By Samuel Prescott

Misdirected activity is now the norm for our federal law enforcement agencies. Two failed attempts to indict Lettica James, New York State’s Attorney General, reveal why. Trump’s appointee - the chief federal prosecutor in overall charge of that matter - concluded that the evidence was insufficient to indict James. So he was fired.  The line prosector actually investigating James reached the same conclusion. So she was fired. Then Trump appointed Lindsey Halligan, an attorney with no criminal experience, to fill the chief prosecutor role. Halligan promptly indicted James and that indictment was dismissed by a judge. Halligan then tried again.  Twice.  Both times the charges against James were rejected by a grand jury.

What did Trump want James to be charged with? We can’t say with precision what was in the two rejected indictments; grand jury proceedings are secret and because they were rejected those indictments never saw the light of day. The one indictment that was made public, and that the Judge dismissed, exposed James to a total of 60 years in prison. For doing what? Allegedly listing a second home as James’ primary home on a bank loan application to obtain a more favorable interest rate. Her alleged motive? Over 30 years, James might (but also might not) have saved some $19,000 in interest payments. That is, about $633 a year.

You know her real crime. James brought (and proved) a civil fraud case against Trump, in which (among other things) the value of Trump’s personal residence was overstated by 300% (from 11,000 to 30,000 sq. feet), inflating its value to about $200,000,000, to get lower interest rates on loans. The apparent goal? To save about $168 million in – yes – interest payments. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-fraud-ruling-property-valuation-michael-cohen#:~:text=The%20judge's%20ruling%20includes%20the%20following%20findings:,nearly%20three%20times%20the%20size%20it%20is. https://abcnews.com/US/lot-money-trump-owes-87k-interest-day-pays/story?id=107375585#:~:text=First%2C%20Trump%20needs%20to%20pay,Letitia%20James%20began%20her%20investigation.

Then there are the seditious six; that is, the six Democratic military veterans now serving in Congress, who took out an ad that correctly stated the law. Which is that no member of the US military is required to follow an unlawful order. Should they have done so? Not my call. Was it a crime? You might as well start ticketing people who stop at red lights for obstructing the flow of traffic. Yet the wispy remnants of what used to in fact be (and is still called) the Department of Justice sought to indict them. This effort, too, was rejected by a grand jury. Why was the case brought? You know why.

The predation by the Department of Justice (along with the Executive branch directing it) that these debacles underline cannot be overstated. In 2013, federal grand juries across this country declined to indict in just five of 196,969 criminal matters concluded. In 2014, there were 14 such instances out of 170,161 matters.  In 2015, the number was 19 out of 163,005 (0.012%), and in 2016 six out of 155,615. It has been observed that “[f]or decades, federal grand juries have almost never said no.” https://www.ballardspahr.com/insights/alerts-and-articles/2025/10/revenge-of-the-ham-sandwich-recent-no-bills-test-prosecutors-grand-jury-dominance.  Until now.

Put aside that predation, along with the Administration’s denial of climate change.  Pretend that unregulated toxic emissions do not harm our health. Ignore what we ourselves witnessed on January 6th, how it has since been portrayed, and the pardons that followed. Never mind what we have seen (and continue to see) in Ukraine. Turn a blind eye to the dismemberment of NATO, the World Health Organization, the Voice of America, USAID, the FBI, the Department of Justice, our intelligence services, and (incredibly) the National Weather Service.  Along with assaults on the independence of the Federal Reserve, the Press, our court system, and state run elections.

Wish the Epstein debacle away. Move past the chaotic imposition of tariffs (and the resulting overnight destruction of many affected US businesses) on a whim, along with the (for now stillborn) invasion of a NATO member to seize Greenland. Pay no attention to the people who have served with distinction in our armed forces that are being deported as part of “the worst of the worst.” Make believe that the President’s self-naming spree over our national institutions, federal programs, bibles, and sneakers is normal. Shrug off the desecration of our national trust mark – many decades in the making – now gone, leaving America, first and foremost, alone.

You are then still left with a President who, by some estimates, has so far enriched his family by about $10,000,000 a day ($4 billion divided by the 13 months of this Administration). While piling more than $5 billion a day of additional debt onto our shoulders during that same period. And counting.

All of the foregoing is one man’s opinion, informed by current events.  Here is another opinion.  Tom Kean, Jr. has a role to play here. He (and his Congressional colleagues) cannot directly rein in these grotesque abuses. But he can, through the power of the purse, certainly begin to curtail them. Or, at least, publicly (and loudly) speak out about them on our behalf. Has he? Take a look at Kean, Jr.’s website. It is at https://kean.house.gov/issues. All hat, no cattle. A hat that we, our children, and our grandchildren are paying for.

An accomplice is a person who, having a legal duty to act, does not attempt to prevent the commission of an offense. https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-law-basics/what-is-complicity-or-accomplice-liability.html. I am not suggesting that Tom Kean, Jr. has committed an offense. Cowardice is not, in and of itself, criminal. But Kean, Jr.’s complete derogation of duty to the voters of CD 7 does, render him unfit to hold any elected office – including in the United States Congress.

In the upcoming mid-terms, you are the jury. The pablum Kean, Jr. will relentlessly subject you to in the run-up to that election is already being generated. When he does, test it against the damage to our nation that Kean, Jr., refuses to even attempt to prevent, despite his duty to do so. Then express your opinion, by rendering your verdict.