I’m not a lawyer, but I always understood American justice to mean if there’s no evidence of a crime, no crime was committed. That’s how our country’s unique system of justice worked, as far as I understood. But not anymore, apparently.
Congressional Democrats are going to spin the comments delivered Wednesday by “retired” Special Counsel Robert Mueller to mean a lack of evidence of crimes doesn’t mean President Donald J. Trump didn’t commit crimes, including obstruction of justice.
Indeed, Rep. Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has already released a statement in reaction to Mr. Mueller’s remarks demonstrating as much.
Mr. Nadler has the president convicted beyond a reasonable doubt. Now all he needs to do is find the evidence Mr. Mueller failed to find.
Mr. Nadler is turning our entire system of American justice on its head.
Historically, it has been the case in America that you are innocent until proven guilty. Now, however, it seems you are guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. Oh, and by the way, you may never be able to prove yourself innocent. It will look something like this:
Every rogue prosecutor’s office in America to every innocent American: You are under investigation. Get a lawyer, cooperate with us, and be prepared to answer all of our questions under threat of punishment.
Every innocent American in response: What? I haven’t committed a crime. Why do I have to hire a lawyer? I can’t afford a lawyer. Am I under arrest? What crime have I committed?
Every rogue prosecutor’s office in response: That is what our investigation is intended to find out.
Every innocent American in response: How long will this investigation take?
Every rogue prosecutor’s office in response: No idea. Months, possibly years. Depends on how cooperative you are.
Every innocent American in response: I am cooperating, for crying out loud, but I haven’t committed a crime. Why do I need to pay a lawyer for months, maybe years, for a crime I haven’t committed?
Every rogue prosecutor’s office in response: Because, without a lawyer, we’ll trap you into committing a process crime, and you’ll spend months and maybe even years in prison.
Every innocent American in response: What? I haven’t committed a crime, but I might go to prison unless I hire a lawyer I can’t afford because I might commit a process crime? What the heck is a process crime?
Every rogue prosecutor’s office in response: A process crime is when we ask somebody about something you might have said or done, and they say something different than what you say when we ask you the same question under oath. If that happens, you’re guilty of a process crime.
Every innocent American in response: Wait a damn minute. How would anyone know what I’ve done regarding a crime I didn’t commit? And why is their answer more believable than my answer?
Every rogue prosecutor’s office in response: Because you’re under investigation, and they aren’t. Yet.
Every innocent American in response: But I shouldn’t be under investigation because I haven’t done anything wrong.
Every rogue prosecutor’s office in response: That is what our investigation is going to find out, hopefully.
Every innocent American in response: So then if you don’t find evidence that I committed a crime, then what? Am I exonerated?
Every rogue prosecutor’s office in response: If we don’t find the evidence you committed a crime, we won’t be able to exonerate you because obviously it means you obstructed our investigation and that is why we were unable to find evidence of the crime we know you committed.
Every innocent American in response: What?!? I didn’t commit a crime! What the heck is going on? Where am I? In Russia? or America?
Every rogue prosecutor’s office in response: So then you’re admitting you were once in Russia?
Every innocent American in response: Ugh!
Now, the above back-and-forth is satire, obviously. But it should concern all of us, regardless of your political affiliation, what is happening.
This president’s inability to legally disinfect his every word before it’s stated in public, because he lacks legal training, has resulted in him getting trapped in a legal web created by lawyers in the House and Senate.
As Mr. Mueller suggested Wednesday, the president isn’t not guilty of crimes because 18 lawyers, after spending $35 million investigating him, just failed to find the evidence that he didn’t commit a crime. Huh?
But isn’t the lack of evidence that someone committed a crime evidence that individual didn’t commit a crime? Can you prove a negative?
“Congress errs in too much talking; how can it be otherwise, in a body to which the people send 150 lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour?” ?Thomas Jefferson
This is not what the founders wanted or intended. And we know this was of concern to Thomas Jefferson 230 years ago, as the above quote makes abundantly clear.
Jefferson was a lawyer, but he understood why politically motivated lawyers can be a serious threat to the liberty of each and every individual American citizen, including the president.
