Perhaps Jack Smith, the all-American special prosecutor, is reading PNG because he has noticeably speeded up his criminal investigation of Herr Trumpillini. Two more subpoenas went out to Trump family members this week. Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, were summoned to testify. Since Pence is fighting his appearance on dubious constitutional grounds, Ivanka's testimony could be significant since she was in the room when her daddy spoke to Pence about throwing out the electoral vote count in several states. She was also one of several people, including her husband, that attempted to dissuade her father from launching the autogolpé. Smith is also in court to compel Pence's testimony.
The last time the 'speech and debate' privilege was asserted by another plotter, it took four months to resolve the issue. Retired judge Michael Luttig, a respected conservative jurist who advised Pence against participating in the coup, wrote a Times editorial advising Pence to comply with his subpoena and testify. Lutting sees his resistance as politically motivated. Shape-shifter Pence--now a member of the Executive branch, then a member of Congress as it suits--hopes that his refusal will be credited to him as righteousness by MAGA voters. Lutting also expressed the opinion that federal courts would make short change of his 'hail Mary' defense given the Supreme Court precedents set during the Nixon debacle.
Speaking of that one, a least one pundit thinks that Trump was given societal license to do what he did by the precedent of Dick Nixon escaping prosecution for his criminality while in office. Former Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski did not want to prosecute Nixon for his crimes against the Republic, citing the trauma to the nation. His grand jury, after sitting for 30 months, wanted him to indict Nixon. According to one account, some jurors raised both hands when asked to vote on indictment. The possibility was foreclosed when Gerald Ford pardoned the former president. US Person thinks to this day elevating Ford to the Oval office was the quid pro quo for Nixon's pardon; Ford was not re-elected primarily, many believe, for that pardon. Fortunately for the nation we got JC-- Jimmy Carter.
Trumpillini, the cunning criminal he is, does not have a pardon, but he is in a position to negotiate one if a Repugnant wins the White House in 2024 by having skin in the game. Let's not make the same mistake again. Either our civil rhetoric--no person is above the law--means something, or it does NOT, and we should all go home and let the sociopaths take control entirely. Seven months and counting.
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| Wackydoodle sez: "Here's the play, Jerry...." |