The Feds Indict Trump! Part II

So what about Clinton?  She used a private email server to send and receive highly classified communications.  Remember then FBI Director James Comey telling the country that doing so either intentionally or with gross negligence, is a felony.  He told us that he believed she did not do it intentionally, but was "extremely careless."  That's enough for an indictment.  But how could it not be intentional also?  She was a former United States Senator, so she understood very well the need for security.  Yet, she then becomes Secretary of State and does not ask State Department officials for secure devices.  Please.  I guess it did not hurt that her husband managed to surreptitiously sneak in a lengthy conversation with then AG Loretta Lynch.  You know, about golf and the grandkids.  Sure. 

Clinton then directs that 33,000 of her emails be deleted, asserting they were just "personal."  Who wouldn't believe Hillary Clinton?  Then, Clinton had her staff smash her mobile devices.  Doesn't everyone?  And doesn't everyone use "Bleach Bit" to wipe their hard drive?

As George Washington University School of Law Professor, Jonathan Turley, wrote in an Op-Ed in the June 9 New York Post:  "It was Comey who declined to prosecute Clinton despite finding that she violated federal rules and handled classified material 'carelessly.'  He then launched a Russian collusion investigation that Durham found lacked minimal support against Trump."

What about Biden?  Never mind the times he took government papers as Senator, and as Vice President.  A President may have an argument to make about taking government papers.  But a Senator or VP?  Let's talk about the FBI having the Hunter Biden laptop for FIVE years, but still not being able to find a single violation of the law by Biden's son.  It would not surprise me if Hunter gets indicted just before his father leaves office (to show how fair the Feds are), giving the President an opportunity to pardon his son at the 11th hour.  See?  The system works.  

What about the $5 million allegedly paid to Joe Biden by Burisma, with another $5 million to paid to Hunter, with an expectation that the Bidens would get rid of the prosecutor looking into corruption allegations against Burisma.  Lo and behold, Biden bragged about getting that prosecutor fired, by threatening to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees from Ukraine.  (Biden, as VP, was put in charge of Ukraine policy by his then boss, Obama.)  Sorry if I sound cynical, but influence peddling seems to be the Biden family business.  

Michael Goodwin wrote in a 6/10 Op-Ed in the New York Post:  "Two standards of justice, open and notorious, are doing more harm to American democracy than Trump could do in two lifetimes."  Let us not forget that, while claiming no interference in the decisions of the DOJ, Biden had previously said that he wished his Attorney General, Garland, would act less like a ponderous judge and more like a prosecutor.  Biden is also said to have told his "inner circle" that he would like to see Trump prosecuted.  Whether or not Garland was in that inner circle, it does not take a flight of fancy to imagine that Garland got the message. 

So, where do we go from here?  I saw a picture of many boxes (presumably of government documents) at Mar-a-Lago.  Do we know everyone who had access?  Unlikely.  But, at least there were Secret Service agents on site.  I also saw a picture of Biden's garage, a clearly unsecure location, where boxes of government documents were allegedly kept.  Why, when leaving office as VP, did he take any documents?  

My solution?  Drop the indictment against Trump.  (If not, file against Clinton now, and Biden when he leaves office.)  Have Trump, Biden, Pence and anyone else having possession of government documents return them all to the government.  They can be picked up by the National Archives, and reviewed by them, the FBI, the CIA or whoever, in order to make sure that no sensitive materials are released.  And let's have Congress pass a law now to that effect, so that NO government official ever again takes government documents with them when they leave office.  No, I have not read every government law and/or reg already on the books dealing with this issue.  But let's make it simple - when you walk out the door you take no documents.  Request whatever you believe you should have (such as for a presidential library), and government officials will decide.  Is this ideal?  Of course not, as any number of government officials in recent years have proven themselves to be biased at best or corrupt at worst.  But it's the best I've got, with an eye towards not turning document disputes into criminal matters.

The Feds Indict Trump! Part I

Hardly a surprise, given the nonstop investigations into Trump for the last seven years.  What are the allegations?  31 counts in the indictment allege the willful retention of National Defense Information.  Then there is one count each for:  conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, a scheme to conceal, and false statements and representations.  

Let me clear about something.  I have long opposed prosecutors over charging the number of counts for what is essentially the same act.  As far as I am concerned, the last 6 counts all concern the same alleged offense - but pled 6 different ways.  And the first 31 counts - 31 different pieces of paper, but all regarding the same alleged act.  The prosecutor should have been permitted, therefore, to allege 2 counts only.   But the prosecutors charge more in an effort to obtain a plea.  Such as:  agree to a 20 year sentence or face 5 million years in prison.  Yes, I am being facetious, but not by much.  Apparently Trump faces 420 years.  As the Kingston Trio said - coulda been life.  

As we know, Biden appointed Merrick Garland (thank G-d he was never confirmed to sit on the Supreme Court) as his Attorney General.  Garland, in turn, appointed special prosecutor Jack Smith.  Here is what Smith said the other day in an effort to justify this prosecution:  "We have one set of laws in this country and they apply to everyone."  I almost choked on my lunch. 

But permit me to back up a bit.  This move is hardly the first unprecedented move for the Democrats.  They have broken every norm, every customary standard and practice, previously adhered to by both parties, in order to maintain their grip on power.  They spent nearly 3 years on the phony Russian collusion hoax; with the recent Durham report stating there was little basis for it.  They then impeached Trump over their phony, made up story.  

Did that phony story cost Trump the 2020 election?  If there was collusion, it was between the Democrats and the mainstream media, pushing their phony narrative.  Then, following the events of January 6, they impeached Trump a second time.  But no House Judiciary Committee hearings first, no due process of law for Trump, no opportunity to rebut the charges against him.  No, that came afterward, with the made for primetime TV "select" committee hearings.

Yes, it was "select" alright.  All members were selected by Speaker Pelosi, after denying to then Minority Leader McCarthy his choice of committee members.  Again, unprecedented.  So this unprecedented federal indictment of a former president should come as no surprise.  And, of no apparent concern to Biden, we have the incumbent president, who is seeking reelection, pursuing the prosecution of the leader of the opposition party, a man who, as of now, looks to be the opposing nominee.  Welcome to the Banana Republic of the United States.  

When I speak of there being two different systems of justice in this country, one for Democrats and one for Republicans, the Left just accuses me of "whataboutism."  To me, that is their way of telling me they don't give a damn about the equal application of the laws.  It tells me that they support their party's nonstop efforts to retain power at all costs.  Just ask Biden.  He'll tell you that those MAGA Republicans can never be trusted with holding office.  

Before I do discuss Clinton or Biden avoiding prosecution, let me be clear.  There are, indeed, some serious allegations against Trump, including admitting he had highly sensitive documents that were still classified, and asking others if those documents might be concealed.  (As an aside, who recorded those conversations with Trump, and why?)  Do I have a recommendation for what should be done about it?  Yes, at the end of this blog post.