February 10, 2024

"'No reasonable prosecutor': remember him? He’s back! No, not James 'Higher Loyalty' Comey. He’s sitting in a corner somewhere..."

"... counting his doubloons. But like some inky creatures of the deep, he emitted lots of spawn. They’re maturing now and taking after dear old dad. Remember the original sitcom. Despite the best efforts of every one from the country’s 'intelligence' chiefs to its fawning media, news emerged that Hillary Clinton had essentially run the State Department from an insecure server in her home. On that server, it transpired, there were thousands of classified documents (along, of course, with yoga routines and plans for her daughter’s wedding). Presented with a subpoena to turn in the classified docs — there were some 30,000 of them. Hillary simply BleachBit the lot and dared Comey to do something about it. He didn’t, of course. 'No reasonable prosecutor,' you see would pursue such a case. Now James Comey’s spiritual heir has strode into the limelight. Meet Robert Hur...."

Writes Roger Kimball, in "The Justice Department won’t prosecute Biden? Color me shocked/Don’t we have trials precisely to establish the guilt or innocence of a defendant?" (The Spectator).

78 comments:

rhhardin said...

The actual problem is that at this high a level, the security regulations don't actually apply, sometimes de jure and otherwise de facto.

It doesn't affect security because it's not many people, unlike carelessness by people like me who number in the millions affecting actual security just by population volume overcoming low per person probability. So they enforce the rules for the millions and not the top people, because it's just as secure that way.

For people like me every document has a control number and once a year the security lady comes around and goes through your safe and determines that all the documents charged to you are in the safe and no other classified documents are. Documents at home can't happen without being detected.

At high levels they don't do that.

wendybar said...

Great and very true article.

"It’s amazing that anyone still believes in the American justice system."


And yet, Bidens Pravda bald press guy said the Republicans are making up that there is a two tier justice system when anybody with actual eyes can see it happening daily right in front of us.

Leland said...

A reasonable prosecutor will take the money offered under the table and make the “right” decision about prosecution. After all, it is a job, not a calling, and you’re getting paid.

gspencer said...

"No reasonable prosecutor would ever think, let alone charge, that a Democrat is capable of any wrong-doing."

So long as it advances the cause of more & more government control.

rehajm said...

Yah. We know. I invoke the no reasonable prosecutor line what- once a week?

It wasn't that long ago we were mocked in this space for claiming NYT and WaPo were biased against conservatives...by some high level Althouse officials...

Wince said...

Is Jack Smith an “unreasonable prosecutor”?

Kate said...

Is Hur a "no reasonable prosecutor", or is he someone who knew a sitting president couldn't be charged and came up with a devastating way to insist the evidence be heard?

retail lawyer said...

I doubt that Biden would be capable of meaningfully contributing to his defense. So he has immunity by virtue of his mental disability.

The rule of Lemnity said...

No reasonable prosecutor and no one is above the law are dating.

Eva Marie said...

Biden is a terrible President. But the idea that the bureaucracy should have the power to indict him for how he handles pieces of paper is absurd. Stop classifying everything Top Secret.

Temujin said...

The thing is, the article is correct. Everyone knows this is correct. Yet we go on with the Absurd Theater that is our Federal Government. I will say that, at the state and local levels, our governments range from moderately amusing to downright awful in most states and localities. But it's more amateurish. These are the minor leagues where people of political ambition go to learn their craft, hone their 'skills'.

But nothing can prepare them for the amount of corruption and the degree of turning the law of the land on its head that takes place at the Federal level. We no longer even recognize that we were designed as a constitutionally limited republic with very specific barriers to government power and oversight. We The People have simply decided its easier to just bow head and open the door when the Federal Government comes knocking to step over yet another line, take for themselves another bit of our individual liberty, and access even more power over the most mundane and tiny parts of our lives.

All this said to point out that the acceptance of a corrupt and useless Department of Justice is part and parcel of the disintegration of the Republic. If you think it's just a blip in time and it'll change under Trump, you're kidding yourself. I do think it could have had a chance at changing under a Ron DeSantis, given his background. But...that train left.

