Alex Murdaugh and Kash Patel Stress the System
This week, former attorney Alex Murdaugh, a twice convicted murderer, had his homicide convictions overturned. The court clerk had violated the rules and tainted the jury pool. If you watched the trial, you likely feel certain he murdered his wife and son. He also ruined the lives of many vulnerable citizens in pursuit of a dollar.
The trial cost the state of South Carolina $488,000, according to a report by Live 5 News in 2023. Here’s the itemized breakdown:
Attorney General costs: $264,316
Travel and lodging: $192,000
Colleton County: $141,000
Experts: $64,000
These costs do not include the impact to SLED, the Sheriff’s Office, the court’s operations, jury costs, grand jury work, or the financial crimes prosecutions. All told, Murdaugh’s trials cost the state of South Carolina several millions of dollars, no doubt.
FBI Director, Kash Patel, also testified before Congress last week. When asked about his conduct pertaining to a defamation lawsuit he filed, he was dismissive, combative, and angry. Shortly thereafter, compilations of his numerous appearances, at least six interviews, surfaced. They show him laughing about drinking, making insincere jokes about telling the President of the United States he needed Sundays off to drink and watch hockey, and really loving his newfound celebrity status.
He also joked about drinking with “Devin,” presumably Devin Nunes-the nation’s current CIA Director.
Terrorists don’t care it is Sunday. Every time something devastating happens, the guy just runs through at close range or climbs up a ladder in broad daylight. Have some respect for the uniformed forces, who are accountable to the American people every day. They risk their lives more often, in more profound ways, and with more dire consequences. They are also the people who learn how to recite the law directly and without emotion. They adjust to every amendment to the law with professionalism. They don’t need to know you’re cool.
Patel then joked about demanding subpoenas while multitasking a beer crawl. Subpoenas are legal documents issued by attorneys, agencies, or the court. They affect a person’s or entity’s liberty. A subpoena is a legal demand for time, information, documents, or access. It imposes on privacy, contracts, business operations, and personal and professional time. If someone does not abide by a subpoena, there are legal consequences. If you are issued a subpoena, the court has decided you have something that others are legally entitled to and you must stop your life and cooperate or face punishment.
Not only do you risk seriousness and dignity when you joke about wielding legal authority, you threaten the integrity of the system itself. South Carolina will spend another couple of million dollars retrying Alex Murdaugh because of an officer’s malfeasance. It is not the right thing to do to take this as a challenge, to try to push the limits of Patel’s social transgressions to prove where the line is. We know your comments may not lead to an overturned conviction in this instance. We know your comments aren’t the proximate cause of that officer’s injury or of Karoline Leavitt’s undue stress a week before giving birth.
Everyone also knows you live a life that may include having drinks with the Cabinet. It is the unprofessional, unserious, childish, and pretentious manner.
Americans think Patel is pandering to his peers in Washington, even his subordinates within the Bureau, and we think he is selling us a used car. You cannot get mad at the American people. Point taken, the oath to the Constitution is not a suggestion. Congress is not out to get you, Mr. Patel. They represent the people, and their oversight is minimal as it is.
Please refrain from disrespecting this country, from disrespecting American citizens, especially if we can easily glean when dishonesty abounds.
