It's Official - The Next U.S. President Is A CRIMINAL!

 

Donald Trump was sentenced on Friday for his conviction on 34 counts in a New York court. He will not be jailed or fined, but the sentencing makes it official - Donald Trump is a criminal!

Here, from The Guardian, is what Judge Juan Merchan said in sentencing Trump:

“The protections afforded the office of the president are not a mitigating factor. They do not reduce the seriousness of the crime or justify its commission in any way.”

“The protections are, however, a legal mandate which, pursuant to the rule of law, this court must respect and follow. However, despite the extraordinary breadth of those protections, one power they do not provide is the power to erase a jury verdict.”

"It was the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that once again you should have the benefits of those protections which include, among other things, the supremacy clause and presidential immunity. It is through that lens and that reality that this court must determine a lawful sentence."

"This court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of judgment of conviction, without encroaching on the highest office of the land is unconditional discharge."

"Therefore, at this time, I impose that sentence to cover all 34 counts."

“Sir, I wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office.”

Madoff Gets Exorbitant Sentence

Yesterday, Bernie Madoff was sentenced for running a huge Ponzi scheme and stealing billions of dollars from over a thousand victims. His attorney asked for a 12 year sentence for the 71 year-old criminal. The prosecutor asked for 150 years, saying the number of victims and the amount he stole justifies that sentence. The judge agreed with the prosecutor and gave Madoff 150 years in prison.

I'm having a bit of a problem believing the sentence was justified. Being sentenced to 150 years is the same as being sentenced to life without parole -- for theft, a non-violent crime. Many murderers, rapists, kidnappers and child molesters aren't sentenced that harshly.

The moral of this story is that stealing from the rich is obviously the most serious crime a person can commit in our capitalist country. If he had stolen from poor or working class folks, even hundreds of them, he would have been sentenced to 10 or 12 years and been eligible for parole after serving half of it (and probably gotten that parole).

Personally, I believe the person who steals from poor or working folks commits the greater crime. That criminal is probably stealing money that is needed for food, rent, car payment or a child's medical care or education.

Madoff refused to take less than a million dollars, and these fools begged him to take their money. They were greedy. They believed his stories of huge returns, and took their money out of safe investments so they could make a killing. This wasn't their food or rent money. It was investment capital, and none of them will go hungry without it.

I've always believed the old adage that says if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. These people knew that adage, but they still let their greed get the best of them. And now they're mad. They're mad because he made them look like the fools they really are.

I'm not saying Madoff shouldn't be punished. He's a criminal and should pay the price for that. But is 150 years fair? Should his non-violent crime be punished more harshly than the sentences received by violent criminals?

Lady Justice is supposed to be blind, but this case shows us that is not true. In America, it is far more serious to commit a crime against the rich, than to commit a crime against working folks.