Below is my column in the Messenger on the ongoing (but still largely unknown) efforts of Special Counsel Robert Hur. In fairness, Hur could be doing what Jack Smith and his predecessors failed to do: run a leakless investigation. However, for the roughly half of Americans who view the Trump impeachment as “politically motivated,” the lack of any indication of an equally aggressive investigation is concerning. People should not view this as a competition between “our” and “their” special counsels. However, the public wants to see a balance of effort. Those citizens are asking if you have seen this man because they want their special counsel back.
Here is the column:
With the arraignment of Donald Trump in Miami, Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith is pushing forward with a historic criminal prosecution that could result in a terminal prison sentence for the 76-year-old former president and, at least for now, the leading Republican candidate in the 2024 election.
This also is the six-month anniversary of the appointment of another special counsel … Robert Hur. In the company of better-known appointees like Robert Mueller, John Durham and Smith, Hur is the prosecutorial version of the missing Beatle. He was appointed on Jan. 12 and then seemingly vanished.
Unlike the apparent leaks and speculation about the Smith investigation or the breathless accounts of Trump grand jury testimony, Hur’s investigation of classified documents allegedly found to be improperly in Biden’s possession appears to have all but disappeared.
The lack of leaks is, in one sense, a good thing; prosecutors should do their work without public comment. Moreover, Hur is well short of the multiyear investigations of special counsels Robert Mueller or John Durham. However, even with the Durham investigation, there still were indicators of action, from subpoenas confirmed by recipients to grand jury appearances.
Hur is clearly going to face heightened comparative scrutiny. The concern in many minds is that, once again, there may be a stark difference in how the Justice Department pursues Trump versus his opponents.
With then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her possession of classified documents on private email servers, the Justice Department was so accommodating that it seemed to send requests in gift baskets rather than as subpoenas. As State Department investigators worked to determine the potential compromising of classified information, she and some members of her staff did not fully cooperate initially and refused to turn over her emails and other evidence; Clinton declined to speak to the State Department’s inspector general. Ultimately, the FBI cut deals with her close aides to secure their cooperation. Later, additional classified material was found on the laptop of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who was married to top Clinton aide Huma Abedin — 49,000 emails, potentially relevant to the Clinton investigation.
A majority of the public at the time believed Clinton should have been charged in that case, and nearly half of Americans have come to view the FBI as politically compromised or untrustworthy.
Hur may answer all of these questions eventually, but he will be asked not simply whether there will be charges against President Biden but how he investigated the allegations.
With Trump, the FBI followed the familiar no-holds-barred approach to pursuing him, including a raid on his home at Mar-a-Lago.
To be clear, there are significant differences between the Trump and Biden cases. The Trump indictment details alleged efforts to conceal documents, obstruct the investigation and lie to the government. For two years, I have written that Mar-a-Lago was the greatest threat to Trump, and it has proven to be precisely that.
We obviously do not have an indictment on Biden and, thus, do not know the full extent of any evidence in that controversy. Yet when the Trump documents were found, Biden famously declared his revulsion with anyone possessing classified material. As he responded to a question from CBS’s Scott Pelley: “How that could possibly happen, how one, anyone, could be that irresponsible.”
Hur is now, presumably, trying to answer that question with regard to Biden himself. However, what is clear is that what President Biden has said publicly on the matter makes no sense.
Classified documents have been discovered in Biden’s possession at several locations, hundreds of miles apart, ranging from a prior office in Washington, D.C., to his home and his garage in Delaware. We also have learned that Biden may have removed documents from a SCIF while he was a senator and kept those documents.
Biden has publicly declared that he has “no regrets” and assured Americans that the special counsel investigation would soon peter out when it determined that “there is no ‘there’ there.”
Yet, his claim that these documents were inadvertently removed from the Senate and the White House strain credulity. You do not just inadvertently remove classified documents from a SCIF and then retain them for almost two decades.
Moreover, the documents from the period of the Obama administration were not just removed but were then divided and repeatedly moved to different locations. One document reportedly ended up in Biden’s personal library. The movement and division of the documents suggest purpose and knowledge.
That brings us back to special counsel Hur. Given a suspect who is offering an implausible explanation for potentially criminal conduct, most prosecutors would want to secure a statement on the record. Lying to investigators is itself a federal crime — removing any questions over statutes of limitation.
In the case of Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, then-FBI Director James Comey later bragged that he “probably wouldn’t have … gotten away with it” in other administrations but that he sent “a couple guys over” to White House offices to question Flynn. Comey broke protocols and sent the agents, who were able to get a statement that was later used to prosecute Flynn for misleading the FBI.
The question today is whether Hur has asked to speak to Biden or asked for a statement from Biden. The best time for such a demand was six months ago, before Biden might learn of countervailing evidence.
Biden has repeatedly insisted that he would fully cooperate with the investigation. That would seem like an invitation for an interview or a written statement back in January. If Biden has refused such a statement, it would appear that he is following a Clintonesque view of cooperation. But that, of course, depends on whether Hur actually asked for an interview or statement.
Smith used a flurry of subpoenas to pursue Trump over his documents. Smith was all over the place in pressuring Trump World figures, from low-level aides to Trump’s own lawyers — even compelling Trump counsel to testify against their client.
After six months, it may be a tad early to put Robert Hur’s face on milk cartons with a “Have you seen this man…” plea. However, after six months, it would be reassuring to see some proof of life in the investigation of President Biden’s classified documents.
Jonathan Turley, an attorney, constitutional law scholar and legal analyst, is the Shapiro Chair for Public Interest Law at The George Washington University Law School.
𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦
By: Steven Nelson – June 13, 2023
WASHINGTON — A group of Senate Republicans demanded Tuesday that Attorney General Merrick Garland appoint a special counsel to investigate President Biden’s role in his family’s international business dealings — amid allegations that Biden took a $5 million bribe while vice president.
https://nypost.com/2023/06/13/senate-republicans-demand-special-counsel-to-investigate-biden-bribery-claim/
𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩: 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐁𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲”
Trump promised the crowd that he would appoint a “special prosecutor” to investigate “the entire Biden family,” and Joe Biden himself as the “most corrupt president” in US history. Trump then pledged to use the Department of Justice to go after “others involved in the destruction of our elections, our borders, and the country.”
By: Ed Morrissey – June 14, 2023
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2023/06/14/trump-first-thing-ill-do-is-appoint-a-special-prosecutor-to-go-after-the-biden-crime-family-n557941
I’m beginning to think there may be a direct correlation between alleged bribery of Biden and the horrendous war in Ukraine.
“The New York Post has suggested a connection between this alleged bribery case and the Biden family’s dealings in Ukraine. Interestingly, Ukrainian officials held a press conference on June 13, 2020, where they showcased $5 million in cash purportedly offered as a bribe to halt an investigation into Mykola Zlochevsky, founder of natural gas company Burisma.”
*Victor Shorkin, the Ukraine chief Prosecutor Biden famously had fired, has testified in court he was investigating Burisma when Biden had him fired.
I’d agree, and add that this latest indictment is so overwhelmingly contrary to the law, to Art. II, the First, Fourth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments that it’s an even money bet Mr. Smith really effectively works on the side of Trump and others who have the Deep State set up for an epic takedown. I know how it sounds but we’re in a Civil War…have been for over 6 years…and having well placed double and triple agents in these times is to be expected. Take nothing at face value.
The allegations–with word there is evidence to back them up–that have come out against Big Guy recently would be enjoy to send the MSM into a feeding frenzy if made against a sitting Republican president. But all we get is a big yawn. Such a pity there is no journalistic integrity left that would have the MSM journalists (as opposed to reporters) digging deep down someone’s gullet for evidence of a huge bribe. Anyway, I found the Articles of Impeachment for Richard M. Nixon to contain eerily similar allegations that one could lodge against our current sitting President. Of course, we’ll never know how this all would have played out in the House and Senate, but we can guess.
https://watergate.info/impeachment/articles-of-impeachment
How to smoke out Robert Hur….Never give up. Chef Martin Yan, “Yan Can Cook” explains
Have they tried using an ambulance as bait, driving it up and down the streets of his favorite hangouts with sirens blaring?
Just a thought…..
(apologies to my attorney hubby 🙂 )
Jill Biden warns against Trump: ‘We know what’s in store if these MAGA Republicans win’
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4050461-jill-biden-warns-against-trump-we-know-whats-in-store-if-these-maga-republicans-win/
LOL!
Hey lady! I would take a Trump admin again vs another Biden admin any day.
Poll finds RFK Jr. holds highest net favorability among all 2024 candidates, with Chris Christie lowest
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/poll-rfk-jr-highest-net-favorability-christie-lowest
Beware of the USA’s real-life version of Elizabeth Urquhart!
Take a look at the number viewers now of Tucker Carlson vs FOX News.
The Govt’s paid old dinosaur media & corps are fast collapsing.
Last week I seen a poll showing now only about 40% of Americans get their news from old media yet the govt/media keep doubling down even though we know they are lying.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/more-fallout-fox-news-after-dropping-tucker-theyre/
However, for the roughly half of Americans who view the Trump impeachment as “politically motivated,”….
Of course everything that Biden’s Handlers are doing re: Trump is politically motivated. Biden promised as such, with the yellow press lapping up his every spittle.
We are being run by the Democrat politburo
politburo | ˈpälitˌbyo͝orō |
noun (plural politburos)
the principal policymaking committee of a communist party.
• (Politburo) the principal policymaking committee in the former Soviet Union, founded in 1917
“I’m making sure [Trump], under legitimate efforts of our Constitution, does not become the next President again.”
– Joseph Biden
November 9, 2022
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/11/09/remarks-by-president-biden-in-press-conference-8/
To be clear, there are significant differences between the Trump and Biden
casesinvestigations.Actually, to be clear, you cannot compare the legal and/or national security risks of these cases if the investigations are not processed equally.
That being said, a good first step (an easy step) in an equal process would be to consider if either had, by law, the authority to possess classified material after leaving office. If yes, follow that process flow. If no, follow that process flow.
The latter step should lead to a much shorter process. Did he have them? Yes. Indict. Prosecute. Sentence.
So to be clear, this is not equal justice under the law. This is lawfare.
Indeed, Olly. “…good first step (an easy step) in an equal process would be to consider if either had, by law, the authority to possess classified material after leaving office.”
Your comment is very similar to ones I made yesterday…in essence, *who*, as in which underling(s) to the President, has the higher authority to claim and enforce, “Um, Mr. President, you can’t take those documents with you when your term is up. It doesn’t matter if the Constitution says executive Power is vested in you or that you’re highest-powered person in the Executive Branch, *I* determine which documents are Personal; which ones you’re allowed to take, not you. Now gimme those back!”
Your comment is very similar to ones I made yesterday…
I’ve noticed a pattern in your, Olly and my comments, following a babaluish beat. I just want to make one thing abundantly clear. If the Secret Service, FBI or DOJ are monitoring us, do not identify as QAnon, but rather the Cuban Bros, with yours truly being the playing the Cuban Conga.
