Recent revelations about Hunter Biden and his agreement to accept responsibility for failure to pay tax on his income has diverted attention away from John Durham’s report on the FBI, the Department of Justice and the investigations of Donald Trump for “collusion” with Russia.
In John Locke’s “Second Treatise on Civil Government,” use of the government’s police powers to persecute political rivals was cause for removal of that government and its replacement by another.
In the Declaration of Independence, one of the abuses of power on the part of King George III, an abuse which justified termination of his rule, was: “He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices and the amount and payment of their salaries.”
Under the Caux Round Table Principles for Government, public office, such as held by employees of the Department of Justice and the FBI, is a public trust:
Power brings responsibility. Power is a necessary moral circumstance in that it binds the actions of one to the welfare of others.
Therefore, the power given by public office is held in trust for the benefit of the community and its citizens. Officials are custodians only of the powers they hold. They have no personal entitlement to office or the prerogatives thereof.
And justice cannot be provided if the rule of law is ignored:
The civic order and its instrumentalities shall be impartial among citizens without regard to condition, origin, sex or other fundamental, inherent attributes. Yet, the civic order shall distinguish among citizens according to merit and desert where rights, benefits or privileges are best allocated according to effort and achievement, rather than as birthrights.
The civic order shall provide speedy, impartial and fair redress of grievances against the state, its instruments and other citizens and aliens.
The rule of law shall be honored and sustained, supported by honest and impartial tribunals and legislative checks and balances.
Please join us for an in-person round table over lunch at noon on Tuesday, August 15 at the Landmark Center in St. Paul for an in-person round table consideration of the state of justice in the U.S. today.
Joining us will be Matt Bostrom, a Caux Round Table fellow and former sheriff of Ramsey County, to share his reflections on contemporary law enforcement best practices.
Registration and lunch will begin at 11:30 am and the event at noon.
Cost to attend is $20, which you can pay at the door.
Lunch will be provided by Afro Deli.
To register, please email jed@cauxroundtable.net.
The event will last about an hour and a half.