Turley: Prosecutors Or Praetorian Guard?

Jonathan Turley’s article on the Ashley Biden diary matter is valuable because it places the entire thing in exactly the right perspective. While the title of his article emphasizes the role of the FBI—and deservedly so—it’s important to understand that this abuse of federal powers is coming straight from the top of DoJ. Naturally, putting “FBI” in the title catches the attention of potential readers. And, in fact, the FBI could have pushed back against this misuse of their resources, but it’s also rather telling that a liberal former federal appellate judge like now AG Merrick Garland should be presiding over this disgrace, along with waste of space FBI Director Chris Wray. Scratch a liberal and you find the inner fascist lurking underneath.

Here’s how Turley starts out:

Prosecutors or Praetorian Guard: Why is FBI investigating one missing diary in a sea of smash and grabs?

With smash and grabs raging across the country, prosecutors have struggled to assure the public that they are cracking down on the crime wave and using every possible means to deter the organized thefts. One group notably missing in this effort has been the federal prosecutors.

...

There is, however, one allegedly stolen item that did bring a full-scale FBI investigation: the missing diary of Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden.

The question is why tens of thousands of dollars of purses stolen in cities like Chicago are treated as purely local matters while a single missing diary in Florida is a matter of an ongoing federal effort.

Turley goes on to explain the ins and outs of local versus federal prosecution of organized smash and grab rings versus the possible theft of a diary. For those who are interested in statutes like RICO, Turley gets into all that. He even suggests a possible federal statute that would cover the diary. It’s all interesting enough, but we know he’s leading up to a bigger point. First we get some background:

The controversy over Ashley Biden's diary began during her father's campaign for the presidency in 2020. Like her brother Hunter, Ashley has struggled with addiction and was living in a two-bedroom house in Delray Beach, Fla., with a friend. According to the New York Times, she decided to go to Philadelphia but to leave some belongings in two bags in the Delray house. The owner later allowed a friend named Aimee Harris and her two children to move in. The Times strongly suggests that Ms. Harris searched the possessions, noting that she was hard up for money and was also a Trump supporter. The Times then simply says "exactly what happened next remains the subject of the federal investigation."

... Project Veritas and its founder, James O'Keefe, maintained that they were given the diary by a "tipster" but decided not to use it. Indeed, the group later turned over the material to law enforcement.

Even the NYT records that O’Keefe, who received the full Roger Stone treatment from DoJ and the FBI, went to great pains to stay not only within the law but well within the law—beyond cavil within the law:

As noted by the New York Times, court records show that on Oct. 12, 2020, O'Keefe told Project Veritas staff that said they would not publish a story about the diary. He explained that, while they had "no doubt the document is real,” he was concerned that publishing the diary would be seen “as a cheap shot.”

Project Veritas continued to try to get President Biden to answer questions based on the diary. The Times quotes Project Veritas’s lawyer as stating “Should we not hear from you by Tuesday, October 20, 2020, we will have no choice but to act unilaterally and reserve the right to disclose that you refused our offer to provide answers to the questions raised by your daughter.”

That notably does not threaten the publication of the diary but rather the publication of the refusal to respond to the controversy. This is not just another Section 2314 case. Publications like the New York Times regularly run material unlawfully removed by whistleblowers or sources. Indeed, in 2019, a federal court dismissed a case against the Trump campaign over the use of material from hacked emails. In an 81-page opinion, U.S. District Judge John Koeltl noted “even if the documents had been provided directly to the Campaign [and] the Campaign defendants … they could have published the documents themselves without liability because they did not participate in the theft and the documents are of public concern.” 

What’s the point of all this federal LE and prosecutorial activity? That’s the real point—it looks like the FBI acting as a Praetorian Guard for the illegitimate occupant of the White House. The one they helped put in place.

The concern is whether the FBI is acting on a justified federal crime or acting like a type of Praetorian Guard for the First Family. 

This is not a new concern with the Bidens. Federal officers were also used when Hunter Biden's gun was thrown into a trash bin in Wilmington by Hallie Biden, widow of Hunter’s deceased brother and who was then in a relationship with Hunter.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Imagine if …