The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. At the end of 2015, around 6.7 million individuals were under the supervision of U.S. adult correctional systems. While this number is lower than past years, prisoners in the United States still make up around 22 percent of the world’s prisoners, despite the country making up only 5 percent of the world’s population.

Why the big difference? One reason is that private prisons are big business in the United States. Although the Department of Justice has recently been in favor of reducing or eliminating dependence on prison contractors, private prisons continue to win new contracts due to the increased emphasis on incarceration that comes from initiatives like the war on drugs or the recent crackdown on undocumented immigration.

This increased emphasis on incarceration in the criminal justice system targets poor and non-white populations, creating a kind of social class structure where certain population groups are much more likely to be incarcerated. Let’s call this process “Social Stratification.”

What Is Social Stratification?

Social stratification exists in every society to some degree or another. Simply put, social stratification is the arrangement of different population groups into social tiers that create dominant and sub-dominant groups within a society. “Its basis consists of an unequal distribution of rights and privileges, duties and responsibilities, social values, social power and influences among the members of society,” according to Sociology Guide.

Within a stratified society, dominant social groups share increased advantages and privileges that sub-dominant social groups do not. This often means that sub-dominant groups experience hardship and inequality that more dominant groups do not because of their higher status on the social ladder.

Income Insecurity and Social Mobility

According to the Stanford Center on Poverty & Inequality, income inequality both contributes to and results from social inequality in many different ways.

• CEOs were paid 185 times more money than the average production worker in 2009, a disparity that has grown more pronounced over time.
• More than 750,000 Americans are homeless. African-Americans, people with disabilities and veterans make up a disproportionately high percentage of this number.
• Women earn about 80 percent of what men earn for the same job, and many of the highest-paying jobs in the United States go primarily to men.
• As of 2007, 73.1 percent of the wealth in the United States was concentrated among the top 10 percent of the population, and the bottom 60 percent held only 4.2 percent of the nation’s wealth.

These stark contrasts have increased over time, making it much more difficult for disadvantaged groups to gain ground. In 1980, the top-earning 1 percent of the U.S. population earned, on average, $428,000 per year; in 2016, that number was closer to $1.3 million. The poorest 50 percent of the population earned, on average, $16,000 per year in 1980; this hasn’t changed since then.

When combined with the cost of living, the growing economic inequality reinforces social stratification and makes increasing social and economic status extremely difficult for disadvantaged people. According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, the average working family needs an annual income of $48,778 to meet its budget, which primarily consists of basic living expenses like housing, food, child care, transportation, healthcare and so on. Around 30 percent of families do not earn enough money to be above the average budget line. Of these families, the majority are made up of “young families, larger families, urban families, families headed by a non-college-educated person, and minority families,” the study found. More than 50 percent of African-American and Hispanic families fall below the budget line.

The Criminal Justice System and Social Stratification

This is where the American Criminal Justice System gets dicey. Because certain populations are forced into positions of social inequality, crime becomes more common within those populations. “Most inmates are minority men under age 40 ‘whose economic opportunities have suffered the most over the last 30 or 40 years. Incarceration in the United States is socially concentrated among very disadvantaged people,’” says U.S. News & World Report. In the United States, the people most likely to commit crimes are “people without education, jobs, housing, or hope,” U.S. News explains. This is further complicated by the fact that people from disadvantaged populations are frequently given harsher sentences than those from dominant populations for the same crimes.

Think about this: Retainers for felony crime cases start around $5,000-$10,000 but can be $25,000 or more for serious cases. Private criminal legal representation is literally out of reach and unattainable for most who fall into an average working family category or below. Because of the high cost of securing “better” or “best” legal representation in such cases, public defense is most often the only option.

Public defense is not in itself necessarily bad or of poor quality. But many who serve in this capacity are just beginning a criminal defense career or are assigned a certain percentage of indigent cases they are required to work. The volume of cases and low public defense budgets obviously water down capabilities of providing “better” or “best” defense for those charged who lack sufficient financial resources to obtain private representation.

Current examples are what occurred in Washington in the Mueller investigation of Russian collusion during the 2016 election. Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was literally forced to plead guilty to one federal charge against him because he could not afford continually mounting legal bills to continue his defense. His legal costs? Estimated $500,000.

Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe although not charged in the case used a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for his almost-certain criminal defense if/when he is charged. By no means is McCabe poor are indigent. But estimates for his defense are from $500,000 to $750,000.

These are unusual examples of political and very public criminal cases either underway or pending and are not typical of what everyday Americans face in the criminal justice system. But it is not uncommon for a criminal case in which a defendant who has a criminal record and who is subsequently charged with one or more felonies to face a $100,000 defense bill if able to retain a private criminal attorney. There is very little hope for a person of average or below income to find defense other than through public defender representation.

Multiple offenders — no matter the seriousness of previous crimes — suffer disproportionately in the criminal justice system, simply because of their past brushes with the Law. Inmates and ex-convicts are themselves, a disadvantaged population. Once a person has a criminal record, it’s easy for potential employers to access that information on the internet and deny jobs because of it. This makes it difficult for those who have criminal records to find jobs that pay enough.

What Can We Do?

Correcting this social stratification effect in the criminal justice system is no easy task. Those without enough money to meet their basic needs are often likely to have inadequate healthcare, little access to quality education and limited access to jobs that pay well. Simply put, disadvantaged populations frequently don’t have access to the tools necessary to reduce or eliminate that disadvantage, and many of them become involved in the criminal justice system as a result.

