The Trial of Donald Trump: Preventing Bias in the Prosecuting of the Establishment of Power During a Politically Motivated Campaign

It’s harder for Mr. Trump to avoid the actual untelevised reality of who he is in New York City, where he grew up the son of a wealthy Queens real estate developer and used his inheritance less to grow the family business than to grow his personal brand. His business dealings were murky, sometimes mob-connected and riddled with high-profile failures and bankruptcies. Real estate investors did not see him as a peer. Eventually, banks began to refuse to lend him money. He was skewered by various New York publications, most notably by Spy magazine.

For many of his admirers, Mr. Trump represents a certain kind of rich person whose wealth and success are emblematic of the American dream, and on the campaign trail, that was the story he told. That illusion was reinforced by “The Apprentice,” a heavily scripted pseudo-competition in which Mr. Trump pretended to fire people, something that in real life he generally has others do. He likes authority, but doesn’t do the hard work of leadership and prefers outsourcing the dirty work to underlings and lawyers.

But he had a taste for being in the public eye — constantly. It was common for gossip columnists at his preferred tabloids to get tips from Mr. Trump about himself. If you want to get attention without having to pay for public relations consultants, you could run for public office. Mr. Trump had an interest in the presidency before he was elected in 2016 and took steps towards that in 2000 and 2012 before eventually becoming president.

In the first two days of this trial, Mr. Trump has offered a defense of himself to the public, in brief appearances between his courtroom table and the television cameras: He portrays himself as a victim of an unfair and politically motivated prosecution. That defense is built on lies. Mr. Trump is not a victim. He is fortunate that he lives in a country which guarantees a presumption of innocence and robust rights for defendants.

A guiding principle of the American experiment is that the law applies to everyone equally. At the same time, prosecuting any current or former elected official requires vigilance against bias and awareness about how the case will be perceived by the public. If there is a risk that judges or prosecutors will use criminal cases to favor one candidate over another, the courts and prosecutors have an obligation to set strict standards of fairness.