Trump’s growing gang of untouchables 

One of a president’s principal responsibilities under the U.S. Constitution is to ensure that the nation’s laws are “faithfully executed.” The Constitution also requires that laws be applied equally to all citizens. And in a tradition that goes back to the Magna Carta, our democracy operates on the assumption that no one — not even the president — is above the law. 

That changed in July 2024, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that presidents cannot be prosecuted for breaking the law while performing their “core” duties. In addition, a Justice Department rule shields presidents from prosecution while they are in office. 

Presidents can still be impeached and removed by Congress. The vice president can also orchestrate a president’s removal if a majority of the Cabinet declares him unable to fulfill his duties. That process, authorized by Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, has never been used. 

These sanctions have rarely been necessary, because most presidents have accepted moral and ethical accountability, even when their conduct is not strictly prohibited by law. President Trump is different. He is loath to accept any limits on his behavior, and the current Congress has refused to impose any. 

Trump is not intimidated by his unprecedented pair of impeachments, nor by the 88 criminal charges filed against him between his terms in office, nor by his conviction on 34 criminal charges. He has carried his contempt for the law into the nation’s highest office. 

In his second term, Trump is doing more than ignoring legal and ethical constraints on his behavior. He is helping his allies escape legal........

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