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How Pam Bondi Can Atone for the Framing of George Zimmerman
I am sure Trump’s attorney general pick Pam Bondi has many a career highlight, but one of them was not her role in the framing of George Zimmerman for the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
I use the word “framing” with precision. I know the case as well as anyone other than Zimmerman and his attorneys. I wrote the definitive book on the subject, If I Had a Son, and consulted extensively with Joel Gilbert on his brilliantly researched film and companion book, The Trayvon Hoax. Over the years, I have become good friends with George and see him often. I have witnessed up close the toll the injustice he suffered has taken on his life.
There is no doubt that Zimmerman, 28 years old at the time, shot and killed the 17-year-old Martin. But there is also no doubt that Zimmerman was framed for Martin’s murder. He should never have been arrested, and should never have had to stand trial. He was saved from a life in prison by a six-woman jury too naive to anticipate the public shaming that awaited them when they voted to acquit.
Within weeks of the Feb. 26, 2012, shooting it was clear to anyone paying attention — shout out here to Sundance and the “Treepers” at the Conservative Tree House — that Zimmerman was the victim of a vicious, unprovoked assault by an aspiring MMA fighter nearly half-a-foot taller. Had Zimmerman not shot Martin he very likely would have been beaten to death.
On March 23, 2012, then-President Barack Obama yielded to the pressure from a leftist mob hopped up on four weeks of disinformation and addressed the shooting. By this time, the White House had access to all of the information the Sanford Police Department did. The courageous step for Obama would have been to defend the Sanford Police and to demand an end to the media lynching of Zimmerman — a Hispanic Obama supporter and civil rights activist.
As an African-American, Obama had more latitude to speak out than a white politician would have. He chose not to. Concluded Obama after some meaningless temporizing: “But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon — If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.”
The State of Florida’s Republican leadership showed no more courage than Obama. After consulting with then-Attorney General Bondi, Gov. Rick Scott appointed Angela Corey as special prosecutor and washed his hands of the mess on his doorstep.
A week after Obama threw in with Martin’s family, Bondi did as well. She called his negligent parents “amazing people” and described the family attorneys as “friends of mine.” Ever judicious, Bondi added, “You never want to make an arrest too soon. We need justice, but you never want to make an arrest without having all the answers.” That said, she too backed away from the case — well, almost backed away.
Those “friends of mine,” most notably Martin attorney Benjamin Crump, were in the process of making Bondi’s life more difficult. Crump was badgering “Diamond,” the girl who was on the phone with Martin in the moments before his death, to tell the state attorneys a story Crump had concocted. ABC’s Matt Gutman might as well have been Crump’s press agent, headlining his article, “Trayvon Martin’s Last Phone Call Triggers Demand for Arrest Right Now.”
On April 2, 2012, State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda showed up in Miami expecting to depose Martin’s girlfriend, but the 16-year-old Diamond refused to perjure herself. The girl de la Rionda met instead was the 19-year-old, mentally challenged, morbidly obese Rachel Jeantel. Crump and Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, insisted that Jeantel was Martin’s girlfriend, the “phone witness” who would testify that it was Zimmerman who provoked Martin. This interview led promptly to Zimmerman’s arrest.
Fearful of backlash from the Left, the state attorneys allowed the charade to proceed. For months, they did their best to hide Jeantel not only from the public but also from Zimmerman’s attorneys. Sensing something amiss, the defense attorneys asked to depose Crump. After a judge ruled against them, they appealed. In April 2013, Bondi put her thumb on the scale of justice and left fingerprints. She wrote a 41-page document arguing against the defense team’s request. Their request was denied.
The case proceeded to trial. In June 2013, Jeantel took the stand and tried to relate the story that Crump had fed her. For those who cared to see, her testimony confirmed what a sham the whole proceeding had been, but few bothered looking. The media had convinced them to reject the evidence of their eyes and ears.
When Zimmerman was acquitted in July, the left erupted in outrage. Said Crump, “Trayvon Martin will forever remain in the annals of history next to Medgar Evers and Emmett Till, as symbols for the fight for equal justice for all.” Al Sharpton called the verdict an “atrocity.” In sympathy, three Marxist females coined the phrase “black lives matter.”
The useful idiots in the entertainment world joined the mindless rush to pile on. In Ireland, Bruce Springsteen sang a song in Trayvon’s honor. Justin Timberlake dedicated a song to Trayvon in Yankee Stadium. Stevie Wonder promised to boycott Florida unless the state repealed its Stand Your Ground law, which had nothing to do with the trial. Beyoncé sang “I will always love you” to Trayvon in Nashville then joined billionaire multimedia mogul Jay-Z for a vigil in New York.
Although legally and rightfully cleared of a crime, Zimmerman has ever since been forced to live in the shadows. In 2015, he survived an assassination attempt by inches. In 2018, Jay-Z inserted a fatwa of sorts into a rap song, “I got your president tweeting / I won’t even met with him / Y’all killed X and let Zimmerman live / Streets is done.” For George, death threats are still routine. He cannot use his own name to apply to school or look for a job.
Cowed into silence, the establishment right has done nothing to set the record straight. Angela Corey called Zimmerman a “murderer” after he was acquitted. If Bondi said anything about the verdict, I have not seen it.
As Bondi proceeds to confirmation, the Democrats will leave this story alone. A verdict prompted by the most flagrant judicial fraud in anyone’s memory led directly to the formation of BLM. Twelve years of leftist history would have to be rewritten if the truth were known.
The burden to reveal the truth falls to Pam Bondi. As a first step to atonement, she can apologize to George Zimmerman. As a second step, once confirmed as attorney general, she can address a federal case that remains unaddressed, let alone unresolved — the shooting death of Ashli Babbitt. If she promises to do both, she’s got my vote.
Jack Cashill’s latest book, Ashli: The Untold Story of the Women of January 6 is available in all formats.
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The post How Pam Bondi Can Atone for the Framing of George Zimmerman appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.
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