Mueller, Schmitz, Chisholm: Birds & Feathers

Here's an interesting item which reinforces the philosophical linkage between Mueller's witch-hunt and that of Schmitz/Chisholm here in Wisconsin.  Yes, there are big differences--but the First Amendment plays a big part in both.

...Mueller’s indictment against 13 Russian trolls claimed their social media political activity was criminal because: they were foreign citizens; they tried to influence an election; and they neither registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act nor reported their funding to the Federal Elections Commission....

OK.  So?

Among other things, that theory makes the DNC, Perkins, Coie, and the HRC campaign "co-conspirators" in criminal activity.  Much as I'd like to see those entities prosecuted....oh, well.

Here's where Schmitz/Chisholm (et al) and Mueller occupy the same home:

...Mueller’s unprecedented prosecution raises three novel arguments: first, that speaking out about American politics requires a foreign citizen to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act; second, that speaking out about American politics requires a foreign citizen list their source and expenditure of funding to the Federal Election Commission; and third, that mistakes on visa applications constitute “fraud” on the State Department. All appear to borrow from the now-discredited “honest services” theories Mueller’s team previously used in corporate and bribery cases, cases the Supreme Court overturned for their unconstitutional vagueness. The indictment raises serious issues under the free speech clause of the First Amendment and due process rights under the Fifth Amendment....

The Left is perfectly willing to allow speech, so long as the Left approves of that speech.  Speak in an un-approved method, or speak BadThought?  You get a midnight raid, or the Ham Sandwich treatment from a Fed attorney with a very spotty record.