Prior to President Lyndon Johnson’s term in the White House, “many federal programs had emphasized crime prevention,” according to U.S. News. Urban recreational centers, social workers and probation officers were all emphasized as ways to reduce crime. As these programs were gradually defunded, policy turned more toward incarceration, and profit-driven private prisons capitalized on that decision.

Many solutions have been proposed, and it’s possible that, with a concerted effort to correct the societal problems that contribute to social stratification, the United States can reduce its reliance on incarceration in the criminal justice system.

The “New” Crime Bill: A Good Start

Donald Trump in December of 2018 signed into law the First Step Act prison and sentencing reform bill with strong bipartisan support.

“The First Step Act will make communities SAFER and SAVE tremendous taxpayers dollars,” the president said in a statement. “It brings much-needed hope to many families during the holiday season.”

The result of coalition-building in a partisan political climate, First Step earned support from politicians as diverse as senators Kamala Harris and Ted Cruz, and from advocacy groups including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Fraternal Order of Police.

Trump’s strong support was largely seen as a result of the involvement of his son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner. At the signing ceremony, he thanked Kushner personally.

The act expands rehab opportunities, increases “good time”-served credits for most federal prisoners, reduces mandatory minimum sentences for a number of drug-related crimes and formally bans some correctional practices including the shackling of pregnant women.

“This bill could have died a dozen different deaths,” said Van Jones, co-founder of advocacy group #cut50, which was integral in the bill’s design. “But the broad coalition that came together to pass it refused to give up.”

Jones, a frequent outspoken critic of Trump on his CNN show, added: “Many have seen their loved ones sent to prison or were incarcerated themselves. For all of us, this fight was deeply personal.”

Early critics of the bill, such as New Jersey senator Corey Booker and the ACLU, who felt that the legislation did not go far enough, came around in large part due to major additions to the House version of the bill by the Senate, which added language on sentencing reform. The first House version only contained reforms on the way inmates are treated in prison.

In exchange, progressive reformers had to accept a number of changes to which prisoners will be eligible for benefits under the act, based on the crime for which they were convicted. The sentencing reforms were also mostly not made retroactive, meaning they do not apply to inmates already sentenced.

“The First Step Act is by no means perfect,” said Jesselyn McCurdy, deputy director of the Washington legislative office at the ACLU. “But we are in the midst of a mass incarceration crisis, and the time to act is now. We applaud the bipartisan group of senators who were willing to listen to advocates.”

Summary

On a personal note: My son was incarcerated twice in his late teens — not as one would suspect for drug offenses, but for making some crazy financial decisions. His second time, we refrained from retaining private representation for him, forcing him to use a public defender. The experience was horrifying. It almost goes without saying that his public defender had a case log that was far too large to allow effective and thorough representation for most of his clients. And most of those clients were charged with far more serious things than simple forgery as was our son.

I will never forget the day in court when my wife and I walked in for his sentencing. The judge was an old family friend and knew us and our son. We anxiously sat as several other convicted individuals stood for their sentencing. The case immediately before our son’s was that of a 3-time drug offender who had been caught with 2 pounds of heroin in his car. In Louisiana, there is a “3 strikes and your out” law that meant this convicted offender would receive a life sentence. To our surprise, the judge sentenced him to a $3000 fine and time served. (he had been in jail for 90 days) Our son who had to plead guilty to two counts of forgery (he had stolen my mother’s personal checks and cashed them with forged information on them) was sentenced to 3 years in prison! Why did the drug trafficker receive such a light sentence and our son the most severe? The drug offender was offered a deal: he would NOT serve time, this his 3rd felony would be expunged from his record if he would give investigators the names of all those who he worked for, who were REAL drug traffickers!

We feel that — certainly in Louisiana — the criminal justice system is broken.

The First Step Act is a good start on repairing a long-broken system: criminal justice. For far too long, social stratification explained above has devastated American families who are most prone to be targeted in the criminal justice system. This bill signed into law must be just the beginning. Those caught up in the “System” have for decades watched as they become victims of a process that is supposed to guarantee “equal justice under the law.” But it has been anything but that.

Where do we go next? Is there enough support to take on the fight to see The First Step Act as just the “first step” towards righting the ship of Equal Justice in America? Only time will answer those questions. But one thing is already clear: Donald Trump really is able to find consensus among opposing party members and achieve realistic objectives that really do make sense and are bi-partisan. Being able to do that in this highly charged partisan atmosphere in Washington is a miracle. But it needs to be nothing more than the “first step.” We’ll declare victory in the war on crime in the U.S. when we find ourselves researching The Tenth or Fifteenth Step Act.

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It’s on. Clearly, in the aftermath of the Friday release of Mueller’s reports of at least his partial finding against Paul Manafort and the President’s former attorney Michael Cohen, it is now clear: Special Counsel Robert Mueller has one and only one person in his sights: President Donald Trump.

