Diane Dimond

So, did you hear? Democrats and Republicans in Washington have promised to cooperate in finding solutions for the country’s lingering problems! After the mid-term elections they promised they would try really, really hard to work together. Color me skeptical. But there is one legislative area where there does seem to be honest bipartisan collaboration:  criminal justice reform.

Consider the fates of two prominent Americans, comedian Louis C.K. and former President Bill Clinton. Both have been accused of serious sexual misconduct. But unlike the comedian, whose recent tiptoe back into show business has been met with howls of protest, Mr. Clinton continues to enjoy public adulation.

In this #MeToo era of enlightenment how is it that one man (C.K.), who has admitted to exposing himself to women without their consent*, can be treated so differently from another man (Clinton) who has been accused of multiple acts of hands-on sexual assault and even rape?

For the first time in nearly 50 years a Chicago police officer has been convicted of murder after shooting to death a civilian while on duty.  It took a while, but officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery, one count for each of the 16 bullets he pumped into teenager Laquan McDonald back in 2014. Van Dyke is white, McDonald was black.

The shooting took place in an isolated area while several other Chicago PD officers watched.  But the public was kept in the dark because the dash camera video of the incident was kept secret for more than a year.  When a judge finally ordered it released everyone who saw the young man’s final moments were shocked. He seemed to be slowly dancing and twirling in the street holding a three-inch pocket knife and not, as cops claimed, lunging at armed officers who had him surrounded.