Government, once taking power, rarely lets go of it. The point of the Constitution was to keep their grubby hands away from total power.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

The “reasonable prosecutor” has been replaced by the “unreasonably churlish prosecutor.”

lonejustice said...

Robert Hur is a Republican. He was a law clerk for Chief Justice William Rehnquist of the United States Supreme Court from 2002 to 2003.

On November 1, 2017, Hur was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next United States Attorney for the District of Maryland.

Wince said...

I'm beginning to think House Republican should pass legislation amending the US Criminal Code by inserting the following into every statute:

"Even if you are a Democrat, the above code section applies to you."

PJ said...

I was with Kimball right up to “has strode.”

Leland said...

What am I saying “under table”. Hur was paid above the table just like Nathan Wade. They were given the job to come to the “right” conclusion. Wade was just required to provide some extra services.

planetgeo said...

Makes sense. To a Democrat prosecutor, every Democrat is "well-meaning", so how can there be a crime? Right, gadfly?

Dude1394 said...

Some good analysis
https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/here-are-the-biggest-revelations-in-the-special-counsels-report-on-biden/

Dude1394 said...

Some good analysis
https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/here-are-the-biggest-revelations-in-the-special-counsels-report-on-biden/

narciso said...

Comey who was a party to the whole plame fraud who worked for hsbc as a monitor

tim in vermont said...

"Robert Hur is a Republican."

What does that have to do with the fact that he pointed out that Biden broke the law, and that he didn't prosecute. Republicans have families too, they live in houses with real addresses, they have thoughts of a comfortable retirement. Look what they did to Rudy Giuliani, look what they did to Mark Steyn.

Yancey Ward said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
PB said...

"No reasonable prosecutor" leaves out the fact that he would be trying to prosecute a Democrat in front of a DC juror and DC judge.

In other double standards, the ghostwriter deleted files after finding out about the investigation and won't be charged with obstruction, unlike 2 Trump assistants who moved boxes.

Iman said...

I have a dream that, one day, Jack Smith will be the spokeshole for Subway Sandwiches.

PB said...

"No reasonable prosecutor" leaves out the fact that he would be trying to prosecute a Democrat in front of a DC juror and DC judge.

In other double standards, the ghostwriter deleted files after finding out about the investigation and won't be charged with obstruction, unlike 2 Trump assistants who moved boxes.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Joe's Theme song... My Mind's Going Blank Now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWZ8kyg3ajQ

Genius!

Chris said...

I took Hur's decision not to recommend prosecution as a comment on DC's jury pool. Isn't that where Biden would be tried, where he got over 92% of the vote in 2020?

tastid212 said...

IMO, this was the first real shot across the bows of the Biden administration -- and it was launched by Democrats. Hur was just the vehicle used (and I have no doubt that he knew how his report would be used).

Hur's report, leaked within minutes, gives permission to the D party to begin openly pressuring Joe to announce he won't run again. It's permission for Newsom, Whitmer, Michelle O, and others to ramp up their campaigns openly, culminating at the Chicago convention.

It remains to seen if it also helps Haley, as polls are taken with Trump and Haley facing Dem opponents other than Joe.

Big Mike said...

I have vivid memories of fifty years ago hearing congressmen ritually intoning “No one is above the law” with respect to the investigation of Watergate by Sam Ervin’s Select Committee. As a country, we’ve drifted a long way downhill in a half century. A very long way downhill.

Quaestor said...

"Robert Hur is a Republican."

Signifying what, lonejustice? So was James Comey when he illegally "pardoned" Hillary Clinton. Every lion hosts its share of parasites.

chickelit said...

The case of Robert Menendez proved that crime pays for Dems. Everyone else is just aping him.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Trump promised to go after Hillary - but Trump surrounded himself with spies, hacks and sell-outs, and mere loyalists who had no clue. So Trump dropped that promise as fast as he could.
She should have spent time in prison for her stunt.

Ampersand said...

Kimball loves his florid theatrics. Hur did far more damage to Biden by concluding that he was both guilty and senile. Between the lines, he was telling us that criminal prosecutions of nontreasonous violations of the statute are a waste of time and money. I'm with Hur.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

The democrat party elite - they are corrupt and above the law.

Next.

rcocean said...

