For all the turmoil Donald Trump has inflicted on our nation, last week’s revelation his DOJ sought to indict sitting members of Congress for advising the U.S. military to disobey unlawful orders is among the most ominous. It was an attempted coup by prosecutorial fiat, one that was luckily stymied by a grand jury panel of ordinary citizens.
The panel was asked to return criminal charges vs Congress members who produced a video that simply restated the oath sworn by every recruit who's ever worn the uniform. The crime, apparently, was to suggest the Constitution is not a decorative pamphlet but binding law. Then something extraordinary occurred: they refused to indict.
It is worth underscoring grand juries are not famous for their rebellious spirit. There's that old saying a prosecutor can persuade a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. Indeed, once prosecutors present charges, the rate at which grand juries return true bills is extraordinarily high. That’s why this rebuff is so important. Ordinary citizens, anonymous Washington, D.C. residents, rejected Trump's authoritarian predation, declining to make political speech a felony.
Be sure the watch teh video, and read the rest of this important piece by David Shuster at Blue Amp Media!
