Time to Take the Fall

In the classic hard-boiled detective flick, "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), when world-weary Sam Spade is absolutely over and done with femme fatale Brigid O'Shaughnessy's scheming, he tells her so. In the film's last reel, whatever charm her devious, seductive act ever had over him was kaput ... irrevocably. 

So she (Mary Astor) almost begs. He (Humphrey Bogart) breaks the news to her -- she's "taking the fall." 

Spade: You won't need much of anybody's help. You're good. It's chiefly your eyes, I think, and that throb you get in your voice when you say things like 'Be generous, Mr. Spade.'
Brigid: I deserve that. But the lie was in the way I said it. Not at all in what I said. It's my own fault if you can't believe me now.
Spade: [smiling] Now you are dangerous.
Brigid: Don't, Sam. Don't say it even in fun. Ha, ha, ha. Oh, I was frightened for a minute. I really thought...You do such wild and unpredictable things.
Spade: Don't be silly. You're taking the fall.

Then Spade wisely stiff-arms the dangerous O'Shaughnessy's warmed-over advances. He coldly turns her over to the cops. 

* 

Now it's time for one of Trump's top dogs to face the crime and punishment music. Currently, the momentum is running against Trump. Wait until October, then maybe it's too close to election day and a window closes. Timing can be so important.

Take you pick: John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Mark Meadows, Roger Stone, etc. Someone of that visibility level has to be charged with a crime and seen on TV doing the perp-walk.

Please, Merrick Garland, pick the one who is the easiest to convict and just do it. Or, maybe one of the other prosecutors in a state, who's also on this case, needs to act. 

In order for many citizens -- especially those under 30 -- to believe the law and order system in this country still works in 2022, sometime this month, we all need to see one of the key insurrection plotters take the fall.