Judge Sarah B. Wallace may have had her reasons for the ruling she handed down yesterday, but she failed us as one of the main gatekeepers of law. We needed an immediate remedy to Trump chaos, and we do not have it.
Not only that but now we will have to endure weeks of the Orange Mad Man taking wheezing victory laps at rallies, pretending he has scored a touchdown. Many will, of course, believe him.
Judge Wallace punted the ball because, in my humble opinion, she was afraid of the potential political fallout, which is not how cases should be decided.
Period.
The Meat and Potatoes
In her judgment, Judge Wallace asserted that a President could commit one of the most egregious crimes of their office (and yes, a president “holds office.” It is called “Office of the President for a reason…) and get away with it.
Per Reuters:
A Colorado judge on Friday allowed Donald Trump to remain on the ballot in the state's election next year, but found that he "engaged in insurrection" by sparking the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.
The ruling from Judge Sarah Wallace, which is almost certain to be appealed, rejects a bid by a group of Colorado voters to disqualify Trump under a rarely used amendment to the U.S. Constitution that bars officials who have engaged in "insurrection" from holding federal office.
Essentially, she has set the bar for saying there are crimes one individual in a nation can get away with because of their job.
In my mind, a crime is a crime, and a perp is a perp.
We can argue aggravating and mitigating factors and consider circumstances (stealing to feed a dying baby as opposed to stealing to “have”), but breaking the law is breaking the law—no matter who you are.
Despite this insanity, however, the ruling has a few upsides.
The language
MSM is doing a piss poor job of indicating the negatives of this ruling; instead, most are claiming her ruling is a straight-up win for Trump by downplaying the negative and underscoring his so-called victory!
In the Reuters article I reference above, you will find this:
The decision is a victory for Trump, who is fighting similar challenges to his candidacy. A Trump spokesperson on Friday said the ruling was "another nail in the coffin of the un-American ballot challenges."
They don’t say Tump’s camp perceives this as a victory but claim the ruling is a victory without explaining why the source believes it is.
Slanted? Yes!
Words matter, people!
The ruling is not a complete victory because the one aspect CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) sought to prove was underscored —Trump engaged in an insurrection.
Still, the judge concluded Trump's "conduct and words were the factual cause of, and a substantial contributing factor" to the attack on the Capitol. She found that Trump "engaged in an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021 through incitement."
The Colorado case, which was brought by a group of voters aided by the watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, was the first to go to trial and was viewed as a test case for the wider disqualification effort.
CREW President Noah Bookbinder said the group would appeal the ruling.
"The court's decision affirms what our clients alleged in this lawsuit: that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection based on his role in January 6th," Bookbinder said in a statement. (Reuters)
Should that aspect of the ruling hold steady, this will be a gift to prosecutors like Jack Smith and Judge Chutkan, who can utilize it in their decision-making. In other words, like Pontius Pilate, Sarah. B. Wallace washed her hands of the affair and gave the bulk of the decision-making to different courts.
Leaving the heavy lifting for others? Profile in courage, that!
The Message
MAGA supporters are indeed celebrating this as a win. Still, I ask you to point out the above alongside this point: The ruling opens the door for Biden or any democratic president to start an insurrection without consequence.
Hammer the latter point often and watch what happens. Their minds will melt, and some may malfunction trying to argue the opposite—but this is unequivocally true.
This so-called “win” applies to progressive presidents, too.
I think this will show some people who are essentially not as far gone and a raging MAGA goon to examine the political landscape. If the scales fall from their eye in this regard, it may create a domino effect to eventual clarity.
Hey, it is worth a shot, and it is the most significant wedge we have so far to help release some MAGA folks from the mind grip the GOP has created.
Dare to dream, I know.
(read more on my SUBSTACK here: oneangryblackchick.substack.com/...