IF DEMS WIN THE HOUSE & SENATE, THEY MUST DELIVER JUSTICE TO TRUMP

FOR THE SAKE OF DEMOCRACY EVERYWHERE

In my new book, The Architect: Authoritarianism, the Political Mind, and a Blueprint for a Better Democracy, I outline six “neuropolitical” solutions that market-based democracies have used to thwart fascism—often at the exact same time Donald Trump was rising to power in the U.S.

My third recommendation focuses on rebuilding trust in our most vital institutions.

This need became urgent following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. United States (2024), which granted former presidents absolute immunity for official acts within their core constitutional purview and presumptive immunity for other executive actions.

By creating the perception of selective justice, the six majority justices revealed they were acting less on established law than they were their Social Dominance Orientation (SDO)—a personality trait reflecting a preference for group-based hierarchy. SDO can also be linked to, and reinforced by, implicit (subconscious) biases.

In effect, this ruling eroded public trust in the judiciary and signaled that powerful leaders can bypass political norms.

Given Trump’s past and current behavior, it is foolish to believe he will enforce or adhere to American political norms and laws during the mid-term elections. So, if and when Donald J. Trump has broken the law, or breaks the law, he deserves justice.

As do “we the people.”

Rebuilding institutional trust requires that democratic systems deliver real accountability. Around the world, other nations demonstrate that no leader is above the law. For example:

Yoon Suk Yeol (former President, South Korea)

Yoon is incarcerated serving a life sentence. Following his failed, six-hour declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, Yoon was impeached by South Korea’s National Assembly and formally removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. In February 2026, the Seoul Central District Court found him guilty of rebellion and insurrection for deploying troops to surround the legislature and block lawmakers.

Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rebellion charges (in addition to a separate five-year sentence for obstructing his own arrest and abusing presidential authority) and is currently held in state custody.

Jair Bolsonaro (former President, Brazil)

Bolsonaro is incarcerated and serving a 27-year sentence. In September 2025, Brazil’s Supreme Court convicted Bolsonaro of attempting a coup d’état, attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, and leading a criminal organization following his defeat in the October 2022 presidential election. After initially being held under house arrest during the trial, he was taken into federal police custody in Brasilia to begin serving his 27-year, 3-month prison sentence.

Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (former President, Mauritania)

Abdel Aziz is incarcerated and serving a 15-year sentence. He ruled Mauritania for a decade (2009–2019) after coming to power via a 2008 coup. In December 2023, Abdel Aziz was convicted of illicit self-enrichment and money laundering after prosecutors revealed he amassed over $70 million in illicit assets while in office. Following an appeal in May 2025, an appellate court increased his prison sentence from five years to 15 years.

Pedro Castillo (former President, Peru)

Castillo is incarcerated serving an 11.5-year sentence. A former rural schoolteacher and trade union leader elected in 2021, Castillo attempted to illegally dissolve Peru’s Congress and govern by decree in December 2022 to avoid impeachment. He was impeached, removed, and arrested the same day.

In November 2025, Peru’s Supreme Court sentenced him to 11 years and 5 months in prison for rebellion and conspiracy against the state.

Juan Orlando Hernández (former President, Honduras)

Hernández was sentenced to 45 years in US federal custody. During his two terms as president (2014–2022), Hernández used state military and law enforcement apparatuses to facilitate the trafficking of over 400 tons of cocaine into the United States in exchange for millions in bribes. Extradited to the US shortly after leaving office in 2022, he was convicted on federal drug-trafficking and firearms charges and sentenced to 45 years in federal prison in June 2024.

Hernandez was pardoned by Trump at the end of 2025, and returned to Honduras in July 2026.

Imran Khan (former Prime Minister, Pakistan)

Khan is incarcerated serving multiple consecutive sentences. Ousted via a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April 2022, the former prime minister was arrested in 2023. He has faced dozens of charges, leading to convictions across multiple high-profile cases—including retaining and unlawfully selling foreign state gifts, leaking state secrets, and corruption.

Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (former Prime Minister, Malaysia)

Razak is incarcerated serving a commuted 6-year sentence. Prime Minister from 2009 to 2018, he was at the center of the 1MDB scandal, in which billions of dollars were embezzled from Malaysia’s state development fund into private accounts.

In 2020, Razak was convicted of abuse of power, money laundering, and criminal breach of trust involving $10 million transferred from a 1MDB subsidiary. He began serving a 12-year prison sentence in 2022 (later halved to six years by Malaysia’s pardons board).

Ivo Sanader (former Prime Minister, Croatia)

Sanader is incarcerated serving combined multi-year sentences. Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009, Sanader led Croatia’s accession efforts toward NATO and the EU. He resigned abruptly in 2009 and was subsequently investigated and convicted in multiple major corruption trials—including taking a €5 million bribe from Hungarian energy firm MOL to grant them control over Croatian oil company INA, as well as siphoning public funds through the Fimi Media firm.

Nicolas Sarkozy (former President, France)

Sarkozy was convicted and sentenced to prison with electronic monitoring and pending custodial terms. President of France from 2007 to 2012, Sarkozy faced several judicial investigations following his term. He was convicted of corruption and influence peddling in the “wiretapping case,” as well as illegal campaign financing.

In late 2025, he was convicted of criminal conspiracy regarding illicit Libyan financing during his presidential campaign.

Alejandro Toledo (former President, Peru)

Toledo is incarcerated serving a 20-year sentence. President of Peru from 2001 to 2006, Toledo promoted free trade and democratic reforms while presenting himself as Peru’s first indigenous president. However, in October 2024, after being extradited from the United States, Toledo was convicted by a Peruvian court of accepting $35 million in bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht in exchange for awarding lucrative highway construction contracts.

It should be noted that all of these individuals were center-right/far-right political leaders, except for one.

Global tracking data shows that between 15 and 30 former heads of state or government are actively serving custodial sentences or held in state custody at any given time.

As comparative governance analyses from organizations like CONNECTAS reveal, international precedent is clear: enforcing executive accountability is not a political vendetta—it is the foundation for restoring trust in government.