- Republicans misinterpret, either naively or maliciously, boilerplate language about use of force by the FBI as a plot by Biden to assassinate Trump;
- Thoughts about accountability;
- Testimony from Stew Peters and Steve Bannon, both presumably self-proclaimed Christians, about their plans to take over America.
This week’s faux outrage on the Right.
The outrage:
And
- New Trump Money Beg Brays “I Nearly Escaped Death”
- Newsmax Host: “Shoot And Kill” Order Proves Need To Arm Ourselves Against “Tyrannical” Biden Government
- MTG: “Merrick Garland Issued Kill Order For Trump”
- Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro and Jesse Watters suggest the FBI “wanted” to “engage in deadly physical force” during Mar-a-Lago search
- MTG Claims FBI Had Plans To “Assassinate” Trump (note response from conservative Jonah Goldberg: “This is wildly irresponsible, even for professional troll like Marjorie Taylor Greene. FBI knew Trump wasn’t there. It was all coordinated with Secret Service in advance. This is deeply dangerous bullshit.”)
- Which leads to this: Moscow Eats Up Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Nutso Trump ‘Assassination’ Claim
The facts:
CNN Debunks Batshit Claims About FBI “Deadly Force”
From “CNN anchor Erin Burnett, after running a montage of batshit claims by the RNC, GOP reps, Steve Bannon, Fox hosts, and MAGA world figures.”
“The very first line under the RNC’s ‘Top News’ claims that ‘deadly force was authorized against Trump during an FBI raid at Mar a Lago.’ That, you know, the intent of that being a possible assassination.
“Now, among those documents was something called a law enforcement operations order, which explains what agents are allowed to do and what they’re allowed to bring with them. In this case, when they searched Mar-A-Lago.
“So what’s in there is boilerplate language from the Justice Department manual about the use of force. It’s boilerplate. It’s everywhere. When the officer has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to another person.
“The language is standard, and it is directly from the department’s manual.”
That phrase about use of force is BOILERPLATE. Part of the template for issuing directives. It’s always there. All these outraged Republicans should know this. Bet they’ll apologize for their alarmist, dishonest reporting? (Also, Trump wasn’t at Mar-A-Lago at the time; surely the FBI knew that.)
No, because they depend on sustained outrage by their base. Who will never know any better, because all they watch is Fox News.
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In more detail:
PolitiFact, 23 May: Trump falsely claims Biden had FBI ready to shoot to kill during Mar-a-Lago search
Summary:
- An FBI operations order for the search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, included language about the Department of Justice’s lethal force policy.
- The policy says that officers “may use deadly force only when necessary,” such as when a subject poses an imminent danger of death or physical injury.
- The FBI said it followed standard protocol in the search, which includes a standard statement about the use of deadly force. Former FBI agents told PolitiFact it’s standard to include such a policy statement.
Much more discussion underneath.
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And for even more detail:
Media Matters, 22 May 2024: How the right-wing echo chamber constructed a Biden assassination plot against Trump
Over a handful of hours on Tuesday, the right’s conspiracy theory ecosystem concocted a sinister plot by President Joe Biden to assassinate his predecessor out of the banal fact that FBI agents received standard instructions on the use of force before conducting a court-ordered search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in 2022.
Also:
ABC News, 23 May 2024: Garland calls Trump’s false claim of Biden DOJ plan to potentially assassinate him during FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search ‘extremely dangerous’, subtitled “He noted the FBI had a similar policy during the search of Biden’s home.”
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Is there no end to the perfidy of MAGA Republicans? Apparently not.
I am reminded of the case of NBC news anchor Brian Williams, whose career virtually ended after he mis-reported an incident that occurred during the Iraq War in 2003. Critics said he lied; psychologists said he conflated memories, as most of us do all the time, without realizing it.
In any event, that was an example of mainstream media accountability. Brian Williams lost credibility and was out of the job.
Among all the *critics* of mainstream media — that is, everyone on the right, especially the MAGA cult — apparently nothing discredits anyone. Because evidence means nothing to them. It’s only about cult loyalty.
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Meanwhile, here’s what the MAGA zealots are planning.
Right Wing Watch, Kyle Mantyla, 22 May 2024: Far-Right Broadcaster Stew Peters Plans An ‘Extreme Accountability’ Weekend Of ‘Bloody Bidens’ And Book Burning
Which begins,
Far-right broadcaster Stew Peters is a racist, anti-LGBTQ bigot who regularly uses his nightly program, speeches, and social media accounts to promote white nationalism and virulent antisemitism while spreading wild conspiracy theories, bigotry, and open calls for violence.
Peters has repeatedly called for violence against the government and his perceived political enemies, threatening time and again to deliver “extreme accountability,” by which he means public executions.
Do Republican voters realize these are the kind of people they are, even if indirectly, supporting?
The piece finishes:
It is important to remember that despite his bigoted views and openly violent rhetoric, Peters regularly manages to get Republican leaders, elected officials, and candidates for office to appear on his program, and that Peters himself has participated in ReAwaken America events alongside various Trump insiders and members of the Trump family.
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And this…
Joe.My.God, 23 May 2024: Bannon: “We Mock Your Fear,” Project 2025 Is Coming
“We mock you. We mock your fear. We want your fear. It’s going to be accountability. We are taking apart the administrative state. We’re going to destroy the deep state, and we’re going to hold everybody responsible that put this republic in the situation its in today. Accountability, responsibility. And that will come with authority. The authority of Donald J. Trump as the 47th president of the United States.”
And these are people who claim to be Christians.