Today instead of getting down in the dirt with nitty-gritty details contained in those reports and what they mean, we’ll “bullet point” details of those documents and will — in the Summary — give you our observations. Let’s get right to it:

Robert Mueller

• Mueller has now made it clear to all, his target is the President himself. Many wondered why he so viciously attacked Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort in the investigation and with the serious charges made against both that could put Manafort in jail for the rest of his life and Cohen for quite a few years. Mueller in Friday’s releases did, however, through a heavily redacted portion of the Cohen report, make it clear that he is looking for more from Cohen. The redactions of specific information could be for one thing and one thing only: Mueller did NOT want Cohen to see what the Mueller team has on him that they have not yet used. That means they still have those at their disposal to get more from Cohen to allow them to hit the bullseye: the President.
• Russian Collusion? It looks like there is “no there-there.” Although Mueller is still pressuring Manafort and Cohen for facts about Trump team members to tie the President and/or his campaign to the Russians, the fact that nothing about that was included in the reports leads me to believe he has not put anything together implicating the Trump Organization in Russian collusion. However, he left that door open.
• I would be remiss if I did not point out the obvious conflicts of interest held by Mueller in this entire case. The day before accepting appointment by President Trump to be the Special Counsel, Mueller along with Rod Rosenstein sat in the Oval Office purportedly to interview with the President for fired FBI Director James Comey’s job. But the most obvious Mueller conflicts that (according to the Special Counsel statute) disqualify him from service in any government investigative capacity are the multiple personal relationships with those either acting as witnesses or active participants in the investigation — like James Comey, Rod Rosenstein, and many others.

Rod Rosenstein

• Rosenstein drafted and sent a letter to the President and to Attorney General Jeff Sessions recommending the firing of James Comey for a multitude of infractions committed while FBI Director. There are numerous questions that Rosenstein’s actions bring to this discussion: Why would Rosenstein join Mueller to petition the President to hire Mueller? Mueller had already termed-out as FBI Director and was ineligible. And then why would he a day later appoint Mueller to serve as Special Counsel? Why hasn’t Rosenstein recused himself for conflicts he certainly holds?
• Talk about conflict of interest: Conflicts? Rosenstein — because of conflicts — should not have even appointed Mueller. Why? Rosenstein is Mueller’s boss in this entire thing. And Rosenstein previously worked for Mueller AND Comey! Rosenstein certainly should have immediately recused himself from the Deputy Attorney General post and should not have even considered the Mueller appointment because of conflict. Think of all the witnesses that the Mueller team has used in this proge. Almost all worked with or for Rosenstein at some point. And he’s the one who wrote the letter advising the President to fire Comey in which he in detail listed the reasons for Comey’s termination.
• Remember Rosenstein’s letter sent to Mueller with the terms of his role and what he should and was allowed to do as Special Counsel? It was specifically to investigate alleged collusion between the Russians and the Trump Campaign for the specific purpose to impact the results of the 2016 election for Trump’s benefit. But — with no fanfare, press release, or public notice and after Mueller launched his probe into Trump obstruction of justice — that letter from Rosenstein to Mueller was amended. The “new” version includes the phrase to include authorization for Mueller to investigate any possible illegal actions which were discovered in the collusion investigation. If court tested, much of the Mueller investigation will probably be thrown out because it was initiated BEFORE authorization from the DOJ was given. (We’ll watch that closely)

Paul Manaforte

• Manafort cut several deals with the Mueller team to get a better deal. But consistently Mueller has piled on charge after charge, stiffening Manafort’s recommended sentences for lack of cooperation and even taking action for Manafort to be held in jail without bail during this entire mess. Why is that?

  

• Mueller — even though cutting deals with Manafort — is apparently angry that Manafort has not given Mueller what he wants. There is something else Mueller is looking for, and he’s certain Manafort has it but is holding it back. That’s why Mueller has added more and more in the way of charges, trying to ratchet up pressure on the former campaign manager.
• Mueller feels strongly whatever the missing piece or pieces in the puzzle to unmask Trump wrongdoing is in the possession of Paul Manafort. Mueller still has the door open for Manafort, which means there’s something else he wants or needs and will continue to work on Manafort until he gets it from him. Stay tuned for that.
• Mueller also knows that Manafort is at the front of the line for a presidential pardon. Recently, President Trump when asked by reporters said a Manafort pardon is “still on the table.” That may have been stated by the President as a message to Manafort being dangled like an apple: a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Michael Cohen

• Ever wonder why Mueller turned over his case for prosecution of Michael Cohen to the prosecutors in the Southern District of New York? His reasoning is now crystal clear. Mueller messed up with Manafort. All of the actions the Mueller team has taken and will take against Paul Manafort have and will be made at the federal level. Cohen’s are too, but the criminal actions allegedly committed by Cohen happened in New York state and broke identical or similar New York state laws. Though state charges have not been filed, it is clear that should President Trump pardon Cohen, such a pardon would apply only to the federal crimes to which Cohen has pleaded. After such a pardon, it is likely that New York state’s attorney general would then file state charges for the infractions already admitted to by Cohen. No presidential pardon would be available regarding any state charges.
• It seems that the Mueller case against Cohen is incomplete. Yet Mueller keeps cranking on Cohen, apparently trying to obtain more evidence of Trump wrongdoing. If that was not true, why would the court categorically deny Cohen’s plea for his sentencing to include no jail time? What could that “evidence” be Mueller is looking for? In the report released on Friday, Mueller accused Cohen of being a “non-cooperative” witness, even though Cohen has provided a multitude of information to the Mueller team. What’s left that Cohen could provide? The Mueller team needs Cohen to validate their belief that President Trump aggressively pursued obstruction of justice. Think about it: the Friday report stated Cohen alleged the President not only knew about the payoff Cohen made to the two porn stars who claimed they had affairs with Donald Trump, Cohen claimed the President asked him to hide the fact that he knew. If that Cohen claim is valid, it could possibly implicate the President for obstruction of justice.
• Cohen is a liar. Mueller and his team have caught Cohen in numerous lies retracted later when confronted with facts. How will that factor into this entire case? (See details in the Summary below)

Summary

Where is this investigation going? What will be the end result? Who is “in the weeds” driving this attack on President Trump? Why hasn’t Congress stepped in to impact this charade underway at the expense of the American people?

