by Joseph DeMaio, ©2023
(Jun. 11, 2023) — Your humble servant has just awakened from a 24-hr. semi-coma. That temporary infirmity came as a direct result of watching and listening to Department of Justice (sic) Special Counsel Jack Smith discussing the indictment that his office has filed against former President Donald J. Trump and one of his aides, Waltine Nauta. Smith actually claimed, and this is a quote: “Adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice, and our nation’s commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world. We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.”
Seriously? I mean…, SERIOUSLY??
Fortunately, your servant was sitting on a couch when he was assaulted by those lies, so when he fell unconscious, he just keeled over into a soft-cushioned horizontal position, but stayed on the couch. Feeling better now…, thanks, but still thunderstruck by the arrogant lies belched by Mr. Smith in woefully misplaced defense of his indictment.
Yes, Virginia, your read that right. The words spilling from Mr. Smith’s mouth were not true, and he knew they were not true. Accordingly, they were, by definition, “lies” rather than “truths.” For the purposes of this offering, the merits or deficiencies of the indictment are immaterial. To his singular credit, Smith did concede that Trump and Nauta enjoyed a “presumption of innocence.” Whether the allegations are proven true in court before a jury or whether the defendants are exonerated is immaterial.
On the other hand, that which is exceedingly material is Smith’s blatant prevarications that (a) the DOJ considers the “rule of law” to be one of its “bedrock principles” and (b) that we have “one set of laws in this country” that “apply to everyone.” Let us review Smith’s words.
First, there is the enormity of the Biden Crime Family (“BCF”) investi…, oh, sorry…, there is no real investigation of the BCF going on at either the DOJ(sic) or the FBI. Nor is there any “progress” taking place in any investigation of Brandon’s own unlawfully-possessed classified documents scandal. Tell me again that the de facto immunization of the BCF and Brandon himself from any meaningful investigation by the DOJ (sic) or the FBI equates to “one set of laws” being applied equally “to everyone.”
I’ll wait.
Second, Smith’s contention that this nation’s “commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world” makes sense only if the example is intended to destroy a nation by converting it into a banana republic where hypocrisy, double standards and Volksgerichtshof tyranny dominate. Nice job, Biden, Garland, Smith.
Third, let us return again to the destruction of emails, attached scanned documents and host devices by Hillary (“BleachBit Bimbo”) Clinton following her departure as Secretary of State under Barack Obama. Oh, and recall that the documents and devices that Clinton destroyed – or which were destroyed by others at her command (some might speculate, with conspiratorial intent) – were already under congressional subpoena, discussed here and here. Those are not “careless mistakes.” Instead, they are all felonies under federal law. Yet no prosecutions or indictments were forthcoming.
Recall that this “get out of jail free” card was issued to the BleachBit Bimbo by then-FBI Director James Comey after then-U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch had recused herself from the “investigation.” The recusal occurred following her contemporaneous Phoenix International Airport tarmac meeting with the Bimbo’s “husband,” Slick Willie. On Lynch’s government plane parked on the tarmac, they cordially discussed grandchildren, travels and Willie’s golfing in Phoenix.
Right.
Faithful P&E readers, for a really illuminating “blast from the past,” make sure you read the 9/6/16 and 9/8/16 articles by Byron York and Andrew McCarthy linked above detailing the perfidies committed by Clinton, her lawyers and her aides. These “careless mistakes” were, of course under the “rule-of-law-conscious” FBI – then headed by James (“we-did-it-anyway”) Comey – deemed to be minor infractions as to which “no reasonable prosecutor would file charges.” Actually, there were many “reasonable prosecutors” who would have indicted Slick Willie’s spouse.
These people are snakes. Not harmless king or garden snakes: venomous cobras, rattlers and moccasins. They care as much about the rule of law and “Equal Justice Under Law” – as chiseled into the Vermont marble over the public entrance to the Supreme Court Building – as does a rock at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. As proof of that, listen again to Jack Smith’s contention that “[w]e have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.”
