Speaker Pelosi to her colleagues: October 29,2022
Dear Colleague,
Yesterday morning, a violent man broke into our family home, demanded to confront me and brutally attacked my husband, Paul. Our children, our grandchildren and I are heartbroken and traumatized by the life-threatening attack on our Pop. We are grateful for the quick response of law enforcement and emergency services, and for the life-saving medical care he is receiving.
Please know that the outpouring of prayers and warm wishes from so many in the Congress is a comfort to our family and is helping Paul make progress with his recovery. His condition continues to improve.
We are also comforted by the words of the Book of Isaiah: “Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and comfort you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
We thank you and pray for your continued safety and well-being of your family.
Sincerely,
Nancy Pelosi
Paul Pelosi’s attacker was a Trumpist. Holocaust denier, COVID conspiracist, anti-government, climate denier, transphobe, racist, election denier, QAnon believer. I wonder where he could have gotten these ideas?
According to Fox News:
1. This shows how we are all affected by the rise in crime.
2. Of course, there are crazed people “on both sides”.
3. This is a mental heath issue.
I had to turn my set off when the three hosts on Fox referenced a nudist group that the attacker was tied to, and all broke off into laughter and grins.
On social media, it was suggested that “both sides” turn down the heat.
I see. So I will agree to send fewer civil letters of objection to the Republicans who represent me in local, state, and federal government while my MAGA equivalent will agree to attempt assault and battery on fewer elected Democrats. Sure, that sounds like a good plan.
Pelosi has become the Republican bogeyman of choice. I for one wish that Democrats would do a full blown defense when they are tied to her. Something along the lines of – “You’re darn right I voted with Pelosi 97% of the time. I voted with her to expand health care coverage. I voted with her to bring down inflation. I voted with her to make our tax system fairer. (etc.) What specifically is your problem with Speaker Pelosi?” If they say something vague like socialism, make them define it and expressly state their objection.
This is another direct consequence of the inability of federal law enforcement agencies to put down the violent and growing insurrection that is destroying our nation.
Hopes and prayers are futile and empty. I’m tired of hearing Bible quotes.
The fact that the leaders of this violent and armed insurrection are still inciting violence without ANY effective intervention from federal agencies is itself compelling evidence that the nation we all love is in immediate and mortal danger.
It was obvious on January 6, 2021 that security forces had been ordered to stand down at the U.S. Capitol. The “investigation” since then has been nothing more than bad theater.
Now, on the eve of the 2022 mid-terms, NO leaders of the insurrection have been detained or even indicted. NO effective action to stop the continuous incitement of more violence from Fox and the MAGA Republicans. The various agencies now use the upcoming mid-terms as an excuse to continue their paralysis.
I feel as though I am reliving the horror of January 6, 2021 as the upcoming mid-terms approach with NO effective action against the leaders of the insurrection. Clear and obvious orders to do nothing are once again apparent. The media refuse to talk about it, filling the space with yet more horse-race coverage and predictions of yet more national races that are “too close too call”.
We are at war, and we haven’t even loaded our guns.
The time for dialog, “bi-partisanship”, and — most of all — sanctimonious Bible-quoting is LONG PAST.
It is time to put people like Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Ron Johnson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the rest of the MAGA seditionists IN JAIL. Call it “detention”.
This is a more immediate and grave emergency than Pearl Harbor. It is more immediate and grave than 9/11. America ACTED in 1941 and again in 2001. Today, we see only paralysis.
It is time for action — and instead we get meaningless shlock. Donald Trump and his criminal co-conspirators stole incredibly sensitive documents and all we get is weeks of talking heads. Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning were imprisoned within days or weeks after the discovery of their far lesser offenses. I love Lawrence Tribe. He should be talking about whether or not Donald Trump should be in solitary confinement (like Ms. Manning) — instead he’s cheerleading for faceless DoJ minions.
Oh — and let’s not forget the books. Seditionists tell of serious crimes and sedition in “memoirs” after ignoring congressional subpoenas with impunity. The DoJ hasn’t even bothered with subpoenas. I don’t care whether its Maggie Haberman of the New York Times or John Bolton — these Americans are either selling fiction as truth or they withheld evidence vital to rescuing America as we know it.
It is impossible for an attentive and rational observer to avoid the conclusion that the fix is already in. We are seeing the consequences of an intentional decision to allow the insurrection to proceed — just as we saw the similar consequences of a similar decision to not intervene in the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
This is going to get MUCH worse. I expect widespread violence on and after November 8th.
I’ll make one more prediction — in the complete absence of effective action from legitimate federal authorities, other extremists will start targeting people like Clarence Thomas, Donald Trump, and others. When our legal system was unable to effectively punish John Geoghan, Mr. Geoghan was punished by extra-legal means.
