Will we survive the criminal acts that led to the current occupant in the White House??
I hope and pray that the answer is yes.
7
I don't know. Bill Clinton was never tried for committing perjury and subjourning perjury. Hillary Clinton was never tried for illegal use of email and lying about it (though I don't know if she lied to the FBI). Like Clinton, Comey doesn't seem to remember anything. Therevwere campaign finance violations by tje Obama administration and nobody went to jail - I think some fines were paid. Jusrice has not been blind in the USA for quite some time.
Mob rule will carry the day I fear, in the once great United States of America.
3
Two spelling mistakes in a single tweet.
Trump is outdoing his stupidity today. Must be the frustration from all the rats abandoning his ship, with none—none!—wanting to work with him.
Is there no one in Trump’s immediate family telling him that screaming “no collusion!” is achieving the opposite effect? Not even the First Lady/Third Wife?
Ah, rage tweeting during office hours. Must be hard being president and being investigated by the FBI. Especially that as of today 16 people in his orbit have now been proven to be in contact with Russian spies, lawyers, oligarchs and Kremlin officials.
Don Jr, Jared. Too bad you can’t bail out on Trump. Enjoy the grifting while it lasts.
16
Trump's so called crimes are minor compared to Hillary's national security transgressions. After all, Trump' s transgressions were of personal nature with regard to sexual indiscretion, and a business nature in pursuing a legitimate business opportunity. Furthermore, these occurred as a private citizen before he was elected.
So, Mr. Blow, find me just one honest and trustworthy politician. Well, there aren't any! Trump is certainly no worse than Bill or Hilllary. And as for Charles Blow, another worthless column.
2
He's Mussolini. This from The Atlantic Aug 2016-"Italians learned in the 1920s what Americans are learning in 2016: Charismatic authoritarians seeking political office cannot be understood through the framework of traditional politics. They lack interest in, and patience for, established protocols. They often trust few outside of their own families, or those they already control, making collaboration and relationship building difficult. They work from a different playbook, and so must those who intend to confront them." Kushner should wise up -- Mussolini son-in-law didn't fare so well. Kushner loyalty to MBS sickening in light of Khasoggi tape--------
17
We only see the tip of the iceberg, it can't be stressed enough all the shenanigans between NRA, Ms. Butina, who was recently arrested and being basically a Russian agent and the GOP congress and senate all involve in this fraud maneuvering and manipulation, apparently accepting bribes from Russia.
TREASON of the highest level of government.
That's how rotten it is!!!
11
Why has the EB suppressed my erudite, informative comments on the author's article? Why so touchy about any criticism of Mr.Blow? "Bref," I wrote that as a social justice warrior he has yet to give his proofs, that his columns lack creativity, and that he has essentially taken the "easy way out,"never venturing where other colleagues have dared to tread to get a real story, but writing baseless,irrelevant articles about Trump's "manigances,"--does anyone really care--? when his conscience should have impelled him to volunteer to assist victims in California of The Campfire and forced homelessness. Judge a man or woman by what he or she does, not by what they say!Easy to preachify!I perceive little substance in what he writes, but, unfortunately see only comments that many would interpret as bigoted and not well thought out!
One word: Criminal
9
So lemme get this straight. Clinton was impeached over an affair with an intern of legal age, yet Trump who has had multiple wives/divorces, has cheated millions out of money and education, who supposedly "represents" the religious right who is against abortion, gay marriage, and supposedly "values" Christian ideology (note: look at the seven deadly sins), and constantly lies to the American public about, well, everything, can continue this behavior? if anyone has any doubts still about where the far right side of the political spectrum has gone, well, look no further. Trump's actions speak much more loudly than his words and that's all that matters. To argue otherwise is simply foolish.
14
Isn't there a concept of "ill-gotten gains" -- that if you possess something -- money, property -- but you committed a crime that allows you to possess it, then you have no right to those "ill-gotten gains."
Donald Trump's presidency is the result of multiple crimes and is therefore "ill-gotten." It is illegitimate. He should not be president.
14
During the GOP presidential primary and later during the general election debates, Trump as much as much implied if not said that any law that was not chiseled in stone, he was going to challenge them.
After the election, one official said that when the president said something it was as close to God talking as one could get.
One just doesn't give that type of power to a person like Trump, especially when we have the type of Congress member both in the house and senate who won't challenge this man.
We created this monster.
We have as much told him he could destroy this country if he wanted to.
Personally, I believe that Trump is a Russian operative.
A dimwitted one, but never the less an operative.
Putin wants to undermine our country and our economy.
He has given us the perfect stooge to do so.
He talks, acts and looks like us and he reportedly represents what most Americans want.
Wealth with no visible way of having received it honestly
We have gladly accepted.
5
I envisage the following scenario: Mr. Trump runs out of lies, he finds himself totally surrounded by accusations, he talks to his VP and gets him to promise to pardon him for all crimes he may have committed, and he resigns. He cannot be indicted, or prosecuted. If Trump does that sooner rather than later, at least the nation will be saved from monstrous undemocratic (mis)rule. Nixon #2.
2
So who has standing to sue the Department of Justice to invalidate their opinion that a sitting President can’t be indicted? The Constitution does not say a sitting President can’ be indicted, tried or convicted.
2
Mueller is only a little way from proving that trump and the Russians stole the election. When that is proved. the election must be reversed, all of trump's appointments voided, and trump billed, personally, for all the expenses of his administration, tried, convicted, and imprisoned along with all the accessories before and after the fact. There must be some legal mechanism for reversing a stolen election.
12
There are several major concepts universally accepted and acknowledged by all with respect to the American judicial system.
A few of them:
1. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
2. Everyone is entitled to legal representation and certain rights under law.
3. Equal Justice under the law. Justice should be blind to age, race, religion, sex, etc. etc.
4. No man is above the law.
To argue that a sitting President cannot or should not be indicted for an alleged crime while in office is to ignore these principles. It is contrary to our judicial system. Our criminal codes and judicial system provide an avenue for addressing criminal behavior no matter who is the accused and no matter who is the victim.
How can anyone argue that the President, (no matter who he or she is), should be immune and inoculated from these widely held principles? To do so places the President above the law.
If crimes have been committed they must be brought forward and adjudicated.
21
For the long term, it's not the "criminal" president who worries me so much as the 40% of the electorate that still supports this man. That is truly truly frightening!!!
28
And this has all been in plain sight - the Emperor - vulgar and arrogant - has no clothes and didn't have them before the primaries if anyone cared to look. McConnell, Ryan, the cabinet, Kellyanne and the other crafty weavers as in the tale seeking their own largess, will they go scot-free from leading so selfishly? Where is the accountability for those who so callously elevated this worst-of-America president over their love for democracy and probably their own misgivings? They also are complicit in selling us out to Russia and the Saudis and enabling xenphobia and racism.
16
What scares me about impeaching Trump is that his base will not accept anything done to or against him. I fear a civil war and his side has all the guns.
12
Trump should not be in the White House. He should be up the river in the Big House.
7
@Chris@Archer@Russel@Socratesl
Here's what a former special council said on CNBC: "If Mueller has a disproportionate number of lying indictments he's in trouble." There's:
van der Zwaan The "first" who members him? (30 days)
Popudopulous (out - 14 days)
Flynn
Manafort
Cohen
Corsi
Comey...didn't do him or Mueller any favors
Here's what Andy McCathhy (former U.S. prosecutor, I think I'm the SDONY?) says:
Campaign Finance could be a problem. But Trump has some cards:
Intent has a very high bar to prove.
A violation that DOJ often doesn't prosecute, here it appears not egregious enough to reach "High crimes and misdemeanor"
If Trump can show of there was no campaign he would do the same thing. I think he would!
No where in The Constitution does it say a sitting president cannot be impeached. Pay attention to which legal hacks are making the bogus argument that a president can only be tried after leaving office. Then ask Harvard constitutional lawyers: no where in The Constitution is there any prohibition of any kind against impeaching Trump.
7
"Wealthy Welfare Law"....the lack of equitable legal enforcement that keeps rich people from having to go to jail. Poor people and people of color get worse sentences than wealthy whites committing the same crimes. Wealthy whites committing crimes that the poor and people of color can only dream of committing have it even better...
In the case of the misbegotten trumps, the father and kids defrauded Federal and State governments of $ hundreds of millions in tax revenue through their real estate dealing. The 'everybody does it' defense, lax oversight and the lapse of time means only civil charges can be brought if ever. Go NYC!
The trump campaign finance fraud is relatively small potatoes especially after the courts gifted us with Citizens United. Still, it's a nice touch that trump could get impeached for sex related behavior just like Clinton even though he didn't formally perjure himself, just lied repeatedly and publicly. Gives new meaning to a 'white lie'... White lies are of course not against the law.
Hey Republicans. Nice job. You've gifted us the worst president ever. Coal in your stockings. Now everyone, a loud Christmas refrain of "Hark the herald..." "Lock him up! Lock them all up!"
11
@Chris Parel
Your right campaign finance is small potatoes.
It was a lot bigger for Obama in 2008 he tried to hide $2 "million" in donations compared to Trump's $290,000.
I would say that's a cantaloupe.
What if he murdered someone in broad daylight? Would even THAT not be enough? How far above the law is he?
9
And I hope we do prove we can survive a criminal presidency, in 2020, with a massive voter turnout and Democratic takeover of the White House and the Senate. I will be voting and I will be donating.
7
Surviving the GOP might be an alternate headline. Really Trump could be convicted and in jail by now if weren't for the GOP. This party got rolled and may not recover in our lifetimes.
8
I just absolutely refuse to believe, despite the GOP's utter lack of morality and ethics, that we need to put up with Trump and all of the damage he is causing to every.single.institution in our country as well as his Cabinet cronies and their oligarch buddies for another 2 years. Will we even still HAVE a democracy in 2 years if this pace keeps up? What if Mueller's report is somehow stifled? We need to be marching in all of the streets of American to stop this runaway train. Enough is enough already.
11
The Democrats must move to impeach this man or they too are implicit in this horror show. If they fail there is no shame because they will have tried to do the right thing. I for one can not support the Democratic Party if they fail to do this.
2
We have to stop the narrative that Trump cannot be indicted. Of course he can be indicted; and while a sitting president. The DOJ policy to not indict a sitting president for a crime is no more important than the DOJ policy that told Comey not to insert himself in the 2016 election. There is no case law on the issue and this is as good a time as any to make new law. Remember Bush v. Gore?
7
Having not yet read the foregoing 994 comments, please forgive me if I repeat, but the awful truth about this administration and its greatest threat to the future of democracy is the war on justice it has so effectively waged. There has been only one true agenda, and it has been extremely effectively implemented: turning the judicial branch of the government into a political tool of this horribly misguided administration.
9
There is finally a glimmer of hope that we may be able to save our Democracy by defeating a Trump reelection in 2020 . ANYONE but him in office at that time will allow justice through still viable statute of limitations to enforce the laws he has so egregiously thrown aside . The king can then be unmasked and disrobed. No mail in ballots. Stand in line at the polls and drag your neighbors with you .
5
It is questionable whether a jury willing to convict Trump could even be empaneled. Two of the hallmarks of Trumpism are denial of reality and dishonesty. Trump supporters could easily lie in order to be selected as jurors and then simply ignore the evidence and vote to acquit. Does that really sound farfetched?
2
If Trump does not pay for his crimes, whatever they are, and it is because of an egregiously warped interpretation by our lawmakers and courts of the Constitution and the web of laws derived from it, then a whole lot more people need to be kneeling during the anthem at NFL games...and the new kneelers should be all conservatives.
3
This law-breaking president is not only hurting individuals great and simple with his actions, but he is a severe threat to the world environment. Is there no way to oust him based on his lies about climate change and environmental degradaation? His actions as president, with which he seems to be able single-handedly to strip land and animals of their protection and inflict vast increases in fossil fuels on the planet, make him an extreme danger.
4
The US will survive! It always has...When is swings in the wrong direction it always swings back, to the middle....This criminal presidency will not stand. Trump marks the one of the lowest points in our history for corruption, lies, fear mongering, division, and the exploitation of hated. Three quarters of Americans are sick of this presidency and the danger it brings.
4
Criminality comes naturally to someone who is so arrogant as to believe he is above the law, even more so if he believes he owns the law. That is Trump. It is also his son-in-law. The Times front-page article yesterday about Kushner's dealings with his BFF, Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) makes that much clear.
All of which begs the question whether Trump and Kushner were in the know about the plot to kill Jamal Khashoggi before it occurred and gave MBS the green light to carry it out. If so, they were complicit in murder, and you can't get much more criminal than that.
At the very least, this needs to be ruled out.
I understand the fears many of us feel right now; I fear them, also. It is surreal to read about the fear that Trump supporters will start an armed insurrection if the country's laws are enforced.
But I do not believe this will happen. Even seriously Republican judges have shown a willingness to put a halt to Trump. Mitch McConnell is a really bad person, who has put his personal power and his political party above all else, but I believe even he has limits. He is very mindful of how he will be judged by history.
This presidency is in its waning days. Hang in there, fellow Americans who still love the U.S. Constitution and believe in the rule of law. The framers wrote a document that has so far survived a civil war, a Great Depression, several assassinations of presidents (a situation that has plunged other countries into chaos), the ascension to the presidency of more than a few losers and corrupt power-grabbers, and a few decidedly questionable presidential elections, including this last one. But here we are, still functioning.
And I do not believe for a moment that Trump's fan club will take to the street as a self-proclaimed militia acting in his defense. These people are cowards.
6
Trump fans don't mind in the slightest if he pays off playmates or tries to cut real estate deals whike it office. They are deeply cynical and assume all "successful" people do these things. Getting away with it is a badge of honor.
If a case is to be made, it has to be very direct, very simple. For example, he owed X dollars in taxes and did not pay, knowing it was illegal. Anything arcane that characters like Rudy can spinl, will not bring Turmp down.
1
For the sake of the Nation Trump should not be impeached and judged by the Senate. It´s better for all to wait until 2020 and then have the Judiciary take care of the matter.
A GOP controlled Senate would probably absolve him of everything, making the application of justice impossible.
McConnell in charge of determining guilt or innocence? Please, spare us this tragic and frustrating moment.
3
One question looms little noted or discussed but with the stock market hemorrhaging and Trump's approval rating tanking, can he recover once the Mueller report hits? Forget impeachment and prospects for criminal prosecution if he loses in 2020. There is little to suggest a pivot, or attempt to repair his battered image at home as well as around the globe.
The odds are 50-50 the man who hates losing may hit the exit button. The calculus is relatively straightforward. The electoral perfect storm of 2016 must be repeated in an environment rendering that all but impossible.
The retort two years is long time, lots can change making predictions valueless, but for Trump primary factors lie beyond his control. Mueller the primary irritant. The stock market and trade wars easily won he might be able to influence while saving face. However, the recent ill-timed arrest of the Chinese executive in Canada for rendition to the US for prosecution likely to dominate the trade negotiations. Making travel to China interesting for executives and trade negotiators for sure.
Trump may not be a quitter, but fashioning an exit represents a small challenge for the Don. Ego perhaps the only basis for concluding he ignores to the tea leaves running into an embarrassing loss.
2
You can't back Trump into a corner because his office doesn't have any! Clever design. But at this point, he maybe asking the USSS for the emergency exit plans should the M's storm the White House gates. (Mexicans, Muslims, and Mueller).
6
Charles Blow is obviously a good man, an honorable man. That is perhaps why he hopes and believes that honor and justice will triumph in the end. Unlike him, I still hope but do not believe, just as I hope, for instance, that Putin may one day withdraw Russian troops from the Crimea. (Don't laugh).
The problem is that not only has Donald Trump shown himself to be a dishonorable man, but that he is only one of many in the US who will continue to support him for the sake of their own advantage. The regular American guys still fail to understand that their accustomed idea of government and other institutions being filled with people like themselves is way off the mark. Crooks are taking over America, as they already have in Russia, and the story of the British referendum on Europe seems to show that even the so-called "Mother of Parliaments" could be stitched up.
All in all, I fear that Mr Trump will finish his term and may yet even manage to outtrick Tricky Dick and get back into the White House for a second term. Too many politicians of dubious character have too much riding on that same horse.
13
Of course he is a criminal. That has been obvious for quite some time to anybody who had eyes and ears and was able to look at facts from a non-ideological or deluded point of view. The thing here is that half of the nation placed gladly a criminal and his cabal of crooks in the white house and still support him. That is the really disturbing issue here. What does that say about us? What does that tells us about the direction in which America is headed? It is never about a bunch of crooks and conmen. It is about the people. Millions and millions of folks out there think this abomination is the greatest president ever and they will support him to the end. They will gladly eat his lies and champion him and the likes of him no matter what. The mirror sometimes is too painful to even consider.
14
"No one is above the law in America" is precisely why we have the great Donald Trump as President. Bush, Clinton and Obama was all America could take of treason and rampant law breaking so the good people of the USA voted in Donald Trump to bring down these criminal globalist elites. Soon, all will be in Gitmo with many executed for treason and sedition. Exciting times in America as the Great Awakening is upon us.
Huh?
1
@Mark: Please tell me you are not serious.
1
@Mark
Is this intended to be a serious comment?
1
I can only hope that the senior GOP has or will soon hold a secret meeting in some dark room under the Capitol where they decide to throw Trump under the bus in a united effort. You know it galls these lawyers and professional politicians to have to bow and scrape to this thug. Maybe they figure they can work with Spence and a concerted effort to kill the king will play out in the end. But the GOP has cashed their checks and made their deposits in the Caymans, so we'll need to see what Koch and Adelson and Mercer have to say.
8
I do not accept a President who is a felon. The solution is for him is to resign. Republicans have to do their patriotic duty and tell Trump to get out.
11
@Soo So no one is above the law in America, but Donald Trump is not given the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty? No one is a felon until they are found guilty of a felony. Donald Trump has not been.
1
It is time to hold trump responsible for helping to have Jamal murdered. His casual and cavalier attitude and his words 'this was a sloppy murder.' How does he know it was sloppy? What is he comparing it to? How many other people has Trump had murdered? No doubt, if he could, he would have some reporters murdered, namely Acosta.
6
The president is in denial
And is likely to go to trial
Unless reelected
Or somehow protected
By folks from his side of the aisle
8
Yes, a lot of power is in the hands of the voting public to re-elect or not re-elect President Trump. But here is the thing: If the Russians again interfere with our election on his behalf, if large portions of the voting public lose their right to vote through voter intimidation, apathy, restrictions, and gerrymandering, and if both the Republicans and the Democrats don't come up with a truly viable options, then Trump will be elected again. Unfortunately, there are just enough stupid people in this country to do it.
9
Like all psychopaths, Donald Trump does not regret his criminal deeds but is outraged -- OUTRAGED -- that he was caught and is being held accountable. The psychopath is the truly exceptional person, the god who rules over ordinary people whose lives are meaningless unless they are somehow embellishing the image of the psycho. Let us pray that future historians will wonder: "How could the American people have tolerated such an obvious criminal, a compulsive liar, a fraud, and a traitor running the country?" My fear is that, by then, this kind of behavior will have been so common that they'll ask: "Why was this such a big deal?'
10
It is the entire Trump AND Pence administration and their decisions that are delegitimized by the criminal and fraudulent acts that put them into the White House.
Thus both Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, appointed by a criminal and traitor, are illegitimate. They will need to step down.
Let that sink in.
12
You’re 8 years too late and extremely wrong in which president you’re referring to: we already survived a criminal presidency, and there is exactly ZERO evidence of any criminal activity by the current president. As for the previous office occupier, I’m thinking of the numerous laws broken and Constitutional violations made during such things as:
1) Operation Fast and Furious
2) Hacking James Rosen’s emails to obtain his confidential sources
3) Threatening James Risen with jail time if he didn’t turn over his confidential sources
4) Using the IRS to target political groups that were exercising their free speech in opposition of the president
5) Illegally unmasking the identities of Americans caught up in FISA surveillance
6) Violating the Constitution by making recess appointments while the Senate was not in recess
7) Using Executive agencies (such as the EPA or BLM) to seize or render unusable the private property of Americans without due process or compensation
8) Jailing an innocent man in order to cover up unapproved gun running activities in Benghazi (moving weapons from Libya to Syria) and to cover up the failure to prevent a terrorist attack that killed 4 Americans
9) Paying a state sponsor of terrorism (Iran) $120+ billion (cash) without Congressional approval
10) Violating the Espionage Act and the Federal Records Act by using a pseudonym to email a private email server instead of appropriate and secure official servers
3
Hilarious.
3
@Tom
The “whatabout Obama” defense?
3
A lot of assertions without much fact. On one I know you are badly misinformed. We did not “pay” Iran. It was their money. We unfroze their assets. I didn’t like it either but we’re not pirates.
3
George Washington was an angry man. So was Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay and every other Founding Father and Mother who led the American Revolution against the autocratic tyranny of Crazy King George III.
When it comes to democracy, rage counts.
Many Republicans characterize the Democratic Party as angry people as they remain cool, collected, well-established, rich, powerful, and entitled.
One wonders whose side the current Republican Party would have been on when this great nation was born. Would they wear red coats and side with the privileged few who doubled down on a King State? Would America even exist?
#SaveDemocracy
10
"Surviving a Criminal Presidency." That this is an actual headline in the NY Times, or any other legitimate news publication, is something I could never have imagined happening in my lifetime. This is not normal.
184
@Chris. It happened when I was in college, with Richard Nixon. We survived, too. ;-)
20
@sarah@Chris@Archer
Sarah is right! And...
Mr. Blow has made a major journalistic mistake and error. He refers to the Presidency as Criminal. No, because he then details throughout the entire article that Trump is a Criminal.
Obviously, the office is the pinnacle of a government's role, position, responsibility or office. But not criminal!
Sorry Charles, I'm just surprised one of your fellow editors didn't pick that up not anyone on this Comment thread - all 800.
@Chris
How can the Presidency be Criminal?
1
Criminality and Heroism are two sides of the same coin.
From London in 1776 and Richmond in 1861, the list of most despised criminals, breaching the laws that had governed and been traditional in their land, were headed by Jefferson and Lincoln, respectively.
The "heroism" or the "criminality" of D.J. Trump will be decided by one of two paths. The first is impeachment and trial as defined by the Constitution. The second, as ominous as this may sound, is violent and bloody internecine war- something so terrible that in our waking hours we banish the possibility from our consciousness. But this path is as real as the millions of AR15s in possession of those who see Mr. Trump as a savior, rather than a criminal.
Readers of the N.Y. Times do, in fact, consider Trump more than a criminal, but the personification of a biblical level of pure evil; his preternatural ability to blind so many to his deviousness, and to transform those leaders of his own party who had hated him into his defenders, leaves us with the most ineffectual of tools, chastising him for being a "criminal"
As of now he is NOT such, meaning being tried and convicted of a crime. He, is still the holder of the exalted position specifically and consciously defined as having plenary authority to control the destiny of the country he leads.
Future historians back date the root of this war, years, decades maybe centuries. I fear we may not wish away the next terrible phase.
1
Catch 22! Individual -1 can not be indicted for interfering in the election process, because he is the president. On the other hand, he is the president because he did so.
13
To repeat the vulgar con-man's constant refrain about his achievements being the greatest in the history of the US ever, he is indeed the first president ever in the history of this country who ascended to the presidency through not only extraordinary help from an enemy of the US, but one that has made the White House the greatest swamp of law-breakers, grifters and sycophants.
In any other advanced nation with a parliamentary system, that man - or women - would never have become the leader of a nation in the first place when not winning the majority of the general votes, and should they find out that their legitimately elected leader committed crimes before and while in office, he/she would be ousted by a vote of non-confidence.
But alas, the US is hardly an advanced nation anymore.
12
"It is very possible that the president of the United States is a criminal."
Now that I've stopped laughing at that statement, I'll try to correct it:
It is very possible that soon we will be able to prove that the president of the United States is what we've known him to be all along -- a criminal.
14
@Ellis6
As was Obama who regularly snorted cocaine.. (according to his own book)
1
I am not a legal scholar, but I understand that there is a principle called tolling which stops the clock of a statute of limitations, so Trump may not have a get out of jail free card if (God forbid) he runs again and is reelected. As well, the no indictment of a sitting president is a policy of the Justice Department, not a statute, regulation, or precedent of litigated law. Surely the SD of NY might test this in court regarding their charges against Trump.
We have to wait for all of this to unspool. Mueller is working his way up the food chain and I think Trump's family, business interests and personal finances and conduct are the next rungs. The circles are getting smaller and smaller, closer and closer. It may end up that he will be convicted on tax issues and money laundering if those can be proven more easily than conspiring with the Russians to gain advantage in the 2016 election. He has baldly lied about his interests in Russia. There is documentary evidence to prove that. A conspiracy may or may not succeed, but if it breaches the criminal code it is still a crime. Trump is a coward despite all of his bombast. He might try to stonewall an indictment but if the facts are egregious enough, he will not be reelected. He might try to negotiate a deal to walk away from the WH for no jail time and to spare the country the trauma of a criminal trial. (Laughable for someone who is about himself first, last and always.)
4
@Judy The prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are members of the Justice Department, bound to follow its policies. They work for, and are answerable to, the president. They are not members of the judiciary, which is independent of the executive branch.
1
In some other democratic countries, when the leader gets dangerously out of control, a military coup d'état usually follows to save the remnants of the republic.
Please don't say that it can't happen here.
6
This is truly absurd. First of all, this legal theory was tried out against Jonathan Edwards. There is no reason to believe it will work any better this time. The trouble is that Trump had a variety of plausible reasons to pay off these women, and proving beyond a reasonable doubt that this is a 'campaign contribution' will be very difficult. Cohen's statements do not actually establish anything at all except that he was willing to say anything the prosecutors asked him to. No campaign funds were used, and Trump has a right to contribute whatever he likes to his own campaign, so even if the rather thin case (Alan Dershowitz) that this is a campaign contribution at all, the maximum achievable is a failure to report a campaign contribution in a timely manner. The Obama campaign failed in reporting much larger amounts -- and paid a fine, as is usual in such cases.
This is nothing but liberal fantasy and wish fulfilment.
2
@David
Whataboutism as a defense isn’t a defense. Besides, your information about Obama isn’t accurate.
1
This is the time of absurdity and so whatever can be conjured, can happen. I easily see Mr. Trump and family leaving suddenly
for some "friendly" country as pending felons on the lamb, in the middle of the night, minutes ahead of the hounds.