Is this mic turned on?
Sounds good to me, Estovir! Just don’t call me, “Luuuuucy!” 😂
🤣 Ustedes son mis hermanos.
LOL!!
JAFO, I understand your point, but a process exists for everything. It has a starting point and an ending point. It has a measurable input and output. If I’m manufacturing a widget, I will have raw material coming in and that widget is supposed to look the same on the output. But what if someone in the process is corrupt and will only process raw material they want to go through the process and reject everything else, then it will appear that you’re producing widgets, but not all you could produce.
So if the output of this process for example is equal justice under the law, then the steps in the process need to be measurable and lead to that output. When there’s an allegation of criminal activity. That’s the input. There will be a lot of variation on that input. What’s next step? Let’s say it is for the FBI to investigate. If the FBI is working in the process for equal justice and they have laws/procedures to follow, then it should not matter who the individual is. If they follow the process without variation, then one output of that process may be to send it to the DOJ to indict. If the DOJ is working their process for equal justice, then they have a process to follow. And so on. If at any point from beginning to end that variation is introduced into the process dependent on who the subject is, what color they are, their station in life and so on, then the entire process becomes corrupted. The entire expectation of what equal justice under the law would be lost.
The entire process of providing equal justice under the law has been completely corrupted. There has been so much variation (corruption) introduced from beginning to end that the expectation of equal justice on the output is gone. And Bastiat described exactly what this looks like.
The Complete Perversion of the Law
But, unfortunately, law by no means confines itself to its proper functions. And when it has exceeded its proper functions, it has not done so merely in some inconsequential and debatable matters. The law has gone further than this; it has acted in direct opposition to its own purpose. The law has been used to destroy its own objective: It has been applied to annihilating the justice that it was supposed to maintain; to limiting and destroying rights which its real purpose was to respect. The law has placed the collective force at the disposal of the unscrupulous who wish, without risk, to exploit the person, liberty, and property of others. It has converted plunder into a right, in order to protect plunder. And it has converted lawful defense into a crime, in order to punish lawful defense.
Olly, that’s an excellent (and timely) quote by Basiat. Do you wonder, like I, if any of our so-called ‘betters’ at DOJ have heard it, or learned it’s conceptual warning at any time in their careers going back to law school? (One doesn’t require having a law degree to understand his point.)Today I can only believe that yes, they know the ‘warning’ – they simply don’t care enough to practice against it since it goes inversely proportional against their gaining of further destructive power.
That’s a valid question JAFO. Probably. But I suspect if they haven’t read it directly, they’ve been exposed to the principles of it. The problem is these people are part of a system with different principles. Their library of knowledge is no longer an asset to be used in the pursuit of justice, but rather in the pursuit of preserving the system. Your question reminded me of an essay written by Vaclav Havel in 1968 titled The Power of the Powerless. He of course was living within his own, totalitarian, communist system. When I first came across this in 2014 I saved it, because I sensed we were headed in the direction he describes. I reread much of it today and the following excerpt could have been written about the United States today. By the way, his use of “post-totalitarian system” does not mean no totalitarianism exists.
The post-totalitarian system touches people at every step, but it does so with its ideological gloves on. This is why life in the system is so thoroughly permeated with hypocrisy and lies: government by bureaucracy is called popular government; the working class is enslaved in the name of the working class; the complete degradation of the individual is presented as his ultimate liberation; depriving people of information is called making it available; the use of power to manipulate is called the public control of power, and the arbitrary abuse of power is called observing the legal code; the repression of culture is called its development; the expansion of imperial influence is presented as support for the oppressed; the lack of free expression becomes the highest form of freedom; farcical elections become the highest form of democracy; banning independent thought becomes the most scientific of world views; military occupation becomes fraternal assistance. Because the regime is captive to its own lies, it must falsify everything. It falsifies the past. It falsifies the present, and it falsifies the future. It falsifies statistics. It pretends not to possess an omnipotent and unprincipled police apparatus. It pretends to respect human rights. It pretends to persecute no one. It pretends to fear nothing. It pretends to pretend nothing.
Individuals need not believe all these mystifications, but they must behave as though they did, or they must at least tolerate them in silence, or get along well with those who work with them. For this reason, however, they must live within a lie. They need not accept the lie. It is enough for them to have accepted their life with it and in it. For by this very fact, individuals confirm the system, fulfill the system, make the system, are the system.
https://archive.org/details/vaclav-havel-power-of-the-powerless/page/4/mode/2up
Olly, Havel seems almost more “Orwellian” than Orwell himself – not that either of them or wrong. Thanks for the link.
JAFO, Orwell of course ended up being right, but how many people read 1984 and said that could not happen here? Havel said hold my beer. He was a dissident describing what those predictions look like in reality under a totalitarian regime. Once the Iron Curtain came down, his essay faded into obscurity. That was communism after all and as long as we’re a constitutional republic, we’re safe. When I revisited that essay (correction: written in 1978) I was taken aback at how his description of life in communist Czechoslovakia is a description of life in 2023 America. That first paragraph stood out to me as no different to the list of grievances in the DoI. When I put those in bullet form here, it’s hard to argue this isn’t where we are today.