Ummmm…, no, they don’t. And Smith knows it. That is why his contrary assertion is a lie.
To be precise, the laws are supposed to apply to everyone…, but they don’t. Smith also asserted in his prevaricating defense of the indictment against President Trump and his aide that “a [sic: the?] laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced.” (Emphasis added)
Really?
If that were true, why was the Bimbo let off other than because she was “Hillary” and a Democrat? Are we sure that no emails, scanned documents or other digital data housed on the already subpoenaed devices – again, destroyed at her direction – contained “national defense information?” And apart from “national defense information,” are we sure that no emails documenting other criminal acts or conspiracies – such as discussed here, here, here and here – were not also destroyed. Really sure?
Inquiring minds need to know…, but rest assured, faithful P&E readers, they will find zero help discovering the truth while Brandon, Merrick Garland and Jack Smith are in power. Oh, and Christopher Wray, too.
The legal solution (illegal solutions are much to be disfavored) is to vote every Democrat – without exception – out of office at the earliest opportunity…, and never again vote them back into power. And as for Jack Smith’s timing of the indictment, someone should ask him why it does not constitute a direct attempt to interfere with the 2024 election, since the statute of limitations on the “crimes” he has alleged to have been committed are nowhere near expiring.
Vote these miserable snakes out of power ASAP lest they complete their goal of completely sinking the ship of state.
All this talk about Clinton emails and classified documents but never any talk about Alberto Gonzales and Colin Powell.
The Inspector General’s office investigated Gonzales and concluded,
“In sum, our investigation found that Gonzales mishandled classified materials while serving as Attorney General. The evidence shows that he took TS/SCI notes about the NSA surveillance program to his residence and improperly stored them in a briefcase there for an indeterminate period of time. When he brought the notes back to the Department, he stored these notes, along with other highly classified documents about the NSA surveillance program and a compartmented detainee interrogation program, in a safe outside his office that was not authorized to hold these documents.”
https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/s0809/report.htm#V
And the OIG said this about Powell after investigating E-mail use by Secretaries of State,
“NARA agrees that the records should have been printed and filed but also told OIG that any
effort to transfer such records to the Department would have mitigated the failure to preserve
these records. At a minimum, Secretary Powell should have surrendered all emails sent from or
received in his personal account that related to Department business. Because he did not do so
at the time that he departed government service or at any time thereafter, Secretary Powell did
not comply with Department policies that were implemented in accordance with the Federal
Records Act. In an attempt to address this deficiency, NARA requested that the Department
inquire with Secretary Powell’s “internet service or email provider” to determine whether it is still
possible to retrieve the email records that might remain on its servers. The Under Secretary for
Management subsequently informed NARA that the Department sent a letter to Secretary
Powell’s representative conveying this request.93 As of May 2016, the Department had not
received a response from Secretary Powell or his representative.”
https://www.oversight.gov/report/dos/office-secretary-evaluation-email-records-management-and-cybersecurity-requirements
BTW we can all read the FBI report on the Clinton emails. Might clear up some of the misinformation.
https://vault.fbi.gov/hillary-r.-clinton/Hillary%20R.%20Clinton%20Part%2001/view
Isn’t that further proof that many government employees, including cabinet secretaries, vice presidents and presidents, have mishandled classified materials? And can you trust the FBI’s report given that Comey declared, “No reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case?” In light of current developments, his words ring hollow, no?
“many” might be an exaggeration but certainly it does occur. But each case has to be reviewed independently. The thing that separates Trump’s case is the question of “willfully” retaining. classified documents. Note he is not being charged with a crime for the classified documents that were in the 15 boxes, he returned to NARA in January, 2022. Why? Because he voluntarily returned them. Just like Biden and Pence did. Which is why they will not be charged. Had Trump returned all of the classified material to NARA with the 15 boxes, he would not be facing charges now.
And no, Clinton’s case is not the same. What did the subpoena require to be turned over? All of her e-mails or her e-mails related to Benghazi? The mobile devices were not destroyed while under the subpoena. They were disposed over time as they were replaced with new devices. And one of the government’s approved methods for disposing of old devices is – physical destruction.
