John:
Good afternoon from Capitol Hill.
The House and Senate are both out of session the next two weeks for the Easter recess.
Last week the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Cost Act on a bipartisan basis. The Senate passed a bill to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq, and voted to pass H.J. Res 7, a joint resolution that would terminate the covid emergency on a bipartisan basis as well.
On Friday, March 31, 2023, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York issued a statement announcing that Douglass Mackey had been convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn of the charge of Conspiracy Against Rights stemming from his scheme to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote. The Department of Justice (DOJ) later posted that press release on their official government website.
Tucker Carlson plainly explained what that statement means: “What did Mackey do wrong? Well, Douglass Mackey’s crime was mocking Hillary Clinton voters online.”
A short read through the Eastern District’s press release reveals a lot. “‘Mackey has been found guilty by a jury of his peers of attempting to deprive individuals from exercising their sacred right to vote for the candidate of their choice in the 2016 Presidential Election,” stated United States Attorney Peace. ‘Today’s verdict proves that the defendant’s fraudulent actions crossed a line into criminality and flatly rejects his cynical attempt to use the constitutional right of free speech as a shield for his scheme to subvert the ballot box and suppress the vote.’” Douglass Mackey posted a meme on Twitter and could face 10 years in prison? Many are remarking that this is a turning point for what free speech looks like in this country.
You’d be surprised to know that Mackey was not the only person to do something like this during 2016. As Tucker further reported: “It’s also a useful lesson in who will be allowed to speak going forward. As it turns out, a woman called Kristina Wong posted an almost identical meme the same year back in the 2016 election, but unlike Dough Mackey, Wong voted for Hillary Clinton. ‘Hey, Trump Supporters,’ she wrote. ‘Skip poll lines and text in your vote.’ Same crime, but the Department of Justice under Joe Biden has shown no interest in prosecuting Kristina Wong.’”
At the beginning of March, Attorney General Merrick Garland testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing titled, “Oversight of the United States Department of Justice.” In Garland’s written testimony submitted to the Committee under the header “Uphold the Rule of Law” Garland writes, “The integrity of our legal system is premised on adherence to the rule of law, In order to have confidence in our Department and in our democracy, the American people must be able to trust that we will adhere to the rule of law in everything that we do.” Garland continues, “The Justice Department strongly values a free press, and we are committed to protecting the First Amendment and the journalists who rely on it to keep the American people apprised of the workings of their government.” To many Americans, these words ring hollow given the blatant skewing of what is being prosecuted and how blatantly political the DOJ has become.
Listed on the same DOJ website is a press release titled, “Justice Department Commemorates International Transgender Day of Visibility” where the DOJ announces that they sent letters to all states Attorney Generals reminding them that state laws prohibiting children from receiving “gender affirming care” may infringe on federal constitutional protections under the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Americans are looking at the totality of the evidence of what is currently going on in the news and wondering how free their speech really is.
The Latest From Around The Conservative Movement
One More Thing…
ICYMI: American Moment hosted a live taping of Moment of Truth at the Conservative Partnership Center (CPC): Full Video Here: Senator JD Vance (R-OH) Full Interview at CPI
Sincerely,
Hugh Fike
Director of Government Relations
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