by Sharon Rondeau
(Mar. 26, 2024) — On Monday, reader and constitutional activist Robert C. Laity filed a complaint with one of his U.S. senators, Kirsten Gillibrand, regarding what he perceived to be a threat made against former President and presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump by longtime Democrat political operative James Carville.
On March 21, Carville commented to “Anderson Cooper 360” host Anderson Cooper that in the absence of possessing the skill himself, Joe Biden should enlist the help of surrogates to “do the wet work,” a “CIA term,” Carville noted, meaning to “take a guy out.”
On Sunday, Laity filed an initial complaint on the matter with the DC Metropolitan Police Department, writing:
DC Metro Police:
You should immediately refer Carville to the Secret Service. It is a disgrace that such threats against Donald Trump are becoming so ubiquitous.
See: 18USC, Sec. 879
Robert C. Laity, Complainant
As The Post & Email reported, the referenced law states that anyone threatening a “former President”; an immediate family member of same; presidential or vice-presidential candidate or family member; president-elect or vice-presidential-elect; or anyone “protected by the Secret Service under section 3056(a)(6)” “shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.”
Laity also contacted the U.S. Justice Department and Secret Service directly.
Completing the necessary complaint form, Laity dispatched it to Gillibrand’s office, referencing respective articles from this publication, Fox News and Conservative Research Group.
Gillibrand’s office replied:
From: Casework (Gillibrand)
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2024 1:37 AM
To: Robert Laity
Subject: Reply from Senator Gillibrand
Thank you for contacting my casework team. If you are a New Yorker who needs assistance from a Federal Government agency, my staff will review the information you presented and contact you if additional information is needed.
If you have not done so, you may open a case through my website at www.gillibrand.senate.gov/help/help-for-new-yorkers. There you will find a casework checklist and frequently asked questions about how my office may help.
I appreciate your message and will do everything I can to assist.
Sincerely,
Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator
On Tuesday morning, The Post & Email called the Secret Service to obtain media contact information and resulting in the following message:
Good morning. My inquiry is regarding comments made by the above individual on “Anderson Cooper 360” on March 21 in which he said of the 2024 presidential race, invoking what he said is a “CIA term,” that someone should do the “wet work” on behalf of Joe Biden because Biden is “not very good at it.”
Does the Secret Service consider that a threat against Biden’s presumptive opponent, Donald J. Trump, and if so, have you taken any action?
Thank you very much.
Sharon Rondeau, Editor
The Post & Email
www.thepostemail.com
We will advise if and when a response is received.
Carville is not the first, through innuendo, to suggest terminating President Trump’s life. Think Kathy Griffin, the Central Park “Julius Caesar play, and Snoop Dog’s toy pistol. Perhaps they hope their message will be acted upon by the crazies in our society. Potentially fatal attacks on former presidents Ford and Reagan are examples.
So as to put a stop to this, perhaps Carville and others should be punished, not for the speech itself, but for what they hoped might be accomplished by their words.
As noted in FOX’s article, Carville clarified, “It’s paid TV and stuff like that.”