This is not as zany as it seems. As a matter of fact, it's entirely
likely. Sometime in February feels about right to me.
8
Harvey Silverglate wrote a book called Three Felonies a Day. He points out in that book that the average professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep, unaware that he or she has likely committed several federal crimes that day.
That federal prosecutors think Donald Trump committed a crime means little. They could find a crime to pin on any politician. It's not hard.
Do we want to be a country where our justice system is political and where the political opponents of our politicians trump up criminal cases against them? That's banana republic behavior, not something we want in America.
When Richard Nixon's political opponents hounded him into resigning, we started along a road that leads to no good end. Thankfully we got back on the right track when Bill Clinton was impeached but not convicted. And when Hillary Clinton was not accused criminally for her silly email misjudgment.
Don't let your hatred of Donald Trump get us back on that road. You may not like him, but he's no criminal.
1
Why should this President not face indictment while in office? No federal statute precludes such, nor does our Constitution. Although Justice Department policy suggests otherwise, there must be an exception to the rule when the potential subject of an indictment presents a unique and unprecedented case. With the Fake President, the D.O.J. is certainly presented with such an historical exception, an officeholder who willfully violated material federal law to aid in, and probably allow for, his election. And that is most likely just the beginning of chargeable felonious conduct by Trump. It would be a mockery of “equal justice under law “ if he presently avoided prosecution by using his office as a shield, a position that he arguably acquired unlawfully in the first place.
3
@John Grillo The president is not above the law while in office. The House can impeach him and the Senate convict him of any high crime or misdemeanor. The Justice Department policy is in place to protect the president from incessant criminal investigations and prosecutions by his political enemies that use the judicial process rather than the political process. Sadly, in this case, it's not working.
2
@John Smithson. Would the “no prosecution” D.O.J.policy, whatever the level of a President’s criminality, also permit someone who actively consorted with our adversaries to remain in office irrespective of any continuing harm that could be done to the country while awaiting a lengthy impeachment and conviction process? Such an absolutist interpretation can lead to an absurdly self-damaging and dangerous result.
3
@John Grillo Of course the "no prosecution" policy of the Department of Justice applies to any crime that may have been committed by a president. The president is in charge of the Department of Justice, and everybody in that department works for him. They cannot fairly consider his case.
It's the old problem of quis custodiet ipsos custodes? The founders of our country decided that Congress will decide whether a president is guilty or not. Not the courts. Or the Department of Justice.
And impeachment and conviction by Congress takes a lot less time than an investigation by a prosecutor and trial before the courts.
1
Many years ago we were discussing the fall of the Weimar Republic in high school history class. What the Austrian postcard painter and his political allies did to make him chancellor and president of the Reich in personal union appears to have exploited loopholes in the constitution of the young Republic back then. The current constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany includes various measures to prevent this from happening again and has substantially reduced the power of the president
Following the mindnumbing Trump stories reported in this newspaper from across the Atlantic I keep wondering whether the United States are now forced to realise which loopholes exist in their political system, vulnerable to exploitation by the wilful and morally bankrupt. I hope the time will come where these can be mended to prevent someone like the current POTUS to reign seemingly unchecked and the world at the mercy of the success of his adult daycare guardians in taking the edge off his lunacy by swiping notes from his desk.
6
Don't think that Trump losing in 2020 would end this circus. For reasons you have stated, an election loss would place Trump in serious legal jeopardy. With prosecutors waiting on the sidelines to arrest him when the game is over, I predict that if he loses reelection, Trump will issue a pardon for himself in the lame duck session. Will it work? I don't know, but he wouldn't have anything to lose by trying, and we would be in Constitutional crisis territory.
2
Actually, according to Blow, the NY Times editors plus their stable of journalists/columnists and the major media no one is "above the law" if they are a white, straight, Protestant Christian males. But if they're women they can make false sworn statements that they were sexually assaulted and not be prosecuted when they brag they did this for the 'cause' (Harvard), if they are illegal immigrants they are mythologized as phony Robin Hoods for violating our immigration, employment and social services eligibility laws and regulations by the 10's of millions. And if criminals are minorities (who by the way mostly prey on other law abiding minority persons) ... we have the safe in their security guarded fortresses, private school and exclusive zip code white liberal 1%s virtue signal preaching that not white criminals should not be incarcerated. Because it looks bad for the USA to have so many not white people in prison. So in reality there are many 10's of millions privileged people in the USA who our political class have orchestrated above the law status for in order to either buy their voter loyalty or make unearned billions by using them as low-wage slaves. The fact that our elites(still mostly white males by the way) have simply switched who the privileged are, whose loyalty they are buying with patronage gifts of legal impunity, really should not be too difficult to understand for anyone with a 6th grade education.
2
I'm not sure that the statute of limitations will run with the calendar as it would for anyone else. Assuming the Justice Department adheres to its eminently debatable internal guidelines and does not bring charges against a sitting president, that would seem to be a circumstance that would toll the statute.
Simply, if evidence supports criminal charges but there exists some kind of temporary immunity from prosection, the mere passage of time should not render such immunity permanent.
4
I find it interesting that Trump is now saying it was a simple private transaction. If that’s true then why go to all the trouble of setting up a secret account to pay for it. That would suggest to me that not only is not on the up and up, but also set up to avoid any IRS entanglements. Either way you interpret it it wreaks of criminal behavior.
12
@Ted Siebert: Trump's whole crony empire is private transaction.
2
If the President is protected from being indicted ex officio during his term, shouldn't the statue of limitations be suspended during for the duration of the term and then resumed once he resumes being a private citizen?
9
This will also give Trump a huge incentive to break every law, and abuse every power he has to make sure he wins in 2020. If he is not resigned or impeached by then, expect our political crisis to get much, much worse in 2 years.
8
The really sad thing is that he can't possibly be healthy enough to survive all of the court appearances and subsequent delays and so forth and so on, he won't actually see the inside of the jail cell he certainly belongs in. So sad.
5
I'm not optimistic.
This all exposes how of much of the world for so many is based on manufactured beliefs.
2
Charles, another fine column.
So, um, why are you still on Facebook???
2
Trump is obviously an illegitimate president.
Why are you only talking about impeachment? If we are a nation of laws, then his presidency, and all things he did during it, should be null and void.
Otherwise, the moral of the story is: future candidates should cheat to become president.
10
@Amiros: The Trump-McConnell federal judiciary is bomb that will tick for a very long time.
3
@Steve Bolger I agree, which is why it's so important for someone, anyone to say what's obvious: his presidency is illegitimate, and so is the Trump/McConnell judiciary. Why are even Democrats scared to point this out? With friends like these ...
1
I imagine the number of crimes committed by Trump and his merry men are being well-documented by Mueller (Hello, Erik Prince and your funny money laundromat!). The sheer volume of his crimes no doubt go way beyond campaign finance violations. Tax evasion, a la Al Capone, will bring this criminal down.
12
One of the primary goals of the senate led by McConnell is to stack the court system in their favor so they win in the judiciary. They don’t really see justice as impartial and never have. Why is it surprising if the Gop turns a blind eye to the Presidents alleged crimes and misdemeanors. They are not out to play fair, they are not interested in the truth, they are not concerned about serving the needs of the citizens. They simply want to win at all costs whatever it takes!
11
@R. Pasricha: Their justice system is a tar pit of favoritism and neglect.
2
Would giving the Cambridge analytical data to the Russians who used it to affect the US elections be a crime? Where is the Cambridge analytical data now? It would seem to be a very important political weapon to have this data.
4
Law enforcement officials, prosecutors and the judiciary have a duty to enforce the law.
Congress has no duty to impeach. The decision to impeach is a political decision.
2
Do not give up the fight - this idea that somehow we will just need to wait and not pursue impeachment and prosecution now is bizarre - we need to stay on offense and offense NOW. Stop it.
3
Plenty of people are above the law in 1% USA Not one banker was jailed under Obama and Holder Reagan got away with selling arms to Iran in the Iran-Contra scandal Iran agreed to delay releasing the hostages until after the '80 election giving a fatal blow to Carter's bid for reelection The now canonized Bush 41 then pardoned all of the GOP operatives involved in Iran Contra including Casper Weinberger on the eve of his trial Bush himself was never implicated which is far from plausible given he was VP at the time
Bush and Cheney got away with lying us into the Iraq war Cheney escaped being held accountable for outing covert CIA agent Valerie Plame in payback for her husband's Ambassador Wilson debunking his false claim that Saddam was seeking to buy yellow cake uranium in Niger We still don't know the consequences of Cheney's outing of Plame in terms of loss of life and damaged intelligence
Nixon interfered with the Paris Peace talks with North Vietnam in 1968 telling them they would get a better deal if he became president an act President Johnson called an act of treason Nixon then prolonged the war another five years thinking it was good for him to be a war time POTUS at the cost of 20-30,000 more American lives
To me the past POTUS' at 41's funeral were the mask that USA used to use to present to the world Trump is USA with the mask ripped off and it is ugly Yes he's crude vulgar racist misogynist inept man who acts like mobster but the others are not without sin
3
@Martin: It is all God's will to those who believe this land is "under God".
@Martin
Lots of pearls of outrage on your list, but you have to admit, this guy's the best at being the worst.
9
We will survive, but first collectively wake up to the fact that our President is immoral, incompetent and corrupt. We also must face the fact that we, collectively, elected him and we must accept the fact that something is wrong in this great country and we cannot push all the blame on the Republican Party. We must answer the question of how and why did we get here.
Don’t blame it all on the Republicans. Blame it on all of us. Citizens United must be overturned. Today voters do not control politics. Money does and much of it comes from corporations and the very wealthy. We must demand that citizens determine the direction of this country and not money. It is one man, one vote and not one dollar, one vote. …. http://lstrn.us/10DGJIW
10
@sbanicki: One person, one vote.
2
@sbanicki: the "something wrong" seems to be a millenarian death wish.
We are stuck inside the looking glass. T is an incompetent, a bad businessman, a liar, a cheat, a crook, a cad, amoral, narcissistic, illiterate, maybe demented or has bipolar disorder or Asberger's syndrome, and I am being kind because some of that could be beyond his control. But he is the president of the US and we (collectively) chose him. Big Mistake. Somehow he still has the fealty of 35+% of the adults, which suggests that they don't care if democracy is followed precisely. Somehow, the trangressions of this man should be understood by all citizens, not because he is a cad, but because he is damaging our country. Democracy is crumbling, here (Wis,Mich, NC) and murder is afoot (Russian in London, Saudi in Turkey). That is all because we have an incompetent crook at the helm. Maybe we should all sing the "Star Spangled Banner" to ourselves and work to fix our union.
6
@William Trainor: We all collectively let dead people decide a situation they never anticipated.
2
Trump's lawyers can say anything; the Justice Department can say a sitting president can't be indicted. But if our country is to survive in one piece, we need to consider what this means. No president, no person, can be above the law in our country.
There's been little question for some time now that Trump is corrupt and a criminal. Cohen's recent revelations simply solidify what we already suspected.
A sitting vice president was indicted in the 1970s. Why should a sitting president, shown to be corrupt, be immune from prosecution at any time?
A man of honor would resign, but as Trump is not a man of honor, he will not resign. The nation will suffer for that reason.
11
@Barbara.
I agree. Members of Congress can be indicted. Federal judges can be indicted. There is no valid reason to except the president from the legal system.
10
When Trump supporters give you the "yeah, but" defense, go with this rebuttal that will break down them every time. Its called the Obama test. Substitute Trump's name with Obama with every misdeed or crime Trump has committed. Then ask them to defend Obama with the same vigor if Obama had done the same thing. That is when you expose them for their hypocrisy.
8
@damon walton.
Hypocrisy is no longer a cause of shame. It is a badge of honor!
2
Obama violated campaign finance law, paid the fine and life went on. What other “crime” has Special Counsel uncovered in two years? Lying to the Special Counsel and Manafort’s business scheme. Cheating on your wife, lying about it, and paying money to the women involved wasn’t criminal when John Edwards did it. Wasn’t even thought to be an impeachable offense when a sitting President did it. Now it’s grounds for indictment and impeachment? I didn’t and wouldn’t vote for Trump but let’s look at the double standard most Trump haters apply,
My forecast: when overwhelming evidence forces even craven GOP senators to acknowledge the breadth and depth of Trump's perfidy, Trump will defect during a trip to a foreign autocrat, perhaps Orban or the like, taking as many of his assets with him as he can. Unclear if Jared will be on that plane or will take the fall.
3
It is disheartening to think that many people will cast their vote in 2020 for the sole purpose of keeping Trump out of jail.
6
They're going to need something bigger than campaign finance violations. In most cases, that's a stiff fine. They need conspiracy and obstruction, and they can indict him now and seal the indictment until he leaves office. Then, put him on trial, and jail him. It's the only scenario we should accept. He has to pay for what hes done.
8
China wants Trump gone almost as much as the NYT does. Almost.
4
When I began reading the comments I saved and shared a few with my self in order to reflect on what many of you are writing. After reading about 20 comment and replies I felt a new faith in my country, and that maybe things might turn out alright. I side strongly with the side that wants to see this President resign, he has left other positions and I hope that with continued pressure he might resign, (I know dreaming). But I have a healthy fear of his supporters, not for myself but I have a diverse family. Thank you Mr. Blow for a great article, you should feel good about the comment section sanity prevails!
8
Between all the talk about Impeachment and acts by Trump that may have him accused of a felony or two there is a word that certainly has not gotten much attention.
That is the word Treason
It is my hope that this is where the investigation ultimately goes.
Surely, with more evidence coming out every day, there should be consideration that this is what the Mueller Investigators will ultimately prove.
As for Obstruction of Justice, Nunes, McConnell, Ryan and numerous other players should be on the short list for that charge. They have not done what they are sworn to do, which is to be the checks and balances on the Executive Branch. This is, at the very least a dereliction of duty.
I hope the Democrats in the house decide to work on protecting Mueller, because obviously McConnell and company have no interest in that. McConnell is using this turmoil to bring our Country down. If that isn't criminal I don't know what is.
The RNC chose who would surround Trump, such as Cabinet Members, Chief of Staff, White House Spokespersons, Presidential Counselors, etc., in exchange for their support of the Trump Presidency. They are the co-collaborators in this criminal venture. They should be tried and convicted of defrauding the voters of this Country.
7
There's not a day in which I don't wake up and wonder how this man (1) became our president and (2) what it will take to remove him. We are burdened with a president whose organization is a criminal enterprise, who praises Putin and Kim and denigrates our justice system, particularly the man who is discovering a truckload of nefarious activities, who brazenly practices nepotism by awarding White House positions to his daughter and son-in-law, who utters glaring lies on a daily basis, and who has no understanding of nor respect for the very foundations of our democracy, most patently the principle of separation of powers. He may survive prosecution and/or impeachment while in office, but it is imperative that we vote him out of office in 2020 so he can prosecuted as a private citizen for his many crimes. Since January 20, 2017 this nation has been living a nightmare.
15
Trump may dance all the way to the grave without suffering even the mildest of sanctions. I have not the slightest doubt that he lacks any real sense of historical perspective. Yet, one would think that any awareness on his part that he and his administration no doubt will go down in history, along with Tammany Hall, Teapot Dome and other milestones of corruption, as sad dark moments in our democracy, would have some impact on the man.
8
After all is said and done there are still 40% of Americans and a major news organization that believe that having a criminal in the White House is ok. Since that minority also controls The Senate, I doubt that anything will be done while Trump is in office. Something has gone terribly wrong with our democracy that allows someone to win the Presidency with a minority of the vote.
10
He has been a criminal his entire life. His first big splash on the national scene in 1973 was as defendant in a massive federal discrimination case. He was already neck deep in mafia ties by the early 1980s Australia would not let him open a casino because of his mafia ties. He has been playing fast and loose with Arab financiers and the Russian mob since the early 1990s.
He is crooked as a dog's hind leg. Until he decided that his biggest con/crime would be stealing a US election he could always use other people's money to buy his way out.
No more.
13
I had no idea Blow was as young as this. Were the President seriously worried about the law, he would resign and have his vice pardon him , just as Ford Pardoned Nixon-essentially after all but promising not to.
Nixon even managed to partially rehabilitate his "image" in the 80's when he looked like a saint and a genius compared with the Reagan administration circus of second raters.
1
@meloop... You seem to have the correct exit, however there's much to still theve on the way out, Mitch's Federal Prison Reform to enrich the Kushner family is right at the top of the list!
1
The rest of the world looks on to see whether there is any truth to the oft-repeated mantra that no one is above the law in America. It certainly doesn't appear that way from the outside. How many bankers went to prison after the financial crisis? How has Trump been able to get away with his actions for as long as he has? The very idea of America is at stake here.
4
Another question: Is someone who helps a criminal evade justice himself a criminal.
Because, if that's the case, then we have the entire GOP senators on the chopping block and for them the statute of limitations will not have run out by the time Trump finishes his second term.
In fact, the only way for them to evade their own just is to make Trump president for life.
How does that feel?
4
@Kara Ben Nemsi
"Another question: Is someone who helps a criminal evade justice himself a criminal."
You mean like sanctuary cities????????????
Well, I think all your former allies are pulling for you and hoping that America can & will survive trump !! I know I am.
Good Luck !
8
A number of commenters have suggested that the USA could very well not survive the Trump presidency. This is curious. Donald Trump is nothing if not pro USA!
Meanwhile, out here in sunny CA, our state government is doing whatever it can to guarantee CA becomes a Mexican state! Politicians wear "WE LOVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION" on their sleeves as symbols of virtue.
Trump's fighting against this, but, Oh, no, he paid a couple of gold diggers hush money? He's "undermining this country's values!"
Charles does a disservice promoting the notion that Trump will at any time be indicted on any basis beyond "politics."
2
@smacc1: Trump is a simpleton ignoring global population and climate change. Happy fire season.
4
@Steve Bolger Trump's no simpleton. He seems, rather, very aware of the score on the Paris Accord, Climate Change.
I suspect Trump read Gov. Brown the riot act over his "Climate Change I'm With China!" showboating and $$$$ committed to that dubious cause. I least I hope he did. Meanwhile, CA indeed burns, but not because Trump doesn't no any better.
1
@smacc1: Trump detests science. That's why the Evangelicals enable him.
3
In 2016, Charles supported the criminal who lost the election, so we got stuck with the criminal who won. Maybe, in 2020, Charles and his cohorts at The Times will support a decent candidate with some morals and an ethical compass.
4
@Tony: Nobody has ever been investigated longer by a sleazier crew of hypocrites to no legal effect than Hillary Clinton.
12
Is Trump less of a criminal than Bush?--Responsible for hundreds of thousands of Iraqi war dead due to his lies about the Weapons of Mass Destruction? The only action Trump took that the warmongering Democrats applauded was attacking Syria. . . . . In the real world, you don't fight Fascism with Fascism, for example keeping your political opponent's campaign manager in prison in solitary confinement unless he testifies that your opponent's election was a fraud--or restricting & censoring views opposed to your own on social media--the actions being taken now. The only way to defest Fascism is with Socialism.
@Red Allover: The Republicans don't want a world court to judge the legality of military interventions of UN supervised inspections to determine compliance, or lack thereof, with UN disarmament mandates.
"If the President does it, it's not illegal."
Richard M Nixon
2
In a feudal society, in a dictatorship, in monarchies it may be possible for a criminal chief official to escape the snare of the law.
Democracies are supposed to be different. No one should be above the reach of the law.
Our Founding Fathers never imagined it would ever even be a question in these United States.
6
The only people supporting and working for trump at this point are other con artists and criminals. Note that Norquist has instructed trump and the republicans to follow the tactic of Stalin, his hero, to embed fanatically loyal ultra- right-wing moles in the government in order to destroy it from within. It will be imperative to purge the government of these trogs as soon as trump is gone.
7
Prying a one year old child from its mother's arms. That's Criminal. Trump has emboldened Police to brutality beyond already suspect methods.......
5
The campaign finance thing is small; other people have been charged with it and been acquitted or paid a fine.
What about the obstruction of justice efforts that are all over in plain site, not the least of it Trump's own public confession of it via a journalist?
But wait till Mueller's report comes out. I suspect not just conspiracy (which will be difficult to prove) but money laundering. The Russians don't lend money to a fool just out of the goodness of their hearts.
4
But broaden this out, Charles.
But we have a criminal system---Trump is an extreme symptom of it. Which is big money financing our parties, politicans and congress. With the values that go along with it.
And with an allied Supreme Court that pretends setting limits on campaign mega donor money is against 1st Amendment Free Speech. This disortion of the constitution effectively shuts out influence of average citizens on our lawmaking. We can't compete.
It this political culture, the big money--big shots call the shots. Enter Trump and his band of courtiers with no sense of duty to the country, only to their own power and wealth.
America overthrew King George. Now we have King Donald with our corporate overlords ruling over a faux democracy, We stand in long lines to vote, but our politicians mostly stay within the limits imposed by the wealthy donors, while they compete for funding from the richest donors.
The rich donors pay for the campaign ads that inundate and manipulate our voters, and make profit for media. These private ads are banned in other democracies, says wikipedia.
Our system is the reason the US still can't reach 20th C international standards of other democracies in access to affordable health care for all. Just 1 example.
Trump is a symptom. Broaden it out.
5
Can we survive it if Trump makes it to 100 while Never Trump folks will keel off well before that?
Most worrisome is that Trump continues to hold himself above the law because the majority party in Congress aids and abets him in doing so. Waiting for election cycles with the hope of curing Congress is not sufficient. Hoping that the House will impeach and the Senate convict is no protection against a president who is practically a career criminal. This situation is not as much a constitutional crisis as it is a discovery of certain shortcomings of the Constitution itself.
2
WE are a very strong country so we will survive a criminal presidency, but we must put new laws in the book that this will never happen again, most of the country knew that who was Trump was, 4 bankruptcies , several marriages with several children, a University is not there any more and the people has degrees from there can not find jobs, and lots of unpaid bills to lots of people, he is not mentally stable , these things must be look before we put the person in the White House, l am a 84 year old immigrant and a proud American, Hillary, Bidden, and the rest of the old timers please just stay home and let this country will have a young and smart, love this country, can be he or she
1
Trump didn't win the popular vote. He won the electoral college votes. What these indictments suggest is that without having paid off his two (that we know of) mistresses, he might not have won enough votes in the swing states, and then wouldn't even be president today. In other words, he did steal the election.
Lock him up!
6
I agree with gemli. Trump supporters and his enablers in Congress should be the one's to pay the cost, unfortunately, that's probably not how it's going to work. The full scope of damage this man is doing to this Country will not be known for some time. Only when viewed through the rear view mirror of History. I suspect that we are all paying a terrible price.
5
@Rima Regas
I'm as guilty as any commenter of fusing imagery, but "constitution reboot" is nebulous at best and quixotic at its worst. Recommend Oath-taker Reboots for 2020, 2022, and 2024 that "constitutionally retire" McConnell and his 50-odd conspirators.
Telling Democrats to learn a lesson and to shift from Big Money With Strings is one thing, but stabbing Pelosi OVER TERM LIMITS FOR COMMITTEE CHAIRMANSHIPS seems counterproductive. Pelosi said that she was "open" to the Problem Solvers Caucus who, combined with certain naive rookies, could prove to be a foil to Pelosi getting all she can for everyday Americans. With only the House leadership, political realities demand room for maneuvering.
Perfect or not, Obamacare is what we have now to protect people. Pelosi defended its survival against all odds. The coming Congress is going to be a transition - away from the brink. Whoever becomes the House Majority Leader IS UNDERMINED by internal assaults. An eye toward total reform is warranted, but it will require that 2020 vote.
1
Great piece. If anybody is above the law, then you don’t have a country. I hope the rule of law prevails in the United States.
6
In the future, only professional politicians who live by arcane rules will be eligible for office. What a farce. The anti-Trump maniacs simply will not rest until Trump is gone. They are relentless ants.
7
The rule of law is not arcane, but is necessary for our system of government to exist. Any Democratic President would be held to that standard, so the Republican ones must be also, as each citizen also is in our daily lives.
19
Obstruction of justice is not breaking an arcane rule. Disclosing hush money on behalf of a political campaign is not an arcane requirement.
17
@david: It's the Trumpers who are the maniacs. Those resisting Trump want to return to stability and integrity in their government. They want the government to serve the people, instead of the personal interests of the president and his 1% financiers and Russian oligarchs.
24
The Republican party, in particular it's Senators, are conspirators and are guilty of assisting Trump in his crimes. The party itself is now a criminal enterprise, funneling money and resources into protecting its Don from justice.
One way or another, the tyranny of the current Republican party must be exposed and examined so that we can prevent any future political party from conspiring to protect criminals without legal consequence. A national truth and reconciliation process might be even more important than impeachment. Political parties should not automatically be exempt from legal culpability.
9
If the President is in the unique position of not being indictable while he is in office (and it must be pointed out that not all legal scholars agree on this matter), it would seem logical, that the President should also be in the unique position of not having the years that he is in office (and, as such, not indictable) count toward the statutes of limitations.
4
@MS: One typically finds that there are more opinions on legal matters than lawyers involved in the cases.
2
@MS
Do you actually expect logic in legal matters?
I hope the Justice Department takes the steps to indict Trump.
It is not settled law that a sitting President cannot be indicted. In fact, there is ample precedent in Nixon & Clinton that a sitting President is NOT above the law.
Let the case go to the Supreme Court and let's see if the justices follow precedent and allow Trump to be indicted or if they revert to political partisanship and decide that Trump is above the law.
I am betting at least one Republican appointed justice will decide the case based only on the law and nothing else.
It only takes ONE VOTE by a single Supreme Court justice to decide by a 5-4 vote to allow Trump to be indicted while still in office.
I think it would be a good bet that there is at least one honest justice among the 5 GOP appointees.
7
@SF Native: I suspect the Supreme Court will have to resurrect Jesus to have the authority to rule on this matter.
1
The critical issue is that Trump continues to be enabled by the Republican legislators. McConnell et al have an agenda that is not too distant from that of Trump and his presence in the oval office is to their advantage. The Senate's refusal to consider President Obama's SCOTUS appointee is the primary case in point. Our survival as a democracy depends on voters awareness of this situation. America requires a wholesale cleaning of both the House and Senate.
4
Somehow, someway the idea that t rump will finally see justice seems so naive. Nixon committed treason (according to LBJ) and was pardoned. Reagan committed crimes and although a great number of his people went to prison he was never held to account. Cheney/Bush lied US into a war. Nada.
t rump ran on the idea of being king, or at least dictator, and if he is not held accountable then he will have been right. He would be king.
