Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley has served in Congress for nearly 50 years, first elected to the House of Representatives in 1974, then to the Senate in 1980. He was re-elected in 2022 for another six years and will be 95 at the end of his term.
I don’t fault Grassley for his age. He appears healthy and competent so I have no problem with his ability to serve. My quarrel is he’s become so radical. My first clue was when he told Iowans IRS agents would be coming after them with AR-15s. Grassley was always conservative, but not far right. He’s just different today. He’s gone over to the dark side where the Freedom Caucus resides.
Last week, he commented, “I hear from Iowans that they’re sick and tired of the political bias in the FBI and the DOJ. And they’re sick and tired of the fact that some Republicans get treated one way and Democrats get treated the other. Just think how Trump is getting treated today versus Hillary Clinton, when she destroyed classified stuff on her computer.” Grassley says he hears this stuff from Iowans, but it’s more likely Iowans hear it from him.
DOJ isn’t going investigate Nikki Haley or Mike Pence, or the other Republican candidates. If DOJ treats politicians differently, it’s because the facts are different. To accuse them of political bias against Trump is nonsense; he should be held accountable. He didn’t just challenge an election – like Stacy Abrams did in 2016 when she lost to Gov. Kemp in Georgia – Trump tried to overturn an election. And he wouldn’t stop. He tried to cancel legitimate votes cast by Americans. When all else failed, he whipped his followers into such a frenzy they stormed the Capitol to stop certification of the votes.
How can anyone defend this conduct? Where is the concern for the Constitution? DOJ can’t be blamed for indicting people who broke the law. And why compare Hillary’s email mistakes to an attempt to overturn an American election?
Contrary to Grassley’s claims, the FBI did investigate Hillary’s use of her private email service. She admitted she used her Blackberry and a server at her home for the sake of convenience. Hillary turned over her server and 30,000 emails to the FBI, fully cooperating with their investigation. Her aides had deleted about 30,000 personal emails before questions arose about using her Blackberry. Hillary was never charged by the Trump Administration for any crimes. George W. Bush’s Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, who mishandled government documents was never charged, either. He also fully cooperated.
Grassley is obsessed with Hunter Biden, the president’s son who has never served in the Biden administration. Hunter is close to his parents, and as a recovering addict, stays in almost daily contact with them. A Yale-educated lawyer and private equity fund investor, Hunter has made a lot of money from foreign companies. He’s obviously taken advantage and cashed in on his father’s name – which seems to be a habit of relatives of politicians.
Investigated for nearly five years by a Trump-appointed lawyer, David Weiss, Hunter has cooperated fully the whole time. If he is charged and convicted of crimes, it will be based on the law, not politics.
Republicans continue to claim they have proof of Hunter’s crimes, but they never share any real evidence. They apparently have nothing to connect President Biden to Hunter’s activities, either, but they sure keep trying. Thirty-one Senators, including Grassley, asked for Weiss to be appointed special counsel for Hunter’s case, which AG Garland has now done.
Grassley has involved himself with the House Committee investigating the “Biden crime family,” but shows no concern about the obvious offenses of the Trump family. Daughter Ivanka was granted a total of 34 trademarks worth millions from China for apparel, beauty products, jewelry and (ironically) voting machines, while working in the White House. Son-in-law Jared received $3 billion dollars from Middle East countries a few months after leaving his post as a White House advisor. He spent the final year of the Trump administration traveling throughout the region, supposedly in search of peace.
A report is due out soon listing the millions of dollars Trump hotels received during his administration – in violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution.