This isn’t about intimidating Don Lemon. It’s about establishing the precedent that journalism equals criminal conspiracy when the regime decides it does.
Notice the pattern:
Federal magistrate judge denies warrant (no evidence of crime). Appeals court denies DOJ request (no evidence). Career prosecutors refuse the case (can’t win in court). But DOJ keeps pushing until a grand jury indicts anyway.
That’s the mechanism. When legal procedures don’t produce the outcome you want, you bypass them until something works.
The conviction doesn’t matter. The arrest is the punishment. The process is the deterrent.
Hannah Natanson getting her devices seized for reporting leaked information follows the same logic. No journalist has ever been prosecuted for receiving classified information, but the regime is testing whether they can change that precedent. Not because they’ll win the case, but because seizing devices and threatening prosecution makes other journalists think twice before publishing.
It’s constructing the enforcement apparatus for selective prosecution. The regime doesn’t need to arrest every critical journalist. They need to arrest enough high-profile ones that the rest self-censor.
That’s how authoritarian capture of media works…you don’t shut down every outlet, you make everyone afraid to push boundaries.
The people who stayed in DOJ after the purge are the ones willing to bring these cases. Career prosecutors refused. The apparatchiks who replaced them or who calculated compliance was worth it, they’re the ones making this operational.
That’s the leverage structure at work. Not everyone gets arrested. Just enough to send the message.
—Johan
I also wrote about this leverage structure in my piece yesterday.
Just imagine the screams if the Biden administration had even investigated someone in Fox News, OAN or Newmax, let alone charged them after losing twice in court.
Your closing sentences brought tears to my eyes. Thankful for all who are standing up to this regime in public ways (including you and all at PN). Proud to do my part, as well.
This isn’t about intimidating Don Lemon. It’s about establishing the precedent that journalism equals criminal conspiracy when the regime decides it does.
Notice the pattern:
Federal magistrate judge denies warrant (no evidence of crime). Appeals court denies DOJ request (no evidence). Career prosecutors refuse the case (can’t win in court). But DOJ keeps pushing until a grand jury indicts anyway.
That’s the mechanism. When legal procedures don’t produce the outcome you want, you bypass them until something works.
The conviction doesn’t matter. The arrest is the punishment. The process is the deterrent.
Hannah Natanson getting her devices seized for reporting leaked information follows the same logic. No journalist has ever been prosecuted for receiving classified information, but the regime is testing whether they can change that precedent. Not because they’ll win the case, but because seizing devices and threatening prosecution makes other journalists think twice before publishing.
It’s constructing the enforcement apparatus for selective prosecution. The regime doesn’t need to arrest every critical journalist. They need to arrest enough high-profile ones that the rest self-censor.
That’s how authoritarian capture of media works…you don’t shut down every outlet, you make everyone afraid to push boundaries.
The people who stayed in DOJ after the purge are the ones willing to bring these cases. Career prosecutors refused. The apparatchiks who replaced them or who calculated compliance was worth it, they’re the ones making this operational.
That’s the leverage structure at work. Not everyone gets arrested. Just enough to send the message.
—Johan
I also wrote about this leverage structure in my piece yesterday.
Just imagine the screams if the Biden administration had even investigated someone in Fox News, OAN or Newmax, let alone charged them after losing twice in court.
That pesky 1st Amendment stands in their way. man, does this regime ever confirm that the Bill of Rights was necessary.
Your closing sentences brought tears to my eyes. Thankful for all who are standing up to this regime in public ways (including you and all at PN). Proud to do my part, as well.
Thank you for this true article Paul.