Here might be the supreme irony: I read yesterday of a woman with a green card convicted of illegal voting receiving an 8 year sentence. Cohen is facing what? 5 years? For helping to subvert our elections. How can this be right?
At the moment we are not a Nation. We are a neighborhood caught up in a gang war between two crime families.
Sad
10
@Bob Laughlin: It's a jungle out here, and only the baddest of the baaaad survive.
1
Trump has not been indicted, charged, or proven guilty of anything. And most likely will not be while sitting as President. Of course Mr Blow is well aware of that so he falls back to this: "He misled the American people through a conspiracy of lies, and he did so to help attain, and then maintain, his presidency." and as such questions "the legitimacy of his victory."
But as we all know well, Barack Obama fits squarely into that analysis. Barack Obama misled the American people through a conspiracy of lies, and he did so to help attain, and then maintain, his presidency, as was revealed by his campaign manager David Axelrod no less. Axelrod write in his book that Barack Obama lied repeatedly about his stance on same sex marriage while running for the office of US President for the sole purpose of deceiving voters into voting for him. But, of course, Mr Blow never came forward to question the legitimacy of Obama's victory when this came to light.
It is the utter hypocrisy of the left vis a vis Bill Clinton, Barrack Obama, etc. that ushered Trump into office. We can expect more of the same until we hold all equally accountable.
2
Jerome—I call balderdash. If Obama changed his view on same sex marriage, he changed his view—that’s not a lie. But keep obsessing over him if it helps you. We are (unfortunately) well beyond his presidency at this point and now, saddled with this criminal, know-nothing president, we need to think about our future and collective survival.
9
@Jerome: See no evil, hear no evil, and above all, speak no evil of the immaculate Donald Trump, vetted only by God.
4
@Jerome ....So Jerome, where is Trump's tax return? Of all the Presidents in the past 50 years, Trump is the only one who has not provided their tax returns. Why is that?
6
What don't you all get?
Trump and family are above the law.
No accountability as long as Mitch is in power.
Trump's 40% base support will remain.
Fox "news" will continue 24/7 propaganda
All norms are "out the window".
I believe unless and until right-thinking Americans get into the streets and lawfully protest the destruction of our democracy, we deserve our fate. It won't happen quickly; ...death by a thousand cuts.
5
Trump is a traitor. He has sold out the USA for his own financial gain. He needs to be put in jail for the remainder of his life and forfeit all his wealth. Same for his cronies and 3 of his adult kids, plus Kushner.
12
Illegal or not, I don’t see how this president can retain credibility.
7
How much more information do we need to think we have the Manchurian Candidate as president?
6
The President of the United States is a criminal. The political party that nominated him for his position is an unethical band of thugs that is just as criminal. Can America survive this? Stay tuned, but don't bet the farm that it can.
12
As a child I remember having such reverence for the White House and what it stood for, the President, the Congress and our role as protector of freedom and democracy in the world.
Today we have a crime boss in the White House and a traitor as Majority Leader in the Senate. They do not represent us, they do not speak for us, they only represent their own self interests and hold onto absolute power. We must turn this around and fast. Do not vote Republican, they are the sworn enemy of our democracy.
14
Good article, except the the use of one of my least favorite phrases: "Let that sink in."
That phrase sounds condescending and a little arrogant. I don't need to let anything "sink in" since I can read, infer, and extrapolate facts perfectly well, thank you.
2
I'm strongly opposed to impeachment of Trump only to replace him by Mike Pence or such Republican politicians.
People like Trump must face full force of American justice, as American politicians often brag about while dealing with terrorists and white collar criminals from abroad. If we, the American people fail to defeat Trump in 2020 election and the next President and administration fail to serve justice by putting Trump and his accomplishes in jail, then USA does not deserve to call itself a democracy and we do not deserve democracy either.
8
Thank you Mr. Blow.
Have been wondering if there might be a deal in the works by Muller's team, before a report is is released to the public.
To DJT and his attorneys: Here is the final report; the evidence/collaboration is irrefutable. Resign now and we will waive prosecution. Refuse this offer and we will prosecute your entire crime family and most, if not all, of you will go to prison.
Would his ego make that deal?
1
Someone needs to research the application of statutes of limitations to see if there isn't any generally applicable automatic tolling when someone is temporarily non-prosecutable due to his status or location. Otherwise, a President is really above the law - a truly ridiculous notion.
5
The Republican Party and 45 continue, and will continue, to defend the miscreant pilot of the ship of states’ multiple transgressions of the Constitution predicated upon cold cunning reality. GOP senators dare not bite the hand that feeds them for fear of political extinction and social excoriation. They know the money source is their bread and butter, and surely they do not want to lose that meal ticket. Republicans will tolerate the continued infringements of the Constitutions based upon the record established by the spineless GOP leaders who summarily excused the diminutive dwarf as ‘he’s new to this,’ ‘he’s never been involved in politics before,’ and ‘he’ll gradually get with it.’ Placating the sordid and indefensible conduct of the candidate proved fatal upon his being elected to the White House. Pointing to this fact, whey should he surround that acquired position of strength? The Republican Party finds itself between a rock and a hard place. They refuse to challenge 45 but they also know that their future depends upon him. Blandly complaining about violations of law and constitutional infringing conduct, and then not taking action due to absence of moral back bone, reflects poorly upon the GOP. Adamantly refusing to denounce white nationalism while gladly accepting their monetary contributions speaks volumes. America is destined to experience far greater difficulties due to inaction and refusal to take action. Race matters.
___________________________________
3
One thing we have to say. Donald Trump did not try to hide who he is. He showed us who he is during the campaign, an incompetent criminal. A big part of America said, "hey, we haven't tried that."
5
Welcome to the land of the banana republic where those in power criminalize political opponents. If there was a violation of campaign laws, it was a failure to disclose such payments. In the past, the treasurer of the campaign has been censured and fines levied against the campaign rather than imprisoning the candidate. Does Mr. Blow suggested that President Obama should be imprisoned for the campaign finance law violations that have been adjudicated with respect to his past campaigns, or does he merely suggest imprisoning one with whom he does not agree politically?
2
@Wyld Byll Hyltnyr
Even Banana Republics seek imprisonment of some former leaders.
Look at the cases of Former Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom and the former finance minister who is now chairman of Oxfam International were arrested. Aren’t they both still in a Miami jail?
1
I'm 80 years old, and in reasonably good health.
I was fortunate enough to have lived during the presidencies of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and Barack Obama.
I'm also fortunate enough not to have to anticipate a future of climate change (which now seems inevitable) and a voting population that, thanks to our Electoral College and deplorable public-education system, can elect (and probably re-elect) a president of Donald Trump's character.
12
@Flagger
Is there some reason you want to tell us about your good fortune?
And I guarantee he will start a war to prevent his own indictment and arrest.
9
Whatever crimes Trump has committed he must indeed be prosecuted for like any American. But if we want to garnish respect for the rule of law it should apply equally to everyone and yet by your own admission the laws are not equally applied.Why is bail based on how much money you are able to access? If your poor you sit in a jail cell waiting for trial, if your rich you are free to work with your attorney preparing a defense. Plea bargaining has become nothing more than prosecutorial blackmail. There should be a massive overhaul of our justice system or cynicism of our justice system will continue. Currently the rule of law is not king but the court jester.
9
Probably the only true statement Trump ever made was that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and his supporters wouldn't care. And his supporters probably have more guns than those who want to stand up for what used to be our country. But a nation gets the government it deserves.
6
"[T]he precious possibility of America cannot be trampled by the corrupt and the fraudulent, the venal and the lecherous."
Oh, come off your never-Trump obsession, which has infected nearly all of your columns since Trump was elected, and then rubbed his victory like a Boston-cream pie in the face of the NYT and columnists like you who had shot their wad flacking for Hillary.
Your palpable hatred of Trump injures you more than him. . Your readers don't need you to tell them Trump's a crook. What are you gonna tell us next, water's wet? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dok7x-mUcvM
Don't worry about Trump ruining America. If America needed honest politicians to survive it would have fallen in ruin in the late 1700, when the Federalists foisted the Constitution on America by means of political chicanery. If the nation could survive founders like Alexander Hamilton, it can survive Trump, who is hardly more dishonest than F.D.R., whose Great Depression did almost as much damage to America as dishonest Abe's Civil War because it lasted so much longer.
America is made up of 325 million folks who keep the gears turning. If the D.C. Swamp was drained and its denizens evicted, America would not only survive, it would thrive under a regimen of voluntary self-government. We'd just have to learn to survive without taxes and wars.
3
@Ned Netterville: In my experience, the typical "Libertarian" is a clown like Rand Paul who piles his yard waste in the view of his neighbor and rubs his nose in it.
12
Lemme guess your posit on the progressive income tax and freedom of speech for anybody who isn’t you.
But as for libertarianism, all I’ve needed to know since I was about sixteen is that a) it’s fun in a Heinlein novel, and b) its major “thinkers,” do stuff like shoot meth and grab every government benny they can get, name their kids after people who shoot meth and grab every government benny they can get, crank out racist newsletters and invent medical boards to get themselves Board-certified, and run for cover when the shabby likes of Donald Trump starts chewing on the Constitution they waved like a flag for decades.
5
Many of us knew the minute he announced his candidacy that he was an immoral, petty, selfish and paranoid man who would do great injustice to our country. It is not as though he was an unknown when he starting running. We have lived in absolute agony for months waiting for the rest of you to figure out what a terrible person he is. Now you know. Too bad it is years too late.
19
I truly believe Trump would destroy this country in an attempt to save himself. The Republican party could put an end to this right now but they have proven themselves to be nothing but complicitous cowards. Will the military step in at some point to stop this horror? That is a horribly frightening scenario.
12
The title of this article is apt and applies to us. Let that sink in.
3
Trump will never be tried, much less convicted. Even if he's out after one term he'll simply resign a few hours before his term ends and have President Pence pardon him. Then, he'll fly back to his gilded tower in Manhattan to harass us through Twitter for the rest of his life.
But it can't be just about Trump. We've now learned that even the President of the United States cannot be trusted and must be bound by law, not custom. And, those who enabled him and broke the law, those who have no presidential protection, should be prosecuted and sent to federal prison, all of them. There can be no reward for the environment Trump and the Republicans have created.
16
ted the GOP impeached Bill Clinton for lying to cover up a private episode of oral sex...and granted...Trump can claim his infidelities required a 'private' cover up and lying...no one is above the law. Nonetheless- the crime we must focus on is not the clear campaign fund felony - it is the quid pro quo between Trump & Russia. They promised to help him get elected and give him Moscow tower deal while he promised to lift sanctions and further their oil drilling interests. A few hundreds of millions would be exchanged as gratitude fees; the oil deal would be worth billions.
The crime is pretending to serve the American people and our national interest when actually serving Trump instead.
8
Wow, judge, jury, and executioner. It’s quite sad that those with such hatred towards Donald Trump unilaterally started picking apart ever aspect of his life “looking” for crimes. Looking would be an understatement.
The scary part of this chapter in America is the zealous pursuit to find crime without any real trigger to start massive investigation. Oh, and thanks for the monetary costs to US citizens and waste of Democratic Party thought. Seriously, they have not conducted a lick of business for US citizens in 2 years. Zero!
The table is now set. All Presidents will be dissected as if they are criminals every 4th January 20th.
Our justice system and Democratic Party have taken the biggest hit of all. Political sniping and throwing allegations and furiously looking to tear down political opponents is a new guarantee as part of politics.
We’ll never have a bipartisan government again in my lifetime. For those that cheer and root to tear down Donald Trump, that’s the price you paid instead of waiting 4 years and really less than 2 left. Very shortsighted and sad.
1
Gosh, you’re so fair-minded and bi-partisan—I wonder why your last sentence is a direct lift from a Trump Tweet?
4
I think that it is already too late to speak of surviving our president's malfeasance. Much irreparable damage will outlast his presidency, clouding our future.
Some examples: Trump's approach to climate change---encouraging coal usage and stopping all attempts at lowering carbon diffusion into our atmosphere--has reached the point of no return. He abandoned the Paris Accord--- the best chance for all nations joining together to stop the hurricanes and the floods. Now the world has essentially disbanded trying to ameliorate climate havoc. Thanks, Mr. Trump.
His ill-conceived tariff war has already forced some soy bean farmers into leaving their farms or into completely changing what they will now produce. This tariff war has also decimated the value of many 401-k's. This war --like most wars--has no winners.
Trump's unquestioned support of NRA is to some degree responsible for lives lost to assault weapons--which NRA obstinacy put into the public domain,weapons which are still there.
The stimulus of the massive tax cut for the extremely wealthy was in ignorance applied to our economy when it was in full bloom and removing its efficacy when our economy goes into its inevitable recession. The removal of this weapon for future usage is damaging.
His ripping apart of alliances will not be easily repaired.
His ripping apart of families at our borders inflicted permanent damage on many innocent children.
Much irrevocable harm has been done by our president.
17
I have serious doubts whether this nation can survive the Trump presidency, at least as one entity. Even with hard evidence of Trump's criminal acts, 40 percent of our citizens remain in lockstep with him. And as the noose continues to tighten, they will become angrier and angrier. His supporters are some of our most heavily armed Americans. I seriously believe that many of them will resort to violence, should further evidence of his criminal wrongdoing become public, or should the House begin impeachment proceedings.
Trump's base is the last card he has to play. Republican Senators turn on him at their peril. He knows they are all in thrall to his base. And this is precisely why they have done absolutely nothing to check him.
But these are not reasons to permit the extent of lawbreaking we've seen in our nation's highest office. With Mr. Mueller's findings to date (only a small fraction made public so far), it is clear that a felon is sitting in the Oval Office. The House of Representatives must move against him, even if the Senate does not have sufficient votes to remove him. At least our House of Representatives will be able to look our children in the face many years from now, and say they did try to remove a criminal who would be our dictator.
But understand this. Trump's voters are now just waiting for the word from him, to exercise their "second Amendment solutions." They are not going quietly. And they will target many of us before they are through. Get ready.
651
@Henry Hurt I agree with you. I wonder about the loyalty of National Guard and Army troops under such circumstances.
90
@Robert D. Carl, III. The military defends the Constitution, not the President. Have a little faith in all of these folks willing to lay down their lives to defend the country. They’re not the NRA.
190
@MP. I would like to agree with you. I hope and pray that you are right. Unfortunately, Republicans in Congress, like our military, have sworn oaths to “Protect and defend the Constitution of The United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” How has that worked out?
108
The president's lawyer, Giuliani, recently told us it took Trump three weeks to answer Mueller's questions instead of the three days it should have taken. What Rudy failed in that statement to mention is that it would have taken only three days for an honest man to complete.
Now that we know Paul Manafort's lawyers have been sharing his answers to Mueller's questions with Trump's lawyers we can better understand the excessive time Trump's own took. After all, it's not nearly as easy to co-ordinate a lie as it is the truth.
If our government fails to confront and bring to justice the most treacherous man ever to occupy our White House, all respect for the office of the president will be lost for years to come. We will all be living in a country where nothing matters anymore; no decent person should ever abide that.
9
Everyone appears to accept that legal opinions issued by the DOJ in the past have determined with finality that a sitting president cannot be indicted. Yet no one can point to anything in the language of the Constitution or its history that exempts a single office holder from being convicted for violating criminal laws. And if the issue had been raised when the framers were doing their work, there can be little doubt that their response would have been to confirm explicitly that they were not willing to endow the President with the ultimate power they had rejected when exercised by a king--to violate with impunity the laws that applied to all other citizens.
The argument must then be based upon expediency--that the president's work is too important to impede it with criminal prosecution, at least during his term of office. But that argument could be expanded to nearly every holder of high office (supreme court, leaders in Congress, military commanders, cabinet secretaries, etc.) No one has even suggested that same "expediency" should protect them from indictment. Yet the one clear difference between each of those high office holders and the President is that none of them have a built-in constitutional backup. Just as the VP is there to handle anything when the president is ill or dies, the presence of that backup destroys the entire "expediency" argument. Before considering impeachment, Congress should take steps to force the issue on indictment.
2
This freak show is just beginning. Currently, it is focused on campaign finance violations because that is what has been exposed. The big stuff is yet to come.
Obstruction of justice and witness tampering are very serious offenses.
Money laundering is a serious offense.
Tax fraud is a very serious offense.
Conspiring with a foreign power to influence an election is a very serious offense.
Setting up back channels of communication with said foreign power to avoid detection is a very serious offense.
Making deals with foreign powers (Russia and Saudi Arabia) that alter US policy with them because of previous or future promised financial arrangements is a very serious offense.
People go to jail for doing things like this. In the coming weeks, they should come to the surface as the indictments roll out. It is obvious that Mueller is initially going for the low hanging fruit in order to secure more damning evidence and testimony for these more serious offenses.
Trump is so scared, he has resorted to claiming that the recent indictments clear him completely. He can fool one third of the nation with that line, but not the prosecutors.
This administration will soon be crippled. If he is impeached in light of a mountain of convincing evidence which puts many in his circle in jail, then he will become so damaged that he will drag the GOP down with him. When he runs in 2020, think of the attack ads against him and all Republicans who voted to not impeach a criminal.
1060
@Bruce Rozenblit
Well put. The GOP's only hope is to impeach him ASAP and then turn him over to the NY State prosecutors for a speedy trial so that no one can run on a promise to pardon El Supremo (apologies to C.S. Forester).
In such a case, the Trump base will have a year to forget the "treason" and will not primary those who acted to rid us of this vexatious president.
33
@Bruce Rozenblit: Absolutely right, the snowball has rolled down the mountain to the point that it's speed and momentum can't be thwarted, it just picks up more mass, more velocity and spawns other avalanches as it does. Should Trump make it to the 2020 elections (highly doubtful) he and his party will be crushed by public opinion, to say nothing of the courts and the press. In terms of the attack ads they're already a target rich environment and in the end you can only fool some of the people some of the time.
I've had the misfortune of being close to a very large explosion, I'd advise everyone to prepare for one, it's coming soon.
64
@Bruce Rozenblit I hope you're right. Really, really hope.
50
When did the GOP decide that Trump was the Pope? Who are they to be deciding that it's okay for Trump to have committed crimes and continue to serve as president? They refused to work with President Obama, to give his last nominee for the Supreme Court a hearing on the grounds (flimsy grounds) that Obama had less than one year left in his term and couldn't represent the voters will.
What is the GOP that it gets to decide the voters will? Is this their new deal: they don't like what happens so they ignore it? What will they do if Trump is not re-elected in 2020? Or are they planning to make certain that he is re-elected by making it nearly impossible for most minorities and other suspected Democratic voters to cast their ballots?
This is not theoretical. The GOP is actively undermining democracy in America. Trump and the GOP are a threat to democracy in America. It's no accident that he is maligning the press, ignoring racism, and openly lying to us. Both of them, Trump and the GOP, are creating an atmosphere that makes lying, racism, and other ugly things normal. All we need is a revival of the KKK and our return to the "good ol' days" will be complete. This is the America that Trump and the GOP are in favor of, not an America where all of us count. That, by itself is criminal.
It's going to be a long time before we recover from the damage this presidency has caused. Maybe a criminal indictment is the only way to stop him running in 2020.
1215
@hen3ry
It isn't that they decided that Trump is pope, but that they can do just about everything they ever wanted in his name and then ditch him. They'll ditch him soon. They've passed as much of the Koch agenda as they're going to get away with and, in the various departments they've worked at such a dizzying pace, there isn't all that much more they can roll back without lawsuits or the need for congressional approval.
Mueller absolutely needs to catch Pence in his net. Pence is who ran the transition, picked all the cabinet nominees and made a list for Trump to choose from. He was there for the entire general election. There's no way he, Jeff Sessions, and others didn't participate in illegal acts.
When Trump is gone, they'll blame him, leaving the Kochs and other oligarchs in the clear.
--
Things Trump Did While You Weren't Looking
https://www.rimaregas.com/2018/08/07/greed-malfeasance-never-sleep-blog42s-things-trump-did-while-you-werent-looking-august-december-2018/
173
@hen3ry The GOP likely assumes their days are numbered and grabbing what they can while they can. Jam through conservative judges, the Wisconsin stripping of power grab, voter suppression, because while they have to be in lock step to avoid losing in the primary, few will win in the general election. Clinton won the popular vote, Trump had Russian interference and James Comey's outburst so no, he won't win. His base is fervent but hardly the majority. Add a couple years of the trade war impacting his base and he's been shooting himself in the foot so much he may actually have bone spurs by now.
130
@hen3ry . i agree that the reason for obama not getting a shot for a new SC justice was flimsy, but obama dropped the ball when he let McConnell get away with it. obama should have stood firm and told americans that what McConnell was doing was not based on the constitution.
obama should have pushed back very hard. because he did not, the gop kept pushing and pushing and will continue to do so until the democrats grow a spine!
45
Let me get this straight. The Department of Justice has issued an opinion that a sitting president can't be indicted. The GOP control the Senate so articles of impeachment from the House will never pass the Senate. Trump committed a felony by violating election laws. However, it seems quite likely that he will not suffer any legal or even political consequences for his actions. He can run again in 2020, and presumably engage in further criminal conduct during that election. If he wins, he clearly establishes that lying, cheating and committing crimes is perfectly okay so long as you win the presidency. The precedent this sets will undermine all respect for the electoral process by the public and, of course, all future candidates.
America can think of itself as having strong institutions and being a nation of laws but if a criminal president is allowed to run again and escape all punishment then the US Constitution is not worth the paper it is written on.
1675
@MM: You're right, except for all the "alls" and other absolutes. In reality, unfortunately, it's already happened a few times -- in recent history, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan both escaped all punishment for their crimes. (You can throw in Lyndon Johnson, to make it bipartisan.) Like individuals, countries can commit shameful acts, and life goes on. Sometimes there's some form of repentance and absolution, and sometimes the crimes and embarrassments just fade into the mists of time, or get rewritten altogether.
There was already a certain amount of domestic contempt for our political system, or Trump could never have come close to being nominated, let alone elected. If we are lucky enough to have a decent president or two down the road, our self-respect will bounce back up like one of those knock-me-down toys, and Trump will probably end up being semi-whitewashed by the mainstream media as a kind of crazy Andrew Jackson populist who shook things up a lot...
27
@MM . trump will not be running for re election. not going to happen.
29
@MM
Right, the USA is at a watershed moment in its history. If we don't stop them, the so-called Republicans will gerrymander and disenfranchise the voters, stack the courts with bought-and-paid for 'judges', and strip all the assets of this once great nation and distribute it among their friends and corporate sponsors. And this will enable them to continue on their present path until Somalia will rate above the USA as a desirable place to live.
I want my country back and I'd like to start with getting rid of Donnie 2-scoops, and impeachment for Mitch McConnell, his enabler-in-chief.
Only then can we begin to get this train wreck of a presidency back on the rails; only then can we restore life, liberty, and justice for all.
114
It appears that the now thoroughly debunked Russian collusion story will continue to mutate into whatever shape and form the Democratic Establishment and their mainstream media proxies believe may be used to damage the Trump Presidency.
This is the far greater crime and the larger threat: A major political party (Democrats) and ideology (Liberalism/Globalism) in long-term collusion with the bulk of the national news and entertainment industry with their god-like power to mold opinion for the vast masses of the uninformed and/or uncritical.
Therein lies a far greater danger to this country than any alleged ultimately-inconsequential infraction of the law by a transient (1 or 2-term) President.
2
@Jose Pardinas
Speaking of "god-like power to mold opinion," have you been to a Trump rally lately? The man holds the presidency, but still feels the need to lie to his audience, and relishes their cries of "Lock her up!" directed at his former opponent, who has not been charged with a crime, much less convicted.
Trump appears to have his base hypnotized to such a degree they cannot see his blatant lies, his false promises, or the problems his counterproductive policies bring them. And neither can you, apparently.
3
@Jose Pardinas
"the now thoroughly debunked Russian collusion story"
....dream on, my friend
3
@Jose: Nothing is more fake and dishonest than the ridiculous claims that this systemic national scam is "under God". In this moronic nation, states like New York operate as a collection agency for loan sharks. Read all about it, starting on page 42 of the 11/26/18 issue of Bloomberg Business Week, starting on page 42.
20 + years ago I applied for a job dealing blackjack at the new casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Some of the requirements for this entry level job were 15 years of previous addresses, 15 years of job history, a criminal record check, and 10 years of my most recent tax returns and an accounting of my current financial situation.
On the other hand what we have here is the most powerful position in the world, US Potus, and it appears the requirements during the primaries and up to election day are not as strong as what I went through.
Ridiculous in the extreme, yes?
I've also read some articles, over the last 2-3 years of this nightmare, a few written in particular by one ex-NSA intel expert with connections to current intel friends all over the world, that suggest very strongly that the NSA and other intel agencies among the Five Eyes network have had evidence of Trump and his families guilt in conspiring with the Russians, knowing exactly what they were doing was illegal, since mid 2016 at the latest, and as early as spring 2015.
If this is the case, my question obviously would be......how could our intel agencies let it get this far, and why didn't they shut Trump down long before the election? And more worrying....will we ever know the full extent of what has happened or will an embarrassed government be too afraid to admit how seriously our intel agencies potentially dropped the biggest ball of them all....a worse gaff than 9/11, if it happened I.M.O.
3
If I was forced to choose between a huge, thunderous stock market collapse and impeachment as a methodology for getting rid of Trump, I would go for the stock market collapse hands down.
Impeachment is slow, stocks fall fast.
5
If you're poor and have to apply for food stamps so you can eat, you will be turned into a Gumby doll by all of the disclosures you must make. They will, photograph, fingerprint, and make you bring in bank statements, tax papers, explain in detail your living situation, how you manage to keep from being homeless, etc... and if there are any discrepancies, you will be denied. Donald Trump runs for president, and refuses to reveal his taxes, is caught on tape promoting and bragging about sexual assault, has a shady business record, which was NOT scrutinized and investigated, has obvious contact with a foreign enemy, Russia, and yet 63% of white men and 53% of white women, gleefully voted for him to be president. If that fact alone doesn't make you sick, then you're in a coma.
11
@Marc Castle: The US really is a playpen for some of the most blatant scammers on Earth. This is a nation of children who believe an utterly imaginary being called "God" is on their side.
@Marc Castle: You must have the same degree of cognitive dissonance if you voted for Hillary Clinton (equally corrupt), which you probably did like most NY Times readers.
