XPost: alt.politics.org.fbi, alt.politics.trump, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   From the time of the Enlightenment, there has been the widespread belief   
   in equal treatment under the law. That pillar of Western civilization is   
   now under attack, as shown by the shameless and disgusting statements by   
   three Ivy League university presidents who claimed that advocating   
   elimination of Jews was OK in the proper “context.”   
      
   Other examples include the destruction of certain women’s sports by   
   allowing athletes who were biologically male at birth but claim to be   
   female to compete with women and the failure to allow a major undefeated   
   college football team (Florida State) to compete in the playoffs for the   
   national championship while giving the playoff slot to a team with a loss,   
   Alabama.   
      
   I could go on, but the most serious breakdown of consistent standards is   
   the disparate treatment of former Vice President Spiro Agnew and President   
   Biden, both of whom are credibly alleged to have taken bribes.   
      
   For those who were not yet born or have forgotten the Agnew case (which in   
   many ways is similar to the Biden case), here is a brief review.   
      
   Spiro Agnew had served as Baltimore County executive and subsequently as   
   governor of Maryland before Richard Nixon selected him as his vice   
   presidential running mate in 1968.   
      
   In 1972, Maryland’s U.S. attorney opened an investigation of possible   
   corruption in Baltimore County involving political leaders and private   
   contractors. Since Agnew had not been county executive since 1966, the   
   assumption was that he was not involved, and furthermore, the statute of   
   limitations had expired.   
      
   During the investigation, one of the contractors admitted as part of a   
   plea agreement that he had been kicking back 5% of the value of some   
   contracts to Agnew, and that the payments had continued into Agnew’s vice   
   presidency, even though he had not held office in Maryland in years.   
      
   When Agnew learned of the investigation alleging tax fraud and corruption,   
   and when it was subsequently leaked to the press, he publicly proclaimed   
   his innocence and called the stories “damned lies.” (Note: President Biden   
   has used almost identical language in denying that he received any   
   benefits from the payments from Ukraine and China to his son.)   
      
   In 1973, Attorney General Elliot Richardson, who had an impeccable   
   reputation for competency and honesty (unlike the current attorney   
   general, Merrick Garland) was given responsibility for the investigation   
   by Nixon. (Note: The Agnew case was completely separate from the Watergate   
   case.)   
      
   As the evidence mounted, Agnew, who was being pressured to resign, took   
   the position that a sitting vice president could not be indicted — based   
   on the precedent of an 1826 charge against Vice President John C. Calhoun,   
   who was alleged to have taken improper payments when he was a Cabinet   
   member.   
      
   Agnew continued to insist that he was innocent, but he entered plea   
   negotiations on the condition that he receive no jail time.   
      
   In October 1973, Agnew pleaded no contest to felony tax evasion and agreed   
   to resign as vice president, pay a $10,000 fine, and serve three years’   
   unsupervised probation. Later, Agnew denied wrongdoing, saying he had   
   resigned in the best interest of the nation to prevent prolonged division   
   and uncertainty.   
      
   At the time, there was widespread agreement among Republican and   
   Democratic leaders in Congress that Agnew was unfit to serve as president   
   (given the increasing likelihood of a Nixon resignation because of   
   Watergate).   
      
   Agnew’s agreement to resign on the condition of no jail time was widely   
   applauded and accepted as the best outcome. House Minority Leader Gerald   
   Ford was then selected by Nixon and overwhelmingly approved by Congress as   
   the new vice president.   
      
   The bribery allegations against Mr. Biden are much more serious than those   
   against Agnew because they involve payments by foreign state entities for   
   alleged attempts to influence U.S. policy in both Ukraine and China. Mr.   
   Biden’s defenders claim that there is no evidence that he directly   
   received payments from Chinese or Ukrainian government officials or from   
   people in state-owned companies. (Note: It is not necessary to have   
   received a direct payment to be an indirect beneficiary of a bribe.)   
      
   There is concrete evidence that Biden family members shared in the   
   foreign-supplied funds, which were run through numerous shell companies.   
      
   The Justice Department has yet to charge Hunter Biden or other members of   
   the Biden family for failure to register as foreign agents, even though it   
   is clear that Hunter was required to do so under the law. In addition, the   
   money laundering regulations are broad, in part, because they not only   
   apply to the person or entities that acquired ill-gotten funds but also   
   require that institutional recipients of funds from questionable sources   
   know the source of such funds.   
      
   In many respects, the case of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort   
   was similar. Mr. Manafort was sent to jail for failing to register as a   
   foreign agent and for money laundering, among other charges.   
      
   The House committees investigating the Biden family’s activities need   
   answers to the above questions and many others. President Biden resigning   
   without jail time, like Vice President Agnew, would not be the worst   
   outcome.   
      
   https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/dec/11/inconsistent-standards-   
   and-rules-persist/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)