Comey’s response is probably correct. Proving intent and willfulness would be difficult.
Of course, because the double standard must be upheld.
The Trump DOJ, a GOP Senate and House investigation, and a Trump State Department investigation didn’t indict Clinton. President Trump had a GOP House and Senate for the first two years of his presidency. During President Trump’s term, with a unified Republican government, why don’t you think they prosecuted her then?
Plus, “Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked U.S. Attorney John Huber to look into concerns that the FBI hadn’t fully pursued cases related to the Clinton Foundation, as well as Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State, including “Uranium One”. Now, Huber is finished with his Clinton investigation—with nothing to show for it.” That two-year investigation happened during the Trump Administration.
It’s also frustrating that with President Trump and a GOP House and Senate, they did nothing about Obama’s birth certificate. Joe Arpaio was President Trump’s friend, and he and Mike Zullo had all the evidence, but nobody did anything about it. With the whole government serving at President Trump’s pleasure, and Congress firmly behind him, why didn’t they take advantage of that and bring charges?
But still, if President Trump kept classified documents that had military secrets, that’s his doing. That’s not taking away from anybody else’s crimes, but nobody’s really giving a defense of why President Trump needed nuclear and war planning info and why he talked about them with staff and reporters. Being from a military family, anyone who did a fraction of that would go away for a long, long time.
How do we know the “evidence” in the indictment is factual?
Two wrongs don’t make a right. Trump’s theft of these highly classified documents seems to me far worse than what Hillary did. If Trump believed there was a double standard, why would he be dumb enough to give them the perfect reason to prosecute him? I voted for Trump because I wanted him to do certain things. His blatant criminality has prevented him from making progress in our interest. That’s also a breach of his social contract with his voters. Why would anyone still support him, much less vote for him again after he has screwed up so badly? It’s a mystery.
From the writer:
———————————-
“Trump’s theft of these highly classified documents seems to me far worse than what Hillary did.”
The point of the post was not that President Trump was “free and clear” on the indictments. Of course he is presumed innocent, but that is a rebuttable presumption which may be overcome at a trial. Stated otherwise, he may, in fact, have some real problems unless his lawyers are really good. That will be for a jury to decide. And with people like Andrew McCarthy and Bill Barr commenting that, if even half of the indictment’s allegations are proven, Mr. Trump may be “toast,” there are some dark clouds building on the horizon.
But as for the comment about the “lesser” offenses of Hillary Clinton, recall that she eradicated emails, attachments and devices already under congressional subpoena — in itself, constituting over 30,000 felonies — and we don’t really know whether the information or documents she destroyed were more or less sensitive than those at issue under the present indictment. In addition, if she destroyed documents taken from secure government computers, that too would constitute illegal “theft.” And why the squid James Comey could not see her BleachBit destruction of those subpoenaed devices as an obstruction of justice remains a huge mystery. And do not forget, there were credible reports that she and President Obama may have had “other involvement” in the Benghazi catastrophe. Go back and read the linked articles in the post.
Instead, the present “Rock in the Pacific” post as to which the commenter is referring sought to underscore the blatant falsehood offered up by Special Counsel Smith that “we have one set of laws in this country, and they [sic] apply to everyone.” Had he instead said that these laws should apply to everyone, his comment would have been true. But even a blind Martian could see that there are at minimum two sets of laws under the present DOJ regime: those to be ignored or accorded “prosecutorial discretion” for Democrat violators and those to be ruthlessly and immediately enforced against disfavored political opponents. Case in point: allowing Slick Willie’s spouse to “skate” on 30,000+ felonies while enforcing, among others, “obstruction of justice” laws against a former president while he is campaigning for office.
Finally, Mr. Smith (or some other U.S. Attorney) might well consider bringing an indictment under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, the federal “False Statements Act” — involved in several counts of the Trump/Nauta indictment — for the misrepresentations we all heard yesterday. What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander…, no?