Update from the Sunland
No.945
17.2.20 – 23.2.20
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- In the tumult of the Bully-In-Chief’s (BIC’s) extraordinary and unprecedented intrusion and intervention into the case and sentencing of his friend Roger Stone [944], the BIC’s outrageous tweets [944] were a direct attempt to put his thumb on the scales of justice. Professional attorneys in the service of this once grand republic saw the BIC’s actions exactly for what they were and publicly called out the president and his complicit attorney general. The letter was published on Sunday, 16.February.2020, six days after the BIC’s initial Stone case interference tweet.
We, the undersigned, are alumni of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) who have collectively served both Republican and Democratic administrations. Each of us strongly condemns President Trump’s and Attorney General Barr’s interference in the fair administration of justice.
. . .
The Justice Manual — the DOJ’s rulebook for its lawyers — states that “the rule of law depends on the evenhanded administration of justice”; that the Department’s legal decisions “must be impartial and insulated from political influence”; and that the Department’s prosecutorial powers, in particular, must be “exercised free from partisan consideration.”
. . .
Although there are times when political leadership appropriately weighs in on individual prosecutions, it is unheard of for the Department’s top leaders to overrule line prosecutors, who are following established policies, in order to give preferential treatment to a close associate of the President, as Attorney General Barr did in the Stone case. It is even more outrageous for the Attorney General to intervene as he did here — after the President publicly condemned the sentencing recommendation that line prosecutors had already filed in court.
. . .
Such behavior is a grave threat to the fair administration of justice. In this nation, we are all equal before the law. A person should not be given special treatment in a criminal prosecution because they are a close political ally of the President. Governments that use the enormous power of law enforcement to punish their enemies and reward their allies are not constitutional republics; they are autocracies. [emphasis theirs]
The letter was intentionally left open for other Justice attorneys to sign. At the initial publication, 1,100 lawyers signed the letter. As of this writing, there are 2,650 signatories who are current and former U.S. Department of Justice lawyers spanning every presidency back to the Johnson administration—Democrat (4) and Republican (5). These are serious and powerful words that will land on deaf ears for the two men who should most listen and heed.
For so many American citizens, we have become numb to the BIC’s misconduct and inappropriate behavior. So, the best we can do at the moment is add this episode to the list (approaching infinity) of actions by the BIC that are technically not a violation of federal felonious laws, yet his conduct is contrary to good order and discipline, long established precedent, and actions consistent with the high standards of the Office of the President of the United States.
I offer my heartfelt appreciation to the attorneys who displayed the courage and conviction to defy the president and attorney general. God bless them all for being good citizens and doing what they can to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
The Democratic Party held its latest public debate on Wednesday, 19.February.2020, at the Paris Theater in the Paris Las Vegas hotel on the Strip. The debate was broadcast by NBC News, and moderated by NBC’s Lester Holt, Chuck Todd and Hallie Jackson, Noticias Telemundo’s Vanessa Hauc and Jon Ralston of The Nevada Independent. The top six (6) candidates that qualified by the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC’s) requirements took the stage. For the first time, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Sanders, and Warren. This rendition was definitely far more contentious than previous versions. It is unfortunate that candidates must attack each other to gain the nomination, but that is just the reality of the system. Bloomberg did not do well. Senator Warren virtually eviscerated Bloomberg on stage and in public over his company’s use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) [just like the BIC] to silence women who accused Bloomberg and others in the company of inappropriate conduct. It was not a good look for Bloomberg.
The Nevada Democratic Caucuses were held and completed on Saturday, 22.February.2020. Senator Sanders was the big winner, collecting 46% of the vote with 36 state delegates at stake to the national convention.
For what it is worth, the Iowa Caucus results [943] are still not official, since both the Sanders and Buttigieg campaigns have requested partial recounts. The last preliminary count with 100% of the precincts reporting had the two men in a virtual tie for the state’s 41 delegates.
Next up, the South Carolina Primary election on Saturday, 29.February.2020, for the state’s 54 delegates, and then the following Tuesday, we have Super Tuesday with primaries in 14 states with a total of 1,357 delegates. A candidate must exceed 2,268 pledged delegates on the first ballot to win the Democratic nomination outright.
