Originally published at: Trump Installs Stop The Steal Booster To End Cases Against Jan. 6 Defendants - TPM – Talking Points Memo
The U.S. attorney who Trump installed in Washington, D.C. to end Jan. 6 prosecutions has spent the past several years outside of government pushing for exactly that. Trump appointed Ed Martin, a longtime fixture in Missouri Republican politics, as interim top federal prosecutor in D.C. on Monday. Since then, Martin seems to have mainly done…
Translation: Normalizing and enabling political violence.
This is an entirely correct statement. And those morons were still convicted for violent felonies or dumb misdemeanors, not for obstructing the official Electoral College proceeding.
That they were too stupid to form criminal intent saved a hell of a lot of them from serious time in prison.
Didn’t someone, long ago, invoke something known as “the Twinkie defense?”
You’re kidding right? 40 years ago Steve Martin did a famous bit in which he said, two simple words could get you out of anything .Just two simple words. Let’s say you rob a bank. You say to the judge, “I forgot.” “I forgot armed robbery was illegal.”
in 1982 that was hilarious because it was so stupid. And yet here we fucking are.
Dan White’s defense was diminished capacity, which wouldn’t have been available to any of the J6 defendants. It’s just a straightforward matter of intent. Where prosecutors had evidence that the rioters’ intent was specifically to fuck up the vote count, they got charged with obstructing the official proceeding. Where all they had was dipshits trespassing for the lulz, they got charged with misdemeanors. And of course, anyone who fought with the cops got hit with felonies.
Good commentary on Ed Martin. Martin has been a leader and influencer in Missouri state republican politics for decades. He’s smart and quiet, preferring to stay out of the limelite. But he is incredibly ruthless and will push republican advantage to just shy of criminal means, being quite happy to engage in civil lawfare. In a word, I’d describe him as mean. That’s why he never got anywhere in public office because he doesn’t mask his personality well.
No, not at all. Criminal intent requires mens rea, the intent to do the thing. It does not require knowledge that the thing itself is illegal.
If you invade the Capitol because LOL trump rules and this is fun, you get hit with misdemeanor trespassing and being an unauthorized person in a restricted area. If you invade the Capitol because you want to stop the Electoral College vote count, you get hit with felony obstruction of an official proceeding.
Ed Martin, a longtime fixture in Missouri Republican politics
Aka
Ed Martin, career politician
It sure seems like around 95% of the appointees are the answer to the question “Who is the worst person we can put into this position?”. There are a few, like Marco Rubio, that are conventional picks…political payoffs or politicians who may or may not actually be competent but have a reasonable background for the job. Some of them are both, like Pam Bondi. But even those selections are problematic…Rubio is a lazy hack and Bondi is obviously willing to put Trump above the Constitution and laws. Lazy hacks, sure, there have been plenty, but even in Trump I the AGs at least had a limit where they would stand up to Trump.
The comparison with the Biden admin is really stark, and we’ll be reaping the consequences of these bad choices soon. I guess our only hope is their incompetence will make up for their awfulness, but that’s not going to be enough to save us from a lot of hurt.
One of the odd comforts (probably not exactly like right term) when considering the Trump supporters is that he has purged competent people from his cadre of supporters. What’s left are some mix of mediocre opportunists, scoundrels, flakes, and dupes. That’s saying a great deal when you consider the folks who no longer make the “cut”, like John Bolton, etc.
They have the potential to be massively cruel, but their competence in following through is going to be somewhat limited, particularly because nobody is being taken by surprise this time around. How many of these guys could work competently in an SES (Senior Executive Service) job? Few, would be my guess.
What about the old saw that ignorance of the law is no excuse?
(That was a rhetorical question.)
The point is to break government. They’re still on the Reagan “Government is the problem” kick, and working hard to prove it.
These SES positions are perfect for demanding bribes and kickbacks like their boss. The IGs will be gone, and the FBI hamstrung or worse, so lining their pockets will be the goal of everyone of those bastards. I’m curious how much of a cut TMF will demand.
Silly, that only applies to “those people.”
I really do hope Trump’s chumps start something. There’s no pardon from a fucking bullet.
IIRC Ed Matin was made head of the MO GOP. He was up against Ann Wagner, who had done a lot of ground work for the MO GOP. And if this correct, then he’s reason why I’ve had Ann Wagner as my Rep since 2013.
I also remember when Ed detached Phyllis from her original organization, and thus we here in MO got to read and hear some juicy back and forth over who controlled Phyllis. He does seem to cause dissension wherever he goes. I if this could work for us?
I believe he’s been the one moving in the shadows, and not the forefront. So I would say career monkey wrencher.
An R who is a mean spirited rat bastard. Why am I not surprised?
Was the last Dem who could credibly be described as a “mean-spirited rat bastard” LBJ? Are there any Dems who could be described that way now?
That was always true. I remember quite clearly from the last shit show someone commenting that a pathetic loser like Fat Donnie needs to surround himself with C-student losers who would be laughed out of any other administration because he is so incredibly ignorant and cannot be in a room with anyone who is smarter than him, which is anyone older than 9 and most dogs. He’s a fat pathetic clown who has no idea he’s the punchline to every joke.
Fetterman?