Can Conservatives Get A Fair Trial In D.C.?
By DEACON MIKE MANNO
Last week I posed the question whether pro-lifers could get a fair trial in Washington, D.C. I had not planned on a follow-up column, but recent political stories have changed my mind and my focus. No longer do I ask the question about pro-lifers, but now I ask it about conservatives and Republicans in general.
And the closer I look at this, the more I have grave concerns about the state of justice in our Capitol City. The state of justice should be of concern for any American; after all, this is the land of fairness where Lady Justice wears a blindfold. But are we still sure?
Just a couple of things from recent news coverage that should shake the faith of anyone that is if it hasn’t already been shaken enough by the Merrick Garland version of judicial hide-the-ball.
Recently the Trump special prosecutor, Jack Smith, went to court to get the former president’s Twitter communications. Twitter resisted and the matter ended up on the D.C. courtroom of Beryl Howell, an Obama appointee. When the question was raised about notifying the subject of the investigation, Donald Trump, Howell ruled that the matter should be kept from Mr. Trump.
The reason: Ms. Howell thought that the former president was a flight risk. Now in this political climate could any judge be so transparently stupid? Oh yes, read on.
The matter went before a panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The three judges that heard the case were Cornelia Pillard, an Obama appointee, and two Biden appointed members of the court, Julianna Childs, and Florence Yu Pan. They upheld Howell’s ruling that Mr. Trump was a flight risk.
Talk about swamp creatures!
But that’s not all.
There is a new federal judge who will preside over any trial of the former president in the Capitol City. He is James Boasberg, another Obama appointee. Boasberg presided over the matter of Kevin Clinesmith as part of the FISA court. The Trump-Russia investigators were trying to get authorization from the court to do something prohibited by law. The only way they could open that door was to have a legitimate investigation of a U. S. citizen for being some type of Russian shill.
The shill, chosen by the special prosecutor, was Carter Page, a minor Trump foreign policy adviser. Page often traveled overseas on business and had an agreement with the CIA to turn over to it any useful information he acquired overseas.
When Page was contacted by the FBI about his foreign activities he told investigators that he had a relationship with the CIA and that the FBI should check with it. They did, and in answer to the question if Page was working with the CIA, the CIA responded “yes,” he was a source for the CIA.
Of course, that answer would provide a roadblock for the investigators who wanted a broader field of U.S. citizens to investigate.
No problem; that was easily fixed. Mr. Clinesmith, an attorney with the FBI, simply changed the CIA’s answer from “yes” to “no,” he was not a source for the CIA. Now the government could represent to the court that Mr. Page was a renegade international broker with possible ties to Russia and the plot to interfere with the 2016 election.
When Mr. Clinesmith’s number finally came up and he had to answer to his fraud, he was allowed to plead guilty.
Judge Boasberg took Clinesmith’s plea and, instead of sentencing the man to prison as a felon, and recommending that he be disbarred, Clinesmith was given a one-year probation. That’s it!
And, of course, this just in as reported by LifeSiteNews: “A former pro-life rescuer has signed an agreement with the federal government that requires her to fully cooperate with the pro-abortion Biden administration whenever it calls upon her for information on pro-life operations.
“The deal contains no time limit, and allows the government to resurrect FACE Act felony charges with years in prison if it deems the agreement has not been kept.”
And in a related matter, Judge Colleen Kollar-Korelly, a Clinton appointee featured in last week’s column, has just reprimanded an attorney correcting a Catholic abortion staffer who misrepresented the Catholic Church’s position on abortion. “That’s very unprofessional,” she said. “And you’ve talked back to me several times. You’re here as a defense attorney, not a Catholic theologian.”
I guess the truth of Catholic teaching is irrelevant in a D.C. court.
Any wonder why we consider D.C. a swamp? Obviously, Donald Trump will not get a fair trial there, neither will anyone who disagrees ideologically with the current Marxist regime that controls justice in America, which includes pro-lifers and those darn domestic terrorists, traditional Catholics and public-school parents.
The “How do we tell our story department?”
Most readers are aware of my radio program, Faith On Trial, on the Iowa Catholic Radio Network. The purpose of the program is to examine the effects of law and society on people of faith. In the 10 years we’ve been on we’ve had some of the most distinguished religious liberty litigators as guests, as well as professors, experts from various fields, and many others who can help listeners see the effects of government and corporate policies on regular citizens.
Now most of our guests come from the large public affairs law firms, academics, and experts attached to one “think tank” or another. But recently I’ve noticed a number of newer groups that are engaging in the fight, especially for parental rights.
Here’s the rub: As much as I would like to visit with these folks and give them some publicity on our network, many of these start-up and ad hoc groups have no easy way to be contacted.
The groups all have websites, many are very professionally done, but they do not show how to make a media contact. Many have a single e-mail, some have a form you fill out to get more information, join, or make a donation. However, what frustrates me is that the e-mails go to a mailbox that is not monitored.
I will leave a message, explaining who I am and what I want, dates, times, etc. But I never get a response.
So, here’s my free advice to those engaged in such organizations. Always list on your media announcements, and on your webpage, a number for media inquiries. Now I realize the problems with crank phone calls to the homes of local volunteers for non-woke causes. If that is your concern, at least have a media contact e-mail and make sure it is checked at least twice a day.
Just a few words of help for those struggling to break through the publicity maze.
- + + (You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and listen to him every weekend on Faith On Trial or podcast at https://iowacatholicradio.com/faith-on-trial/)
