A Reminder about “Proof”
The curious case of the finger tattoos.
Just a reminder of what some of the previous “proof” was for why it was fine to have sent Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a torture prison without due process.
And why I find myself at least a little skeptical about the provenance of the current charges.
Here’s the BBC on the topic from late April:
The White House has also alleged that tattoos on Mr Abrego Garcia’s hands – a marijuana leaf, a smiley face, a cross and a skull – are gang symbols, an allegation that Trump repeated in an interview with ABC News journalist Terry Moran.
The administration previously released a picture, digitally labelled with the characters M, S, 1 and 3, in an attempt to explain the meaning of the tattoos.
The symbols are open to interpretation. Experts who previously spoke to BBC Verify have cast doubt on the claim that these tattoos mean what Trump and his team allege.
I am no expert on gang tattoos, so I won’t venture my interpretation. I do know that the only sources I have found who definitively wish to assert that these tattoos prove anything are those in the administration (or those willing to uncritically repeat the claims of the administration).
Of course, that Trump appears to think that Abrego Garcia’s hand has M S 1 3 is more than a little concerning, from the hope that a sitting president could, you know, discern reality from not.
I think it would be for the best if all sides of the political spectrum opted not to try to read too much into most ambiguous* tattoos.
Or at the very least try to contextualize them in the broader context of am individuals actions.
Also it would be good if the administration’s “gang tattoo” guide** didn’t include examples that are clearly not gang tattoos… Like one of a tattoo from some random from Britain:
* — there are definitely less ambiguous tattoos.
** — that is another expanple for why the courts can no longer assume good faith from the Trump administration.
I realize that this prosecution has little reason to publicly announce the evidence against Garcia at this stage. However, it sounds like the prosecution’s star witness will be an alleged co-conspirator in the human trafficking scheme. Witness testimony will be highly suspicious, and likely to create reasonable doubt particularly if the witness has been assured of immunity from prosecution and/or deportation.
Quite a gamble for the prosecution/administration.
As technology advances, and the world gets more absurd, it gets harder and harder to distinguish what is real from what is fake. I don’t expect people — particularly old people, but people in general — to always get it right, and there are a myriad of stories and images in that fuzzy border where you can’t tell.
Like a 2022 plot to restore the monarchy in Germany. Or the Pope in a puffy jacket. Or whether the 2020 Election was stolen. Or the 2024*.
This instance is comically dumb (and dangerous), but it’s going to get so, so much worse.
*: you see, there are precincts in Rockland County NY where Harris got 0 votes, and Gillibrand got 400 or so, which statisticians say is impossible and this proves that Elon Musk was using StarLink to flip votes from Harris to Trump (in a democratic state to lose by a slightly lower margin, but not to do anything to help the Senate candidate)
It’s highly typical of these clowns that we are asked to believe some random guy about the ambiguous meaning of Garcia’s tattoos but ignore the far more overt connection of Hegseth’s tattoos to Islamophobia and white supremecism.
@Bobert: Only a risk for the prosecution to the extent that it can’t screen the Boberts out of the pool. My money is on Bondi being able to rig a jury. She wouldn’t have gotten to the level where Trump advisers would have found her otherwise.
I expect they waited to bring him back until they’d put together a case, legit or not. If they win in court they’ll say, “See, we were right all along, he was a bad guy.” If they lose they’ll say, “See, we were right all along, he was a bad guy, but the deep state, elitist court let him off.” The issue is whether he got due process or not. They will try to make the issue whether he’s a bad guy or not. Given the electorate, I expect they’ll succeed.
@gVOR10: That sounds about right. To serve the administration’s purpose, the case against Garcia doesn’t have to be high probability for conviction, or even a coin toss for conviction on lesser offenses. They are so frequently shown to be wrong, yet seem to suffer no loss of credibility. Should have eaten a thousand shit sandwiches by now.
I have no trouble believing Garcia might be guilty of assorted criminal offences, and I sincerely hope Democrats don’t make the mistake of turning him into a cause célèbre. The TACO administration caved and brought him back to face due process, which was what Democrats demanded. Take the win and turn the spotlight on the 100+ men who remain illegally imprisoned in El Salvador.
This guy is being accused more or less of driving a guy to a construction job. I won’t be surprised if he did something ‘wrong’ like this but dreaming of gulags and declaring MS-13 to be Hamas is just pathetic. They keep on talking about gangs and tattoos, but what does it amount to? The idiot cops covering their faces like they’re hunting cartel killers rather than busboys don’t have even actual shocking crimes to connect Garcia to. But Trump voters are so stupid and racist that they don’t even notice there’s no there there.
@Ken_L:
Indeed! I have a donut* against your dollar that the Dems decline to go that direction with the further conversation.
*Where I live, I can’t buy a donut for a dollar anymore.
@Ken_L:
Indeed, the win here was getting him returned so that due process can proceed.
I (and Dems in general) have no idea whether he committed any crimes or not (but the indictment lays out evidence that he lied to the Tennessee patrol about where he was driving from), other than that it would appear there are five other admitted criminals that (of their own free will – cough – cough ) that are ready to testify against him).
The win is due process.
Move on to the next case of rights denied.
My favorite tattoo was my second. By far, the least showy.
Plain text stacked:
Be
Here
Now
Interior mid left forearm.
Straightforward. Remindful. In most circumstances you are going to see your interior left arm. In the smart phone era, it’s damn ubiquitous!
The most obvious and the most important message you’d see the most often. It’s almost like past me was not an idiot and kinda smart. Future proofing.