{"id":73714,"date":"2019-10-15T21:21:35","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T01:21:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=73714"},"modified":"2019-10-15T21:21:42","modified_gmt":"2019-10-16T01:21:42","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-wednesday-october-2nd-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=73714","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019…but before we begin, a Texas jury has tendered its verdict:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dallas Police Officer Who Walked into Wrong Apartment and Killed Neighbor Found Guilty of Murder<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

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We frankly don’t believe Amber Guyger’s crime rose to the level of murder; some degree and form of manslaughter seems far more appropriate.\u00a0 But in the best tradition of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, the powers-that-be in Dallas were playing to the mob, along with the MSM which reported the shooting, its aftermath and Guyger’s trial, as this snippet from The New York Times<\/em><\/span><\/a> courtesy of Matt Vespa reveals:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“A former Dallas police officer who shot her unarmed black neighbor<\/em><\/span> in his own apartment was found guilty of murder on Tuesday, in an unusual and high-profile case that dealt with issues of race<\/span>, policing and mistaken identity<\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The former officer, Amber R. Guyger, who is white<\/em><\/span>, was charged in the death of her 26-year-old neighbor, Botham Shem Jean, after she said she accidentally went to the wrong floor of their apartment complex, entered the unit directly above hers and fatally shot him last year.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…The shooting and its aftermath in September 2018 ignited protests and calls for justice, with demonstrations outside Police Headquarters and inside City Hall<\/em><\/span>. At a time when other police officers<\/em><\/span> have been cleared of wrongdoing in the deaths of unarmed black men<\/em><\/span>, Ms. Guyger was arrested several days after the shooting on a charge of manslaughter<\/em><\/span>, then released from jail the same day. (i.e., she made bail!<\/em>)<\/span><\/span>\u00a0After weeks of community tensions and accusations of preferential treatment for the police, a grand jury came back with the charge of murder<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…Though the issue of race was not mentioned explicitly in the courtroom<\/em><\/span>, the trial unfolded against the backdrop of a diverse city<\/em><\/span> that is 24 percent black, 29 percent white and 42 percent nonwhite Hispanic<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> The mayor of Dallas, the police chief and the Dallas County district attorney are all black<\/em><\/span>, as is the judge presiding over this case<\/em><\/span>. Of the 12 jurors and four alternates, seven are African-American, four appear<\/em> to be white<\/em><\/span> and five are of other races and ethnicities<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span>…”<\/p>\n

In other words, as Matt Vespa noted, though race was never brought up in the trial<\/em><\/span> by either side<\/em><\/span>, the Times knows better<\/span><\/em>, and without a single shred of evidence Mr. Jean’s race had ANYTHING WHATSOEVER to do with Guyger pulling the trigger<\/em><\/span>, chose<\/em><\/span> to MAKE IT<\/em><\/span> an issue.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As to what on earth constitutes\u00a0appearing to be white<\/em><\/span>, only the Times<\/em> can tell.\u00a0 Until an explanation is forthcoming (we won’t hold our breath!), we’ll assume this to be the Old Grey Nag’s new standard for “appearing to be white”…\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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…their individual claims to the contrary notwithstanding!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, here’s The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

First up, writing at NRO<\/em>,\u00a0<\/strong>Andy McCarthy suggests something Congress consider:<\/strong><\/p>\n

How about a Bipartisan Treaty against the Criminalization of Elections<\/span><\/span><\/a>?<\/span><\/h1>\n

Setting aside Hunter Biden, there was no impropriety in President Trump\u2019s asking Zelensky to assist the Justice Department\u2019s investigation into the origins of the Russia probe<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/h3>\n

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“…I mention all this because it is a commonplace<\/em><\/span> for the government to seek assistance from foreign counterparts for ongoing federal investigations.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, as Marc Thiessen pointed out this week in an important<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>Washington Post<\/em>\u00a0column<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, (<\/strong>and as previously featured in The Daily Gouge<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/em>)<\/strong><\/span>, Democratic senators pressured Ukraine to cooperate with the Mueller probe \u2014 notwithstanding the obvious potential electoral ramifications and the specter of \u201cforeign interference in our democracy.\u201d<\/span> These requests for assistance often occur<\/span><\/em> at the head-of-state level.<\/span><\/strong> When I was a federal prosecutor in the mid-nineties, for example, the FBI and Justice Department asked President Clinton to intervene with Saudi authorities to assist the investigation of Iranian complicity in the\u00a0Khobar Towers bombing.<\/p>\n

