It almost makes sense the same week the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the argument that former President Donald J. Trump has immunity from prosecution is the 33rd anniversary of the infamous beating and arrest of Rodney King by four Los Angeles Police officers. The 1991 incident which occurred this day, March 3, was broadcast endlessly on the news into millions of homes across America. And one thing was certain, a lot of Americans had never seen anything like this. Yet, many other Americans had, mainly because they had been King themselves.
The 1991 incident raised the question of what authority police have and when did they overstep it. It’s no surprise that former LAPD Chief Daryl Gates was a prodigy of William H. Parker, a man who was the epitome of the racist cop drunk on his own authority. When he was LAPD Chief, Parker, by his own admission, had lured law officers away from more segregated states in the South and the Midwest to handle the influx of black people who moved out of the South.. At one time during Manifest Dynasty, there was an idea of extended the State of Georgia’s boundaries from coast to coast meaning it would include modern-day southern California. And Parker and Gates were willing to bring some of Georgia’s racism and bigotry with them.
Rodney King’s bloodied, beaten and bruised face became the face of police brutality as America was changing its opinion in the 1990s on whether or not they could really trust law enforcement. It was more than happenstance that James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger not far away were filming the barroom scene of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The movie’s main villain, T-1000 (Robert Patrick), would assume the identity of a LAPD officer so he could track John Connor easier and ascertain information from people. Cameron has said he did this because he felt the police in the country were getting out of control. And while some law enforcement groups and organizations were opposed to the portrayal, Cameron was smart not to show one officer being killed by either terminator.
Times were changing in America and the “It’s Morning in America” attitude of Ronald Reagan was a distance memory as George H.W. Bush had been President for two years, one month and two weeks. He was also being called a wimp. He was one of only two Presidents to ascend from the Vice-Presidency to the Oval Office. But he was riding high on The Persian Gulf War. However, his domestic policy was the problem because he didn’t really have one.
Pop culture was changing. Rap was more popular. Rappers Ice-T, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and their group N.W.A., along with Public Enemy had broken through the safe rap of The Fat Boys, The Beastie Boys, M.C. Hammer and Run-DMC. It’s no surprise, white people bought those albums and listened to them, learning some hard truths they didn’t in the suburbs and small-town America. Colors was on cable TV and on home video. The LAPD’s C.R.A.S.H (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) was becoming more popular as the issues involved in the Rampant Division would made headlines through the 1990s. No one was above the law.
The acquittal by a predominantly white jury of the four LAPD officers sent a shockwave through America resulting in the L.A. Riots and protests in other major cities with predominantly black demographics. It was still expensive to have a video camera but more people were getting them. It was getting harder and harder to lie and not show the facts of a case.
Thirty years later, people would storm the U.S. Capitol Building to stop the certification of the ballots and the Electoral College. We watched it on TV. Hell, people ever live-streamed it. Imagine if the Rodney King beating had been livestreamed. You might have had people out to watch it the way they gathered on overpasses to watch the Bronco Chase in 1994.
Yet, America still believed that it was just a few bad cops. Cops, itself, was on Fox. The Police Academy movies were still fresh on people’s minds. Reruns of The Andy Griffith Show could be found anyone on syndication. Hill Street Blues was still popular with its theme song. Police and law enforcement were still perceived as public servants, as our friends. So, the argument that divided America was that King must’ve done something really bad. And it was the beginning of the first arguments of “Let’s see the whole video.”
Law enforcement has qualified immunity. But it doesn’t mean they have total absolution. The issue comes down to whether too much is too much. Peter Chichuniec, of Aurora, Colo., was a paramedic sentenced last week to five years for injecting ketamine in Eljiah McClain, who reported had struggled during a police altercation. Chichuniec was convicted of negligent homicide. An former Aurora Police Officer, Randy Roedema, is currently serving a 14-month jail sentence. Another paramedic, Jeremy Cooper, has been convicted and is awaiting sentencing.
Trump is trying to argue he has total immunity. Richard M. Nixon argued the same thing decades ago. But that’s not how things works. If it was the case, why was Bill Clinton impeached over perjury? The Court has agreed to hear the case but it’s likely they won’t vote in favor of Trump for one simple reason – it’ll set a dangerous precedent. And it means, that President Joe Biden can do just about anything he wants including having Trump arrested and thrown in prison. I mean, Biden’s the President. He has total immunity, right?
It’s a delay tactic really by some of Trump’s hand-picked Justices to delay the Jan. 6 federal case which was originally scheduled to go to trial on Monday, March 4. But if a President has total immunity, even if the Court doesn’t issue a ruling until the summer, it pretty much allows Biden to do whatever he wants, including removing the Justices and stacking the courts. Biden probably wouldn’t do this. But it might encourage another President in the future to do so. And they wouldn’t just stop at the Courts. Project 2025 is a way to stack all offices with loyalists across the board from the mailroom clerk at the Sate Department to the Attorney General.
