Many Americans were sorely disappointed this week when special prosecutor Jack Smith decided to drag up and withdraw the Jan. 6 indictment and the appeal of the classified documents case dismissal against Donald Trump. Smith said in his filings that the government stood by the charges but because of the Justice Department's (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel's rule that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted, he had no choice but to drop the charges.The judges in the cases acceded to his requests and dismissed them both without prejudice although the idea that anyone will bring these cases in 2029 when Trump is 82 years old is fanciful. It's over. He got away with it once again.

It's not that we didn't know it was coming one way or the other. In fact, from the moment the Supreme Court issued its shocking opinion on presidential immunity, the writing was on the wall that Trump would face no accountability even if he didn't win the election. It went without saying that if he won, he would order the cases dismissed and that would be that. So, this wasn't a surprise but like so much else we've experienced with Trump, not the least of which was this last election, it was just one more depressing, enervating event seemingly designed to drain the fight out of anyone who sees this man's lawlessness and corruption as a blight on our nation.

That's because one of the disturbing consequences of the repeated failures to hold him to account is the fact that he seems invincible, impervious to negative ramifications for his actions and is therefore seen by his followers as a kind of superhero with magical powers. It's not true, of course. He's no hero, super or otherwise. He's just a shameless, corrupt con artist who has lied his way out of trouble his whole life. And now........

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