Louisiana Voice

Even as he directs the Justice Department under Pam Bodi to go after perceived political enemies, Donald Trump, aka Agent Orange, continues to pardon and commute the sentences of those convicted of equal or more serious offenses.

In his skewed sense of justice, Trump has pardoned or commuted the sentences of:

• Those who invaded the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, an insurrection carried out at his instructions and which directly resulted in the death of a Capitol police officer;
• Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road dark web marketplace for the sale of illegal drugs and other illicit goods using cryptocurrency;
• Andrew Zabavsky and Terence Dale Sutton, Jr. Washington, D.C. police officers who were sentenced for their involvement in the death of a D.C. motorist;
• Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, convicted in 2011 on multiple corruption charges;
• Former Tennessee State Senator Brian Kelsey, who pleaded guilty to attempting to illegally funnel money into his 2016 campaign for Congress;
• Devon Archer, convicted in 2022 of defrauding a Native American tribe in a $60 million bond scheme;
• Former U.S. Rep. George Santos, convicted and sentenced for fraud and identity theft, among other charges;
• Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who created the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange but failed to stop criminals from using the platform to move money that was connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking and terrorism.

In a typical fit of petulance, he announced yesterday that TRADE TALKS WITH CANADA were “terminated,” all because of that country’s anti-tariff TV ad that Trump said was “FAKE” which employed quotes from Ronald Reagan, a member of Trump’s own party – or what used to be the Republican Party but now is unrecognizable. God only knows what his position will be tomorrow.

Bear in mind that all this was done in the first 10 months of his second term but has drawn little media attention because of other distractions like troop deployment to Democrat-run cities, his terror campaign of arrest and deportation of people of color, both citizens and non-citizens, his ego-driven July 4 flop of a parade, his grandstanding before 800 generals and admirals, his threats of tariffs, his back-and-forth talks with Putin, the Epstein files, his demolition of the White House’s East Wing so he can build his 90,000-square-foot ballroom monument to himself and the government shutdown and the firing of thousands of federal workers or the requirement that “essential” workers continue at their posts without pay..

But before we unload on Trump, remember that none of the aforementioned atrocities could have been carried out successfully without a host of enablers, bot appointed and elected.

Let’s review. First are members of his cabinet and other appointees:

• KASH PATEL
• J.D. VANCE
• KRISTY NOEM
• PAM BODI
• RUSSELL VOUGHT
• PETE HEGSETH
• ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR.
• TULSI GABBARD
• JOHN RATCLIFFE
• MARCO RUBIO
• STEPHEN MILLER
• KAROLINE LEAVITT
• PETER THIEL

Has there ever existed a group of more unqualified public servants in the history of this nation? I don’t think so. I listed their names in all-caps and boldface type because of the sheer stupidity. Combined, there are not enough IQ points to dot a domino. But there is an abundance of pure evil; oh, is there evil.

On to the U.S. Senate, where Louisiana’s own senators certainly qualify as members of the Trump Ass-Kissing Benevolent Society:

• JOHN THUNE
• TOM COTTON
• TIM SCOTT
• MARSHA BLACKBURN
• BILL CASSIDY
• SUSAN COLLINS
• JOHN CORNYN
• TED CRUZ
• CHUCK GRASSLEY
• LINDSEY GRAHAM
• JOSH HAWLEY
• RON JOHNSON
• CINDY HYDE-SMITH
• JOHN KENNEDY
• MITCH McCONNELL
• LISA MURKOWSKI
• RICK SCOTT
• TOMMY TUBERVILLE

Then, there are the House members, each one of which will be up for reelection in just over a year (as will one-third of the Senate).

• MIKE JOHNSON
• STEVE SCA;OSE
• CLAY JOGGOMS
• JULIA LETLOW
• CLAY HIGGINS
• LAUREN BOEBERT
• JAMES COMER
• JEFF HURD
• RONNY JACKSON
• JIM JORDAN
• MIKE KELLY
• MICHAEL LAWLER
• NANCY MACE
• THOMAS MASSIE
• RICHARD McCORMICK
• TIM MOORE
• MIKE ROGERS
• CHIP ROY
• PETE SESSIONS

Finally, we have nine Supreme Court justices, six of whom are in Trump’s pocket:

• JOHN ROBERTS (CHIEF JUSTICE)
• CLARENCE THOMAS
• SAMUEL ALITO, JR.
• NEIL GORSUCH
• BRETT KAVANAUGH
• AMY CONEY BARRETT

These, then, are the enablers. These are the ones who have facilitated the actions of a madman, a man who thrives on division and distortions. These are the people who, by their silence, have allowed the U.S. to slide precipitously toward third-world status. By their inaction, they are complicit. Should anything he does ever be determined to be felonious, they will be accessories, abettors, partners in crime.

Without them, he would be powerless. These people have stood by as Trump deliberately chips away at the foundations of this country – the Constitution of the United States of America and the Bill or Rights. They have allowed him to chip away at our freedoms, our very way of life.

Cadet Bone Spurs’ efforts to stack the deck by having states like Texas and Louisiana enact redistricting notwithstanding, it is critical that voters turn out in large numbers next November to send a loud and clear, unmistakable message to the Beltway that we desire to have our country, our freedoms, back.

I have listed 56 of his enablers here, though I’m sure there are others whom I’ve overlooked. But if there is not a radical change in the makeup of the House and Senate next November, then we have only ourselves to blame.