It'd nice if our Republican "leaders" would actually point out we have two standards of Justice, and Biden and his DOJ trying to put Trump in jail is insane and UnAmerican, but I guess that's too much tp ask.

Mittens is still playing the jealous little girl and attacking Trump, and the other Republican Senators and Haley are basically silent. Bush made a big deal about "the balance between the three branches" and "executive privilage" when POTUS, but has said nothing about Trump being put in Jail by Biden.

No doubt George Bush will pipe up in 2025, if the Republcians decide to retaliate.

who-knew said...

Kate said...
Is Hur a "no reasonable prosecutor", or is he someone who knew a sitting president couldn't be charged and came up with a devastating way to insist the evidence be heard?

That's an interesting and believable take on this I hadn't thought of myself. No surprise there, there are those who would say that it's because I'm not that bright. But now that I've seen it, I'm torn between the corrupt 'no reasonable prosecutor' and the clever prosecutor.

Leland said...

On November 1, 2017, Hur was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next United States Attorney for the District of Maryland.

Look up "Blue Slip" and get an education.

hombre said...

The lefty dominated websites (e.g., Yahoo News, Mediaite) are setting records for idiocy and evil in their comment sections trying to justify or ignore the double standard.

It really is a good reminder of why I am no longer a Democrat and will never vote for a Democrat regardless of Republican stupidity.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Temujin nails it.

hombre said...

lonejustice: "Robert Hur is a Republican...."

Regardless, he picked up the creds for this whitewash. Otherwise he would not have been trusted with the job.

Remind me. What party was Comey?

n.n said...

Biden has received and redistributed his emoluments. No reasonable beneficiary would prosecute him after receiving her equitable share of bennies for babies in Spring.

Paul Zrimsek said...

"Not to worry, though. Hur concluded that the evidence “does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” I am not a lawyer, but isn’t that why we have trials, precisely to establish the guilt or innocence of a defendant?"

We heard this argument a lot when the defendant was George Zimmerman, and it's still a bad one. If the prosecutor isn't sure beyond a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt, he has no business trying to convince a judge or jury of it.

The question of why No Reasonable Prosecutor decided to take the day off when it was Trump mishandling documents, remains unanswered.

Kai Akker said...

Roger Kimball is a clear thinker and a good writer. He has been reduced here to repeating himself because the double standard is so old hat by now. I hope that means we are getting close to tossing it out in revulsion.

Joe Smith said...

The shocking part of Clinton's non-prosecution was the blatant manner of it all.

She said 'Fuck you' to the DoJ and they said 'Thank you ma'm, may we have another?'

Even when she let them see some of her emails, she chose which ones they could see.

Even better, her co-conspirator was her lawyer, so everyone got off with no charges and everyone in the case got immunity...for nothing. No taking down a bigger fish. No testimony. Nothing.

It's a big fucking club as we are not in it.

tim in vermont said...

I like the part where his ghostwriter destroyed evidence. Is Trump guilty of anything like that?

Joe Smith said...

Back in the old days, you could get fired from IBM for leaving business papers on your desk when you went home.

But those were rules made and imposed by mostly white guys in white shirts.

Our standards have gone to shit.

Thanks, DEI!

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Old White Left Loyalist Lawrence ODonnell - 'It's wrong and should be illegal to call Joe Biden "Elderly".'

LOL- NBC.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mike of Snoqualmie said...

Those classified docs didn't walk their way into Bribe Me! Biden's packing boxes. They had to be removed from the safes and carelessly laid about in an unsecure office. Then they were packed.

Classified notebooks MUST be entered into the accountability system after six months after creation or they must be destroyed. Except, this requirement doesn't apply to Democrat politicians for they are above the law and no reasonable prosecutor would ever try to prosecute them for fear of getting the Jeffery Epstein treatment.

boatbuilder said...

Kate at 7:20--You may be right.

I don't know anything about Hur, but this gives the Republicans lots of political ammunition, while at the same time resolving them of any responsibility to do try to do anything substantive (which would fail in any event).

3D chess, if you believe the commenters who are saying that Hur is a Trump guy (which is actually pretty silly).

Or maybe Hur is doing the work of easing Joe out, for the Dems.