America has lost sight of a CRUCIAL aspect of our justice system that is as old as the Torah (“An eye for an eye…”) — our justice system exists to restrict and contain the vicious cruelty and chaos that results from its absence. While our justice system is broken, horrific violence and brutality will surround us until we fix it.
The Joe Biden administration and America had two years to restore the rule of law. It failed to do so.
At this point, all bets are off.
Where have you been regarding no indictments? I feel like we are hearing about legal consequences for January 6th on at least a weekly basis. Bannon just got sentenced for contempt of Congress. As obnoxious as she is I’m not aware of any crimes committed by Marjorie Taylor Greene. If you love Laurence Tribe maybe you should assume he knows what he is talking about and understands how DOJ is supposed to work. The DOJ has a win rate in the high 90s percentage-wise precisely because they only bring slam dunk cases and of course that is even more crucial when it involves a former President. Regarding incitement don’t forget the first amendment gives a pretty long leash and the threats have to be very direct. I continue to wish you would CALM DOWN!
I’ve been watching for indictments of the wealthy and powerful who lead this insurrection. There have been none. Not one.
A judge appointed by Donald Trump issued a light sentence and stayed that sentence pending appeal. It is unlike that Mr. Bannon will ever spend even one night in jail. The fine imposed by the same judge was a slap on the wrist that Mr. Bannon can pay from his petty cash fund.
Ms. Green described the attack on the U.S. Capitol as “our 1776 moment”. The 14th Amendment reads in part (emphasis mine):
There is no way to hear Ms. Greene’s frequent and repeated calls for insurrection as anything except “giv[ing] aid or comfort to the [insurrection”.
The use of electronic means to fraudulently raise money across state lines has been a serious federal offense since before either of us was born. Ms. Greene violates that law repeatedly with impunity — along with the rest of the MAGA Republicans. For crying out loud, the centerpiece of the 2022 GOP fundraising has been the big lie that 2020 election was stolen. That lie is clearly interstate wire fraud.
It has long been established (at least until the current Court) that falsely yelling “fire” in a crowded theater is not protected speech under the First Amendment. The domestic terrorists you apparently defend have spent the last two years yelling “fire” through bullhorns and Fox News.
Just as I continue to wish you would WAKE UP.
I really don’t think you’ll admit that any of this is real until the brownshirts arrive to take you away in cuffs.
I remain confident that none of us will be taken away by brownshirts. I’m sorry, but I’m not even a lawyer and I could probably get MTG off pretty easily based on your accusations. I’m of course not saying I like it. I have mixed feelings about Bannon. DOJ only asked for 6 months and I don’t know what the maximum is. Even that would maybe give us a 6 month break from his bloviating. I don’t care if he’s physically free or not; I’d actually be more satisfied if he could somehow be permanently deprived of his ability to communicate with the public or having contact with co-conspirators. Of course, we have to remember he wasn’t charged with insurrection, but just not showing up to Congress. We have to resist the emotional temptation to wish vengeful punishment above and beyond the crime someone was actually charged with.
We have to put down the insurrection.
We are talking about an assassination attempt on the spouse of the Speaker of the House.
If there were some actual charges proportional to the crimes that were committed and against even one of the leaders of this insurrection then there would no temptation — emotional or otherwise.
America remains paralyzed while the most dangerous insurrection in our history continues unchecked.
Wanting to change that is NOT a wish for “vengeful punishment”.
You have not lived for twenty years with a woman whose entire family history is a story of fleeing from Russian and then German soldiers. You’re a historian — yet you show no awareness or empathy for the tens of millions of Europeans whose direct or second-hand experience included exactly those brownshirts. Many German Jews died because they could not believe that such a thing could ever happen in Germany.
Crimes are being committed every day by powerful people in full view, and our authorities do nothing about them. That is a key indicator of the collapse of law and order. Volunteer election workers in state after state are harassed, threatened, and bullied — and authorities make no effort to protect them or stop the harassment.
Many Germans and Austrians would call your “confidence” arrogant naivete that betrays a parochial it-can’t-happen-here world view that strikes outsiders as typical American exceptionalism.
It CAN and is happening here — whether or not you admit it.
The media is not helping here and is actively downplaying the threat.
Calling them election deniers is akin to calling thieves “property rights deniers”. These individuals do not deny elections, they deny any suggestion that they are not the legitimate authority over the public. They are authoritarians , favoring a concentration of power in a leader or an elite not constitutionally responsible to the people.
Amen.
The insurrectionists are thugs and bullies — many of them heavily armed.
The media have been actively downplaying the threat since the insurrection began.
It is precisely the historian in me that knows we are NOT mid-20th century Europe! I challenge your assertion that nothing has been done to check the harassment. My emotional comment was in response specifically to what sounded like your wish to throw the book at Bannon. I believe the man who assaulted Mr. Pelosi IS being appropriately dealt with by the legal system.