Donald Trump’s views on criminal justice remain one of those mysteries he will presumably carry with him, if elected, into the Oval Office, where he’ll sort it all out with the help of the nation’s best minds. We do know that he’s a “huge fan” of the police, and that he’d like to see them get more power. But he hasn’t suggested what kind of power, or how he’d do that. More jobs would solve the problem of mass incarceration, he told the Washington Post editorial board last month. And he’s been crystal clear on the death penalty, which he would make harsher by eliminating lethal injections since they’re “too comfortable.”
But one helpful lens for determining Trump’s views on crime and law enforcement is via his past encounters with those alleged to be on the wrong side of the law. That’s his history with the mob. And for all of his tough law and order rhetoric, the record shows the GOP frontrunner has been remarkably tolerant. In the course of his forty years of business deals, Trump has encountered a steady stream of mob-tainted offers that he apparently couldn’t refuse....