• life in the system is so thoroughly permeated with hypocrisy and lies;
• government by bureaucracy is called popular government;
• the working class is enslaved in the name of the working class;
• the complete degradation of the individual is presented as his ultimate liberation;
• depriving people of information is called making it available;
• the use of power to manipulate is called the public control of power, and the arbitrary abuse of power is called observing the legal code;
• the repression of culture is called its development;
• the expansion of imperial influence is presented as support for the oppressed;
• the lack of free expression becomes the highest form of freedom;
• farcical elections become the highest form of democracy;
• banning independent thought becomes the most scientific of world views;
• military occupation becomes fraternal assistance.
• Because the regime is captive to its own lies, it must falsify everything.
• It falsifies the past.
• It falsifies the present, and it falsifies the future. It falsifies statistics.
• It pretends not to possess an omnipotent and unprincipled police apparatus.
• It pretends to respect human rights.
• It pretends to persecute no one.
• It pretends to fear nothing.
• It pretends to pretend nothing.
Exactly right, Olly. Why that’s not better taught and understood in 2023 America is discouraging, if not downright disgraceful.
Dear Prof Turley,
I read with interest today Trump lawyers powerhouse dream team lacks expertise in the 1917 Espionage Act.
“Expert: Inability to find new lawyer leaves Trump without expert to handle Espionage Act charges”
Do you know anyone? What are you doing .. . in your free time?
*president Obama is a constitutional lawyer (Harvard) and has more experience [using] the Espionage Act than anybody .. . but he’s busy right now.
I read with interest today Trump lawyers powerhouse dream team lacks expertise in the 1917 Espionage Act.
When was the last time the espionage act was litigated in court?
Law schools teach it is likely unconstitutional.
People charged under the Espionage Act are rarely litigated in court. Julian Assange, an Australian national, has been in prison (or Ecudor embassy) in the UK for almost 10 years fighting extradition. Ed Snowden has been marooned in Moscow for almost that long.
Ed Snowden, as a U.S. citizen, has offered to return home to stand trial by a ‘jury of peers’ – including discovery and cross examination – several times. Both with Holder under Obama and Pompeo under Trump.
As I understand it, there is no public defense under the Espionage Act – both Assange and Snowden would be thrown in jail the moment they arrived – which, imo, makes it blatantly unconstitutional.
I think the question is, is someone going to show this column to Hur and would Hur make some kind of statement that he is still actively investigating?
As a general rule, the DoJ, and especially FBI subsidiaries, do not comment on [some] on-going investigations. And some have been going on for quite some time.
Otoh, Maggie Haberman @ NYT has a direct line to Special Counsel Smith’s investigation.
*Special Counsel Ben Hur’s investigation is not like that .. . it’s so quite not even a mouse is stirring.
Most of what we know about the Trump document indictments came from Trump or his supporters until the inditements were released. Both Biden and Pence have remained mostly silent other to say they are cooperating with the Justice department. Isn’t what Pence and Biden doing and the justice department silent the way it is supposed to work.
It is DOJ settled policy that a sitting president may not be indicted. The most that will come of Hur’s investigation is a report. It will then be up to the House to decide whether to impeach.
Here are some immediate possibilities for other House action:
1. Commence an impeachment investigation into Biden for bribery; and
2. In the relevant appropriations bill either deny any and all funding to the DOJ (including FBI) until Trump case is dismissed and all documents requested by House committees are delivered substantially unredacted or deny funding to support the Trump case (including salaries) until the foregoing conditions are met.
If the House Republicans believe Biden is corrupt and the DOJ has been politicised they should use the political power they have to remedy the problems.
>”It is DOJ settled policy that a sitting president may not be indicted.”
As I understand it, if it is ‘settled policy’ at the DoJ, it derives entirely from an old OLC memo. In any case, if a president was indicted he could, presumably, simply pardon himself. .. and there will be the peace.
Impeachment, as you suggest, seems the best remedy for a sitting president .. . and I would impeach Biden for using 51 top intelligence officials, including ‘five CIA directors, both parties’, to lie and interfere in the last election.
*count #2 provoking the Ukraine war and blowing up Nordstream pipelines.
They didn’t lie. You can’t quote anything they actually said in he letter that’s false.
They lied. Knowingly, with malice. Ostensibly to give Biden a ‘talking point’ during the final debate with Trump.
Here is Biden cashing in on that talking point during the final debate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlfNWXyZiIU
That’s election interference .. . by officials at the highest levels of government.
*btw, criticism of Biden is not the same thing as support for Trump (or vice versa).
btw, criticism of Biden is not the same thing as support for Trump (or vice versa).
That you feel you have to state the former tells us how the dictatorship of relativism has gripped America. Olly and JAFO are discussing Basiat’s famous quote.
St Augustine of Hippo (4th Century AD) stated The truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself.
In Trump and Biden and Obama and Clinton world, everything is relative, absolute truth does not exist, the now trite “whataboutism” is injected whenever anyone criticizes their team. As I have stated in the past on this forum, the Founding Fathers never meant for the US Constitution to stand alone as the guide for our behaviors. No set or collection of laws can ever dictate, govern or preempt human behaviors. Our behaviors come from within, our choices, our free will, our lack of virtue, immorality, or lack of self-control. Professor Turley often takes a fundamentalist point of view with the First Amendment. Yet, with freedoms come responsibilities. This is why John Adams quote from 1798 applies more than ever:
Because We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by [. . .] morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition …. Revenge or Galantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-3102
Likewise it was George Washington in his farewell address who stated in 1796:
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labour to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men & citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man ought to respect & to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private & public felicity. Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure—reason & experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
’Tis substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of free Government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-20-02-0440-0002
It is impossible, foolish and deceptive to attempt to run a government simply on laws (which are passed and nulled by man) where morality and virtue are absent.
