People From All Across the Political Spectrum

are ready to hang Roman Polanski on those ancient charges; worse still, so-called "feminists" are the first in line to lynch him.

Of course few of the commentators know what in the hell they are talking about.

Polanski made no such admission. An agreement was reached between Polanski, his lawyers and the prosecutor, reportedly with the approval of the victim herself, to settle the matter on the basis of a guilty plea to a lesser charge.

The grand jury testimony of the victim, recently unsealed, is being cited as though it were proven fact. But this testimony was never tested in a court of law. The lesser charge to which Polanski pled guilty, not rape, is legally the only basis for any action taken against him.

Katha Pollitt of the Nation chimes in, “If a rapist escapes justice for long enough, should the world hand him a get-out-of-jail-free card? If you’re Roman Polanski, world-famous director, a lot of famous and gifted people think the answer is yes.”

The dismissal of the legal issues is extraordinary. After enumerating the initial, more serious allegations, Pollitt writes: “Those facts are not in dispute—except by Polanski, who has pooh-poohed the whole business many times… He was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge, like many accused rapists, to spare the victim the trauma of a trial and media hoopla.”

Facts are troubling things, but what harm is there in a little bit of demagoguery by Pollitt and other self-described "feminists"?