Last week I wrote an article about how Republicans and Democrats are using the coronavirus hysteria as an opportunity to advance the Far-Left’s goal of releasing prisoners under the guise of not spreading of the virus.
Though most of the article documented how this was taking place at the state level, it also included a reference to the fact that Donald Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner have made so-called criminal justice reform a priority heading into the 2020 election. I also referenced how groups like the ACLU demanded the coronavirus “get out of jail free” card be applied at the federal level as well in order to force ICE into releasing illegals.
So, it should come as no surprise to hear that Donald Trump made a request over the weekend to the U.S. Senate encouraging them to pass H.R. 4018, a bill that grants federal prisoners over the age of 60 an early release from incarceration, “as soon as possible.” (H/T Daniel Horowitz)
“Older inmates are at a unique risk to be effected by the Coronavirus,” read the email sent by the White House. “A Congressional fix to allow older inmates to be placed in home confinement can help reduce the risk of community spread in a crowded environment.”
Hey . . . I just noticed something. The same government that says coronavirus home confinement orders won’t turn us into prisoners is now saying they want to use coronavirus home confinement orders to house prisoners. Weird, huh?
Trump’s proposal comes at a particularly interesting moment in time. The ACLU, which is partially funded by billionaire George Soros, recently sent a letter to Attorney General Bill Barr demanding that the Justice Department release about 10,000 felons in federal prison who are more than 60 years old to fight the coronavirus outbreak. It’s probably just a coincidence, though.
The Bureau of Prisons has already taken precautions to prevent a coronavirus outbreak, including cutting off visitation to prison facilities, making prison the ultimate quarantine. Still, Trump, Kushner, and their big-dollar donors are ready to “carpe crisis” and seize the opportunity presented by the coronavirus to open the prison doors to as many prisoners as possible as quickly as possible.
We could place our hope in Mitch McConnell and Co. that they will take a leadership role and refuse Trump’s request, and we could assume Trump believes in the limits placed on his power by the Constitution (stop laughing). But with the GOP filled with spineless cowards and with Trump being one of the biggest threats to liberty in history, such expectations are the stuff of fairy tales.
Besides, Trump has a two-part contingency plan at the ready to ensure he gets what he wants. Trump put Jared in charge of coronavirus strategy and he plans on using his pen and phone if Congress refuses to act. (H/T Barack Obama)
This past Sunday he told a reporter during that day’s broadcast of Trump Campaign 2020: The Coronavirus Update Edition that he was ready to issue an executive order to release “totally non-violent prisoners” to fend off the pandemic.
The threat to liberty and public safety this policy creates cannot be underestimated, especially when you add the assault on the Second Amendment taking place in many areas of the country in the name of defeating COVID-19.
State and local governments from Pennsylvania to Alaska are releasing prisoners early while simultaneously shutting down gun stores and refusing to process conceal-carry permits. This is in addition to electing not to arrest those committing “minor” crimes such as theft and burglary. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, where they are contemplating a mass prison release, it’s now impossible for a first-time gun owner to purchase a weapon to protect himself, because all gun stores have been closed down by the governor.
To paraphrase Frodo in The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, “the days are growing darker” for liberty in America.
David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative. He holds people of every political stripe accountable and promotes conservative principles over political parties.
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