Dropping Federal Charges Against Trump “A Loss for the Rule of Law”

Dec 13, 2024

1 min

James Sample

The CNN story, “Trump’s evasion of January 6 accountability will echo for next four years and generations to come,” features an interview with Professor of Constitutional Law James Sample.



The piece focuses on special counsel Jack Smith’s motions to drop federal charges against President-elect Donald Trump for mishandling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The dropping of the charges reinforces Trump’s belief that he will have almost unchecked authority when he is sworn in to office in January.


“For Donald Trump, his strategy of delay, delay, delay and then win the election to do away with the litigation, proves to be one of the ultimate success stories,” said Professor Sample. “It’s certainly a win in terms of avoiding accountability, which means it is a loss for the rule of law that it took so long to bring these cases to trial that they never in fact got to trial before the election.”

Connect with:
James Sample

James Sample

Professor of Law

Professor Sample regularly comments on voting rights and constitutional issues in leading media outlets.

The Supreme Court Voting RightsVoting Rights PolicyConstitutional LawJudicial Elections
Powered by

You might also like...

Check out some other posts from Hofstra University

Passing Regents No Longer a HS Graduation Requirement featured image

1 min

Passing Regents No Longer a HS Graduation Requirement

Starting with the class of 2028, high school students will no longer need to pass their Regents exams in order to graduate. Professor Emeritus of Education Alan Singer talked to WNYW-TV Fox 5 and WCBS-TV about the change. “I don’t have confidence that many districts will actually maintain a high standard with these alternatives,” he said.

How Teachers Are Incorporating the 9/11 Anniversary in Their Classes featured image

1 min

How Teachers Are Incorporating the 9/11 Anniversary in Their Classes

Alan Singer, professor emeritus of learning, teaching, and technology, appears in a Newsday article about how teachers are approaching the 25th anniversary of 9/11 in their classrooms. “For the generation that lived through 9/11, it was a day that will live in infamy,” he said. “But for [younger] people, it may not. So the question then becomes, what do we want kids to learn about 9/11?”

Why Tornadoes on LI are a Rarity featured image

1 min

Why Tornadoes on LI are a Rarity

After an EF1 tornado touched down in Atlantic Beach on August 20, Dr. Jase Bernhardt, associate professor of geology, environment, and sustainability, talked to Newsday about this rare occurrence. Some parts of the country – particularly in the central United States – are more likely to have the atmospheric conditions required to form a tornado. One key condition these cyclones require is “a clashing of contrasting air masses,” said Bernhardt. “We just don’t have the ingredients that are necessary. The water around the island tends to moderate the climate a bit.”

View all posts