Trump is attempting to reform federal regulatory criminal law

The New Neo Posted on by

Wow. Just wow.

This was never on my radar screen for action by Trump. But it was on his:

On Friday, President Trump issued a new executive order with a remarkably broad scope and deep implications, under the title “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.” …

“The Code of Federal Regulations contains over 48,000 sections, stretching over 175,000 pages — far more than any citizen can possibly read, let alone fully understand. Worse, many carry potential criminal penalties for violations. The situation has become so dire that no one — likely including those charged with enforcing our criminal laws at the Department of Justice — knows how many separate criminal offenses are contained in the Code of Federal Regulations, with at least one source estimating hundreds of thousands of such crimes. Many of these regulatory crimes are “strict liability” offenses, meaning that citizens need not have a guilty mental state [otherwise known as mens rea] to be convicted of a crime.

“This status quo is absurd and unjust. It allows the executive branch to write the law, in addition to executing it. That situation can lend itself to abuse and weaponization by providing Government officials tools to target unwitting individuals. It privileges large corporations, which can afford to hire expensive legal teams to navigate complex regulatory schemes and fence out new market entrants, over average Americans. …

“It is the policy of the United States that … criminal enforcement of criminal regulatory offenses is disfavored … Agencies promulgating regulations potentially subject to criminal enforcement should explicitly describe the conduct subject to criminal enforcement, the authorizing statutes, and the mens rea standard applicable to those offenses.”

If I understand it correctly, this isn’t about – for example – laws passed by Congress. This is about laws executed by agencies which are under the executive branch rather than the legislative branch, and that’s why it might be constitutional for Trump to issue such an order concerning them.

And that indeed seems to be the case:

The first subtext of this executive order is federalism: moving ordinary criminal prosecution back to the states, after decades in which the list of federal crimes has grown so sharply that no one can possibly know them all. The second subtext is about constitutional order: passing what has amounted to lawmaking from the administrative state back to Congress.

The third piece of subtext is demystification …

This is potentially very big and very good, IMHO.

Had some connectivity issues today, but as of now they seem to be (knock wood!) resolved

The New Neo Posted on by

The blog had been going quite smoothly for a few months, but today it ran into that connectivity snag again. I spent some frustrating time talking to my hosting service about it. As often happens, they blamed it on something to do with my end, although of course they didn’t know what. At any rate, the problem suddenly resolved and I hope it stays that way.

The high cost of Democrat virtue-signaling on criminal illegal aliens

The New Neo Posted on by

Nearly two hundred illegal aliens have been arrested in DC. Read some of their criminal histories; it’s astounding that Democrat authorities previously refused to cooperate with ICE about these people, but it seems to have been standard operating procedure.

For example:

ICE added that many of the apprehensions were made “after local jurisdictions refused to honor immigration detainers and released the alien offenders back into their communities.”

They included “a 47-year-old illegally present Guatemalan alien whose criminal history includes drug possession, illegal reentry, aggravated assault, trespassing, disorderly conduct and sexual assault” and “a 25-year-old illegally present Guatemalan alien whose criminal history includes threat to kidnap, attempted possession of a prohibited weapon, threats to bodily harm and simple assault,” according to ICE.

What virtue are the Democrat authorities signaling by failing to allow ICE to deport such criminal illegal aliens, a separate category from mere illegal aliens who have violated the law by entering illegally? Is the virtue that of compassion? Is the virtue “do the opposite of whatever Republicans want, whatever it might be”? Is it Cloward-Piven chaos? Is it transgressive Sympathy For the Devil?

Just a few days ago I was speaking to a woman I know who insisted that even naturalized citizens who are not criminals or gang members are being rounded up. Although I had no desire to argue with this particular person, I had to say – as gently as I could – that that’s not what’s happening. She vociferously insisted it was indeed what is happening. Because it wasn’t an appropriate time or place to have a longer talk and point her to evidence to prove what I was saying, I didn’t pursue the issue. But it was an edifying experience for me to see how firmly convinced she was of her beliefs. This particular person is a big Rachel Maddow fan, and so I have to assume she has heard over and over that Trump rounds up anyone he wants with no attention to who it is or what the person may have done or why, but just through Trump’s and ICE’s pure evil and malevolence.

NOTE: In the same operation, ICE also served notices of inspection to 187 businesses, checking to see that their employees were legally allowed to work there.

Sally Quinn mourns the lost days of harmony and power along the Potomac

The New Neo Posted on by

[Hat tip: Ace.]

