No crime is too vile, no abuse too blatant, that Donald Trump—mobster-in-chief—can’t find a soft spot for the perpetrators.
Consider just a few recent examples:
Trump has vowed to fully pardon Todd and Julie Chrisley, reality TV stars convicted of defrauding banks of more than $30 million and evading taxes to fund their lavish lifestyle.
He granted a presidential pardon to Paul Walczak, a former nursing home executive who pleaded guilty to tax crimes—just after Walczak’s mother donated $1 million to Trump.
He pardoned Scott Jenkins, a longtime supporter and former Virginia sheriff convicted of conspiracy, fraud, and seven counts of bribery.
These aren’t isolated cases—they’re part of a coordinated effort to delegitimize the judicial system, especially when it dares to hold him or his allies accountable. Authoritarian regimes around the world use the same playbook: demonize judges, dismantle institutions, and rehabilitate history’s villains.
All is not lost—we must fight back to save our rule of law
In 2023, when Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition in Israel tried to undermine judicial independence, civil society fought back. People across political, religious, and economic lines filled the streets. It was nonpartisan, unified, and relentless—a true defense of democracy.
We must do the same.
We must draw our line in the sand.
And we must do it together.
Only a broad, mobilized, and united civil society can stop this authoritarian power grab.
