Political Retribution is The Real State of the Union

"… the United States Government is corrupt. The IRS is corrupt, the EPA is
corrupt, the Department of Justice is corrupt. They use their powers
selectively to chastise their political enemies. In a hyper-regulatory
state, there are laws against everything, and everyone is guilty of
being in breach of at least 300 of them at any hour of the day. I have
no use for Dinesh D'Souza, for example, but it seems obvious that he's
been set up as this season's Benghazi video maker. There are gazillions
of $20,000 campaign-finance infractions across America, but the only guy
that's been singled out is the fellow who made a hit anti-Obama movie."*

The Real State of the Union :: SteynOnline

Jan 28, 2014 by Mark Steyn

I wrote yesterday* about the present legal difficulties of one of my National Review shipmates from a cruise or two back:

I have no use for Dinesh D'Souza, for example, but it seems obvious that he's been set up as this season's Benghazi video maker. There are gazillions of $20,000 campaign-finance infractions across America, but the only guy that's been singled out is the fellow who made a hit anti-Obama movie.

Some readers demanded to know what I meant by that "no use" crack. Well, we disagreed over his appalling book a few years ago, and, on my brief acquaintanceship on that cruise, I found him somewhat unappealing. I don't dislike him as strongly as many other conservatives apparently do. But that's the point: We're not showing solidarity with D'Souza because we like him, but rather for the obvious point that civilized people do not gloat when overbearing state power descends unjustly and arbitrarily even on those they revile - a virtue that seems lost on the gleeful lefties. Powerline's John Hinderaker writes:

D'Souza is accused of contributing $20,000, more than the legal limit, to the Senate candidacy of his friend Wendy Long. The U.S. Attorney in New York announced a "zero tolerance" policy with regard to campaign finance, and D'Souza was arraigned in New York, handcuffed briefly, and released on $500,000 bond.

I was not aware of the handcuffs until John mentioned it, but it's true:

D'Souza's bail was set at $500,000 and he was released after promising that one financially responsible person would sign "a personal recognizance bond" within a week. The case was then adjourned until March 4. D'Souza spent six hours at the courthouse and was briefly handcuffed.

D'Souza, the filmmaker behind 2016: Obama's America, also must surrender his passport, adhere to pretrial supervision, make no new travel applications and restrict travel to the continental U.S. with prior approval.

D'Souza has pleaded not guilty.

-Please go to the links-