Open Thread

What’s on your mind?

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[not guilty]

The Washington Post reports:

The Justice Department is planning to issue subpoenas for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation alleging that the two Democratic leaders are impeding federal law enforcement officers’ abilities to do their jobs in the state, two people familiar with the matter confirmed Friday.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/01/16/trump-minnesota-walz-frey-criminal-investigation/

I have asked before, and no MAGAt has been able to answer, so I will ask once more: what federal criminal statute(s) have Governor Walz and Mayor Frey arguably violated?

[bloocow2]

I admire you for sticking it out in these threads, even when you know that a lot of the responses are going to be inaccurate at best, hateful and borderline psychotic at worst. I genuinely don't know how you do it; you have a much higher tolerance for that sort of thing than I do! Keep it up!

[not guilty]

Thank you. When my critics get hateful instead of responding to substance, I know that I have won. It's their way of crying uncle.

[Frank Drackman]

Keep telling yourself that, it's better than the Truth.

[not guilty]

See what I mean?

[Commenter_XY]

Article is paywalled.

18 U.S. Code § 2384 - Seditious conspiracy
If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

Note, I am not a fan of this law, it is too easily abused. But it remains a law on the books, NG.

The other legal avenue I see is obstruction.

[not guilty]

"By force" is a critical phrase there. It remains true, however, that 18 U.S.C. § 2384 is a conspiracy statute, the gravamen of which is an intentional agreement to accomplish a conspiratorial objective, with the intent that such objective actually be achieved.

Suppose, XY, that you were a United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota. What evidence would you adduce to show beyond a reasonable doubt that Governor Walz and Mayor Frey intentionally agreed, with one another or with other persons, to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof?

How would you propose to make out a prima facie case sufficient to go to a jury in the District of Minnesota?

Have at it, my friend.

[Commenter_XY]

NG, I am not a lawyer. As I said, I am not a fan of seditious conspiracy b/c it is ripe for abuse (and I am sure it has been). One day, the shoe will be on the other foot; it is better to leave that charge alone. Obstruction...we'll see. It could also be political gamesmanship, and there is nothing at all.

As long as ICE operations continue unabated, and we remove criminal illegal aliens from this country, I don't really care about the legal machinations of the DOJ. The country voted for this...the vast majority of people detained by ICE are criminals; murderers, rapists, child molesters, domestic abusers, drug dealers, gangbangers, identity thieves, etc. These illegal aliens are not people we want here.

[not guilty]

Thank you for your candor, XY.

I haven't yet seen a MAGAt who can answer the question, "If you were a prosecutor, what evidence would you adduce?"

[rswallen]

It is possible that the feds have received information indicating that either the Governor or the Mayor have told state/local police not only to not actively help federal LEOs, but also to not enforce laws in and around areas where federal LEOs are operating while they are operating. That could, at least in theory, fall under the part that says "by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States".

The theory would be something along the lines of this:
1) The mere presence of ICE is leading to pockets of lawbreaking and lawlessness, which in turn is preventing, hindering, and/or delaying ICE duties and operations
2) The State and/or local municipality have laws against this lawlessness/law breaking.
3) The reason that they are refusing to enforce these laws is because of the presence of ICE.
4) The normal state of affairs being that these laws are enforced (as evidenced by them being enforced in areas without the presence of ICE), refusing to enforce them in areas where ICE is present thus falls under the use of force to prevent, hinder or delay federal.. etc etc.

Dunno if it would hold up in a court of law or that it should. Just a theory as to what they might be thinking.

[not guilty]

So inaction by state and local law enforcement equals force???

Are you drunk?

[Frank Drackman]

Have you given up Buggery???
And even if he is, after a while he'll be Sober, you'll still be Stupid.

[rswallen]

No, the force would be on the part of the officials telling the state/local LEOs to do nothing, thus allowing the pockets of lawlessness to prevent/hinder/delay etc.

Its the difference between unintentionally not doing something about lawlessness and intentionally preventing anything from being done about lawlessness because of whom the lawlessness is being directed at. Granted, its a fine line and would require extraordinary evidence, and even then a court perhaps could or should reject the theory, but you did ask.

[Frank Drackman]

Treason for one, "Adhering to the Enemies of the United States, giving them aid and comfort" (US Const Art III Section 3)
Evidence?? that'll come out in the trial

Frank

[bloocow2]

So, is this a joke?

[Frank Drackman]

Your post? a pretty bad one.
And I'm talking about the "Collusion" of Tampon-Tim, the Mayor, and their Somali Overlords.

[not guilty]

"Evidence?? that'll come out in the trial"

What evidence would you present to a grand jury in Minnesota to get a treason indictment, Frank?

Treason is defined by statute at 18 U.S.C. § 2381:

Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.

How have Governor Walz and/or Mayor Frey levied war against the United States?

To which enemy of the United States have Governor Walz and/or Mayor Frey adhered?

By what manner and means have Governor Walz and/or Mayor Frey offered aid and comfort to that enemy? When and where did that happen?

