Accused of suborning a witness, Trump suborns the same witness.
Buzzfeed reported that Trump had ordered his personal attorney Michael Cohen to lie to the Congress about Trump’s continued 2016 negotiations over a Trump tower in Moscow. Trump of course denied this impeachable charge. This is why Cohen is going to jail for three years. But in Trump’s thuggish response, he essentially threatened or called for an investigation of Cohen’s father-in-law if he continued to testify about Trump to Congress. He had already threatened Cohen in his stay in prison by calling him a “rat”. Even if the Buzzfeed article is wrong in essence, although mulled over by the Special Council’s undefined warning about its accuracy, Trump has now added, very publicly, an undeniable act of suborning a witness. As Shakespeare said through Queen Gertrude about a play: “Methinks the lady doth protest too much”. The House should add to this: Impeach Trump for his suborning threat.
Unfortunately, we have to add this to Trump’s call to send bricks to Chuck Schumer’s and Nancy Pelosi’s offices. Then there was the Primary threat to Ted Cruz that Trump might reveal something about his wife. Then Trump’s new appointment of an Attorney General who said that Hillary Clinton should be reinvestigated. Then Trump’s “Lock Her Up” chant. Then his reference that the “second amendment” boys will settle something. Then threats to lock up or fire the press. Then labeling them “the enemy of the people.” Then Trump’s setting up Saudi Arabia to deny the Khashoggi murder. Trump thinks he is subtle, but he is not.
Accused of weakening security, Trump denies security to Speaker Pelosi.
Trump’s government shutdown but forcing security workers to work without pay, with many of them taking sick leave, may have worsened security with flight controllers, airport screening personnel (TSA), and even at border ports of entry security checkpoints, which was supposedly the reason for the government shutdown in the first place. By denying Speaker Pelosi her top secret military flight to the war zone in Afghanistan, and making it public, Trump made her trip so dangerous, that she and her accompanying Congressmen could not risk it. Since Trump knew he was going to give a partisan talk on Saturday, he had to have her around to seem that the Democrats would not respond in the negotiations. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is SECOND IN THE LINE OF SUCCESSION to the President. How can he deny her complete and secret security and still claim to worry about US security, or that he is carrying out his responsibilities under the Constitution? This is grounds for impeachment!
Accused of lying, Giuliani lies.
Giuliani now admits that the campaign might have colluded with Russia, but certainly not the President. One report counts 101 contacts with Russia during the campaign. This is always followed on the news by a reshowing of tapes with Giuliani denying all Russian contacts.
Mitch McConnell is the rusted hinge on the squeaky Senate door.
Majority leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, was not elected leader or appointed leader by the American People, just by fellow Republican Senators. Mitch refuses to bring forth any legislation that is not approved by the mercurial President. This means that Mitch has surrendered the Constitutionally mandated Advice and Consent of the Senate, on which they run and are elected. The fundamental Checks and Balances of the American government which we were taught in middle school and high school civics have been removed by the most obstinate Republican, and the other subservient and obsequious Republicans. They must take responsibility for all of his actions. There are 53 Republican Senators, and if only four (7.5%, or two states worth) refused to back his intransigence, another Majority Leader could be elected by Republicans.
In the 2020 election, of the 33 Senate seats up, plus the special election to replace the late Arizona Senator John McCain, 22 will be Republican, and 12 will be Democratic. With the longest unapproved government shutdown, Trump’s low approval ratings, unrepaired infrastruture, a bubble-bursted Stock Market, a growing opioid crisis, increasing evidence of Russian collusion in our elections, increasing climate tragedies, the Midterm Blue Wave, and deteriorating international relations with all of our friends and continued secrecies with Russia, it will be a tough slog for the Republicans. Better for them to act now to rid us all of Mitch, since only a loss of 3 or 4 of the 22 Republicans will give us a Democratic Senate in 2021 (3 if the Democrats win the Presidency.)
Impeachment is really an act by the House to file charges of impeachment with the Senate. They can be passed by only a majority vote of the House. Of course, this would raise serious Republican voter’s hackles, and might not be a useful approach. Removal from office requires a 2/3 vote of the Senate, or 67 votes. This would require 20 Republicans to vote for impeachment, if all Democrats and the two Independents are united. Pretty unlikely.
We all await with bated breath for Trump’s now 1 pm Pacific Standard time announcement on the government shutdown. Could it be to restore his appearance of leadership as his support sinks into the Washington bog?
