← Bulwark Takes
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Tim Miller
Hey, everybody. Tim Miller from the Bulwark here. We've got some breaking news. The United States has agreed to pay about 5 million to the family of January 6 rioter Ashley Babbitt, who was shot fatally by police during the siege of the Capitol. This decision by the Trump Justice Department reverses the earlier position from the Biden Justice Department. And you know, this whole thing just really stinks if you add it to the total blanket pardon for all of the people who stormed the Capitol, even those who attacked police. And now you layer on top of that that not only are people getting off scot free, but that the US Is beginning to pay off the families of the attackers. Do you think Ashley Babbitt's gonna be the last one? Other people that suffered random injuries in their attack on the Capitol, you don't think that others are going to see this and decide that they want to get theirs? This has been a total Trump thing. And I think it's also important to remember this is not just a TDF situation. People as Trump curious or Trump supportive or Trump lick Spittley as Kevin McCarthy were as recently as two years ago out there saying that the police officer in this case did the right thing. You think Ashley Babbitt was murdered? Or do you think the police officer who shot her was doing his job? I think the police officer did his job. This month in the Senate, Republican from North Carolina, Thom Tillis was out there saying, we gotta be very clear what happened. What happened on January 6 was wrong. We have to be very, very clear that what happened on January 6 was wrong. So, you know, I mean, we could go keep going down the line of this and, you know, you could do the cliche stuff, though. Liz Cheney, a strong conserv. You know, talking about how horrible this was. Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible. There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain. But now it's like the stated position of our government that not only that, not that like, oh, January 6th was something that got out of hand and some people did a bad thing. No, it's like that the people that stormed the Capitol are the victims. That is the position of our government. The rioters who injured police, who injured police, in some cases to such a degree that some lost their lives in the ensuing days, like Officer Brian Sicknick, that the attackers are the victims and that the government needs to pay them off. Your tax dollars. Your tax dollars are going to pay the family of a woman that was Climbing through glass in the Capitol to try to overturn the election. You're paying for that. And this is total madness. And these guys, for all of their talking points about how, you know, they were radicalized by the BLM riots and how Kamala contributed to the legal defense fund of some of the Black Lives Matter protesters. It's like, this isn't a case of defense contributing to a legal defense fund. This is the case of the US Government paying a cash ransom to the people that stormed the Capitol. To the family of someone that stormed the Capitol. I just. How can you take seriously the claims that they want to back the blue. Or how can you take seriously the claims that they were really, really angered by the Black Lives Matter movement because they care so deeply about law and order and, and protecting law enforcement. Like, they don't. They don't believe any of that shit. It's all about red team, blue team, it's all about shirts and skins. You know, it's, it's sharks and jets. It's that all the way down. And so, you know, imagine being the US Capitol policeman. Michael Byrd right now, who is now, who was attacked, who faced a mob at the Capitol, was doing everything he could to try to defend, to do his job. And now the US Government is saying that we need to pay for his negligence. It is just a truly noxious, despicable move by this administration. And more is coming like, this is. This is where they're going. They have decided that they want to make sure people who are on their side get rewarded, even if they commit violent acts. And we saw it when we just saw recently, Enrique Tarrio got to visit with Trump down at Mar a Lago. It doesn't matter. You know, they might say they're after gang bangers. If you're a pro Trump gang leader, you get to go to a fancy dinner. If you're the family member of somebody that got those, part of the pro Trump mob, pro Trump gang, you might say the targeted police and targeted the Capitol. You get a million dollar payout, 5 million. This is how they're deciding to play it. We cannot let them have it any other way and try to spin it any other way and try to make it about any other broader principle. They have decided to weaponize law enforcement as an up for us versus them, where people on their side get rewarded, people on the other side get targeted. And so this is just the latest step in that and we'll be continuing to monitor it as it goes along. There's a great video over the weekend, my colleague Ben Parker talked to Michael Fanone about National Police Day. And Fanon has been so valiant and so steadfast in his advocacy on all this. I truly appreciate him. I hope people go and check out his video and go check out the other work done by some others. Harry Dunn is on Substack now, so go make sure to check those guys out and support them. That's the latest news. Credit also to Spencer Hu at the Washington Post, who had the breaking news on this story a couple hours ago. We will continue to monitor the latest. Make sure to tell your friends about the Bulwark. Come see us. Washington, D.C. world Pride, me and John Lovett, Sarah Longwell, some others will be supporting an actual and order effort, will be supporting the legal team backing some of the Venezuelans who have been disappeared to El Salvador. So would love to see you all there. And as you know, I'm always here in my room, in my hole. So I'll be back soon with the latest breaking news with tomorrow's edition of the podcast. We'll see you all then. Peace.