Once again, I feel obligated to quote the president of the United States, “We are a nation of laws and we live by the rule of law.”
Fair enough, there is nothing to argue with there. But, all nations have laws and they live by those laws. The issue or problem does not lie with whether or not we have laws but, how we apply those laws.
For example, most of our prisons are filled with men and women who have been convicted of non-violent crimes. And, a great majority of them are African-Americans, Latinos, and poor whites.
One could offer the argument that such statistics reflect the fact that these are the folks committing the crimes. Let us consider another idea, that these are the people targeted by the police and, therefore, more likely to be found breaking the law.
The New York City police have implemented the “Broken Windows” approach to law enforcement. This approach encourages the police to stop, search and possibly arrest people who look suspicious before they can engage in more serious crimes.
When is the last time you saw a white man in a business suit being stopped because he looked suspicious? Of course, white men in suits do not look suspicious but black and Latino men in poor neighborhoods do.
Is it a surprise that possession of crack cocaine, a drug favored on the street by people with limited money, is more harshly punished than just plain old cocaine, the drug used by the affluent white people in business suits in their offices or homes?
But, all of the above is old news and has been discussed many times. Let us turn our attention to a more current example of “equal justice under the law.”
General David Petraeus, former head of the CIA and lead military officer in Iraq and Afghanistan, was allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor after removing and retaining classified information and sharing the data with his biographer and mistress, Paula Broadwell. This plea deal was reached despite the fact that Petraeus lied to the FBI when questioned as to whether he possessed classified documents.
Not only will there be no prison time, Petraeus continues to serve as a consultant to the White House on issues related to Iraq and is the chairman of a global institute for private equity firm, KKR. He also continues to receive a $220,000/year pension.
Dianne Feinstein, Democrat from California and head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was asked about General Petraeus’ plea deal and she commented that “he has suffered enough.” I wouldn’t mind suffering like that.
On the other hand, Senator Feinstein did not show equal sympathy for Edward Snowden. She stated, “I don’t look at this as being a whistleblower. I think it’s an act of treason. He violated the oath, he violated the law. It’s treason.”
Feinstein also made clear her position on Julian Assange. She stated that she wants him prosecuted for espionage, despite the fact that he is not even an American citizen.
Then there’s Stephen J. Kim, an arms expert and former State Department contractor who is serving 13 months for disclosing classified information to Fox News. The question here is why Mr. Kim serves 13 months in prison and has his life turned upside down while Petraeus continues to receive his pension and remains a consultant to the White House?
John C. Kiriakou was a former CIA agent who revealed information on the U.S. torturous interrogation program. For his efforts, he was sentenced to 30 months. At the time of his sentencing, General Petraeus was director of the CIA.
In 2002, Sibel Edmonds, FBI translator, was fired by the FBI while she was attempting to report coverups on security issues, potential espionage, and incompetence.
Thomas Drake worked at the NSA in various analyst and management positions. He blew the whistle on the NSA’s Trailblazer project that he felt was a violation of the Fourth Amendment and other laws and regulations. He contacted The Baltimore Sun which published articles about waste, fraud, and abuse at the NSA, including stories about Trailblazer. In April 2010, Drake was indicted by a grand jury on various charges, including obstructing justice and making false statements.
In all of the above instances, except for General Petraeus, the whistleblower became the target of investigation and criminalization while those who had committed the crimes were never charged or prosecuted.
What was the difference? General Petraeus held an important position in the government and had many influential “friends” while the others were at or near the bottom of the totem pole. Petraeus revealed documents for his own aggrandizement while the others were revealing wrongdoings or criminal acts. While the Obama administration has criminalized and sought prison terms for more whistleblowers than any other administration, the general walks free.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is “equal treatment under the law.”
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.
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Equal treatment under the law
Posted on March 23, 2015 by Dave Alpert
Once again, I feel obligated to quote the president of the United States, “We are a nation of laws and we live by the rule of law.”
