Recommended Reads: Fear Of Juries And Predictions For 2020
There's a thoughtful article this morning at American Conservative--Why Americans Fear Trial by Jury . As if the testimony of NSA whistleblowers about the government's spying capabilities weren't enough to scare you out of dissent from establishment CW, this article explains why it's such a bad idea to try to explain to twelve of your peers that your innocent of ... whatever. Is this really what Magna Carta was about?
However, I recommend this article in particular because the author gets into the whole concepts of "conspiracy" and "honest services fraud"--which I have suggested as the basis for draining the Swamp that gave us the Russia Hoax and the Mueller Witchhunt. The author critiques those concepts in the context of the college admissions scandal, and the prosecution of the celebrity parents. Here's a relevant excerpt:
The federal charge was not aimed at the acts themselves but merely at a conspiracy to commit a crime—what the great American jurist Learned Hand warned against, calling such charges the “darling of the modern prosecutor’s nursery.” Conspiracy is loved by prosecutors because the defendant does not have to commit a crime, just generally plan something with someone else. In this case, it was about hiring an educational services agent whom the government charged with “honest services” fraud.
The celebrities themselves did not commit such fraud but “conspired” with the agent “facilitator” to do so. Depriving another of his right to honest services is itself a problematic concept, since, as defense attorney Jeremy Hogan has asked, what if you tip a waiter for a corner table? You would apparently be guilty of depriving other customers of the honest services of that restaurant. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was blunter, asking how is it fair “to prosecute someone for a crime that has not been defined until the judicial decision that sends him to jail.”
Before you jump aboard the St. Antonin Scalia bandwagon, I would caution that the same sainted jurist found FISA and the criminalization of "lying to the FBI" essentially unproblematic. There's more to this whole problem than these two paragraphs suggest.
In the case of the Russia Hoax investigation, I would still maintain that "honest services fraud" is a reasonable way--and often the only way--to effectively prosecute bureaucrats who use their positions to subvert our constitutional order. In the case of the Russia Hoax the conspiracy went far, far, beyond "generally plan[ning] something" to extremely elaborate misdirection of government resources to the purpose of thwarting and subverting our constitutional order. Since the Founding Fathers saw fit to make prosecution for treason basically impossible, yet didn't regard the Constitution as a suicide pact, "conspiracy" and "honest services fraud" still seems to me to be a reasonable means for defending We The People against a runaway government trampling us and the Constitution. Misuse of these prosecutive theories happens, but not in this case. I offer no remedy here for abuses, but the crimes are far too important to allow to slip.
PREDICTIONS FOR 2020
These aren't my predictions--they're Kurt Schlichter's. His reasoning appears in quotes. But quotes from Schlichter are truncated--his originals are much longer. Follow the link.
Here's What's Going To Happen In 2020
10. Trump Will Be Impeached…Yawn : "Sure, some of the useless GOP caucus will make noises about how this clusterfark must be taken seriously because principles and honor and stuff. Saps. They just better take seriously that we in the base will electorally eviscerate them if they vote to convict. Maybe Mitt the Gimp will vote for it because he’s weak and stupid. Maybe Senator Iglookowski (RINO-AK) will too. But in the end, Trump will triumph and yet again humiliate his opponents."
9. The Economy Will Stay Strong ,
8. Virginia Will Declare War on Its Citizens : The liberals ... will make it clear to moderates that electing liberals means voting for conflict, ... Look for it to get ugly."
7. Replacing Justice Ginsburg : "... get ready for future Justice Amy Coney Barrett to have to explain that, yes, she likes beer, and no, she didn’t run a rape gang in elementary school."
6. Trans Fascism Backlash : Normal people are getting tired of being told they have to lie and say there are 631 sexes, ...”
5. Pardon This : "We will see the President pardon the victims of Deep State vendettas designed to overturn the election of 2016."
4. Durham’s Indictments : "The investigation into the soft coup is going to turn up wrongdoing that the entrenched leftist bureaucracy can’t shove under the rug anymore."
Here, sadly, Schlichter predicts that major wrongdoers--naming Hillary and Comey--will escape prosecution. He seems to see stopping with leftist foot soldiers rather than going for the generals is acceptable progress toward justice. I don't agree.
3. Foreign Policy Success : Oh boy, this is a big one, currently--a real danger area.
"Iran will continue to destabilize, but we will not go to war – we will neuter the mullahs economically and let the Persian people deal with their oppressors. China has some strengths but many weaknesses – we will exploit those and build a trade relationship based on reciprocity instead of American submission."
Schlichter has other predictions that I find unacceptable.
2. Democrats Will Lose the House :
1. Trump Will Get Reelected : "In the end, Trump will improve on his 2016 Electoral College numbers and win the popular vote too, at which point the liberals will turn against the entire concept of voting."