Why am I writing about Sally Quinn, of all people? She just wrote an essay that I find fascinating in the sense that it expresses feelings I’m pretty sure are common among the displaced power-wielders in Washington DC. More about that later; first, a bit of background.

Quinn was born in 1941. Her father was a Lt. General in the Army and her mother was known for cooking and entertaining when they lived in Washington DC. After college:

Quinn began at The Washington Post with minimal experience, and was reportedly called by Ben Bradlee after a report of her pajama party in celebration of the election to Congress of Barry Goldwater Jr. The job interview included the following exchange.

“Can you show me something you’ve written?” asked Managing Editor Benjamin Bradlee. “I’ve never written anything,” admitted Quinn. Pause. “Well,” said Bradlee, “nobody’s perfect.”

Quinn was an attractive blond and according to this 2005 article the married Bradlee was instantly smitten. They become a big DC power couple, probably the biggest, during the 1970s and for some time afterwards:

That was the ‘70s. If you were invited to Ben and Sally’s you were annointed. They never entertained all that much but when they did, it was perfect. Their New Year’s Eve parties were legendary for the eclectic mix of media, celebrity and political types. During the 80’s, they proved the adage that living well is the best revenge, buying a home in St. Mary’s County and continuing their various writing projects while raising son Quinn and quietly doing work for The Lab School and Children’s Hospital.

Somehow the spotlight was never very far from Ben and Sally, although they never courted it. Perhaps by this very casual approach to life and living, and the loyalty of friends and family, they have remained on most everyone’s A list. They are fun to be around. They know where the bodies are buried. They have staying power, and wicked senses of humor.

And if you ever find yourself seated next to one of them at dinner, you know you’ve arrived.

I very much doubt that “they never courted the spotlight” is a valid description; it actually seems an absurdity, given the facts of their lives. These were highly ambitious people and highly visible ones. Bradlee died about a decade ago, but Quinn is still writing. And that’s what called my attention yesterday: this essay of hers.

It’s a bit hard to characterize, because it’s a combination of so many things: prodigious entitlement that is so habitual it’s virtually unconscious; class snobbery; a rosy glow about a past comity in DC – including the Watergate years, which could hardly have been fun and games for Republicans but must have been great for the WaPo crew; the obligatory Trump-hatred and bile we’ve come to expect, and a sense of persecuted victimhood that’s ludicrous in one so – pardon the expression – privileged.

To take a few examples:

This spring Washington is a city in crisis. Physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. It’s as if the fragrant air were permeated with an invisible poison, as if we were silently choking on carbon monoxide. The emotion all around — palpable in the streets, the shops, the restaurants, in business offices, at dinner tables — is fear. People have gone from greeting each other with a grimace of anguish as they spout about the outrage of the day to a laugh to despair. It’s all so unbelievable that it’s hard to process, and it doesn’t stop.

Nobody feels safe. Nobody feels protected.

Jews in Paris or Warsaw after the Nazi takeover? No – just DC Democrats during the first months of Trump’s second term. Oh, the horror!

More:

This is a city where people seek and, if it all goes well for them, wield power. But today in Washington those who hold — or once held — the most power are often the most scared. It is not something they are used to feeling. I lived through the paranoia and vengefulness of Watergate. This time in Washington, it’s different. Nobody knows how this will end and what will happen to the country. What might happen to each of us.

The “paranoia and vengefulness of Watergate” – I guess she’s talking about Nixon? It’s not paranoia when they’re really out to get you.

This time, what’s different – IMHO – is that the MAGA Republicans mean business, in contrast to most Republicans of the past. The Deep State is in more trouble than it’s encountered in Quinn’s entire lengthy tenure as a Rich and Famous Person. Trump’s first term could be safely ignored, but not this:

Among once powerful lawyers, journalists, politicians, academics and lobbyists who have made up official Washington for the past few decades, the feeling is one of impotence, fear and frustration.

The hallmark of this administration is cruelty and sadism, vengefulness carried out with glee.

Unlike the lovefest towards Republicans that were the Obama and Biden years. No gleeful vengeance there, no sirree.

Speaking of paranoia:

“Everybody in Washington is being tested today,” says Leon Wieseltier, the editor of the literary review Liberties. “The question is: What can we do? It’s a time when we all have to ask: What am I capable of? It’s time for people to ask: What am I willing to die for?”

