Charles Pierce Esquire
01 April 23
Washington howling means nothing about Trump indictment
After a full night and morning digesting The Latest News, I have come to one important conclusion: That any and all political noise out of Washington concerning the events in New York should be treated as completely irrelevant to the criminal charges in New York. And the noise is already at decibels only dogs can hear. From CNN:
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted that “The American people will not tolerate this injustice,” as he criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “The House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account,” he said. The number two House Republican – Majority Leader Steve Scalise – called it “outrageous.” In a tweet, Scalise called the indictment “one of the clearest examples of extremist Democrats weaponizing government to attack their political opponents.” Rep. Elise Stefanik, the House GOP conference chair, released a statement saying the indictment was “a political witch hunt” and a “dark day for America.”
“Outrageous,” House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan tweeted. “BREAKING: Trump has been indicted! This is another political witch hunt targeting the people’s President,” Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert tweeted. “President Donald Trump always fought for us. He puts the American people above corrupt interests. For that reason alone, the powerful will never stop coming for him,” Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida tweeted. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a key Trump ally who is also close to House GOP leadership, has tweeted that she plans on traveling to New York City on Tuesday to protest Trump’s indictment. While McCarthy has previously said he doesn’t think people should protest an indictment, Greene – who has become an ally to McCarthy – has struck a different tone, and argued its people’s right to peacefully organize.
And, from the New York Times:
“The unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage,” former Vice President Mike Pence told CNN. In some quarters, there was a darker reaction. On Fox News, the host Tucker Carlson said the ruling showed it was “probably not the best time to give up your AR-15s.” “The rule of law appears to be suspended tonight — not just for Trump, but for anyone who would consider voting for him,” Mr. Carlson said. One of his guests, the conservative media figure Glenn Beck, predicted that the indictment would cause chaos in the years ahead.
And, courtesy of NBC News, straight from the horse's...ah...mouth:
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who was preparing to deliver a Lincoln Day address in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Thursday night, tweeted, "The irony of standing on the battleground when I found out President Trump has been indicted is profound." Greene said Trump was innocent and “the only one standing in the way of these modern day tyrants, just like our founding fathers did, to protect each of us from evil.” “Impeach Biden,” she continued. “He’s given us every reason and the family banking records and more are giving us receipts. But now that the gloves are off. Prosecute any and all crimes. Enough of this witch hunt bullshit.”
Set aside the monumental offense against history contained in the fact that a known public sympathizer with armed insurrection was speaking at Gettysburg, an offense as rank as having Alexander Hamilton Stephens speak there on November 19, 1863 would have been, and take comfort that none of this rancid bloviating matters.
The fact is that none of it means anything as regards the indictment of the former president* and the subsequent legal proceedings, whatever they may be. This is a local matter and, in that, Alvin Bragg is the law. It is outside the federal system entirely. If the snipe-hunters subpoena him or any of his team, Bragg can tell them to pound sand. If he wins a conviction, or if he strikes a deal for a guilty plea, there is nothing a subsequent Republican president can do about a pardon. All the screeching from the monkey house is useful only as a bluff and, to date, Alvin Bragg's office has called and raised. From Politico:
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg defended his office’s decision to indict Donald Trump in a letter to Republican lawmakers Friday, rejecting GOP accusations of political persecution as “baseless and inflammatory...That conclusion is misleading and meritless,” wrote Leslie Dubeck, Bragg’s general counsel, in a six-page letter to three House Republican committee chairs who have sought internal details of the criminal probe.
“We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference,” Dubeck wrote in the letter to Judiciary, Oversight and Administration Chairs Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), James Comer (R-Ky.) and Bryan Steil (R-Wis.)......
“As Committee Chairmen, you could use the stature of your office to denounce these attacks and urge respect for the fairness of our justice system and for the work of the impartial grand jury,” she continued. “Instead, you and many of your colleagues have chosen to collaborate with Mr. Trump’s efforts to vilify and denigrate the integrity of elected state prosecutors and trial judges and made unfounded allegations that the Office’s investigation, conducted via an independent grand jury of average citizens serving New York State, is politically motivated.”
Such as,
She cited Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) statement that “Republicans in Congress MUST subpoena these communists and END this!” as well as Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-Fla.) call to scrutinize lawmakers who are “being silent on what is currently happening to Trump.”
Alvin Bragg is the law. Everything else is noise.
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