Who the hell knows these days?

Abdul Abulbul Amir said...


Hur had to come up with a reason for not filing charges. The sitting prez dodge won't work as the filing could be delayed until after Biden left office. But "willful" retention and dissemination are certainly chargeable. Note that Trump is not charged with dissemination.

“Bad Genes” said...

Garland could have given it the ‘Bill Barr treatment’ and redact all the items about Biden's memory, and release his own letter saying Biden was exonerated and had perfect recall of everything. I prefer Garland’s transparency.

gsgodfrey said...

Contrast "no reasonable prosecutor" with prosecutors pursuing a "novel legal theory".

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Sadly - Trump will probably lose to the above-the-law crap weasel - old man mobster - Barisma facelift Joe.

Michael K said...

Hur, no doubt, was given his limits as to what he would be allowed to do when he was appointed. Comey set the stage with his dive in the Hillary case. The two tier justice system is becoming a joke.

Yancey Ward said...

I have written before- I would have been ok with Comey giving Clinton a pass on her lawbreaking if those were the general rules applied to everyone else with security clearances.
I would have been ok with Hur giving Biden a pass on this the other day for the same reasons. However, it is a clear as it possibly can be that the rules aren't applied to everyone equally, and so this makes not indicting Biden particularly odious.

Rabel said...

"Hur's report, leaked within minutes..."

Released, not leaked.

loudogblog said...

It's one thing to mix up the names of world leaders because they are constantly changing, but to get the name of an actual country wrong shows that the memory issues are serious indeed. (Don't forget that Biden has all the nuclear codes and is responsible for defending the nation.)

"It was then that, having protested his memory is all good and his age is not an issue, that Biden put his foot in it again, mistakenly referring to Egypt’s leader Abdel Fatah al-Sisi as “the president of Mexico”."

Remember that episode of Star Trek, where captain Kirk gets that radiation disease that makes him age rapidly and they have a hearing on board to determine if he is still competent to still be captain? He repeatedly forgets what planet they are orbiting and they relieve him of command.

If you do a Google search for "Star Trek the Deadly Years," you can watch the video of that episode at Dailymotion.

n.n said...

President Trump stored them in a secured storage. VP Biden did it in an unheated garage. An equitable and inclusive prosecutor would have the FBI tap his phones, invade his diverse mansions, rummage through his wife's personal effects, and indict him on diverse charges inferred from 30, 40, 60 years back.

mikee said...

I, for one, look forward to a future where there isn't just a double standard, but a triple standard, where members of one party get punished for crimes that are imaginary, the members of the other party don't get prosecuted for actual crimes, and for no reason at all, random politicians are subjected to a coin flip and either dragged out of their offices and horse whipped down the street, or given a suitcase full of cash on live TV as a reward for their service. Let's get random!

Mr Wibble said...

So here's my wild conspiracy theory: Garland didn't know about the Mar-A-Lago raid- the WH bypassed DoJ and told the FBI directly to go and get the files. DoJ had been hesitant, because they knew it would be a clusterfuck. When the public backlash started, Garland had to be convinced to go out and eat a steaming bowl of shit on national television with his statements taken responsibility for it. The Biden document revelations and subsequent Hur report are his revenge. He could have pushed to have the memory stuff excluded, but leaving it in embarrasses Biden and the WH.

Big Mike said...

@Joe Biden is Corrupt, so quit whining about it and figure out what you can do to change that outcome. Sheesh.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

NBC Rich is OK w/ the following:



● Biden calls woman ‘lying dog-faced pony soldier’ at N.H. campaign event.

● How Joe Biden Gets Away With Calling A Voter A Fat, Dumb, Liar.

● Joe Biden and Kamala Harris deploy the Charlottesville hoax to stir up racial pain and anger.

● ‘Classy:’ Joe Biden Snaps At Reporter After Being Asked About Hunter’s Paternity Test.

● Bullying Biden Yells at Fox’s Doocy: ‘Ask the Right Questions!’

● Biden Accused of Sexism After Remarks to Female Moderator.

● Biden Explodes When Confronted On Lying About Charlottesville. Video Proves Biden Wrong.

