Whether or not the indictments were the appropriate prosecutorial decision, both Trump and Hunter Biden were found guilty of their crimes.
Thanks to the pardon, Hunter Biden will face no consequences. And as Trump prepares to return to the White House, it is increasingly likely that the nature of his high office will protect him from a conviction. This has already led to the dropping of federal cases against him.
The public perception of double standards for the rich and powerful may not be so farfetched.
American faith in the Department of Criminal Justice is being eroded, said John Geer, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University and director of its Unity and American Democracy project. However, he adds that claims of selective prosecution are “a pebble in a very large lake” compared to the wider issues.
“Justice has never been blind,” he said. “However, there were periods of time when it was more equal than others.”
Recent events, he said, reflect growing public distrust of political institutions across the board, including Congress, the president and the Supreme Court.
Trump has capitalized on this distrust of institutions by railing against the government “swamp” and promising sweeping reforms that his supporters believe more established politicians are unable or unwilling to deliver.
Taken in context, Trump’s ongoing complaints about political persecution and Biden’s recent acceptance of similar claims are reflective of a broader crisis in American faith in government — a crisis that both politicians have taken advantage of when circumstances put them in uncomfortable legal territory.
Biden’s use of Trump’s rhetoric to explain his use of presidential authority to protect his son can only help the new president find more support to deliver a devastating blow to the institutions Biden has long served and vowed to protect.
