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by timsally 5436 days ago
There is a difference with charging him locally though (in my mind). The attorneys that would prosecute Aaron in MA were hired by a left government accountable to a fairly liberal population. Those prosecuting Schwartz federally were hired by a government that leans slightly to the right. I honestly think that makes a difference in the outcome of this particular case, given the nature of the crimes. Also when we consider Aaron's personal history, I think it's safe to say he has fairly influential friends in MA and possibly some enemies on the federal level.

All of this is pure conjecture and speculation of course. But I would be lying if I said I wouldn't be more comfortable about the situation if Aaron was being tried by the MA government.
1 comments
tptacek 5436 days ago
I see what you're coming from but I don't really buy it. I think the difference between federal and state is strictness and deliberation, not right vs. left.

The state criminal justice systems are deluged by drug violence and domestic violence and are largely reactive (I write while missing the court date for my mugger's prosecution, due to a sick daughter).

The federal system is more deliberate (word chosen carefully) and somewhat less reactive. It has more discretion about what cases to chase down. It's probably more inclined to keep its teeth sunk into anything it starts too.

The same political environment that appointed this prosecutor also appointed the prosecutor that took down Scooter Libby.

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timsally 5436 days ago
Re: left vs. right and deliberation: that seems reasonable. Also sorry about the mugging. :( Still though, that doesn't address the advantage Aaron has in MA in terms of friends and enemies. And as far as public support is concerned, you can be sure that a good number of the people that support Aaron have ties to MA or Cambridge. When we talking about a couple thousand people, that goes a lot farther on the local level than on the federal level I think. A speech by a group of MIT and Harvard professors for example might make a difference in MA but surly doesn't have that big of an impact nationally. Perhaps I am seeing differences where there are none though. ^^
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tptacek 5436 days ago
The mugging was almost fun. Makes for a great story.
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