On 22.March.1972, the 92nd Congress passed House Joint Resolution no. 208, otherwise known as the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) that reads in toto:
SEC. 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
SEC. 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
SEC. 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
By the Constitution, three-quarters of the states must ratify the resolution for the amendment to the Constitution to become effective. On 27.January.2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA. Under normal circumstances, that would be that. Unfortunately, these are not normal times.
Numerous disparate sources indicate the resolution had a seven-year deadline (22.March.1979); however, the deadline does not exist in the legislative language, but rather in the proposing documents. Thirty-five states ratified the amendment by the original proposed deadline. Nevada (36) ratified in 2017; Illinois (37) in 2018; and of course, Virginia (38) in 2020.
On Thursday, 20.March.2020, five states—Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Nebraska and South Dakota—filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit filed by Virginia, Nevada and Illinois. The Republican-led states seek to rescind their previous ratification. What all this means is the case is undoubtedly headed to the Supremes to be decided like the 2000 election. It is extraordinarily disappointing to see Republicans become so bloody regressive, but these are the time in which we live.
The ERA should have been ratified four decades ago. It is long overdue. Now we wait for clarification.
Comments and contributions from Update no.944:
Comment to the Blog:
“The Chump needs to show his gang that he can get them out of trouble. I doubt if Barr’s recommendations are binding.
“The President’s powers are Constitutionally limited by Congressional oversight.
“I read the first 500 pages of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and I’m very aware of the parallels to today’s USA. The important difference I see today is the Internet and cable television. We have so many information sources now that he can’t control them all.
“I’d like to see the Iowa caucuses set aside, completely recounted, or repeated as a secret-ballot election. Nevada’s at least getting outside attention to its process.
“I’m already tired of seeing Bloomberg advertising.
“The important thing about the Chump’s self-excusing process is that he gets away with it. I see the reasons for that as, (1) the system’s rigged in favor of corporations and the very wealthy supported by (2) Chump’s support and amplification of his base’s racism, prejudice, and other fears. The facts of a given case aren’t of interest to either his funders or his voters. The majority of us get to look on in horror or confusion.
“About names, we’ve discussed your use of names from a writer viewpoint. As you know, I seek clarity above all else. I use the term Chump for the occupant of the Oval Office because I believe readers know exactly who I mean while it preserves my disrespect of the man.
“I’ll add a point about ‘the end justifies the means.’ The ‘end’ here is the intention, and those are unknowable from the outside. I suspect the Chump’s underlying intention is to satiate the demons of his mental illness.”
My response to the Blog:
The attorney general’s decision to overrule and withdraw the prosecution team’s sentencing recommendation in the Stone case did not replace the recommendation but rather defaulted to the judge’s decision without a recommendation from the Justice Department. We will find out tomorrow. This is another of the BIC’s transgressions that shall pass into the history books without accountability.
Yes, true. Yet, in this instance, the BIC has thumbed his nose at constitutionally mandated congressional oversight, and the Republican Senate has supported his defiance of the Constitution. The Founders/Framers feared this situation and rightly so; it took 230 years for their fears to be realized, but the day is upon us. Tradition, precedent, and practice were far more constraining of past presidents, but this fellow ignores all of that as well. The BIC has no obvious constraints; he can do whatever he wants whenever he wants; he is all-powerful, exactly like a king of old. I think the BIC was spot on correct; he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and he would not loose supporters.
The BIC may not (yet) oppress the Press like his dictator predecessors did, but he is making a valiant try by diluting and marginalizing the established Press. Large segments of our citizenry have swallowed whole his fake news campaign; they have ceased to evaluate news to decide. They ignore anything and everything that is not sanctioned by the BIC’s tweets.
As long as the Iowa voters are satisfied, I’d say move on; they made their choice. I surely hope Nevada does a better job this coming Saturday.
