In many democracies, criminal suspects are often held accountable — even if they’re politically powerful, even if they’ve served at the highest levels.
In rapid succession:
- former British royal arrested
- former Korean president sentenced
- former Norwegian PM charged
- former French and Brazilian presidents imprisoned
And then there’s Trump and the Republican-appointed justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.
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— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-02-19T13:49:49.711Z
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/former-prince-andrews-arrest-yoon-suk-yeols-sentence-and-the-power-of-accountability
But by any fair measure, the most dramatic development to date is the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, better known as the United Kingdom’s former Prince Andrew. The Thames Valley Police took the former royal into custody on Thursday morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office. While the specific details of the criminal allegations are not yet known, BBC News reported that the arrest “comes after Thames Valley Police said they were assessing a complaint over the alleged sharing of confidential material by the former prince” with the late sex offender....
Indeed, right around the time the world was learning of the former prince’s arrest, the public also learned that former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life imprisonment, having been convicted of overseeing a 2024 insurrection attempt that sparked a constitutional crisis in the country.
One week earlier, former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland was charged with “gross corruption” over his Epstein ties......
In stable, advanced democracies around the globe, it’s not uncommon to see governments hold criminal suspects accountable — even if they’re politically powerful, and even if they served at the highest levels.
Italy prosecuted a former prime minister. France prosecuted a former prime minister, in addition to Sarkozy. South Africa prosecuted a former president. South Korea prosecuted a former president before sending a different former president to prison. Israel has prosecuted more than one former prime minister. Germany prosecuted a former president. Portugal prosecuted a former prime minister. Croatia prosecuted a former prime minister. Argentina prosecuted a former president. Austria prosecuted a former chancellor. Pakistan prosecuted a former prime minister.......
And then there’s the United States, where Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices ruled in 2024 that Donald Trump, at the time a former president, was immune from prosecution for any possible crimes he might have committed while carrying out his duties. (Trump is also shielded from legal accountability during his tenure in the White House under existing Justice Department policy.)
In other words, we’ve reached a point at which British authorities can hold the king’s brother accountable, but American authorities are out of luck when it comes to Trump, no matter how much evidence they’ve compiled documenting the Republican’s alleged felonies.
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