There are two guarantees in the Constitution and commemorated in the Pledge of Allegiance, “liberty and justice for all.” The admonishments of our founders and experience have taught us “the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” Americans understand throughout our history safeguarding liberty is constant whether abolishing slavery, defending our right to bear arms, or preserving our right to freedom of speech. However, justice has been typically considered a given, a safe, and standard process enshrined in our Constitution and upheld by our judiciary. Americans accept our judicial system is not perfect, but they embrace the axiom that the USA is a nation of laws and the goal remains justice for all.

Law Enforcement is generally respected by average Americans despite the nefarious efforts of a tiny sliver of stupid “defund the police” leftists. The police have made mistakes, but the rank and file of law enforcement are duty bound patriots only striving to protect the public. But, the utterly corrupt leadership at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) have declared war on the American people and dismissed every precept of fairness and justice in the Constitution.

The blatant double standard by the DOJ and FBI is now inescapable and indisputable. Environmental extremists can vandalize pipelines or SUVs and barely feel the reach of the law, but any parent that forcefully expresses their grievances to a public-school board will be labeled a “domestic terrorist” and surveilled by the FBI. Any citizen that showed up in Washington to protest perceived injustices lives under the threat of relentless investigation and many are being held without due process for months for misdemeanors and often with no charges at all. ANTIFA and BLM can attack federal property, loot, riot, vandalize, and even murder, and they will be released. The DOJ and FBI still have no clue or interest who these people are or who organized and funded nationwide coordinated riots and assaults on federal agencies; there are no ongoing investigations.

It has become abundantly clear that leftists get a pass and conservatives get a cudgel, but it’s really worse than that. The DOJ and FBI do not consider leftist violence against the government as unacceptable, but they do consider the exercise of Constitutional rights by average Americans as intolerable.

The raid on President Trump’s private home by a rogue FBI is an absolute travesty and should scare every American to death. The public must understand the context of the incredibly flimsy reasons given by the DOJ and FBI. Every president for decades now has disputes with the National Archives about what they get and what the outgoing president retains. This is a natural debate because each president actually has the ultimate authority on what is classified. Obama’s presidential documents are still in negotiations, but his home has not been raided.

Even if one sides with the National Archives, consider the dramatically different approach by the DOJ and FBI to Democrats and Republicans. When Hillary Clinton operated an illegal server and mishandled mountains of classified information that put others in prison, the FBI began by giving her staff immunity, and then asked Hillary for a meeting at her convenience where she feigned ignorance and laughed it off. Then FBI Director James Comey held a press conference where he delineated in detail how Hillary broke the law, but he unilaterally absolved her without any judicial process whatsoever simply because he believed she just didn’t “intend” to break the law. Uh, “intent” is not an excuse in the statute.

Trump’s staff was still in ongoing negotiations with the National Archives when Attorney General Merrick Garland decided it was time to raid his residence. He went judge shopping for an Obama appointee and former counsel for Jeffery Epstein to obtain a specious search warrant. Garland did not ask for an appointment. He sent the FBI unannounced with blue lights flashing and weapons drawn to rummage through Trump's house including his private safe and even his wife’s wardrobe. In contravention of the law, the FBI locked Trump’s lawyers out and did not allow them to observe the search to which Trump sardonically tweeted, “The FBI was probably planting evidence.” A shocking claim, but given the illegal and malicious conduct of the FBI, it’s not much of a stretch.

There are two frightening take aways. First, this raid was intended to complement the January 6 sham hearings. They made a huge spectacle of this raid to further the narrative that Trump is a criminal; they just wanted photos of armed officers raiding his home for lunatic leftists to bandy about as proof of Trump’s guilt. Second, they wanted to reenergize the erroneous notion that conservatives are a threat to the government. They knew this egregious overreach of federal power would infuriate conservatives, so as conservatives vented their rage at this abject abuse of power, the FBI and media immediately released warnings of possible violence from the right wing hoping to revive the idiotic lie of insurrection.

As aggravating as this gross manipulation by the DOJ and FBI is, it’s even worse. They are going after Trump to show conservatives no one is safe and hopefully silence any opposition. When Garland said he would not tolerate anyone questioning the integrity of the FBI, he was indirectly threatening every American questioning his actions and authority.

And here is the worst part. The DOJ and FBI are no longer neutral objective players; they have chosen a side. It’s not just that they have become partisan and side with Democrats, they have chosen tyranny and discarded the Constitution. Democrats have been weaponizing the irresistible power of the federal government against their political opponents since Obama sic’d the IRS on the Tea Parties, but now it has metastasized.

Leftists in the Democrat Party and Deep State are now aligned and seek to dismantle our Constitutional Republic. The law is what they say it is and forget the Constitution; they abuse their power under the thin veneer of their official positions solely to consolidate power. Trump is the current target, but their enemy is the American people who demand their rights. When Republicans retake the Congress, they must investigate these abuses and prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law. This is not retribution, but necessary to preserve our Republic. Voters must drive every Democrat from power in the midterm elections, and then demand Republicans restore order and serve justice on these traitors to our Constitution.

“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees” (Isaiah 10:1).

Pete Riehm is the host of Common Sense Radio heard 8 pm every Thursday on FMTalk106.5 or streaming at fmtalk1065.com. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or on MEWE @PeteRiehm or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.