I agree in general. The BIC plays to the fears of a shrinking majority. The worst of it all from my perspective is his supporters’ acceptance of the ends justifies the means. They apparently do not care a hoot how he gets unqualified conservative judges on the bench, passes mindless deregulation and tax cuts, isolates the United States from the rest of the world, and otherwise embraces the Ugly American Syndrome and acts completely like a common schoolyard bully. Congress failed. It is now down to us—We, the People—to end this nightmare. Horror & confusion indeed!
There are many monikers for the BIC. I’ll stay with mine until he changes his behavior.
LOL Perhaps so. It is not easy to understand a deranged mind.
Another contribution:
“The voters of Donald J Trump, whether you can fathom it or not, saved this country and will continue to vote for him to stave corruption and high taxes .. you may never realize what we have done for you until the next Democrat weasels their way into the office of President again, God forbid.
“Climate change .. please don’t tell me you jump on that boat too .. and how is the climate changing .. and how have they proposed they are going to fix climate change if it is really happening?? No matter you are prepared to pay any and all taxes they say you will owe if we are forced to accept their climate change agenda. You said you wanted to see a business plan for a simple border wall .. have you seen a business plan for climate change eradication? Too funny ..”
My reply:
As always, you are entitled to your opinion(s). From my perspective, you conveniently ignore the destruction wrought by the BIC. Your choice; not mine!
I am not going to debate climate change with you. You choose to see what you wish to see, which is your choice entirely. If you did not see the program, I urge you to watch this PBC-NOVA program to the end.
NOVA: Polar Extremes, broadcast on 5.February.2020
As I have written, I continue to struggle with the human cause aspects; however, regardless of cause(s), we must ween ourselves off of fossil fuels. If we do not do it when we can, it will be far more painful, disruptive, perhaps even destructive when we have no choice.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
2 comments:
Cap,
The New York Times “On Politics” column/blog this morning makes a relevant point about Senator Sanders' voters that won the Nevada caucus. His highest dominance was in “working-class” voters, that is, relatively low-income and less-educated people. That seems to me to be the nature of the pre-Clinton Democratic Party that I supported. It was not some patchwork coalition, it was simply the lower and much of the middle classes. I have probably written here at some point about class strife, and I think we're finally winning something. It remains to be seen whether the current DNC can stop us. I'm hoping at the very least that we can stop the New York billionaire.
The same column also discusses Nevada's caucus counting process. It's past time for something else.
I also await the Supreme Court decision on the Equal Rights Amendment. Mr. Justice Roberts has shown some inclination toward rule of law, so maybe he would be the swing vote in favor.
I will say what you can't. Your other comment combines delusion and self-righteousness in a way that's dangerous both individually and nationally.
Calvin
Good morning to you, Calvin,
There are many aspects of Sanders’ ascendency in the polls and pledged delegate count so far. I will offer a few additional thoughts to yours. As the Nevada results came in, the image came to me that we may be witnessing the pendulum swing. The 2016 election swung to the right, and this may be the swing to the left. Here I do not use the two major political parties since the voters in those parties appear to be choosing atypical candidates. The BIC is certainly not a traditional Republican, and the current majority of Republicans have abandoned their traditional values for a demagogue. Similar signs are popping up in the swing back toward the other extreme.
A related observation: an important line of dialogue from the HBO series Homeland: “The truth doesn’t matter if no one is listening.” A corollary is: “Political opinions don’t matter unless you vote.”
Yeah, I’m with you. I have never been a fan of the caucus process used in some states, but it is not up to us. The political party members in those states choose their means of selecting delegates for the national conventions as part of the party nominee selection process. Only they can change their methods.
It will likely take years before the ERA case reaches the Supremes. It has been nearly 50 years since the resolution went to the states; it is very long overdue. Yet, it took 203 years to ratify the 27th Amendment. There are several contentious peripheral elements in the ERA case. To my knowledge, state ratification votes have not been rescinded as these five Republican-dominated states are trying to do. The deadline for ratification was in the proposing language not in the actual amendment text, so it is debatable whether it is binding. However, Congress passed at least one extension, which adds weight to the imposition of a deadline. Lastly, it is arguable that once the deadline has passed, the vote count is moot. Many aspects of judicial challenge lay ahead.
Thank you for your comment, and you were correct.
“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”
Cheers,
Cap
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