President Trump Commutes Sentence of Sholom Rubashkin
Much to the delight of New York’s Heisidic Jewish community, President Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of Sholom Rubashkin yesterday. This triggered a spontaneous celebration reminiscent of a carnival atmosphere in the Crown Heights district of Brooklyn.
Now, Mr. Rubashkin (now 57) isn’t some saintly figure worthy of our admiration—far from it. In 2009, he was convicted of bank fraud and sentenced to 27 years in prison. There’s no disputing the fact the Rubashkin falsified financial statements to procure bank loans illegally. However, many in the community believed that sentence was too tough, considering he was a first-time and non-violent offender.
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How widespread was this belief? According to the White House press release, “More than 100 former high-ranking and distinguished Department of Justice (DOJ) officials, prosecutors, judges, and legal scholars have expressed concerns about the evidentiary proceedings in Mr. Rubashkin’s case and the severity of his sentence.” Additionally, 30 members of Congress have written letters sporting clemency for Rubashkin. (Source: “President Trump Commutes Sentence of Sholom Rubashkin,” White House, December 20, 2017.)
That’s some heavyweight backing. But considering Rubashkin’s outsized presence in the Jewish community (he was the Regional Head of a family business that was the country’s largest kosher meat-processing company), and the fact that he already received had served over eight years of the sentence, the commutation makes sense. That’s evident by the huge bipartisan level of support (and crickets in the media).
It’s important to note the commutation does not mean Rubashkin walks away scot-free. His record of conviction still stands, and it leaves in place a term of supervised release and a substantial restitution obligation, which was part of the original sentence. Freedom still carries a heavy price.
But the response by the Brooklyn Heisidic Jewish community was euphoric nonetheless. A key member of their community, however felonious, was a free man. As one member of the community stated, “what a Hanukkah gift best President ever.” The extreme outpouring of joyfulness is evident in the video below:
Thousands of Hasidic Jews celebrating on the streets in NYC the release of #Rubashkin by President Trump I've never seen such excitement "what a Hanukkah gift best President ever" #NewYorkCity#HappyChanukah pic.twitter.com/u2DWDZhulo
— Mark Kennedy (@MarkKenn4Trump) December 21, 2017
Rarely do you see large, spontaneous street celebrations break out in cities across America. This was one of those times.
Is Trump a White Nationalist?
How many white nationalists commute sentences of ethic and religious leaders? How many white nationalists would make pardoning the aforementioned their first commutation act? The answer is self-evident to even to the most biased of Trump detractors. Strangely, we’re not hearing much backtracking of those claims on the left.
Lest you think it’s only a few fringy trolls throwing around the “white nationalist” moniker, think again. High-level political commentators, progressive organizations with big followings, and public figures have all engaged. Below is a small cross-section of the very fake news claims of “white nationalist” President Trump is constantly smeared with on the left:
THREAD: It’s clear that Trump doesn’t actually care about having an effective military, or keeping us safe, his priority is white nationalist purges. #VetsVsHate
— Vets Against Trump (@commondefense) December 17, 2017
it's almost as if anti-immigration rhetoric isn't really about stopping "illegal" immigration but just brown people in general https://t.co/MHxb71Hgug
— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) December 21, 2017
Hopefully, the commutations of Sholom Rubashkin can put this buffoonery to rest. Whether by design or ignorance, the mainstream media is conflating Trump nationalist/populist agenda for “white nationalism.” Of course, it’s not; “MAGA” is an economic agenda, not an ethno-centric one. If nothing else, Trump has consistently defined his priorities based on what will benefit America economically the most. If there’s some impact to race or class, so be it.
Mr. Rubashkin’s case should prove this fact once and for all.
