reached in its effort to get rid of the 45th president of the United States.

Show us Donald Trump, and we’ll find you a crime. The former president is facing 88 felony charges across four indictments — this level of legal and political pressure on a front-runner in the presidential race is unprecedented. The intense rivalry and contradiction among the political elite have led to a situation where opposing groups are ready to throw the U.S. justice system into disarray for political gain. You could liken the U.S. justice system to “kangaroo courts” in banana republics. However, such comparisons would probably be unfair to those countries and the kangaroos, who would probably be more reasonable and impartial in such a situation.

Currently, the former U.S. president is facing up to 136 years in prison for falsifying business records. Specifically, he stands convicted of concealing payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to prevent her from publicly discussing their relationship in 2016. The Democrats are openly justifying this charade, citing equality of all before the law. Of course, it is understandable that even a former president can be held accountable for his crimes. However, not crimes like the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, the murder of half a million Iraqi children, or the tons of depleted uranium dropped on the people of Yugoslavia. Instead, accountability before the law only applies to truly heinous crimes like overvaluing assets when securing a bank loan or being overly attracted to women.

For example, take any American president since 1945 — they’re all as crooked as a dog’s hind legs. But the one who’s being prosecuted is a president who has not started any new wars, initiated a withdrawal from Afghanistan, and even tried, though unsuccessfully, to reduce the U.S. military presence in Syria. Coincidence? I think not.

“If they can do that to me, then they can do it to anyone,” is how Trump is positioning himself in the face of mounting criminal and political pressure as the presidential election nears. In many ways, he's right. For example, what unites Trump supporters convicted of participating in an “insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021, and the leaders of the African People's Socialist Party, indicted for the heinous crime of “conspiring to sow discord and spread pro-Russian propaganda”? Both failed to conform to a rapidly changing political climate that is becoming increasingly less tolerant of any dissent, left or right.

In this climate, you can wreak havoc over gender-neutral bathrooms, critical race theory, and even make fun of Joe Biden — these are the pillars of acceptable political discourse. However, there seems to be a taboo around discussing more serious issues, such as ending ongoing conflicts, reducing military spending and reforming the intelligence services. The same applies to trying to understand what's happening in America from a class perspective.

With respect to the class perspective, it's striking that Trump won the 2016 election and remains one of the leading presidential candidates despite facing numerous challenges from the Department of Justice. This brings to mind a clear idea: Big American corporations are strongly interested in reelecting a president whose key accomplishment was a significant tax cut for the wealthy. After all, Trump was the one who imposed higher taxes on the poorest half of the country compared to the 400 wealthiest U.S. families. Moreover, despite his rhetoric, Trump's pledge to drain the “Washington swamp” was just a campaign slogan.

That is why the American establishment would never allow the left-wing populist Bernie Sanders to become president. However, as Trump’s presidential term showed, it is possible to keep right-wing populism in check. Therefore, if it were not for the sharply aggravated polarization within the ruling class against the background of the de-Americanization of international politics, another four years of Trump might not have looked like a global catastrophe, at least if we consider the situation rationally.

However, as the hysteria in Washington grows, it becomes increasingly clear to everyone that Americans do not know what they are doing. This also demonstrates the potential consequences of America’s irresponsible actions both at home and abroad. Indeed, a strong and stable political system would have been able to handle Trump's second term without damaging the judicial branch's authority solely for immediate political gain. However, Washington today lacks strength and stability. Instead, it seems to possess an endless supply of stupidity, driving the Biden administration to undermine the international and American justice systems simultaneously.

Forget about basic freedoms and institutions of justice — they have all been sacrificed for short-term political gain. After all, there is an election campaign today, an election tomorrow, and the day after that — who knows what. As Russians, we might be happy about the chaos in the U.S., hoping that political infighting will distract Americans from intervening in other countries. However, there is little reason to rejoice, as the internal political tension in Washington has not yet weakened its destructive foreign policy.

The world is approaching a time when preelection polling in the American "rust belt" swing states will have little effect on the global situation. Nevertheless, for now, the entire planet seems to be influenced by the U.S. presidential election. Ultimately, however, the election will only decide who will impose his outdated notions of American exceptionalism on the whole world: 77-year-old Trump or 81-year-old Joe Biden.

The author is the head of the StrategPRO think tank. The author’s opinion may not reflect the views of Izvestia’s editorial board.