Trump Convicted: What The Hell Just Happened?

In this special mini-episode, Matt Bender takes us through a historical lens to draw parallels between the tactics of Lavrentiy Beria under Stalin's regime and the recent conviction of former President Donald Trump in New York. Matt unpacks the chilling quote, "Show me the man, and I'll show you the crime," to explore how power structures have used legal systems to suppress dissent and opposition throughout history.

Matt delves into the presumption of innocence enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, contrasting it with Beria's method of fabricating crimes to imprison millions. He raises questions about the integrity of modern legal proceedings and the broader implications for American democracy. Drawing on historical examples from Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, and other oppressive regimes, Matt warns of the dangers of villainizing dissent and the potential consequences for ordinary citizens.

This episode is a call to action for unity and vigilance against the encroaching power structures that seek to divide and control. With references to Martin Niemöller's poignant words and a passionate plea for justice, Matt emphasizes the importance of standing together against tyranny.

Don't miss this thought-provoking episode of The Redacted Podcast, where history meets modern-day challenges in a gripping narrative that urges us all to stay informed and united.

Chapters

• 0:01 Presumption of Innocence Under Attack
• 10:53 United Against Injustice

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Show me the man and I'll show you the crime. That was a quote by Lavrentiy Burya, who served with the Soviet secret police under Joseph Stalin all the way up until his death in 1953. That man was credited with the expansion of the infamous Soviet gulags that were used to imprison and torture all of Stalin's political rivals and opponents. From the Redacted Podcast, I'm Matt Bender, and this is a special mini-episode. What the Hell Just Happened, thank you. Former President Trump was convicted in New York in an unprecedented and unusual case. By all accounts, the quote I read at the beginning seemed to fit, given the circumstances, and I'm not going to get into the party politics or legal specifics of the case. A lot of people have already done that. I wanted to do something different, a history lesson perhaps. So before you turn off this episode and unsubscribe it, at least give it a chance and hear me out. So what Buria meant by that quote the one that he loved to brag about so much is that he would first find the target or the man, and then he would find or even fabricate the crime after the fact, the whole while presuming the man guilty and just filling in the blanks later. It was an effective tactic to the tune of 20 million prisoners over Stalin's tenure, 2 million of which would die in those camps. The fact is, most of those 20 million prisoners were there simply for opposing Stalin's regime. By stark contrast under the United States Constitution. By stark contrast, under the United States Constitution, we have this presumption of innocence, and that comes from our 5th, 6th and 14th Amendments. This was decided in a famous case Coffin v US.

Speaker 1: 2:47

Unlike Buria's method, us prosecutions are supposed to start anyways. With the discovery or reporting of a crime, there's an investigation to find out or confirm the identity of the perpetrator and collect evidence to prove his or her guilt. In the case of Donald Trump, that clearly didn't happen. Love him or hate him, you can't deny that. Now I don't like to get political on my show and, frankly, team sport, party politics and talking heads, social media influencers and political pundits just kind of make me sick. The disgusting instigators that brought about this mess in American politics in the first place. But this is something more than that. At the present time, I do have a platform, a modest one at that, and although the powers that be have even tried to shut us down a few times already, I feel a sense of duty to use my platform in an instance like this to call out the evil that I see in the world, the injustice. That's the whole reason I started this show To give the little guy a place to talk, to decentralize those narratives that the few seem to control.

Speaker 1: 3:54

I served this nation in a time of war in the US Army and spent time in Afghanistan. I have young children and family and friends. I care about that. Live in this country. I have businesses here that I depend on for survival, so I care about that. Live in this country. I have businesses here that I depend on for survival. So I care a lot about what happens here, as most of us probably do.