Bill and Hillary Clinton ushered an evil era in our national politic in the 1990s with the will of the people. It has grown more fierce and ravenous in seeking to devour America as contrasted with the nation created by the Founding Fathers. This was Justice Antonin Scalia’s point over and over again. Obama, Trump and now Biden, with their associated corrupt administrations, have fed fuel to these devouring forces so that finding a virtuous, moral politician is useless given the overwhelming number of non-virtuous, immoral politicians
It all starts at home. Our homes, our nuclear families, our extended families are on life support if not rotten to the core. From these have come crooked, broken individuals with grave pathologies, that I suspect George Washington, John Adams and Alexander Hamilton would rejected outright as being unfit for political office. To wit:
The sincere friends of liberty, who give themselves up to the extravagancies of this passion, are not aware of the injury they do their own cause. As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust, so there are other qualities in human nature which justify a certain portion of esteem and confidence. Republican government presupposes the existence of these qualities in a higher degree than any other form. Were the pictures which have been drawn by the political jealousy of some among us faithful likenesses of the human character, the inference would be, that there is not sufficient virtue among men for self-government; and that nothing less than the chains of despotism can restrain them from destroying and devouring one another.
– Federalist Paper #55
Flannery OConnor summed it up perfectly in her brilliant short story: A Good Man is Hard to Find:
She would’ve been a good woman,” said The Misfit, “if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.”
Yes, Olly I am being philosophical. Without a philosophical foundation there can exist no order.
Fin
“Obama, Trump and now Biden, with their associated corrupt administrations, have fed fuel to these devouring forces so that finding a virtuous, moral politician is useless given the overwhelming number of non-virtuous, immoral politicians”
I agree with the others, but I don’t see Trump as particularly corrupt in his duties as President. If he were, the left would have succeeded in his impeachment.
Trump is pretty honest and very transparent. Does he make mistakes? Yes. Can he say things that would better have been left unsaid? Yes. But overall, he performed as expected for a good President.
We are failing today because of a lack of morality in our leadership and citizenry. Trump’s actions (whether or not he is moral) have enabled morality.
Let’s not let our personal biases corrupt our intellect.
Trump fancies himself Gordon Gekko (from the movie ‘Wall Street’). Greed is good. There’s a certain morality to it.
“The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. … Greed will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the U.S.A..”
*dave chappelle tries to explain why some Americans love Trump to an SNL crowd .. .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m-gO0HSCYk
DGS, if greed causes excessive worry, one should read Adam Smith. Self-interest drives people, but there are two sides to that type of agreement. Firstly, one satisfies themselves, but an agreement between two parties requires the other side to derive benefit.
We also need to recognize what greed is. Greed probably is more harmful to the greedy person than anyone else.
Let’s not let our personal biases corrupt our intellect.
SM, Estovir’s intellect is biased towards morality and not politics. I almost knee jerked a response in defense of Trump, and then I reread his point. All of those administrations have been corrupt. With Obama and Biden, they led and fed the corruption. Trump fought against them. And he is correct, in general, non-virtuous, immoral politicians seem to be the only options electable. George Washington could announce he’s running today and he’d be cancel-cultured into oblivion. And why? Because those that elect them have as you say allowed their personal biases to corrupt their intellect.
“SM, Estovir’s intellect is biased towards morality and not politics. “,
but take note, you also said: “I almost knee jerked a response in defense of Trump”
Why? Probably because, Estovir, a fine, intelligent, and moral person, linked Trump with the wrong group. The Bible teaches us not to speak ill of others, but we can squeeze in those things true that we can reasonably prove.
This is a political blog. Did Trump deserve to be linked with the dishonesty of Clinton while in office? No. I rest my case.
” George Washington could announce he’s running today and he’d be cancel-cultured into oblivion.”
We all have worts, Washington included. If we were perfect, we wouldn’t need a supreme being. We are not meant to be perfect. We are supposed to strive to be better, and we strive not to be biased.
Probably because, Estovir, a fine, intelligent, and moral person, linked Trump with the wrong group.
Nope.
“Nope”
Olly, you almost had a knee-jerk reaction. Wasn’t there a reason for that reaction?
Maybe for a moment, you thought Trump, as a politician, didn’t belong in “associated corrupt administrations.” Maybe not, but if you think his administration was corrupt, perhaps, you can tell us how.
Did Trump take money or sell America’s security?
I don’t think there is a case of corruption against Trump, though I am sure we can find common ground elsewhere.
SM, my take on Estovir’s comment was explained. I specifically stated Trump fought against the corruption permeating the administration (Executive branch) he inherited. His laundry list of appointees that he ended up firing showed how easy it is to stock the branch with more of the same bad people. Trump said, We have acting people. The reason they are acting is because I’m seeing how I like them, and I’m liking a lot of them very, very much. There are people who have done a bad job, and I let them go. If you call that turmoil, I don’t call that turmoil. I say that is being smart. That’s what we do.
Trump is no longer naïve about vetting his choices before he enters the White House. His Schedule F plan is the number 1 reason I would vote for him…again.
Olly, my problem was Estovir’s inadvertent linking Trump to corruption [“associated corrupt administrations.” ]. I think we all agree that we will vote for Trump again, and if the nomination goes to DeSantis, we will all vote for DeSantis.
Estovir, excellent! We need more of this.
Thanks Olly. You might enjoy the following article which elaborates further my argument
A Republic, If We Can Keep It: America’s Survival Depends Not on Law but on People
The government set up by James Madison and the other Founders requires a virtuous public and virtuous leaders—or the whole system will fail.
