There is a school of thought in the conserv-o-sphere that the Democrats and their progressive allies are on the ropes and panicking since their regime is about to come crashing down around their ears. That is a nice idea, and I would like to think it is true. And I believe that Democrats are aware of the progress that has been made in exposing their greed, their lust for power, and their agenda.
But they also believe that they are within striking distance of seeing all of their sweaty, fevered dreams come true, and will brook no last-minute interference, no matter how small — like a child who suddenly realizes that a game is not going his way and has decided that if he cannot cheat, he will upend the board. This would go a long way to explaining why Delegate Stacey Plaskett, (D-V.I)., who is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, threatened journalist Matt Taibbi with prison time over what amounts to a mistake.
Fox News notes that Plaskett sent a letter to Taibbi regarding the work he did in reporting on the Twitter Files. In the letter, Plaskett references a comment made by Taibbi to lawmakers which she says contained a crucial mistake. What was this game changer? According to Plaskett, Taibbi referenced the CISA, the government’s Cybersecurity, and Infrastructure Security Agency, when he was actually talking about a private agency called the CIS, or the Center for Internet Security. Taibbi put an “A” where it should not have been. He admitted the error and subsequently corrected it, but this affront was too much for Plaskett and her cohorts. Plaskett wrote in the letter:
This mistake is important because, by adding an ‘A,’ you weren’t making a harmless spelling error. Rather, you were alleging that CISA — a government entity — was working with the EIP [Election Integrity Partnership] to have posts removed from social media. When presented with this misinformation, you acknowledged you had made ‘an error’ by intentionally altering the acronym CIS and you subsequently deleted your erroneous tweet.
Prior to your appearance before the subcommittee on March 9, you signed the Judiciary Committee’s Truth in Testimony form, certifying that you understand that ‘knowingly providing material false information to this committee/subcommittee or knowingly concealing material information from this committee/subcommittee, is a crime (18 U.S.C. 1001). In addition, at the beginning of the March 9 hearing, you swore ‘under penalty of perjury that the testimony you [were] about to give [was] true and correct to the best of your knowledge, information, and belief.’ Under the federal perjury statute, 18 U.S.C. 1621, proving false information is punishable by up to five years imprisonment.
So this is what the Democrats have been reduced to doing. It is pathetic and would even be funny, were it not so serious and had further implications for free speech. The Democrats are now turning over every conceivable rock and seizing on every possible thing to put their boot down hard on America’s collective throat. They were caught spying on people and using technology to cover their tracks. But pay no attention to that, citizen. Can’t you see, Taibbi added an “A?” OMG OMG OMG! Red alert! Muh Democracy!
Taibbi posted this video
Plaskett’s passion for justice was apparently inflamed by MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan noting the error during an interview about naming federal agencies involved in the Twitter Files.
Plaskett’s arrogant, obnoxious, patrician tone makes her the perfect candidate for Orwell’s Inner Party. The idea that Plaskett is concerned over foreign access to Twitter users’ files when her own party used the government to manipulate data and spy on social media users and also has members who support TikTok of all things, is laughable, at best. One would think that Plaskett would be concerned about her constituency, given the reports of crime in the Virgin Islands and the impact that the COVID-19 lockdowns had on an economy dependent on tourism. But apparently, Plaskett would prefer to earn her credentials with her superiors.
Taibbi himself included the letter on his site and his comments:
Wow. When I think this iteration of the Democratic Party can’t sink any lower, it does.
I learned yesterday Virgin Islands Delegate and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of Government Stacey Plaskett is threatening me with prison, over her own error. Just after I ran a piece called “The Press is Now Also the Police” about the New York Times and Washington Post boasting of roles in delivering a leak suspect to the FBI, MSNBC’s new attack-caster, Mehdi Hasan, got his wish, inspiring first Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and then Plaskett to trumpet his incredibly vicious and mistaken claim that I lied to Congress.
The threatened penalty is five years
It would be one thing if I really made the mistake. In that case, Plaskett’s letter would merely be an outrageous attempt to intimidate a witness by threatening a charge of intentional lying over a miscue. But that’s not the case. I did of course make an error, but what Plaskett is referencing is actually a mistake by Hasan, one she’s now repeating. I’m not sure what to do but explain and show this as clearly as possible.
It goes without saying that were the positions reversed, Plaskett, AOC, and the rest would have considered the matter a non-issue, a mulligan. They would have yawned and adjourned for lunch. But since the Donkeys’ chestnuts are in the fire and not the Elephants’, Taibbi must feel the heavy hand of the government. And the message is also being sent that the rest of us had better heed the warning.
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