It’s Illegal For Federal Officials To Campaign On The Job. Trump Staffers Keep Doing It Anyway. | Talking Points Memo

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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1325659

Undoubtedly Hatching a nefarious scheme to steal the election. Again.

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Greg Jenkins, the director of advance for President George W. Bush during the period that included the 2004 reelection campaign. “If you could stretch things and say, yes, it’s perfectly legal to do this, but it has the appearance of impropriety — you don’t do it.”

Kellyanne Conway: “if it is quasi-legal or out and out illegal and is totally inappropriate, you do it.”

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“Laws become fragile under the influence of dictators.” ― Wayne Gerard Trotman

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So, let’s say Trump loses the election, which is almost a certainty if the election was free, fair and accessible. So you can bet he’s focused on making the election difficult, and unleashing as much smear as he can muster and facilitating the racial insult of having Kanye West run for President.
So once again say he loses, what’s to stop him from resigning in the lame duck period and having Pence pardon him and anybody else he can think of. Does anything stop him from trying a stunt like this?

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Unlike some of the infractions, like refusing to honor a subpoena from Congress, which will die when this Congress’s term expires, Hatch Act violations won’t.
Prosecute them all.

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Violations of the Hatch Act result in fines. After January 20, 2021 the Attorney General should prosecute all the cases from the Trump regime. Congress should amend the Hatch Act to impose prison for repeat offenders.

The lawlessness of the Trump regime should never be allowed to recur.

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Take names. Keep records. LOCK THEM UP in January 2021.

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What good are all these laws if they are not enforced? These campaign laws are just as bad as Congressional “subpoenas”, all bark and no bite.

The Dems need to take action, get it in the news cycle everyday from now until the elections. And why aren’t they raising holy hell about the USPS malfeasance. Mind boggling, and no, a few terese words from Sen Warren are not enough. Loud and often, you know, like BENGAZIIIIII

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It’s a relatively new concept in criminality in our nation; Break so many laws that it takes them forever to catch up with you because they’ll spend all their time cataloging all of your transgressions instead of simply stopping you. It helps if the law enforcement arm of the government is under your corrupt control.

A scary thought; The tree of liberty is getting thirstier. No more looking forward once we get the fascist out of power.

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Question: Can white house employees who violate the hatch act now, be punished in any way in a Biden administration? Not that I expect Biden to waste his time chasing those small crooks but it would be nice to see some of them punished after the fact because they think they’re safe as long as Trump is doling out the punishment.

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Well it’s not like they do much when they are “working”.

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Who could have ever predicted?

violations of the Hatch Act to make an offending employee subject to removal (currently, removal is mandatory), reduction in grade, debarment from federal employment for five years, suspension, reprimand, or a civil penalty of not more than $1,000. (Hatch Act Modernization of 2012)

As I understand it, most Hatch Act violations and enforcement is up to the offending employee’s supervisor, which is Trump, who has talked sternly with Kellanne Conway several times. Supposedly.

A civil fine of not more than $1000 is almost not worth the prosecution.
Hard to believe this is the “modernized” current fine. Laughable.

Sadly, it’s actually standard “Shock Doctrine”

Introducing so many changes at once confuses, disorganizes, and confuses the opposition. Even if most of them are just noise. It’s about controlling the initiative. The worst will attract the most attention and the rest, despite also being clearly illegal, will skate through and look mild by comparison.

We celebrate that we stopped the worst while the goal posts are moved and the game is being rigged none the less.

progress will mean retaliation by claiming the narrative using the national mantle… wearing a mask is patriotic. there is a WAR on covid… don’t help the enemy… and for fun throwing a bit about churches having to plow their own parking lots. (at least in my town this is a thing, and though the town taxes pay for the plowing no one sees this as an issue.)

Even if the third measure doesn’t pass it will attract so much attention that the other two will.

…and worst case, it will force them to spend time and money on something that was never going to happen.

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F@#K YEAH! Laws don’ matter to us!

There is nothing stopping this, Trump can pardon who he pleases, resign, and then Pence can pardon him. It only applies to federal crimes of course, he’d still be on the hook for whatever he did in NY…but an early resignation also gives him a chance to board a private charter jet and fly out of the country to escape prosecution. The one thing that could stop this is Pence, but a promise of a cushy lobbying position and a fat pension could really make him and Mother happy to go along.

It’s going to be very interesting to watch what happens after Trump has obviously lost (please be on Nov 3rd!)…does he slink away as a loser, does he fight to the bitter end, or does he try to burn everything to the ground? Time will tell.

Not a lawyer, but I believe that they can be prosecuted…it will mostly be fines, but it’s really the principle that counts here. The lawless behavior of Trump administration employees has to be dealt with…the cries of “this is political revenge!” should be ignored, anyone that broke the law should be appropriately punished.

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Agree, laws are only meant for the other.

Pence’s fear of needing a pardon himself just for the pardons?

Pence’s perfidy?

Drumpf’s certain knowledge, based on what he himself would do in like position, that Pence will cheat him out of his pardon?

I’d go with the last one.

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