Sorry to Wake you Up.

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Trump’s New Playbook: Turn the Justice Department into a Political Hammer

Donald Trump has stopped pretending the Department of Justice is neutral. He’s moving like a man who thinks the law exists to do his bidding — to punish his enemies and reward his friends. That’s not a conspiracy theory; that’s what we’re watching unfold on the national stage, right down to the little echo chamber in Payson where the local Trump faithful copy the playbook without missing a beat. (The Guardian)

You don’t have to take my word for it — look at the headlines. Federal officials have been signalled to prepare probes of organizations long demonized by the right, and the president himself has publicly demanded charges against people like George Soros and other political opponents. Journalists, civil-liberties groups, and legal scholars are calling this what it is: an effort to weaponize the justice system for political ends. (Yahoo)

I’ve seen the local version of this first-hand. I’ve been falsely accused and jailed by people in Payson who, with uncanny devotion, emulate the same tactics — smear, rumor, and then a rush to involve law enforcement before facts have had a chance to breathe. They don’t care about evidence; they care about winning. That’s the chilling thing: national tactics have local consequences. When the president signals that certain opponents should be prosecuted, the ripple reaches town hall, the radio station, and your next-door neighbor.

So what does that mean for the rest of us?

• It means we can’t treat criminal investigations as neutral when the top of the executive branch treats them like partisan tools. The independence of prosecutors and inspectors is being tested — and, in some cases, replaced. (AP News)
• It means local disputes get magnified. A rumor in a grocery store can become a “legal” problem if it finds traction with people who want to weaponize the law. I lived that.
• It means citizens who value the rule of law should pay attention: demand transparency, insist on fair procedures, and don’t accept prosecutions that start with a political tweet and end with a knock on the door.

If you want to fight back, start small: document what happens to you; keep copies of messages; ask for receipts and records; talk to a lawyer before you talk to the town radio or the sheriff. The best defense against weaponized lawfare is clear, documented facts and a public that refuses to accept legal intimidation as normal.

The bottom line: when leaders use government power to punish critics, we’re not in ordinary politics anymore. We’re flirting with a system where truth and justice bend to the will of whoever’s in power. That’s a threat worth being loud about — in Payson and everywhere else.

— Kadizzle (Mike Quinn)

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