If Trump goes to prison, it will be because of our strong American justice system – not partisan politics

Every cable news channel carried the same image as Fulton County Jail Inmate No. P01135809 returned with his Secret Service detail to his private plane.

Watching the SUVs drive down a cleared highway reminded me of the media coverage of police chasing O.J. Simpson in his white Ford Bronco. Donald Trump’s booking on criminal charges for the fourth time is certainly newsworthy, but the greater issue is the threat that these criminal cases pose for the rule of law in America.

I’ve worked in and around Republican politics for much of my career. Feel free to question my professional choices. I certainly do some days. Over the years, I’ve interacted with countless elected officials. Many of them are “polarizing.” Trump is the only politician I’ve ever witnessed who successfully crafts alternate realities for friends and foes alike.

On the one extreme are Trump acolytes with unyielding loyalty. It’s not just the well-known sycophants like former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Many of my friends, family, and neighbors view Trump as an almost messianic figure who alone can save a nation in distress. I’ve watched them, for years, contort themselves to accommodate Trump’s perspectives.

The other fringe teems with countless Americans who view Trump as an existential threat to our nation. He’s not simply a political opponent; he’s evil incarnate. They’re giddy to watch Trump face 91 felony charges, and many have handed down guilty verdicts before Trump’s defense makes a single argument. Again, I count many never-Trump Republicans and Democratic detractors of the former president among my closest friends and family.

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We are a ‘government of laws, not of men’

I’ve watched countless relationships break down simply over perspectives on Trump.

I understand why we all just can’t get along. We’re free people who have diametrically opposing views on one man. Our social media echo chambers simply affirm what we already believe, and we can’t imagine someone credibly holding the opposing view. Either Trump is a victim of political persecution, or the law finally caught up to a narcissist who thought the rules didn’t apply to him.

We’re blurring the line between the political arena and our criminal justice system, and the consequences are potentially devastating.

John Adams famously envisioned an American “government of laws, not of men.”

Men are concerned with power and self-interest. The law, formed through due political process, checks such ambition and subjugates the powerful to the will of the people. From one political extreme to the other, we must share the common ground of the rule of law for American society to hold.

It’s foolish to suggest that Trump or any other politician can’t be prosecuted while running for office. Were that the case, criminal defendants across America would declare their candidacy simply to put off prosecution. I have yet to meet an American who seriously believes the political class should receive a more relaxed standard of justice.

That means Trump is fair game for scrutiny, but how do we know whether these criminal cases are legitimate or mere political targeting?

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Partisan justice is not justice

We’ve all heard of cases where prosecutors have indeed overstepped their bounds. Trump and his supporters have every right to criticize the indictments and the prosecutors behind them. In fact, that’s a critical component of Trump’s defense.

His attorneys will necessarily attempt to poke holes in the prosecution to create the reasonable doubt necessary to exonerate Trump or any other criminal defendant.

If these are thin cases with weak arguments motivated solely by politics, a competent defense will show them as such. Prosecutors will be embarrassed out of the courtroom.

What about bias from judges and juries? Our criminal justice system has layers to protect against that on both the federal and state level. From jury selection to the appellate process, we’ve built in critical procedural safeguards.

Get over the idea that partisan defendants will only receive justice if they’re tried in a politically aligned state by a judge who shares their political leanings or who was appointed by someone who does. That’s not how our system works, and we should be thankful. Partisan justice is no justice at all.

If a judge allows his or her personal bias to impermissibly impact a trial or ruling on the issues of a case, defendants will undoubtedly raise the issue on appeal.

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Let juries sort out fact from fiction

Thankfully, the political arena and criminal justice system operate in entirely different ways. In politics, guilt is a hint, allegation, or mere belief. Guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

We have sufficient checks in our justice system for Trump to receive fair trials in New York, Florida, Washington, and now Georgia.It’s horrible for our nation to reach this point, but the rule of law must hold sway even over a former president. Rejecting the legal process undeniably creates a separate tier of justice which happens to be exactly what Trump’s supporters are railing against.

Trump and his co-defendants are presumed innocent. Even his political opponents must respect that principle of American law. Frankly, no American should relish the possibility of a former president becoming a convicted felon. We should trust that juries of Americans can sort legal fact from political fiction.

Yes, it's difficult to have a candidate run for our highest office while undergoing multiple trials. The political process must go on even as the wheels of justice begin to turn. It's a fitting reminder that Americans freely select our candidates even as we reaffirm that none of them are above our laws.

USA TODAY Network Tennessee Columnist Cameron Smith is a Memphis-born, Brentwood-raised recovering political attorney. He and his wife Justine are raising three boys in Nolensville, Tennessee. Direct outrage or agreement to smith.david.cameron@gmail.com or @DCameronSmith on X, formerly know as Twitter. Agree or disagree? Send a letter to the editor to letters@tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Trump will go to prison because of American justice, not politics