P. Coonan
2024-04-21 19:47:17 UTC
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Permalinkprosecution of former President Donald Trump began last week, it is
important to remember that the former president is not the only target of
the Democratic Party's campaign to use government power to silence
political dissent.
The Left's efforts to intimidate conservative activists this month
included Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) delivering a congressional subpoena to
Federalist Society Co-Chairman Leonard Leo. It was voted on by the Senate
Judiciary Committee last November without securing a single Republican
vote. Durbin has not explained why the subpoena was not delivered for five
months.
His attack on Leo comes as another elected Democrat, District of Columbia
Attorney General Brian Schwalb, has also used his office to harass Leo.
After a complaint filed by the dark money-funded Campaign for
Accountability, Schwalb opened an investigation into Leo's management of
two nonprofit organizations. The Campaign for Accountability alleged that
Leo used his control of these to enrich his consulting firm by millions of
dollars.
Abusing nonprofit status to enrich oneself is a serious matter. We are
sure there are many Washington, D.C., nonprofit organizations that deserve
such investigations. But Schwalb isn't investigating any of them. Nor is
he investigating Ibram X. Kendi's Center for Antiracist Research after it
blew through tens of millions of dollars in three years without producing
anything of value.
One might point out that the Center for Antiracist Research is based in
Boston and, therefore, out of Schwalb's jurisdiction. But so are the two
nonprofit groups connected to Leo that Schwalb is investigating. One is in
Virginia, and the other is in Texas.
However, there is a connection between the Campaign for Accountability and
the Senate Democratic investigation of Leo: far-left megadonor Stephen
Silberstein, who has bankrolled Leo's main inquisitor in the Senate, Sen.
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and the nonprofit organization leading the
investigation against Leo, ProPublica. Silberstein has also worked closely
with the Campaign for Accountability.
Like Trump, Leo refuses to be intimidated by the Democratic Party's
lawfare. He is not cooperating with either the Schwalb investigation or
the Senate subpoena. Durbin violated Judiciary Committee rules by
disallowing debate and amendments on the subpoena, which was then voted on
with no quorum present since all Republican members had left. Durbin will
now need a vote of 60 senators to enforce his subpoena, a threshold he
will fail to meet.
Wealthy Democratic Party donors such as Silberstein are free to fund
partisan nonprofit goons such as ProPublica to dig up dirt on political
opponents. But when they corrupt elected Democratic officials to use the
power of their offices to persecute those political opponents, they cross
an ethical line. The Democratic Party must end its lawfare campaigns
against Trump and Leo. It disgraces itself until it does so.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-big-money-bankrolling-the-
left-s-lawfare/ar-AA1nnlnk