On Tolerance, Pardons, Politics and Dinesh D'Souza

In 2012, conservative polemicist Dinesh D'Souza contributed $20,000  via a straw donor for his friend Wend Long's quixotic campaign to become Senator from New York.   His infraction was zealously prosecuted by politically connected US Prosecutor from the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara.   

In 2014, D'Souza entered a plea for a one count felony charge. D'Souza's sentence was for eight months in a half way house, five years probation and a $30,000 fine. 

 This was perhaps the first time that someone was sentenced to prison for a minor FEC infraction.  Liberal Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz noted that such campaign violations were common and questioned if it was a proper exercise of prosecutorial discretion.   Many conservatives believe that Bharara threw the book at D'Souza as payback for cinematic success of  "2016: Obama's America" (2012).   Bharara was thought to be a front runner to replace Obama Attorney General Eric Holder in 2014. 

On May 31, 2018  President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that he would grant D'Souza a full pardon because  he was very unfairly treated by our government.

President Barack Obama granted clemency to 1,715 nonviolent criminals, many of them were for drug dealers and even a terrorist.  Obama granted more commutations  than the prior twelve Presidents. The mainstream media lauded the Obama Administration as being tolerant.  

It is dubious that the media accredited Democrat steno-pool will apply the same standards towards President Trump regarding Dinesh D'Souza.

Rep. Jim Jordan on Attorneys General

Fast and Furious Executive Privilege Denial

The Department of Justice's Fast and Furious program under former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder gunrunning policy towards Mexico has been under judicial and Congressional scrutiny for years.  In fact, the House held Holder in contempt for his stonewalling of Congress on the Fast and Furious matter.

Judicially, the Obama Administration tried to quash the judicial action under a claim of Executive Privilege.  




U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson has ruled that the Obama Administration's assertion of Executive Privilege was invalid because the Department of Justice had already released the information to the public in a 2012 Inspector General's Report.

Judge Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, did leave open the possibility that Executive Privilege could be claimed if material was deemed sensitive on law enforcement techniques, matter of state with Mexico or attorney-client privilege.  

The Obama Administration's new Attorney General Loretta Lynch did not immediately indicate her Department of Justice would appeal or if the stonewalling was sufficient to extinguish the fire behind the Fast and Furious gunrunning in the last year of the Barack Obama Administration.

h/t: Politico

Valerie Jarrett on Eric Holder

Hillary's Hiding EMails Continues to Haunt Her Reputation for Honesty

Prior to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) formal campaign announcement, there were questions about her emails while at the State Department . It was revealed that Mrs. Clinton exclusively used a personal email (HDR22@clintonemail.com) stored on a private server during her tenure at Foggy Bottom.  Additionally, Mrs. Clinton only turned over her emails in late 2014 with paper copies of the work emails that she deemed relevant.

Of course, there are plenty of questionable things already associated with the email imbroglio. Only using a personal email account was highly irregular and probably insecure.  Mrs. Clinton's lame rationale about using only one device associated with an email was lanced when it was shown that Hillary used both an Ipad as well as her trusty Blackberry.  State Department policy requires immediate surrender of all work materials to an archivist, who then determines what is personal. It was odd that Hillary printed out emails for the State Department rather than the electronic originals (making it difficult to do computer searches).  Then there is the oddity of months longs gaps in emails including when  Mrs. Clinton traveled to Libya and was photographs of her using her Blackberry, there are no record of documents.  Hmm.


 Now it has been revealed that House Government Reform and Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA 49th) had sent a letter to the State Department on December 12, 2012 which specifically asked if the Secretary of State ever used a personal email account to conduct official business.  Uh oh.

Well, Mrs. Clinton resigned from the State Department February 1, 2013.  The State Department did not respond to the House Government Reform Committee until March 27, 2013 and their response merely was a copy of the policy that all State Department employees : “should make it clear that his or her personal email is not being used for official business.”.

While the Lamestream Media sought to create a frenzy for Hillary's Mystery Machine Listening Tour road trip to Iowa, Mrs. Clinton is slipping in the polls in key battleground states to Republican challengers.  Quinnipiac Poll Assistant Director Peter Brown attributes this drop to the perception that Hillary Clinton is a dishonest politician, which can be attributed to the continuing email embarrassment.

If convicted, an official who obstructs or destroys federal documents could be barred from office. It is almost inconceivable that an Obama Department of Justice (under Attorney General Eric Holder or the stalled nominee Loretta Lynch) would ever prosecute or seek to convict such a high profile progressive politician.  But there are no such strictures in the court of public opinion.  Hillary for America intends to raise $2.5 billion for their campaign.  But she who raises the most cash does not always win (sic). In 1980, Governor John Connally (D R-TX) was considered a great orator and had a distinct fundraising advantage.  In the end, Connally spent $11 million and only garnered one delegate. How embarrassing.  Actually, not as embarrassing as Hillary's continuing email embarrassments.

h/t: Hot Air
      John Cole 

Is Loretta Lynch a Holder "Mini-Me"?

