Why Not?: "Hostages"

This is the fifth in a series of posts on the reasons I will not be voting to return the former president to the White House. My focus here is not to support his opponent but instead to explain why I believe that Donald Trump is manifestly unqualified for the role.

Just watch.

And the former president's response:

The moment we win, we will rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner unjustly victimized by the Harris regime. And I will sign their pardons on Day One.

Donald Trump (rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin - transcript) 

A reminder from NBC News:

Jan. 6 defendants were caught on tape brandishing or using firearms, stun guns, flagpoles, fire extinguishers, bike racks, batons, a metal whip, office furniture, pepper spray, bear spray, a tomahawk ax, a hatchet, a hockey stick, knuckle gloves, a baseball bat, a massive “Trump” billboard, “Trump” flags, a pitchfork, pieces of lumber, crutches and even an explosive device during the brutal attack.

 And the pardon power the former president would yield is formidable (from NPR):

Trump would have wide latitude to issue pardons. Scholars have called that presidential power a "near-blank check," unrestrained by other branches of government.

"Legally, there's not much that Congress or the courts can do to stop the president from granting clemency," said Jeffrey Crouch, an assistant professor at American University and author of The Presidential Pardon Power.

Once again, the former president:

Yes, after playing a version of the national anthem sung by the J6 Prison Choir, Mr. Trump did use the words:

"You see the spirit from the hostages—and that’s what they are, is hostages... They’ve been treated terribly, and very unfairly... unbelievable patriots.” 

If you'd like to know more about those "heroes", The Bulwark published an excellent piece detailing some of their convictions entitled "Just Who Are Trump's January 6th Heroes?" And for a really deep dive, you can look at the searchable database of Capitol Breach Cases. (There are currently over 1,200 cases in the database.)

Returning the former president to the Oval Office invites a colossal injustice to the law enforcement officers involved (from CNN):

The Justice Department believes more police officers were injured in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack than have been officially reported, a top prosecutor said Thursday.

In a news conference commemorating the third anniversary of the insurrection, Matthew Graves, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, said it was “likely the largest single-day, mass assault of law enforcement officers in our nation’s history.”

“One hundred and forty officers guarding the Capitol that day reported physical injury, but we know from talking to the hundreds of officers guarding the Capitol that day that this 140 number undercounts the number of officers who were physically injured, let alone those who have suffered trauma as a result of the day’s events,” Graves said.

It is not "law & order" to pardon those who violently breached the U.S. Capitol in service of a narcissistic man who couldn't publicly admit he lost an election.

You are doomed! You call evil good and call good evil. You turn darkness into light and light into darkness. You make what is bitter sweet, and what is sweet you make bitter. (Isaiah 5:20 GNT)

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The first post in this series focuses on tariff policy - at this point, Mr. Trump's belief that tariffs are a "magic wand" that can cure all sorts of problems - child care, grocery prices, bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., etc. They're not.

The second post in this series focuses on immigration policy - the dehumanizing language, the abject lies, and the unbelievably foolish promises of mass deportation.

The third post in this series focuses on Mr. Trump's narcissism and potential cognitive decline.

The fourth post in this series focuses on the unbelievable record of lying by Mr. Trump.