To die for? Does he think the Gulag is next? Or does he think the Resistance will call on him to to assassinate Trump? I’ve encountered these feelings of terrible danger and even threatened death among the more leftist of my friends, and I believe the feelings are rather commonplace in that set and not just among the formerly powerful.

Here’s an example of Quinn’s snobbery:

The traditional social culture of Washington is low key. Women here wear flats and blazers and shirtwaist dresses, informal haircuts and little makeup. Men, too, don’t dress to call attention to themselves. But now it’s all flash and Fox News. The Trump women can’t be missed in a room. They give off a Palm Beach, L.A. vibe.

Nouveau riche. How declasse.

And if you’re interested in Quinn’s acumen as reporter, here’s another passage from her essay. My interpolations are in brackets:

Even those who work for President Trump are scared [and I’m sure they’re all confiding in Sally Quinn about their fears – not]. The capricious and shambolic way he governed in his first 100 days has them all insecure in their jobs. [That’s the MSM line, but the first 100 days have been neither capricious nor shambolic, and it’s that which has put the fear into people like Quinn. The 100 days have been organized and high-speed, the product of a great deal of preparation. But Quinn repeats the agreed-on talking points.] Mike Waltz is out. [Out of one job and into another.] Bets are on as to how long Marco Rubio will remain in all his roles [Rubio seems to be in very good favor with Trump, and although he’s taken on Waltz’s role in addition, that was meant to be temporary for Rubio and expected to be temporary until someone new is appointed] and Pete Hegseth in his [seems fine too, so far]. Elon Musk is on his way out [another job that was said at the outset to be only for a few months and then out], though who knows whether he’ll be able to log back into the government’s most sensitive systems from wherever he is? [such fake concern for people’s privacy]

Quinn is in a bubble that’s impenetrable. She’s got a lot of company there.

Roundup

The New Neo Posted on by

So much news.

(1) Another Now It Can Be Told story:

Joe Biden’s physical deterioration was so severe in 2023 and 2024 that advisers privately discussed the possibility he’d need to use a wheelchair if he won re-election, CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson write in their new book, “Original Sin,” out May 20.

Why it matters: The discussions reflected the extent of the president’s declining health — particularly the significant degeneration of his spine — and his aides’ alarm over it as Biden sought a second term at age 81.

The conversations also reveal the White House’s determination to conceal the reality of Biden’s condition, at the risk of his own health, while he faced a tough re-election bid against Donald Trump.

Big deal. Yes, the optics would have been bad if Biden was is a wheelchair, but physical deterioration and its coverup is nearly irrelevant compared to his mental deterioration and its coverup.

It is some sort of deeply ironic joke that Jake Tapper wrote this book, but irony is the coin of the realm in recent politics.

(2) Inflation sinks to lowest level in four years.

The consumer price index, which measures the costs for a broad range of goods and services, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.3%, its lowest since February 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. The monthly reading was in line with the Dow Jones consensus estimate while the 12-month was a bit below the forecast for 2.4%.

Fancy that. Trump’s such a lucky son-of-a-gun.

(3) Democrat strategists blame Biden for just about everything – in particular their 2024 loss. But they had four long years to speak out and were silent. They didn’t mind dragging him over the finish line in 2020, propping him up for four years, promoting policies like men in women’s sports, trying to destroy Trump with lawfare, and pretending Harris was a great replacement. But when they lost in 2024, it was the old man’s fault. “He totally screwed us” says David Plouffe, one of Harris’ key advisors.

No, you screwed yourself, and tried to screw the American people. And you’ll keep trying.

(4) Trump talks on the phone with released hostage Edan Alexander, whose grandmother has called Trump a “good messenger of the Holy One.”

(5) Trump signs a $600 billion investment deal with the Saudis. He’s going to be going to Qatar and the UAE next, probably to announce other deals? The Qatar part in particular makes me uneasy, but I await details.

The Episcopal Church never met an immigrant it didn’t like …

The New Neo Posted on by

… except white South African Afrikaners. Here’s the story – or at least, part of the story:

In a striking move that ends a nearly four-decades-old relationship between the federal government and the Episcopal Church, the denomination announced on Monday (May 12) that it is terminating its partnership with the government to resettle refugees, citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa who have been classified as refugees by President Donald Trump’s administration.

“In light of our church’s steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step,” Rowe wrote. “Accordingly, we have determined that, by the end of the federal fiscal year, we will conclude our refugee resettlement grant agreements with the U.S. federal government.”