If it is true that the Department of Justice and everyone in that department who work in the Executive Branch — one of the three branches of U.S. government authorized in the Constitution — doesn’t the Deputy Attorney General (Rod Rosenstein) and the Special Counsel (Robert Mueller) work for the DOJ and therefore work at the behest of the head of the Executive Branch? Who is the head of the Executive Branch? President Donald Trump.

If it is true that all departments in the government created by the Constitution are required to divulge details of all of their operations to the U.S. Congress, why has Congress not stepped in to control this runaway Special Counsel investigation that is full of conflicts of interest, illegal activities by employees, and multiple examples of obstruction of justice?

There is much to still be learned about what Mueller is doing and why. But it is becoming crystal clear: Mueller’s target is President Trump. But who would want to take down this President with the amazing accomplishments the nation has witnessed during just the first year plus of his administration? Economically the country is zooming forward, employment, new corporate investment, the greatest tax revenue in U.S. history even AFTER the middle class tax cuts, foreign leaders standing in line to meet with and negotiate international trade deals with our president, and the first legitimate presidential push to secure our nation’s borders to keep terrorists out and also those who want to enter the country illegally strictly for government assistance for life. How is any of that worthy to open a door for kicking Mr. Trump out of the White House?

Let’s be clear: none of this has anything to do with Donald Trump! He just happens to, unfortunately, be the guy who beat “THEIR” candidate for president — Hillary Rodham Clinton. The fact is that there really is a Deep State comprised of foreigners, American politicians, political contributors, lobbyists, and others who have created and perpetrated their operations for decades to control every aspect of American life. And President Trump is a “fly in their ointment.” He spoiled their party. They are committed to doing ANYTHING to regain the control they lost with the Trump presidency.

You see, he is independent of the special interests that have run the government for decades. He is politically obligated to no one. They are in a frenzy.

How to get rid of him? Find or create dirt sufficient to run him out of office.

They are wailing and gnashing their teeth in the realization that THERE’S NO LEGITIMATE DIRT ON PRESIDENT TRUMP! So what do they do? Create something — anything — to use to justify sending him packing.

Enter Robert Mueller.

I will not waste your time listing the people formerly in government, currently, in government, those fired or forced to retire, titans in industry and corporate giants who are implicated as part of this now front-and-center task to rid themselves of this president who refuses to become a pawn of the Deep State.

So here’s how this will all play out in coming days:

1. Mueller will probably sometime in January 2019 issue his “official” report to the Attorney General and to Congress, detailing the first part of his findings in this probe. In spite of what many have said, I believe strongly the Mueller probe will continue for some time after that. Mueller will exhaust every resource given to him by the American people in this probe — unlimited dollars — to find or create sufficient “evidence” to destroy President Trump.
2. Mueller and his team will continue to increase their pressure on Cohen and Manafort to push them to provide either actual facts against Trump or even create some. It is so ridiculous how rabid Mueller is at this point, it is believable that he can and will force Cohen and Manafort to actually create fake evidence sufficient to implicate the President, members of his campaign, but especially his family members. Mueller has already shown it matters not whose life is destroyed in his quest. He has already ruined the life of a 30-year military servant and General — Michael Flynn — who had to sell his home just to pay his legal bills. That purportedly occurred after Mueller offered Flynn an “either-or” deal, threatening action against Flynn’s son if Flynn did not plead guilty.
3. When the new House of Representatives takes control in January, Democrats then in the majority have already promised to launch a massive offensive against the White House and the President. Their goal? Impeach President Trump. They will NOT relent on that path and will settle for nothing less than driving the President out of office. They will bury the White House legal office with subpoenas for documents, other evidence, and testimony before various committees and the full House regarding matters in the Mueller probe.
4. On Friday, James Comey showed just how powerful the Deep State is by (in a classified session not open to the public) refuse to answer questions regarding his previous actions and testimony at the instructions of attorneys from the Department of Justice! Think about that: the DOJ and its attorneys work for the President yet still advised Comey to obstruct. Don’t forget: Comey has been proven to lie under oath, to commit felonies by mishandling classified information, by illegally giving classified documents to the media, and NOTHING has happened to him. That all comes because of the power of the Deep State.
5. Rod Rosenstein, James Comey, former AG’s Eric Holder, and Loretta Lynch, Mueller himself, and many others have all been implicated in the same ways. It is likely NONE will pay any price for their illegal activities. Why? Again, the Deep State.
6. What about the Clintons? Americans will be happy to know that the Jim Huber investigation (using 470 DOJ investigators that answer only to him) has started letting the subpoenas fly in the investigation of Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. Thursday a bank that had been accused of laundering money for the Foundation was subpoenaed. And that is just a start. 2019 will certainly be a bad year for the Clintons as their wrongdoing will be finally front and center.

What about impeachment? Here’s how that process works: the House can file articles of impeachment. With a Democrat majority in the House, they can probably garner enough votes to take that action. The Senate would then take the evidence from the House, investigate and literally conduct a trial based on the purported wrongdoing of the President that rise to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors” — what the Constitution requires for impeachment. The GOP actually in the 2018 election created a larger majority in the Senate. Unless something really shocking is found by Mueller, it is doubtful a two-thirds majority in the Senate would vote that the President is guilty. At that point, Democrats hope President Trump will have tired of the fight and simply resigned, or we will be approaching the 2020 election and they will be able to run Trump out of Washington.

