Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) demanded that the Justice Department investigate a Washington Post journalist who called for “resistance” should President Trump get elected in 2024.
Vance sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of State Antony Blinken claiming an op-ed written by editor-at-large Robert Kagan suggested “open rebellion” in order to prevent a Trump “dictatorship.”
Kagan said “resistance could come from the governors of predominantly Democratic states such as California and New York through a form of nullification. States with Democratic governors and statehouses could refuse to recognize the authority of a tyrannical federal government.”
“That is always an option in our federal system,” he said. Click here to read the entire opinion piece.
Vance was astounded by Kagan’s assertions and fired off a letter to the Secretary of State as well as the Attorney General. The letter read in part:
“I wish to address to your attention a recent opinion piece published in the pages of a widely-circulated American newspaper. Based on my review of public charging documents that the Department of Justice has filed in courts of law, I suspect that one or both of you might characterize this article as an invitation to “insurrection,” a manifestation of criminal “conspiracy,” or an attempt to bring about civil war.
“After declaring that the odds of an American dictatorship in the next few years are “pretty good” and that “[t]hose who hope to be saved [from dictatorship] by a U.S. military devoted to the protection of the Constitution are living in a fantasyland,” writer Robert Kagan—an editor at large at The Washington Post—proceeded to the conclusion that a second Trump presidency would justify secession, treason, and (likely) political violence…
“Excuse me? I must have missed that day in civics class. Our system of federalism prescribes a robust role for state governments and often allows for local resolution of local matters. But “[t]he Constitution, in all its provisions, looks to an indestructible Union.” “[F]ederal authority is supreme,” and “arguments by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson for state nullification . . . have long since [been] rejected.” Never mind that our country endured the horror of civil war hoping to put to bed the idea that states can ignore lawful federal authority when it inconveniences them. According to Robert Kagan, the prospect of a second Donald Trump presidency is terrible enough to justify open rebellion against the United States, along with the political violence that would inevitably follow…
Sen. Vance
He also called on the Biden Administration to address the following questions:
- Will the Department of Justice open an investigation into Robert Kagan for potential violations of 18 U.S.C. § 241, 18 U.S.C. § 2383, or any other federal criminal statute? If not, what factors counsel against such an investigation? Why were those factors inapplicable in President Trump’s case?
- Does the Department of Justice agree with Robert Kagan that, should they perceive federal authority to be tyrannical, the states of California and New York would be free to flout the federal government?
- How does the Department of Justice distinguish between heated political rhetoric and evidence of a conspiracy to violate rights or rebel against the United States? In the view of the Department of Justice, could a demand for “nullification” or secession “intimidate” a voter into changing his behavior at the ballot box?
- Will the State Department review Victoria Nuland’s security clearance in light of her husband’s call for rebellion against the United States? If not, why not?”
“How does the Department of Justice distinguish between heated political rhetoric and evidence of a conspiracy to violate rights or rebel against the United States?” he asked. “In the view of the Department of Justice, could a demand for ‘nullification’ or secession ‘intimidate’ a voter into changing his behavior at the ballot box?”
Vance also noted that Kagan is married to Victoria Nuland, the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. He wondered if her “close relationship with her husband might compromise her judgment about the best interests of the United States.”
“According to Robert Kagan, the prospect of a second Donald Trump presidency is terrible enough to justify open rebellion against the United States, along with the political violence that would inevitably follow,” he added.