The Atlantic by Adam J. White, Feb 4, 2020
Estovir, that is a terrific essay and sadly an indictment of where we are today. I’ve written about why I follow this blog. I read JT’s posts about politics and the law. I read many of the comments. And while they are often sound on the points of law from my limited understanding, I cannot shake the feeling that we’re in a nosedive and everyone is arguing over who should be seated in first class.
The one thing the framers could not do is constitutionally protect the people from their own human nature. That has been our Achille’s Heel. The 1st 100 years of this experiment proved that point. Garfield’s warning, while necessary, was like a flight attendant telling us about oxygen masks, seat cushions and exit doors. Good information, but that won’t happen in this country.
George Orwell gave us a warning of where we were headed. Yuri Bezmenov told us how we would get there. And Vaclav Havel showed us exactly what it looks like when we arrive. In the opening sentences of Abraham Lincoln’s Fragment on the Constitution and Union he say’s All this is not the result of accident. It has a philosophical cause. https://constitutionreader.com/reader/chapter.engz? While he was describing the founding of our country, ironically, it describes what will cause us to end this great experiment. We didn’t get here by accident. There is a philosophical cause. And it’s the antithesis of the framer’s.
Lastly, I don’t know if you read the bullet points I listed from Havel’s essay, but this list will tell anyone paying attention that we’re no longer at risk of living under a totalitarian regime, we’ve arrived. If this (and it does) describe Czechoslovakian Communism, that list describes United States Communism.
• life in the system is so thoroughly permeated with hypocrisy and lies;
• government by bureaucracy is called popular government;
• the working class is enslaved in the name of the working class;
• the complete degradation of the individual is presented as his ultimate liberation;
• depriving people of information is called making it available;
• the use of power to manipulate is called the public control of power, and the arbitrary abuse of power is called observing the legal code;
• the repression of culture is called its development;
• the expansion of imperial influence is presented as support for the oppressed;
• the lack of free expression becomes the highest form of freedom;
• farcical elections become the highest form of democracy;
• banning independent thought becomes the most scientific of world views;
• military occupation becomes fraternal assistance.
• Because the regime is captive to its own lies, it must falsify everything.
• It falsifies the past.
• It falsifies the present, and it falsifies the future. It falsifies statistics.
• It pretends not to possess an omnipotent and unprincipled police apparatus.
• It pretends to respect human rights.
• It pretends to persecute no one.
• It pretends to fear nothing.
• It pretends to pretend nothing.
What is the answer Olly?
What is God calling Olly to do now, tomorrow, next week, next year given how you read the situation (accurately IMHO)?
Im not being sophomoric. When a problem is identified, a solution who be offered as well in so far as one you can effect in your personal sphere of influence. What is it?
I ask because most of the comments on here also vocalize fear, uncertainty, doom and gloom, rebuke. But rarely does anyone propose a solution that they personally plan on executing in their sphere of influence, hence my question. You already know my solution as I have stated it for several years
Out of the 150 Psalms in the Old Testament, all of them end in hope, except for one
What is God calling Olly to do now, tomorrow, next week, next year given how you read the situation (accurately IMHO)?
I’ve had three “aha” moments in my life that completely changed how I look at myself and the world around me. The 1st was learning Systems Thinking and underneath that Total Quality Management in the mid 1990’s. The 2nd and 3rd happened at the same time @2007. I came to be in Jesus Christ and began my mission to study my Christian faith and become literate in US Civics.
I had a blog on LinkedIn for a couple years that was completely about civics. It attracted quite a following, not anything like here, but that was when I really began reading and studying the more philosophical writings related to how this country formed. I laugh now, but I learned what I thought I knew was a joke. I would make comments on some topic and would quickly be asked for my source. I’d find something contemporary and just as quickly be proven wrong by someone providing an original source document. The blog also attracted, just like here, people vocalizing fear, uncertainty, doom and gloom, rebuke. So using my system thinking background, I was inspired to do what I thought was going to be a quick root cause analysis. So I asked the blog one simple question; We Have Many Problems, With Many Causes, But Is There One Root Cause? I did not offer my opinion during this exercise. For every cause suggested, I would ask one basic question: If that cause was fixed, would all our problems be solved? Oh boy! This was going to take awhile.
1 Year, 184 people and 1000 comments later, we had consensus, not on one but three root causes: Civics Illiteracy, Civics Apathy and a Dependency on Government. We dubbed the solution the 3-legged stool of good citizenship. Of course we need citizens to be literate in civics. With that they need to be engaged and at the same time learn to be self-reliant. It must be all 3 or it won’t work.
That’s my foundation. Out of that LinkedIn blog, I formed a group from around the country and began building a website for the civics literacy and engagement piece. We created a 12-step program for civics literacy. We were nearly completed to go live and then Hillsdale was doing it better than we were, so that ended. I went through some serious health problems and got hooked on this blog. I’ve been church council vice president and then president. I’m actually headed out on a 1 week mission trip to work on a pastor’s retreat. I became a Knight’s Templar in 2018 and I have a team building a national program related to Church and School security.
That’s where God has led me so far, is it enough? No. But I’m willing to entertain ideas that may have a greater impact.
OLLY says: June 16, 2023 at 7:25 PM
Out of that LinkedIn blog, I formed a group from around the country…. I’ve been church council vice president and then president. I’m actually headed out on a 1 week mission trip to work on a pastor’s retreat. I became a Knight’s Templar in 2018 and I have a team building a national program related to Church and School security. That’s where God has led me so far, is it enough? No. But I’m willing to entertain ideas that may have a greater impact.
