Analysis · Floor speech · beta

Charles E. Schumer

Democrat on U.S. Department of Justice (Executive Session) 2026-08-05

374 words · 24 sentences · 28 clauses

Statement grade

A–

Average 86 / 100

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

Positioning 20%Claims 72%Reasoning 2%The question 6%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Mr. President, Positioning · 21 wordsTodd Blanche’s Department of Justice continues to let criminals off the hook so long as they are loyal to Donald Trump.Positioning Claims · 32 wordsYesterday, Trump’s DOJ forced a judge to throw out the charges against eight members of the radical extremist Oath Keepers, who were convicted of seditious conspiracy for plotting the January 6 insurrection--horrendous.¹ Positioning · 15 wordsDoesn’t get any more un-American than this. Doesn’t twist America’s values into a tortured knot.Positioning Claims · 61 wordsTrump already gave the insurrectionists clemency.² Now he is wiping their records clean, but there is no erasing what the Oath Keepers and the rest of the mob did at Trump’s command on January 6. I saw them in this building. They were not on a tour. They were aimed at destruction to maim and even in a few cases murder. Reasoning · 9 wordsWe can’t afford to forget what happened that day. Claims · 55 wordsNow, Trump has sent the country a clear message: There are no consequences for sedition, no punishment for attacking police, no repercussions for ransacking the Capitol to steal an election, so long as you do it in Trump’s name. No wonder his numbers are so terrible. No wonder the American people are turning against him. Positioning · 12 wordsNo one in our history has done things as bad as this.PositioningUnearned certainty Claims · 64 wordsTrump won’t just give you clemency for committing a crime on his behalf; he will give you a reward. The whole purpose of Trump’s $2 billion MAGA slush fund is to funnel taxpayer dollars to the Oath Keepers and other Trump cronies.³ Just the other day, Trump himself defended his slush fund describing it ``a reimbursement for the pain that [January 6th insurrectionists] suffered.’’⁴ Positioning · 7 wordsDonald, what pain have these insurrectionists suffered?Positioning Claims · 35 wordsYou let them off scot-free. Republicans don’t get to yap about being the party of law and order when they are handing out pardons and cash rewards like candy to convicted cop beaters--convicted cop beaters. The question · 24 wordsDo Senate Republicans want to give a promotion to Blanche, the same guy who came up with the idea of these reparations for rioters? Claims · 21 wordsThere is still no legal guardrail stopping Trump and Blanche from giving payouts to January 6 insurrectionists at the taxpayers’ expense. Positioning · 18 wordsThat is unacceptable. The only thing these criminals deserve is a cold cell, not American’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars.Positioning

At a glance

Lost points for

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 77

7 of 8 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Todd Blanche’s Department of Justice continues to let criminals off the hook so long as they are loyal to Donald Trump.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Doesn’t get any more un-American than this.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Doesn’t twist America’s values into a tortured knot.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “No one in our history has done things as bad as this.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “Donald, what pain have these insurrectionists suffered?”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “That is unacceptable.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “The only thing these criminals deserve is a cold cell, not American’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · no score

Not applicable: nothing to answer. Excluded from the average.

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue.

Respect · no score

Not checked: graded before this measurement existed. Excluded from the average.

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Clarity · 96

1 of 8 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

Something stated as certain with nothing to back it.What the tags mean “No one in our history has done things as bad as this”A historical superlative asserted with no source or standard offered to support it.

Claims · 4

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“forced a judge to throw out the charges against eight members”On the day before August 5, 2026, the Trump Justice Department moved to have charges dismissed against eight Oath Keepers members who had been convicted of seditious conspiracy.search
2“Trump already gave the insurrectionists clemency”Trump previously granted clemency to the January 6 insurrectionists, including the Oath Keepers.search
3“Trump’s $2 billion MAGA slush fund”There is a $2 billion fund associated with the Trump administration that pays January 6 insurrectionists.search
4“describing it ``a reimbursement for the pain that [January 6th insurrectionists] suffered.’’”Trump described the fund as ‘a reimbursement for the pain that January 6th insurrectionists suffered.’search

Analyzed on 2026-09-15