“There was a time–not long ago–when we could say with certainty: ‘Crime does not pay.’ That time is over.

Under a new Trump Administration “incentive plan,” convicted Jan. 6 defendants could receive payments from a $1.776 billion Justice Department Anti�’Weaponization Fund. The proposal rests on the baseless claim that these individuals were “victimized” by politically motivated federal investigations or prosecutions–despite no evidence supporting such an allegation..

So today, crime doesn’t just pay–our own government is cutting checks to the people who break the law.

Donald Trump abandoned the very police officers who protected our elected representatives, Vice President Pence, and the Capitol — the People’s House. Multiple investigations have concluded that his own words and actions on January 6 helped ignite the attack, and that he stood by and did nothing as the violence unfolded on live television.

Now, instead of standing with law enforcement officers, Trump, himself a convicted felon, is elevating and celebrating the convicted felons who tried to overturn a lawful, certified election.

Some people frame this as a stark reversal of his stated support for “law and order,” and news reports have highlighted the tension between his treatment of the officers and his praise for those convicted of attacking them. Under this administration, the gap between us and a banana republic is shrinking fast — the main difference is that the banana republics grow way more bananas.

Even with the crushing cost of living, the quagmire in Iran, the daily corruption scandals, and the Epstein files cover�’up, 83% of Republicans are still clinging to Donald Trump like someone who can’t walk away from a toxic relationship.

In the words of an unknown astute observer: “When insanity becomes commonplace, the alphabet demands a sequel — because 26 letters simply aren’t enough to describe the chaos that currently passes for daily life in the United States under Donald J. Trump.”

TIM MANNELLO

Williamsport

Submitted by email