The Authority Figure Defense

My latest for the Washington Post with https://t.co/QwdXVmXXuk

The" target="_blank">@reichellaw

https://t.co/QwdXVmXXuk

The Public Authority Defense will make it harder for the Trumps, Giuliani, and pals to squirm out of facing consequences.

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Here’s how the defense works. If the chief of police tells you that you could ignore “no parking” sign, you could evoke the Public Authority Defense.

You could point your finger at the authority figure who invited you to commit the illegal act.
https://t.co/QwdXVmXXuk

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The spotlight then turns to the authority figure: Did the chief of police have the authority to waive the parking restriction?

If not, was it reasonable for you to believe that he did?

See where this is going?
https://t.co/QwdXVmXXuk

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Each day, more evidence emerges that Trump and other elected officials instigated this riot.

Every day, more evidence emerges that the lies told by people like @tedcruz, @HawleyMO, and @KellyannePolls led to the violence.
https://t.co/QwdXVmXXuk

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The public authority defense doesn’t mean the rioters are off the hook: They can still be arrested, charged and brought to trial.

But depending on the circumstances, a defense like this one can mitigate or even eliminate their culpability or lessen their punishment.

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The availability of this defense makes it more likely that the instigators—including Trump—face prosecution.

How would it look to a jury if the people who incited the failed insurrection go free, while the foot soldiers doing their bidding pay the price?

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Such an outcome is offensive to the idea of fairness and equal justice for all.

What it may take to stop these liars— and deter others from spreading lies — will be seeing their names dragged into a criminal trial as part of a defense, which shines the spotlight on them.

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The Trumps, @tedcruz, @HawleyMO, and @KellyannePolls of the world who have made their careers stirring the mob to a frenzy with lies never cared that their lies have deadly consequences.

Maybe this will make them care.
https://t.co/QwdXVmXXuk

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I personally believe that the storming of the Capitol will go down in history as the most shocking crime against the nation because it was instigated by the sitting United States President and his propaganda network.

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So naturally, members of the propaganda network want to move on.
https://t.co/2lYIEGpZ6C

Naturally, people like @tedcruz, @HawleyMO, and @KellyannePolls want to be able to "condemn" the violence they sparked and then avoid personal responsibility for their destructive lies.

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More from Teri Kanefield

KM asks why the GOP leadership is terrified of losing.

(Both Lindsay Graham and Matt Gaetz said if the GOP loses this election, they'll never win again.)

GOP is a minority party. If they lose power, they lose the ability to manipulate systems to keep minority control.

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The fear is also explained by Richard Hofstader, who wrote the classic work⤵️

Hofstadter reviewed American politics from before the founding of the nation through McCarthyism. He noticed a pattern among an impassioned minority on the fringes of the political spectrum.

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He called their behavior the “paranoid style” in politics.

Those embracing the paranoid style of politics believe that unseen satanic forces are trying to destroy something larger in which they belong.

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According to Hofstadter, the “something larger” to which they belong is generally phrased as “the American way of life.”

They “feel dispossessed” and that “America has been largely taken away from them and their kind.”

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They therefore adopt extreme measures. They will stop at nothing to prevent what they see as an impending calamity.

Remember, Hofstadter published this in the early 1960s.

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This is what he wants to do.

No matter how this trial plays out, the US will remain divided between those who choose truth, Democracy, and rule of law and the millions who reject these things.

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The question is how to move forward.

My mantra is that there are no magic bullets and these people will always be with us.

Except for state legislatures, they have less power now than they have for a while.

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The only real and lasting solutions are political ones. Get Democrats into local offices. Get people who want democracy to survive to the polls at every election, at every level.

It’s a constant battle.

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Maybe I should tell you all about Thurgood Marshall’s life to illustrate how hard the task is and how there will be backlash after each step of progress.

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Precisely. That's why Thurgood Marshall's life came to mind.

We are still riding the backlash that started after the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

That's why I keep saying there are no easy
January 6th will be a freak show. Biden will become president because the only way to stop it would be for the House to agree, and that won't happen.

Going forward, the GOP becomes even more dangerous and radicalized.


A few hopeful points:

The GOP could very well lose control of the Senate.

Because these GOP Senators will force a vote, the GOP may fracture, with moderates forced out. While this radicalizes the party, they lose


A few reasons. As @ProfBrianKalt points out, refusing to seat them because they say the election wasn't valid gives credence to the lie that the election wasn't valid.

Moreover, there's no authority to refuse to seat an elected rep for telling lies. .


. . . which is what refusing to seat them would amount to.

The Democrats say, "You are doing really bad things so we won't seat you."

See the problem with that?

(1) It's illegal. The House doesn't get to decide who is seated. The states send their own reps.

moreover . . .

(2) If you say, "The House gets to refuse to seat a person who tells a lie about the election," where does that lead?

If things continue this direction, the political divide will not longer be liberal v. conservative.

The divide will be pro- democracy v. anti-democracy. . .

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https://t.co/znmVhqIaL8


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48.5% of Democrats think that a woman has the right to do what she wants with her body... AND that prostitution should be illegal.


57.9% of Republicans think that people should be free to express their opinions in the workplace... AND that athletes should not be allowed to sit or kneel during the national anthem. https://t.co/ds2ig1NJFr


Democrats: Men and women are equal in their talents and abilities. Also, women are superior. https://t.co/bEFSmqQguo
I think a plausible explanation is that whatever Corbyn says or does, his critics will denounce - no matter how much hypocrisy it necessitates.


Corbyn opposes the exploitation of foreign sweatshop-workers - Labour MPs complain he's like Nigel

He speaks up in defence of migrants - Labour MPs whinge that he's not listening to the public's very real concerns about immigration:

He's wrong to prioritise Labour Party members over the public:

He's wrong to prioritise the public over Labour Party
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What would that "look like" in reality?


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