Tactically and strategically, pursuing government in the legislative and stacking facts against the current holders may be the better course -- give voters what they want which is change and keep telling them why it is changing. Keep the Mueller "matter of fact" approach to the stacking of facts. Be factual and then, maybe then, some people may wake up and take that tiny step to the middle road and actually converse with the rest of America...
As a Canadian though, I wish you good luck.
5
Mueller should pick the crime that would be easily provable in court and indict the sitting President on it. It would end up in the Supreme court to settle whether a sitting president can be indicted. I would love to see that result. If YES, then continue with the trial. If NO, indict Trump in late January 2020. No double jeopardy there.
3
@James Lochrie
The late January 2020, should be "late January 2021:.
To me this is frightening . A minority of the population, with the apparent help of Russian conspirators, and the use of the gerrymander has put a psychopathic person in the White House, with control over the nuclear button, the word of our country in treaties...indeed of the truth. What he will do in the next election to avoid indictment, we can only guess.
Maybe the best bet is to let him make a deal. Don't ever run for any office again and you will not be indicted. We might even throw in Ivanka.
1
"We the people of the United States, in order to make a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility . . . ."
Trump has violated is oath of office from the very beginning and it's now time to hold him and his supporters to account.
2
Donald Trump and his Republican followers will destroy America's fragile democracy in their quest to remain in total control. And, having shown how effective the demagogue play book works on a national scale, Trump won't be the last. If democracies like ours are to survive, there must come a paradigm shift in human thought.
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds would see the survival of temporary power as more important than the survival of democracy. When we understand all this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
@RLB: Nothing makes people idiots more comprehensively than the belief that nature has a caring human-ish personality.
If Trump is re-elected, he can be impeached and removed from office. I very much doubt he will run, or, if he does run, win.
1
The NYTimes just before the election in a very long article in detail pointed out who and what Trump is. The sooner he exits, the better.
1
We really need to understand who the man in the White House represents, simply put his own interests. Those who voted for this President will continue to look the other way, despite the fact that many of them are getting laid off due to tariffs and poor economic policy. Their emotional and fear based votes continue to prop up Trump. But in the larger more sane political universe Americans are now clear on what they have for a President, a man that is teetering on the brink of illegitimacy.
Trump did not win the election fair and square. He had help from the Russians and James Comey, whom he fired. Associates all around this president are falling like dominoes. Those who would work for Trump are immediately tainted and come under scrutiny. They work for a wheeler-dealer who sane men and women should not trust.
133
@Ferniez: There is absolutely nothing fair and square about our inputs into presidential elections and vetting of executive and judicial appointees and treaties with other nations in this snowballing breakdown of a system rooted in slavery.
3
@Ferniez He had the electoral college vote, which is an out-dated mechanism that gives added value to votes from a few states.
This method is no longer a fair system and disenfranchizes the majority vote.
7
@Ferniez You may be surprised. The psychological connection that many of Trump's followers was created a shared sense of resentment. Humiliation is a powerful motivator associated with a fearful insecurity. Trump declared that he'd change that. And, for awhile, his bullying act has given him the vicarious experience of winning against people who they know hold them in contempt. But, as anyone whose dealt with bullies in the playground or the boardroom know, as soon as they are weakened and it is apparent that they may become "loser," their followers will abandon them. No one wants to identify with a loser, as our President has told us over and over.
2
I hope our representatives will keep their wits about them as the court filings are revealed, one after another. The future of the republic is in the balance. A wrong move could usher our problem into a second term, and rescuing the republic, not to mention the time sensitive climate, becomes even more difficult.
History tells us, crimes having their base in bad sexual behavior alone don't succeed in removing a president from office. Don't jump early. Wait for the evidence with its meat hooks into Putin's money laundering, Trump's tax evasion and gifts/payments from foreign govts, US policy for sale. The gold ring would be evidence of vote interference here and around the world as a grand foreign campaign to raise up Russia by weakening democracies. That is the root of all of this.
107
Surviving isn't enough. We must ensure, through a constitution reboot, that no American mortal, rich or poor, can successfully scam his or her way through an election the way Trump and his fellow oligarchs did this time around. Obviously, the oligarchy learned lessons from the period that preceded FDR that the rest of us didn't. This should be the main lesson.
The other big survival lesson should also be that once you have an evil oligarch in office, the answer is NOT electing a good oligarch, the way we seem to be headed.
Democrats need to learn from 2016 that voters alone should provide the necessary funding for candidates to be liberated from the weight of owing the oligarchy political favors. That lesson has not been learned yet and it is none the more evident than the behind the scenes goings on in the election of our next House Speaker.
Our institutions have been corrupted to the core. Cleaning house means ditching money in politics. Senator Sanders' candidacy in 2016 proved that it is possible to shun PACs and corporate contributions. Election 2018 continued to prove this.
The walls are closing in on Trump. Mike Pence's chief of staff, Nick Ayers, turned down what would normally have been the most potent job a 32-year old could dream of.
Demand reforms. Vote.
---
With One Hand on the Brass Ring, Pelosi Slaps the #CBC with the Other
https://www.rimaregas.com/2018/12/06/with-one-hand-on-the-brass-ring-pelosi-slaps-the-cbc-with-the-other-centrism-on-blog42/
218
@Rima Regas
Yes, our institutions have been corrupted to the core. You mention Bernie Sanders' candidacy proved that it is possible to shun PACS, raise money from individuals, and have a successful run. But notice that Bernie's candidacy was shunted onto a siding by both the DNC and the media. So what is the solution to that?
34
@Rima Regas
Excellent point about not electing a "good" oligarch to counter a bad one. All of Michael Bloomberg's considerable negatives aside, his PAC just helped numerous Democrats get elected and my fear is they may feel under some obligation to him. Are they now his clients and he their patron? Have we become Rome?
33
@Greitje B
Voters need to scrutinize the publications they rely on for their news and analysis and ask themselves how much of what they read, and suddenly appears everywhere else, is actually propaganda.
The last three months saw a spate of articles that asserted that there is a movement of centrists on the rise, when there is every indication, in surveys and polls, that polarization is not abating. What's all that about?
@Stan
The answer to your last question is yes, I'm afraid.
25
Hopefully, Mr. Trump when justice does finally catch up with him, will spend the rest of his days as did Lt. Phillip Nolan, a man with no country.
3
If our laws and justice system have any meaning, if our Constitution has any validity, if we are a nation of laws and the same justice is meted out to the poor man as the rich man, this grifter, thrice-married philanderer, narcissistic, pathological liar, need not spend one more day in office. He should be arrested, booked, and placed in a jail cell, awaiting trial, as any other criminal.
This man child lied, deceived, and bought his way, with help from a foreign power (to be exposed), achieve our highest office through illegal deceptions, illegal pay-offs, and lied through his teeth about it when asked.
There's no question whether he should be removed from office. The present is soon enough.
140
@LaPine
I can see the 2020 election banner already:
VOTE TRUMP!
Grifter
Philanderer
Pathological Liar
(Replace Washington Monument with a Trump Tower)
What a candidate!
8
@Allen Add "Putin's Puppet" to the list.
4
The statute of limitations issue raises an important question, and I wonder whether the courts have decided it. That is, can one evade prosecution simply by, say, hiding in a country without an extradition treaty with the US, then return with no legal jeopardy after the statute has run? That situation is analogous to the president's being immune from prosecution until after his or her term of office. If statutes of limitation law allows no exceptions to the strict running of time, it may be time to consider refashioning those laws.
2
It is nice to say that the president can be indicted if he is not re-elected. That does not represent successful functioning of the Republic.
The president is, in the view of his own Justice Department (not the Special Counsel) an unindicted coconspirator. The nature of the conspiracy was to corrupt his own election by suppression of evidence of his bad character. This appears to have been compounded by obstruction of justice to cover up his conspiracy. In particular, by condoning lies to the Congress by his coconspirator. That the GOP House has not moved to impeach represents a dysfunction of the Republic sufficient to bar any sitting GOP member from public office for life, and to blacken the name of Paul Ryan for recorded history.
Is the USA a government of laws, or a tinpot banana republic ruled by corrupt thugs?
1
@Howard Eddy When you have to ask the rhetorical question, the answer is known.
Impeaching Trump for campaign finance violation could be an effective way to remove him from office, but it would be a way too easy way out for him. I want to see the inquiry go deeper into the allegations of international money laundering, tax evasion and collusion (treason?) with foreign entities. I want to see him go down for serious crimes, if he is indeed guilty of them. And I want to see his pathetic, nepotistic wannabe dictatorship sink into the cesspool of history and all his ridiculous sycophants end up jobless, shunned and forgotten for the rest of their lives.
7
The Law is for everyone else, not trump, and not republicans. You'll see.
2
Gosh, a republican president who's also a criminal. Wow.
I'm sorry, but Trump is not exactly unique in GOP history. It's just that everything the GOP can do, Trump can do better or badder.
Like Trump, the GOP lies, cheats, and steals. It also gerrymanders, suppresses votes, is misogynistic, xenophobic, still racist after all these years, homophobic, more than a little corrupt, and does little or nothing in the way of benefiting the people. Rather, the republicans love to cut benefits for people and put the money in their pocket or that of their crony lobbyist Koched-up benefactors. They love to stomp the unions, dismantle the middle class and come down hard on immigrants, at least those who don't work for them.
But Trump is much huger: an ignorant egomaniac, completely shameless about being shameless, incapable of anything but infantile rants, a major loon. He can wreck a sandbox quicker than you can say checks and balances, and the poor GOP buffoons just stare in wonder.
3
@George Dietz trump meets Putin's needs exactly. Probably gave trump a kiss to show his appreciation when they had their private meeting in Helsinki.
1
Lock him up! Lock him up! Sound familiar?
1
Hope that EB will consent to publish my other two comments on this article which are informative, civil, mind broadening. How many people have heard of Edgar Guest, "People's Poet,"whose works I suggest Mr. Blow read for inspiration?Thanks.
1
There is a maintenance worker at the Y I attend whose job it is to polish and clean the handrails which run hundreds of feet alongside the track.
Left to his own devices, this guy will clean the same few feet of rail
over and over again.
I’ve never be able to figure out whether this is because the guy is dimwitted and slow or crazy-like-a-fox at keeping his job.
He reminds me a lot of Trump, who tells the same stupid lies over and over and over again.
2
The ticking time bomb that is climate change and Trump's refusal to acknowledge that climate change exists are reasons enough to get rid of him before 2020 because the scientists say we only have 10 years to correct the problem.
I realize that under the law, we can't remove him on those grounds alone, but get him for the payoffs then. He is a menace.
1
@John Edwards (Continued)
As promised in 2008 the Obama campaign paid an enormous FEC
fine for intentionally attempting to hide a series of violations that included over a million donations that had no source but later discovered to be from people who had exceeded their legal limit,
almost a million more that had incorrect dates and failure to return the excessive donations in sixth days which the law requires.
Source: WAPO, January 4, 2013.
I wonder how Trump will react if Ivanka, Jared, Don Jr or Eric are indicted or are in some other serious legal trouble.
3
This is exactly why it's time to revisit the thinking -- nothing was every codified -- that a sitting president can't be indicted. Our founders never thought a Trump possible. Well, here we are and he's opened the floodgates to all kinds of bad behavior, here and abroad. You only need to look at Congress to see his influence. Lindsey Graham once seemed a man of honor. Now he's on Fox every day, posturing pretty for Trump. The hypocrisy in the GOP ranks is staggering. We need to at least have the threat of indictment hanging over the WH. We also need to amend the pardon rules. We also need to codify a request for taxes for candidates of the highest office. Trump has blasted through so many norms I can barely think where to start to rebuild our democracy.
2
We can, and will, survive this "criminal presidency." However, there is a deep cost to our Nation, our reputation, our credibility, our standing in the eyes of the world.
Trump has cheapened and damaged the very foundations of our Country. Daily, he mocks the rule of law and the Constitution itself.
He has also damaged us as a people and as individuals. He has turned us against each other, fanned the flames of hate and intolerance with lies and deceit.
2
No one above the law? In view of recent events, that appears to be laughable.
Trump is running a crime family, plain and simple. In plain view. He brags about it.
A complicit Congress under the control of his own party knows full well what is happening and refuses to even speak up, let alone pursue justice.
If Trump is allowed to remain above the law, future presidents will as well, citing his case as precedent.
As the days unfold, America looks more and more like a banana republic as the founders spin in their graves.
4
If the collusion and campaign finance charges prevail, well, good, maybe somehow the living nightmare of this admnistration will be halted or changed. But meanwhile, they and the blowhard-in-chief get away with far greater offenses: the jailing, psychological torture and disruption of families and helpless children on our southern border. Since USA has declared itself immune from judgment by the International Court of Justice, and since the UN seems to have no power other than to laugh at the blowhard, where can justice be found? Now we have troops at the border. If they haven't killed any refugees yet, it is bound to happen sooner or later. Human rights? Not even a factor to this administration.
We sit by helpless as atrocities unfold.
4
The Times chooses to feature comments that minimize Trump's crimes and excuse the failure so far to hold him fully to account.
One such comment opines: "If Trump had committed the crime that he once boasted he could commit without much protest, i.e. shooting someone on Fifth Avenue, you can be sure that he would be immediately impeached."
Yet, Trump has right in front of our noses admitted that he was aware and knowledgeable that the Saudis intended great harm to Jamal Khashoggi, and Trump overruled informing the intended target of this fact. Trump is an accessory to kidnapping, murder and dismemberment by the criteria of 'accessory,' under criminal code. His only defense is that this is a state and national security matter. But, because of Trump's family's involvement with and profit from the Saudis, even this defense seems flimsy and false.
Trump minimized payments made in secret, using cut outs and anonymous LLC's to pay off his mistresses as 'private matters.' In doing so he glosses over and ignores that these and numerous other crimes and actions he has performed have exposed him to leverage and blackmail by foreign governments, including the Russians, Saudis, and Turks.
Many have asked the legitimate question of how the Times, media, and Republicans might be reacting if instead of Trump, we were faced with Obama, Clinton, or another Democrat being charged, let alone guilty of any similar laundry list of offenses. Think "Benghazi."
3
The sordid and all too obvious reality here is that Trump has lowered the bar of acceptable behavior so low that he makes your common criminal look good in the eyes of those who stand to gain from his criminality. He has for all intent and purpose delivered his party to where they were headed before him. A placed where rule of law is only as good as its benefit to them. Where winners make policy regardless of how they won and losers stay home. Where integrity and accountability are non existent and of no importance unless they are being applied to the other guys. They are the party of sleaze and deception.
2
So you have a lying crook whose only hope of staying out of jail is to win re-election, and his loyal party that has already stooped to gerrymandering and voter-suppression to gain power. How vulnerable are the elections in 2020?
2
If Trump is a criminal, then all who aid and abet him are also criminals.
If Republicans in the House and Senate refuse to investigate Trump, they are aiding and abetting a criminal, and they are also criminals.
If Trump is found guilty of crimes and the soon-to-be-Democratic-majority House moves to hold Trump to account for his crimes, but the Republican-majority Senate refuses to hold Trump to account. The Republican Senators, every last one of them, are aiding and abetting a criminal (in fact, they are knowingly and actively participating in criminality) and are themselves criminals.
And yet it may be possible that Trump, and every Republican in the House and Senate, may get away with not only being criminals, but aiding and abetting criminality, with no consequence. Only the United States and every citizen will suffer from those crimes, this criminality.
Thus the Republican Part is, itself, the most successful, the most immune, Criminal Organization in the United States, if not in the World.
Are we, the citizens of the United States, really going to allow these crimes to be perpetrated against us? Are we going to allow these criminals to escape consequence? Are we simply going to be passive, whimpering, victims?
3
“Power to the People!” and “the People” elected Donald Trump President of the United States of America who, for some, is an obscenity shouted amidst the grand architecture of our Constitution erected in the spirit of our grand Declaration of Independence.
What makes you believe he is leaving once his term is over? He believes he is king, his supporters think he is god. He has no respect for the constitution.
1
Absolutely nothing surprising here...
Trump isn't paying the price any other politician would because Trump publicly signaled his willingness to commit all these crimes and was elected anyway. He ASKED Russia and Wikileaks for DNC and HRC emails, publicly.
An impeachment overturns the will of the voters. Those of us looking on in horror have to come to grips with the fact the voters have spoken: they want a criminal in the White House, at least more than they want a black man or a white woman.
Ever the master of projecting his crimes and follies onto others, can Trump now hear echoes of "Lock her up" coming his way?
The concept that a sitting president cannot be charged with a crime is without merit. Would be allow him to shot someone, drive drunk and injury someone, strangle his wife no. No one is above the law. If. grand jury finds probable cause, charge him. He has no Devine right privileges.
1
Every day the Republican Senate and House stands by and does nothing makes them guilty of aiding and abetting a criminal.
2
Is Trump above the law? Do we have a country, or at least one that's worth preserving? We're about to find out, pretty soon. Hang on to your hats.
1
"Campaign finance violation" sounds so... I don't know... ethereal?
Brass tacks: He took money that people donated to his campaign and used it to pay off two people to keep them silent.
If Trump is a criminal due to campaign finance violations then so is Obama who was found guilty of violations in his 2008 campaign.
1
@jaco
Now. All you have to is cite them and reveal your sources of information.
Oh. Wait. Let me guess...FOX? Breitbart? Alex Jones?
1
A few potential new slogans to replace "Make America Great Again" for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential bid: "Elect Trump In 2020 Or He Does 20 To Life", "Lock Her Up, Not Donald in 2020" or "Mock American Greatness Again, Vote Trump in 2020"
1
Only the American people can save their democracy by voting ALL REPUBLICANS OUT OF OFFICE IN 2020!
1
Yes there should be consequences to trying to wreck our democracy: how about JAIL for Republican criminals, liars, and traitors? All of them, from Trump down to the local GOP dogcatcher. Commissions, investigations, indictments, prosecutions, trials, convictions and prison for the GOP.
Thank-you Charles for this challenge to every American. Why can't a sitting president be indicted, especially if he is the sitting president directly as a result of crimes he should be indicted for? It could be stated that had he and his campaign not employed the services of Russia and their hacking and influence campaign, he may not have been elected? It is entirely possible that had Butina not engineered the campaign donations through the NRA to select Republicans, they would NOT be there either. What if they find out that Russia not only assisted his election but mandated it and who he was to hire and what policies he was supposed to adhere to on threat of exposing him ? Why should we continue to assume that Trump is the legitimately elected president, when everything points in the other direction? Yates told them Flynn was compromised and they didn't act on it for 10 days, only suggesting why should she care if Flynn lied? It is probably true that they knew he had lied because Trump directed them to placate Russia on the sanctions. Pence was not innocent in all this, as he also had been told Flynn was compromised by the chief ethics advisor Cummings, as chief of the transition team. Nope, I don't think they should wait to indict Trump, if he committed treason to be elected, conspiring with a foreign power and obstructing justice to cover his collusion. 16 people had contacts with Russia and over 94 lies related and Trump continues to obstruct justice.
1
Great letter Tom. If asked what the true meaning of "No Collusion" meant, Trump could not accurately grant an honest answer. But, I do believe strongly that he knows the meaning of high crimes (felonies) and misdemeanors. He has verifiable told in excess of 6000 horrible lies to the American people. When he is removed from Office and serves a mandatory life sentence for what he has done to not only the American people which he does know the meaning of (bone spurs do not exempt one from prison),
show your taxes Mr. President, then enter the pearly gates of prison.
On that day, I will travel to WDC and salute the statue of Justice.
Don't give up on impeachment yet. Breaking campaign finance laws and obstructing justice are small crimes compared with receiving emoluments from foreign governments and conspiring with Russia to get elected. Trump's favoritism toward despots is already apparent. He has already shown himself to be Putin's puppet. Once the proof is available from Mueller, even some Republican Senators will remember their duty to check (and impeach) a criminal president.
1
I was a public defender and I hope there is more evidence (which it seems there is) besides Cohen’s testimony. Text messages perhaps. Mueller needs to finish and if Trump violated the law he should get what he deserves. Finally!
I'm not a lawyer, but the legal argument that you can't indict a sitting President seems to have a couple of flaws in this particular case:
1. The crimes committed by Individual 1 took place when he was NOT the President.
2. These crimes enabled Individual 1 to become President.
Mr. Meuller, please seek an indictment for Individual 1.
1
No one is above the law? Try deleting 30,000 emails after they have been subpoenaed and see what happens to the average citizen.
3
Trump is not the first US President to live a life of impunity from crimes, only to assume that his decades of immoral and illegal behavior could continue into his tenure in public office (notice I didn’t use the term “public service”).
Congress, too, is loaded with Trump-like scoffers at the rule of law.
Gee. Could that perhaps explain why the only Republicans with enough spine to rebuke and part ways with Trump are the ones who’ve long since announced that they plan to leave politics once their current terms end (Flake, Corker, Costello, et al.)?
1
Ironically, for a party that complains about regulations, Republican's own corrupt actions will require even more regulations in order to save our democracy---
See: McConnell, Nunez, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Trump, NC, GA, FL, WI, MN.....
"No one is above the law in America"
Unless you happen to be a republican president with a GOP majority in Congress. Then it's "anything goes" while that same Congress bravely looks the other way.
"No one is above the law." - you sure about that? I think our history would tell us something different.
Trump keeps complaining that all the allegations and prosecutions are just a 'witch hunt'. Well perhaps it should be called a warlock hunt for the male version.
But Trump's crimes are metaphysical but very real and down to earth and it is not a hunt because we don't need to search for the transgressions, but trip over them every day to the point that they are as common as the sun appearing in the morning.
1
First off, I am a little disappointed in you, sir. America has already survived multiple "Criminal" Presidencies - Nixon and Clinton come readily to mind since they were both proven to have committed crimes while in office - but there are more than a few other likely candidates (in both parties) that were never proven. This is hardly a new issue, so please spare me your hyperbole.
Second, the "crime" that President Trump is now accused of (though, at this point only in the media) is a very complicated financial issue that is going to be difficult to prove at the felony level. I know this is because a prominent national politician (John Edwards) has previously been caught paying off his mistress directly from his campaign funds and he was still not convicted because the jury was unable to navigate through the intricacies of the law and agree on his guilt. You are counting on Trumps unpopularity to yield a conviction but that is unlikely.
When viewed through the lens of the national media, Trumps transgressions seem much more dark and ominous than when they are viewed in a legal setting. It is far easier to convey intent in an article than it is in a jury room. With only the "admissible" facts to work with and the narrow legal definition of the crime to match them to, this becomes a difficult case to prosecute.
Think about this, a failed conviction is an almost 100% guarantee that President Trump gets reelected so be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.
1
As President Lincoln said, “a country divided against itself cannot stand.” All political parties must come together as one America, under God, and maintain correct decency and morality for the sake of our little children and the future of our country.
Why does separation of church and state exist? Blessed be those that believe in His name: who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
I'd like to see a special prosecutor look into Pelosi for two years. You can be sure they would find numerous crimes.
2
Bravo, Charles Blow. Say it straight! Yes, the very guy who says immigrants and those who try to enter our country illegally are criminal, their acts, while he is the bigger/biggest criminal. Did he run for the presidency in an act of desperation? I don't think so. And yes for the reminder from Thomas Paine. We are a nation of laws, as POTUS would like to remind us from his place of infamy, not kings. And thanks for the reminder that even if he is not indicted while in office, there will be time. In addition to this amoral man in the "White" House, there are his sherpas: the Cabinet members, McConnell, the gosling Ryan, (or quisling), the GOP party itself, and all the evangelicals who look past this man's obvious sins in order to satisfy their narrow definition of morality.
1
I'm not sure what's more beguiling, Mr. Blow's reason for writing this or his seeming misunderstanding of at a minimum, the past 10 - years. We don't live in a democracy. The law is not King. That's just for starters.
1
The argument by the justice department against indictment seems very conservative and questionable to say the least. It is policy of the Justice Department to say that the office of the Presidency is too important to disrupt by criminal procedure. On the otherhand impeachment i.e. steps toward removal from office is okay because it is explicit in the constitution. So if Bill Clinton lied about sex that made him a permissible candidate for impeachment but if he had murdered someone he could not be charged.
At the very least, the Presidents powers in regard to nuclear weapons and immunity from criminal action should not be enforce by justice department memos but by passed laws. The Justice Department rules which states in certain aspects he is above the law need to be modified by laws or constitutional amendment. If the Justice Department lacks respect in critical matters in effect for whats said and not said in Federal Law and Constitution by Legislating critical matters by fiat, its hard to see how we all can be expected to have respect for the rule of Law
As much as I despise Trump I have to say that getting rid of him without looking at the forces that put Trump in power is foolish.
We have collectively refused to look at miscarriages of justice over and over again.
Consider,
Bill Clinton's repeal of an investment bill that caused the crash of 2008 and put thousands of families with children to live on the street.
To Bush Jr. lying us into war,
Prisons for profit that incarnate 8 times the number they held in 1970.
Hillary's cheating in the nomination debate.
Even the BBC announcement that Building Seven had collapsed twenty minutes before it happened.
And more.
Pogo was right when he said, " We have found the enemy and he is us."
Dear Charles, I can't believe that America and her institutions have to stand by helpless while an accused felon occupies the Presidency. How can this be?
2
Trump knowingly broke the law in an attempt to influence the election outcome. Lock him up.
1
Mr. Blow, I pray that the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nominee will take the last two paragraphs of your op-ed and orate them in the final television debate with the president. They're brilliantly written.
"We have to prove that our institutions are more important than our ideologies, that the dream, the whisper, the precious possibility of America cannot be trampled by the corrupt and the fraudulent, the venal and the lecherous.
American has to prove that it can indeed survive a criminal presidency."
Somewhere up in heaven, the film director Frank Capra ("Mr. Smith Goes to Washington") is smiling and - praying we survive this tragedy.
1
It is laughable that Trump could (or should) be considered a criminal for paying hush money (not a crime) just because liberals (and some conservatives) wish and hope and pray that it is actually a campaign finance violation.
The Obama administration was fined a record $370,000 for undisclosed contributions. Buuuuuut, who cares, right?
Yeah, maybe Trump was trying to protect his campaign, or maybe he did it just as he would have whether running for president or not - to keep friends and family and the press from hearing about it. So sue him.
I mean, WAIT! NO!
It's too flimsy, Charles. And it's hypocritical.
You say America is a nation of laws. When you actually act like THAT is what matters to you rather than being picky about who it applies to and who it does not, maybe some of us out here will read your pieces with less "Pffffff, next..."
