Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Can These Seven Patriots All Be Wrong?

What do Nicholas Katzenbach, Ramsey Clark, Edwin Meese, Richard Thornburgh, William Barr, Janet Reno and Kenneth Starr have in common with the Agudah, the OU, Chabad, and Young Israel?

They have all signed on to the notion that the proposed life sentence the prosecution has recommended for Shalom Rubashkin is excessive and that a much lighter sentence is warranted.

If those names are familiar it is because six of them were attorneys general in both Democratic and Republican administrations ranging back to President Johnson all the way up to the Clinton administration. And Ken Starr too said he will sign a letter to that effect (already signed by those attorneys general). He was the lead prosecutor in the investigation of President Clinton that lead to his impeachment in the US House of Representatives. It should be noted that the politics of these individuals vary widely.

Here is a portion of the letter that they have signed:

“We cannot fathom how truly sound and sensible sentencing rules could call for a life sentence -- or anything close to it -- for Mr. Rubashkin, a 51-year-old, first-time, non-violent offender whose case involves many mitigating factors and whose personal history and extraordinary family circumstances suggest that a sentence of a modest number of years could and would be more than sufficient to serve any and all applicable sentencing purposes”

This should tell you something about justice in this case. I hope the judge in that case takes notice and follows their lead.

Perhaps just as important is to note the lack of any anti-Semitism among these great American patriots on both the left and the right.

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