● Joe Biden Says There Are Three Genders; Grabs Student’s Arm When She Asks ‘What Are They?’

● Hawaiian business goes viral for sign slamming Biden’s kitchen fire comments: ‘not always about you.’

And these classics from the Obama era, before Biden’s brain decayed into guacamole:

● VP Biden’s Office Apologizes For Locking Reporter In Storage Closet During Fundraiser.

● Vengeance: Biden’s Office Seeks Investigation Into Unfriendly Journalist.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

I am sorry, but I read that as "Now James Comey's spiritual hair has strode into the limelight." I hope not.

tim maguire said...

Given the reasonable reason given—that Biden lacks the mental capacity to be charged, this report is more devastating than a recommendation to prosecute would have been. And I have to think Hur knew that when he presented his results in this way. A prosecution would drag on for years and amount to nothing. This, however, fatally undermines Biden right out of the gate. This week marked the beginning of the ignominious end to the presidency of Joseph Biden.

JAORE said...

On November 1, 2017, Hur was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next United States Attorney for the District of Maryland.

Look up "Blue Slip" and get an education.

/\/\/\

Also explain why AG Garland is not a Trump plant,totally incompetent or on the take...

SCOTUS bullet dodged.

William50 said...

People think there is a two tiered + justice system. That is not true. There is only one system, we are in POWER and YOU ARE NOT!! PERIOD!!

jameswhy said...

If Hur was really a secret Republican agent, he would have claimed he couldn’t indict a sitting President who of course has immunity,

Mr Wibble said...

This week marked the beginning of the ignominious end to the presidency of Joseph Biden.

He finally achieved his lifelong dream, only to have it turn to ash and dust: one son is dead and the other is a wasted fool, his wife and staff keep him in office only to further their own power, his administration is a bad joke, and he'll go down in history as one of the greatest failed presidencies our country has ever seen. Worse, he'll very likely turn Trump from an average two-term president into a historic figure and possibly one of the most influential men of the past hundred years.

Bruce Hayden said...

“So here's my wild conspiracy theory: Garland didn't know about the Mar-A-Lago raid- the WH bypassed DoJ and told the FBI directly to go and get the files. DoJ had been hesitant, because they knew it would be a clusterfuck. When the public backlash started, Garland had to be convinced to go out and eat a steaming bowl of shit on national television with his statements taken responsibility for it. The Biden document revelations and subsequent Hur report are his revenge. He could have pushed to have the memory stuff excluded, but leaving it in embarrasses Biden and the WH.”

The funny thing is that if that were true, then AG Garland really screwed up. Special Counsels are required to be US Attorneys, in order to give them prosecutorial independence. Hur is a duly Presidentially nominated and Senate confirmed USA. Jack Smith is not. He was brought in (illegally) from outside the DOJ. That means that Smith has no Senate confirmed independent prosecutorial power. Constitutionally he is an “Inferior Officer”, instead of being a “Principal Officer”, as Hur is. And that means that either AG Garland or his DAG provides prosecutorial authority to Smith. Garland is essentially legally responsible for what Smith does, but not what Hur did.

Turns out though that it gets even more interesting. SC Smith has two prosecutions ongoing against Trump, one in DC, and the other the FL for retention of National Security documents (since Trump had plenary declassification authority when he ordered the documents removed from the WH and shipped to MAL in FL). The twist is that the entire case, up through at least the indictment was run by Deputy Special Counsel Jay Bratt, who has a day job as the chief of the DOJ’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Branch (CECB). He ultimately reports to the Associate AG for National Security in DC, who is the Principal Officer who provides his prosecutorial authority. Bratt’s CEC branch is the sister organization to the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division (CD), and the two organizations worked closely together since at least spring of 2016 to exonerate Clinton, and destroy Trump. They are the ones who ran the Midyear Exam (Clinton) and Crossfire Hurricane (Trump) investigations Because of the existence of supposedly classified documents. They together approved the four fraudulent FISA warrants on Carter Page, etc. And both were named and shamed in the investigations into their misfeasance and malfeasance in these actions in both IG and SC reports. And the binder of classified documents formally declassified by Trump his last full day in office contains (formerly) classified documents augmenting the IG and SC reports. It is likely that recovering that binder of incriminating formerly classified documents from Trump the real goal, at least initially, of Bratt’s investigation, because those were the only documents marked as classified that the DOJ and FBI knew Trump had before their MAL raid. And the FBI’s CD provided the agents who ran that raid.

