The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Trump Isn’t Weaponizing the Law — He’s Ending the Biden Double Standard

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Starting point is 00:00:25 We'd love to talk, business. People are arguing that Donald Trump had promised not to have a so-called revenge tour and use the law in a weaponized fashion against his political enemies. I think it's time to pause. First, there's a question of magnitude. Donald Trump was indicted 91 times in four different jurisdictions. Those were coordinated. So far, we've only seen three key people indicted.

Starting point is 00:00:54 John Bolton, James Comey, Latita James. In addition to that, we're not even talking about. talking about the SWAT raid on Donald Trump's home are the effort to get 25 states to deballate him. I haven't seen Donald Trump saying to red state governors, we've got to get Newsom off the ballot. He's dangerous. That hasn't happened. We have to keep some fair sense of magnitude. Inditing three people doesn't compare to what they did. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hansen for the Daily Signal. one, we're more than just a credit card company. We're people just like you who believe in the

Starting point is 00:01:39 power of yes. Yes to new opportunities. Yes to second chances. Yes to a fresh start. That's why we've helped over four million Canadians get access to a credit card. Because at Capital One, we say yes, so you don't have to hear another no. What will you do with your yes? Get the yes you've been waiting for at Capital One.ca.ca.coms and conditions apply. There's been a lot of recent controversy over the indictments of John Bolton, James Comey, and now Latita James, and people are arguing that Donald Trump had promised not to have a so-called revenge tour and use the law in a weaponized fashion against his political enemies, given what they did to him, and now he's doing it.

Starting point is 00:02:27 And I think it's time to pause. First, there's a question of magnitude. Donald Trump was indicted 91 times in four different jurisdictions. Local, county, federal, those were coordinated. Fannie Willis's main prosecutor, Nathan Wade, met with the White House counsel just three days after Donald Trump announced his 2020, November 15th, re-election bid. that same day, Jack Smith was appointed by Merrick Garland, the Biden-D-O-J Attorney General, to be special counsel to go after Donald Trump at the federal level. That same day, Michael Cole Angelo, who had come, who had come from the Latita James

Starting point is 00:03:22 state prosecution of Donald Trump, resigned his blue-chip job, number three, in the DOJ, to go to work for whom? Alvin Bragg. And that was 91 indictments. So far, we've only seen three key people indict it. In addition to that, we're not even talking about the SWAT raid on Donald Trump's home or the effort to get 25 states to deballad him. I haven't seen Donald Trump saying to red state governors, we've got to get Newsom off the ballot. He's dangerous.

Starting point is 00:03:57 Or we've got to make sure Camilla Harris is not on that ballot. Or, you know, we found some evidence about old Joe Biden, let's raid his home. That hasn't happened. So we have to keep some fair sense of magnitude. Inditing three people doesn't compare to what they did. Then there's the question of high-profile people. Do prosecutors tend to select high-profile people more than the average Joe? I know that seems counterintuitive.

Starting point is 00:04:28 We always think wealthy people have privilege. But sometimes prosecutors think if I take this person down or I target them, then it will send a message to encourage the others. Look at Patrick Fitzgerald. Why did he go after Scooter Libby? Remember that case? He said Scooter Libby had unlawfully disclosed the secret status of Valerie Plum, the CIA operative. But he knew at the time that Colin Powell, his own. own deputy, Colin Powell's own deputy, Richard Armitage, had first done that. But he wanted to go after

Starting point is 00:05:06 Scooter Libby to point out that I can take down anybody. Was it wrong? Yes. But that's what prosecutors do. I'm not trying to excuse it. Why did James Comey, remember when he was in the DOJ? He went after Martha Stewart, put her in jail. I mean, for insider stock trading, but it was kind of a minor, it was very minor compared to what the Pelosi's have done, but he wanted to take down Martha Stewart. Donald Trump's not doing that, but what they're doing is they're saying if a national security advisor like John Bolton transmitted classified files and was exempt, then anybody can do it. If Latita James is the Attorney General of New York and she lies about her mortgage circumstances or her tax circumstances or her primary residence, then any other.

Starting point is 00:05:57 Anybody can do it. So it's logical you go after people both wrongly and rightly. But more importantly, which is the real sin? Under the Biden administration, they knew that John Bolton had transmitted. They had information from a foreign, that a foreign intelligence source had interrupted or intercepted his own communication. And he was transmitting allegedly, allegedly classified materials to his wife and daughter. They didn't do anything. They didn't do anything because he was useful.

Starting point is 00:06:31 He was writing a biography that would embarrass Trump during the Biden-Trump election. Which is the greater sin to let felonious behavior go unaudited, unaddressed, or to address it? Maybe you can say it's selected, but a jury will find that out. At least you're not giving exemptions and amnesty to people who have helped. you. Why did they not prosecute John Brennan and Andrew McCabe and James Clapper? They all three had one thing in common. They all lied either to federal investigators or under oath to Congress. Why didn't the Biden team go after them? Because they were all useful to them. Clapper and Brennan were on MSNBC and CNN and night after night attacking Trump.

Starting point is 00:07:22 Andrew McCabe was on occasion. So they felt, we're going to excuse their sins, their illegalities, allegedly, because they're useful. So Trump comes in and the DOJ under Pam Bondi says they all have criminal exposure and I'm going to enforce the law. You can call it selective, but I would rather see somebody enforce the law than give an exemption for political purposes. But we don't talk about that. There is a lawfare and the lawfare is not just prosecuting people in a political fashion, but more importantly, not prosecute. giving them exemptions. There's another consideration.

Starting point is 00:08:06 Whether we like it or not, almost all of these high-profile cases occur in the East Coast corridor from the financial capital of New York to the nation's political capital in Washington, D.C. As we saw with the E. Jean Carroll case and Judge Kaplan, as we saw with the Latita James case and Judge Ingram,

Starting point is 00:08:31 as we saw with the Alvin Bragg case and Judge Mershon. And as we saw with the Fannie Willis case and the Georgia judge, that was an exception. But the judiciary is more or less to the left, and especially juries and judges in Washington, D.C. and in New York. And the chances are that most of these cases, if they come to trial. And remember, the prosecution does not hinge on what Pam Bondi says.

Starting point is 00:09:02 It's what a grand jury of one's peers decide. John Bolton, for example, was indicted by a grand jury. So was James Comey. And these are in blue jurisdictions, all down the East Coast, these jurisdictions. So in conclusion, it's going to be much more difficult for the Trump Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Vondi to find a Clapper or a Brennan or a Bolton guilty in a blue jurisdiction where you're going to have juries that are for the most part decidedly anti-Trump, much more difficult.

Starting point is 00:09:39 So they're going to have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a far greater degree than was true of Donald Trump. Donald Trump came in as a conservative and in an era of, rampant Trump hatred and Trump derangement syndrome. And he had to face predominantly left-wing grand juries, left-wing juries, and left-wing judges. So if Donald Trump is accused of waging lawfare, there's going to be a natural check on that. And that check is that he is going into hostile territory. He, I'm personifying it, but his attorney general will be going into areas that are not sympathetic to the prosecution, but will be sympathetic to the opponents of Donald Trump.

Starting point is 00:10:29 Thank you very much. It's Victor Davis Hansen for The Daily Signal. Thank you for tuning in to The Daily Signal. Please like, share, and subscribe to be notified for more content like this. You can also check out my own website at victorhansen.com and subscribe for exclusive features in addition.

The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Trump Isn’t Weaponizing the Law — He’s Ending the Biden Double Standard

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