How Should Conservatives Fight Against Political Persecution?

Americans are divided about many things, but mostly we are divided over Donad Trump. Approximately half the nation thinks Trump is one of the best Presidents of the United States in recent years, while the other half believes that Trump should be in prison for the rest of his life. Those who support Trump believe that there is a two-tier system of justice in the United States – one level for Trump and his supporters and one level for Biden and his supporters.

Trump supporters believe that the Department of Justice has gone rogue and unleashed the FBI on conservatives. They believe that the DOJ treatment of Trump amounts to political persecution rather than political prosecution.

In a recent article, Daniel Horowitz asked this question: “Do conservative media figures, influencers, pundits, and elected officials actually want to solve the weaponized persecution issue, or do they just want attention, ratings, and nominating Trump for president as an end to itself?” He believes that we should ask the same question about “every important issue of our time.” “What is the [conservative] endgame?” 

We’ve heard it all after the first two indictments of Trump. “We’ve crossed the Rubicon,” “We’ve become a banana republic,” “There’s no turning back from here.”

So it’s interesting how our government’s biomedical tyranny apparently didn’t cross the line … or burning down our economy … or destroying our energy … or aiding the cartels in the border invasion … or sending billions to Ukraine … or, with the weaponized DOJ, holding ordinary citizens and Trump supporters in prison indefinitely pretrial n non-violent criminal charges for two years. But if Trump himself is the red line, then fine. I’ll take it. But what are we going to do about it?

If we believe the DOJ is dead serious about locking Trump up for the rest of his life, and especially with the latest indictment being heard before an extremely far-left D.C. federal judge (and jury pool), what is the plan to save the country and Trump himself? …

So yes, we have a very weak hand to play. Which is very unfortunate, because what the DOJ is doing is deadly serious. Officials are essentially criminalizing the harboring or articulation of a political position if they deem it to be false or if individuals who hold that same opinion commit a crime…. Trump is his own worst enemy and not our best bet going forward if we actually believe in what he clearly doesn’t. But that still does not negate the fact that you can’t criminalize “misinformation,” even if it is demonstrably false, much less if it’s in dispute. After all, by this standard, every Biden HHS official should be in prison for knowingly saying that the vaccines stopped the virus, even months after they knew it wasn’t true.

I agree with those Trump supporters who assert that this is much bigger than Trump; officials want to criminalize our existence. So the prosecution of political opponents – whether Trump or ordinary citizens – needs to be shut down immediately. This is an existential threat and an imminent problem.

Horowitz continued to ask questions about what Republican elected officials, Republican presidential candidates, and other conservatives are going to do about the problem, Horowitz suggested something that I have heard from other sources: Defund the Department of Justice.

Republicans control the House. Without the House signing off on a budget come midnight of October 1, the DOJ gets no funding. Republicans must return from their ridiculous six-week recess and, while Biden and the Senate Democrats are on vacation, build the case for defunding the prosecution of Trump (and other political targets). This is a PR war and will require them to command the full attention of political news rather than coming back a few days before the fiscal year is up without any sense of unity. Then, they must stand their ground on the defunding provision and use that brinksmanship to captivate the public with a sense of unity. Then, they must stand their ground on the defunding provision and use that brinksmanship to captivate the public with a sense of unity of purpose over defending the First Amendment the way they unified against the attacks on Brett Kavanaugh. They should also place a rider in the bill providing a motion for defendants to assert political prosecution in the D.C. district and move their cases to other parts of the country. The budget is the only critical item over which Republicans wield a degree of ownership, and that leverage must be used now.

Horowitz had other suggestions, but he believes that defunding the DOJ is more important than impeaching Joe Biden or any of his henchmen. The other step that Horowitz should happen is for conservatives to take the fight to the states. “we must pressure state attorneys general, governors, and legislatures to begin interposing against federal tyranny and backing targets of political prosecutions.” He even provided a blueprint to do it.

Horowitz’s third suggestion is for the attorneys general in red states to target “Democrats for indictment who incite crimes based on political speech” - such as those Democrats who called for riots after the death of George Floyd. They could also go after anyone who encourages illegal immigration. Since the DOJ is charging Trump for conspiracy against rights, red state attorneys general should “prosecute all COVID-fascist elected officials on these provisions.”