To the editor:

In 2008, we decided that the investment banks that crashed the American housing market — and with it the world economy — were “too big to fail” and (no surprise) that their CEOs were too big to jail. How long could it be until we made an obvious fraud president of the United States? Now, in that spirit, the Supreme Court, in Trump v. United States, has declared that former U.S. presidents may not be prosecuted for certain crimes committed while in office, and, in Snyder v. United States, has weakened federal bribery law.

In the 17th century, the tiny Dutch Republic decisively bested the giant Spanish Empire in the competition for burgeoning maritime trade. Among the Netherlands’ advantages was the rule of law. While the Spanish monarchy was notoriously corrupt, merchants knew that in the Netherlands frauds and cheats went to jail. When you did business with the Dutch, Dutch courts had your back. So, the money rolled in. Similarly, a big reason why the U.S. dollar has become the world’s reserve currency is that, as Thomas Paine wrote in 1776, “in America the law is king.” In America, frauds and cheats go to jail — or used to.

When anyone is above the law, everyone is less safe — as is everyone’s job, home, savings and 401(k). In 1814, John Adams reminded a friend that there had never yet been a democracy that did not commit suicide. And how does a democracy commit suicide? With a wink and a nod.

Dan V. Johnson,

Lawrence