Martin Hyde, a congressional candidate from the Sarasota area, has released a public apology following a recent traffic stop where he threatened to end the career of the officer who pulled him over.

“I tried to bully her,” Hyde said of the Feb. 14 traffic stop. “I am not proud of it.”
— WFLA, 2/23/22

“Not proud of it” because he was being a pompous jerk or because video of his belligerence was capture and gleefully shared by the media?

HuffPo: GOP House Candidate Seen Berating Cop, Calling Her ‘Immigrant’ During Traffic Stop
Newsweek: GOP House Candidate Martin Hyde Caught Threatening Cop During Traffic Stop
NewsOne: Florida GOP Candidate Goes Full Anti-‘Back The Blue’ In Threatening ‘Immigrant’ Cop’s Job Over Traffic Stop

Hyde appears to be one of the class of political people (whom he later bitches about) who get into politics, not to be public servants defending the values of his constituents, but to rise in the ranks to the sole personal benefit of themselves. Of course, Hyde’s actions now reflect badly on the Republican Party as a whole during a time when conservatives are routinely mocked by the Democrat left for being supporters of law enforcement.

In the video, the female officer explains to Hyde that he is being pulled over for speeding and texting while driving. Less than 30 seconds into their interaction, Hyde says to the officer, “you know who I am, right?” He then tells her, “I’ll just call the chief, how about that?” The video shows Hyde question the officer’s nationality when she returns with citations for speeding, texting while driving and failure to produce a registration. “Is it your Russian immigrant status that makes you talk to people like this?” Hyde asked.

Even after being busted and supposedly acknowledging is wrongdoing, Hyde still tried to offset his actions meaning he really hasn’t learned anything from this episode.

Hyde is challenging Rep. Vern Buchanan in a Republican primary for the chance to represent Florida’s 16th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He said if he wasn’t running for public office, he’s not sure his recent interaction with officers would be a big deal.

After mounting pressure, Martin Hyde did what busted Democrats seldom do: he appears to be dropping out of the race, but not before playing the martyr and throwing slings and arrows at detractors AND his party…..

I am sorry because in a democracy without congressional term limits, I have taken away the opportunity for people to make changes in a stagnant system that rewards incumbency over innovation and true local representation.

I was prepared to use my limited resources to mount a congressional campaign based on equity as opposed to elitism – which is the irony of the manner of my demise.

I hope that the hundreds of calls that I got on my cellphone – from all over the United States – telling me what a fat, entitled person I am will not only get me back to eating properly, but to also be mindful that it is how we are at our worst that defines our progress as adults.

I will end on a positive note – positive, that is, in terms of being liberating because I will not be constrained by towing the party line going forward.

The Sarasota County Republican Party is controlled by a small group of self-appointed elites and special interests that I have never liked – and now I can say that. All of the current statehouse representatives, with the exception of one, are from wealthy, influential families who used their money to get them into office. All of them crave higher office despite doing nothing to have earned the elected offices that they now hold. And until we do something about this form of elitism, my childish behavior will pale in comparative importance.
— Martin Hyde, 2/25/22

Martin Hyde is clearly someone who (again) was not properly vetted, ingratiated himself within the conservative elite after insulting their supporters, to the delight of a seasoned-red-meat media that gives scant attention to Democrats who’ve done the same, if not worse.

In a letter published in the Herald-Tribune during Donald Trump’s initial bid for President, Martin Hyde wrote that Trump was “wretched,” — synonymous with “vile,” “odious,” and “worthless” — and he said he was “horrified” by the “bigotry and bullying” of Trump supporters.

Hyde’s anti-Trump rhetoric clearly wasn’t enough to dissuade Roger Stone from turning down a five-figure monthly retainer from a candidate who ended last quarter with a paltry $6,283 cash-on-hand. But Stone wasn’t the only pardoned MAGA celebrity to rebuke Trump and get behind Hyde. Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI (twice!), also endorsed the million-to-one shot congressional candidate.
— Florida Politics, 11/15/21

Let’s hope this is the end of the line for people like Hyde. We have enough people like this in the party, not to mention politics in general, and their ascendance only gives the appearance of acceptance.

Such is what happened when so-called joke writers for Saturday Night Live took aim on Roger Stone….

This is not to assume these writers have a modicum of compassion when it comes to conservative noncombatants, but a little research on an intended target would reveal much.

Roger Stone has revealed emotional details of wife Nydia’s desperate cancer battle in an exclusive DailyMail.com interview, saying: ‘We are both devastated.’
— Daily Mail, 6/18/21

While it’s not an immediate impulse, conservatives don’t bask in the enjoyment of the pain (and or death) of their political opponents and their family members. Certainly gang rape is not near the top of their list.

Steve Bannon, a former chief White House strategist, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced to a combined 7.5 years in prison, but he was released to home confinement in May because of the health risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic in federal prison.

Roger Stone, a longtime Republican political operative who advised Trump during the campaign, was convicted of lying to Congress and obstructing its investigation into Russian election meddling and sentenced to three years in prison. Last month, Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime confidant, just days before Stone was set to report to prison.

Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to investigators about meetings with Russians while in the White House. He cooperated with Mueller under a plea agreement.

