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6 Ways The Salem Witch Trials Were Fairer Than Democrats’ Impeachment Inquiry
The Federalist ^ | October 10, 2019 | Adam Mill

Posted on 10/11/2019 5:36:54 AM PDT by tlozo

Attorney Greg Jarrett recently wrote, “It is Pelosi and Schiff who are abusing the power of impeachment in their latest ‘witch hunt.’” This is wildly historically inaccurate. Jarrett should immediately apologize to the memory of the prosecutors of the 17th-century Massachusetts witch trials.

This is because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff are currently running their Ukraine impeachment farce with far less due process than the superstitious and backwards legal system offered the “witches” of Salem.

Below are a few examples of how Jarrett has unfairly slandered the jurisprudence of 17th-century Massachusetts.

1. The Right to Be Informed of the Nature of an Accusation

In 1692, the “witches” were tried under the Witchcraft Act of 1604, or, in long-form, “An Act Against Conjuration, Witchcraft and Dealing with Evil and Wicked Spirits,” a felony. Then-President Nixon stood accused of “payment of substantial sums of money... President Bill Clinton stood accused of perjury, lying under oath.

What law is President Trump accused of violating during the Ukraine phone call? The accusations against Trump are far vaguer and never seem to relate to any statute, law, or provision of the Constitution. What little explanation there is for the “law” the president broke is extremely vague.

One fanciful theory is that the president violated 52 U.S.C. §30121 prohibiting a candidate from “soliciting” from a foreign entity a “thing of value” (meaning dirt on a political opponent) in connection with a federal election. This is the same ridiculous argument that was made in the Russia collusion hoax when Donald Trump Jr. supposedly solicited Russians for dirt on Clinton...

That argument failed in the Russia hoax for the same reason it’s wrong now: Asking for information is never a “thing of value” for purposes of election law...

(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalist.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: impeachment; madnessofcrowds; massachusetts; salemwitchtrials; superstition; trump
1. The Right to Be Informed of the Nature of an Accusation

2. The Right to Public Hearings

3. The Right to Confront and Cross-Examine Witnesses

4. A Legal Predicate

5. The Presumption of Innocence

6. Spectral Evidence


1 posted on 10/11/2019 5:36:54 AM PDT by tlozo
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To: tlozo
Has anyone said that Trump turned them into a newt yet?


2 posted on 10/11/2019 5:44:30 AM PDT by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s^2)
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To: DoodleBob

3 posted on 10/11/2019 5:50:13 AM PDT by Travis McGee (EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: DoodleBob

Newt hasn’t!


4 posted on 10/11/2019 6:04:59 AM PDT by gr8eman (Only the mediocre are always at their best)
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To: tlozo

Bump for a great article.


5 posted on 10/11/2019 6:09:05 AM PDT by Drango (1776 = 2020)
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To: tlozo

Uh, what impeachment inquiry? No vote, no inquiry, no subpoenas.


6 posted on 10/11/2019 6:38:07 AM PDT by rktman ( #My2ndAmend! ----- Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
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To: tlozo

It is why it is called a ‘witch hunt’, because of the Salem witch trials. They were something so stupid we cannot believe they happened.


7 posted on 10/11/2019 6:45:41 AM PDT by CodeToad ( Hating on Trump is hating on me and Americans!)
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To: tlozo

Not that I would defend Adam Schifftless or Nazi Pelosi but this article is a bit off target because Trump is not on trial, so the 5th and 6th amendment rights are not applicable.

Technically the house is investigating.

The real problem here is that the House of Representatives is playing at being both Prosecutor and Judge when it comes to having Subpoena power.

They do not have to present probable cause to a judge that a crime has been committed before issuing a subpoena so the 4th amendment does come in to play.

But being that this is the House of Representatives they cam make up the rules as they go along. But as they are supposed to have rules and they are changing the traditional rules by not having a vote on beginning the impeachment process. They should have a vote on changing the rules.


8 posted on 10/11/2019 6:49:58 AM PDT by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit)
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To: tlozo

Persons in Salem who pleaded ‘Not Guilty” of witchcraft were always found guilty and hanged.
Those who pleaded “Guilty” were fined and jailed for a while, then released.

Those arrested always had their property confiscated by the local Shire-riff, leaving their families destitute.

One man accused, refused to make a plea of “Guilty or not guilty”. To extract a plea they piled rocks on him to force a plea, his only answer was ..”More Weight!”

He died from being crushed to death, but because he never made a plea, the Shir-riff could not confiscate his goods and his family survived.


9 posted on 10/11/2019 7:51:23 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: tlozo

It’s fascinating that Pelosi cloaks herself in the “rule of law” when she cannot muster minimum principles of due process that attended the witch trials of Salem almost 100 years before the U.S. Constitution.

Should we dunk him in the water to see if he floats now??


10 posted on 10/11/2019 8:32:49 AM PDT by eyeamok
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To: tlozo

Excellent article.


11 posted on 10/11/2019 12:51:57 PM PDT by Albion Wilde (It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it. --Douglas MacArthur)
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To: tlozo

Ummmm no. Man that’s just stupid.


12 posted on 10/11/2019 12:54:42 PM PDT by discostu (I know that's a bummer baby, but it's got precious little to do with me)
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