Law and Order

 

Motherhood and Apple Pie; Hot Dogs and the Fourth of July. As every politician knows, it’s best to identify with ideals that provide common ground for your audience. Anything patriotic or truly American will be a good start as well as anything that speaks of good versus evil.

Law and order is a topic on which everyone agrees and, like religious piety, it is often an attitude of “holier than thou.” Since everyone supports law and order, it is merely a matter of degree. In American politics, Republicans have historically positioned themselves as the “law and order” party, a theme that emphasizes strong enforcement and harsher penalties to combat crime.

In the 1960s it was Richard (I am not a crook) Nixon and Ronald Reagan who frequently tried to portray themselves as being “tough on crime.” Within this claim is strong support for law enforcement, mandatory sentencing, and capital punishment. Not to be outdone, Donald Trump campaigned for a federal crackdown on crime and declared that it is a “passion for me.”

As a “law and order” candidate, Donald Trump’s 34 guilty verdicts and felony convictions in June of 2024, seem to undermine his claim of “law and order” reverence. After his convictions, many within the party attacked the integrity of the judicial system. Republicans stood united behind their convicted felon and, during the 2024 Republican National Convention, the party welcomed convicted felons as guests. Others within the party, like Texas Rep. Chip Roy, openly suggested ignoring the Supreme Court’s ruling on federal authority over the U.S.-Mexico border.

Republicans claim to champion the police, but when they are the targets of police scrutiny, they have advocated for cuts to those agencies. The DOJ and FBI were frequent targets until Trump won the presidency and fired his opposition within those offices and replaced them with “loyal Trumpians.” Many of those “guilty” of even investigating him have themselves been targets of investigations and charges.

Another area which is at odds with Trump’s tough on crime stance is his “pardon pen.” He has selectively pardoned criminals who support him politically and financially. There was Ross Ulbricht serving a life sentence for massive ($200M) drug distribution, fraud, computer hacking, stolen passports, and money laundering pardoned by Trump. It didn’t hurt that Mr. Ulbricht was a bitcoin promoter and his family worked to raise $100M for the Trump campaign.

He just pardoned former Representative George Santos, who was serving a seven-year sentence for wire fraud and identity theft. Speaker Mike Johnson defended the action saying, “We believe in redemption,” (as long as you are Republican). Republicans also believe that Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, should be excused for his “indiscretion.” It seems he took $50,000 in a paper bag from FBI agents in an attempt to secure border contracts if Trump won the election.

Then there was Rod Blagojevich convicted of wire fraud, extortion, and bribe solicitation. Although he was the Democratic governor of Illinois, he was a contestant on Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice and supported Trump’s 2 presidential campaigns. He got a full pardon.

Then there was Jean Pinkard a Nurse Practitioner who was part of a $41M opioid distribution scheme also pardoned. Larry Hoover had a life sentence for narcotics conspiracy as part of a criminal enterprise and he was pardoned. Trump’s crackdown on drugs seems to be very selective.

There was Trevor Milton convicted of securities fraud and wire fraud who got pardoned after he contributed $1.8M to the Trump campaign. I’m guessing white collar crimes are just too close to home for comfort and cash is always a way to Trump’s heart.

Often overlooked in all of these pardons is the loss of revenue for taxpayers. On this list are Jason Galanis who owed $37M, Ozy Media, Inc., owed $36M, and Carlos Watson who owed $36M. All were involved in securities fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. There was also Paul Walczak who owed the government $4M and now he’s off the hook. Imaad Shah Zuberi was another campaign donor who was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay $15M in restitution and $1.75 in fines that Trump pardoned.

For someone in a party that claims to support the police departments of our nation, Trump has heaped insult after injury on that concept. Those who attacked, killed and maimed police during the Trump inspired insurrection of our government on January 6th were all pardoned. Then, how about Michele Ann Fiore, aka “Lady Trump.” She was a Nevada Republican politician convicted of stealing $70K meant for a memorial for fallen police officers who stole the money and spent it on cosmetic surgery.

On the flip side of all of this for Trump he has supported police in a few areas. He has encouraged police brutality even suggesting that they no longer protect a suspects head when shoving them into a patrol car. He has ended police oversight so police won’t have to worry about federal investigation of abuses. Also in his “plus” column is the expansion of surveillance technology by police that may infringe on current personal privacy regulations.

If all of the above weren’t enough to confuse those who thought the Republican Party still stands in support of law enforcement and our legal system are his proposed budgetary cuts. He would cut billions from public safety programs including the FBI budget. He has frozen and cut (some say illegally) COPS grants that hurt this Community Oriented Policing Services initiative. In all of this Trump has been politically selective as he has defunded some agencies he has added to the coffers of his new “shadow federal police force.”

Just as Trump was quick to deploy federal law enforcement to confront protestors in Los Angeles in 2025, he was slow (read never) to assist overwhelmed police during the January 6th attacks on the Capitol. He then tried to blame former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for this inaction even though she had no direct control. Trump as Commander in Chief had the authority but anyone else would need to navigate layers of bureaucracy.

In summary, the Republican Party and its leader, Donald J. Trump, have set a double standard in both rhetoric and policy when it comes to law enforcement and the rule of law. His “tough on crime” and “law and order” stance is highly selective. He despises law enforcement when his allies (Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Pompeo, Rick Gates, George Papadopoulos, Carter Page, and Roger Stone) come under scrutiny. Those are all deemed “witch hunts.”

But Trump supports the prosecution of his enemies (John Bolton, James Comey, Leticia James, Lisa Cook, Chris Christie, Adam Schiff, Jack Smith, Miles Taylor, Christopher Krebs) and has weaponized the DOJ and the FBI to attack them. Justice in this regard is a one-way street. Redemption is, after all, rooted in the Latin word “redimere” which means to buy back.

While hypocrisy and contradictory rhetoric are mainstays in American politics, the Trump administration has taken us to new heights. Previous presidents have seen hypocrisy at the fourth-floor level of the White House, but President Trump has taken hypocrisy to Alpha Centauri levels. For the record, that’s about 4.37 light years from Earth.