Sound racist – although these days by definition one can’t be racist against white people. But this is key, as well, and the situation is actually more complex that it at first appears:

The Trump administration has otherwise all but frozen the refugee program, with Afrikaners among the few — and possibly only — people granted entry as refugees since January, despite thousands from other countries hoping to enter the U.S. to avoid persecution and violence. Shortly after he was sworn in, Trump signed an executive order that essentially halted the refugee program and stopped payments to organizations that assist with refugee resettlement — including, according to one group, payments for work already performed.

I hadn’t heard about that; so much has happened so quickly that it’s hard to keep up with everything. So, why did Trump suspend this program, how long will it be suspended, where were the people previously coming from, how were they vetted, how many came in and how many are still coming in? Here’s a previous article on the subject, but a lot is left unanswered. Plus, I’d like to hear more from the Trump-friendly side, for a little balance.

Here’s an article that appears to be fairly neutral and to explain where the program was in mid-April of this year. From the looks of it, it seems the pause was temporary and the whole thing is an a period of transition, but it doesn’t answer my questions about who was previously served by the program and what the long-term goals of the Trump administration are.

Here’s the original suspension order, which suggests to me that it’s a response to the wholesale resettlement of huge numbers of refugees in single towns, such as the Haitians in Springfield who featured so prominently in Trump’s debate with Harris. Other than that, until the Episcopal reaction to the South Africans, there’s been little coverage of the issue except from the agencies that help refugees.

I also just discovered that in late March a federal court issued this ruling:

Yesterday evening, a federal court in Seattle issued a second preliminary injunction in Pacito v. Trump, finding the government’s efforts to terminate its agreements with refugee-serving agencies to be unlawful. The government attempted to terminate these agreements just one day after the court’s previous order to restore refugee processing and funding went into effect.

The refugee resettlement program has a decades-long history of bipartisan support and provides a beacon of hope for people seeking safety. On two separate occasions, the court has now found that the Trump administration cannot just end the program overnight. The lawsuit was filed by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) on behalf of Church World Service (CWS), HIAS, Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW), and nine impacted individuals.

The plot thickens.

It occurs to me that this insistence by the administration that white South Africans get fast-tracked, while others are waiting, could be an effort to get these agencies to do what the Episcopalians have done – that is, quit the program voluntarily.

I must say I don’t like this suspension of the program for so long. This is a fairly small program and it involves refugees who are supposedly fleeing truly dangerous situations. I have little doubt the program has been abused and potential refugees inadequately vetted in the past, but I’d like to see it reinstated with more safeguards. I also have no problem with including white Afrikaners who are in danger.

And speaking of deals

The New Neo Posted on by

There’s this explanation from Trump of the India/Pakistan ceasefire:

Simplicity itself.

And then there’s this, which I see as another opening move:

President Donald Trump declared Monday that the U.S. “will no longer tolerate profiteering and price gouging from Big Pharma” as he signed an executive order implementing what his administration is calling “most favored nations drug pricing.”

“The principle is simple – whatever the lowest price paid for a drug in other developed countries, that is the price that Americans will pay,” Trump said at the White House. “Some prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices will be reduced almost immediately by 50 to 80 to 90%.”

Trump said that “starting today, the United States will no longer subsidize the healthcare of foreign countries, which is what we were doing. We’re subsidizing others’ healthcare, the countries where they paid a small fraction of what for the same drug that what we pay many, many times more for and will no longer tolerate profiteering and price gouging from Big Pharma.”

I suspect – although I don’t know – that his goal is to even out the prices; in other words, to lower our prices and raise the prices in other countries, so that the disparity isn’t as great. For example, he also said this:

For years, pharmaceutical and drug companies have said that research and development costs were what they are, and for no reason whatsoever, they had to be borne by America alone,” Trump said. “Not anymore, they don’t.”

So it’s a question of who will bear the cost of innovation. I have no idea whether this order is enforceable, and whether it will have the desired effect.

But I’ve long felt that the situation is more complicated than the “stick it to Big Pharma” people think, and I believe Trump is aware of that. For example:

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America trade group opposes the order, saying, “This Foreign First Pricing scheme is a bad deal for American patients.”

“Importing foreign prices will cut billions of dollars from Medicare with no guarantee that it helps patients or improves their access to medicines,” the group’s president, Stephen Ubl, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “It will jeopardize the hundreds of billions our member companies are planning to invest in America, making us more reliant on China for innovative medicines.”

“To lower costs for Americans, we need to address the real reasons U.S. patients are paying more for their medicines. We are the only country in the world that lets PBMs, insurers and hospitals take 50% of every dollar spent on medicines,” Ubl also said. “In fact, hospital markups in 340B and the rebates and fees paid to middlemen in the U.S. often exceed the total cost of medicines oversees. Giving more of this money to patients will lower their medicine costs and reduce the gap with European prices.”

Not my field of expertise. Have at it in the comments.

Freed hostage Edan Alexander is now in Israel

The New Neo Posted on by

Wonderful news. Hostage Edan Alexander, who is a citizen of the US and Israel, and who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, has been released and is in Israeli hands:

In a video released by the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu says the release was “achieved thanks to our military pressure and the diplomatic pressure applied by President Trump,” calling it “a winning combination.”

Netanyahu adds that he spoke with Trump, who reaffirmed his commitment to Israel and promised to “continue working closely” to achieve the war’s goals: freeing all hostages and defeating Hamas.

“These goals go hand in hand,” Netanyahu says in the video.

Our wonderful MSM has been promoting the idea that there’s a rift between Trump and Netanyahu. You can find a ton of articles to that effect. Although I doubt they agree on everything (including the value of negotiating with Iran), I doubt any disagreements rise to the level of a “rift.” For what it’s worth, Ambassador Huckabee has strongly denied the rumors:

“He spent more time with the prime minister of Israel than he has any other world leader, so I would just say to people, ‘Relax, calm down, Donald Trump loves you, there’s no doubt about that, he’s got your back,’” Mike Huckabee told Israeli Channel 12 on Saturday night. “He is the same Donald Trump that, four years as president, did more for Israel than any other American president.”

As for Edan Alexander, first reports are that “suffered severe torture and was held handcuffed in a cage for an extended period of time.” Alexander was in the IDF when he was taken, and so he probably received especially severe treatment at the hands of his captors.

So, what price does Israel and/or the US have to pay to get Alexander back? It’s not completely clear, although Hamas doesn’t ordinarily give up such prizes for free. Supposedly his release is “unconditional,” but obviously something is expected. The question is what. Everything is speculation at this point except that it’s pretty obvious it comes just as Trump is about to visit Doha.

Edan Alexander isn’t the only American held by Hamas, but he’s probably the last living American hostage there:

Four additional American citizens remain captive in Gaza: Omer Neutra, Itay Chen and dual citizens Gadi Haggai and Judith Weinstein-Haggai, who are believed to be deceased. Talks are reportedly underway for the return of their bodies, with Boehler confirming that the U.S. has requested their repatriation.

Welcome home, Edan Alexander.

The China deal – for now

The New Neo Posted on by

Trump certainly keeps those announcements coming. Here’s the CNN spin on the deal with China revealed today:

The United States and China agreed Monday to drastically roll back tariffs on each other’s goods for an initial 90-day period, in a surprise breakthrough that has de-escalated a punishing trade war and buoyed global markets.

The announcement, which was made in a joint statement, comes after a weekend of marathon trade negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland by officials from the world’s two largest economies, during which both sides touted “substantial progress.”

Both sides recognize “the importance of a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship,” they said in the statement.

Global investors are cheering a thaw in the trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump’s massive tariffs, which have roiled financial markets, disrupted supply chains and stoked recession fears.

A “surprise breakthrough”? Most people on the right are not the least bit surprised, having considered the “punishing trade war” an opening move from Trump. In fact, I don’t even think that CNN is surprised – they might be disappointed, perhaps, because I believe they’d rather “stoke” more “recession fears.”

At any rate, this is probably still early on in the jockeying for position between the US and China. It’s a good sign, however.

Some details:

The mutual tariff revisions will be imposed by May 14. Trump’s 20% fentanyl-related levies on China, imposed in February and March, will stay. However, each side has agreed to lower “reciprocal” tariffs on the other by 115 percentage points for 90 days.

That effectively means the US will temporarily lower its overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China will cut its levies on American imports from 125% to 10%, according to the joint statement.

Under the agreement, China will also suspend or cancel its non-tariff countermeasures imposed on the US since April 2.

And here’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent:

The consensus from both delegations is neither side wants to be decoupled, and what have occurred with these very high tariffs … was an equivalent of an embargo, and neither side wants that. We do want trade. We want more balance in trade. And I think both sides are committed to achieving that.

Statements by the Chinese were similarly positive.