UPDATE: As of this morning (Monday, March 20, 2023) it appears the planned arrest of former President Trump has at least been delayed.
Per The Gateway Pundit: BREAKING: IS THIS ALL A SCAM? Now It Looks Like President Trump Will Not Be Arrested Tuesday
The headlines are filled with the anticipation of the arrest of Donald J. Trump. Some eagerly look forward to see him lead down the walk of shame
in handcuffs. Some are calling for him to be held without bail… presumably indefinitely. You know… like those J6 political prisoners who have to see their day in court. Do note my commentary here is presented as a citizen. While will absolutely comment on my perception of the legal issues involved, it should be noted I do not claim to be a lawyer nor admitted to any bar association and are not in any way legal advice. My comments offered from a layman’s perspective.
For the record, I do not know specifically what former President Trump is expected to be charged with in this debacle. I understand the charge or charges are classified as a misdemeanor. Thus is far less serious than a felony. Don’t get me wrong, misdemeanors are still crimes – or at least ostensibly so. Why am I hedging on this?
For one thing, just the title of this book by real-life lawer Henry A. Silvergate should give pause for thought. Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent. Do note I have not read this book nor will I profit should you buy it. The link is supplied simply for informational purposes. The premise of this book is any average citizen commits as many as three federal felonies every day simply by living one’s life. I’m citing this as an example of how rampant our legal system has become. Don’t be fooled. While this is in the federal level, do not think for a minute the states are lacking in legislative insanity, especially New York. As I grew up in that state, I can speak from experience.
For example: Citizens may not greet each other by “putting one’s thumb to the nose and wiggling the fingers”. Warning! The preceding link is to a pdf document entitled Strange State Laws. It was compiled by Forest Grove Elementary students in Pacific Grove CA. I found it both hilarious and somewhat scary. The things people we put in authority will do with their power. Yikes!
The bottom line here is, it is conceivable for Donald Trump, or any citizen to be charged with any number of violations. Another example from the document above is, if he jaywalked in New York, he couldn’t be charged with a crime unless he jaywalked diagonally. Would this be a simple appearance ticket or would he be held without bail.
Keep in mind, we are talking about a city that releases alleged armed robbers.
This is from the same Manhattan District Attorney’s office that plans on arresting the former President of the United States. Let that sink in.
While I have yet to find documentation of the actual proposed charge, I did find this: It is believed that the Manhattan DA’s office is looking into charging the 45th president with falsifying business records to hide his reimbursement of Cohen for the Daniels payment. So, if I get this right, the charge is “falsifying business records”. In other words, he allegedly listed the payment but called it something other than “reimbursement for hush payments”. Huh. My favorite tax consultant tells me that a) it is highly unlikely Donald J. Trump personally “falsified” anything, and b) labeling any business expense one thing or another for tax purposes isn’t a big deal as long as the expense itself is legitimate. Drawing on my own accounting education, I seem to remember my instructor saying accounting wasn’t as much math as it is …. Then something entirely different comes to mind. Yes, I am a bit warped but what this says to me is “selective enforcement of the law”.
First of all, I’m not so sure that mislabeling a business expense is akin to breaking the law. Even if it is, does this mean the Manhattan DA intends to scrutinize the records of every business within his jurisdiction put a stop to this white collar crime wave entirely? I doubt it, AND, if he only goes after Donald J. Trump then he is selectively enforcing the law and that is a no no, as deemed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Ouch. Now the question is, if I, a poorly educated citizen can figure this out, why can a high powered district attorney in one of our nation’s premier cities understand it? All I have is a computer and an internet connection, whereas Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, has that plus a degree in jurisprudence, a half billion-dollar budget, and an untold number of staff members – all with advanced degrees, computers, and internet connections – to dedicate to this issue. Could it be that at least one of these individuals may have come across this same principle in their studies and/or work experience and chooses to ignore it for political gain? NAH! Why, that would be outrageous. It would be like all of the anti-Trumpers calling for the Donald’s head while trying the hide the fact that they themselves are guilty of the same thing or something even worse. Speaking of worse crimes…
How come between Hunter Biden’s laptop and Anthony Weiner’s Laptop alone we’ve never heard a hint of an investigation even after many well-founded allegations of child pornography and worse on both? Not to mention classified documents. Or why does no one seem to be investigating those on Jeffery Epstein’s list of passengers on the so-called “Lolita Express”? Hear tell at least one of the young girls, now women, has come forward with potential testimony. Seems like lots of folks are hell bent on “getting” Donald Trump no matter what while gladly looking the other way from substantial evidence pointing to real crimes by others.
Sunday night Mark Levin had one of Trump’s attorneys one – the man defending Trump from these very allegations. One of the points he made was this prosecutor intended to use some new legal ideas in order to charge the former President. He further explained this was because this same avenue of prosecution was previously reviewed by the U.S. Attorney for the New York area. They declined to pursue legal action. In essence this Manhattan DA is apparently trying to invent a crime that does not exist. Huh. Seems very similar to what I just said – IF Trump had personally reimbursed repayment of Cohen’s outlays and personally called it “legal costs” rather than “hush money” or whatever, such would not be illegal. Call me on this if you can but I don’t think anyone has ever been arrested and convicted for paying someone to keep silent. If such a thing is accomplished withing the legal system it is called a “non-disclosure agreement”.
It’s said “the devil is in the details”. This story could not be more true to the phrase and that is what it is important to keep watch and speak out. This is not about Donald J. Trump. It never was. Nor were any of the Trump witch hunts performed by previous Congressional committees, the media, and other anti-Trump forces. While they all carried the “NO-TRUMP” banner, all of these acts were attacks on our nation, us citizens, and, ultimately, God Himself.
This latest one is a blatant attempt to sidestep our Constitution, in particular, where it states we all have equal protection under the law. Not to mention where our laws are to be enacted by representatives in legislative bodies and signed into law by the head of the administrative body instead of pulled out of thin air by some rogue law enforcement employee. Our nation is not a “make up the laws as we go along” country, but that is exactly what Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg seems to be doing by advancing new “legal theories”. One of these seems to be a variation on “he has to be guilty of something”. This is a direct contradiction of the preeminent basis for law in our nation: “Innocent until proven guilty”.
While this edict is ingrained in our national fabric, the threads of this principle runs much further.
As the preeminent English jurist William Blackstone wrote,”[B]etter that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent suffer.”74 This principle can also be found in religious texts and in the writings of the American Founders.75 Benjamin Franklin went further arguing “it is better a hundred guilty persons should escape than one innocent person should suffer.”76
This is known as Blackstone’s ratio but he was not alone in his thoughts, nor likely even the first to offer this. The echo of this principle rings in our ears today. None of this is to say Donald J. Trump is guilty of anything but rather, many have assumed his guilt time and time again only to come up empty trying to prove it. As his lawyer said, in essence, on Life, Liberty, and Levin last night, his detractors are determined to go to any lengths to find the man guilty of something.
Protests are planned for Tuesday. Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time knows I disdain protests. As self-governing citizens of our Constitutional Republic, protests are beneath us in most circumstances. Better to go above the heads of the usurpers and keep our nation in prayer.