ON TARGET

2/8/19                    By Dave Gunn

Desperate and Dangerous Criminal Arrested!

     It was just before dawn that they gathered outside the hideout of a man who was considered to be armed, dangerous and a flight risk. No telling what this desperate malefactor would do when confronted with law enforcement. Still, the FBI was ready. With 26 agents present, including a SWAT team in full tactical gear, three armored vehicles, and two boats in the canal behind the hideout, the FBI agents were ready for anything.

     The agents knocked on the door. Would they be met with a hail of bullets? What kind of firepower was prepared within?

     Slowly, the door opened. Standing before them in shorts and a tee shirt was a tall, 66-year old man, slight of build and unarmed. Without incident Roger Stone was taken into custody on January 25, 2019. No doubt, all of the FBI agents were greatly relieved.

     By the way, Stone has no criminal record. Was he dangerous? He doesn’t even own a gun. Was he a flight risk? His passport is expired. And his hideout was his residence, known to all in the community.

     So who ordered such a heavy-handed, pre-dawn raid? None other than Robert Mueller, who had pulled the same kind of shenanigans in his arrest of Paul Manafort.

     Both of these arrests could have been accomplished by simply calling the attorneys representing Manafort and Stone and telling them to bring their clients in for arrest. However, this was not good enough for Mueller, who has, over his career, shown an inclination for gestapo tactics, abuse of power and over the top publicity. He has also had many of his convictions overturned by higher courts.

     Stone stands charged with lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction

of justice – all non-violent crimes. The judge released him from custody with a

$250K non-surety bond, which means she didn’t consider him to be anything of a

flight risk.

     Interestingly, Mueller, who is supposed to be investigating whether Russians

interfered in the 2016 election and if President Trump or members of the Trump

Campaign colluded with the Russians in such interference, did not charge Stone

with anything connected to Russian interference in the 2016 election.

     The sad truth is that after almost two years of digging Mueller has succeeded in

spending over 27-millon of your tax dollars and has not indicted anyone

connected with the Trump Campaign with conspiring or helping the Russians to

interfere in the election of 2016. He has indicted and even convicted a number of

people for crimes unrelated to the supposed scope of his investigation. Of course,

these cases could have been brought by any federal prosecutor, already on the

federal payroll instead of Mueller and his high-priced Democrat operative lawyers.

     Mueller has also succeeded in getting indictments on what are called “process

crimes.” These would be crimes such as lying to federal investigators.

     That last one is an interesting charge. Federal interrogators will get a suspect in

     an interrogation room, ask the suspect detailed questions over the course of many hours and sometimes separate sessions, and if they make any mistake in memory they are charged with lying. So if they can’t get suspects on anything else, federal prosecutors know they can usually save face by getting an indictment for lying.

     However, all is not lost. Mueller has managed to get indictments of 13

Russians for interfering in our 2016 election. Good luck on getting them

extradited.

     Enough is enough. Mueller should wrap up his investigation, make his report

and stop wasting taxpayer dollars. The FBI and other federal agencies should stop

making spectacular, pre-dawn heavy handed raids on citizens who would

peacefully turn themselves in if asked. Process crimes should not be used as a way to get convictions on otherwise innocent citizens.

     Prosecutors on the federal level should concern themselves less with winning and more with true justice. This would go a long way to restoring the faith Americans used to have in their federal government.

[Dave Gunn is the nom do plume of Dr. David E. Gonnella, pastor of the Magnolia Springs Baptist Church in Theodore, Alabama. The opinions expressed are his own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the church or its membership.]