1
Any Democrat, Republican, Independent legislator or citizen of our nation who will not stand up to trump's insult to our laws and democracy is complicit in his criminal actions.
I will not support a nation that has a felon as its "leader".
What have we come to, my God!
Here I thought America had thown off the rule of men for the rule of Law when we declared independence from King George and established a Democratic republic not a monarchy. Now we are to believe that just because Trump is president he can not be held accountable to any laws or crimes ?
This is just the start of the long road of laws and crimes that Trump and his family has broken in his and his families life of crime that will make even their closest supporters abandon him and his family.
I am sure once everything is revealed that the name Trump will go down in history as one no one wants to be assocated with in any shape or form.
Aside from the self-serving actions of McConnell & Co. in an obvious desire to maintain their positions and power, I really hope that legitimate news organizations are pursuing the story that Russia funneled tens of millions of dollars through the NRA to Republican candidates.
I think McConnell and his ilk fully understand that this isn't politics. It is criminal behavior. Otherwise, why debase themselves as they are doing?
As for the notion that Americans have been slow to react properly to these outrages, I can only think that some are too lacking in critical thinking skills and the others are too decent to believe the travesties they are witnessing.
1
Very sad to say, way too many (most?) people in America have a scofflaw-mentality.
Mr. Blow writes: “The statute of limitations for campaign finance violations is five years. Re-election may well be Trump’s only hope of evading justice.”
Nah. If Trump runs again, he’ll violate campaign finance laws again, don’t you think? That will start the statute-of-limitations timer all over again.
Trump is his environment, that being Queens, New York, a Mafia culture existing there in which people practice secrecy and verbal discretion. After watching Trump for nearly three years, I'm convinced that even though he may not technically be a criminal, his personality is very similar to a career criminal the likes of Mafia. His Mafia style personality is clearly evident. He demands loyalty from all. He's discrete in his verbal communications always just near the line but not crossing it. He is largely a violent leaning person who likes those who are. He hates and attacks his own people. Trump may very well be a criminal. He has the personality to be one, owing to the tough guy Queens New York.
1
There is just no way that Trump will ever be held to account in time, and that is precisely why he is above the law.
Not only that, things can always get worse. If we have Trump now at 2020 we could end up with someone even more sociopathic, corrupt, machiavellian, destructive, and self-dealing than he is.
The scope of ousting him works to maintain inertia.
Unfortunately, it doesn't take very long for the very real possibility that this president is a criminal to sink in.
Especially not for anyone even vaguely familiar with his track record before he got into the White House, or anyone looking at the evidence now coming forth about his intentions to expand his tower-empire in Moscow...during a presidential election no less!
If it's already an established fact that Donald Trump lies, then there's no reason not to believe him when he says "no collusion."
End of story.
1
Impeachment seems like a pathetically inadequate remedy for what Trump has done. Actually even prison time seems inadequate compensation for the damage Trump has done to our nation but it would be far more satisfying. Every problem we face as a nation has been at best mercifully ignored or at worst been exacerbated. It’s been a horror.
1
Trump has committed so many crimes while in office it's almost impossible to keep track.
Leaving his business with Russia aside there's the gift of top secret information to Russian diplomats. There is the destruction of the EPA. There is the attempted destruction of our health care system. There is the tariff/trade war which may destabilize the global economy. The assault on the environment, in league with KSA and Russia and coal-friendly Poland is an outrage.
There is the theft and imprisonment of children. This is a crime against humanity. Trump is building prison camps in the desert. He is caging human beings, many of who are simply seeking asylum as is their legal and human right.
Trump is not a mere criminal. He is a monster. And he must be stopped.
This wouldn't be an issue were it not for the fact that the GOP has betrayed America. That's the aspect of this catastrophe which is most difficult to swallow. One of our two major political parties is enabling this monstrosity,, this assault on our national identity, our sovereignty, our farmers, our air, our water, our citizens, on the people of the world.
3
I'd be pleased if Trump resigned this morning.
There would be dancing in the streets.
2
Wait a minute ! If trump was elected by illegal means that would mean Hillary actually won and is the true president. Our first president in exile. Too many firsts under this regime and all of them a major disgrace to this nation. Who to blame ? Look in the mirror.
1
Trump may be a crook, as Nixon might have said, but the real award for blatant destruction of democracy goes to the Republican party from the cynical leadership of McConnell down to the smallest cog in their local machine tossing away ballots.
"Those whom the gods want to destroy, they first make arrogant."
I've always wondered why God let Donald Trump "win" the election when Hillary was obviously more qualified. Perhaps God knew this would be the way to get this man to justice.
Yes, trump ought to be held accountable for his crimes. But imprisoning a former president is beyond the pale. As would be locking up o former political rival. (Think Hillary.) This is still The United States of America. Not (yet) a banana republic. Fine him. Take away his (perhaps modest) riches. Make him a felon. But don't lock him up.
Remember the days when parents and teacher promised children that, with demonstrated honor, integrity, intelligence, and compassion, they "could one day grow up to be president"? Now, with the current stain on the office, what can our childhood authorities claim: "If you are corrupt, greedy, narcissistic, and engage in criminal behavior, you could one day grow up to be president"? Shame on Trump and his supporters, who have taken a child's inspiration for hard work and turned it into a defiled, get-rich-quick scheme.
1
I agree. Trump is a criminal. He stole the election. He is not legitimately president. He MUST be removed at all costs even if it means civil war.
1
Look at the bigger picture. If Trump is impeached (or resigns), we end up with Pence who is in many ways as bad as Trump. Not a good deal.
It doesn't really matter if Trump is convicted of anything. We need him and his whole administration gone, FIRED by the American people in 2020. With a democrats now holding some weight in Congress, Trump can be contained until the next election.
Let's subordinate the Russian mess, the payoffs, and other illegal actions to the much larger issue: what he is doing to ruin the country. And it's a lot.
The media is correctly reporting on all the investigations -- to the point where no one can keep track of it all. And worse, this distracts from the horrors of this presidency. Yes, in 2020 we can vote against Trump because he is a crook (if proven), but more importantly, we should vote against him because he is a horrible president.
1
The GOP politicians are making clear that they don`t care about the rule of law , any moral standards or the future of the Country . They only care about their political survival . They are the true " deplorables " . They know better but are afraid to cross the aspiring tyrant or his base of followers . They are the enablers and they are a lot worse than the true believers . They have ocasional flashes of independence trying to hedge their political futures . I am talking about people like Marco Rubio or Lindsay Graham . Their mendacity is worse than the mendacity of those around Stalin . The latter could be executed . The former are afraid of Trump`s tweets and the possible damage to their political careers .
2
If the 2020 Presidential Election is about keeping Trump out of jail, then we can expect the GOP to ramp up the election fraud. North Carolina 2018 was just dress rehearsal.
2
The President is the chief law enforcement officer, however depending on how the law is written it seems a president has discretion on how the law is enforced. To what extent it's interpretation? This is a big hole. But he cannot be a judge about the law itself nor should he misapply it and get away with that. Can he ignore the law entirely without much consequence?Lawyers are kept busy.
However, aside from Trump's criminality and the accomplices he surrounds himself with there are other impeachable and unimpeachable issues about this presidency, his behavior, his leadership that is a disgrace and shame for us as a nation. That we will have to wait for 2020 biting our nails points up a lot about us as a nation and our system's evolution.
Sad to say, way too many people in America have a
scofflaw-mentality also; at least 46.4% of America.
2
@Chuck
And that's why Trump so rightfully proclaimed: "I love the poorly educated".
2
I could not even read this to the end, such was the power of the bile surging up in my throat. I remember clearly the days of Watergate, when I was in junior high school, coming home as a latchkey kid and watching the Congressional hearings on T.V. Sam Ervin, Howard Baker, John Dean,et. al. It was riveting, and I recall thinking I was watching something that would never happen again. What a silly, naive youth was I.
We have finally reached the tipping point. There can be no honest conclusion other than the rats in this administration are rotten to the core. The sooner we rid ourselves of that repulsive creature with the funny hair, the better. The nation and the world now ask the republicans in the Senate whether they believe in the rule of law, or not. Their answer will follow them for uears.
6
I’m often amused by the ongoing insistence by members of the mainstream media that “no one is above the law in America.”
How many of the architects of the financial crisis of 08 are sitting in jail right now? How about the idea that senior members of the Bush administration ought to be tried for war crimes for executing a war based on lies, and carrying on a torture program? Or how about the more recent story of Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire who ran a secret pedophilia ring, yet walked away from facing justice.
This is why I’m willing to wager that despite what revelations may come, nothing will happen to Trump or his family. They’re at the top of the political and economic class, and in the America of the 21sr century, once you reach that station, you’re untouchable.
I sometimes wonder why it is that the mainstream media has such difficulties grasping the significance of the present moment. That they’re wedded to ideas about America that simply don’t hold true today - such as “no one in America is above the law” - is partly the reason why.
1
@Vin: The fact that the law is applied imperfectly, does not mean that anyone, including Trump, is above the law. Previous imperfect applications of the law cannot be an excuse to not prosecute current violations of the law. But I agree with you that egregious white collar crimes should be punished severely (and in some cases they were), that those committing and enabling pedophilia should rot in jail for the rest of their lives, and that war crimes should be tried before the International Supreme Court in The Hague.
Merely breaking campaign finance laws hardly seems bad enough for Mr. Trump. A man with his rotten character must have done far worse -- money laundering, tax evasion, fake corporations, you name it. These most recent "revelations" are probably just a bit of foam skimmed off an ocean of wrongdoing.
4
Trump is who he is and always has been- a compulsive liar and fraud. The more serious problem is that the Republican Party was able to him in power through a carefully planned corrupt electoral process with the welcome help of the Russians.
Trump is the face of the Republican Party, a party that has no shame whatsoever, only contempt for the American people and everything this nation has fought and died for.
5
I can't think of a more criminal presidency than Obama's 8 years. The Obama presidency handed $150B to the terrorist state called Iran. Although there were huge financial claims against these monies, the Obama regime refused to hear a word about Americans murdered by Iran's proxies in the Middle East. Obama wanted Iran strengthened and to consolidate its power in the region against Israel, so he released these funds to help them rebuild their failed economy. To me, this is the height of collusion with an enemy, a traitor. We all know now what Iran did with those funds. Obama and Kerry knew these facts the moment they made these decisions.
Could Charles Dickens come up with better names than we see today. Yes, he thought of Ebenezer Scrooge, Wilkins Micawber, Mr. Fezziwig, Wackford Squeers Jr.. But today, in real life, we have Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump. And get this, Jared Kushner. Jared Kushner? Who could ever think of that? Dickens would be proud.
1
Mr. Blow, bingo! Thanks.
"Re-election may well be the only hope of evading justice." I've been looking for that very rationale. You and I say the crimes are the same - a campaign finance felony.
One in 2016 another in 2008. One for $190,000 and silence the other for $2,000,000 and a $375,000 FEC fine. Guilty for silencing a Porn Star and Playboy Bunny to spare his family further embarrassment. The other not caught, for another illegal campaign contribution to make it $750 million to help him become president. That's where the analogy ends.
Trump you say is a felon for directing others to hush those who would cause his family heartbreak for doing something everyone knew he does. Obama a two term President because the media helped him hide his violations for 5 years until his second term began.
As you said: The common denominator a second term saving them from evading justice.
Two American Presidents; one articulate and praised the other gruff and hated. The first known for his rhetoric and apology tours the other a liar who gets a lot done. Obama with a tendency to avoid risk and Trump who thrives on it. Obama associated with recovering from a financial disaster but synonymous with the IRS, Fast and Furious and Catch and Re!ease. Trump with creating an economic boom but not finished with North Korea, the Wall and MAGA.
How will history judge these two very different men?
1
@Frank -- you and the FOX commentariat keep playing this broken whataboutism record.
Obama didn't make the accounting lapses that resulted in the fine. They did him absolutely no good, there is no plausible intent.
And then saying the obvious, he wasn't paying off old adulteries, or conspiring to hide the fact he was doing so by felonious conspiracy and tax fraud.
Cohen's law practice is in New York; this means the tax fraud (of Trump's repayment to Cohen) is a NY state crime. I think Letitia James (newly elected incoming AG of New York) might well indict ... wait and see.
Charles Blow ends his commentary with the words, "America has to prove that it can indeed survive a criminal presidency." I would like to replace "can" with "must." The time has come for us to awaken from a constant state of shock and horror. We must no longer support those who in turn support an unhinged, I dare say, treasonous president. We must no longer witness the destruction of the tenets of a democratic society. We watch as Jared Kushner befriends a ruthless and barbaric Saudi Crown Prince. We still witness this man called Trump kow-tow to a thug named Putin while alienating our allies and friends. And nothing is done. We daily are deluged by lies and manipulation and exploitation via Trumpism. And, yes, those "others" may be this administration's primary victims. But, folks, let us not be deceived. Trump and his minions will throw all of us under the bus if we get in the way of their criminal agenda. Those of us from the north, south, east, west, and all states in-between, I believe, have no choice but to raise our voices to every Senator in Congress...including the spineless and soulless McConnell and his Republican counterparts. We can no longer be silent. We can no longer await 2020.
4
Mr. Blow, surely you know that Trump is not the first criminal to occupy the office of the president. He has just hit on ways to be a criminal the others hadn’t considered, because Constitution. Moreover, as of this writing he is not even the biggest one, and in this his crimes are like his fortune, vastly overstated.
So who is a bigger criminal? Nixon in a walk. Sure Watergate, but what about treason for undermining peace negotiations to beat H Humphrey. This extended the length of that war with no change in outcome, killing untold tens of thousands needlessly.
But my favourite is GW Bush. Trump is a liar and swindler, but Bush (and Cheney) is a war criminal responsible for the deaths of untold hundreds of thousands in a war fought under false pretences that in one form or another rages on as the Forever War. Bush broke the Middle-East. Permanently. Had GW been president of say... Serbia, he would be in the docket at The Hague.
Also, Bush stood by like the good mouth breather that he is and watched the economy tank, stealing hope and a better future from generations.
I will leave you with this from Jonathan Swift, which sums up how the law works quite nicely: “Laws are like Cobwebs which may catch small Flies, but let Wasps and Hornets break through.”
2
We’ve all known from Day 1 that Trump is a notorious crook;however, because we have learned of his high crimes and misdemeanors slowly and have absorbed them over time, people are inured to having the lowlife pal of the Kremlin inhabiting the WH and poisoning our politics, bleeding our economy, harming our allies, and destroying our planet.
When Mueller’s full report comes out, we had better open our eyes and go into the streets to demand justice. No man is an island unto himself; and Trump is not above the law. Every citizen is part of the continent that created a government of, by, and for the people. We must as a continent of free citizens abhor this law breaker masquerading as president and see that justice is served. Otherwise, we are complicit in destroying the foundations of our country.
4
President Trump gets away with his crimes because the Republicans in Congress are his accomplices.
4
Trump has no love for this nation. He has contempt in fact, both for it and the highest office. He is a degenerate con man grifter in over his head and has been from day one as after accidentally "winning" the presidency. Now his only refuge ironically, is to bunker down in that office so he can't be indicted as tie public con man he is. He will go full Jim Jones to protect himself and his base of rubes will follow order.
3
Beautifully stated.
Mr. Blow, bingo! Thanks.
"Re-election may well be the only hope of evading justice." I've been looking for that very rationale. You and I say the crimes are the same - a campaign finance felony.
One in 2016 another in 2008. One for $190,000 and silence the other for $2,000,000 and a $375,000 FEC fine. Guilty for silencing a Porn Star and Playboy Bunny to spare his family further embarrassment. The other not caught, for another illegal campaign contribution to make it $750 million to help him become president. That's where the analogy ends.
Trump you say is a felon for directing others to hush those who would cause his family heartbreak for doing something everyone knew he did. Obama a two term President because the media helped him hide his violations for 5 years until his second term began.
As you said: The common denominator a second term saving them from evading justice.
Two American Presidents; one articulate and praised the other gruff and hated. The first known for his rhetoric and apology tours the other a liar who gets a lot done. Obama with a tendency to avoid risk and Trump who thrives on it. Obama associated with recovering from a financial disaster but synonymous with the IRS, Fast and Furious and Catch and Re!ease. Trump with creating an economic boom but not finished with North Korea, the Wall and MAGA.
How will history judge these two very different men?
1
When Solon, the law-giver of Ancient Greece, proudly showed a draft of his laws to Anacharsis, a visitor from Scythia, Anacharsis observed: "Your written laws are like spider webs. They will ensnare the poor and weak, while the rich and powerful will easily stride through them." It seems, 2600 years later, that we are determined to prove Anacharsis right.
2
Your second half of the Anacharsis quote is a rather free paraphrase (though it does capture the flavor): he referenced small flies and big ones.
This man is a criminal. He is not above the law just like all of us. He has to go. Most Americans are asking their government and its judicial branch to do something about this. However, the system is slow. The Republican sycophants of this President are turning a deaf ear and pretending that there is no crime because if it is proven that there is, they will go down in history as conspirators, which they are. The longer this man is in office, the deeper the wound will get. We have lost our values, our historical perspective and our image abroad. Forget about our progress towards protecting the environment and all other progress achieved in the past decades. People are now talking about what this man could do in the last minutes of his presidency when he is running out of options before being impeached or kicked out of office. Please America, wake up! Overthrow the man who has robbed you of your dignity, your values and your votes!
2
With Guilliani and Sekalow vs Mueller and Wiseman, it doesn't look good.
1
No more excuses, lies, obfuscations, bad appointments. Trump and his entourage of criminals must be taken down, quickly and effectively. Time for a RICOH action on this White House hijacker and his mob. If he is allowed to get away with this, I don't see a good future for the rule of law in this country.
3
So we could be witness to the bizarre spectacle of Trump begging Americans to vote for him so that he doesn't go to jail? The clock on the statute of limitations should stop until Trump has been ousted, the Oval tented and fumigated, and an actual qualified, sane human--obviously a Democrat--has been installed.
Think about the fact that American law allows any sitting president to commit a crime with impunity, as long as the statute of limitations expires before his term does.
Certainly there'll be groups who that doesn't bother: Republicans obviously, who are treasonously living off the avails of Trump's crimes; evangelicals, those faux-Christians who dream of the day they can discriminate against gay people under the obscene rubric of 'religious freedom' and make it law that all American uteruses belong to the state; and of course the Trumps themselves, those social-climbing, self-entitled interlopers into decent society whose only opinion of the legal system is that they are above it.
I don't understand why even the Trump cult, with their baby-fascist MAGA hats and their white-supremacist tendencies, can't see far enough into the future to imagine how they will be judged--not by the law, but by future generations of Americans who will wonder at the dark, criminal syndicate that is currently running the country.
7
Why is no one talking about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and a $50M penthouse for Putin?
3
Well, Charles is back beating his drum: Trump is a crook! But Trump is just the circus barker for the billionaires running the show. Let’s focus on the real problem: the Mercers, the Uihleins, the Adelsons, the Kochs, the Spencers, the Wilks and other would-be Oligarchs. Without them Trump is a nobody. Without their brainwashing machine — Fox, Limbaugh, Alex Jones, the NRA, extreme religious pulpits and radio shows, disinformation videos on YouTube, scurrilous innuendo on Facebook & Twitter — without this apparatus and billionaire PACs the GOP would be out on its ear and reality could reassert itself.
The blatant pursuit of Goebbel’s playbook by a handful of astute but crazy billionaires is where the problem begins. Forget about that dopey rabble rouser on Twitter who can’t compose an entire paragraph or read one! Focus!
2
It's also very possible that every President of the United States was a criminal given the criteria Mr. Blow wants to apply to the situation. In other words, any special prosecutor can find something for which to indict a president given enough time and resources. Trump, being a businessman in the rough and tumble world of international finance, would be particularly vulnerable that way.
The Clintons broke and stretched the law in every conceivable way and have never really been held accountable. The media and Mueller are saying Trump by paying hush money may have broken campaign finance law. Apart from the absurdity of that argument, if you want to see people breaking campaign finance law and getting away with it, read about the machinations going on between the Clintons and the Chinese in the 1996 election:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_United_States_campaign_finance_controversy
And yet, Reno stonewalled widespread calls for a special prosecutor and the Clintons went on their merry way selling their influence to hosts of foreign contributors until this very day.
The system is rigged by Democrats for Democrats and swamp creatures.
2
This will be a knotty bit of wood to fashion into an impeachment. Democrats and democratic Republicans will be best served parsing Trump's faults into a hierarchy of offal.
And, address them with strategies appropriate to each level.
Luckily, we have some smart people looking at the whole of Trump's transgressions. Hopefully, we don't overreach with any lesser wrongs such that others more serious are compromised.
Steady, steady... let's do this right and let him destroy himself as Nixon did over far less. Nixon was flawed and venal, and wrong, in short a Republican, but never a traitor. Trump is a traitor.
1
Trump Campaign Bumper Sticker
Vote Trump 2020
Running out the clock
on the Statute of Limitations
1
Donald Trump is a combination of graft and daft.
When he leaves the White House, the Secret Service should check pockets and luggage to make sure he and his family aren't stealing the silverware.
And, there has never been, and I hope there never will be again a person of such buffoonery occupying the Oval Office.
2
Who knew the party of family values had left out a word?
"Crime" family.
4
no one is above the law in America? what county do you live in? sorry for the sarcasm but many are above the law in the two Americas. the land of the haves and the have nots. we have the best judicial system money can buy.
1
If, as the saying goes, a DA can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich, then indicting Trump (who is composed solely of fast-food and soda) should be a cinch.
2
Yes, Cohen, Flynn, Manafort and countless other ex-members of this criminal administration have publicly “flipped,” on Trump -some even when not under indictment -i.e. Rex Tillerson.
Unfortunately, in order for those 40% of “never anyone but Trump” Americans to “flip peacefully” we need Fox News and the muffled Sinclair affiliates to give them permission. As yet, they show no sign of being ready to do so, no matter how compelling the evidence of criminality and Russian collusion.
1
This is the most important news in the Times. I hope its clarity can be used in the next election to take out a criminal president.
Our president likely wouldn't pass a basic security test being so clearly beholden to a foreign power, yet he has his finger on the nuclear codes -- literal and figurative as he blows up our fiscal, trade, foreign, environmental, immigration and all manner of other policies. Worse...if the gains from this ongoing assault on our democracy (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, tax cuts, Wisconsin, etc.) stay with the perpetrators, with no cost or accountability, what's to ever stop others from doing the same? We are in the midst of a slow rolling constitutional crisis.
C'mon, he's more likely to be a Wal-Mart greeter than an inmate.
You know how Trump said "I could shoot somebody in the middle of 5th Avenue and get away with it?" Well, we just found out he did.
OK. Let's all get the quote straight: "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters. OK? It's, like, incredible." Context, he was speaking about the loyalty of his voting base at a campaign rally in Iowa in January 2016.
"Surviving" we will - but OMG what will America have to be admired or respected? The Fraudster in Chief doesn't consider himself above the law - he thinks he is the end all and be all of the law. The Dictator he thinks he is, and well behaves like one a lot of the time.
1
We have survived numerous criminal administrations in the past (Obama, Clinton, Nixon, Johnson......) and will do so going forward. There is too much attention on activities in Washington, DC.
Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about having sex with an intern. Forty five has done much worse, no matter how you look at it. Of course, like Clinton, he will not be convicted in the Senate, but impeachment should be on the table. Of course his base will howl. But it shouldn't matter, if, in fact, the law reigns supreme in America.
1
"Last year, one of the president’s lawyers went even further, claiming that the “president cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under [the Constitution’s Article II] and has every right to express his view of any case.”"
Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz makes basically the same argument. So it's not the desperate claim of a partisan. Blow evidently assumes his readers are ignorant.
Not saying Dershowitz is right. I am saying that if Blow were intellectually honest, he would have at least alluded to Dershiowitz's view, which is very well known among people who follow such things.
Mr. Trump could very well have committed a felony in breaking campaign finance laws, but in looking back over the last two years and how he has skated over and through the consequences of his daily self inflicted transgressions and monumental policy mistakes, I have a hunch it will take a lot more to take him down before his term is up. Indictments against his senior staff (read family) over Russia and Trump Organization activities during the 2016 campaign will definitely move the noose closer to the President, and those have been rumoured to be likely. The next is obstruction of justice. Over and above the flagrant transparency of the Comey and Sessions firings, if Flynn or Cohen have already told prosecutors that the President or his staff told them to lie to Congress, that would be an impeachable offence even Senate Republicans could not ignore. And then there is what I would consider the most obvious one, which is the existence of proof in the latest revelations in which Trump had pursued business dealings in Russia while campaigning for President of the United States as his party's nominee. If true it would be breathtaking, the most willful Presidential attempt in history to condone a conflict of interest with a foreign country (who just happens to be our most ruthless competitor). It will be proof (Helsinki..) that America's policy towards Russia will have been compromised by Trump's need for personal gain. Impeachable.
2
Christmas is now suspended until this vulgar con-man is disgraced and sentenced.
He does not get to suspend the laws of gravity, because he "believes" it does not exist.
5
The effort to paint Republicans as criminals, by Blow and others, is the real danger to American politics and the strongest factor enabling Trump right now.
1
The law is the law.... yet it needs to be applied.
The failure to apply the law against Trump will not be Trump’s fault.
Neither will it be the fault of the Country’s judiciary or AG.
It will not be the fault of the newly elected House members.
The failure will come from the Senate headed by America’s most despicable politician: Mitch McConnell.
Let that sink in.
5
Is there really anyone that doesn't know, and always knew, that DJT is nothing more than a con man, charlatan, inveterate liar, misogynist, and wannabe Mob boss? And now his own DOJ has to decide whether or not to indict him for this crime, and it is a federal crime, in addition to the panoply of other charges. The fact that Republicans have stood by this con man is the most disturbing of all. Apparently an oath to uphold the Constitution and the Laws of the United States is too difficult a concept for them to adhere to. Everyone in office that has aided and abetted this criminal President must, at the very least, be voted out of office. As for the President, jail time.
4
Given the obvious, in your face, out in the open violations and flaunting of the laws of the USA, voters, citizens of the USA, are responsible as well. Can the stain be removed, the disgrace and embarrassment to the country be undone?
2
Mr. Blow, in saying America has to prove it can survive a criminal Presidency, leaves out the most distressing fact – 40+% of this country is okay with having an unfit fraud and probable Russian dupe as President.
