Former Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) just appeared on the "Mark Levin Show." He was a congressman about 15 years ago and went to prison after being convicted of various crimes (and acquitted of others). One of the men who put him there, he told Levin, was Jack Smith.
Briefly -- as Renzi told it: he was a political threat to then-Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (now the head of the UC system). Her chief of staff was an assistant U.S. attorney who indicted him twice and tried to get him to agree to a plea deal. Renzi refused and went to trial.
During and after the trial, Renzi said, a prosecutor by the name of David Harbaugh faced sanctions -- which are very rare -- on TWO occasions: once for wiretapping conversations between Renzi and his attorney, and once for paying a witness who changes his testimony.
Moreover, an appellate judge in the case, who ordered Renzi to prison despite the fact that he was still appealing his conviction, was the "mentor" for a clerk named Jack Smith.
Harbaugh worked with Smith, Renzi noted -- and had followed Smith to other assignments as well. Moreover, he said, Harbaugh had once worked with then-FBI Director James Comey to cover up Hillary Clinton's offenses, then "retired" when the heat grew too great.
Back to Renzi: the circumstances of his conviction were such that many people felt Renzi was not given a fair trial. He was later pardoned by President Donald Trump. And that, perhaps, has given Smith an incentive to pursue Trump: he wants revenge for Renzi's case, which he and Harbaugh were involved with.
You could see how Harbaugh might also want revenge on behalf of Comey.
I've also looked up Harbaugh and found he was involved in Jack Smith's most infamous failures -- the prosecutions of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) and Sen. John Edwards (D-NC).
What is it with these DOJ prosecutors and special counsels, that they seem to recycle the most tainted, biased, and agenda-driven people they can find? Robert Mueller's "collusion" investigation was also stacked with Clinton donors, and even a Clinton attorney.
Renzi made the case that the most powerful lobby in Washington is not Big Pharma, but the National Association of Former United States Attorneys, who are responsible for staffing and recommending many of the prosecutors and officials who handle the justice system.
I believe it, because I've seen the "Lawfare" network that staffs every operation against Trump and conservatives -- and that briefly opposed me, when I argued against impeaching Trump (the first time). It's not a conspiracy theory; it's a caste system. More to come.
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
