The Secret Police Are Here
Trump is losing on policy and the law. But he’s winning on power.
1. Masked Men
Dan Goldman represents the 10th Congressional District of New York. Before he entered Congress he was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. He has spent most of his professional life working hand-in-hand with law enforcement. He’s not a show-pony or an activist. He’s a law-and-order guy.
Three days ago he spoke to the media about his interactions with agents purporting to represent the Department of Homeland Security. You can watch his no-nonsense speech here, but I’m going to give you a transcript just in case:
Goldman:
Let me focus on some of the interactions I had with the ICE agents. I was a federal prosecutor for ten years. . . . I worked with Department of Homeland Security, I worked with ICE agents, I worked with Homeland Security’s investigations. I have never seen any plainclothes officer wearing a mask. And I asked them, “Why are you wearing a mask?”
One person told me, “Because it’s cold.”
I asked him if he would testify to that under oath. And he walked away and wouldn’t respond to me.
Another person admitted that they’re wearing masks so that they are not caught on video.
And my question to them is: If what you are doing is legitimate, is lawful, is totally above-board, why do you need to cover your face?
Law enforcement officers do not cover their face.
And in fact the Trump administration is cracking down on universities for allowing protesters to wear masks.
So apparently it is not okay to wear a mask if you are protesting the government. But it is okay if you are the government to wear masks in order to shield your face from the public.
There are only two kinds of society in which armed agents of the government routinely conceal their identities:
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