The Reality Show Con Artist was never running for President; he was running for attention. His “campaign”, for a job he didn’t want, was one big extension of his “brand”. He was only in it for money and vanity. In fact, he is such an easy to spot grifter and since he never intended to win, it actually absolves him of the sin of his own election.
As Mr. Blow notes, his crimes are in plain sight, yet he has a 40% approval rating that hasn’t changed even with the daily deluge of new facts showing disregard for US laws, collusion with Russia and his destroying US reputation abroad. An even greater number of people in this country sit on the sidelines and refuse to vote, even against an individual as damaging to the country as this president.
Also, we have a whole political party, the Vichy GOP, who are propping up this charade even though they all know he is unfit and has colluded with a foreign power to attack US elections.
This country is a big ship and no one man can sink it. We can survive a narcissistic grifter. But the weight of the Vichy GOP (who have just been rewarded with additional seats in the Senate) and the people for whom no fact or crime will make them turn against the fraud, have this ship listing.
4
We can survive a criminal presidency... if...! Mitch McConnell is an enabler. Paul Ryan is too. So is Kevin McCarthy. So is Kevin Brady. So are the House members of the so-called Freedom Caucus! So are all the GOP senators, not one of whom has done more than make throat-clearing noises. The Party of Lincoln is long gone, and in its place a collection of greedy, selfish people--or the terminally delusional. Yes, Trump is an unindicted criminal, but he is hedged around by millions of people who know nothing of mankind's struggle against tyranny.
2
I don't think the guy looks too good. He's overweight, out of shape and I'm guessing has high blood pressure. Exacerbated no doubt by the lack of adulation from real Americans.
I'd be surprised to see him last out his presidency.
2
@jonnorstog - unfortunately, meanness fuels him. Chaos enlivens him. He feeds on the crowds that cheer for him. I fear he’ll be around to do a lot more damage.
We have allowed a criminal into our oval office to pretend he is president. The problem is his destruction of our democracy and our relationships with our allies. What is anyone doing to prevent another, perhaps worse, criminal into the WH? We may eventually get rid of this destroyer of nations. But are we prepared for prevention or will we just wait and see?
2
The Republican Senate will never hold Trump's feet to the fire.
Only when large businesses start to fail because of his policies or pack up and leave to another country will these cowards respond, and then only because of money, not country.
4
Trump is the personification of a self righteous perpetually wounded white ego that has refused to concede anything since it had its slaves freed in 1865. It created the lost cause ideology, Jim Crow, the KKK, the split-off pro-segregation churches, and a thousand other evil machinations to protect its ego while calling it righteousness and justice. Somewhere in the last century it changed political parties, but make no mistake, it kept the capacity for willful self-serving mercilessness and delusion. Should we really be so surprised that the spiritual (and often literal) successors of such a traitorous perversion are doubling down on Trump? Reason and empathy have never caused the GOP faithful to question themselves before - what makes anyone think they will start now?
3
Trump and the Republicans have unmasked America. Although Trump has proven he has great disregard for the law and little understanding of the constitution, he retains the allegiance of a significant percentage of our population. They are entertained by his attacks on liberal elites, the name calling, the attacks on anything foreign too much to care about what it is costing the nation. No matter how awful Trump and his gang are, he could not get this far without the support of millions of Americans and a political party devoid of integrity. What a shame.
3
He has committed actual felonies, as opposed to Ms. Clinton's imaginary crimes. LOCK HIM UP!
3
Blow' strongly partisan views fuels his hypocrisy.
He strongly supported the Clinton's ignoring their monumental ethical if not criminal abuses.
If the current President were a Democrat rather than a Republican, Blow would be dismissing the President's actions as inconsequential.
4
Too bad Charlie Manson didn't have access to Twitter 50 years ago during his trial for the Tate-LaBianca murders. He could have been firing off tweets like, "Bugliosi witch hunt! No murder! No murder!" And after seeing the felony counts in the charging documents, he could have tweeted, "Totally cleared me. Thank you."
2
Let's end the nickname confusion and all agree to refer to him as Individual-1.
3
Mr. Blow provides examination without jargon. He does not mince words. This allows a reader to think for themselves, and it makes any rational conclusion apparent. Thank you sir. Well played.
1
In America no one is above the law.
Really? Pretty funny reading this in the opinion pages of a newspaper that regularly traffics in leaks, protecting the identity of those who illegally pass confidential information.
Also pretty funny coming from an unapologetic supporter of Hillary Clinton, the same Hillary Clinton who illegally used a private email server and used it to transmit highly classified information. I must have missed Mr. Blow's impassioned columns calling for her prosecution.
No one above the law indeed.
1
If the American people wish to regain a semblance of what we believed was the heart and soul of this country then, for the sake of the rule of law, this president must be voted out of office. We need to begin a Get Out The Vote campaign NOW. I am convinced the reason Nick Ayers declined the office of Trump's Chief of Staff is because this administration is a sinking ship and, like everyone else who comes in close proximity to Trump, he too would be ruined.
I fear that the way Trump will try to win the 2020 election is to push us into war. With Bolton as national security advisor, going to war is not far fetched. To paraphrase Prof. Harold Hill, "America, we're in Trouble. That starts with "T" and rhymes with "P" and that stands for "President".
2
It does not matter if he commits a crime - he can pardon himself!!
Trump's Get Out of Jail Free card is in the hands of old white men, evangelicals, and the southeastern states. They aren't changing their minds because change is not in their blood. If the midterms are any indication, though, the next Presidential Library may be at Ft. Leavenworth.
The best criminals avoid indictment and thus trial by power and wealth, witness intimidation, influence, or abuse of the law. They aren't entirely stupid and avoid doing the things directly that could get them convicted.
The thing is however that the court of puplic opinion, i.e, elections, do not require evidentiary proof.
I can't remember anyone, even Nixon, who has acted in office in the manner of a crime boss or acted so guilty as Trump has. Every tweet and almost every statement are those that criminal and guilty person makes.
There are certainly many who support him. That shouldn't surprise us. Criminals, or wannabe criminals, will protect other criminals. They have to. It's as simple as self perservation.
The question is will we vote for criminal enterprise or democracy as the basis of our government?
The NRA pours money into Republican lawmakers, and the NRA has been laundering money for Russians seeing to interfere with our elections. My dream is that when Trump and his family are brought down that they take the NRA and Republican lawmakers with them.
3
Trump has replaced “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” with “lie, cheat, and steal”. Can God bless this kind of America?
3
Thought experiment: we all know that if HRC had been elected that Mueller would have been tasked to investigate her. Would we countenance the attempt to undo an election? Yes, I know Trump is a crook. But our actions have consequences. Plan A should be to vote him out. And for that we need Joe Biden and not the Dems’ versions of the water-swilling, sweaty Marco Rubio. Our younger tier will remind Trump of his worthless kids and he will treat them accordingly, belittling and mocking them as the coliseum throngs jeer, thumbs down.
It'll be interesting to see how Trump's punitive, rightwing fanatics in the Senate, particularly weirdos like Tom Cotton (who moans of our national "under-incarceration problem"), react to irresistible evidence of Trump and Co.'s felonious behavior.
We are now living in a surreal legal environment, where Oval Office felonies could decorate several Christmas trees---and yet, we proceed each day as if collusion, bribery, prujury, money laundering are normal---yes, illegal, but, if committed within the confines of the West Wing---well, let's move on to the next story.
Here's what my Brooklyn born friend said years ago when I told her about the mouse in my West Village slum lord walk-up:
"Notfanothinbut (Not for nothing, but), there's never just one."
How right she was!
Thanks to a landlord who didn't believe in floor boards, I sent 48 vermin to the hereafter before I found all of the rat holes.
Donald J. Trump is just one rat. Our gravest danger is that there are so many politicians corrupted by the Russians, Saudis and others that the very foundations of our executive branch and legislature are imperiled.
Why doesn't Mitch even listen to his own party? Why did Lindsey do such an about face re: Trump? Thanks to Mueller and the DOJ, some mysteries will be solved.
Let's hope and pray we get all of the rats, not just the big cheese eater teetering at the top.
2
The most criminal presidency of recent times belonged to W Bush who deliberately misled the country into an immoral war of choice that caused the death and maiming of hundreds of thousands if not millions of American and Middle Eastern citizens, bankrupted the country and destroyed the balance of power in the Middle East. But of course he went to church and had impeccable manners.
Give me Trump (or Bill Clinton) any day. Get your priorities straight.
2
Trump will start a war before the election to stay out of prison, that is my greatest fear.
A prosecution of this campaign finance violation would have occurred had the DOJ not looked the other way:
@John Edwards
In 2008 Obama's campaign paid a $375,000 FEC fine for violations that included 1,300 donations that exceeded the legal limit, $2 million in contributions with no source, $85 million of that with incorrect dates and the campaign violated the requirement of returning excessive donations within 60 days but kept $874 k until FEC determined they were unlawful.
Clearly intent was discovered.
Source: WAPO, January 4, 2013.
I have one simple question. Why did it take 5 years to uncover this blatant violation?
I'm sure trump did not know or even care what he did was a felony. He is ignorant about so many things why are we surprised about this? His old friend and attorney Roy Cohn taught him two things to be successful lie and always push back. And it's worked for him. Roy Cohn was also the communist hunter Senator McCarthy's lawyer back in the 1950s. He was disbarred. Hopefully trump will get his just deserts in the end.
1
I'm reminded of Julius Caeser's decision to cross the Rubicon. This was also done to escape prosecution.
Thankfully, Trump is too stupid to win a civil war. But how have we come so close to this precipice? Our Republic is truly in danger. When Trump is finally charged, it is the duty of every citizen to march until he is removed from office.
2
So will the new reelection campaign chants be "Don't Lock Him Up!" ?
1
The problem here is that our president and some of his minions all think they are above the law....
Quick!!! Can anyone name 50 current Republican politicians who are acting w integrity, benvolency and a commitment to our country over their party? Name ten....five even....
I rest my point.
3
Hmm ... Bill Clinton lied about oral sex with an intern, and was impeached by the House, though not convicted by the Senate. Donald Trump broke campaign-finance laws in order to illegally aid his successful electioneering to the highest office in the land, and the Republican House and Senate are sitting on their hands. Which president‘s actions, do you think, did more harm to our democracy?
2
Trump isn't imaginative enough to have engineered this assault on democracy. He's nothing but a dense predatory opportunist. The rot he detected in the Republican party was all he needed. His staunchest supporters didn't elect him despite his criminality. They elected him because of it.
1
When R Nixon was allowed to skate around prison the nation set its course to allow corruption at the high level. We have been paying the price for that ever since.
Trump and others have taken the privilege to avoid legal equality and it is probably going to destroy the nation. Same thing with big finance, they commit unparalleled crime with impunity.
Who has done this? Ordinary citizens have allowed themselves to be played for suckers. Trump and Republicans are just the latest to make us all look weak and spiritless in the face of abuse of power and wealth.
A criminal presidency is just one item in a nation with near criminal everything. No?
1
"It is very possible that the president of the United States is a criminal."
"...very possible..." my glutei maximi. No, Charles, that the president of the United States is a criminal, is absolute, incontrovertible fact. That he hasn't been tried and convicted in a court of law is a mere formality as well as completely beside the point.
His sheer incompetence to date is reason sufficient to heat the tar and pluck the geese. There has not been a calendar day since 1.20.2017 that he has not lied...on multiple occasions...during that brief span of time. Every dollar that settles into his money bin from his Trump hotel in DC is an impeachable offense. One word: Khashoggi. Need even one more syllable be said? And, if that's not enough: Ketchup, on well-done-to-shoe-sole-consistency steak!???
What more is needed to send this knuckle-dragger back to 5th Ave.?
1
Right: "Trump as very much above the law — or at least some laws".
And the Cultural Marxists writing for NYT Opinion Kingdom don't think Obama was not "very much above the law" blowing dog-whistles "There's no there, there" to Comey via 60 Minutes and Comey-Lynch-DNC Politburo "the matter" and using Rice-FBI-NSA to spy of citizens at will to Hillary's benefit and killing American citizens in foreign countries without due process?
Such hypocrisy only Lenin and Trotsky could appreciate.
1
We already survived a criminal president. Obama almost destroyed the country , Hillary was already a criminal and the election of Trump was a reaction to the criminals in office 2008-2016.
2
@James
Fine. You read the script. Now how about some facts or at least your reasoning, because so far I see nothing that Obama or Clinton has done that comes anything near what Trump and his troglodytes have done to this country and its Constitution so far.
Oh, and you do know that Clinton won the popular vote by over 3+ MILLION, don't you?
3
So, meanwhile, the criminal Trump family continues to rape and pillage. And We The People can do nothing but watch.
This is the worst moment in American history.
2
It is clear that Mr. Trump does not believe he is lying.
He is that most pernicious of liars, the man who lies to himself.
When one is weak and deficient or when one has been bullied as a child one can develop a fantasy view of oneself. That all that is good around you is a result of YOUR actions. All the solved problems are your idea. All evil or failure is someone else's fault. One continues to export this fantasy as a marketing exercise to please your bully and reassure yourself that you are a worthwhile human being.
Like the fragile narcissist, you decompensate violently whenever this fantasy view is challenged in any way.
Don’t wish evil upon Mr. Trump, he is a torn and deficient little boy inside. Push him too far and he will do irreparable damage in the name of preserving his illusion.
Don’t wish evil upon Mr. Trump, as Heraclitus of Ephesus said ‘Character is fate’. Mr. Trump's looming fate is vile enough that you don’t have to wish it upon him. Don’t cheapen yourselves in this process. The damage he does as he goes will be hard enough for your great country as it is.
2
We've already survived 2 terms of a sitting president who was a degenerate, thief, and liar. One who at the end of his term in office sold pardons, We avoided a second round of it by not electing his wife, a lying, egotistical, socialist, with delusions of grandeur. We should all reflect back on the Clintons and hold that thought for awhile. Bill Clinton turned the Oval Office into his own personal massage payload full of happy endings. He flew often on Epstein's Lolita Express. There are many things we should let sink in.
1
We did not have to survive a criminal presidency because Clinton lost the 2016 election according to our republican form of government. She was on sketchy ice but for the Democrat prosecutors who supported her, voted for her and some who attended her defeat party. As an authorized govt classifier for many years, I can definitively say that most people, who did much less than her egregious and illegal home computer communications system which was hacked by a number of foreign govts with loss of classified information, have suffered severe consequences. Do you know that under federal code the Secretary of State has responsibility to implement and maintain the security of classified information for the Department? Moving on-Have any of you fully read the federal code sections dealing with campaign finance. A strong legal case can be made that any monies extended to women for silence may have been for marital reasons and not campaign related. The majority of the supposed intelligentsia who comment on these pages believe that Trump is an idiot, but he may be one who does not want another messy divorce due to the huge cost and disruption at this time of his life. All he needs is one of twelve on a jury which is a walkaway for a guy who received 40%+ of the presidential vote. All presidential transition teams make contacts with foreign govts before taking. The Obama team did and later told the Rusky Premier that he would change policy to do business with Russia after his election.
These are scary times. It feels like we are headed for a train wreck because the engineer is crazy. The Republican Party is to blame for their gutless, greedy “leadership” which fails to take control and stop this maniac before it is too late.
2
It would be a mistake to focus just on Trump's likely crimes. He is also an unscrupulous man, a racist, a misogynist, a liar and a philanderer. We knew all this before Trump was elected. He was elected presumably because a lot of people thought that he says things as they are, and would set things right for them. Do they still think he will set things right for them? Much more important than what happens to Trump is whether the people who voted for him are benefiting from their object lesson in democracy.
1
It's unfortunate ,beyond all actions of President Trump to have opinions of such incredible ignorance published by the staff of this news outlet. Not news ,hardly the truth ,and more communist propaganda than substance.
1
Trump is proof that the US relic of slavery system of government is completely out of touch with reality.
1
I would much rather have a President that commits a foul (and this still simply isn’t the case in this investigation) in the campaign for President than have a squeaky clean president Obama that uses laws to punish millions of the hardest working Americans only to benefit the dumbest and laziest (O-care).
@Pilot
"I would much rather have a President that commits a foul (and this still isn't the case in this investigation) in the campaign for President than have a squeaky clean Obama..."
And with this kind of reasoning, that's EXACTLY why you're in the minority.
By the way, you do know that most Americans voted to keep the Affordable Care Act, right?
2
Well, hopefully he DOESN'T survive.
2
I so love the sound of this:
..."a president will be tried, convicted and imprisoned for the first time in the country’s history."
I can't wait to get the 2020 ballot and maybe send this felon to prison where he belongs. It will be the best vote of my life.
2
Go after the two things he cares about.
1. Money
2. Ivanka.
Done!
1
Risking redundancy, I believe that every act, position, idea, plan, demand, proposal, bill, law Ever put forth by trump must be eliminated, destroyed, & we must have a legitimate election for a legitimate president. The instant the orange menace is ejected, convicted, gone, we rescind Everything trump has inflicted on America.
2
Where’s the Russian collusion, Charles?
It is laughable that you think Trump will be taken down over campaign finance charges.
First, politicians have made sure that it is almost impossible to be criminally indicted for campaign finance transgressions. The penalties are civil.
The only possible way to criminally charge the President is if the government can prove that Trump fully understood all election laws prior to breaking them. Again, a little bar put in place to make convicting politicians virtually impossible.
After two years of complaining that Trump is dumb as a door knob, that he doesn’t understand anything at all, and that he could never comprehend complex subject matter, you want to try and convince people that Trump fully understood the complexities of campaign finance law?
You are funny, Charles. And ever hopeful.
@Ken
Sorry. But is the news actually getting up there?
The fact that Trump was actively trying to build a new tower in Moscow and his associates were in touch with various Russian emissaries DURING the presidential campaign is enough to raise eyebrows -- just wait for the rest.
No doubt it will be well worth it.
1
Election 2020?
For Trump supporters it's a matter of personal pride.
How many Trump supporters, the "super elite" as Trump likes to call them, will be willing to admit that they were wrong believing Trump was the only one who could "fix" everything and "Make America Great Again?"
Will they be willing to admit that the same people they love to see Trump bash, the same people they believe look down their noses at them and think they're stupid were actually right all along?
This is no longer about Trump. It's about them, and their unwillingness to admit they made a mistake.
If Trump loses, the people they love to hate, the people they believe hate them, will win. And they'll look "dumb."
Trump will never lose their support.
1
Our Constitution like the Bible to many people is not to be question, as it beyond the law, as it is the law. However, they both share the same weakness, they were both written by men, who by today's standards is out of date.Such as the the right to have a gun, or in the Bible that calls Homosexuality an Abomination.So to is the Electoral College & considering hate by the Nazin Party,freedom of Speech.An eye for an eye in the Bible which is barbaric & replaced by Capital punishment which is also barbaric. I could go on & on. Much worst than the aforementioned laws, the right of a President to pardon his Criminal Friends, & the inability to indict & imprison a criminal President.These outdated laws will remain as long as they are considered beyond judgement.They will keep humanity mired in the past & weaken Society. A immobile Society will eventually crumble.
This may be why we developed Nuclear weapons which will be the final solution..
2
The criminal of a cruel, lying President announced that his chief of staff John Kelly will be leaving (fired), before Kelly had a chance to announce , beating him to the punch.
But trump’s announcement backfired, when the man supposed to replace Kelly turned down the offer.
Then John Kelly a four star general ended up exposing himself as a racist jerk with his stellar reputation down the drain.
Just hoping this shenanigan is coming to a closure sooner than we thought.
We deserve to have our Country back !
2
They should establish a lunacy award for journalists and I would nominate CB to become the first recipient. The Times story CB cites as fact is speculative.again from Times "journalists" who are obsessed with overturning the 2016 election. But let's be clear on some facts:
-- no evidence of collusion with Russia by Trump's team or Trump
- There is no evidence Trump defrauded voters, that's Timesian hyperbole.
- Discussing building a hotel isn't the same as building a hotel, nor is it the same as timing the realize of your sappy autobiography with the initiation of your presidential campaign
-- We are not at war with Russia, according to Obama they aren't even a problem. They only became a problem when Obama and HRC found it expedient to blame Russia for her loss and to set in motion the collusion narrative
-- Russians, if they really wanted to meet with Trump probably wanted an idea of what his positions might be as they would any political newcomer--- they already had a handle on HRC.
-- none of Trump's campaign staff have been accused of doing anything illegal that involved Trump
-- Paying off women who were trying to extort money from Trump isn't a crime. It wasn't even necessarily related to his presidential campaign except Stormy timed it so it would get maximum exposure for her. Trump perhaps wanted to save his family embarrassment. In any event, a candidate can contribute to their own campaign.
-There's been no obstruction
Get over it.
Lock him up and deny him access to a TV and computer.
1
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, okay, and I wouldn't lose any voters, okay?"
Be careful, Manhattanites, he might not even be arrested for it.
Surviving a criminal president? What about surviving a complicit GOP Senate? I hope voters remember that all who have coddled this man are equally responsible. Here's a good starter list to vote out of office for their willingness to turn a blind eye to the disaster that's been unfolding in front of us since well before November 8, 2016.
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
John Thune, (R-SD)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Mike Lee (R-UT)
Cory Gardner (R-CO)
Johnny Isakson(R-GA)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
7
@LMR
I blame these people far more than trump. They could have stopped him.
2
Doesn't fit NYT Opinion Kingdom narrative? Once again:
Right: "Trump as very much above the law — or at least some laws".
And the Cultural Marxists writing for NYT Opinion Kingdom don't think Obama was not "very much above the law" blowing dog-whistles "There's no there, there" to Comey via 60 Minutes and Comey-Lynch-DNC Politburo "the matter" and using Rice-FBI-NSA to spy of citizens at will to Hillary's benefit and killing American citizens in foreign countries without due process?
Such hypocrisy only Lenin and Trotsky could appreciate.
1
The law is king? And, yet, Nixon, Johnson, Reagan and Bush all went free. Going further back, we have the likes of McKinley who someone misses being on the list of worst presidents.
He was for sale to any robber baron for a price. JP Morgan walked into the oval office and gave the president of the United States his marching orders.
We overlooked George Bush's involvement in stock shorting because of 9/11; Reagan was given a pass though his buddies were involved in cheating thousands out of their pension funds; Johnson made it rich on sweetheart deals for TV stations and radio stations; and, the list could go on.
We need a new direction. Indict the president for what he did to win the presidency and tax fraud before rising to office.
2
Thank you, Mr. Blow, for putting in print the word that has long been on our tongues in private conversation: "Criminal." Now that it has been said out in the open, and a list of charges building by the day, the question is: Are we obliged to allow this to go on just because he is president, even though it may be proven that he achieved the position through fraudulent means.
2
Mr. Blow I know you must be careful with your words so you and/or the NY Times don't get sued when you say, "It is very possible that the president of the United States is a criminal."
However, WE THE PEOPLE don't have to be careful.
The Con Don is an International Mafia crook. If OUR U.S. Justice System can't get rid of him and his brethren WE will.
NOW is the time.
5
The electoral defeat of Mr. Trump isn't the only way to see him brought to justice. The next electoral cycle will put a far larger number of Republican senators up for re-election than in 2018. Unless there's a great shift in the voters' attitudes, the Senate will go Democratic in a big way. No more Republican majority, no more Mitch as majority leader, no more protection for Trump.
2
We already survived a criminal presidency when Holder and Lynch covered up for Obama and Secretary of State Clinton.
3
@Olivia: Obama and Clinton did not commit any crimes.
2
Defrauding the voters? Wow
Asked Cohen to commit a felony.
Mr. Blow I assume you understand Campaign Finance Law to make such outlandish, unhinged claims? CFL 101:
"A candidate can contribute personally as much as they chose - no limit. If the contributions are for purposes other than one's campaign they are lawful."
With the Access Hollywood tape public, years of NY city tabloid stories about Trumps indiscretions and the famous two affairs publicly disclosed, don't you think that $130,000 payments to silence two more women wouldn't be considered something that would affect the election? Charles, let that question and it's import sink in. Rudy G has. Now to the real crime...
In 2008 Barak Obama's campaign paid one of the highest FEC fines of $375,000. The FEC indicated the "Campaign intentionally attempted to hide almost $2 million in "ILLEGAL" contributions. Of that $1.8 million came from unsourced donars who the FEC discovered had already exceeded their maximum legal contribution limits. The campaign kept $874,000 of those donations until the FEC discovered they were unlawful. The campaign failed to return the excessive amount within 60 days as law requires. Finally, the campaign misreported the dates on another $85 million in donations.
Source: WAPO, Jan.4, 2013.
Mr.Blow this is the real crime that you should direct your wrath on. Why do you think we never heard about this? Reported in 2013 - 5 years after it happened?
Hate can blind one from truth.¡
1
@Frank Leibold: From Snopes: "While it is true that President Obama’s 2008 campaign was fined a significant amount of money by the FEC, those fines covered civil violations that were different than the criminal infractions admitted to by Cohen." Earlier campaigns before the Obama campaign were also fined for similar civil violations by the FEC. The fine for the Obama campaign was very large, but not out of proportion to the total amount of the campaign, as one Republican expert noted in a Politico artice about the fine. https://www.snopes.com/news/2018/08/22/election-law-violations-compared-obama-2008-vs-trump-2016/
1
@Frank Leibold
Yes, Frank, 'hate can blind one from the truth.' Even a simple Google search would help you be more informed and, as a result, pass on more reliable info in your posts. A search might have turned up this article from Politico(https://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/obama-2008-campaign-fined-375000-085784) or one from the WAPO on 22 August of this year about why the two cases are different.
For the (your) record, here's a more accurate statement on the Obama campaign's civil infraction: "For critics of the Obama campaign, the audit was a reminder of other reporting errors by the 2008 effort, which campaign officials said they tried to correct in real-time. But independent experts, including former FEC commissioner Michael Toner, said after the audit was released that the infractions were relatively minor, given the scope of the campaign." The WAPO article includes a quote from Mr. Toner, a former Republican chairman of the FEC: "Overall, this is a very clean audit report for the Obama campaign. The FEC spent two years picking over $750 million in contributions and expenses and found one violation."
Let's get rid of the hate and try to be more honest.
1
@Anna
Thanks! I was aware of this. It raises another question:
Why was FEC chosen over DOJ? By whom?
And in another post I asked the question:
Why did it take 5 years for the Obama violations to become public? Politico and then WAPO reported them on Jan.4, 2013?
Two months after Obama took office for his 2nd term - and conveniently eliminating the Status of Limitations. The 2008 violations were egregious - 1,300 within 20 days of election. And "incorrectly" reporting dates could surely indicate intent. But Holder and Obama preferred the friendlier FEC.