You’ll have to ask God what is next
😉
I think you will agree that Jesus Christ had the most significant impact on our world than any other individual, and did so by spending time with people. This in spite of writing no books, no letters nor dictating to an already established organization to spread the Good News. If you think about it, all He did was go from person to person, mano a mano, one by one. He shunned no one. He welcomed all, He spent time with them in vivo, and then moved on to the next person, village, region, until it was finished. The Apostles did likewise, as recorded in Acts of the Apostles, and St Paul did the same. Then the Church began, suffered under persecution, but grew. It finally was adopted by Roman Empires and the rest is history.
Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said that ours was not one to be successful but to be faithful. She started a religious order called the “Missionaries of Charity” with a handful of Catholic Nuns after they left their former religious order, Sisters of Loretto. They had no office, no building, no money and begged, as they helped the poor, the sick, the discarded one by one. She followed the example of her Master. For the 40th anniversary of the United Nations in NYC in 1985, she was invited to speak. The UN Secretary General, Javier Perez de Cuellar, introduced her with the following: ”This week we have had the privilege of having the most powerful men in the world here. Now we have the privilege of having the most powerful woman in the world.”. Recall that this one one woman started as a beggar while ministering to people one to one. She followed the example of Jesus Christ, Who had no place to be born except in a stable of animals, but turned the Roman Empire upside down by visiting people one to one.
If you are not convinced of my argument that we Christians should be doing as our Master did, as the floundering early Church did, as Mother Teresa did, then perhaps MIT Social-Psychologist, Dr Sherry Turkle will.
I posted a month ago a video link to Turkle’s TED Talk, delivered 11 years ago, where she stated our civilization was in danger. The danger was that we had lost the skillset to communicate with people, one on one, because we came to accept that texting, smart phones apps, websites were sufficient. They have their place, she argued, and I think we can all agree. But nothing surpasses the efficacy, the impact, the power of spending time in vivo, in the flesh, with people where they are located, according to Turkle. Pope Francis is fond of telling Catholics in his speeches and in his actions, to accompany people, to journey with them.
One may have a career that is spent with people like a nurse, physician a teacher, or a psychologist. But those are all programmed, and fee based. Better to be available to give testimony of what you believe by simply wallowing in the muck with the smelly sheep. Preach often! Speak seldom. I see the following as occasions to do what I am suggesting: the gym, a community organization, at school on campus, a grocery store, a place of business that you patronize regularly, your neighborhood, and so forth.
Some quotes from St Mother Teresa follow that express my point. If our country has any hope, it is by a significant number of Americans, be it 25%, 33%, or 45%, of doing what Christ did, the Apostles did, Mother Teresa did. Forget the conservative vs liberal talk. Be the hands of Christ where ever you go. If it worked for the aforementioned, clearly it has bested the test of time.
I hope I have explained myself.
Quotes from St Mother Teresa of Calcutta:
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.”
“Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.”
“Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins the disruption of peace of the world.”
“I am but a pencil in the hand of God”
“Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”
“I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.”
“I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.”
“I think I’m more difficult than critical.”
“I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money. No, I wouldn’t touch a leper for a thousand pounds; yet I willingly cure him for the love of God.”
“I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?”
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
Connected, but alone? | Sherry Turkle
What is the answer Estovir?
What is God calling Estovir to do now, tomorrow, next week, next year given how you read the situation (accurately IMHO)?
Estovir, Between my comment and your response, we have all the makings of a strategic plan: Vision, Mission and Guiding Principles. I understand and agree 100% on what should guide us in everything we do, but what is your life’s mission? What is that you do? How do you do it? Who do you do it for?
What is God calling Estovir to do now, tomorrow, next week, next year given how you read the situation (accurately IMHO)?
God is calling me to live daily, hourly, the most difficult prayer known to Catholics, the Suscipe, aka the Prayer of St Ignatius of Loyola.
After Mass today I was approached by 3 parish leaders, a middle aged married couple who have their career training in prison counseling, and an older Haitian woman steeped in the Catholic Society of St Vincent de Paul global ministry. They asked me if I would help them start a local ministry for gays, lesbians, bisexual and trans, and I told them only if the focus is on People With HIV specifically targeting area blacks and hispanics, who have a higher prevalence of HIV. One immediately approached our pastor, he put in back on them, and now they need to work out the particulars. If it happens, it will be the only one of its kind for hundreds of miles, and it will have a scientific focus on HIV with a Catholic spirit. St Mother Teresa of Calcutta would approve.
Stay tuned
Rebuilding the soul of our nation requires acting locally one person at a time.
“…the dictatorship of relativism has gripped America.” … y cómo, hermano!
You haven’t quoted anything they said that was false. You’re not going to be able to either, because what they actually said wasn’t false.
You BELIEVE that they lied. But that doesn’t mean that the DID lie. And you’re unwilling to test your belief against the evidence.
“And you’re unwilling to . . .”
And because you’re an apologist for Leftist tyranny, you evade an obvious fact: The entire letter was *propaganda*, which is a Big Lie — a big lie sold to the American public as a campaign contribution to Biden.
Common decency and Democrats are words that usually are not found in the same sentence. Not for the last 1/2 century at least. Not only was Hillary treated with kid gloves but her own co-conspirators were allowed to sit in her interview and advise her. Although, in truth, saying “I don’t recall” several hundred times did not require an attorney with the skill level of Alan Dershowitz, RBG, or even Vinny Gambini (look it up). And she revels in it, which just reiterates her lack of decency, sense of entitlement , and Sea Hag persona.