There is nothing wrong<\/em><\/span> with our government\u2019s requesting the assistance of foreign governments that have access to witnesses and evidence relevant to an ongoing Justice Department investigation<\/em><\/span>. The president is the democratically elected, constitutionally empowered chief executive<\/em><\/span>: There is nothing<\/span><\/em> his subordinates may properly do<\/em><\/span> that he may not do himself<\/em><\/span> (it is his power that they exercise).<\/span> And the president is never conflicted out of executive branch business due to his political interests<\/em><\/span>. There is no legal or ethical requirement that the Justice Department be denied potentially probative evidence because obtaining it might affect the president\u2019s political fortunes<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There was no impropriety<\/em><\/span> in President Trump\u2019s asking Ukraine\u2019s president to assist the Justice Department\u2019s investigation of Russiagate\u2019s origins.<\/strong> <\/span>Okay, you say, but what does that have to do with Biden?<\/p>\n

Well, Biden was the Obama administration\u2019s point man in dealing with Kyiv after Viktor Yanukovych fled in 2014. That course of dealing came to include<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Obama administration agencies leaning on Ukraine<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u00a0to assist the FBI in the investigation of Paul Manafort, Trump\u2019s campaign chairman<\/span><\/em>. So, Biden\u2019s interaction with Ukraine is germane<\/em><\/span>: The fact<\/em><\/span> that he had sufficient influence to coerce the firing of a prosecutor; the fact<\/em><\/span> that, while Biden was strongly influencing international economic aid for Kyiv<\/em><\/span>, a significant Ukrainian energy company thought it expedient to bring Biden\u2019s son onto its board and compensate him lavishly<\/em><\/span> \u2014 although Hunter Biden had no experience in the industry<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

That aside, I do not understand why there has not been more public discussion of the\u00a0Foreign Corrupt Practices Act\u00a0in light of the instances of Hunter Biden conveniently cashing in with foreign firms while his dad was shaping American policy toward those firm\u2019s governments<\/em><\/span>. As we saw with the collusion caper, it does not take much evidence of any crime for the FBI and the Justice Department to open an investigation and scorch the earth in conducting it.<\/span> And if it would have been legit for the Justice Department to open an FCPA investigation of one or both of the Bidens, then it was appropriate for President Trump to ask President Zelensky to help the Justice Department determine if an FCPA crime took place \u2013 even if doing so could have affected the 2020 fortunes of Biden and Trump<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong: I am not rooting for Joe Biden or his son to be subjected to investigation and prosecution. I agree with\u00a0Attorney General Barr\u00a0that there has been too much politicization of law enforcement and intelligence.<\/span><\/strong><\/span> In the absence of a concrete, patent, and serious violation of the criminal law, I want the Justice Department and the FBI out of politics \u2013 which would be better for them and for politics. If you think there is an indecorous heavy-handedness to the way Donald Trump and Joe Biden conduct foreign policy, that\u2019s fine \u2013\u00a0go vote against them on Election Day<\/em>. We don\u2019t need creative prosecutors deciding elections by testing the boundaries of abstruse statutes<\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Neither<\/span><\/em>, however, do I believe in unilateral disarmament<\/em><\/span>. There is at least as much<\/em><\/span> basis for opening an FCPA investigation against the Bidens as for opening campaign-finance investigations against the Trumps.<\/span> If I had my<\/em><\/span> druthers, all<\/em><\/span> of this nonsense would end.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0But as I detailed earlier this week<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span>, we have one candidate for the presidency \u2014 a once-serious<\/em><\/span> legal scholar and practitioner \u2014 who publicly and straight-faced says<\/span> Trump\u2019s call with Zelensky could<\/span> rate\u00a0the death penalty<\/span><\/em>. As we saw in the late 1990s, when Bill Clinton got to experience the independent-counsel statute up close and personal, maybe it takes Democrats being hoisted on their own petard before we finally say<\/em><\/span>: This has<\/em><\/span> to stop<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span>“<\/p>\n

In a related item, also writing at NRO<\/em>, Jim Geraghty offers…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hunter Biden<\/span><\/span><\/a>: The Most Comprehensive Timeline<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

From being appointed senior MBNA vice president (two years out of law school), to a gift of a 2.8-carat diamond from a Chinese energy tycoon, to Burisma Holdings<\/span><\/a>\u2026<\/span><\/h3>\n

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Trust us, it’s well worth your time to read, as it’s MOST<\/em><\/span> informative and illuminating.\u00a0 Like the Clintons, the Bidens aren’t<\/em><\/span> a political dynasty<\/em><\/span>, but rather a criminal cartel<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That being said, we have to confess a certain amount of confusion regarding the validity of the latest Progressive impeachment effort, about which\u00a0John Hirschauer<\/em><\/span><\/a>\u00a0wonders whether “Perhaps the seventh time<\/em><\/span> will be the charm.”\u00a0 After all, that’s one more try than it took Vincent LaGuardia Gambini…<\/strong><\/p>\n