Prior to the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on the nomination of  Loretta Lynch to succeed  Attorney General Eric Holder, there were concerns about the independence of the A.G. nominee. During pre-testimony meetings, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) noted: “I found her responses in the conversation about executive amnesty not just frustrating . . . but sort of unbelievable.” 

Loretta Lynch's appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmed this assessment. Lynch proclaimed: "[T]he Constitution, the bedrock of our system of justice, will be me lodestar." Yet during challenging question from Senate Republicans,  Ms. Lynch did not voice legal concerns over President Barack Obama's Executive Action on amnesty.  In fact, Lynch told Senator Jeff Sessions that she preferred everyone who is America should be able to work, regardless of their legal status.

The Senate has the Constitutional duty of Advice and Consent.  Ms. Lynch's answers demonstrate that she makes no legal distinction of Executive Action on immigration.  So if the Senate rubber stamps her nomination, it both validates President Obama's usurpation of the Constitution on immigration and ignores the power of check and balances.  Moreover, such an Advice and Consent blank check moots the strategy of using the budgetary process to thwart abuses by the Department of Homeland Security.

If Loretta Lynch is going to be the judicial equivalent of a mini-me, why should we sell ourselves short for an Eric Holder Mini Me.

 The Senate ought to reject Loretta Lynch on policy considerations.  That will have the effect of Attorney General Eric Holder staying in office until a suitable replacement is found.  More likely, the President will make a recess appointment when Holder wants to leave the government.  But at least the Senate will not acquiese to what is forthright expressions of lawlessness.  

Senator Elect Tom Cotton on Immigration

Alas, Senator elect Tom Cotton (R-AR) does not consider the Do Something Disease which often affects those in Cocktail Party in the District of Calamity.  Namely, it is better to look good than feel good.  The P.R. about passing more legislation is thought to be better to political hacks than actually solving a problem.

In our Constitutional Republic, enforcement of the laws falls upon the Executive Branch.  Unfortunately, the Obama Administration and its Justice Department under Attorney General Eric Holder have made a practice about ignoring laws which they do not like (such as DOMA, Drug Laws or Gun Law) or contorting law enforcement to effectuate policy goals (e.g. immigration) 

Nancy Pelosi on Congressional Power

House Minority Leader Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA 12th)  quipped that she could have thrown Karl Rove into the Capitol Hill calaboose. Pelosi was reacting to the contempt vote by Rep. Darrell Issa's House Government Reform Committee for US Attorney General Eric Holder for refusing to comply with Fast and Furious subpoenas. 

h/t: Michael Ramirez

Thomas Sowell on Eric Holder

The Audacity of Snoop?

After public hue and outcry about the NSA collecting metadata of Americans without warrants, now President Barack Obama will now demand that private communications companies hold the information for six months (at whose expense? ) and the government will then use secret courts to access the information.  But wait, there will be an independent board to rubber stamp the rubber stamps of the FISA court.

What about the $2 billion 100,000 square foot  NSA data center that recently opened near Bluffton,  Utah (a.k.a.  Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center).  

NSA Data Center, Camp Williams, Bluffdale, Utah

Is that now a white elephant or will it continue as a black operation? Let me guess, the facility will supposedly be mothballed and the federal government will funnel communications companies money for the privately held data centers.  

Time will tell if Mr. Obama's long winded remarks on domestic spying pans out to any real reforms. The Obama Administration claims that the NSA program has saved lives, but no specifics were cited.  But we can point to egregious instances which the government dropped the ball (e.g. the Tsarnaev Brothers who conducted the Boston Marathon bombing).  Of course, Attorney General Eric Holder instructed the Department of Justice to expand the definition of "racial profiling" to include religion, even in national security cases.  So GIGO--Garbage In, Garbage Out.

It seems like it is just the Audacity of Snoop.

Weiner-Holder: That's The Ticket?

Weiner-Holder 2016: Why not?  

Ex Rep. Anthony Weiner's 2011 sexting shirtless photo

Democrats do not seem to have problems keeping sleezebags in office.  Even after his "selfie" sexting with a minor scandal cause former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY 9th) to give up his seat in Congress, Weiner has still made a comeback as a leading New York City mayoral candidate.  And with the revelation of one of Weiner's sexting pseudonyms "Carlos Danger", he's made forays into pandering to Hispanics.

