Jack Smith and the Department of Justice have dropped all pending indictments and prosecutions of Donald Trump. The Trump camp is spinning this as a total exoneration, don’t you believe it.

The President-Elect of the United States is a convicted felon. He was convicted in a New York State courtroom, by a jury of his peers on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with his payment of money to pornstar Stormy Daniels ( Stephanie Clifford) in the so-called hush money scandal case. It bears repeating that Donald Trump was not indicted in the hush money case by Joe Biden or by anyone at the Department of Justice, he was indicted by a grand jury.

By that standard Trump and scores of co-defendants were indicted in federal court in Washington DC for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, in federal court in Florida on mishandling of classified documents and in state court in Georgia on racketeering charges in connection with unlawfully trying change the outcome of the 2020 election. The outcome of the 2024 election effectively suppresses the prosecution of those cases but it is by no means an absolution, in fact it is more precisely a successful escape from justice, at least for the moment.

Yes it matters that Trump appears at least for the time being to have gotten away with all of it, but it also matters because you and I wouldn’t have gotten away with any of it. In fact there are literally millions of people in prison cells all across America who in many cases would walk free if they had access to representation from just one of Donald Trump’s attorneys. We are as a nation losing sight of what that means for the rule of law in America and further we are reminded that enormous injustice and inequity are alive and well in this country still.

One thing that unifies Trump world is a distain not only the rule of law but for rules in general, unless they are in charge of the rules, then it’s ok. The key is mitigating the coming Trump rampage is demanding that the rules be enforced. A central theme of the Trump revolution is circumventing the rules or alternatively, preferably rewriting the rules. See the Project 2025 playbook for further details.

The law and the rules are powerful things but only when enforced. Matt Gaetz would have been confirmed as Attorney General but for the Senate, including Senate Republicans simply observing the rules. That doesn’t mean Senate Republicans can be counted upon to save the country, but they don’t have to. All they have to do is the observe rules and the law. That small but crucially important thing is what Trump world fears most.

Hold their feet to the fire at every point in the process. Demand basic compliance. When they cheat, don’t be silent call it out loud and clear. Do not budge or compromise. They may win battles but you must focus on winning the war. Remember Timothy Snyder’s Rule #1: Do not obey in advance. You alone cannot stop the Trump machine, but everyone doing their part becomes a movement and a mass movement can stop the madness.