IT’S WORSE THAN YOU THINK – TRUMP, THE DEVIL AND THE LAW
Why the prosecution of Donald Trump is so dangerous to everyone
In the play about the life of Sir Thomas Moore, Moore is discussing whether a heretic should be given the benefit of law with his son-in-law William Roper:
“William Roper: “So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!”
Sir Thomas More: “Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”
William Roper: “Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!”
Sir Thomas More: “Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!” A Man for All Seasons 1966
Even those that are cheering Trump’s indictment acknowledge that he is being charged for doing something which no other person would be indicted for, and which many not even be a crime. The people who are happy that Trump was indicted sincerely believe that he is an evil man, a horrible human being, the scourge of mankind, and anything is justified to destroy him. Because of this belief they sincerely believe that Trump’s indictment is proper, and his conviction should follow. They believe that horrible and evil people are not entitled to equality before the law nor and due process of law, and that a Court should be the sword of vengeance against those who are deemed despicable. They are counting on the Court’s dislike of Trump.
But what happens when a prosecutor or court believes it is dong justice and battling evil by ignoring the letter of the law law and manipulating the facts? The answer is that we have seen what happens, and we know where this path leads. Societies where this is how the legal system is used end up doing horrifying things.. This was the theory of what courts should be under National Socialism in Germany, the USSR under Stalin, and under Kim Jong il in North Korea. The movie Judgment in Nuremberg (1961) shows what happens when judges and prosecutors depart from the rule of law because they believe it is the right thing to do, and how quickly things can go horribly wrong. Examples of courts which departed from the rule of law in order to do what they truly believed at the time was the right thing to do, range from the Troika Courts of the NKVD in Stalin’s USSR to the Volksgerichtshof of National Socialist Germany.
When people are prosecuted for who and what they are, rather than by the law and what they did, a society is on the path to creating hell on earth.
For years, U.S. officials and their media allies accused Russia, China and Iran of tyranny for demanding censorship as a condition for Big Tech access. Now, the U.S. is doing the same to TikTok. Listen below.
What’s happening in politics that you want to talk about? Are there any burning topics that Glenn needs to cover? Any thoughts you’d like to share?
This post will be pinned to our profile for the remainder of this week, so comment below anytime with your questions, insights, future topic ideas/guest recommendations, etc. Let’s get a conversation going!
Glenn will be responding to a few comments here—and may even address some particularly interesting exchanges on our next supporters-only After Show.
Thank you so much for your continued support through another week of SYSTEM UPDATE with Glenn Greenwald!
On Monday’s episode, we welcomed back Vivek Ramaswamy to talk about FISA, Israel/Iran, and Elon’s war against Brazilian censorship.
It was the premiere of our new interview setup – as you can see below – which we hope you like as much as we do.
Let us know in the comments what you think!👇
Juanita Broaddrick
@atensnut
(April 19, 2024)
Important: This Voting Machine Case might be heard by the Supreme Court.
Grace Chong 🇺🇸
@gc22gc
Kurt Olsen Discusses The Voting Machine Case The Supreme Court Could Potentially Hear
https://x.com/atensnut/status/1781323177810870773
36,000 + views
(6 minute video)
We are pleased to send you a summary of the key stories we covered last week. These are written versions of the reporting and analysis we did on last week's episodes of SYSTEM UPDATE.
—Glenn Greenwald
Watch the full episode here:
Good evening. It's Wednesday, April 17.
Tonight: Many people have very strong opinions about Norman Finkelstein, but there's no denying that he is a dynamic, very independent, and highly informed commentator. He was one of the most notable victims of campus censorship and cancel culture when he was teaching at DePaul University near receiving tenure when the pro-Israel fanatic Alan Dershowitz launched a vicious and ultimately successful campaign to pressure the university to deny him tenure and drive him away due to his harsh criticism of the State of Israel and various Jewish activist groups, most notably in his bestselling book “The Holocaust Industry,” in 2000, which argued that pro-Israel activists exploit the memory of the Holocaust to shield Israel from any criticism.
Finkelstein has always been a difficult person for pro-Israel activists to demonize and to apply their normal smear campaign against, calling critics of Israel racist, bigoted, anti-Semitic, etc., etc. Finkelstein is not only Jewish, but he is the child of two survivors of Nazi concentration camps during World War II, and he often frames his criticisms of Israel as a byproduct of the universal principles he was taught in childhood by his parents, principles that were not meant to be utilized solely in defense of Israel, but rather as universal principles that no country, including Israel, should be permitted to violate. Since October 7, Finkelstein has become far more visible in the media than perhaps at any other time in his career, with the possible exception of the publication of his 2000 book. He has been, of course, excluded from mainstream corporate media but he has become one of the most influential and important voices on the largest and most popular programs in independent media. We sat down with him on Monday for a wide-ranging discussion of the Israeli war in Gaza, the possible escalation of the war with Hezbollah in Iran, the role of the Biden administration and the U.S. in fueling this conflict, how he views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict generally and how it can be resolved if it can, and many other topics.
There are definitely many people who dislike Finkelstein and who are often enraged by his views. Still, there's no denying that there are few commentators on these issues more scholarly, well-read, and informative than he is. I believe that the discussion we're about to show you illustrates how true that is.
For now, welcome to a new episode of System Update with our interview with Norman Finkelstein, starting right now.
