Crime

The Arc of Justice Catching Up with Twice-Impeached Ex-President

Van Jones, the former director of Oakland’s Ella Baker Center, acts as our surrogate when he appears on the mostly white CNN news panels. So, when the news broke Tuesday morning that Donald Trump got a ‘target letter,’ we knew it wasn’t a bill or a credit card pitch from some big box department store.

Published

2 years ago

July 25, 2023

Oakland Post

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis & Ex-President Donald Trump

By Emil Guillermo

It was a letter from federal prosecutors to the Trump legal team saying that the former president is a target in their investigation to steal the 2020 election, including being the instigator of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

A ‘target letter’ is usually a signal that an indictment and arrest are imminent.

“Finally, we’re getting down to the real stuff here,” Jones said on CNN. “This is why he’s going to go down in the history books as one of the worst presidents, if not the worst ever as a traitor to his own country and we are finally here.”

But as Jones added later, “What took so long?”

All the other potential crimes?

The letter comes after a pair of criminal indictments that include the one filed by New York City DA Alvin Bragg over hush money payments to a porn star, and the one filed in Florida over the mishandling of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago.

But, as Jones commented, the hush money case may have hurt Trump’s family more. And the documents case, though serious, may not have exposed any national security secrets to our sworn enemies. But this third potential indictment was a crime against the people.

A crime against democracy. And if three strikes isn’t enough, there’s a fourth indictment brewing in Georgia.

Trump responded to the letter in social media, proclaiming innocence, calling it a witch hunt, of course. Then, in all caps, Trump said it was “ALL ABOUT ELECTION INTERFERENCE, AND A COMPLETE AND TOTAL POLTICAL WEAPONIZATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.”

But a target letter is customary and done as a courtesy for someone under investigation to come in on their own. In this case, Trump said he was told to report as early as Thursday to the Grand Jury.

Certainly, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith wouldn’t have sent the letter had he not had the evidence and the witnesses prepared and ready to make his case.

According to news reports, the letter referred to charges involving conspiracy to commit offense or defraud the United States, the deprivation of rights, and the tampering of witnesses.

It was the kind of development that gives hope that Trump will be held accountable, and that he is not above the law.

Yet, there were others like House Speaker Kevin McCarthy continuing to keep Trump above us all. He is, after all, the current standard bearer of the Republican party and leading in the latest polls in the race to be the 2024 nominee.

And Republicans want to win at all costs it seems. Even if it means nominating a twice-impeached, potentially three-time indicted former president.

Even Trump’s closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, was unable to condemn Trump.

Perhaps because DeSantis is doing his best to outdo Trump himself.

D Santis’ Racist Anti-Asian Law

While the news was focused on Trump’s woes, Asian American groups joined the ACLU in Florida at the first hearing in a lawsuit over one of the most xenophobic policies signed into law by DeSantis this past May.

Last week, when the big news was inflation’s drop to 3% (the goal was 2%), some observers wondered why people seemed underwhelmed.

Maybe it’s because our happiness is connected to more than just the price of gas and eggs.

How can you cheer for an improving economy when your rights and freedoms are eroding before your eyes?

Inflation may be on the decline, but democracy’s in recession.

Rollbacks in abortion and affirmative action were expected. But a call back to alien land laws?

Those were the laws that prevented Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos from buying property in the U.S. going back to 1913. These laws prevented my family from buying property. Yours?

Long gone, such laws are making a comeback now that China has been identified as the nation’s Public Enemy No. 1 by GOP politicos like DeSantis.

In May, before launching his campaign for president, DeSantis approved Senate Bill 264, a discriminatory property law that restricts Chinese citizens from purchasing real estate in Florida. The law makes it a felony for Chinese to buy property in restricted areas near military installations and “critical infrastructure” like airports, wastewater treatment plants, power plants and the like.

And how’s this for negative diversity: Florida’s law also applies to citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, and North Korea, but only makes their violations misdemeanors.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit to stop the new law, saying it unfairly punishes Chinese people for actions of their government when there is no evidence of national security risk.

