NBC News recently expressed the fear that Donald Trump might break with decades of tradition after he’s installed as the 47th president.
But the network ignored the centuries of tradition that the current administration flouted.
NBC correspondent Ken Dilanian said that if Trump were to prosecute his current enemies, it would "violate five decades of norms post-Watergate, which said that the DOJ should be independent from the president."
He admitted that although Trump could legally go after prosecutors who had targeted him, "we’re talking about norms here, not laws," adding that we should take a wait and see attitude for the present.
A couple of Trump’s transition team members are pushing for Trump to use the Justice Department to go after his enemies, but it’s highly unlikely that he will, because:
- It would detract from his real goal — to correct the damage inflicted by the Biden-Harris administration. Trump is aware that he may only have two years to accomplish this goal. In 2026 a new Congress will be elected, and Republicans may lose control of one or both chambers.
- Going after political enemies runs counter to Trump’s character. Recall that in 2016 "Lock Her Up" became a favorite chant at Trump rallies whenever Hillary Clinton was mentioned. After the election she was never touched.
Nope, it’ll never happen.
He’s too busy putting together a team to make America great again . . . again.
On the other hand, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July that the Biden administration disregarded 23 decades of "norms" that the president of the United States enjoys some measure of immunity while discharging his official duties.
Instead, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to go after the former president, spending more than $50 million in taxpayer funds to prosecute two cases, both of which were duds.
New York Attorney General Letitia James violated the "norms" of American criminal jurisprudence before she was even elected, by running for the office on a single issue: get Trump.
That’s not how criminal justice works in the United States. Here we investigate crimes to find the criminal; we don’t investigate people to find a crime.
"Show me the man and I'll show you the crime" Stalin’s Soviet secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria was famously quoted as saying.
Amendments Four, Five and Six of the Constitution establish the rights of those accused of a crime. Yet New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan appeared intent on violating as many of those rights as possible to get a jury to find Trump guilty of 34 felony counts.
"I have observed and participated in trials throughout the world. I have seen justice and injustice in China, Russia, Ukraine, England, France, Italy, Israel, as well as in nearly 40 of our 50 states," said Alan Dershowitz, Harvard law professor emeritus and famous criminal defense lawyer.
"But in my 60 years as a lawyer and law professor, I have never seen a spectacle such as the one I observed sitting in the front row of the courthouse yesterday." Legal experts were even unable to figure out what underlying crimes Trump was charged with.
Although Trump easily won reelection last week on Nov. 5, sweeping all seven battleground states to win 312 electoral votes, as well as the popular vote, Democrats and left-wingers are still complaining.
But again, it’s the season of ignoring norms, and in that spirit, former and future first lady Melania Trump decided to flout one of her own. She declined the traditional invitation to enjoy tea at the White House with the outgoing first lady.
And Melania Trump, the most elegant first lady in memory, had good reason for declining: President Biden had approved an unprecedented raid on her home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla.
"She ain’t going," said a source familiar with Melania’s decision. "Jill Biden’s husband authorized the FBI snooping through her underwear drawer. The Bidens are disgusting," the source added.
Melania is also the most intelligent first lady in recent memory, who’s reportedly fluent in five languages. That makes her smart enough to distinguish her friends from her enemies and when to flout "norms" and tradition.
Conservative nationally syndicated talk radio host Jesse Kelly would approve.
"The Right should not forget or forgive the evils of the Biden Administration in our post-election euphoria," he said.
"These people committed serious crimes against the American people. They used our government in ways it has never been used before. That cannot ever happen again."
And to further distinguish himself from Biden, one of Trump’s first acts should be to pardon Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, New York Mayor Eric Adams, and all nonviolent Jan. 6, 2021, defendants from all federal charges.
Mercy can be more powerful than revenge.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
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