Categories
general freedom

Partisan Police State Tactics

We must take the initiative to change things if we don’t like the way things are. If you’re a congressman, this means — sometimes, at least — investigating horrific conduct.

The September 23rd raid of anti-​abortion activist Mark Houck’s home should evoke bipartisan dismay. But only Republicans seem to be looking into the FBI’s recent arrest of Houck and the ludicrously heavy-​handed tactics used to apprehend him.

In 2021, Houck had pushed a pro-​abortion activist away from his son, whom the activist had been harassing, in front of a clinic. Houck’s action was allegedly a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The alleged victim sued.

Last summer, the case was dismissed on a local level. But that determination was blithely ignored by our ideologically compromised FBI, which sent dozens of agents to swoop down on Houck and terrorize his family.

U.S. Representatives Jim Jordan and Mike Johnson, both Republicans, sent a letter asking for documents related to the raid and arrest.

According to the letter: “Several recent actions by the department reinforce the conclusion that the Justice Department is using its federal law-​enforcement authority as a weapon against the administration’s political opponents.…

“We write to conduct oversight of your authorization of a dawn raid of the home of a pro-​life leader, in front of his wife and seven children, when he had offered to voluntarily cooperate with authorities.”

Such a letter requesting accountability is only a bare beginning, however. If we want to prevent a partisan police state, there is much more to be done.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.


PDF for printing

See all recent commentary
(simplified and organized)

See recent popular posts

5 replies on “Partisan Police State Tactics”

This is Jim Jordan!

“What follows is a comprehensive Timeline of Rep. Jordan’s public statements (in Congress, in public, on social media, and in media interviews) and his known activities related to the presidential election and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The following fifteen highlights are from the Timeline below. 

Congressman Jordan took the following actions:

Suggested Democrats will try to steal the election (starting Aug. 22, 2020) 

Suggested and directly alleged the election was stolen (starting Nov. 5, 2020)

Endorsed Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell’s call to investigate Dominion and Smartmatic (starting Nov. 15, 2020)

Called for immediate congressional investigations of alleged election fraud (starting Nov. 18, 2020)

Endorsed state legislators’ picking their own electors (starting Dec. 7, 2020)
Said Trump should not concede (starting Dec. 7, 2020)

Started public call to object to certification on Jan. 6 (starting Dec. 13, 2020)

Supported call for “special counsel” to investigate alleged election fraud (starting Dec. 10, 2020)

Called Jan. 6 the “ultimate date of significance” (Dec. 16, 2020)

Met with President Trump and small group of House Republicans to coordinate plans to object to certification on January 6 (Dec. 21, 2020)

Raised Trump supporters’ expectations by saying he hoped a majority of Congress will object on January 6 (Jan. 5, 2021)

Helped lead the effort to vote against certification on January 6 (starting Dec. 13, 2020)

Called for Trump supporters to remain peaceful, but does not say to disperse (Jan. 6, 2021 3:02 PM)

Made false claims about Speaker Pelosi and security preparations for January 6 (starting Feb. 15, 2021)

Revealed for the first time that he spoke with President Trump on Jan. 6 (July 28, 2021)

This course of conduct arguably sets Rep. Jordan apart from every other Republican member of Congress who supported the Big Lie, voted to object to the certification of the election, or engaged in other related activities. “

Jim Jordan Sexual Assault.

“GOP Rep Jim Jordan accused of pressuring OSU sexual assault victims to recant
Aug 1, 2018
NBC News reports that GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, who is running for House speaker, and is mired in a growing sexual abuse scandal dating to his days as a wrestling coach at Ohio State University, is now accused of trying to pressure victims to recant their testimony, lest it damage Jordan’s political career.

Russ Hellickson was head wrestling coach, and Jordan’s boss, at OSU during the period that a number of former students claim they were sexually molested by the university’s sports medicine doctor at the time, Richard Strauss. Several former students claim they told Jordan and other administrators about the abuse, and that nothing was done. Other former students say that abuse was so widespread, and so well known, that it’s impossible for Jordan not to have known.

Now, two former team members who publicly criticized Jordan’s handling of the affair claim that Jordan tried to pressure them to recant their criticism. Specifically, the two former students were contacted by Hellickson, who later told them, they claim, that Jordan had pressured him to intervene with the accusers.

This is tantamount to witness tampering. Ohio State is conducting an investigation trying to determine how many students were abused during the doctor’s nearly 20-​year employment at the school. The investigation surely will be looking at who knew what, when. And that means they’ll be looking at Jordan’s role as well. 

If Jordan is pressuring witnesses, via intermediaries, to change their stories, that’s a serious accusation. And it calls into question just what Jordan is trying to hide.”

Okay then. Pam decides that, rather than address the issues at hand — the use of the Department of Justice for partisan purpose and an armed raid against a person whose behavior showed no justification for a raid of any sort — she will post two verbose and otherwise cringe-​worthy attacks on Jim Jordan. 

If some passer-​by has had his or her mind changed about Houck by Pam’s comment, please comment here to that effect. 

As for me, I simply note that the Democrats, by failing themselves to begin a proper investigation of this behavior by the Department of Justice, create an opportunity for Congressman Jordan to advance his political interests.

The FBI raided the home of an ABC News reporter and investigative journalist in April and the man hasn’t been seen since. Biden admin policy was to not seize information from journalists without the approval of the assistant AG. It just so happened that James Meek was working on a book about a Green Beret who helped evacuate over 500 Afghans during Biden’s botched withdrawal. Coincidence?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *