¶ Presumption of Innocence Under Attack
Show me the man and I'll show you the crime . That was a quote by Lavrentiy Burya , who served with the Soviet secret police under Joseph Stalin all the way up until his death in 1953 . That man was credited with the expansion of the infamous Soviet gulags that were used to imprison and torture all of Stalin's political rivals and opponents .
From the Redacted Podcast , I'm Matt Bender , and this is a special mini-episode . What the Hell Just Happened , thank you . Former President Trump was convicted in New York in an unprecedented and unusual case .
By all accounts , the quote I read at the beginning seemed to fit , given the circumstances , and I'm not going to get into the party politics or legal specifics of the case . A lot of people have already done that . I wanted to do something different , a history lesson perhaps .
So before you turn off this episode and unsubscribe it , at least give it a chance and hear me out .
So what Buria meant by that quote the one that he loved to brag about so much is that he would first find the target or the man , and then he would find or even fabricate the crime after the fact , the whole while presuming the man guilty and just filling in the blanks later .
It was an effective tactic to the tune of 20 million prisoners over Stalin's tenure , 2 million of which would die in those camps . The fact is , most of those 20 million prisoners were there simply for opposing Stalin's regime . By stark contrast under the United States Constitution .
By stark contrast , under the United States Constitution , we have this presumption of innocence , and that comes from our 5th , 6th and 14th Amendments . This was decided in a famous case Coffin v US . Unlike Buria's method , us prosecutions are supposed to start anyways .
With the discovery or reporting of a crime , there's an investigation to find out or confirm the identity of the perpetrator and collect evidence to prove his or her guilt . In the case of Donald Trump , that clearly didn't happen . Love him or hate him , you can't deny that .
Now I don't like to get political on my show and , frankly , team sport , party politics and talking heads , social media influencers and political pundits just kind of make me sick . The disgusting instigators that brought about this mess in American politics in the first place . But this is something more than that .
At the present time , I do have a platform , a modest one at that , and although the powers that be have even tried to shut us down a few times already , I feel a sense of duty to use my platform in an instance like this to call out the evil that I see in the world , the injustice .
That's the whole reason I started this show To give the little guy a place to talk , to decentralize those narratives that the few seem to control . I served this nation in a time of war in the US Army and spent time in Afghanistan . I have young children and family and friends . I care about that . Live in this country .
I have businesses here that I depend on for survival , so I care about that . Live in this country . I have businesses here that I depend on for survival . So I care a lot about what happens here , as most of us probably do . But the truth is many in Soviet Russia supported that mass imprisonment at the time .
They were made to believe by the media and government that the offenders were scoundrels set to destroy their country . The ordinary folks had jobs and families to protect , so speaking out against the powers that be could result in censorship , ridicule or , worse , to be counted among those in the gulag . This isn't just Soviet Russia .
The same could be said about Nazi Germany or Maoist China , north Korea and every other oppressive regime that has ever existed , villainizing and trying to silence dissent and opposition by using the power of law is not new by any means , and it's happening right before our eyes . Martin Niemöller was a German Lutheran pastor during World War II and in the 1930s .
In the early part anyway , he was actually sympathetic and he sided with Hitler and rather agreed with his Nazi ideology . But after Hitler came to power and he saw how he used that power to crush his opposition and dissent , martin Niemöller actually became an outspoken critic of the oppressive regime .
Niemöller spent the last eight years in concentration camps and is credited with writing the following after his experience First they came for the communist and I did not speak out because I was not a communist . Then they came for the socialist and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist .
And then they came for the trade unionist and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist . Then they came for the Jews , and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew . But then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me .
Now I know that whether it be social media or the banking system , corporatism , government or the law , eventually they're going to come for me too , the way things are going . I'm independent , unplugged , unsponsored . I'm not part of their system . I give a voice to the ordinary people and I oppose the celebrity class .
The ordinary people and I oppose the celebrity class . They shadow , ban me and cancel me and try to make my life difficult every single chance they get . They don't like me and it's only a matter of time . They'll come for you too . This isn't conspiracy . This isn't new . It's all been done before and this trial is a big step forward towards that .
The enemy of my enemy is my friend . That's a quote attributed to many authors dating back thousands of years , and it's kind of a basic concept of human nature . I think it's blatantly obvious in today's world that there's a status quo the 1% , the system , the man or whatever you want to call it .
There's a group text message among the powers that be that decide on stock markets and election results , global affairs and wars , and you or I are not part of it , and they like it that way , and they aren't even trying to hide it anymore . They're brazen and sloppy in their tyranny .
They don't care about your race , gender , sexual orientation or even your political party . They supersede all of that and they only use it as a tool when it's convenient . They only care about power and keeping that power , and they will crush anyone who stands in their way . Those who toe the line , so to speak , will be allowed to exist .
For now , anyway , these are the same old clowns in our history books , just wearing different makeup , and they think we're so dumb and naive and that we can't see the man behind the curtain . We can . This power , this man , this thing , this system . It doesn't have headquarters or membership cards or monthly meetings .
It's not officially organized in the literal sense , but it comes together naturally . The way corruption and power gravitate towards each other . You know it , you feel it , you see it . It's the banks that foreclosed on your grandma's house but take that government bailout money themselves .
It's the hospital groups and health insurance companies that forced your uncle to declare bankruptcy . It's the media and tech companies that brainwash our children , play God and pick the winners and losers . It's rising housing and tech companies that brainwash our children , play God and pick the winners and losers . It's rising housing and college costs .
It's the oil companies and defense contractors that send our young men and women to die in pointless wars . It's the pharmaceutical companies that sit in boardrooms and decide whether or not your mom can afford her medication next month . It's the court system , unjust laws , private prisons . It's inflation and your doubled grocery bill over the last two years .
It's the politicians and the bureaucrats in Washington that are supposed to be protecting you and keeping them all in line and regulating them , but instead they just retire from public service , take cushy positions at Facebook or JP Morgan as a reward for serving their masters .
And you know what they all have in common , every single one of them they don't like Donald Trump . That , right there , tells me everything I need to know . They don't like him and they are doing everything in their power to stop him and make a mockery out of our justice system . And it's not working .
The man , the system , the power structure that is the enemy , the enemy of our enemies , and therefore Donald Trump may be our only friend .
¶ United Against Injustice
I'll leave you with this . In a speech a few months ago , when all this trial business began , he said something that kind of stuck with me . He said they're not coming after me , they're coming after you , and I just happen to be standing in their way . This is all of us , the 99% together white , black , gay , straight Republican , democrat , young and old .
This is our country , our justice system and our future . We cannot let them try to divide us and we cannot let them try to take this from us . God bless America . Stay safe . The redacted podcast is produced by myself , matt bender , and my wife , pamela bender . Make sure to go out there and give us a like , a share , share it with your friends , rate us .
Every little bit helps . Thanks for tuning in .