Reflecting upon his creation of dynamite, famed inventor Alfred Nobel opined, “Perhaps my factories will put an end to war sooner than your congresses: on the day that two army corps can mutually annihilate each other in a second, all civilized nations will surely recoil with horror and disband their troops.” Nobel’s remarks invoke the principle of mutually assured destruction. This military doctrine proffers that the threat of strong weapons against an enemy prevents that enemy from utilizing those same weapons.
American presidents successfully employed mutually assured destruction to navigate the nuclear threat and ultimately triumph over the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Today’s conservative leaders should utilize similar political warfare to reimpose legal order in a rapidly escalating Cold American Civil War.
Unlike the Cold War, American leftists already launched a first strike. The first four assaults arrived in the form of criminal indictments of former President Donald Trump by the Manhattan (New York) District Attorney, United States Department of Justice, and Fulton County (Georgia) District Attorney. The lawfare battle is already underway. To counter the threat, restore balance, and achieve a semblance of rational deterrence, red state attorneys general and district attorneys must turn their metaphorical launch keys and deploy similar lawfare tactics against Democrat politicians.
A challenge arises as to who should be the first target? For years, Republicans have justifiably argued for Hunter Biden’s prosecution. Unfortunately, control of the DOJ comfortably rests with Democrat apparatchik Merrick Garland. If not for recent whistleblower disclosures by IRS and FBI agents, the entire sham investigation would have been swept under the rug. Further, the recent appointment of a Special Counsel essentially removes the oversight authority from congressional Republicans and ensures a comfortable outcome for the President’s son.
Legal success is only achievable at the state and local levels. High-profile Democrats seldom establish requisite residency in these venues and typically limit their travel to deep blue states or comfortably liberal enclaves in red-state America. Nevertheless, an effective lawfare campaign may exist with Democrat officials’ public statements, which are arguably violative of state law. As such, I propose Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm as the first target for criminal indictment and arrest.
On August 27, 2023, Secretary Granholm linked to a CBT News article and tweeted, “From @EnergyInnovLLC: It’s more affordable to lease an electric vehicle than to lease or buy a traditional gas car. Drivers can see up to $500 in savings, and when accompanied with @POTUS’ tax incentives, some can see monthly payments lowered by up to 12%.” How might a state or county prosecutor argue the Energy Secretary’s public tweet violates the law?
On October 19, 2020, Sage Journals published a research article entitled “The relationship between debt and crime: A systemic and scoping review.” Researchers conducted a systemic review and discovered a strong association between debt and crime. They concluded debt is a correlative risk factor for recidivism and identified factors that impact the relationship between debt and crime.
Similarly, in 2018 the American Civil Liberties Union issued a report entitled “A Pound of Flesh: The Criminalization of Private Debt.” The report details the history of debtors’ prisons and how the present American court system is manipulated to improperly incarcerate debtors. The ACLU highlights a dubious business relationship between debt collectors and prosecutors and concludes the current system facilitates the abuse and coercion of vulnerable Americans.
On November 30, 2019, The American Bar Association published an article entitled “Criminal Justice Debt Problems.” In the piece, the ABA argues the American legal system commonly punishes poor defendants more harshly than the wealthy. The article ultimately concludes, “Monetary bail systems, penalties, and fees have generated concerns about the fairness in the criminal justice system for the poor and for people of color.”
It is clear Secretary Granholm’s tweet encourages Americans to absorb debt in order to lease electric vehicles. Considering the research and arguments from well-established authorities such as Sage Journals, ACLU, and ABA, probable cause exists to convene a grand jury, investigate, and indict the Energy Secretary for encouraging behavior that contributes to higher levels of criminality. Any members of Secretary Granholm’s staff or other public officials who retweeted her post are arguably culpable in her conspiracy. Moreover, because Secretary Granholm published her statements for public view, multiple jurisdictions have legal venue to bring criminal charges against her and her fellow conspirators.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argues, “If the Arabs lay down their arms there will be no more war, but if Israel lays down its weapons, there would be no more Israel.” America’s current political landscape demonstrates Netanyahu’s prescience. Republicans have preemptively surrendered to the whims of a weaponized Democrat lawfare. The responsibility now falls to red state attorneys general and county prosecutors to respond in kind. Mutually assured destruction is the only plausible tactic to ultimately triumph in the American Cold Civil War.
