OPINION:
We are told that the “rank and file” of the Justice Department is chock full of America-loving patriots who set aside any political beliefs they may have to serve their nation in a fair and judicious manner.
We are told that any indication that some “upper level” employees at DOJ or the FBI that may have been revealed to express personal political bias are just outliers. And, more importantly, whatever personal political bias they have harbored had no effect on their sworn duty to fairly execute their jobs and dispassionately enforce the law.
That’s what we’re told. Why should we believe it?
Meet Allison Hrabar. Ms. Hrabar is one of those patriotic, selfless “rank and file” public servants at the Justice Department we keep hearing about. She’s Paralegal Specialist at the DOJ and has been since July 2016. She cares deeply about our nation and the fair and equitable distribution of justice.
She’s not one of those political appointees on the 7th floor who are constantly jockeying for position and playing political parlor games. She’s one of the trustworthy, hardworking, dedicated people who put aside their own professional ambitions to serve her nation in Washington, D.C.
Oh, one other thing about Ms. Hrabar… she’s a radical anti-Trump, socialist activist who just harassed a cabinet secretary at a DC restaurant:
Democratic Socialists of America member Allison Hrabar reveled in her actions Wednesday to the Washington Examiner, saying it “feels really good to confront people who are actually responsible” for arresting any illegal immigrants. One of the chants on the video says Immigrations and Customer Enforcement should be abolished.
According to the Examiner, Ms. Hrabar is a paralegal specialist at the Justice Department.Ms. Hrabar said her actions were off-the-clock and not official, and that she was merely engaging in speech protected by the First Amendment.
She also called on other D.C. residents to make the city, which is chock-full of bureaucrats who can be presumed to participate in some or other Trump administration policy, a perpetual demonstration zone.
“If you see these people in public, you should remind them that they shouldn’t have peace,” she said. “We aren’t the only ones who can do this. Anyone who sees Kirstjen Nielsen at dinner, anyone who sees anyone who works at DHS and ICE at dinner can confront them like this, and that’s what we hope this will inspire people to do.”
Would you want Ms. Hrabar on your jury? Would you want Ms. Hrabar to be your first grader’s teacher? Would you want Ms. Hrabar as your cashier at your family-owned business?
Neither would I. So why do we want her as part of the United States Justice Department?
Of course, Ms. Hrabar has a right to her opinions and even her actions if they are lawful. I have the same right to my opinions and actions. But, there are also ramifications to my actions that can affect my employment.
What are we to do with Ms. Hrabar?
Working for the Justice Department, we are told, is the highest honor and privilege an American citizen can strive for. One has a “Higher Loyalty” when serving the DOJ, if I may borrow a sanctimonious claim from a famous former employee of the FBI.
So, is Ms. Hrabar, through her actions toward another public servant, Secretary Nielsen, serving the ideals and principles that are supposed to permeate the hallowed halls of the DOJ?
More importantly, how many more Allison Hrabars are there? How many more Peter Strzoks or Lisa Pages? How many more Andrew McCabes? How many more James Comeys?
How many more members of the Justice Department who are currently working on cases that are loaded with partisan political ramifications are also active and vocal members of “The Resistance”?
I suspect quite a few.
This is what comes after eight years of a community organizer as president. This is what comes after eight years of Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch reshaping the Justice Department in their image and in the image of their Commander-in-Chief. This is what comes when lawfare and bullying under the guise of justice become just another weapon at the hands of activists looking to circumvent the constitutional process and make law their own way… without the messy details and effort involved in gaining a majority in a legislative body.
I suspect there are many, many Allison Hrabars in the former Holder/Lynch DOJ. And they’re there because they were altruistically inspired to make a difference and change the world. And, like Allison Hrabar and Peter Strzok and Lisa Page and Andrew McCabe and James Comey, they all expected to be serving in the first term of the glass-ceiling-shattering, history-making presidency of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
It didn’t work out that way. And we’ve seen the patriotic behavior of these civil servants under President Trump play out before our very eyes. We see how their political bias is kept in check and how it hasn’t had an impact on their jobs. Haven’t we?
We are told that the deck isn’t stacked. We are told that politics doesn’t have any bearing on how laws are enforced or ignored. We are told that DOJ employees don’t have any sort of political bias.
We are told, in other words, that Peter Strzok and Lisa Page and Allison Hrabar just don’t exist. Until we learn they do exist. Then we are told they don’t represent the “real” Justice Department.
That’s what we’re told. Why should we believe it?
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