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Let us turn our attention to the peculiar drama unfolding in Wisconsin, where a judge has been arrested--yes, arrested--at the hands of the Trump regime’s ever-compliant apparatchiks, the FBI.
One must always pause when something so theatrical occurs, especially when it happens in such a deliberate fashion. This was no ordinary arrest; this was a tableau, a staged morality play in the parking lot of her own courthouse, cameras ready, message sent. One does not arrest a judge by ambush unless the purpose is not legal, but political.
First, a word about the underlying case: I withhold judgment. No mortal outside the prosecution’s war room can yet claim to possess all the facts, and facts, dreary and stubborn as they are, still form the backbone of justice--at least when it suits the powers that be.
The charge is obstruction of justice, for allegedly aiding an illegal alien’s escape from federal agents. If she did this--if they can prove it--then yes, she may have violated the law. Judges are not gods immune to the statutes of mere mortals. But this much is clear: she was not arrested for any ruling from the bench, nor for political opinions, nor for criticisms of Mr. Trump. Had that been the case, the outrage would be universal--and justified.
Yet even without such blatant abuse, the political motive shines through. If there truly were a case to be made, why the spectacle of a parking-lot arrest? Why not a quiet summons? For a judge, that would be the normal course because they are not flight risks, nor two-bit criminals. Why? Because the spectacle was the point.
And why now? Because Donald Trump, our accidental Caesar, has had a wretched run of news. The stock market falters. China and Russia humiliate him. His approval ratings tumble even on Fox News, where the faithful begin to murmur. Even Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal carries editorials whispering impeachment.
Thus, the oldest trick in the demagogue’s playbook: when the mob grows restless, find a fresh enemy, stage a fresh outrage, whip up fresh frenzy.
An aside: the supposed crime here is thinner gruel than even the official narrative admits. The individual ICE sought to arrest had simply exited a courthouse door--an act entirely legal. Nothing about the exit itself was unlawful. The case hinges precariously on proving "corrupt" intent--that the judge deliberately sought to obstruct justice.
Proving such intent against a sitting judge, acting amid courtroom duties, is a legal Everest. Judges are afforded broad leeway to maintain order and protect rights. Without direct evidence--that she knowingly conspired to help the individual evade arrest--the case will likely collapse before trial.
More perilously for the prosecution, if ICE was operating under an administrative warrant--and it appears they were--the edifice crumbles further. Administrative warrants do not carry the force of judicial authority; thus, obstructing them may not even meet the threshold for criminality. She may get a dismissal.
Politically, it reeks of miscalculation. ICE, already battered in public opinion, and Trump’s immigration policies, widely unpopular, will suffer greater indignity if this prosecution fails--which it almost certainly will. Securing a unanimous jury verdict in such a poisoned atmosphere would be a miracle.
If this proceeds, my crystal ball sees only humiliation: a dismissal, or an acquittal, followed by yet another dismal chapter in Trump’s politicization of law enforcement.
But I digress.
Returning to the larger point: even if the underlying arrest has flimsy legal basis, the orchestration of the event betrays its true purpose. Trump, in his gutter genius, knows how to bait the opposition into paroxysms of indignation, to steer the conversation away from his failures and back toward the performative battles he knows how to win.
And once again, the opposition, those brave knights of liberal democracy in the media, march eagerly into the trap, swords drawn, banners flying, while the true enemy chuckles from the battlements. Or maybe not, but I sense it happening, just a hunch.
As for this prosecution, it will almost certainly fail. It may collapse before trial or be laughed out of court. But that, too, will not matter. The outrage has been harvested. The news cycle has been purged of unpleasant truths.
And when the dust settles, and the next scandal arrives, and the next, and the next, the American people--truculent, ignorant, and weary--will do as they have done for so long: they will forget.
And the republic, like some drunken titan slipping slowly into the sea, will sink another inch into the mire of its own indifference.
Pass the popcorn.
One must always pause when something so theatrical occurs, especially when it happens in such a deliberate fashion. This was no ordinary arrest; this was a tableau, a staged morality play in the parking lot of her own courthouse, cameras ready, message sent. One does not arrest a judge by ambush unless the purpose is not legal, but political.
First, a word about the underlying case: I withhold judgment. No mortal outside the prosecution’s war room can yet claim to possess all the facts, and facts, dreary and stubborn as they are, still form the backbone of justice--at least when it suits the powers that be.
The charge is obstruction of justice, for allegedly aiding an illegal alien’s escape from federal agents. If she did this--if they can prove it--then yes, she may have violated the law. Judges are not gods immune to the statutes of mere mortals. But this much is clear: she was not arrested for any ruling from the bench, nor for political opinions, nor for criticisms of Mr. Trump. Had that been the case, the outrage would be universal--and justified.
Yet even without such blatant abuse, the political motive shines through. If there truly were a case to be made, why the spectacle of a parking-lot arrest? Why not a quiet summons? For a judge, that would be the normal course because they are not flight risks, nor two-bit criminals. Why? Because the spectacle was the point.
And why now? Because Donald Trump, our accidental Caesar, has had a wretched run of news. The stock market falters. China and Russia humiliate him. His approval ratings tumble even on Fox News, where the faithful begin to murmur. Even Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal carries editorials whispering impeachment.
Thus, the oldest trick in the demagogue’s playbook: when the mob grows restless, find a fresh enemy, stage a fresh outrage, whip up fresh frenzy.
An aside: the supposed crime here is thinner gruel than even the official narrative admits. The individual ICE sought to arrest had simply exited a courthouse door--an act entirely legal. Nothing about the exit itself was unlawful. The case hinges precariously on proving "corrupt" intent--that the judge deliberately sought to obstruct justice.
Proving such intent against a sitting judge, acting amid courtroom duties, is a legal Everest. Judges are afforded broad leeway to maintain order and protect rights. Without direct evidence--that she knowingly conspired to help the individual evade arrest--the case will likely collapse before trial.
More perilously for the prosecution, if ICE was operating under an administrative warrant--and it appears they were--the edifice crumbles further. Administrative warrants do not carry the force of judicial authority; thus, obstructing them may not even meet the threshold for criminality. She may get a dismissal.
Politically, it reeks of miscalculation. ICE, already battered in public opinion, and Trump’s immigration policies, widely unpopular, will suffer greater indignity if this prosecution fails--which it almost certainly will. Securing a unanimous jury verdict in such a poisoned atmosphere would be a miracle.
If this proceeds, my crystal ball sees only humiliation: a dismissal, or an acquittal, followed by yet another dismal chapter in Trump’s politicization of law enforcement.
But I digress.
Returning to the larger point: even if the underlying arrest has flimsy legal basis, the orchestration of the event betrays its true purpose. Trump, in his gutter genius, knows how to bait the opposition into paroxysms of indignation, to steer the conversation away from his failures and back toward the performative battles he knows how to win.
And once again, the opposition, those brave knights of liberal democracy in the media, march eagerly into the trap, swords drawn, banners flying, while the true enemy chuckles from the battlements. Or maybe not, but I sense it happening, just a hunch.
As for this prosecution, it will almost certainly fail. It may collapse before trial or be laughed out of court. But that, too, will not matter. The outrage has been harvested. The news cycle has been purged of unpleasant truths.
And when the dust settles, and the next scandal arrives, and the next, and the next, the American people--truculent, ignorant, and weary--will do as they have done for so long: they will forget.
And the republic, like some drunken titan slipping slowly into the sea, will sink another inch into the mire of its own indifference.
Pass the popcorn.