Please be specific?

[Dr. Ed 2]

NG I have a very simple answer —- the same laws the people arrested for January 6 who hadn’t even been there or accused of breaking.

[not guilty]

Politico has an interesting interview with my preferred candidate for the 2028 candidate for the Democratic nomination for President, Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/01/16/andy-beshear-2028-presidential-race-kentucky-00732356?nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&nname=playbook&nrid=0000015a-a3ec-d593-abdf-efff778a0000

Politicians reared in the South grow up steeped in patriotism and in respect for religion and military service. That translates well to winning general elections.

And Governor Beshear has more authenticity in his little finger than the chameleon James Donald Bowman a/k/a James David Hamel a/k/a James David Vance has in his whole body.

[Frank Drackman]

He'll do about as well as AlGore did.

[Frank Drackman]

Beshear is really the Governor of Louisville.
Take out Louisville and he lost the state in a Landslide.
He's also not sufficiently Pro-Ham-Ass to have any chance in the DemoKKKrat Primary.

Frank

[AmosArch]

Modest Proposal: OpenBordersLand

Somin and Co are always screeching about how wonderful complete and unrestricted open borders is. Well why don't they show us? Surely there has to be a easier way than catfighting for years with an entrenched opposition in existing countries. So why not found your own?

With much of the Western world establishment in support there should be enough political capital to set aside a sizeable area for an open borders experiment. Say maybe in Europe since they seem to like it there so much.

Set aside some land. Build up some housing and infrastructure. And deposit some supplies.

There will be two central mandatory rules
1. The first rule that anybody who wants to can come over and stay around at least for the duration of the experiment.
2. The second rule will be that there will be absolutely no border or immigration control whatsoever no matter how full it becomes or how empty it remains or what happens inside or outside. Anyone and everyone regardless of background or activity or criminal record will be allowed to come and go as they please no matter what. If someone murders someone else and they want to stay, well they'll have to find some way to lock them up on site.

WIth that set the timer for say 10 years and see if it becomes the sci fi paradise utopia Somin and Co claim.

They get to prove their point to everyone and help out some future rocket scientist refugees they claim the US is always missing out on. It will pave a much easier path for open borders in the countries they fight so hard to implement them in. And of course theres going to be all the profit from all the money generated and tons of cutting edge scientific breakthroughs from the inevitable utopia. Whats to lose?

[Frank Drackman]

NY Times has a close up photo of Rebecca Good's Honda Pilot, showing that the bullet not only penetrated the windshield, Ms. Good, but also the leather front seat.
Gonna really hurt the resale value.

Frank "Hello, is this Safelite??????"

[Dr. Ed 2]

It’s worth five more with bullet hole in it.

My guess, just a guess, is it’ll go for six figures.

[Frank Drackman]

Sort of like that "Bonnie & Clyde" car (anyone know what happened to the actual one? I've seen replicas in Vegas and the Museum near the spot they were executed)

Frank

[Dr. Ed 2]

AWFUL

Affluent
White
Female
Urban
Leftist

Of course, I prefer to refer to them as Delta Charlies, which of course stands for “Dumb _unts.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/us/politics/white-women-conservatives.html?unlocked_article_code=1.FFA.w1Qn.6c2HwD-1tFuI&smid=url-share

[Frank Drackman]

Oh, we're playing "Acronyms"????
What does "NBA" stand for??

Frank

[Malika la Maize]

When Dan Bongino was named the FBI’s second-in-command last year, the right-wing podcaster’s fan base hailed it as a monumental victory. Bongino, it seemed, would finally be empowered to confront the “deep state” cabal he had long blamed for some of Washington’s darkest mysteries, including sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s death.

Now, having stepped down as deputy director after less than a year in the job, Bongino is returning to an audience in rebellion. Many online have pilloried him for not exposing the conspiracies or jailing the villains he had once decried in hundreds of tweets and Rumble streams…

Before being named to the No. 2 spot in the FBI, Bongino had gained online traction by touting his background as a Secret Service agent and delving into some of the online right’s most popular storylines — none more so than the Epstein case, which he said in 2023 was like a “tick burrowing under my skin.”

He dismissed the official finding that the disgraced financier had killed himself, portraying that as a cover-up to protect political elites whom he saw as complicit in Epstein’s crimes. On his podcast in 2023, Bongino urged his followers to “keep the heat” up on the case because so many “in the Washington swamp” were lying and wanted “this thing to go away.”

In December, after the FBI arrested a suspect in a January 2021 D.C. pipe-bomb planting who had no evident connection to government circles, Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Bongino about his past claim that it had been an “inside job.” The suspect later said he had placed the bombs because he was frustrated with the U.S. political system.

“I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions, that’s clear, and one day I’ll be back in that space — but that’s not what I’m paid for now,” Bongino said. “I’m paid to be your deputy director, and we base investigations on facts.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/01/17/dan-bongino-podcast-fbi/