Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
Walt Nauta is a 10-year-Navy veteran and served as an aide to former President Trump both in and out of office.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has now indicted him for allegedly “making false statements in interviews with the FBI.” The indictment’s subtext is that Nauta refused to cooperate with, and turn state’s evidence to, the special counsel in its efforts to convict the former president.
But why stop the indictments with a man who loyally served and followed the orders of the former president of the United States, was a Navy veteran, and a hard-working immigrant from Guam?
Are there not far bigger fish to fry to remind Americans that justice is blind?
After all, when Special Counsel Smith announced his indictments of Trump, he lectured America on the rule of law and the cherished notion that no one is above it.
So let us start with the former interim director of the FBI itself, Andrew McCabe.
McCabe admittedly lied four times about his illegally leaking sensitive information to witnesses and mishandling classified information.
Have those crimes suddenly ceased being felonies?
Or is it now the policy of the United States government that an FBI director can lie with impunity, and leak, and mishandle sensitive classified information?
Yet Walt Nauta may be sent to prison while McCabe will continue to earn a fine salary at CNN as a paid “expert” to deplore . . . what exactly?
What McCabe knows best from his own experience with the deed—the “mishandling of classified information”?
Nauta reportedly is being indicted for claiming he “did not know” what he supposedly did know in relation to the movement of the president’s papers.
His denial was proffered with nearly the exact phraseology that another FBI director, James Comey, used under oath when he stonewalled congressional inquisitors on 245 occasions.
Was the FBI director ever indicted for feigning ignorance or amnesia before Congress?
Did Nauta ever record a private, and likely classified, conservation he had with the president of the United States in the White House, and then leak it to the New York Times?
That is precisely what James “Higher Loyalty” Comey bragged about doing.
Most recently, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm admitted that she, too, recently lied while under oath to Congress when she denied owning private stocks.
Was Nauta’s “I don’t know” a greater threat to the rule of law and the security of the republic than the lies of the secretary of Energy? She deliberately misled Congress about potential conflicts of interest involving her stock portfolio.
Then we come to Joe Biden, the current president of the United States. He has sworn that he never discussed business with his son, Hunter Biden, currently under suspicion for tax improprieties and leveraging foreign governments by selling them supposed Biden influence.
Yet plenty of witnesses have contradicted Joe Biden’s statement. Photos even reveal him side-by-side with his son’s business associates.
For nearly 20 years, Senator, Vice President, private citizen, and President Joe Biden has concealed the fact he unlawfully took classified documents home and moved them about in various unsecured locations.
Was Mr. Biden’s movement of classified documents for the last 20 years less egregious than what Nauta is accused of having done?
Was the Biden Corvette garage more secure than the closets and bathrooms inside the Mar-a-Lago gated estate?
Biden’s lawyers, after nearly two decades, only came forward because of the media hype surrounding the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago in search of classified documents.
Is there some law that states that a senator, vice president, and president can improperly remove classified documents, move them about to various unsecured locations, and avoid the sort of felony indictments now facing Nauta and Trump?
Let us end with the greatest exemptions of all—those accorded to Hillary Clinton.
She has variously committed the following likely major felonies.
One, she illegally transmitted classified information involving national security over her own unsecure server while secretary of state.
Two, she destroyed both email records and communication devices that were under government subpoena.
Three, she was untruthful about both the use and destruction of said subpoenaed items.
Four, she illegally hired a foreign national, Christopher Steele, to work on her campaign as an opposition researcher.
Five, she conspired to disseminate false documents among top government intelligence and investigatory agencies as well as the media, for the sole purpose of destroying her presidential opponent Donald Trump and thereby warping the 2016 election process.
And?
Clinton—like self-confessed liars or dissimulators John Brennan, former CIA Director, James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence, and former FBI Directors James Comey and Andrew McCabe—was exempted from all legal jeopardy. She, too, continues to monetize her past notorieties and controversies.
The last thing this country needs is any more bottled-piety lectures on the rule of law from Special Counsel Jack Smith, Joe Biden, and the array of admitted lying former high government officials.
They, not Walt Nauta, should be ashamed.
VDH has again illuminated relevant facts we need as we watch the latest ploy of the DOJ.
“Process crimes” all over again. If it is determined that the Presidential Records Act trumps(!) the 1917 Espionage Act, there is no crime and no basis upon which to have charged Natua.
Cleverly, the indictments make no mention of the Presidential Records Act.
Wow! this hits it out of the stadium, as usual . The educated people ask these questions continually and remain enraged due to the injustice and the stupidity of the minions who willfully defend and enable the evil crooks they are.
Victor makes valid statements on some people getting away from prosecution. Sad, as for so many decades, the little guy is persecuted for less infractions, while those who are realy guilty get away scot free!
All true. Is it too late to prosecute McCabe, Clinton, Biden and others? I don’t know. Let’s prosecute them now.
Nevertheless, the fact is that Trump took – and did not willingly give back – highly classified documents when demanded. He’s at fault, regardless of what Clinton did. Nobody – not even a former president – has the right to keep *and hide* classified documents in an unsecured location. Nobody.
Prosecute them all.
The Trump estate is not an “unsecured” location and had been inspected by the FBI months prior to the raid and approved. Biden’s garage and a think-tank library in Pennsylvania certainly were unsecured locations and were supposedly unknown to the FBI.