George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, served 14 days in prison and was ordered to pay a $9,500 fine and complete 200 hours of community service.
— USA Today, 8/20/20

We know that some of these people were set up by federal law enforcement and in at least one case, documents that could have exonerated one was altered and submitted to give a false impression of guilt. The person who committed that breach of trust and federal crime is now asking for leniency so he doesn’t have to go to prison.

Kevin Clinesmith made a grievous mistake. By altering a colleague’s email, he cut a corner in a job that required far better of him. He failed to live up to the FBI’s and his own high standards of conduct. And he committed a crime. Kevin pled guilty and accepts full responsibility. He deeply regrets his conduct and apologizes to all those who have been affected—including his former colleagues, the FBI, the DOJ, the Court, the public, and his family.

Not specifically to Carter Page; the man he tried to have imprisoned by his “grievous mistake”. Now, cue the violins….

Since the inception of the government’s investigation, Kevin has been devastated personally and professionally. And the financial and emotional costs of this ordeal have had a profound impact on him and his family.

As a result of his conduct, Kevin has lost his career and professional identity. He no longer works for the FBI and his conviction likely precludes him from ever working for the federal government again, let alone in his chosen field of law enforcement and intelligence, which was his true passion since college. Moreover, Kevin has lost his livelihood. His non-attorney job prospects are also bleak. For one thing, he will likely be unable to qualify for a security clearance, which will significantly hinder his ability to obtain a private sector role relating to national security, where his skills and competencies lie. Indeed, since leaving the FBI, despite his best efforts Kevin has been unable to find work. As a result, he and his family have and will continue to suffer financially, as evidenced by their negative monthly cash flow.

Michael Flynn would probably ask Clinesmith how it feels?

A sentence that includes incarceration is therefore unnecessarily harsh because it would expose Kevin to a greater risk of severe illness caused by COVID-19. On the other hand, a sentence of probation—which would be the most appropriate sentence even if there were no pandemic—would limit the risks that COVID-19 presents to Kevin as well as prison inmates and staff.
— Sentencing memo for Kevin Clinesmith, 12/3/20

When Clinesmith altered a federal document intent on framing Carter Page, did he consider the potential prison time he be sentencing an innocent man to serve? With all the lawyering-up and the costs associated with having to defend himself, did Clinesmith consider Page had suffered enough? Did Clinesmith consider Page’s life being “devastated” and his reputation ruined?

Obviously not, as Clinesmith’s action dictated. These actions, along with the persecution of those in the Trump orbit, show that those involved with the attempted sabotage of his 2016 campaign and presidency had no inhibitions when it came to ruining the livlihoods of those they sought to attack and showed no restraint when it came to their ability to deprive the politically innocent of their freedom.

People like Peter Strzok, Andrew McCabe, John Brennan, James Clapper, and especially Robert Mueller (who has a documented record of intentionally sending the innocent to prison), are horrible human beings. They have no problem sleeping at night after knowing they can weaponize their personal politics and use the power of federal law enforcement to financially ruin their accused but also technically sentence some to death in prison just because they can.

Clinesmith deserves no leniency because deliberate failure to upload the laws and Constitution of the United States should be considered the callous breaking of a blood oath. Should the day ever come where the #resistance coup-plotters ever face long-overdue justice, they should be sentenced harshly, without mercy, and to the fullest extent of the law.

UPDATE

The two-tier justice system strikes again.

Former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, 38, received the sentence of 12 months probation (and 400 hours community service) from U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg Friday during a video hearing.

Clinesmith admitted that in June 2017 he sent an altered email to an FBI agent that indicated a target of court-ordered FBI surveillance, former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, was “not a source” for the Central Intelligence Agency. The statement, passed along as the FBI was applying for a third extension of surveillance of Page, made Page’s actions seem more suspicious by downplaying his past cooperation with the CIA.

The sentencing hearing featured an impassioned speech from Page, in which the energy industry analyst complained that his life was turned upside down by the media firestorm that followed public disclosure of the fact that he was a focus of the FBI probe into potential Russian influence on the Trump campaign.
— Politico, 1/29/21

They can make the lives of Americans hell but we can’t make their lives any more uncomfortable than necessary.

Rep. Devin Nunes and other Republicans blasted the probation sentence with no prison time for ex-FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who pleaded guilty to fraudulently altering a CIA email during the FBI’s flawed pursuit of surveillance against former Trump campaign associate Carter Page.

Nunes, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who unearthed a host of problems with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act process in the Trump-Russia investigation, told the Washington Examiner that “once again, we see a two-tiered system of justice where average Americans get investigated and imprisoned based on fake media narratives like ‘Russian collusion’ while government officials who perpetuated these abuses get off scot-free.” He added: “The FBI, DOJ, and judicial system need to regain Americans’ trust, and this absurd sentencing won’t help.”. 

Other Republicans also expressed outrage at the judge’s decision.

“This sentence is absolutely despicable,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told the Examiner.

“An FBI agent falsified evidence in one of the Bureau’s most important investigations ever and a slap on the wrist isn’t going to cut it,” Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said in a statement.

Sasse added, “this isn’t traffic court” and argued, “America only works if the truth matters, if lying has consequences, and if public servants are held accountable for breaking the laws.”
— Washington Examiner, 1/29/21

See how it works?