cross-posted from: https://ibbit.at/post/127026
A leaked memo by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi directs the Justice Department and FBI to compile a list of groups that may be labeled “domestic terrorism” organizations based on political views related to immigration, gender and U.S. policy. The memo was obtained by independent investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein, who joins us to discuss how it expands on President Donald Trump’s NSPM-7…
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Sure, in theory. But then you get a glut of responses and have to pick which ones you’d actually care to prosecute.
That’s a bunch of annoying manual work that nobody in Trump’s FBI / DOJ is willing (much less competent) to perform.
I don’t think that’s any better. It creates a situation like “everyone is guilty, we just decide who to prosecute”
It creates a situation where an AG’s office with limited manpower and prosecutorial capacity needs to selectively enforce the law in order to shock the public into general compliance. Less “everyone is guilty” and more “too many people are potentially suspect but only a few of them have cases that could actually hold up in court”.
USAs generally hate trying cases that get tossed out or lose at trial. So they try to focus on cases they know they can win - either because the defendant can’t afford quality legal council or the case is so air-tight that a jury will easily convict. Incompetent USAs can quickly get themselves into a position where a defendant can get top flight defense and the prosecutor has to juggle a bunch of gaping flaws in the case. OJ Simpson is one classic example of such a case. Luigi Mangione may end up being another.