• 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I just made a post commenting that it’s a national security risk to have a former president’s family member incarcerated or under prosecution by the DoJ as Trump is planning to run it. He flat out said he’s planning to use the DoJ to incarcerate political rivals.

    It’s like

    “Hey, Joe, we have your son. You need to tell me / support me / help me with [undermining institutions of democracy and our allies], or else.”

    • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org
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      2 days ago

      Looked through to find one of these takes near the top.

      That is a ridiculous idea.

      A doddering, old, ex-president that is known to be forgetful is somehow going to help Trump, the current sitting president?

      One step further: All the things above, but everyone Joe could talk to knows that his son is a political prisoner? Maybe we can add a footnote to this thought, too that questions why someone who got ran out of politics by his own party would care to meddle in the affairs of democratic institutions or those of our allies. (With the understanding that certain actions and certain conversations are violations of the Hatch act, which, under a vindictive DOJ, would see Joe in prison.)

      In this absolute farce where he’s emerging from his quiet sundown to try to engage with people about politics, does anyone see Joe as anything but a prisoner himself?
      Who would trust any words from him about anything other than Amtrak or ice cream?
      You’d have to be a complete fucking moron to think that scenario could play out. That’s the sort of dumb shit that happens on TV, and may be something that Trump tries, but is not something competent humans fall for.

      Today’s word of the day is: Specious.

      • “Weiss is a COWARD, a smaller version of Bill Barr, who never had the courage to do what everyone knows should have been done,” the former president wrote of U.S. Attorney David Weiss. “He gave out a traffic ticket instead of a death sentence. Because of the two Democrat Senators in Delaware, they got to choose and/or approve him. Maybe the judge presiding will have the courage and intellect to break up this cesspool of crime. The collusion and corruption is beyond description. TWO TIERS OF JUSTICE!”

        https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-suggests-hunter-biden-death-penalty-1234786435/

        • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org
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          5 hours ago

          What I’m seeing is proof that Trump (rather, the Republican Party) failed to use the justice department to go after Hunter for tax evasion.

          And while I do see that Trump clearly wanted to use the DOJ vindictively, and that he apparently wanted to put Hunter to death over tax evasion, I’m not seeing anything to support your claim that Trump would use the DOJ to manipulate Joe.

          So what point are you trying to make here? That if Trump wants to manipulate Joe, leading off by killing Hunter is his go-to? Removing your leverage in the opening play is kind of a shit strategy, if I’m honest.
          Are you trying to imply some other claim and hope I’ll validate it in the absence of an actual argument from you?
          You’re just throwing stuff at the wall and hoping something will stick.

          Is the above an accurate read of why you shared that article on two separate comments I made? Comments submitted without elaboration or clarifying why you think they support the statements you’ve made.

          Look — Trump is a dangerous old fool, and he will do awful things. Possibly, even awful things that are vaguely similar to what you are describing. But your arguments, reasoning, and supporting ‘evidence’ aren’t good. If you’re going to be argumentative, insulting, and present conspiracy theories online, at least do it well.

          • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
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            19 minutes ago

            Appreciate your comment. Nobody can prove something that is a matter of intuition. Can’t prove what anyone might do in the future.

            You agree, at a minimum, with me that there are clear conflicts of interest.

            That fact alone is a national security risk.

            People often lose their security clearance if they go into debt or get arrested. It’s not because of the risk they are bad with money or even that they’ve committed a crime. It’s because they are in a position where they are vulnerable to being exploited.

            And it’s a sliding scale. The more someone knows, or the more control someone might wield, there is increasingly less tolerance in the national security world for possible avenues of exploitation.

            Ex presidents are loose ends on the nation’s closest secrets, right? Also, potentially very powerful, even after their terms end, right?

            Trump absolutely has a history of demanding loyalty and trading favors. “Hey, Joe, as you know, we have your son, Hunter, and we’re holding him over there, and we have some of the boys watching him, and we were wondering if you wouldn’t come out and publically say US weapons are prolonging the war in Europe, and that we need to leave well enough alone…”

            We have literally heard that rhetoric from Trump with our own ears.

            Are you the same person that was trying to both sides this? You can’t compare turning over the former president’s criminal kid to a bunch of alt right trumpists and Russian loyalists with turning over the ex president’s criminal kid to lib dems, Merrick Garland and Jim Comey types. They bag this dude’s shit when he travels. You think they were going to let him let Trump keep his kid?

            Edit: : we will see after The noise dies down and insiders start spilling the beans about what happened in the room. My confidence level that the national security conflict of interest was a principal consideration is very high.