T.J. CrowderExplain it to me like I'm five: Why does being a former and incipient President of the United States give you a complete pass on punishment for state felonies unrelated to the office? A suspension of punishment while in office, fine, but an unconditional discharge? I didn't understand this in the lead-up when Merchan signalled there would be no punishment, and I'm none the wiser now.
This article makes some useful points: https://joycevance.substack.com/p/sentenced Though I take issue with the argument that SCOTUS only let things proceed because the judge said he wouldn't be imposing a penalty. By that logic, if the judge had been planning something (suspended for four years), SCOTUS would have ruled differently -- which is clearly a different law for him than for everyone else. And that's just plain wrong.
