COMMENTARY Donald Trump no doubt sees in the U.S. Supreme Court's new, reckless notion of presidential immunity the same carte blanche Venezuela's high court just handed dictator Nicol谩s Maduro.
Two legal events on opposite sides of the Caribbean have made it clear to me why former President Donald Trump鈥檚 been calling Caracas a 鈥渧ery safe鈥� city.
It's not because Venezuela's capital is, as he says, crime-free. (It鈥檚 frighteningly crime-ridden.) It's because he knows it鈥檚 a place he could potentially take refuge in.
Consider that this week, U.S. special counsel Jack Smith submitted his revised indictment of Trump for his alleged conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election he lost 鈥� including inciting the violent mob that attacked the U.S. Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.
Then recall that last week, the Venezuelan Supreme Court approved socialist dictator Nicol谩s Maduro鈥檚 brazen and brutal theft of a July 28 presidential election that all evidence shows he lost by a landslide.
Should Trump face prosecution here, he knows he can seek safe haven there.
READ MORE: Vicious cycle: Venezuela's summer raises fears about America's fall
Not that Trump faces trial for sure, of course.
Smith had to tweak his indictment to accommodate the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 recent ruling, in a case titled (surprise!) Trump v. United States, that presidents enjoy broad immunity from criminal prosecution for acts committed while in office as part of their duties. Smith now has to show Trump perpetrated his assault-and-battery on the U.S. Constitution as a candidate instead of as commander-in-chief.
The indictment still faces an uphill climb, because the conservative justices鈥� new, reckless notion of presidential immunity looks a lot like a Monopoly Get Out Of Jail Free card. And what鈥檚 most disturbing about it is how it seems to indulge presidential actions in the White House that we usually look for in the Kremlin 鈥� the extrajudicial deeds of dictators.
Like Nicol谩s Maduro.
If Trump's new Jan. 6 indictment gets tossed, it's hard not to imagine dictators worldwide grinning like wife beaters watching the O.J. Simpson verdict.
Trump鈥檚 narcissist eye undoubtedly sees the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 presidential immunity decision as the same sort of back-room, transactional favor Venezuela鈥檚 lapdog Supreme Court did for Maduro by validating his preposterous victory claim.
And if Trump wins a new term in November, he鈥檒l no doubt take the SCOTUS opinion as a nod to executive carte blanche 鈥� an untouchability that would make him feel right at home behind Maduro鈥檚 desk in Caracas鈥� Miraflores palace.
Bad optics
But what鈥檚 even more disturbing is how 肠丑茅惫别谤别, or cool, a despot like Maduro would regard the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 outlook. Should Smith鈥檚 recalibrated indictment get dismissed because of the extra layer of Teflon Trump now wears on top of his tanning product, it鈥檚 hard not to imagine hoodlum heads of state from Nicaragua to North Korea grinning like wife beaters watching the O.J. Simpson verdict.
If U.S. presidents can get away with trying to steal elections, they鈥檒l confide over vodka shots with Vladimir Putin, why should we feel guilty about actually stealing them?
If the country that nags me day after day about constitutional rule of law rolls out the judicial red carpet for a constitutional scofflaw like Trump, says Maduro 鈥� or Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega, or Cuba鈥檚 communist regime, or El Salvador鈥檚 ruffian Nayib Bukele, or Mexico鈥檚 authoritarian Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador, or Peru鈥檚 aspiring autocrat Dina Boluarte 鈥� then I can tell Amnesty International to get the hell off my lawn.
That鈥檚 not the only bad optic, though.
It鈥檚 bad enough the U.S. Supreme Court risks dealing Trump the same sort of imperial hand L贸pez Obrador holds in Mexico. But consider that right now, the Mexican Supreme Court looks like the braver bench in comparison. It鈥檚 fending off L贸pez Obrador鈥檚 dark bid to put Mexico鈥檚 entire judicial system under his thumb 鈥� because it had the cojones to limit his powers.
Brazil鈥檚 Supreme Court, too, is showing a reassuring wariness of presidential exemption. This year it approved the indictment of former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination status during the pandemic.
Bolsonaro's also being investigated for inciting a January 2023 riot in an attempt to overturn his own re-election loss. If he鈥檚 indicted for that alleged crime, there's little concern in Brazil that he鈥檒l be handed a Go-Free card on grounds that whipping up a bug-eyed usurper horde was just part of his official presidential portfolio.
As for Trump and Jan. 6, Smith鈥檚 new indictment could actually stick, too.
If so, Trump knows he鈥檒l at least have Caracas as a 鈥渧ery safe鈥� place to run to.