Speaker 1: 4:14

But the truth is many in Soviet Russia supported that mass imprisonment at the time. They were made to believe by the media and government that the offenders were scoundrels set to destroy their country. The ordinary folks had jobs and families to protect, so speaking out against the powers that be could result in censorship, ridicule or, worse, to be counted among those in the gulag. This isn't just Soviet Russia. The same could be said about Nazi Germany or Maoist China, north Korea and every other oppressive regime that has ever existed, villainizing and trying to silence dissent and opposition by using the power of law is not new by any means, and it's happening right before our eyes. Martin Niemöller was a German Lutheran pastor during World War II and in the 1930s. In the early part anyway, he was actually sympathetic and he sided with Hitler and rather agreed with his Nazi ideology. But after Hitler came to power and he saw how he used that power to crush his opposition and dissent, martin Niemöller actually became an outspoken critic of the oppressive regime. Niemöller spent the last eight years in concentration camps and is credited with writing the following after his experience First they came for the communist and I did not speak out because I was not a communist.

Speaker 1: 5:54

Then they came for the socialist and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. And then they came for the trade unionist and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. But then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. Now I know that whether it be social media or the banking system, corporatism, government or the law, eventually they're going to come for me too, the way things are going.

Speaker 1: 6:40

I'm independent, unplugged, unsponsored. I'm not part of their system. I give a voice to the ordinary people and I oppose the celebrity class. The ordinary people and I oppose the celebrity class. They shadow, ban me and cancel me and try to make my life difficult every single chance they get. They don't like me and it's only a matter of time. They'll come for you too. This isn't conspiracy. This isn't new. It's all been done before and this trial is a big step forward towards that. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. That's a quote attributed to many authors dating back thousands of years, and it's kind of a basic concept of human nature.

Speaker 1: 7:30

I think it's blatantly obvious in today's world that there's a status quo the 1%, the system, the man or whatever you want to call it. There's a group text message among the powers that be that decide on stock markets and election results, global affairs and wars, and you or I are not part of it, and they like it that way, and they aren't even trying to hide it anymore. They're brazen and sloppy in their tyranny. They don't care about your race, gender, sexual orientation or even your political party. They supersede all of that and they only use it as a tool when it's convenient. They only care about power and keeping that power, and they will crush anyone who stands in their way. Those who toe the line, so to speak, will be allowed to exist. For now, anyway, these are the same old clowns in our history books, just wearing different makeup, and they think we're so dumb and naive and that we can't see the man behind the curtain. We can. This power, this man, this thing, this system. It doesn't have headquarters or membership cards or monthly meetings. It's not officially organized in the literal sense, but it comes together naturally.

Speaker 1: 9:08

The way corruption and power gravitate towards each other. You know it, you feel it, you see it. It's the banks that foreclosed on your grandma's house but take that government bailout money themselves. It's the hospital groups and health insurance companies that forced your uncle to declare bankruptcy. It's the media and tech companies that brainwash our children, play God and pick the winners and losers. It's rising housing and tech companies that brainwash our children, play God and pick the winners and losers. It's rising housing and college costs. It's the oil companies and defense contractors that send our young men and women to die in pointless wars. It's the pharmaceutical companies that sit in boardrooms and decide whether or not your mom can afford her medication next month. It's the court system, unjust laws, private prisons. It's inflation and your doubled grocery bill over the last two years.

Speaker 1: 9:58

It's the politicians and the bureaucrats in Washington that are supposed to be protecting you and keeping them all in line and regulating them, but instead they just retire from public service, take cushy positions at Facebook or JP Morgan as a reward for serving their masters. And you know what they all have in common, every single one of them they don't like Donald Trump. That, right there, tells me everything I need to know. They don't like him and they are doing everything in their power to stop him and make a mockery out of our justice system. And it's not working. The man, the system, the power structure that is the enemy, the enemy of our enemies, and therefore Donald Trump may be our only friend.

Speaker 1: 10:53

I'll leave you with this. In a speech a few months ago, when all this trial business began, he said something that kind of stuck with me. He said they're not coming after me, they're coming after you, and I just happen to be standing in their way. This is all of us, the 99% together white, black, gay, straight Republican, democrat, young and old. This is our country, our justice system and our future. We cannot let them try to divide us and we cannot let them try to take this from us. God bless America. Stay safe. The redacted podcast is produced by myself, matt bender, and my wife, pamela bender. Make sure to go out there and give us a like, a share, share it with your friends, rate us. Every little bit helps. Thanks for tuning in.