My prediction: the House will probably impeach President Trump. The Senate will not convict him.

Then what?

Americans need to go to their knees. It’s anyone’s guess as what path Americans will choose to allow the country to go down. here’s the problem: there is a generation of 30-year-olds who came through this socialist-driven education system that have been convinced Socialism is viable, is attractive, and is necessary. My fear is that those of this generation who have been raised on the internet, who get their news via the net in soundbites and rely only on the news sources to which their educators referred them, will continue to NOT think for themselves. Instead, they rely on that news — almost 100% Leftist inspired — to make their political decisions. God help the U.S. if that happens. The only path for us is the one toward full-blown Socialism with a hint of Totalitarianism added.

The problem with that that this generation does not see: in that political scenario, Capitalism dies, entrepreneurship dies, and all those who are wealthy who are tagged to pay for all of this walk away from doing so and the nation collapses.

“That can’t happen to the United State,” you say. Well, it happened in Venezuela. It happened in Cuba. It is happening in Brazil. And it surely is happening in France.

TruthNewsNet is watching closely. Stay close: we’ll have almost daily if NOT daily updates on this. And this is the most important political process in your lifetime. Make certain you stay tuned in to hear and read the Truth.

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Notice the total absence of those former arguments about the “alleged” corruption in the Obama Department of Justice? I honestly believe there may be two reasons for the current lack of anger about those: people grew tired of the repetitious news coverage of pieces of evidence of corruption and just “turned off;” and/or the Media has purposely ratcheted up their already deafening attacks on President Trump in an effort to make Americans forget.

But with the daily revelations of MORE Obama DOJ corruption, it seems to be appropriate for us to simply remind everyone of just a few of instances of Obama Department of Justice corruption as it appears to have been even deeper and more widespread than first thought:

Obama Era DOJ Corruption Before Trump

• Eric Holder was the first attorney general in history to be held in contempt of Congress when he stonewalled committee probes of the Fast and Furious investigation. Fast and Furious itself was a scandal, involving the government’s reckless abuse of investigative powers for the purpose of fabricating an anti-gun narrative. Instead, its “gun walking” resulted in the killing of a federal agent, among other violent crimes.
• Attorney General Holder made misleading representations about both Fast and Furious and the investigation of Fox News journalist James Rosen.
• The IRS’s intimidation and abuse of President Obama’s political opponents, and the cover-up thereof resulted in no charges and little apparent investigation.
• There were politicized prosecutions against Dinesh D’Souza (an Obama critic whose minor campaign-finance infraction was treated as a major felony when more-serious violations are typically disposed of by administrative fine), and Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (the anti-Muslim video producer scapegoated by the Obama administration for the Benghazi massacre).
• Recall the misrepresentations by Justice Department lawyers to a federal court in the litigation over Obama’s lawless immigration non-enforcement programs (DACA and DAPA) — lies the judge found to be “intentional, serious and material.”
• The Department of Justice reportedly refused to impanel a grand jury in either the e-mail case or in connection with the FBI’s investigation of the Clinton Foundation pay-for-play allegations. “The problem here is this investigation was never a real investigation,” former assistant FBI director James Kallstrom said. “That’s the problem. They never had a grand jury impaneled, and the reason they never had a grand jury impaneled, I’m sure, is Loretta Lynch would not go along with that.” Further, the Department of Justice reportedly refused to allow the FBI to issue subpoenas to gather more evidence in connection with its investigation of the Clinton Foundation pay-for-play allegations.
• Then there were the Justice Department’s outrageous misconduct and serial lies in a prosecution of New Orleans police, which a federal judge variously described as “bizarre,” “appalling,” and “grotesque” — conclusions upheld by the Fifth Circuit appeals court.
• And, of course, the Clinton e-mails investigation, featuring: Justice Department collusion with Clinton-camp lawyers; inexplicable immunity deals; suspects who received immunity permitted to appear as lawyers for other suspects; no prosecutions despite significant evidence, several immunity grants, and patently misleading statements during FBI interviews; a furtive tarmac tête-à-tête between the attorney general and the main suspect’s husband (the former U.S. president who just happened to have launched the attorney general into public prominence, and who was positioned to influence whether the attorney general got to keep her job in an anticipated Hillary Clinton administration) just days before it was announced — surprise! — that there would be no indictment of Hillary Clinton; and startling public commentary by the FBI regarding an uncharged case that bore heavily on a presidential election.
• Subsequent to that “chat” aboard Clinton’s jet in Arizona, it was learned that Attorney General Lynch was conducting official DOJ business via an alias name and email address: “Elizabeth Carlisle, ecarlisle@jmd.usdoj.gov.” Why would an Attorney General use an alias and communicate via a secret email address other than to hide from the public certain actions taken if those actions were legal and above-board?

Obama Era DOJ Corruption Carryover to Trump Administration

How many and who in the DOJ that were Obama “carryovers” have resigned, retired, been demoted, or fired since the Obama Administration? (We formerly shared from this list, but the names have been added to)

Department of Justice (Non-FBI):

• John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General – Head of DOJ’s National Security Division – announced resignation on September 27, 2016, after filing the Government’s proposed 2016 Section 702 certifications on September 26, 2016. The filing does not disclose known FISA Abuses. Carlin is aware NSA Rogers is conducting a compliance review which will uncover the FISA Abuse. Trump surveillance originated under Carlin’s tenure.
• Sally Yates, Deputy Attorney General & Acting Attorney General (replacing Loretta Lynch – 10 days) – fired January 30, 2017. Complicit in Flynn Surveillance and surveillance of Trump Campaign.
  
