In 2009 and 2010, conservatives and small-government Americans from across the country came together in protest of President Barack Obama's big spending projects and plan to upend the U.S. healthcare system through Obamacare. They were opposed to this fundamental transformation of the country and decided to exercise their First Amendment rights by peacefully organizing against it. The Tea Party was born.
The Obama administration didn't like the opposition, especially ahead of the 2010 midterm elections, and used the IRS to silence everyday Americans with phone calls, harassment and threats of imprisonment.
"The fact that officials at the IRS wielded their power to target certain Americans for their political views is both outrageous and contrary to our nation's values. Our government is supposed to work for all Americans, not for a particular partisan agenda. As a result of the IRS' targeting, conservative groups were singled out across the nation, resulting in lengthy paperwork requirements, overly burdensome information requests, and lengthy, unwarranted delays in their applications," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte said in a 2013 statement when Republicans were investigating the matter.
That was just the beginning.
Fast forward to the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, and the left has supercharged their efforts by criminalizing the contesting of elections. Not for Democrats but for Republicans, with the Department of Justice and local prosecutors leading the charge.
Recommended
In August, President Donald Trump and 18 of his associates, including his attorneys, were indicted by Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis — a partisan Democrat — after a grand jury recommendation. Willis claims there is evidence of racketeering and that questioning results is a crime. Additionally, the indictment states tweeting about election hearings, an exercise of the First Amendment, was "furtherance" of a conspiracy.
"On or about the 3rd day of December 2020, DONALD JOHN TRUMP caused to be tweeted from the Twitter account @RealDonaldTrump, 'Georgia hearings now on @OANN. Amazing!' This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy," the indictment states.
Keep in mind that the grand jury didn't need to be unanimous and only required 12 people in deep blue Fulton County to return an indictment. Foreperson Emily Kohrs expressed her own bias when she told CNN she would be "sad" if Trump wasn't indicted.
"I will be sad if nothing happens. That's about my only request there is for something to happen," Kohrs said in February, saying it was "too much of her time" for nothing to happen. "I will be frustrated if nothing happens…I will be happy as long as something happens."
Now, we're learning just how out of control the grand jury really was.
"According to the now-released grand jury report originally dated December 15, 2022, there were additional individuals the panel recommended indictments against. In all, the report shows that indictments were suggested against 21 other individuals against whom charges were not ultimately pursued by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis," Townhall reports. "Among the individuals the grand jury wanted to add to its laundry list of indictment individuals are U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), attorneys Cleta Mitchell and Boris Epshteyn, former U.S. Senators for Georgia David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, and the full slate of 'alternate electors.'"
An indictment for Senator Lindsey Graham? Who at the time served as the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman? Dangerous nonsense.
"I'm very worried about the country right now. I was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. This election was contested in courts in multiple states. I had to explain to the people of South Carolina my vote. I had to decide whether or not to have a hearing about the allegations in Georgia and other places. I called around different states, including Georgia, as a sitting United States senator, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. I eventually certified the election in all states, including Georgia. I didn't find any evidence of mass voter fraud, but I did have concerns about the mail-in ballot systems in Georgia and other places," Graham said in response to the news. "This is troubling for the country. We can't criminalize senators doing their job when they have a constitutional requirement to fulfill. It would have been irresponsible, for me, in my opinion, as chairman of the Committee, not to try to find out what happened."
"We're opening up Pandora's box here," he continued. "We have to be careful not to use the legal system as a political tool."
The left claims Trump is somehow uniquely dangerous, and therefore, actions taken to stop him are justified. That assertion isn't true and never has been, but their latest indictment spree proves they want everyone who even remotely challenges their political power and narratives to be finished.
The weaponized left is completely out of control, and it seems they have no plans to reel in their efforts. As usual, for them, the ends justify the means.