PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Don’t be surprised if this dynamic intensifies in the coming months and years. I’m reminded of this NBC News report published soon after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. "Dozens of elected prosecutors said Friday they would refuse to prosecute those seeking, assisting or providing abortions after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 ruling that guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. Prosecutors from 29 states, territories and Washington, D.C., signed a joint statement that included signatories from states like Mississippi, Missouri and Wisconsin that have banned or are poised to ban abortion services following the reversal of Roe v. Wade." Does the GOP intend to suspend and/or defund all of them, too?""
--------------------------------------------------------
STORY: "Prosecutors find themselves as Republicans’ election-year targets," by Steve Benen, published by The Maddow Blog.
SUB-HEADING: As the midterms near, Republicans aren’t just targeting Democrats, immigrants, journalists, and school teachers. The GOP is also focused on prosecutors.
GIST: "At the Conservative Political Action Conference late last week, Republican Rep. Andy Biggs, the current chair of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, talked up some of the goals he’d like to see his party prioritize if they’re in the majority next year — particularly when it comes to law enforcement.
“There are things you can do,” the Arizonan said, reflecting on Congress’ power. Biggs added, “You start defunding some of these bad agencies. The FBI. The DOJ.”
It might be tempting to dismiss such talk from a far-right member as irrelevant, but what’s striking is the degree to which rhetoric like this has become common, even among more influential Republicans.
Roll Call reported two weeks ago, for example, on comments House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy made at a recent conservative gathering.
Speaking to the America First Policy Institute gathering in Washington, McCarthy previewed some of the policy areas to be covered, including energy, crime and foreign policy. “We’re going to withhold money [from] any prosecutor that doesn’t uphold the law and picks and chooses who they go to prosecute,” McCarthy said.
Right off the bat, it’s probably worth emphasizing that prosecutorial discretion isn’t exactly a new concept in American law enforcement.
But just as notable was seeing the would-be Speaker of the House speaking publicly about his intention to defund prosecutors that Republicans disagree with.
Indeed, as the midterm elections near, Republicans aren’t just targeting
The GOP is also increasingly focused on prosecutors as a convenient political villain.
During yesterday’s Senate proceedings, for example, Sen. Marco Rubio was among the members pushing poison-pill amendments to the Inflation Reduction Act.
Not long after sunrise, the Florida Republican published a tweet that read, “The Democrats just blocked my effort to try and force Soros-backed prosecutors to put dangerous criminals in jail.”
The wording was problematic on a variety of levels — some critics questioned the reference to George Soros as possibly being anti-Semitic — but at its root, Rubio explicitly directed his criticism at law enforcement officials he disagrees with.
It came on the heels of another Florida Republican, Gov. Ron DeSantis, ousting an elected state attorney for taking positions on abortion and trans care that the governor didn’t like.
Don’t be surprised if this dynamic intensifies in the coming months and years. I’m reminded of this NBC News report published soon after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Dozens of elected prosecutors said Friday they would refuse to prosecute those seeking, assisting or providing abortions after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 ruling that guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. Prosecutors from 29 states, territories and Washington, D.C., signed a joint statement that included signatories from states like Mississippi, Missouri and Wisconsin that have banned or are poised to ban abortion services following the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Does the GOP intend to suspend and/or defund all of them, too?""
The entire commentary can be read at:
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/prosecutors-find-republicans-election-year-targets-rcna42018?cid=eml_maddow_20220808&user_email=c838168dc7288e7a8617e09d806f21e6cabd8958c3f89186ca123dd43bf5d249&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TRMS%208/8/22&utm_term=Rachel%20Maddow%20Show
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————————
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