• Mary McCord, Acting Assistant Attorney General – Acting Head of DOJ’s National Security Division (replacing John Carlin) – announced resignation on April 17, 2017 – Left on May 11, 2017. Complicit in Flynn Surveillance and surveillance of Trump Campaign.
• Bruce Ohr – Associate Deputy Attorney General – demoted twice. Stripped of Associate Deputy Attorney General title on December 6, 2017. Removed as head of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force January 8, 2018. Unofficial liaison between Fusion GPS and FBI/DOJ. Wife worked at Fusion. Long-standing ties to both Christopher Steele and Glenn Simpson/Fusion GPS.
• David Laufman, DOJ National Security Division, Deputy Asst. Attorney General in charge of counterintelligence – resigned on February 7, 2018. Laufman “played a leading role in the Clinton email server and Russian hacking investigations.”
• Rachel Brand, Associate Attorney General – number three official behind Deputy AG Rosenstein – resigned February 9, 2018. Takes top legal position at Walmart. Brand “played a critical role in Congress’ re-authorization” of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
• Trisha Beth Anderson, the office of legal counsel for FBI (demoted or reassigned)
• Peter Kadzik, assistant attorney general, congressional liaison (resigned)
• Matthew Axelrod, principal assistant to deputy attorney general (resigned)
• Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney, SDNY (fired along with 45 other U.S. attorneys)
• Sharon McGowan, civil rights division (resigned)
• Diana Flynn, litigation director for LGBTQ civil rights (resigned)
• Vanita Gupta, civil rights division (resigned)
• Joel McElvain, assistant branch director of the civil division (resigned)

FBI:

• James Comey, FBI Director – fired May 9, 2017. Oversaw all FBI operations – including exoneration of Clinton and Trump-Russia Investigation. Reported to AG Lynch.
  
• Peter Strzok, Deputy Assistant Director of FBI’s Counterintelligence – forced off Mueller’s team – demoted August 16, 2017, to FBI’s Human Resources. IG Horowitz discovered texts July 27, 2017. Strzok involved in all facets of Clinton exoneration. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group. Strozk was fired August 13, 2018.
• Lisa Page, FBI/DOJ Lawyer – forced off Mueller’s team – demoted August 16, 2017, to parts unknown. IG Horowitz discovered texts July 27, 2017. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group. Resigned May 4, 2018.
• James Baker, FBI General Counsel – demoted and reassigned on December 20, 2017. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group. Senior-most legal counsel at FBI. Resigned May 4, 2018.
• James Rybicki, Chief of Staff to FBI Director James Comey & successor Chris Wray – resigned/forced out January 23, 2018. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group.
  
• Andrew McCabe, Deputy FBI Director – on December 23, 2017, announced retirement effective March 22, 2018. Forced to resign on January 29, 2018. Involved in all aspects. Reported to Comey.
• Josh Campbell – Special Assistant to James Comey – resigned on February 2, 2018. Writes an op-ed in New York Times on why he is leaving but does not disclose in the op-ed that he was Special Assistant to Comey – or that he had been offered lucrative CNN job. Takes a job with CNN on February 5, 2018.
• Michael Kortan, FBI Asst. Director of Public Affairs – resigned on February 8, 2018 – effective February 15, 2018. Kortan served as assistant director for public affairs, an influential job that controlled media access.
• Bill Priestap, Assistant Director – Head of FBI Counterintelligence – Holds the same position. Strzok’s former boss – reported directly to McCabe.
• Greg Bower, assistant director for the office of congressional affairs (resigned)
• Michael Steinbach, executive assistant director (resigned)
• John Giacalone, executive assistant director (resigned)
• James Turgal, executive assistant director (resigned)

There are others that unofficially are being “watched” regarding the continuation of their employment with the DOJ.

Summary

We could spend the day discussing in detail all of the “known” investigations underway that include those above and others. But most of them and the details of their alleged wrongdoing are on already public knowledge. What remains unknown is just how deep and wide are the methods and the people who have been (and are) part of a concerted plan to destroy President Donald Trump and his administration, his implemented and pending policies, and to stall his appointments — including that of Judge Brett Kavanaugh who is almost surely a shoo-in as the replacement on the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Anthony Kennedy.

What is amazing to me is that everyone who plays any role in this coordinated effort to end the Trump White House actually felt that any and all of the illegal, unethical, and immoral acts they committed — and in some cases are still being committed — were/are justified because of the worthy goal of ridding the nation of President Trump.

What is MORE amazing to me is that everyone who played these roles honestly felt they were going to be successful in their quest to unseat a duly elected president and do it without the American public knowing about it! If any American is not incensed at the fact that appointed and hired individuals who work for the American people would participate in this “political coup,” you have no loyalty to your country.

You know what’s almost humorous? All those on the Left led by their media mouthpieces — those who have invented, implemented, and have maintained the bogus Russia collusion case — are actually guilty of the same crimes they invented and alleged perpetrated by the Trump Campaign. They were confident they would be successful getting rid of Donald Trump. There IS no Russia collusion. But there IS collusion. Let me explain:

The American public has yet to be shown the evidence that Intelligence Community individuals and several in Congress claim that verifies Russian attempted hacking of the 2016 election. Even if it does really exist, (and I have my doubts) there obviously was no involvement with the Trump Campaign. But there is verified collusion between the “other” campaign and the Russians: the Hillary Clinton Campaign. Hillary’s campaign funded the Steele Dossier knowing it was full of false information, had it promoted by James Clapper and James Comey to instigate the fake Russia collusion story and subsequent investigation of Donald Trump.

