The Rule of Law in the US Just Took Its Last Breath
With the raid on John Bolton's home, and the new investigations against top Democrats, we should be prepared for a new two-tiered system of laws. Rules for everyone else - but not for Donald Trump.
Imagine the rule of law as a stand-in for a sheriff in a vintage Western film. Donald J. Trump is the villain.
Trump lifts and points a pistol in the cliffhanger scene. The first shot cracks like thunder, a bullet punching into the sheriff’s chest, snapping him back a step. The second shot jerks the sheriff to the side, his arms flailing as he fights to stay standing. The third bullet is sharp and final, causing the sheriff’s frame to buckle, shoulders lurching forward as he collapses with a thud. The film’s closing frame shows a smoking revolver hanging in the air like a sentence carried out.
The many bystanders – like most Americans today – stand stupefied and frozen in stunned silence.
The rule of law has been gasping for air since Trump first took office in 2017. But the FBI’s unannounced execution of a search warrant on Friday at the home of John Bolton, Trump’s outspoken third national security adviser during his first term, could mark its official last breath.
From this day forward, we can expect a two-tiered system of laws in the United States.