The point of all that is that the FL case against Trump is run out of DOJ and FBI HQs by the same two organizations that have been hounding Trump for nearing eight years now.

Bruce Hayden said...

“Given the reasonable reason given—that Biden lacks the mental capacity to be charged, this report is more devastating than a recommendation to prosecute would have been. And I have to think Hur knew that when he presented his results in this way. A prosecution would drag on for years and amount to nothing. This, however, fatally undermines Biden right out of the gate. This week marked the beginning of the ignominious end to the presidency of Joseph Biden.”

It is maybe worse because Biden could have pardoned himself for his violation of the Espionage Act. He can’t pardon himself from senility. He could have been prosecuted anyway, because it was Biden’s state of mind when he illegally removed and retained those classified documents that would have been at issue, and not his current (lacking) state of mind now. It is assumed that a President won’t pardon himself, for appearances. But Biden has no shame. Never has had, and now doesn’t have the mental facilities to even understand shame.

Jamie said...

Kimball loves his florid theatrics. Hur did far more damage to Biden by concluding that he was both guilty and senile.

Both sentences are true. But Kimball is taking a stand for - I don't know, call it "norms," call it "rule of law." He is, I'm sure, quite aware of the reputational damage Hur's conclusions wreak on the President, but there is something bigger at stake than Biden versus Trump here.

Also - Rich at 11:36am says, "Garland could have given it the ‘Bill Barr treatment’ and redact all the items about Biden's memory, and release his own letter saying Biden was exonerated and had perfect recall of everything. I prefer Garland’s transparency."

I 100% agree about prefering transparency, though I'm not clear on when Barr redacted important information (presumably about Trump) or what it was. I would like to be reminded. Barr is one of whose integrity I thought highly at first and who fell in my estimation steadily after his appointment, so I don't think I'll be surprised by whatever he did if anyone does choose to remind me.

effinayright said...

Kate said...
Is Hur a "no reasonable prosecutor", or is he someone who knew a sitting president couldn't be charged and came up with a devastating way to insist the evidence be heard?
**********

You're on to something. By piously genuflecting toward "no jury would convict", and then describing in excruciating detail WHY Biden is byond the law's reach, Hur has essentially pleaded "innocent by reason of senility" on the latter's behalf.

A Poisoned Chalice, indeed.


Yancey Ward said...

"though I'm not clear on when Barr redacted important information (presumably about Trump) or what it was. I would like to be reminded."

Jamie, don't expect Rich to help remind you because Rich's entire accusation was a lie. Barr released the entire Mueller report essentially unredacted, and what redactions were made were made at the request of the Mueller investigative team, not Barr himself, or were required by the laws protecting grand jury testimony.

Jupiter said...

"I have vivid memories of fifty years ago hearing congressmen ritually intoning “No one is above the law” with respect to the investigation of Watergate by Sam Ervin’s Select Committee. As a country, we’ve drifted a long way downhill in a half century. A very long way downhill."

Actually, that was a Deep State hit on a sitting President, hyped by the MSM, and we all pretty much bought it. So, if we have finally begun to realize that every word they print is a lie, and every argument they make is a sham, and the very best thing that could possibly happen to the United States of America is a nuclear bomb detonating in Washington DC, that is progress. We're learning.

Jupiter said...

"I prefer Garland’s transparency."

That's Rich!

Jamie said...

Jamie, don't expect Rich to help remind you because Rich's entire accusation was a lie. Barr released the entire Mueller report essentially unredacted, and what redactions were made were made at the request of the Mueller investigative team, not Barr himself, or were required by the laws protecting grand jury testimony.

Thanks, Yancey - that's what I thought I remembered, so I was assuming he was referring to some other event.

Rusty said...

Jamie
Rich comes here convinced that everyone here is dumber than he is. Whenever he posts I figure he's just paraphrasing the narrative and pass him by.