I figured all terrorism was equally bad. No distinctions allowed. Aiding in the murder — stealing of life, liberty or property — from innocent people deserved strong punishment.

Terrorism by the far-left or far-right, foreign-born or U.S.-born, religious zealots or atheists, rich or poor, people wearing burkas, balaclavas or Brooks Brothers suits are all equally punishable under the law.

Anyone and everyone who encourages or helps terrorists belongs in prison for the public’s protection.

Except in the Trump administration, where who you know, how much money you have and which side of the political fence you stand matter more than the law.

President Donald Trump, his Secretary of State, the Justice Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are rushing so fast to deport people they label as “terrorists” that they mistakenly — and illegally — sent a father of a 5-year-old son to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

The government also has rushed to take deportation actions against young adults who are in the country on student visas, asserting they are unworthy of staying here because of their personal opinion on the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

The Trump administration has made it a crime to disagree with the president’s view of the world. But they can’t tell that to a judge, so they allege that those “accused” are a threat to U.S. foreign policy. The administration alleges the people are terrorists or support terrorists.

But there is a limit to how much the administration cares about the threat of terrorism.

In 2023, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, agreed to negotiated terms and paid a record $4.3 billion fine to the U.S. government for allowing terrorists, drug traffickers and people under U.S. sanctions to secretly shift and shuffle billions of dollars through its exchange.

The company’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, served four months in federal prison last year after pleading guilty to related charges. Now, according to The Wall Street Journal, the company is at the White House door, looking for a pardon for its founder, which would make it easier for Binance to return to business in the U.S.

The newspaper also reported company representatives met last month with Treasury Department officials to push for loosening U.S. government oversight on Binance, which was part of the plea deal when the firm said “guilty” in 2023.

Binance, which allegedly allowed and profited from terrorists and drug traffickers moving money through its financial exchange, has figured out that cutting the Trump family in on the crypto business could improve its chances at cutting a new deal.

The company has been in talks to list on its buy-and-sell exchange a new cryptocurrency issued by World Liberty Financial, a venture backed by the president’s family. Providing and promoting a huge market for the token could produce big profits for the president’s family.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that “Trump family representatives had held talks with Binance about taking a stake in Binance.US, the company’s moribund U.S. arm.”

Trump’s sons reportedly met up with the Binance founder at an Abu Dhabi crypto conference last December, in a room open only to people who paid $10,000 for a VIP pass.

Maybe the foreign nationals living legally in the U.S. would still be in class or at their job instead of a Central America prison or on a plane home if they had paid to mingle with the president’s sons instead of paying the price of expressing their personal opinions.