To justify suspicion, all it takes is your Asian face and name. Is it fair to think all Chinese in America are members of the Chinese Communist Party? The latest Pew Research shows the majority of Asian adults in America are anti-China.

Maybe a third indictment will wake up conservatives still trying to defend or outdo Trump’s bigoted politics.

DeSantis should show some leadership by rescinding his anti-Asian land law.

That would be as hopeful a sign as the imminent third indictment against Donald Trump — the signal of a real turnaround in our country — where our democracy can appear mired in recession.

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a reality talk show on www.amok.com

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

‘Empathy and Curiosity:’ How queen jaks is Helping Haas Make Teaching More Inclusive

Don't Miss

Rev. Jesse Jackson Names New Leader of Rainbow PUSH

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

Published

1 day ago

March 28, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Group Takes First Steps to Recall District Attorney Diana Becton

The group, called “Recall Diana Becton,” says they have lost faith in her prosecution decisions and her lack of transparency. On their social media post, they say: “We the victims of crime, their families, local business owners and employees, as well as residents of Contra Costa County, have reached our limit and are initiating the recall of District Attorney Diana Becton,” the notice states. “We are increasingly concerned about the persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity. We are frustrated by her continuous empty promises to victims and their families that justice will prevail while she permits criminals to roam free.” Becton, 73, is a former judge who was appointed district attorney in 2017 by the Board of Supervisors and then won election in 2018 and again in 2022.

Published

6 days ago

March 24, 2025

Oakland Post

Diana Becton has served at the Contra Costa County District Attorney since 2017. Richmond Standard photo.

By Post Staff

After gathering more than 100 verified signatures, a group led by crime victims delivered a ‘notice of intent’ to the offices of Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton seeking her recall.

The group, called “Recall Diana Becton,” says they have lost faith in her prosecution decisions and her lack of transparency.

On their social media post, they say:

“We the victims of crime, their families, local business owners and employees, as well as residents of Contra Costa County, have reached our limit and are initiating the recall of District Attorney Diana Becton,” the notice states.

“We are increasingly concerned about the persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity. We are frustrated by her continuous empty promises to victims and their families that justice will prevail while she permits criminals to roam free.”

Becton, 73, is a former judge who was appointed district attorney in 2017 by the Board of Supervisors and then won election in 2018 and again in 2022.

Becton has seven days to respond. According to the East Bay Times, her office spokesperson said her “answer will be her public comment.”

After Becton responds, according to the Contra Costa County Elections Office, Recall Diana Becton must then finalize the petition language and gather signatures of a minimum of 10% of registered voters (72,000) in 160 days before it can go on the ballot for election.

She is the third Bay Area district attorney whose constituents wanted them removed from office. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was removed from office in 2021 and last year, Pamela Price lost her position in a recall election.

Of the top 10 proponents of Becton’s recall, three are the families of Alexis Gabe, Thomas Arellano, and Damond Lazenby Jr.

In each of those cases, the families say Becton failed to pursue prosecution, allowed a plea deal instead of a trial in a slaying and questioned the coroner’s report in a fatal car crash.

Some political science experts suggest that, in the Bay Area there may be a bit of copycat syndrome going on.

In many states, recalls are not permitted at all, but in California, not only are they permitted but the ability to put one into motion is easy.

“Only 10% of registered voters in a district are needed just to start the process of getting the effort onto the ballot,” Garrick Percival, a political science professor told the East Bay Times. “It makes it easy to make the attempt.”

But according to their website, the Recall Diana Becton group express their loss of faith in the prosecutor.

“Her lack of transparency regarding crime in this county, and her attempts to keep her offenders out of jail have left us disheartened,” the recall group wrote.

Petitioners say they are acting not just for themselves but other crime victims “who feel ignored, exasperated and hopeless in their pursuit of justice for themselves or their loved ones.”

KRON TV, The East Bay Times, and Wikipedia are the sources for this report.