Further, more and more information leaks out daily showing just how “in the tank” members of senior FBI management were in the action to derail the Trump presidency. Peter Strozk and Lisa Page as more of their private texts and emails are revealed show there were intense actions initiated and managed by upper-level management members of both the FBI and DOJ to accomplish that objective.

What is going to happen and when? I have no idea. I have my suspicions, and they involved execution of a bunch of those 50,000+ sealed federal indictments on stand-by in federal district courts around the nation. I suspect Fall of 2018 is going to initiate the peeling of the onion of corruption that obviously dwarfs that ever witnessed in the United States government.

In the meantime: Donald Trump caused the hurricane headed for the Carolinas, Trump put those illegal immigrant children (in that picture that actually was taken during the Obama’s presidency), he single-handedly created global warming that will destroy Earth if he is not immediately kicked out of the Oval Office. To summarize it: EVERYTHING that is bad in the United States — and the World, for that matter — is the direct responsibility of President Trump.

Oh, one more thing: all of the good economic news in America is proof of the amazing accomplishments of Barack Obama. After all, nothing good could ever happen in America that wasn’t directly attributable to his knowledge, understanding, likability, and compassion!

What’s next?

STAY TUNED!

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In Iowa, it was Mollie Tibbets. In San Francisco, it was Kate Steinle. Who’s next? Where will the next such murder happen?

“Illegal Alien/Immigrant:” a foreign person who is living in a country without having official permission to live there.

Why?

Why is our nation covered with illegals? Why is it no longer politically correct to call those here illegally “illegals?” Who decided in the last few years to change the moniker for such people from illegal “alien” to illegal “immigrant?” What’s the difference?

Answers: Politically correct Leftists self-appointed to right the “rules” of illegal immigration apparently coined the new terms. Oh, and it’s no longer politically correct to use the term “illegal.” Last night I watched an immigration attorney on a talk show correct the host who used the term “illegal immigrant.” According to that attorney, they now are to be called “undocumented immigrants.” Hmmm… I’m pretty sure the families of Mollie Tibbets and Kate Steinle would argue with even the hint of political correctness in illegals’ naming correctness. Kate and Mollie are dead. That’s all that matters.

Every time a highly visible murder of an American at the hands of an illegal, the argument about this open-border policy begins anew. And make no mistake about it: America’s southern border is wide open. And regarding illegals entering the nation, Leftists are certainly open-border advocates. And most on the Right in Congress speak out against this practice while winking at the continued flow of “new” illegals crossing the border while sitting on their hands regarding repairing U.S. immigration law. Apparently, even Republicans in Congress (on the most part) must be for open-borders, too.

Meanwhile, Kate and Mollie are gone.

For the sake of this conversation today, and in honor of Kate and Mollie, we will refer to those in the United States without authorization or legal status as “illegal aliens.” If that offends you, please give us some leeway today in honor of those two young women. Humor us, please.

Dead at the Hands of Illegals

How many U.S. citizens are murdered by illegal aliens?

President Trump in a speech stated that 63,000 Americans had been murdered by illegal aliens. The 63,000 number we are unable to document. However, a 2011 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said that a study population of 249,000 criminal aliens had been arrested for 25,064 homicides.

According to a recent Associated Press article, “multiple studies have concluded that immigrants are less likely to commit crime than native-born U.S. citizens.” But the issue isn’t non-citizens who are in this country legally, and who must abide by the law to avoid having their visas revoked or their application for citizenship refused. The real issue is the crimes committed by illegal aliens. And in that context, the claim is quite misleading, because the “multiple studies” on crimes committed by “immigrants” —  including a 2014 study by a professor from the University of Massachusetts, which is the only one cited in the article —  combine the crime rates of both citizens and non-citizens, legal and illegal.

That isn’t the only problem with the study. Instead of using official crime data, it uses “self-reported criminal offending and country of birth information.” For obvious reasons, there is little incentive for anyone, let alone criminal aliens, to self-report “delinquent and criminal involvement.” When it comes to self-reporting criminal activity, some surveyed will, no doubt, exaggerate. Others will flat out lie. Furthermore, many that are questioned will likely not disclose if they are a non-citizen out of fear of discovery and deportation.

These claims overlook disturbing actual data on crimes committed by criminal aliens. For example, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released two unsettling reports in 2005 on criminal aliens who are in prison for committing crimes in the United States and issued an updated report in 2011.

The first report (GAO-05-337R) found that criminal aliens (both legal and illegal) make up 27 percent of all federal prisoners. Yet according to the Center for Immigration Studies, non-citizens are only about nine percent of the nation’s adult population. Thus, judging by the numbers in federal prisons alone, non-citizens commit federal crimes at three times the rate of citizens.

The findings in the second report (GAO-05-646R) are even more disturbing. This report looked at the criminal histories of 55,322 aliens that “entered the country illegally and were still illegal in the country at the time of their incarceration in federal or state prison or local jail during the fiscal year 2003.” Those 55,322 illegal aliens had been arrested 459,614 times, an average of 8.3 arrests per illegal alien, and had committed almost 700,000 criminal offenses, an average of roughly 12.7 offenses per illegal alien. Out of all of the arrests, 12 percent were for violent crimes such as murder, robbery, assault and sex-related crimes; 15 percent were for burglary, larceny, theft, and property damage; 24 percent were for drug offenses; and the remaining offenses were for DUI, fraud, forgery, counterfeiting, weapons, immigration, and obstruction of justice.

