TWGB: Sedition and Espionage

 

Before I talk Trump, I just want to discuss the sentences of Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs. The Oath Keepers were found to be guilty of a seditious conspiracy. They acted in the belief that it is acceptable in a civil society to take up arms in the case of a political disagreement over an election on the basis of lies--and I don't think they cared whether those lies were lies or not. The "tree of liberty is watered with the blood of patriots" types never seem to note that in a representative government, sometimes your particular flavor of "patriot" isn't winning elections and violence isn't so much a revolutionary action as a pity party gone badly wrong. They said, basically, "Fuck who voted for Biden, we want our Trumpy Bear," and somehow convinced themselves that was exactly on a par with what our founding fathers would have wanted. 1776, you guys! 

Stewart Rhodes, Yale-trained lawyer, was especially prolix on the subject of a "divided nation", and in reply, the judge pointed out that Rhodes presented an ongoing threat and raised the "t-word"--treason. To undermine our government because one can't fathom that other people differing in opinion are allowed to protest, speak, and vote, even win elections lawfully, and not have those elections overturned by the force of a determined few, heedless of the knock-on effects to our civil society, is an exceptional lack of a grasp on basic civics, let alone law. 

In this respect, let me just put it out there--Rhodes isn't a conservative, he's a hairy-eyed wannabe who played at digging hidey-holes in his backyard when he wasn't abusing his family. I'm a "conservative" in the sense that I believe you work within the rules of government to change laws and you vote to change government because you have that right, but you don't try and do terrorism about it. Civil disobedience to a degree--but nonviolence. And you certainly don't muse about whether you should have used rifles--an echo of Bannon and MTG talking about whether their insurrection would have been more successful.

(Note: many did come to the 1/6 melee armed and/or planned to have firearms moved in if the local law enforcement were adequately subdued. The breakdown of law and order and the ushering in of a more military response was a part of the plan.) 

The reason I start with Rhodes' sedition is to point out on whose behalf he was agitating--the former president, who has been apprised by his lawyers that he should be hunkering down in expectation of federal indictments for, quite probably, violations of the Espionage Act. Which he should have expected, having been warned about retaining federal documents.  And yet like an entire dingus, he went out of his way to avoid giving those documents up, even having people move them around in order to keep them, because he was using them. For reasons. 

He demanded to speak to Merrick Garland as the supposed manager of all this investigating via his lawyers, but that looks like his dictation. Much Karen, very swole with indignant.

Now, no one needs to elaborate on why he was moving docs around or probably showing them off, even he if should have understood why revealing classified information reveals government secrets that can be used by other countries' intelligence agencies--a thing I don't think he has ever understood because he is not actually as bright as credited. But I appreciate Jack Smith for looking into whether there was potential remunerative value in it by investigating Trump's foreign financial ties.  (I think that was the idea, anyway.) 

The so-called patriots supported this--Trump, the Pay-to-play-triot? Because that is what it looks like to me. The swampiest of options, the least America-first thinking person imaginable. 

And the subtextual reason why is funny to me--they are cosplay revolutionaries, and Trump's a cosplay hypermasculine executive. It's about white supremacy but also swanging BDE. And we all know Trump is alleged to be a button mushroom at best. And a soft-handed highly made-up golf-cart gas ass. 

And he's a seditionist but also guilty of a special kind of treason at worst. He wasn't just sportswashing Saudi Arabia. The MAGA people who pretend he walked away from a fortune to serve this country like Cincinnatus turned from his plow make me sick. Of course he benefitted at every turn. He only wishes he got more, better and faster. 

I hope the Oath Keepers and soon enough the Proud Boy leaders wonder what made this guy worth it. I hope the GOP starts to wonder what made this guy worth it. Maybe I especially want the GOP to finally, at long last, take in the grift and the lies. 

And I kind of wonder why they aren't subpoenaing Trump to look at if anything is at Bedminster, all things considered.