Murder, War Crimes, Knowing Violations of Court Orders or Just Business at Usual

   

Murder, War Crimes, Knowing Violations of Court Orders or Just Business at Usual?

The Fog of War?

There have been some increasingly standard reactions to many Trump appointees that really should not happen. It can range from implementing RFK, Jr’s conspiracy theories, long since discredited by scientifically rigorous proof. For example. Recently, CDC, taking a bit of purported anecdotal evidence (with no serious testing), announced implausible CDC policies asserting unproven dangers of Tylenol or vaccines as causes of autism, reinforcing RFK, Jr’s decades-long obsession as an antivaxxer. Or allowing the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem – who testified inaccurately before Congress that the writ of habeas corpus (essentially a challenge to unjustified incarceration) was a unilateral presidential right to detain people without probable cause or a warrant – to interpret legal orders.

Allowing Ms Noem, with her most feeble understanding of the law, to interpret judicial directives is a fairly typical problem with the quality of Trump’s appointments. As Sophia Vento, writing for the November 30th The Hill, describes the situation: “Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday [11/30] confirmed that she instructed the federal government to carry out the deportation and transferring Venezuelan detainees to El Salvador despite a court order halting the flights.

“‘The decisions that are made on deportations, where flights go, and when they go are my decision at the Department of Homeland Security,’ Noem told NBC’s Kristen Welker on ‘Meet the Press’ ‘And we will continue to do the right thing and ensure that dangerous criminals are removed.’… The Justice Department (DOJ) last week indicated in court filings that Noem directed officials to continue deportations to a Salvadoran megaprison amid an ongoing review of whether the Trump administration could be held in contempt after defying a judge’s oral order seeking the return of over 100 Venezuelan detainees to the U.S.”

And when he’s not ordering FBI SWAT officers to protect his Nashville country singer girlfriend or using an expensive government jet to ferry him and her about, he’s berating a professional agent, firing some of the most senior and most qualified agents, taking credit for someone else’s work or otherwise decimating the morale of the FBI. Kash Patel. With a list of wrongdoings too long to mention, Alex Griffing, writing for the December 1st Mediate, writes: “Twenty-four active, veteran FBI agents detailed what they see as the many failings of FBI Director Kash Patel in a devastating 115-page report that is meant to be presented before the GOP-led House and Senate Judiciary Committees. The New York Post’s Miranda Devine, a reliable Trump backer, obtained a leaked copy of the report, which she published on Monday [12/1].

“The report included the agents calling the FBI a ‘rudderless ship’ and ‘all f–ked up’ under Patel’s leadership, among several embarrassing anecdotes agents used to illustrate Patel’s poor leadership… One of the agents interviewed for the report called Patel ‘very personable and likable,’ but argued that the Trump appointee ‘created a culture of mistrust and uncertainty among the ranks.’ Patel began his tenure at the FBI by purging many top officials, including the highly respected then-acting director of the FBI, Brian Driscoll. Patel also fired senior veteran FBI special agent Walter Giardina shortly after Giardina’s wife died of cancer.”

AG Pam Bondi deserves her own blog for the irreparable damage she caused to the once revered Department of Justice, a legal arm of the federal government known for neutrality and professionalism, converted into the lowest common denominator of recent hires, the hollowing out of expertise and conversation into Donald Trump’s private mega-law firm of personal retribution. Her actions appear to me to be illegal, and she has gone out of her way to argue effectively that unquestioned loyalty to Donald Trump literally “trumps” the Constitution. I could envision post-Trump criminal prosecution of Ms Bondi, but I suspect Donald Trump might give her a preemptive loyalty pardon before he leaves office.

But there is one cabinet officer who, if the assertions against him are true, may escape criminal prosecution under federal law, under allegations of murder and violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for purportedly ordering the execution of survivors of his very questionable blasting of boats, with zero tangible proof or congressional or judicial authorization, of “narcotics” carrying boats in the Caribbean. But if these allegations are accurate, he might very well be limited in future travels since his actions, if true, would violate the Geneva Conventions against killing soldiers (if they not merely civilians, which is worse), who are injured and no longer a military threat. That would be, pure and simple, a globally recognized war crime for which there is no presidential pardon.

But outside of extreme MAGA circles, retired reservist, recovering alcoholic, major “Pete” is reviled by his own troops and held in low regard by most members of Congress, from both sides of aisle. “Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday [11/30] that they support congressional reviews of U.S. military strikes against vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, citing a published report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of a Sept. 2 attack.

“The lawmakers said they did not know whether last week’s Washington Post report was true, and some Republicans were skeptical, but they said attacking survivors of an initial missile strike poses serious legal concerns… ‘This rises to the level of a war crime if it’s true,’ said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.)… Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), when asked about a follow-up strike aimed at people no longer able to fight, said Congress does not have information that that happened. He noted that leaders of the Armed Services Committee in both the House and Senate have opened investigations… ‘Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious and I agree that that would be an illegal act,’ Turner said.”

Not surprisingly, Hegseth denied the reports, carefully choosing language that was hardly a perfect denial… and Donald Trump, who ordered these strikes, stated that he believed the Secretary of War/Defense. It’s Amazing how quickly DOW Secretary Pete Hegseth shoved Admiral Frank Bradley under the bus, following his orders, and how Donald Trump could claim he was protecting Americans from drug, when he pardoned mega-narco dealer, the former president of Honduras from his very long sentence from a federal conviction. Trump loves the double-down.

It would seem that that cadre of uniformed military and intelligence community professionals, which included Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), may have been thoroughly justified in producing a video reminding members of our military to reject illegal orders. At what point does following the law find acceptance among all Americans?

I’m Peter Dekom, and Donald Trump’s 2.0 appointments represent the most incompetent, corrupt and reviled federal officers in our history… where only a willingness to do Trump’s bidding, without regard to the law, matters.