Fair enough, there is nothing to argue with there. But, all nations have laws and they live by those laws. The issue or problem does not lie with whether or not we have laws but, how we apply those laws.
For example, most of our prisons are filled with men and women who have been convicted of non-violent crimes. And, a great majority of them are African-Americans, Latinos, and poor whites.
One could offer the argument that such statistics reflect the fact that these are the folks committing the crimes. Let us consider another idea, that these are the people targeted by the police and, therefore, more likely to be found breaking the law.
The New York City police have implemented the “Broken Windows” approach to law enforcement. This approach encourages the police to stop, search and possibly arrest people who look suspicious before they can engage in more serious crimes.
When is the last time you saw a white man in a business suit being stopped because he looked suspicious? Of course, white men in suits do not look suspicious but black and Latino men in poor neighborhoods do.
Is it a surprise that possession of crack cocaine, a drug favored on the street by people with limited money, is more harshly punished than just plain old cocaine, the drug used by the affluent white people in business suits in their offices or homes?
But, all of the above is old news and has been discussed many times. Let us turn our attention to a more current example of “equal justice under the law.”
General David Petraeus, former head of the CIA and lead military officer in Iraq and Afghanistan, was allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor after removing and retaining classified information and sharing the data with his biographer and mistress, Paula Broadwell. This plea deal was reached despite the fact that Petraeus lied to the FBI when questioned as to whether he possessed classified documents.
Not only will there be no prison time, Petraeus continues to serve as a consultant to the White House on issues related to Iraq and is the chairman of a global institute for private equity firm, KKR. He also continues to receive a $220,000/year pension.
Dianne Feinstein, Democrat from California and head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was asked about General Petraeus’ plea deal and she commented that “he has suffered enough.” I wouldn’t mind suffering like that.
On the other hand, Senator Feinstein did not show equal sympathy for Edward Snowden. She stated, “I don’t look at this as being a whistleblower. I think it’s an act of treason. He violated the oath, he violated the law. It’s treason.”
Feinstein also made clear her position on Julian Assange. She stated that she wants him prosecuted for espionage, despite the fact that he is not even an American citizen.
Then there’s Stephen J. Kim, an arms expert and former State Department contractor who is serving 13 months for disclosing classified information to Fox News. The question here is why Mr. Kim serves 13 months in prison and has his life turned upside down while Petraeus continues to receive his pension and remains a consultant to the White House?
John C. Kiriakou was a former CIA agent who revealed information on the U.S. torturous interrogation program. For his efforts, he was sentenced to 30 months. At the time of his sentencing, General Petraeus was director of the CIA.
In 2002, Sibel Edmonds, FBI translator, was fired by the FBI while she was attempting to report coverups on security issues, potential espionage, and incompetence.
Thomas Drake worked at the NSA in various analyst and management positions. He blew the whistle on the NSA’s Trailblazer project that he felt was a violation of the Fourth Amendment and other laws and regulations. He contacted The Baltimore Sun which published articles about waste, fraud, and abuse at the NSA, including stories about Trailblazer. In April 2010, Drake was indicted by a grand jury on various charges, including obstructing justice and making false statements.
Chelsea Manning was the US Army intelligence analyst who released the largest set of classified documents ever. The material included videos of the July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike and the 2009 Granai airstrike in Afghanistan; 250,000 United States diplomatic cables; and 500,000 army reports that came to be known as the Iraq War logs and Afghan War logs. Manning was convicted of violating the Espionage Act and other offenses and sentenced to 35 years in prison.
In all of the above instances, except for General Petraeus, the whistleblower became the target of investigation and criminalization while those who had committed the crimes were never charged or prosecuted.
What was the difference? General Petraeus held an important position in the government and had many influential “friends” while the others were at or near the bottom of the totem pole. Petraeus revealed documents for his own aggrandizement while the others were revealing wrongdoings or criminal acts. While the Obama administration has criminalized and sought prison terms for more whistleblowers than any other administration, the general walks free.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is “equal treatment under the law.”
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.