Achi news desk-
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the lawyer, conspiracy theorist and independent candidate for president of the United States, promised to investigate “whether prosecutorial discretion was abused for political purposes” in the January 6 terrorist convictions – just a day after w a fundraising campaign for such prisoners. as “activists” is an unfortunate mistake.
In a statement on Friday, Kennedy said that, as president, he would “appoint a special counsel – an individual who is respected by all sides – to investigate whether prosecutorial discretion was abused for political purposes in this case, and I will correct any wrongdoings that I discover. “.
On 6 January 2021, supporters of Donald Trump attacked the US Capitol after the former president told them to “fight like hell” to block the certification of his defeat by Joe Biden. Nine deaths are linked to the attack, including law enforcement suicides. More than 1,300 arrests have been made and nearly 1,000 convictions have been secured, some for incendiary conspiracy. Some terrorists have been caught before trial.
Trump was impeached for inciting a rebellion but was acquitted when enough Senate Republicans remained loyal. Now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Trump has called the January 6 detainees “hostages” and “unbelievable patriots”; promoting a rendition of the national anthem performed in a Washington prison; and said that if he is re-elected, he will “free the hostages of January 6 from being falsely imprisoned”.
Earlier this week, the Kennedy campaign ran into a media firestorm when a fundraising email referred to “J6 operatives sitting in a Washington DC prison cell stripped of their constitutional freedoms” and compared them to whistleblower Edward Snowden the National Security Agency who live in exile. in Russia, and Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks held in the UK while the US seeks extradition.
Amid uproar, a spokesman for Kennedy said: “That statement was a mistake and does not reflect the views of Mr Kennedy. It was inserted by a new marketing contractor who slipped through the normal approval process.”
But on Friday, Kennedy indicated that he believes some of the Jan. 6 detainees may be wrongfully imprisoned activists.
“January 6 is one of the most polarizing topics on the political landscape,” he said. “I listen to people from various perspectives on it in order to make sense of the event and what followed. I want to hear all sides.
“It is quite clear that a number of protesters on January 6 broke the law in what could have started as a protest but turned into a riot. Because that happened with the encouragement of President Trump, and in the context of his delusion that the election was stolen from him, many people see it not as a riot but as a rebellion.
“I have not examined the evidence in detail, but reasonable people, including Trump’s opponents, tell me that there is little evidence of an actual rebellion. They notice that the protesters had no weapons, that they had no plans or the ability to seize the reins of government, and that Trump himself encouraged them to protest ‘peacefully’.”
That statement was in line with others, gathered by NBC News, where Kennedy has questioned or downplayed the seriousness of events on January 6.
Furthermore, the House committee that investigated on January 6 detailed how protesters were carrying weapons, some armed with guns; how Trump whipped up the crowd before belatedly appealing for calm; and how the riot followed long efforts to find a legal way to keep Trump in power.
“Like many reasonable Americans,” Kennedy continued, “I am concerned about the possibility that political objectives motivated the vigor of the prosecution of the J6 defendants, their long sentences, and their harsh treatment.”
Echoing claims by Trump and Republicans in Congress, he said: “That would fit a disturbing pattern of arming government agencies … against political opponents. Someone, like me, can oppose Donald Trump and everything he stands for, and still be harassed by the government’s weapons against him.”
Kennedy polls in double figures, has attracted millions of dollars in donations, has named a running mate (Nicole Shanahan, an attorney) and is seeking ballot access in key states. But he remains most likely to act as a spoiler in November, siphoning votes from both candidates but, many observers think, doing more damage to Biden.
In his statement on Friday, Kennedy claimed that he was following the example of the second president of the United States, John Adams, “a staunch patriot” who in 1770 undertook an unpopular task, “defending[ing] the British soldiers who were involved in the Boston Massacre”.
Kennedy also said that Democrats as well as Republicans were “using J6 to pour fuel on the fire of American divisions”, and accused both sides of “demonizing… opponents as apocalyptic threats to democracy”.
However, many observers see Kennedy himself as a threat to US democracy.
On Friday, before Kennedy issued his January 6 statement, Rahna Epting of Move On, a progressive advocacy group, and Matthew Bennett of Third Way, a center-left group, described to reporters plans to shift from campaigning against No Labels, the centrist . a group that left the presidential race this week, to target Kennedy and his campaign.
“I want to be clear,” Epting said. “Robert Kennedy Jr’s unfortunate run for the presidency is helping to put Donald Trump back in the White House and we’re going to work to stop that. Just like we organized against No Labels, we are going to organize against Robert Kennedy Jr. We’re going to let people know that we can’t win, but it can help Trump win.”
Ad blocking test (Why?)
Source link
Related
