July 26, 2019

The "New Normal". Are we there yet?

From: 1984

“But it was alright, everything was alright, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.” George Orwell's novel


After some hours of assimilation, we can look back on the testimony of Robert Mueller with a new light. We can see the thoughtless media that saw the "performance" of Robert Mueller as dull, boring, and "halting". The truth did not seem to matter to them?

Are we numb to the change that has been done to what was once called "normal"?

When an elderly man of integrity and respect goes against his Party, and reports to the American people the facts that were investigated, it is time to take note.

When he reports that the President of the United States was assisted by Russia in the last election and his campaign team were more than willing to accept it, then it is time to take pause.

When there were lies to the American people, where only Candidate Trump and his Russian "friends" knew the truth, it was a betrayal of America.

When he reports that Trump and his Team blocked the investigation at almost every turn. How they tried to fire the Special Counsel, the representative of law and order in this country, as approved by the institutions of government.

And how they lied. And how they tried to get others to break the laws.

It was a tough story Robert Mueller was trying to tell. It was easy to overlook the facts and focus on the performance. But that was at the detriment of our country.

The facts do not seem to matter anymore?

Just as the other day, while sitting in the White House with the leader of Pakistan, Mr Trump made the statement about Afghanistan, that he could "wipe them off the face of the earth". They are now discussing those remarks with the Afghan leaders in Kabul.

When Mr Trump talked about killing tens of millions of people in the process, it was more or less over-looked by the media and most of the American people. Has it become "normal" for our leaders to talk in such a way?

Then we have our Congress...

They know all these facts by Robert Mueller to be true. Yet, it is not enough. They have been patient. But they are thinking of bringing out the dry powder.

The citizens will get to express their choices in a couple of Novembers. That is the beauty of democracy - you get to choose the weapon of your execution. Just make sure your choice has a paper trail...

July 26, 2019

There will never be enough evidence to convict Donald Trump in the US Senate...

Even if he actually, in a rage, murders someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue - with witnesses - with cops on the scene - with Franklin Graham praying for the victim's soul... They would see their mothers in shackles and chains before they would turn on their beloved Leader.

So, if the Democrats are waiting on "more evidence", they are wasting our time and their time. If they don't have enough evidence right now, they will never have enough evidence.

They will be gone on summer recess for 42 days, in one of the most dangerous and critical times in our nation's history. For political reasons, they cannot make a decision about Mr Trump. Speaker Pelosi is absolutely correct that it would divide the country. But Donald Trump will divide the nation as much as he possibly can before the next election anyway. To worry about "dividing the country" should be the least of our worries.

What will they gain if they impeach Mr Trump and then lose the election? What will they gain if they don't impeach Mr Trump and still lose the election? When you "cross the Rubicon", you cannot go back. Has the decision already been made? Have they already crossed the Rubicon ?

July 25, 2019

Two days in a row, Trump has scolded and intimidated reporters in driveway of White House...

First of all, he didn't like the questions they asked about the Mueller report. He called them "fake news". It seemed he was trying to intimidate them into never asking those types of questions.

After a while, they will only be permitted to ask, "How are you doing today, Mr President?"

July 25, 2019

Isn't it about time for Herr Trump to call Putin again?

And fill him in on the details about the Mueller hearing and the refusal of the Democrats to impeach and the progress being made in the next election?

And how the negotiations for the new Trump Tower in Moscow are going?

It's been a tense time. They both need a good laugh.

July 25, 2019

Impeachment is not for the purpose of removing Donald Trump.

It is for the purpose of containing him and protecting our country and institutions.

After all, no President has ever been removed by impeachment process.

In my opinion, it is a mistake to argue that it is a waste of time because the Senate would never convict him. That is probably true.

But the purpose of impeachment process is to hold the president accountable, if he abuses his power and flaunts the laws. It also fulfills the responsibility of the Congress to oversee the Executive Branch of government.

To make the political argument that it would hurt one Party or other in the next election is corrupting the intent of the Constitution, in my opinion.

The old saying that "justice delayed is justice denied" would apply to the impeachment process, also. To continue to permit an unstable and unpredictable criminal in power without that oversight is a gamble, in my opinion.

When will we know that we have enough evidence against him to impeach?

July 25, 2019

The problem is with the Special Counsel statute.

It superseded the Independent Counsel statute, which is what Ken Starr operated under during the Clinton impeachment. The "independence" gave the Independent Counsel the power to abuse his authority, which is what many thought happened with Ken Starr.

So they watered it down and created the "Special Counsel" statute, where the Special Counsel would report to the Attorney General. It assumes the Attorney General has integrity and is non-partisan when it comes to upholding the law.

In 2000, they also revised the OLC memo which said that the Special Counsel could not indict a "sitting" President. This created problems in a couple of areas. The Special Counsel could not indict and the Attorney General was left to make the decision, assumed to support the law over politics.

Mueller was given the job with even more restrictions. He was only permitted to look at Russia and who may have assisted them in hacking our election system. His hands were tied from the beginning.

He and his team knew they could not charge a president with anything. They had to turn it over to the AG. So an indictment was never on their menu. Mueller stuck very closely to the rules he was under.

July 25, 2019

Fact check: Trump falsely says Mueller corrected statement ...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/24/politics/fact-check-trump-after-mueller-hearing/index.html

<snip>
(CNN)President Donald Trump falsely claimed Wednesday afternoon that Robert Mueller had not testified that Trump could be indicted once he is out of office.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump insisted repeatedly, and wrongly, that Mueller "didn't say that" and that Mueller had issued a "correction" of the claim.

Facts First: Mueller did say that, unequivocally, and did not correct it. His correction was about a different statement he had made earlier.

Mueller was direct about whether Trump could be indicted after his presidency. He was asked by Republican Rep. Ken Buck, "Could you charge the President with a crime after he left office?" Mueller said, "Yes."

...more at link

July 24, 2019

Did Democrats make any progress at all in getting out the facts in the Mueller Report today.

There was a lot of information confirmed.

Did it help Donald Trump or the Democrats?

Sometimes circumstances look somewhat different in the rear-view mirror.

The American people can be pretty dense sometimes, as we know. Will it help if Democrats repeat over and over the information that Mueller brought out today?

July 24, 2019

In two days, Congress goes on a 5-week vacation...

Can you imagine the propaganda damage that Donald Trump can do in five weeks?

Imagine the tweets and the rallies.

This is a dangerous time for our country.

July 24, 2019

Democrats should begin impeachment inquiry immediately. Why?

Otherwise, Trump and the Republicans are going to spin this as over. Trump did not collude, did not obstruct investigation, and did nothing illegal. In other words, totally exonerated.

That cannot stand. The facts say otherwise.

Democrats should begin impeachment inquiry and let it run thru the next election. There is no reason to send it to the US Senate.

But, it would authorize the Democrats the power to continue subpoenaing witnesses and uncovering possible crimes against the United States.

It would be wrong and dangerous if the Democrats surrendered their power to investigate. As has been stated earlier, this hearing today is not the beginning nor the end, it is somewhere in the middle of the investigation.

This hearing should not be about Hillary Clinton, Robert Mueller, Donald Trump, or any other individual. It should be about whether crimes have been committed and whether or not a legal investigation has been obstructed by anyone? It is about the rule of law, not any one individual. The role of personalities, who seek to divide, cannot overshadow the need for the rule of law.

Democrats should begin an impeachment inquiry immediately. Even if it goes all the way thru the next election and never makes its way to the US Senate. Democrats cannot surrender their responsibilities in this matter.

Also, an impeachment inquiry does not need the full vote of the House. It can be started by the House Judiciary Committee alone.