The 2011 GAO report wasn’t much different. It looked at 251,000 criminal aliens in federal, state, and local prisons and jails. Those aliens were arrested nearly 1.7 million times for close to three million criminal offenses. Sixty-eight percent of those in federal prison and 66 percent of those in state prisons were from Mexico. Their offenses ranged from homicide and kidnapping to drugs, burglary, and larceny. Once again, these statistics are not fully representative of crimes committed by illegal aliens: This report only reflects the criminal histories of aliens who were in prison. If there were a way to include all crimes committed by criminal aliens, the numbers would likely be higher because prosecutors often will agree to drop criminal charges against an illegal alien if they are assured that immigration authorities will deport the alien.

The GAO reports also highlight another important flaw in the study referenced by the Associated Press. It uses survey data from a nationally representative sample of people living in the United States. Thus, the study does not take into account some potentially key factors highlighted in the GAO reports: that criminal aliens from Mexico disproportionately make up incarcerations (GAO-05-337R) and that most arrests are made in the three border states of California, Texas, and Arizona (GAO-05-646R and GAO-11-187). Let’s look at just one of those three border states who has provided the public actual statistics of crimes committed by illegal aliens.

Just Texas

According to DHS status indicators, over 261,000 criminal aliens have been booked into local Texas jails between June 1, 2011, and July 31, 2018, of which over 175,000 were classified as “illegal aliens.”

Between June 1, 2011 and July 31, 2018, these 175,000 illegal aliens were charged with more than 273,000 criminal offenses which included arrests for 505 homicide charges; 30,408 assault charges; 5,396 burglary charges; 34,555 drug charges; 365 kidnapping charges; 15,100 theft charges; 22,213 obstructing police charges; 1,569 robbery charges; 3,212 sexual assault charges; 2,022 sexual offense charges; and 2,754 weapon charges. DPS criminal history records reflect those criminal charges have thus far resulted in over 112,000 convictions including 225 homicide convictions; 12,540 assault convictions; 2,967 burglary convictions; 16,762 drug convictions; 152 kidnapping convictions; 6,741 theft convictions; 10,720 obstructing police convictions; 950 robbery convictions; 1,567 sexual assault convictions; 1,076 sexual offense convictions; and 1,194 weapon convictions.

Exasperation

What is most exasperating to most Americans (other than federal politicians) is that there really is NO need for these senseless crimes to happen. What further heightens Americans’ frustration and anger about this problem is that Congress — who is the only agency that can make or change federal law — continues to bicker about certain parts of proposed immigration reform legislation while ignoring the most obvious and most critical reason for not just making those changes, but making those changes immediately!

How many times and how many studies have we seen that poll Americans who overwhelmingly state immigration reform MUST begin by sealing our southern border? If Americans — “legal” Americans — want their representatives in Washington to enact legislation to protect our babies against illegal alien crimes against them, why doesn’t Congress act?

Can’t members of Congress agree that trying to do anything regarding new or revised immigration law is sheer lunacy if it does not FIRST stop any continued influx of illegals?

It is virtually impossible that 535 men and women who are professionals that come to Congress from varied legal, business, medical, and other professional backgrounds cannot agree on a path to fix this problem — ANY PROBLEM — “IF” they really want to.” And that’s the key: Congress proposes, debates, amends, votes, and passes EVERY bill THEY want to see become law.

CONGRESS DOES NOT WANT TO PASS COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM!

Why is that?

To this journalist, the only plausible explanation for this is that more than half of those 535 men and women want to maintain the status quo. And the reason for that can be just one thing: votes. They not only want to allow the free flow of immigrants across the border, they have every intention of finding a way to make it legal for those illegals to vote in federal elections.

“What would that do?” you ask. Those Congressional members think that whoever/whichever political party initiates the steps and process for such legalization will be the party those illegals will support, forever indebted for that legalization. Would that work? It has worked for decades already. Democrats as a whole convinced African Americans that Dems were the saviors of Blacks. In almost every legislation at the federal level, Democrats have the votes of Black Americans locked up, simply because of that obligation Dems have sold them.

And Democrats are NOT the party that has made American life any better for those in the Black community. (We’ll save that conversation for another day)

Summary

Unless and until Congress passes a comprehensive immigration law that first closes our borders to illegal aliens, America is doomed for the repeat and repeat and repeat of stories like that of Mollie Tibbets and Kate Steinle who had their lives snuffed out at the hands of illegal aliens. I suggest you don’t ever let an open-borders advocate sell you the lie that illegal aliens commit crimes at a lesser rate than either native-born or naturalized American citizens. In fact, existing data seems to show that the opposite is likely true.

Get the truth out there in your circles of influence. Every chance you get, push your federal legislators to initiate and support comprehensive immigration legislation that begins with slamming the door on the southern border to stop illegals from entering the U.S.

But we do know one thing for sure. Every crime committed by an illegal alien is one that would not have occurred if that alien wasn’t in the United States in the first place. That includes the hundreds of thousands of crimes committed by the 55,322 illegal aliens in the GAO study who victimized countless numbers of Americans. And that includes the 273,000 criminal offenses committed against Texas citizens alone.

Remember this: Kate Steinle with her father was innocently at Fisherman’s Wharf enjoying just being together. Mollie Tibbetts was jogging in a very small rural town in Iowa. With no apparent plan or forethought, two illegal aliens ended the lives of those young women and changed the course of human history for their families.

The next such loss of a young man or young woman could be YOUR child.

Murder by a Stranger

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