Intent. Intent.
The new standard that clears the Left and will every time convict the Right, is INTENT.
COMEY is BERKELEY. Only the Left will be cleared from charges. The Right will go to jail.
See how it works? Intent.
Sam Peckinpah movie “The Wild Bunch”. The opening is long and slow and mostly silent (basically a drum beat). A group of men (wearing US Army uniforms circa 1890) ride into a dusty western town. They eventually get to the bank and dismount. Lead by William Holden, the men enter the bank in single file.
As they enter the bank, we hear the Bank Manager berate a junior employee: “I don’t care what you MEANT to do! It’s what you DID I don’t like!”
And then William Holden throws a customer up against the wall and barks out: “If they move — shoot ‘em!!”
I’ve always liked that very first line of dialogue: “It’s what you DID I don’t like.”