OPINION:
The indictment of former President Donald Trump amid allegation of “mishandling national secrets” is the natural next phase of the left-wing establishment’s arrogance and corruption.
The left has been desperately trying to stop Mr. Trump since he announced his candidacy in 2015. (Recall the made-up Trump Tower-Moscow scandal, the phony Russia-Trump collusion scandal, the made-for-TV impeachment effort, etc.)
The constant attacks have eroded Americans’ trust in government institutions, a far bigger problem than the left’s hatred of Mr. Trump. There are several other indictments that should have been announced to reestablish the rule of law.
First, corrupt FBI agents such as those identified in special counsel John Durham’s report should have already been indicted for extraordinary violations of their oaths of office. They lied to FISA Court judges. They deliberately pursued a case they knew was based on a lie. They leaked information they knew was false to the left-wing media to further undermine Mr. Trump — first as a candidate and then as president of the United States.
They should all face legal consequences.
Other FBI officials should be indicted for colluding to protect Hillary Clinton when she repeatedly broke the law. How many classified documents were saved on then-Secretary of State Clinton’s illegal home server? How did her emails end up on Anthony Weiner’s laptop? How does someone erase more than 32,000 potentially evidentiary emails and get off scot-free? How does a government official order her staff to destroy evidentiary hard drives with a hammer and face no consequences? Further, why did the then-director of the FBI arrogate to himself a decision that belongs to prosecutors and hold a press conference exonerating Mrs. Clinton during a presidential campaign?
The Durham report makes crystal clear the FBI’s double standard of hostility toward Mr. Trump and deference to Mrs. Clinton. That there have not been any indictments of Mrs. Clinton (or the Bidens, for that matter) demonstrates that the current corrupt senior leadership of the FBI is protecting itself and its allies — and attacking its perceived enemies.
Second, there should be a wave of indictments against the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Delaware, and other universities that have been illegally accepting secret foreign money and refusing to report it to federal authorities.
As the Department of Education website notes: “Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) requires institutions of higher education that receive federal financial assistance to disclose semiannually to the U.S. Department of Education any gifts received from and contracts with a foreign source that, alone or combined, are valued at $250,000 or more in a calendar year. The statute also requires institutions to report information when owned or controlled by a foreign source.”
We have no idea how many millions of dollars China gave the Universities of Pennsylvania and Delaware (where President Biden has education centers).
According to estimates (which are likely low), the University of Delaware (which houses about 1,850 boxes of Mr. Biden’s vice presidential and senatorial documents) received $6.7 million in anonymous donations from the Chinese government. The University of Pennsylvania received nearly $40 million ($60 million, including contracts).
Both universities — and many more — are still breaking the law and not reporting foreign money they receive.
At the same time, the former University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann (who also helped create the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington) became Mr. Biden’s ambassador to Germany. Former university board of trustees Chairman David L. Cohen is Mr. Biden’s ambassador to Canada.
These two became ambassadors after members of the Biden administration received huge salaries from the University of Pennsylvania. At least 10 other people on the Penn-Biden Center payroll ended up with senior positions in the Biden administration. This includes Secretary of State Antony Blinken. We have no idea the source of the money paid to Mr. Blinken when he managed the Penn-Biden Center. Now he’s America’s chief diplomat.
It is amazing the arrogance with which elite universities take millions from foreign sources and simply ignore the law and reject the federal government’s demands for information. The leadership of these institutions should be indicted for illegally accepting foreign money and hiding it from the public. Instead, they are more likely to become U.S. ambassadors.
Third, President Biden, Hunter Biden and other members of the Biden family should be under indictment for influence peddling and accepting bribes.
Does anyone seriously believe the widow of the mayor of Moscow sent Hunter Biden $3.5 million out of the goodness of her heart? Did the Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma pay Hunter Biden millions because of his expertise? Does anyone really think a Chinese billionaire sent Hunter Biden an exquisite diamond just because they are good friends?
The House Oversight Committee and its chairman, Rep. James Comer, have produced evidence that the depth of deliberate corruption in the Biden family operation is worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. The Bidens have created layers of phony companies as pass-throughs to hide a trail of foreign money.
Mr. Biden claims to know nothing of his son’s business dealings, but the records show that then-Vice President Biden was routinely meeting with his son Hunter’s business associates. The evidence is clear that Mr. Biden’s brother was also deeply involved in the influence-peddling scheme.
Much of this was initially reported as Hunter Biden’s laptop began to be investigated. Mr. Biden’s government officials falsely claimed the story was Russian disinformation. Whistleblowers and potential eyewitnesses have been surfacing. Yet after three years, there has been no action. In fact, FBI leadership insisted that the IRS disband a team that was looking into Hunter Biden and allegation of corruption.
These are the indictments that should have been announced this past week. Instead, the FBI has protected the Bidens just as it protected the Clintons.
The contrast with the ruthless, dishonest and illegal efforts to ruin Mr. Trump is stunning.
This is the scale of corruption, bias and lawlessness with which the American people should weigh the Trump indictments.
• For more commentary from Newt Gingrich, visit Gingrich360.com.
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