Mike Vanderboegh, may his soul be at rest, often remarked that the Roman Empire fell, among other reasons, because they could not satisfactorily answer one critical question: (in Latin) Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?; (in English) Who will guard the guards? If the American Empire falls, it will be for the same reason. It may, in fact, be true that every empire falls in the same way.
We are watching the installation of an undeniable two-tier justice system eerily reminiscent of countries we justifiably sneer at as "banana republics": if you are allied with the right people, you will be punished lightly or not at all for any transgressions; if you are allied with the wrong people, no sin is too slight to warrant draconian punishment even, or especially, if there was no identifiable 'sin' at all. The latest example, only one of dozens or hundreds, is the imposition of a monumental fine for engaging in typical, normal business practices. I refer, of course, to the $454 million fine (including interest) levied against Donald Trump for fraudulent business dealings — for which the State was unable to identify a single person who claimed to have been defrauded.
That fine is the largest fine imposed on an individual in all of recorded history. Yes, corporations have been fined greater amounts, but they are corporations, often with assets that dwarf even the Trump organization, and certainly larger by orders of magnitude than anything Donald Trump ever claimed. As a result, Trump is unable to find a bonding company that will issue a bond for it, and New York State law is that one may not appeal a verdict without posting a bond for the full amount of the judgement. Trump will be forced to pay the judgement in cash and hope to have the fine reduced on appeal.
Anyone who hasn't already said to themselves "Wow, that sure doesn't sound like 'justice' is probably named Letitia James or Arthur Engoron. NYS Governor Kathy Hochul has already made a public service announcement in which she assured all the movers-and-shakers doing business in New York that they have nothing to worry about unless they're named 'Trump'.
In fact, it appears Trump has acquired the proper amount of cash and is preparing to pay the fine preparatory to an appeal. The outcome of that appeal is in doubt because it's the New York State Court of Appeals, after which the next stop is the New York State Supreme Court before a final appeal can be made to the United States Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Kevin O'Leary and several other investment brokers have all halted — full stop — all investment into anything in the state. Unless a more rational court puts a stop to this embarrassment, Judge Arthur Engoron and NYS AG Letitia James have just strangled their employer.
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