Thank you for saying what so many of us are feeling about the deep state, your clarity is a public service. Eventually we may learn how the government was able to silence the main stream media, having followed the discovery of methods used at Twitter and Facebook one can only imagine their control over the “free” press.
Not only do they lie without shame, they want you to know that they’ve lied with impunity and were rewarded for it. They want you to react with the anger you rightly feel. That’s how they win. Jan 6th 2021 is a perfect example of what the end game is. Tyranny isn’t coming, it’s here.
They should not only be ashamed – they should be tried, convicted and jailed.
Until McCabe is in jail, nobody should ever convict anyone of lying to the FBI.
“should be ashamed..”??? Such a weak statement.
No, they should all be in prison.
You left out how both Hillary and Joe sold access to control policies of the USA for untold millions of dollars in personal gain… (even if the money was being laundered through a “foundation” or multiple shell companies)
So very true, so very obvious, and yet half the country or more sits by and watches it all happen and does nothing. When the big blowup happens, wonder who all those people will blame then? Silence and acquiescence is as deadly to the Constitution as corruption.
And who will prosecute these felons?
If the evidence is nearly common knowledge, why can’t they be brought to a fair and honest trial? Is it not possible for non-government lawyers to initiate a criminal trial with this much evidence available? Does The Supreme Court have no options to get involved? (excuse me, i am not familiar with the law).
Where is George Washington?
We the people want answers and justice, but our elected officials do nothing. Or, should we gather our pitchforks and torches, and force action by those who are not fulfilling their duties? Is it time to form a new Government, to throw off the Tyranny of this current Government? Do we need a RED WHITE AND BLUE Revolution and restore and amend the Constitution?
VDH
Thanks for all the history and thoughtful observations. You made calm rational sense of things that matter. Appreciate your insight and thoughtfulness.
I fear the First Amendment will need the Second Amendment to preserve it and our Constitution. Reconciliation will have to occur at some point.
If people don’t wake up and get a backbone all will be lost. If we don’t put our country first we won’t have a place to have a argument. Might as well get in the train to the gulags.
Lots of words to avoid what needs to be said by this academic ! The real criminals walk freely and spit in your face daily. Do some of them deserve the death penalty for their crimes and nodody will say it !
This why we are where we are here in USA now, nobody will say it much less do anything about it !
Wake up America while you still can and take action as well as THINK clearly !
All the top Republican political voices should in unison decry this blatant dirty, destructive stuff. (Will substantively based reverse tactics be necessary as an educational device?)
Dr. Hanson thanks you for your magnificent work.
Will you be interested if I send you a video of Vladimir Milov from his YouTube channel, he is a russian dissident, he did one video on Hoover institution’s YouTube channel with general H.R. MacMaster. Video that I want you to send provides evidence that Russia blew up the Nord Stream pipeline.
In short, in the Russian newspaper was an announcement that Russian fleet in Kaliningrad ( Koenigsberg) would take part in ” naval training” near the NordStream pipeline on the day when everything happened.
I believe you will be interested in Truth)
You can watch with English subtitles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ARsaUSkr0g
With all respect,
Anton
Is there a way to make the text larger? I’m on IOS.
Nevermind found it.
VDH is pissed, I’m pissed and every other single American with even a remote sense of honor and truthfulness is pissed! I can’t help but be reminded of Thomas Sowells’ prescient words when, before the 2020 elction he observed that, if biden becomes president, it could very well be the point of no return. If these miscreant thug, scheissters get away with convicting Trump on even one charge. Sowells’ point will be proven. Let’s hope he’s wrong this one time.
“nutha great article by VDH ’till . . . the closing statement about “shame”, cuz all of the named, totally devoid of personal dignity, integrity, honor, have absolutely no regard for the feeling of “shame”.
Exactly!
The biggest liar is trump, he’s the one throwing Mr Nauta under the bus for trump’s crimes
Here’s a truism regarding cultural morality –
Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin is a reproach to any people.
Proverbs 14:34
There may have NEVER been a slimier pair of traitorous treasonous liars than Joe & Hillary. The lot of the “Democrats” & over 1/2 of the GOP is compromised as evinced by the group refusing to censure Schiff & the ever growing list of ambitious turncoats such as Pompeo, Haley, Barr & Pence & THIS does not even take into account the Cheneys, Murkowskis, Romneys & McConnells of the world who’ve ALWAYS been “in the bag”.
Walter Nauta is not an immigrant. Having been born on Guam he is an American citizen by birth.
So many need to go against the wall that the process would go on for days on end 24/7 and you would not get them all for what they have done….. TRAITORS All…..that is what need to be done! No more playing nice period. So those here who don’t like the truth I’m sure you’ll be be calling the thought police asap!
Jesus will come back and Christ followers will be removed from the earth, before God brings His judgement on evildoers. There is nothing the woke, the left or anyone can do to prevent this or delay it.
VDH, talk is cheap, why not lead an effort to fundraise a qui-tam lawsuit to collect the $35,000,000.00 Russia collusion fraud against the federal government plus treble damages and while you’re at it let’s quantify and go after the Ukraine Treason fraud investigation costs also.
I think $2,000,000.00 is sufficient to get the ball rolling with even a mediocre lawyer and this case is a slam dunk.
There is no justice in America any longer. No civilized justice, that is.