What the appeals court ruling on Trump’s immunity claim says about race, class, and crime

When a federal appeals court unanimously rejected Donald Trump’s claim of presidential immunity in connection with his efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election, the decision wasn’t just about him.

It was about all of us.

In a 57-page opinion, the three-judge panel delivered a long-overdue response to what I believe to be the unhinged legal theories posited by Trump and his team.

In doing so, the court eviscerated Trump’s lawyers’ claim that a former president is immune from prosecution for any act carried out while in office, up to and including the assassination of a political opponent. The judges rightly viewed such arguments as dangerous and unconstitutional and said as much in their opinion.

“We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a President has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power — the recognition and implementation of election results,” the judges wrote. “Nor can we sanction his apparent contention that the Executive has carte blanche to violate the rights of individual citizens to vote and to have their votes count. At bottom, former President Trump’s stance would collapse our system of separated powers by placing the President beyond the reach of all three Branches.”

In summary, the court confirmed that Trump, like any American citizen, is bound by the laws he swore to uphold as president. Their reasoning was solid, their framing was sure, and their explanation clearly reiterated what we’ve always heard about American democracy: that no one is above the law.

Despite the eloquence of their opinion, Trump has shown us a different truth by slowing the wheels of justice through a seemingly endless series of motions and appeals. He has shown us that while no one is completely above the law, the rich and powerful can sometimes bend American justice to their will.

That’s not the case for those who tend to languish on the lower rungs of society, including Black people. Even for those who are not facing four criminal indictments and 91 felony charges, like Trump, the outcomes can be far different than what we’ve seen for the former president.

According to the Sentencing Project, which advocates for changes in the justice system, Black people are more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts.

Once arrested, they’re more likely to be charged.

Once charged, they’re more likely to be convicted, and once convicted, they’re more likely to get a longer sentence.

However, the difference in treatment in the criminal justice system is about more than race. It’s also about class.

The difference in treatment in the criminal justice system is about more than race. It’s also about class.

For proof, look no further than the hundreds of people — most of them white — who have been sentenced in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. According to the U.S. Justice Department, “approximately 749 federal defendants have had their cases adjudicated and received sentences for their criminal activity on Jan. 6. Approximately 467 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration.”

Meanwhile, Trump, the rich and powerful man who is accused of gathering the mob and sending them to attack the Capitol, is traveling the country in a run for the presidency, collecting millions in donations that he has used for his criminal defense.

At bottom, that kind of money is what fuels the difference in outcomes where criminal charges are concerned. Race plays a role, as well. But if, like Trump, you’re rich, white, and politically powerful, you can make ridiculous arguments and continue to appeal when you lose.

That is what Trump will likely do after his latest defeat, because he knows, just like the rest of us, that money and power change outcomes for the better. Racism and poverty make them worse.

So, while I wish this issue was about one man, it’s not. The criminal justice system works for those who have money and against those who don’t.

Because, as lawyers often say when their clients are out of earshot, “You’re innocent until you’re proven broke.”