The Law is a wonderful and meaningful career for many upstanding people who I have known over the years both as opponents and friends and advisers.
However Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Merrick Garland bring about as much honor to the Legal profession as Josef Mengele brought to Medicine. We just have not found all the bodies yet but the smell is certainly suggestive of large numbers.
G.E.B.
Very well said.
GEB,
Well said.
Another Grand Slam, GEB! Thanks.
What JT graciously fails to tell us is that the time-tested way to get the results that you want in government is the colossal power of appointment. It goes something like this: If you want an idiotic result, appoint an idiot to do it. If you want an ideological result, appoint an ideologue to do it. If you want to look good, appoint an obsequious lackey to do it. If you want a fair even-handed result … oh never mind … that never happens.
Not sure which one Been Hur is but I’m laying odds it’s no. 1.
Special Counsel Robert Hur is doing a command performance of the now-famous Biden slow walk. Upon completion of his hard-nosed investigation, he will be nominated by President Biden for the Presidential Medal of Freedom for “saving democracy”. Sound about right ???
so Durham finds(after 4 years) that the DOJ and FBI are corrupt…but…well…Nothing? They impeach Trump in a weekend….and do entrapment after entrapment against Trump! I guess when Republican leaders who are obvious Democrats like Romney, McConnell, Graham, McCarthy, heck George Bush is best friends with OBama….who Crucified him, etc….you shouldn’t expect anything less!
Partisan Eutrophication is the process of making The D.C. Swamp
Balance? You are kidding…right?
The Democrat Corruption is plain as the nose on your face. And if a Democrat leaders to make a couple million….Harvard, UPenn, NYC, etc are there with millions for cornies?
Time to END all federal aid loans to colleges, non-profits, hospitals….if anyone gets $100k. The system is very Broken and corrupt
The DOJ needs to be broken up and 90% moved out of DC…
We are living in a Fascist State….where “show me the Man, I will find the Crime” is truly happening!
Flynn, Trump, on and on….while Obvious crimes up and down the Democrat ranks….go un-indicted. Amazing how each Democrat leaders ends up with $100 Million….as they finish office?
The fact that the media have displayed a “dereliction of duty” in reporting around ANY issue that hurts Democrats while actually lying about ANY issue about Republicans should scare all Americans. Republicans have a sense of fairness, equality, and “equity” that Democrats lack entirely. Trump’s administration did not pursue prosecution of Hilary’s clear mishandling of classified information that resulted in foreign sources hacking it, nor did they pursue her and her team’s clearly illegal destruction of documents. Though he may have said he would pursue her, HE DID NOT, out of respect for common decency, of which Democrats do not possess. BUT REPUBLICANS/CONSERVATIVES NOW KNOW THAT DEMOCRATS/LIBERALS REALLY ARE a fascist, dictatorial, uni-party that will destroy anyone or anything in the way of their power and wealth. We will not forget and need to start playing by Democrat rules.
A five year old could figure this one out. It is called corruption. This administration is deeply corrupt and dishonest as are the many professional politicians and agencies who are on the take and the largest part of traditional media corporations are complicit and untrustworthy.
The fox is guarding the henhouse.
Nothing Biden says makes sense but the reasons vary
One thing Hur must remember is the one statement that applies to investigating Biden for same crimes as Trump….”No body messes with a Biden!”.
Remember the Prosecutor in Ukraine that was going after Burisma for Fraud….with two Board Members who were close associates of Joe Biden….his Son (the smartest guy Biden knows) young Hunter, and Devon Archer who got tagged for several hundred Millions of fraud in this Country.
They say where there is smoke there is fire……and the DOJ seeing smoke akin to that Canadian Smoke from raging forest fires….cannot seem to find the source of all that smoke when it comes to a Democrat.
They can throw a smoke grenade to create the impression of a fire (think Russia Collusion Hoax) and go after Trump for years….but the Biden Crime family…… crickets!
In Hur’s situation one of two things is going on….either he is doing nothing and hoping the heat from outside goes away…..or the heat from inside has gotten him and he really is “missing’.
A side note….recently the Uni-Bomber and the FBI Counter-Intelligence Agent who spied for the Russians both died in Federal Prison while serving their Life Sentences for their crimes.
Has anything Trump done actually compare with killing people by homemade bombs or actively spying for a foreign power who killed three of their people that were compromised by the FBI Agent?
I don’t know what evidence the Feds have on either Biden or Trump but I do know one thing….the Feds have gone after Trump like a pack of stray hounds going after a meat market and have avoided going after the Biden family, nay….any Democrat….like the Democrats are Typhoid Mary and the Crew of the Ship “St. Peters” all rolled into one.
The Left loves to say “no one is above the law”….until it is one of them and then they band together like a British Army Square.
Hur is either a good company man that can be trusted to come up empty handed or he is going to wind up on the Professor’s virtual Milk Carton.
“Hur is either a good company man that can be trusted to come up empty handed”
Ralph, if we reach into a box of corn flakes we shouldn’t expect to see a Cheerio.
“doing what Jack Smith and his predecessors failed to do: run a leakless investigation. ”
Your memory does not match mine. Constant leaks from people close the investigation.
We also have the warrant and the later indictment, that are full of narrative and absent facts.
“However, after six months, it would be reassuring to see some proof of life in the investigation of President Biden’s classified documents.”
Don’t hold your breath until that happens Professor. We all know what is going on. And if asked, they will say they can’t comment on an ongoing investigation. See how that works?