prosecute? forget about it.

Even I have been reluctant to criticize other prosecutors, since there are often other issues of which observers are ignorant.

But the malfeasance and dishonesty of the new District Attorney in Portland, Mike Schmidt, demands comment. The producers at KOIN said there was too much fear about speaking out, and that nobody else was willing to go on air and say what I did on the record.

Schmidt worked less than five years as a junior prosecutor in Portland before taking a series of jobs in the state bureaucracy. He was elected by a wide margin in May, with only a 47% voter turnout, and was scheduled to take office in January. Schmidt's predecessor, Rod Underhill, had endorsed Schmidt's opponent and abandoned his post early, likely so that he wouldn't be associated with Schmidt's positions.

Schmidt had  converted to George Soros-like dogma which calls for DAs not to prosecute many crimes. He has already announced a long list of crimes, even felonies, that he won't prosecute. He's refused to file charges in over 90% of the arrests made of rioters in Portland over the last 3 months.

My quotes from KOIN's November 1 story ::

“If the prosecutor decides there will be no justice, there will be no justice”
JOSH MARQUIS, FORMER CLATSOP COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Longtime prosecutor and former Oregon District Attorneys Association president Josh Marquis slammed Schmidt’s policy as “virtue signaling” and inherently biased because it treats one class of defendants differently than others.

“It basically says the prosecutor has a particular set of politics. And although prosecutors are elected,” Marquis said, “your only allegiance is to the law. Never to any political party or political movement.”
. . .
Marquis, who spent more than two decades as a prosecutor, says the choice not to prosecute is unique because no one has the authority to overrule that decision. If a prosecutor is too aggressive, a judge or jury can strike down the case. But no one can force a prosecutor to bring charges.

“If the prosecutor decides there will be no justice, there will be no justice,” Marquis said.

Without prosecution, Marquis suspects the demonstrations could continue indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s election. The core group that continues to show up most nights, dressed head to toe in black, is small and unappeasable, he said.

“The endgame is the riot”
“There is no endgame apparently other than the destruction of order and civil society in Portland,” Marquis said. “(After the election) do they continue to riot? I think unfortunately the answer is they probably will because for them, the endgame is the riot.”

Read the full story on the KOIN website.