Above the Law?

There is an unmistakable parallel between the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Putin and Trump’s imminent indictment in New York. Trump, of course, has often expressed his admiration for Putin, and tried to emulate his authoritarian tactics after he lost the 2020 election.

Given what happened when Trump incited his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6th, 2021, it is deeply disturbing that he is once again calling for protests if and when he is arrested. If violence occurs, we may once again face a Constitutional crisis here in the U.S.

Meanwhile, it is highly unlikely the ICC will be able to enforce its order to arrest Putin anytime in the foreseeable future, so he will remain an alleged war criminal who remains free to commit more crimes.

So what does all of this mean for the principle that no one is above the law?

We’re about to find out. If the rule of law, domestically and internationally, is to remain viable, court orders have to be enforceable and they have to be enforced.

In this context the ICC warrant is one thing — neither Russia nor the U.S. is a signatory to the agreement establishing its jurisdiction.

And in the U.S., although the legal path forward is clearer, no former President has ever been arrested, so if this happens, it will represent an event without precedent.

Stay tuned.

LINKS:

• Trump Claims His Arrest Is Imminent and Calls for Protests, Echoing Jan. 6 (NYT)

• The Curtain Rises on Trump’s Legal Dramas (New Yorker)

• Trump lawyer ordered to testify in classified documents case in landmark ruling, sources say (ABC)

• Arrest warrant issued for Putin (Reuters)

• ICC arrest warrant for Putin is a stunning statement (CNN)

• Arrest Warrant From Criminal Court Pierces Putin’s Aura of Impunity (NYT)

• Russian attacks continue in wake of Putin arrest warrant (AP)

• Russia and Ukraine extend grain deal despite disagreement (BBC)

• Can China broker peace between Russia and Ukraine? (Reuters)

• Banking Crisis Hangs Over Economy, Rekindling Recession Fear (NYT)

• The fate of Credit Suisse could be decided in the next 24 hours (CNN)

• You Should Be Outraged About Silicon Valley Bank (Atlantic)

• Fear dominates markets despite Wall Street rescue for First Republic (WP)

• Pain In the Tech Industry Is Beginning to Hit the Rest of Us (WSJ)

• Global banking crisis: What just happened? (CNN)

• ChatGPT is remarkably good at answering your questions. Just don’t take the answers too seriously (Salon)

• Post-ChatGPT, we must consider human purpose beyond work (The Hill)

• ‘ChatGPT said I did not exist’: how artists and writers are fighting back against AI (Guardian)

• AI-generated content can now be copyrighted...sometimes (Mashable)

• ‘We are a little bit scared’: OpenAI CEO warns of risks of artificial intelligence (Guardian)

• Audubon faces a backlash after deciding to keep name that evokes a racist enslaver (NPR)

• Florida textbook altered to remove references to Rosa Parks’s race: report (The Hill)

• Publisher Deletes Race From Rosa Parks Story for Florida (Rolling Stone)

• The painful legacy of U.S. Indian boarding schools. (Reveal)

• Covid changed parents’ view of schools — and ignited the education culture wars (WP)

• The tiny Philippine island on the frontline of the US-China battle for supremacy (Guardian)

• Daring and dangerous: The Army’s ‘thunder run’ to oust Saddam Hussein in 2003 (WP)

• Scientists identify heat wave at bottom of ocean (Phys.Org)

• Dual-Task Walking Performance May Be an Early Indicator of Accelerated Brain Aging (Neuroscience News)

• Senior care is crushingly expensive. Boomers aren’t ready. (WP)

• New Pub To Cater To Needs Of Irish (The Onion)