The Sad Reality of Today's Events: January 6, 2020 No Member of Congress is Bound By The Law, Or ByTheir Oaths, To Be Truthful In What They Say by Pem Schaeffer
The material posted below is excerpted from an item published in November 2019; it is extraordinarily and particularly relevant to today's proceedings on Capitol Hill. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ On the Law, Oaths, and the Truth In today's partisan, impeachment-centric political climate, the following have become figurative lapel pins and brooches for the ruling class. As you read them, images of Jerry Nadler, Nancy Pelosi, and Adam Schiff may come to mind. My sincere apologies. “We are a nation of laws” (see Note 1 below) “No one is above the law” (see Note 2 below) “Equal justice before the law” (see Note 3 below)
The majority of us embrace these as core truths of our unique American experiment, yet their regular flaunting, and at the same time abuse by those who should be their guardians, erodes their meaning and value. Most often, we find those who proclaim them most loudly are the very ones who least believe in them.
A very obvious “loophole” in these foundational maxims is that “the law” does not treat of all situations in our civil and political existence.
Note 1: Except when we aren't, especially when “by any means necessary” is the golden rule. Not to mention those situations where there is no applicable law, or the law explicitly gives an exception to Congress.
Note 2: Except for Members of Congress and those with whom they agree and/or seek favor. The law only means something when those charged with enforcing it actually do so. The mere existence of words on paper has no effect on behavior, anymore than a Highway speed limit sign constrains vehicle performance by limiting gas pedal travel.
Note 3: Except when it is politically inconvenient to the anointed, and can interfere with social justice agendas and similarly sacred motivations. ================================================ This raises the question of why members of Congress are not held to the same standards as those who come before them. We read of various individuals indicted, convicted, and sentenced for “lying to Congress” and similar “crimes.” Yet we've also seen paragons of virtue like Senator Harry Reid lie through his teeth in public on the Senate floor about Mitt Romney's failure to pay his income taxes. And Adam Schiff invents his own version of the transcript of the phone conversation between President Trump and the President of Ukraine. Yet each is immune from any consequences for such barefaced public lying and/or fabrications.
How can this be, when “no one is above the law?” I refer you to the three notes above and to the Speech and Debate Clause of the US Constitution (Article I, Section 6, Clause 1) which reads “....for any Speech or Debate in either House, [Senators and Representatives] shall not be questioned in any other Place.” The Supreme Court has upheld the Clause in multiple cases. In Doe v. McMillan (1973), “….the Court has held that the clause protects such acts as voting, the conduct of committee hearings, the issuance and distribution of committee reports, the subpoenaing of information required in the course of congressional investigations, and even the reading of stolen classified materials into a subcommittee's public record.” (The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, page 81)
Given that Congress is above the law, and has their own special exemption, how can we possibly trust anything they say in the conduct of official business “of the people?” The sad truth is that we cannot. In the gut-wrenching language in said hearings, “how does that make you feel?” It makes me feel like we could use a new Amendment to the Constitution to repeal the Clause. Among other things.
When you come right down to it, while there are exceptions for the masters of the swamp, there is little if any law that addresses honor, integrity, ethics, and accountability, to name a few main principles of personal conduct. Sure; Congress has “Ethics Committees” and rules, but these do not have the force of or the penalties of law mere mortals must live by. And don't forget the hush money slush fund.
Today's Takeaway: It is patently and naively absurd to expect that what we hear today from the Floors of Congress will be constrained by truthfulness, honor, integrity, ethics, the law, fear of being held accountable, or commitment to the oaths they took to “Preserve, Protect, and Defend the Constitution.”
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