Obama's Attorney General Eric Holder has managed to hold on despite state sponsored gun running with Mexicans, not enforcing the law with DOMA, pursuing the Fort Hood Terrorism case as "workplace violence" or completing the Philadelphia Black Panther voter intimidation case. Of course A.G. Holder's legacy includes extensively spying on the press, just in case the lap dog lamestream media doesn't play ball. 

It would make for a fast and furious campaign. In addition, it would show how Democrats would try to hold onto power no matter who's fronting the ticket.

Crackdown on Handguns?

After the Newton, Connecticut school shooting, NBC Meet the Press host David Gregory, wanted to score visual points for gun control advocates by brandishing a 30 round ammunition clip as he dressed down National Rife Association President Wayne LaPierre.  

Gregory checked with DC Metropolitan Police, who unequivocally informed him beforehand that this was a clear violation of law. Yet Gregory arrogated to do so anyways. Nevertheless, the DC Office of Attorney General exercised prosecutorial discretion in not seeking any punishment on the NBC News star host.  In a letter to NBC Attorney Lee Levine, the government proclaimed:

OAG has made this determination, despite the clarity of the violation of this important law, because under all of the circumstances here a prosecution would not promote public safety in the District of Columbia nor serve the best interests of the people of the District to whom this office owes its trust.

Yet in nearby Talbot County Maryland, the full force of the law was readied to be exercise to excise "hand guns".



Two six year old boys playing Cops and Robbers on a playground at White Marsh Elementary School were slated to be suspended as they dared to use finger gestures which mimicked guns.  Parents were incensed at pulling the disciplinary trigger on kids who were just playing.  Although there was probably a zero tolerance policy which mandated the suspensions, the penalty was quickly forgotten when the parents lawyered up and there was an outraged public.

It is likely that the kids would not have gotten into any trouble if they attended Sidwell Friends school, like David Gregory's scion does, as well as the First Daughters as did US Attorney General Eric Holder.


Progressives ignore the actual law because a prominent Lamestream Media type who is well connected can flagrantly violate real gun laws with impunity.  Yet little boys would have been suspended for playing cops and robbers with finger guns. As would be noted in George Orwell's Animal Farm, some of us are more equal than others.

If liberal leaders really want to deal with gun violence and the problem with handguns, maybe politicians from Chicago ought to consider the epidemic of violence with handguns in the Windy City, which has strict gun laws instead of fanning politically correct fears about guns without really solving the problem or respecting Americans' Second Amendment rights.

Flagged for Error

The Obama 2012 campaign is using this image for fundraising purposes.  I wonder if the Eric Holder led DOJ will be prosecuting this infraction fast and furiously.  

But I'm sure that the Committee to Re-Elect the President will argue that it was artistic in nature and that it does not represent the banner of the U.S. government.  In addition, the Obama campaign current standard is less ego centric from the Obama Stars and Stripes of the spring.

So run that up your flagpole and see if anyone salutes it.

Scoping Out the Holder Hypocrisy

This reductio ad absurdum seems right on target.

Gov. Control?

Holder on--we need some Fast and Furious government control.

h/t: Glenn McCoy

Admiring the Exposed Super-Egos in the Texas Voter ID Case

 

Victoria Rose Rodriguez is an 18 year old from San Antonio who is worried that the Texas Voter ID law would disenfranchise her.  So the Eric Holder led Department of Justice used the Texas teen to testify in Washington DC courtroom as a poster child to nullify Texas’s efforts to prevent voter fraud by demanding state issued identification before going to the ballot box.

In March, the Department of Justice blocked implementation of this Texas Voter ID Law as a violation of the Federal Civil Rights Act.  A three judge panel in Washington, DC is adjudicating the case.  Ms. Rodriguez’s testimony came at the end of the second day of testimony and clearly was an attempt by the Department of Justice to put a sympathetic human face to their case.  Attorney General Holder notes that only 8% of whites lack ID cards but that the statistic skyrockets to 25% for minorities.

READ MORE at the DCBarroco website

Fast and Furious Fumbling on Obama Administration Transparancy

Considering the dearth of documents that the Attorney General Eric Holder and the DOJ produced to the House Government Oversight Committee (and the spurious last minute Executive Privelege claim), this totally blacked out document held up by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA 49th) puts to lie the claim President Obama made that his would be the most transparent Administration ever.



Was President Obama's 21 January 2009 declaration of transparency just rhetoric or is it reality?

h/t: SecondAmendmentTaskForce.com

Dept. of Just Us

From Philly Voter Intimidation to DOMA to AZ sb 1070 to stopping Voting Fraud through the Civil Rights Act.  The DOJ is just a Holder-out.