It would also mean the impeachment of Clinton, which was the zenith of the 1990s conservative movement, would make as much sense as the argument that King was under the influence of cannabis because THC was found during a toxicology report. Now, California has become one of the best states where recreational cannabis use is legal. King only had a blood-alcohol content of 0.075, near the 0.08 limit. Mixed with THC, it may have made their traffic stop more valid, but it was too much to justify the excessive force in the long run. And by the time, a new District Attorney, Gil Garcetti, could review King’s case, he realized it was too long to go after a DUI and evading arrest following the media attention.
While Trump has won the Republican Primaries in Idaho, Michigan and Missouri, the primaries on Tuesday may offer some surprises. Nikki Haley still is in the race despite pressure to bow out. But why? It’s still anybody’s game by the March primaries. As I’m writing, this, I got word Haley won the D.C. primary with 63 percent of the vote. Granted, there’s probably more political insiders in D.C. than in Des Moines, Iowa, so they vote differently. But a win is a win and it could be a sign that times might change. It’s likely the Republican Party doesn’t want to have Haley staying around until the Republican National Convention in mid-July at which time, the Court might issue its ruling. However, she says she’s not going to “kiss the ring” and for that I give her merit and credit even though she’s part of the problem. But a win is a win.
Also, Trump is facing the the New York state criminal trial into the hush payments to former adult movie star Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Gregory Gifford. That is scheduled to begin the last week of March. And since the federal D.C. case has been continued to a date to be determined, there’s no reason for the State of New York to continue this case. Even more surprising, a case like this,, even if Daniels was a kindergarten teacher, would have meant certain doom for any Presidential candidate. Just look at Gary Hart.
It just goes to show how the GOP is so desperate right now to prove this is all politically motivated against Trump. But here’s the rub. If the President has immunity, then what’s the “Big Fucking Deal?” as Biden once said. At the same time, they’ve gone after Hunter Biden, who has been cooperative, but this also throws a monkey wrench into their own impeachment investigation of the President. He can do whatever he wants according to Trump. The door swings both ways.
At the same time, Lauren Boebert, the controversial Congresswoman from Colorado is facing criticism as her son, Tyson, 18, is facing 22 criminal charges, five of which are felonies, in a vehicle property theft case. Naturally, Boebert has gone on the defense saying Tyson “has been through some very difficult, public challenges for a young man and the subject of attention that he didn’t ask for.” But how isn’t the same for Hunter as it is for Tyson? Or for Jared Kushner, if you want to throw out the whataboutism?
News has come in from Scotland that Trump overvalued his property there by about 200 million pounds. This might bring up a bigger issue if a former President is immune from prosecution in another country where he’s done business. Nixon was able to successfully stop the release of a lot of audio tapes as he claimed once leaving office he was a private citizen. But audio tapes, in which you’re using racial slurs and profanity, is different from allegedly defrauding overseas banks. And just as Hunter S. Thompson theorized the Republican Party knew Nixon’s Administration was tainted so they stepped aside and let Jimmy Carter be elected in 1976 so he could take the fall from the storm that arose in the latter 1970s.
Trump’s tactic is to delay as much as he can and that’s the case with the Fulton County, Georgia DA Fani Willis. But the question of her private life involved in a relationship with another prosecutor really has no bearing on the criminal case. It also cuts into the criticism that his involvement with Daniels shouldn’t be a criminal case. Why is Trump immune if Willis isn’t? The reported sexual interaction between Trump and Daniels occurred before he was President, so therefore, he was still a private citizen. And he’s not immune. Also, if we decided to disqualify a lot of people for office romance and affairs, we would have many problems in this country.
There’s no trial date for the Georgia case nor the Florida case involving classified documents as a hearing was held on Friday, March 1. It’s quite possible the New York case will be the only thing resolved before the RNC and the November elections. Illinois tried to remove Trump from the primary ballot but a judge ruled he can stay on pending the Supreme Court ruling. If Trump is convicted, it also brings up the issue of a former President being convicted for a crime as well as a Presidential candidate convicted of a crime. And how long will Trump be sentenced and when? Is the State of New York really going to let Trump continue to travel around the country while he’s a convicted felon? Why should there be a special case for him if not for other people convicted to get their affairs in order.
These are all a bunch of questions no one really wants to ask nor get the honest answers to. Other countries have had their leaders carted off to prison following a criminal trial. Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy was convicted on corruption and sent to prison. But he wasn’t running for President during the trial.
But like I said, Tuesday’s primaries might pull some surprises. Mitt Romney who was a Senator and ran for President in 2012 said he wouldn’t vote for Trump. Haley has picked up support from Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. But following the other fraud trials, it may be the time to stop supporting Trump, especially as his rallies show more and more signs of his mental instability. He even refers to his wife Melania as Mercedes during a speech and then Melanie online. Medical professionals say he is showing signs of dementia.
The Republican Party can’t sit this one out the way they did in 1976. Mitch McConnell knows the end is near. That’s why he’s finally stepping down as minority leader. If they don’t win this year, that’s it. It’s possible conservatives may decide to vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the Republican nominee especially if it’s Trump. Or they might decide to support the Libertarian as they’re holding a convention in late May.
All we can do right now is wait.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 