Every nation has a body of laws woven into the fabric of society. As Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto espoused, “The stronger the rule of law, the stronger the economy.”
What is meant by stronger laws are those that are impervious to tampering for personal or political gains. The connection between a sound judiciary and economic health is common sense. Businesses and individuals are far more likely to invest capital in a country with understandable laws that are impartially and universally enforced than if the opposite exists. The Constitution once provided that protection.
That is no longer true. Justice and the law appear to have taken separate paths. How is this possible? The answer is that the judicial system in the U.S. has been bifurcated into two systems — one for the politically favored and the other for the rest of us.
One need look no further than the FBI. The FBI was once considered the premier law enforcement agency in the nation. It was seen as even-handed and unbiased in investigation and arrests. No longer. It has proven itself no better than a political arm of the Democrat party.
We now know that former Director James Comey decided not to prosecute Hillary Clinton before the investigation started. He also violated federal law, which he should know, in releasing memos of discussions with Trump to a friend. We also know that the FISA warrant obtained to investigate any collusion between Trump and Russia was issued based on a “dossier” prepared by a private contractor and paid for by the Democrat National Committee. That then resulted in Comey’s buddy Mueller being appointed witch hunt director. Oops, excuse me, Special Counsel Investigator.
Add to that the fact that FBI Senior Agent Peter Strzok, who was one of Mueller’s investigators, was found to have sent texts to a colleague denigrating Trump, including one that stated that they needed a plan if he was elected.
All of this leads to the conclusion that the FBI has lost its credibility. You also have to wonder if this extends to the entire Homeland Security. They either lied to the FISA court or the court was complicit in issuing the Russia warrant based on false and paid for information. Either way, we should demand an answer. But be careful what you say. If Homeland Security can call you a terrorist, you can be held indefinitely without formal charges and without due process.
We also know that the IRS is a political agency that is no longer unbiased. That became clear after the 2012 election when it was revealed that the IRS was targeting conservative groups by delaying approval of tax-exempt status.
This trend is not limited to enforcement agencies. The Hammond family, who entered a supposed plea deal that the Bureau of Land Management then reneged, ended up in prison for a minor infraction that the BLM commits every year. This triggered a protest at the Malheur National Refuge and a protester killed, some say murdered, by FBI and state law enforcement. The heavy hand of the BLM was all over this.
The trial of the Cliven Bundy family resistance to a BLM cattle gather was recently dismissed with prejudice because the federal prosecutor withheld information key to the defense. And not just a little, but something like 3,300 pages of internal documents revealed by a whistle-blower.
These documents are shocking, and if I were the prosecutor I wouldn’t want them exposed either. Nonetheless, they are now exposed. Some of the documents reveal the BLM plan to conduct a military-style assault on the Bundy ranch, replete with SWAT-like assets. This against a family who have never issued violet threats against any BLM employee.
More shocking is that the BLM developed a “kill list” of various Bundy family members. This supposedly defined “targets” for BLM snipers if there was any resistance. Apparently the ensuing large-scale protest diverted that action.
Regardless of your view of the Bundy situation or their positions on issues, the overriding fact is that a government agency who really has no law enforcement authority not granted by a county sheriff, would develop and by all indications attempt to carry out such an assault on American civilians.
There are other examples of government agencies gone rogue. These are the most current and might be considered the most egregious. Bottom line? Don’t trust any federal agency until otherwise proven. I suspect these examples are one reason Trump was elected and retains his support.
Tom Riggins’ column appears every other Friday. He may be reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com.