D.C. U.S. Attorney Drops Probe Over Sen. Schumer’s 2020 Statements About Gorsuch and Kavanaugh
The Washington Post (Spencer Hsu) reports:
Interim D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin has dropped plans to investigate the country’s most powerful elected Democrat over a statement he made about two conservative Supreme Court justices five years ago, concluding that a probe is unfounded, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
The possibility had been aired by Mr. Martin in a Jan. 21 letter (and again in follow-up letters):
As United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, I receive requests for information and clarification. I take these requests seriously and act on them with letters like this one you are receiving.
At this time, I respectfully request that you clarify your comments from March 4, 2020. Your comments were at a private rally off the campus of the U.S. Capitol. You made them clearly and in a way that many found threatening. Your exact words were:
“I want to tell you Gorsuch. I want to tell you Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.” Link here: https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/03/04/schumer-gorsuch-kavanaugh-supreme-court-abortion-lead-vpx.cnn
We take threats against public officials very seriously. I look forward to your cooperation with my letter of inquiry after request. Should you have further questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to call my office or schedule a time to meet in person.
It seems to me clear that Schumer’s statement wasn’t a punishable true threat of criminal attack; rather, it was a constitutionally protected threat of political retaliation:
Inside the walls of this court, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments, as you know, for the first major abortion right cases since Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Gorsuch came to the bench.
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