Heaven forbid someone upset the liberal agenda. He must be punished, guilty or not.
3
Impeachment won't succeed if it's based on anything other than the collaboration with Russia. That's the one thing that won't wash with the public and might attract some Republican support. The sex stuff and hush money won't attract any Repub votes and will simply give Repubs a pulpit to fulminate on their favorite topic, the Clintons. For once, libs, be smart. Bide your time.
1
Let's make one thing clear. He committed fraud on "some" voters. Not this one. I did not vote for him because I knew he was a fraud. However, now that he occupies the White House, he is committing fraud on everyone in the US, even those who did not or cannot vote for whatever reason.
Now, if he is re-elected, there is no one to blame except for the voters (not me) who believe his nonsense. Fool you once, shame on him. Fool you twice, shame on YOU.
1
Trump as architect of his very own Death Star, which self-destructs. God may be dead, but abject stupidity always favors the patient, and hinders the criminal.
Happy Holidays, Mr. Mueller.
1
Hmmm. Could it just be that our "dumb as a rock" President was elected by "dumb as a rock" voters?
7
We don't have to survive a criminal presidency. Hillary lost.
3
“It is very possible that the president of the United States is a criminal.“
surely you jest!
Trump was a criminal long, long before he became president. in fact, it was his degenerate criminal proclivities that enabled him to become president in the first place. (though it’s critically important not to overlook the astounding naivety of the misguided fools that voted for him)
4
Trump's presidency is a "Murphy's Law" presidency.
"Murphy's Law" states that if anything can do wrong, it will.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trump is making all kinds of mistakes and he seems to be getting away with many of these mistakes. Now it is up to the American people to find ways to prevent mistakes from happening, again.
So, in a sense, President Trump is doing the nation a favor, by making us aware of weaknesses in our system of government.
Hopefully, after, Trump, our democracy will be strengthened.
=============================================
2
@Harry Pearle The greatest weakness is the electoral college. There must be a way to get rid of this antiquated system that gives extra weight to a few states.
1
Trump is a racist who rode the 3rd rail of racism into the WH.
This says much more about the Americans who voted for him, than it does about him. We know who he is. A craven, prodigal son with no talent for anything much beyond self-promotion.
It is "them," whom America should worry about.
4
This comment is directed to Trump's base: are you happy that you supported and elected a criminal to be President of the US? Are you happy that your choice has not only committed crimes but has made the US the laughing stock in the world?
4
If by some chance this guy in the White House is not a “moron” as reportedly described by Rex Tillerson, his then Secretary of state, or an “idiot” as his chief of staff John Kelly, allegedly described him, he should make a deal now and step down.
If he has any common sense or is not delusional, he must see that the blue wave will be rolling over him in 2920. The House of Representatives will on the least subpoena his tax returns.
His deal should include no indictment in 2020 for he or the children of his caught up in his criminal activity; and no revealing to the public the tax returns he seems so afraid of revealing.
If he did make such a deal, he should feel relief. It must be a daily struggle to try to put a legitimate front on a pretend Presidency governed by tweet.
2
"America cannot be trampled by the corrupt and the fraudulent, the venal and the lecherous."? Well, of course it can. And it has been. Lots. (Been to Wisonsin lately?) But at least this time, we shouldn't allow it.
1
Even though I wouldove to see Trump behind bars, physically in jail, he's already in prison: he's inside Donald Trump's head.
1
Weak story as always Chuck.
I don’t know why they keep you on...
2
America is broken.
1
Law & Order party, that's rich. Republicans brutalize minorities and the poor while coddling criminals on Wall Street and Main Street, and even Easy Street. They earn campaign donations from Corporate Prison Operators, Fash Cash loan sharks and every form of con artist. And who is the biggest con around these days? DJT & Co.!
2
Orange spray tan is like teflon for this Don.
1
So now a billionaire playboy paying off his tryst with his own money and a federal prosecutor in search of a crime relabeling it as campaign violations is now a earth shattering federal crime deserving of impeachment and incarceration of the president of the US.
Oh how fair and Just Charles Blow.
Now the question is whether Americans choose to jettison justice and the rule or law. If we democratically choose to dissolve our democracy, we'll get everything we deserve.
1
Well, nice to hear all the moralizing. The true undoing of this president was his foolhardy America first trade policy. We have a global economy and supply chain. New tech is the future-- coal and hard core heavy manufacturing is the past. There is no way this policy can be righted by his administration. It may be two more years of agony for us and the world. But in the end he will be gone. And it won't be a moral choice. It will be an expedient and necessary choice. It is coming, but will be slow and painful in the meanwhile. Sorry everybody, but it is all about economics.
2
We may well have to wait until 2020 to remove Trump. I hope liberals devote the same amount of energy (and money) in 2020 that they did in 2018. For both local/state elections, and the presidency.
5
But. The Obama administration was fined $375,000 for campaign finance violations. Where was all the outrage then?
https://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/obama-2008-campaign-fined-375000-085784
1
@Harlod Dickman - it was fined.
It was fined. Punished. They didn't get away with it.
2
Could America survive a criminal presidency? A Trump criminal presidency? I'm not so sure.
Think ahead to the possibility that Trump is either removed from office or steps down under enormous pressure. What next?
My suspicion is that Trump would not go quietly and that he would strike back at all of the institutions that contributed to his downfall. I think it's entirely possible that he might even call upon his followers to try to destroy those institutions.
And given that Trump and his followers are cult-like, many might actually obey.
Widespread insurrection -- armed and unarmed -- seems possible, if not likely.
Our criminal justice system would be the biggest target, followed closely, perhaps, by information providers. (We've already seen bomb threats at CNN. And we have the "failing" NYT, of course.)
I think we are headed for a great deal of trouble that makes what we've been through since 2016 child's play.
I hope I am wrong, but …
3
All we can hope for is that Pence does not succeed this criminal when his term is over, [hopefully 'term' not 'terms'] and Trump will not be pardoned. I also hope that whatever Democrat succeeds him instead, won't either. A pardon in this case would be another crime.
5
I enjoy Mr. Blow’s cogent arguments, but I sometimes feel they don’t go far enough. The real problem here is that about 63 million of our citizens voted for this flawed, bombastic, cruel liar. The problem is that they voted for him precisely BECAUSE he is flawed, bombastic and cruel; they see him as the repudiation of where our open democracy has taken us, all they really want is for their "enemies" to be hurt.
That’s what we have to let sink in, and it has. The rest of the country (the powerful part that values education, a pluralistic society, strong diplomacy, and the development of a modern economy) has taken notice… and it’s not happy. There have been whispers in the past that there may be some citizens who, because of ignorance or a fundamental lack of intellectual capacity, should not be given a responsibility so vital as electing the public officials who guide our nearly all-powerful government. THIS is the idea that most terrifies me. Disenfranchisement of out-groups is as American as apple pie, and when the tide inevitably turns and poor, uneducated white men, hostile to the new world growing around them, find they are now an out-group, our cherished democracy could take one of its biggest hits since the Civil War. Backlash is coming, and the man in the Whitehouse they elected to champion their rights may have accelerated the process of destroying this “Base”, diminishing us all in the process.
3
It isn't just Trump or Republican support for Trump. From NC to Wisconsin Republicans are attempting to over turn the Republican form of government. They are driving us toward a civil war.
4
What we cannot survive is not impeaching him. If this man has committed the number and severity of crimes that now seems clear, what is untenable is an outcome in which he walks away having paid no price.
Forget the Age of Aquarius. We're living the Age of No Accountability. Think. If a man who has gamed, undermined and exploded the system pays no price, the next leader with despotic leanings (and the brains to follow through*) goes even further.
I listened to NPR this morning and several pundits noted that impeachment shouldn't be on the table. What?! We're where we are precisely because we keep shrugging, downplaying, and aiding and abetting wrong doing.
Our children are watching. They really are. When they see the very people with the most power doing wrong and not only not being penalized, but actively benefiting from that wrongdoing, a very clear message is sent. If criminality is rewarded, by default, doing the right thing has no value. None at all.
Is this really what we've become? A nation that continually turns a blind eye to high crimes and misdemeanors? A nation that cannot be bothered to stir its stumps and take action because it's challenging and will "ruffle feathers"? Have liberals really become zombies of this magnitude?
Bill Clinton was impeached over a stain on a dress and the lies to conceal it. DJT has stained the country, rule of law, the Constitution and democratic principles. It's high time this nation sorted its priorities and acted on them.
3
The Republicans' prayers have been answered----impeachment!
All the conditions are in place. The Mueller investigation and the Southern District US Attorney disclosures to date have established sufficient grounds for action. They have a willing accomplice in the Democratic party's control of the House. Trump's replacement is a scandal-free conservative who will continue to dismember the government to satisfy the party's financial supporters. How can they lose?
3
"Charges against Trump if he is not re-elected"? There are a lot of pundits talking about that now. But seriously, there's not much point in talking about Trump and 2020. It's highly probable at this point that Trump will be impeached or forced to resign office before mid-2019. The campaign finance felony is the appetizer for what's to come.
5
The Constitution quite clearly states:
"Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law."
The argument against indicting a sitting president seems to rely on the presumption that impeachment must be pursued prior to indictment. Of course, impeachment is the constitutionally prescribed means of removing all executive officers—not just the president—from office. So are we really going to maintain that the founders intended all officials of the government to be protected from indictment unless first impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate? Or is the president somehow special in this regards? If so, where exactly does it specify this difference between the President and other executive officers also subject to the impeachment process?
1
A Republican talking head on CNN said this morning that if Trump is impeached 30% of the country will consider it a coup. 30%! Do the rest of us care if it's a coup? I'll wager most of us want to see Trump out of office. And if it takes a "coup" then so be it.
6
The argument that a sitting president cannot be indicted due to the impact of the indictment on being able to perform the job is patently ignorant (or dismissive) of the Constitution itself. It's clearly stated that if any president is unable to perform the duties of the office, the Vice President (or succession order if need be) will fulfill the powers of the President. The succession order was created for a reason. To say that impacting the office of the President as a result of indictment is to ignore that. The founders weren't perfect people, and the Constitution isn't a perfect document, but they had that much figured out. Government isn't dependent on a single person, nor should it be.
6
It is difficult for the reality of the idea that the Reality Show POTUS is real.
How can it be that this man's freedom depends on be re-elected?
1
Bill Clinton as president allowed sale of technology to China. That was before, during and after he and Al Gore solicited and received campaign contributions from Chinese nationals.
Hillary's campaign manager was being paid to lobby for the repeal of the Magnitsky Act while he was her campaign manager without he or his firm registering as an agent of a foreign government.
John Edwards had a donor pay off his girlfriend and no action was taken against him.
Hillary paid in excess of $1 million to purchase a dossier from a British agent who bought the information from Russian government officials and fraudulently reported to the FEC that the payments were for legal expenses.
Hillary's husband received payments from foreign governments while Hillary was a Senator and Secretary of State, a violation of the emoluments clause.
Trump never denied being a womanizer. Before he got the nomination or won the election, everyone knew that there were multiple women making allegations about him. the Bush family, to support Hillary, released an eleven year old recording of him making comments of astonishment about how women threw themselves at him because he was rich and famous. Having two sex workers allege that they had sex with Trump and/or that he had paid them for their silence would not have affected the outcome of the election. A logical case could be made that the extortion was paid to prevent aggravating his wife.
1
All of the government’s charges are predicated on the idea that Trump wanted to be President. But what if it was a simply a branding exercise that was catastrophically successful? How could Trump have colluded with Russia or broken campaign finance laws if he wasn’t trying to be elected President?
No one (with the exception of the American U professor) expected Trump to win: from the NY Times to the EIB network and everyone else in between, no one thought Trump had a chance. So why would Putin have thought Trump could win and collude with him? Putin was just messing with American democracy, and the Democrats have done his bidding for him.
As to campaign finance violations, perhaps Hillary is equally complicit, since she was expected to run a credible campaign and win. Trump never expected to win, and seemed to do everything he could to lose, but she wouldn’t let him – instead she led a disastrous campaign run by mooks – and lost. So Trump’s payoffs designed to protect his brand as a father and husband and hustler became illegal because of her incompetence.
Boehner stated that Trump told him he didn’t expect to win (he had a cash bar at his election night headquarters). What we have now is an accidental President: a man who never wanted to be or expected to be President defeated a woman who appears to have dedicated her whole life to being president, and he is now being charged as a criminal for having won. There’s a great crime here, but it’s not a payoff to a mistress.
1
@Len319 Hillary had over 3 million more votes than trump. So trump did not win the popular vote, Hillary did. The crime here is that we still have an electoral college sytem that can overturn the will of the majority.
1
I can picture Trump behind bars, and seeing that image means the U.S. has survived.
I wonder if Nixon had received jail time which he deserved,
would have Trump acted differently during the campaign and as president.
My guess that the worst case scenario in Trump's head, is that he gets to retire to Mar-a- Lago, unpunished.
4
If Hillary Clinton were the president, and had even a fraction of the scandals swirling Trump, you can be sure that she would be impeached, and there would be no question of whether the law applied to her!
10
The other SIDE: there are people experienced in this area who have stated that payments to these women are NOT a violation of campaign finance laws. [didn't the Obama people pay a fine for some violation of some campaign finance law]
@h dierkes President Obama didn't pay women to keep quiet about extra-marital affairs. His campaign paid a fine for a violation regarding campaign funding. Way big difference.
1
@Norma Recall the defense of BC: it was only sex
Hear ye, all Supreme Court originalists: Who ever imagined the Oval Office would be a haven from the law? Surely not the founders.
4
@FR
Every so-called orginalist is a liar since they aren't They are merely expedient to their goals. Whatever is necessary.
Is our 45th President a criminal? If he is, and knowing this as fact (not "fake news"), how can we abide two more years of Trump's malign autocratic grip on our Democracy? Chances are good (given the clear history of the catastrophic downfalls of demagogues and dictators in the last century) that Donald Trump will not last in our White House until the 2020 election. Best case scenario, he's on his way out now. Yes, Trump's term will end. But we American people don't know and can't predict how and when he will fall down. An American president who doesn't read or write is anathema to Democracy. Hurry, hurry, right this way, folks, to the end of Trump's reality-TV carney presidency. Here's his red M.A.G.A. cap, here's his extra long red tie, his orange hair and red phizz. Past time to give him the bum's rush!
4
The President is not the King. He's a public servant of the American people. The rule of law must stand or we don't have a functioning democracy imho.
3
Here is something else that Republicans should try to get their heads around while doing the 'Donny's Ok two-step'. If the sitting president is determined by law to be illegitimate, then the two supreme court judges he approved might very well be deemed so as well.
5
@Frederick
Exactly! Thank you.
We've been focused on Trump's obstruction of justice and campaign contribution violations. I'm waiting to see if Mueller, using testimony from Michael Cohen and Mike Flynn has what he needs to pursue violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act against Trump and his companies.
This could very well be what Vladimir Putin has been holding over Trump's head all this time, not just the offer of a free penthouse in the Moscow hotel, but actual bribes in the form of money laundering or the sale of grossly under-priced properties to influential Russians, or flat out payoffs. If he was willing to payoff a porn star and a Playboy model to keep their mouths shut, he certainly wouldn't balk at paying off whoever was necessary to grease the wheels in Russia.
Even more interesting than what his operatives Cohen and Flynn have had to say about this is what his long-time accountant Allen Weisselberg knows about who got paid.
As always, follow the money.
2
Criminals will support criminals. They have to. It's their only defense.
(Maybe a simplified version will pass muster).
2
Blow needs to relax. We should wait on possible indictments & even impeachment until after Robert Mueller concludes his Russia probe. Having said that Trump will never serve one day in jail. This is a progressive fantasy. There's zero chance of this happening. Lets put aside the DOJ internal policy against indicting a sitting president. It will never survive a court test...and it will be litigated. But suppose I'm wrong and Trump is indicted. Then he will definitely be re-elected. Assuming the Democrats go with their plan to run on a progressive platform then this will energize the GOP base like never before. They won't care whether Trump wins but they will do everything possible to make sure Democrats and more importantly liberals lose. What progressives & their co-dependents will never understand is that far left mobilizes it's opponents to an even greater degree. Anti-left” will always win most places in this country but especially in swing states like Ohio & Florida. There is no progressive majority in America & never will be. The numbers are simply not there. And there certainly is no progressive Electoral College coalition in America that could get to the needed 270 votes. This point can't be emphasized enough: almost every progressive candidate in whom Democrats invested tremendous time, money, & emotional energy—Beto O’Rourke, Andrew Gillum , Stacey Abrams who all ran against weak GOP candidates— lost. Let Trump leave on his own accord. That's what's best for America.
1
I don't buy Mueller's absurd contortion that buying media content and not reporting the expense is a campaign finance violation.
That's nonsense.
Donald Trump should be indicted if he committed criminal offenses. The decision not to criminally indict Nixon counted on the political system to make things right. Democrats controlled congress, and Republicans, while partisan, were still institutionalists who took their oaths and responsibilities seriously. Once evidence was incontrovertible, via the Nixon tapes, Republicans quickly joined Democrats in moving towards impeachment.
Fast forward to the present and you have almost the entire Republican caucus in both chambers actively conspiring to impede the Mueller investigation. They mostly remain silent under the daily onslaught of damning news stories and incompetent presidential behavior. Tax cuts, gutting regulations, and stuffing the federal bench with right wing ideologues are their main concerns. Most are safely ensconced in seats protected by voter suppression and an entire propaganda network dulling constituents’ minds.
This is not the 1970’s. Our institutions are not nearly as resilient or reliable. Mitch McConnell defied custom and decency to steal a SCOTUS seat. It’s much less certain that the political process will act appropriately and hold a lawless president accountable. Otherwise, we’d already have a statute protecting the special counsel.
The Mueller investigation does not appear complete but that time is soon coming. Mueller shouldn’t trust the politicians. He should indict Trump for every provable federal crime.
2
@Michael Tyndall After sitting on their thumbs through the two terms we elected President Obama, the repulsive repubs in congress still seem incapable of governing now that they have their party leader messing up our White House. Mueller is smarter than the whole lot of them put together and won't let them mess with his case against the Russian puppet.
2
It is simple, really. Con Don has been laundering money for so long and so regularly that he has lost all sense of there being any danger in it for him. There never has been! Why worry now? It is just business as usual. Sure, he's a crook, but in his book so is everyone. If they aren't, they are chumps. (Ops, "losers".)
Just what we want in a president, right?
Just as sad is the fact that as an elite and so-called businessman, he is hardly alone in his view of criminality. It is all just a matter of what you think you can get away. After all, Wall Street bankers brought the world's economy to the brink with fraud. If they got away with it - and they did so handsomely, to boot - why should any other well placed person not expect to do the same? They do.
Our criminal justice system is only for those who cannot afford a stable of lawyers. We must fix that if we hope to fix the presidency. NO ONE can be above the law.
3
@nora m: The civil justice system is where most corporation litigation takes place. It is even worse than the criminal justice system because there are usually no juries to testify to judicial conduct.
3
Mr. Blow--your column leaves me with the impression that despite all that we have seen and heard in the last week's about Trump's possible and probable criminal activity that it will be up to 2020 voters to deny him a second term. I am not sure that we will still have any form of free and fair elections given what has gone on with the GOP before, during, and after the 2018 election. The Republicans have set up the framework to keep power regardless of the outcome of the vote. We have seen that graphically illustrated in Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina and to a lesser extent in Ohio. Do you think Trump will hesitate to use any executive power at his disposal to shut down any 2020 election outcome that doesn't favor him and the GOP? I don't believe that 60 percent of us can depend on a "free and fair" election in 2020 ending this national nightmare. Don't you think that we at least need a back-up plan? I sure do. Trump and the GOP will take whatever steps necessary to hold get and hold onto power. We have already seen that happen again and again over the last three years. I don't think that we can depend on our institutions, norms, or customs to protect us from these power-grabbers. We need a better strategy to deal with these criminal activities--other than wringing our hands and waiting for the next election.
2
The press reported an unusual increase in the the number of sealed indictments filed in federal court in Washington in the run-up to the midterms, prompting many of us to speculate whether Robert Mueller was obtaining such indictments as a way of insuring the life of his investigation if he were fired. As I understand, indictments-under-seal are used where there are special issues of arrest, timing or other sensitivity, can be dismissed only by a judge and preserve the charge from the applicable statue of limitations.
Perhaps such an indictment could be used for Trump, or even already has been. The Justice Department policy protects the president from indictment only while he is actively in office, doing his work of his office (or consuming his full diet of Fox television, as the case may be). So the seal could be broken the minute Trump’s successor were inaugurated, and the case could proceed.
If there were ever an appropriate case for a sealed indictment, isn’t this it? It may be “justice delayed,” but from the prospective of the American people and the rule of law, at least it would not be “justice denied.”
1
Don't be too hard on Trump. Voters who voted him in are not necessarily going to abandon him in moments of difficulty, especially due to the "contagion" of collusion, which is on the increase, not decrease with the populace of this country. He may have even set a new benchmark in this country for fiefdoms of localized power to measure up to in "cooperative" efforts. Trump will evaporate some day, but his technique of coercion and collusion, may only strengthen. The Trump style might be full of Darwinian traits designed for "survival of the fittest." After all, America is in the middle of a fitness craze.
Our Democratic Party is such a wreck. No one is in the street chanting "Lock him up?" When they go low...we go away? We really believe ourselves to be THIS gerrymandered out of business? Somebody (electable) RUN against this monster! It seems like Gene McCarthy could win this one.
2
Very likely? Not quite. Undeniably so. Trump came from a business world with both feet in the shady part of it. Numerous associations with crime family members and money laundering oligarchs. He had a personal lawyer he dubbed his "fixer." That's crime family terminology.
No, there's really little doubt that Trump has committed crimes and gotten away with them. The most egregious thing is that the Republican Party has turned a blind eye to all of it. The double-standard here is not just jaw dropping and head snapping... it's disgraceful. This is why there was a record turnover of Congress. And as it sinks in more and more across the land how broken and corrupt is the Republican Party, the more Trump will sink in his self-filled swamp.
The bells are tolling. For whom, we know. But it's one thing to ring bells and another to fasten handcuffs.
4
A surface reading of the case against Flynn reveals that several people within the last admin committed felonies by leaking classified information and unmasking someone then revealing the name. Are we now going to go after everyone Charles? Or just who don't like?
@Ken Just those that break the law. Federal Government employees have a responsiblity to report misuse of government office and information to appropriate authorities.
1
If we wait until 2020 to rid ourselves of this President it will be too late. Why don’t more people see this?
4
I"m afraid that if he successfully impeached, then Pence will just pardon him for those felonies he's guilty of.
After all, this GOP House and Senate pardoned him of the Trump "University" scam and he was able to buy his way out of a felony conviction by settling out of court just weeks before his bizarre inaugural address. Did anyone bother to look at the evidence files while they were still out there? He's as guilty as sin.
His corrupt behavior over the last 40 years or so is why NY didn't vote for him. They already know him.
But I look forward to his leaving in disgrace while the Statute of Limitations is still in effect and when Pence is just another lapdog who goes back into the doghouse in his home state, where no one there would have re-elected him governor because they knew HIM.
And then Trump can stand before a judge - perhaps one he himself had appointed - and be sent to jail...
... which is where he belongs.
1
The President is above the law. That was established in 1974 when Nixon was pardoned by Ford for any possible crimes even before indictment or conviction. At the time Ford was praised for ending a long national nightmare. But he set a dreadful precedent that poisons our politics to this day.
5
If the presidency allows to run out the statute of limitations (because for whatever reason the president cannot be indicted) that means the president, in this case, is indeed above the law. The statute of limitations should be extended by the period during which charges could not be laid.
4
Something I find interesting, many of Mr. Blow's earlier columns have been about how prosecutors over charge people, act in ways outside the law or unethically to get convictions, and even make up facts in order to charge individuals.
In this column, however, the assumption is that since a prosecutor said a crime was committed, it was and by the specific person the prosecutor blamed for it. Interesting example of confirmation bias, in my view.
1
With all due respect to Mr. Blow, you are wrong. There isn't any doubt that Donald Trump is a criminal. At this point the only question is, does the GOP continue to let him get away with these criminal activities and how much more damage does he do to this already great nation.
4
@Son Of Liberty: Trump's blatant criminality establishes that the GOP is really a RICO.
What do yo mean by survival? I think we are in something like a slow Armageddon. But with the upcoming stock market crash and one more natural disaster or so, that may well speed up. Slow decline and then the bottom drops out.
3
I have to admit that those who observe the Republicans insatiable desire to maintain there grip on power such as what is going on in Wisconsin and Michigan will indeed infect our next election with a level of vitriol and conflict that does not bode well for the future of our democracy. Trump will maintain support from Republicans in his attempt to avoid jail via re-election as they want to maintain their control as well and need his minions support to accomplish this.
3
If this country does not rid itself of trump, there may be no 2020 election. Every day he is in office, more offenses pile up, more right wing judges are seated, more previously unacceptable behavior becomes the norm. He wants to be dictator for life. That is his goal and he is constantly moving in that direction.
1
Prosecutors did not “make clear in a sentencing memo for Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, that Trump himself had directed Cohen to break campaign finance laws.” The memo says Trump directed Cohen to “purchase the rights to stories” from two women who “claimed to have had an affair” with Trump. It does not say Trump directed Cohen to break campaign finance laws.
Cohen accepted the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s offer to reduce his jail time if pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, but this doesn’t prove the hush money payments were campaign finance violations.
The Federal Election Commission—not the Southern District —has jurisdiction over campaign finance violations. It has known about the hush money payments since November 2016, when the Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump orchestrated the payments, but it hasn’t charged the Trump or the Trump campaign with any campaign finance violations. The probable reason is that the FEC disagrees that the hush money was an illegal campaign contribution.
1
Money IS King in America and has clearly put the notion that no one is above the law in America into a deep grave.
If you have money you do not fear the law. You can buy your way around justice. Donald Trump has done that his whole life and continues to do so now. He is supported by American money now, those people who wish to keep the game going lest they too have need to circumvent the rule of law. Our laws are also written and legislated to aid the people with money.
Our 2 tiered justice system and institutions are protecting Trump right now and he will manipulate the laws to the limit to continue evading the rule of law. Is there any evidence in America that this will not be successful?
We normal folk who drive at the posted speed limit may not have the opportunity to vote in 2020 if the GOP continues the assault on voting rights in all 50 states.
Trump's base does not care if he broke the law. The GOP does not care if he broke the law. And the rest of us expect that Trump will be just another old rich white guy who buys his way away from a conviction in court. We have seen it too many times.
Two years are as 100 in 'Trumpworld' years so there is no way to predict what will happen. But we can be sure that if Trump thinks staying in office as POTUS for a second term is his best bet to avoid the law, he will do whatever it takes to win and it will be ugly.
1
@Elizabeth: Everyone here is under a system that apparently enables judges to conduct shakedowns for people waging frivolous litigation.
Trump is very likely going to win a second term and avoid all justice or consequence from his criminal activity and aberrant behavior.
This is America: where the rich and powerful are above the law.
1
Bottom line. The Republican Party, in its lust for power, is making a mockery of justice and trampling on the will of the people, both in Congress and in states like Wisconsin and North Carolina. It makes you wonder if they identify themselves as Americans or as Republicans? They all need to revisit the oath of office they swore to uphold. America can survive this but by protecting Trump and their naked power grab, McConnell and his party clearly have lost their way and should be relegated to the nearest dustbin, ASAP!
3
WIth my crystal ball, I forsee that, if Trump loses the next election (making him fair game for an indictment), he will try to pardon himself. If that doesn't work, he will step down in his lame duck term and let Mike Pence assume the presidency for those two months who will then pardon him. Any way you slice it, Trump is right - he is above the law.
3
@TWade: Trump's enablers did not conduct even a rudimentary vetting of the scammer.
At this point I don’t even think Trump shooting someone would make Congress do anything.
3
Impeachment is nothing more than a constitutional slap on the wrist to rein in a president that's behaving badly. Why does everyone think that impeachment is some magical remedy to get rid of a president the media doesn't approve of?? Impeachment minus a trial and conviction of a president for high crimes and misdemeanors is a total waste of time. Bill Clinton was impeached 20 years ago and still got to keep his day job.
1
"If the President does it, it's not illegal."
I just made that up.
At least, I hope I did. Because if we have ever heard that before from, say, another criminal in the White House, then those charged with upholding the law cannot plead ignorance and are complicit.
The accusations against Trump have far more the look and feel of the accusations that lead to the bogus impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton than they do the accusations behind the impeachment proceedings that lead to the resignation of Richard Nixon.
"No one is above the law in America." Of course when it comes to the President of the United States that may well not be true. And it makes complete sense that it not be true. The interests of country are at stake. Congress has the power to discipline the president, and if Congress decides to take no action, thhat should be the end of it, the control of that issue should not fall to any lower ranking official. Be careful what you ask for Charles, you may get it, and then you may see the next Bill Clinton lead away in shackles at the hands of some Republican leaning, politically ambitious prosecutor.
What you need to remember Charles is that Trump is the President, he won the presidential election, and if for some reason it is now felt that he should not be the president, for reasons of tampering or failing to get a majority or electoral college issues or campaign spending violations or conflicts of interest, it is up to Congress to act, and if they don't, so be it.
A statute of limitations may be tolled. If a president cannot be indicted while in office then the limitation should be tolled for those four (or eight) years. But I disagree that a sitting president cannot be indicted. It may be true for federal laws, but we also have the laws of 50 states. Just as the presidents power of pardon only applies to federal crimes, he can be indicted under 50 states’s Laws.
If Donald Trump is not held accountable for a conspiracy with a foreign power to steal the 2016 election, why wouldn't he do it again in 2020? If our system of governance is so brittle as to delegate the most fundamental aspects of our society to voters whose votes may be corrupted, we have already lost our ability to function under the rule of law.
The Judicial and Legislative branches must act now. Where the voice of the people enter into the equation is that we must demand action and hold elected officials (I'm talking about you Mitch McConnell) personally responsible when they obstruct justice or otherwise undermine their sworn duties to uphold the laws of this country. They are not above the law either.
1
If no one is above the law, including the president, then the president should be indictable while in office. This is the way it should be and is not at all prohibited by the Constitution. Why do the pundits and opinion writers accept the DOJ guidelines against indicting a sitting president as settled law? Let the Supreme Court decide. Dare Justice Kavanaugh to vote in favor of his sponsor and against holding a lawbreaker accountable.
Still, the checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution are now being found wanting. The framers of the Constitution, though enlightened, were flawed themselves, with many of them being slave owners. And they were writing 230 years ago. The Constitution should be amended to include the office of a permanent independent prosecutor.
Of course, before Washington and the state legislatures could muster the political will for such a change, there would have to be a constitutional crisis. But we are fasted headed toward that.
Some democracies give the head of the government immunity from prosecution while in office under the mistaken notion that the ship of state needs a captain at the helm unencumbered by a
criminal court case against him or her. But as we can see, Donald Trump finds the time to tweet and golf frequently. I'm sure defending himself against a case--or many cases--is something he could fit into his schedule.
4
Sadly, Charles, there are actually people out there who think so little of our democracy, our laws, the Constitution, that they will continue to support and enable this petty con artist and his family of grifters.
Even sadder: Many of them are members of Congress.
10
If we are to claim that in the US no one is above the law, then that should imply that even the president is not above the law. Any other approach to this would make a mockery out of the law and the justice system.
As Trump himself like to proclaim that he wants "law and order" but of course as long as this applies to others and not himself or his family.
Only in a dictatorship the dictator is above the law, and if Trump and his supporters want to assert as Trump being above the law, then they are trying to change the US into a dictatorship.
As far as him being elected president by fooling people, well, obviously we have millions of fools in the US.
9
My gut tells me that Trump is in with the Rus. mob for business deals in Russia, he's a puppet. I think the government there has a master plan to disrupt the west, through social media, they have disrupted our elections, and I think they are fanning the Brexit and France protest violence. The west needs to take a step back and access what is going on, we need to take the cancer out ( no mercy jail time for traitors) and place harsh restrictions on countries (Russia and any other who are doing this). Clear the fog, take out the trash and harsh sanctions. Btw the investigation should also check into congressional members, and why they were so eager to play along, there's smoke as well.
9
If the high water mark of the Mueller investigation is that Trump paid off women to keep them quiet, it will be an exoneration of Trump. The people who voted for Trump knew about the Access Hollywood tape. They knew they were not electing a saint. As one supporter said, "I know he's a liar and a con man but I still trust him more than a regular politician."
If Democrats try to make a big deal out of these payments, it will back fire on them. No one will care about these payments the same way that no one really cared about Clinton lying about Monica Lewinsky.
3
IOKIYAR.
Let's not forget the Unitary Executive theory either. Under that, Trump answers to no one, with no checks on his power.
If it was a Democratic president, the Republicans would have been in streets chanting Lock Him Up.
4
@Sha
Not only that, but in the 2 years they controlled both houses of Congress, an impeachment vote and/or resignation would've already happened.
Criminal is just one of the labels the law garlands Trump with, but his every act and idea refutes the moral arc of evolution.
He refutes the melting of the world's most ancient ice cores. He is obsessed and confused about money, paying no attention to budgets, he clings mistakenly to the idea trade is a line item like revenue. His rage against women includes supporting rape, stalking, domestic and verbal violence.
He has offered weak, corrupt, or extreme, even criminal, appointments. He couldn't wait to let the Russians in the Oval Office.
A new word is needed for his evil.
15
There was once a New York City bigwig nicknamed "The Queen of Mean", Leona Helmsley, who famously said that only the little people pay taxes. I believe that this is what Trump thinks, along with the philosophy that laws are for losers.
Let's prove him wrong on both counts.
20
Is exposing himself to Russia’s extortion a crime? Trump may not end falling for any other act, as criminal as it may be, as much as for this. His base feels he’s committing his crimes for them. But being a puppet subordinated to Russia...,? Is that for the good of anyone or anything other than his lust for power?
2
Talk about a motivation to win an election!
3
On criminality, everything that needed said, was well said by Mr Blow.
I submit that the underlying reason for the truth's slow absorption - would also explain how a pathological liar who assigns "low IQ" to others ever became President.
Consider a quote from Henri Peyre (Sterling Professor of French at Yale University), "Writers and Their Critics: A Study of Misunderstanding", 1944, Cornell University Press:
"Yet there is no sorrier sight to watch then the vacant faces of those former high school and college students when, at thirty-five or fifty, all their mental alertness having vanished, the spark gone from their eyes, they dutifully chew their gum to keep from yawning, while absorbing the chewing gum for the eyes of the movies or the chewing gum for the ears of the radio."
"The same men who once read Shakespeare, Molière, Byron glance at the headlines of their tabloid papers, turn straight to the page of the funnies, to devour them with the same dutiful sense of boredom as they swallow their hamburger at lunchtime and their highball after dinner."
2
I say impeach the man before the 2020 elections. If he is acquited in the Senate, so be it. But every congressperson and every Senator who whose term is up in 2020, will have to defend their votes to the electorate.
That is how it is supposed to work.
17
No one is going to like this comment, but I feel I have to state this: Every President in my lifetime has been a criminal, (possibly excepting Jimmy Carter).
It's got nothing to do with party, or sympathy or who we like.
Cornel West: " I love brother Obama, but he's a war criminal."
This isn't whataboutery. This isn't false equivalence. I want Trump out of office as much as anyone, but let's not delude ourselves. The road to truth is rough, it's hard, and it's long. But it's not forked.
1
Sera Well then, I guess since everyone does it, it must be ok. Carry on...
I simply cannot grasp the logic behind the claim that a president cannot be indicted for any crime. Taken to its logical conclusion with a simple thought experiment, its utter ridiculousness is obvious:
The night before a presidential election one of the candidates is murdered. With effectively no time for that candidate to be replaced by his or her party, Candidate Crook wins in a landslide. AFTER the inauguration, it is discovered that Candidate Crook was directly responsible, having personally hired the murderers.
Being immune from indictment or arrest for this murder, but subject to impeachment.... Candidate Crook uses the office to enrich him/herself, until the day before any impeachment trial vote. That morning, Candidate Crook escapes forever by ordering (as president) Air Force One to drop him off at his chosen safe harbor country.
(Actually, I'm not sure that last part isn't Trump's ultimate plan.)
9
it seems we are at a point in American history where the reckless ways of Capitalism and corporations are intersecting with power vis a vis the government. There should be a separation between government practices and corporate behavior. What people do to get filthy rich (lie, bend rules, break laws) should be kept far away from the White House, a place where law and honesty and ethics have always been sacrosanct values. I remember learning in grade school how George Washington never told a lie and how Abraham Lincoln was ' honest Abe' because he did not lie to the people. These were golden rules we were all supposed to live by. What has happened to our country? A lawbreaker sullies the White House with dirty lies, secrets and illegality. He breaks not only our trust and traditions. He breaks the heart and spirit of America, he lets us down and brings us down everyday he stays there.
I believe candidates for 2020, on either side of the aisle could and should run their campaigns on American traditions of honesty, trust, integrity and ethical behavior. I bet they'd win by landslides.
We are better than this.
2
Farther down we go, each week a new piece of truth slams against new lies and denials from Trump and his drooling pack of American Wild Dogs.
They attack the soft underbelly of America’s compassion and dreams, going directly for the entrails because it’s efficient and effective. There’s no rules, only survival or death. They eat because they can, and seek new territory because what rational animal does not flee from the ravages of raw power; the survival of the pack is all that matters, and if you stand up you will be easy prey.
I don’t think so. The power of the herd is bigger than the pac and eventually the pushback is unstoppable.
Justice is coming and like the tide, yell and twit all you want, it cannot be stopped.
1
but what crimes has he committed as President? Serious question, not political POV. thx
I have always thought that Trump was a criminal. You just have to google him to see all the scandals and scams associated with him. Not to mention he has no morals or ethics and it is easy to see he is a criminal. But he is not alone. Sadly to say, in today's world there are plenty of criminals that hold political office. Both here in the USA and the rest of the world. One would have to be naïve to not believe that. It is a sad state of affairs when people know a person is a criminal, and still vote him in as POTUS. Of course being an independent, to be honest, Hillary was not a good choice to be POTUS either. 2016 will be forever known as the year when two of the worst of mankind ran for POTUS.
2
What most upsets Americans is the clearly partisan fashion in which justice is meted out today. If Trump did, indeed, break campaign finance statutes, he should be prosecuted or impeached. But so should the individuals who unveiled and leaked the identity of Gen. Mike Flynn. So should DOJ officials who falsified FISA court warrant applications. So should Hillary Clinton who so egregiously mishandled classified information. Justice should be fairly and evenly served.
1
Edwards got charged with the same thing and beat the case in a jury trial. I hate TRump but Mueller has to show Trump tied to Russia, or a Russian money-laundering conspiracy for Trump Territory even to maybe take it seriously. He might, too. But Trump will not be impeached or jailed because he paid off his mistresses. And if he were? There would be blood-in-the-streets.
Let’s not kid ourselves about that. As matters stand, his supporters are fiercely loyal- and lots of them are well-armed.
Beat him and let him slink away. Better yet, beat him and pardon him.
Looking at all we have learned about the President, it is clear that he is a criminal. Glad that somebody finally has the courage to say and print that. The emperor has no clothes.
3
Thank you for the clarity of this article. I confess myself at a loss processing how we arrived here. I would like to meet the people who still support this criminal and ask them to defend with a straight face the indefensible.
The problem is the process. We have a problem bigger than DJT. I know I sound like a broken drum, but I'm going to bang it out again. Every single thing this man faces was on the table BEFORE he ran. The problem is not DJT, per se. It's the nation that ever thought for a nano second it was a rational or defensible plan to elect a man ALREADY guilty of committing five crimes (found guilty and charged) one who had 169 pending federal investigations and named in 3,500 lawsuits (now closing in on 6,000). There was a reason he refused to release his taxes. That was not inconsequential.
This matters. What did people think? That a man who had spent his entire life committing crimes was suddenly going to change? That the fact that his default mode was criminal was not a problem? That the maneuvers, manipulation, and kickbacks it took to buy his nomination were kosher? That it was okay to elect someone ALREADY known for bullying employees, failing to pay them, using substandard material, and up on sexual harassment charges?
This country needs a serous sit down where it's made to face its role in electing the most grotesquely inept, unqualified, ignorant,criminal thug in the history of the country.
The real question is this: can we survive ourselves?
8
Trump simply confuses the Presidency with a shady family business, tilting America toward the banana Republics and corrupt monarchies and dictatorships he prefers as partners over natural allies like Europe and Canada.
Now that he's letting his hair down a bit after the midterms and appointing more junior Fox operatives to run America's international relations, I expect soon to see the star-spangled banner above the White House replaced with a pennant reading 'For Sale'.
1
It's not too hard to imagine that a great many Americans have no problem believing that Donald Trump is a criminal. After all, anyone who is so possessed with being right all the time and winning at any expense is definitely prone to cutting corners when it comes to telling the truth.
And since this has been the M.O. of Mr. Trump ever since he first stumbled upon the tabloid pages decades ago here in New York, there's no reason to believe he will change.
That's why at this point there's very little information from the Mueller investigation uncovers that could actually come as a surprise.
The only thing that surprises is how anyone can believe anything that comes out of his mouth.
Wake-up AMERICA.
3
"It is very possible that the president of the United States is a criminal. And it is very possible that his criminality aided and abetted his assumption of the position. Let that sink in. It is a profound revelation."
Is this really a profound revelation or rather something pretty obvious?
1
We've already survived one criminal Presidency, what's going to make surviving this one that much harder it the fact that many Americans no longer care. Their impression is that all Presidents are crooks, some are just smarter and slicker than others. It won't matter to them if he's a criminal because he's doing what they want him to do. Whether tweaking China's leaders or subtlety sanctioning racism, they can put up with a little Emoluments Clause breaking because they're not even sure what that is.
3
Thank you, Mr. Blow. This article has inspired some of the best and brightest responses of late. Wolfgang from Europe is especially sagacious. But Poodlefree from Seattle makes the point that I think should be shouted from the the mountain tops: Do not impeach! Impeachment will be highjacked and Trump and all the Republicans emboldened by it. The danger inherent in impeachment is bedded in its very name, the semantic confusion over what it means. The very sound of it implies dire action and always, always, always, is used mistakenly as a substitute for removal from office. It has never worked--cannot work. It is the Br'er Rabbit--best hope--for Trump.
1
The fact is, justice in America is a question of what you can afford. This is a dirty little secret that every American knows to be true, but chooses to ignore....until they are directly affected.
America is a land of law and order, no man is above the law. These are platitudes, ideals, but also fiction, pablum for the masses.
But that doesn't mean that Trump can or will escape justice. In fact, if our nation is to continue functioning, despite the fact that justice comes with a price tag, it is absolutely necessary to prosecute prominent criminals, especially arrogant criminals such as Trump. By prosecuting blatant, flagrant criminal activity which offends the public sentiment, we participate in renewing the ideal - acceptance of the fiction that we are a nation of law and order - and that keeps the routine, more mundane public criminal activity such as Republican Party undermining of democracy subdued and the nation from going off the guardrails into open anarchy.
2
It is amusing to watch the left engage in fantasies of prosecuting Trump post-presidency. Blow needs to pay more attention to Deroshowitz if he doesn't want to go down a legal rabbit hole that will just embarrass the left in court, harden Republican support for Trump and alienate moderates.
1
How many 'norms' of American political/civil life has Mr. Trump demolished. He tramples on these important institutional values like Godzilla on cocaine.
The DOJ 'rule' about not indicting a sitting president is just that. A 'rule'; a 'norm'. But the DOJ is supposed to uphold that norm? Why? And people have disagreed about whether a sitting president can or cannot be indicted so let's not just accept that one point of view.
People who have a great deal to hide are running this country - into the ground, perhaps out of existence as a democracy (yes, yes, 'constitutional republic').
People should be in the streets. Are we all so polite in America (no, we know that is not true)? Are we just too tired? Are we out shopping for Christmas?
These people are criminals and talking about it every day by talking heads is diminishing what they've done in their repetition of the litany of crimes piling up. I know for sure we Americans are feeling overwhelmed. But.....it's all being debated and accepted as 'normal'.
It's a tragedy what is happening to us. And for the entire world, a tragedy with so many real life consequences for real people.
4
I think collusion is the bigger matter. Although obstruction is a strong number two. Twelve individuals involved in the campaign/administration had contact with high level Russians? And the contacts with Wikileaks? Didn't Stone telegraph the email dump before it happened? All are efforts to subvert the election, and then cover it up. Impeachment aside--only because I can't see Senate Repubs supporting it-- this criminal administration and traitorous regime must be brought to justice. Or we will continue the slide to Facism. And Putin and MBS will have another reason to smirk and celebrate.
1
It is too bad we cannot take the politics out of politics. Donald J Trump should have been removed from office months ago, or indeed never should have been in the role of president. It is too bad he cannot face the music as president; and then be removed from office. He is a bad human being, and a bad human being makes a bad president.
1
I agree with the point you're making, Mr. Blow, but I think you need to hold your rhetorical fire a bit. It's a pretty good bet that there's much, much worse than campaign finance violations coming down the pike.
2
I'm confident that our Republic can survive the next two years with an impotent trump in office. In the meantime Mueller's investigation will continue, lots of republicans will go to jail, and trump will get his day (or week, or month, or years) in court in 2020. No deals for trump. He needs to do hard time for the rest of his life.
1
That Mr. Trump continues to enjoy huge support among Republicans not only demonstrates their contempt for the rule of law, but also a contempt for the Constitution and its prescribed foundations of our government.
Unless and until lawless so-called public servants are removed from power and held to account, our country is no better than those we have routinely condemned for their anti-democratic practices (read: Russia, China, Iran and the ilk).
Genuinely patriotic Americans (not the grinning racists and jingoist hypocrites too often on display at Trump rallies) should never forget the names of those who have participated in, abetted or failed to oppose this ongoing destruction of our beloved Republic and at every opportunity shame them for their gross civic irresponsibility.
4
The Republican party position is that anyone is above the law who can sign a bill granting tax cuts to bajillionaires and rip up Democracy's social contract to all.
Money trumps law=>Trump trumps law.
6
The CEO of a 100 year-old company can fail, damage the economy, and walk away -- even get another job. It’s happened. The government picks up the pieces even though it impoverishes large segments of society -- if it is seen as an honest mistake.
The President has the only job in the US that doesn’t have someone above to pick up the pieces for bad decisions.
Nor can he blame others or walk away.
HST said “The Buck Stops Here.”
#43 said “I’m the decider.”
Hopefully, the deciders have the wisdom, integrity, empathy, and compassion to make decisions that preserve our prosperity and progress.
Elections give people the authority to choose who that will be -- guided by the Constitution and a body of precedents. But ultimately the will and character of the people determine what that means.
Every 4 years we entrust the apex of authority to an elected President. There've been mistakes; it's how we learn.
No sense making mistakes if you don’t learn from them.
Mistakes are one thing; misrepresentation & dishonesty are another.
Sometimes a nation's good nature is abused and it cries out in pain that it's been deceived.
Elsewhere, that's led to revolution.
We're resilient and count on making fewer mistakes with our system than with the alternatives.
Tzar Nicholas was unprepared to rule and he made bad decisions. He impoverished Russia; his people questioned his rule, which represented the system itself.
Now it has a new Tzar.
Men are mortal.
The Constitution isn’t.
Let’s not lose it.
174
@John Edwards
Andy McCarthy, a well respected by both sides former U.S. Prosecutor, after reading Cohen's plea agreement, had this salient analysis:
There is a serious legal question about whether the hush-money payments here qualify as "in-kind" campaign contributions. He indicates that if it is an expense that would have been made even if there was no campaign - it would not be considered a in-kind payment.
Furthermore, he says "it's hard to imagine an infraction that DOJ often selects not to prosecute is sufficiently egregious to rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors."
Campaign finance violations have a high proof threshold for intent. Therefore difficult to prosecute.
I will discuss one that does in next comment...
2
@John Edwards (Continued)
A simple but important question for all here:
Why did 2008 egregious campaign finance violations take until 2013 to discover?
Every day that Trump's criminality continues unchecked by the Republican majorities, those Republican majorities become more and more complicit in that criminality. It is tragic to see my father's party has become a hollow hypocritical shell, interested only in the bribes from the 'donors'.
4
The GOP needs to change its moniker to the GOE -- the Grand Old Excuse party.
Just like the Times collected and tallied all the falsehoods Trump says, you all should do a chart of all the excuses the GOP and its Potemkin politicians and besotted base have made for the manifest incompetence and venality of this nasty fellow.
A sampling, I suppose, of what I have had to listen to for the past few years:
"We are looking for a Commander in Chief, not a Pastor in Chief," say the evangelicals. Also see, "He is a baby Christian," James Dobson, et alia.
"He isn't a professional politician," pretty much every supporter but also pundits and journalists, when hearing the early stories of Trump's compulsive need to trespass, insult, and debase.
"Today he became Presidential." I almost do not want to comment on this classic. I grew up in the NYC area in the 70's. Such a statement is the equivalent of saying "Today the guy who does the Crazy Eddy commercials finally became Sir Laurence Olivier."
"He will pivot." Remember that one?
"He just speaks his mind." The greatest of them all. As if "speaking your mind" is some kind of "get out of scrutiny free" card.
Will the GOP and its devout base ever recognize the grave error they have made? How dangerous the precedents they have now made ok?
Nope. They will just repeat variations of the excuses and deluded hopes I said above.
2
As your presidents attacks the institutions of your country, he simultaneously attempts to elevate himself above the law. His base believes those institutions are corrupt and their president
is a victim of them.
I suspect the law will catch up with Trump once he is out of office, let's just hope that is sooner than later.
2
I had to listen to Rand Paul on the air say " We over criminalize campaign finance.." Do the people of Kentucky agree? " I do not get this guy. I mean senator.
2
Certainly Trump's behaviour would see the average American male divorced unemployed bankrupted and incarcerated.
Let's hope the system isn't so corrupted that it can't or chooses not to deal with him or unthinkably condones the behaviour and reelects him.
3
Mr. Blow, I pray that the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nominee will take the last two paragraphs of your op-ed and orate them in the final television debate with the president. They're brilliantly written. Somewhere up in heaven, Frank Capra is smiling (and praying we survive this tragedy).
Watching from afar, I would have absolutely no confidence in the integrity of the 2020 elections if Trump is still in office.
This strategy of "let's indulge the lawlessness of the Republican party, and just sit on this until we can vote him out in 2020" is both misguided and degrading.
3
I just hope that when they put him in a cop car, they aren’t “too nice” about protecting the top of his head. As Trump said to all those policemen, “You can take the hand away, OK?”
I want to see consequences for this criminal who has created so much chaos and done so much damage. Why should Cohen be put away and Trump walk away like he has done his entire life? I want to see justice.
3
I think it would be disastrous for the country if Trump were impeached or imprisoned for campaign finance violations or lying about sex.
To understand what I mean, look at this through the eyes of a Trump supporter: Bill Clinton lied about sex, John Edwards committed campaign violations. The Obama campaign committed violations. Hillary Clinton (they are told) is corrupt. None of them are in jail.
If Trump is ousted for what his supporters perceive as an equivalent transgressions, it will become an open wound that festers, leading to an even angrier right and possibly paving the way for the next Trump, or something even worse.
Unless and until Trump is unequivocally shown to have committed particularly heinous or treasonous crimes that delegitimizes him to a sizable number of people who voted for him, it would be better to focus on defeating him in 2020.
Of course paying off Stormy Daniels helped Trump get elected. Because otherwise, the electorate would have had absolutely NO IDEA that Trump had affairs during his marriage, right? Seriously? That Blow can make this argument with a straight face defies description. When are Democrats going to accept that they lost the election because their candidate was also objectively horrible? They'd get a lot further if they did.
@Michael Cohan
Totally agree. Hillary Clinton was the worst candidate imaginable. And for all Trump's wrongs Clinton is even worse. The American people votef in the lesser of two evils. And for all you liberal that believe the Democratic Party is clean take off the blinders.
Since the election Charles has been relentless in his resistance to the illegal Trump regime. And from the beginning he has exposed the corruption of Trump and his enablers.The choice will be clear in 2020. Voters will choose between the Rule of Law or the Rule of Trump.Trump can they go directly from the White House to the Jail House.
I keep hoping there's a parallel (odd, I know --- stay with me) between Donald Trump and Colin Ferguson, the Long Island Railroad mass-murderer.
Trump refuses to acknowledge any guilt for anything, and given the length of time he's gone/may continue to go unpunished for his deeds, it's easy to believe he's making a mockery of the justice system.
Ferguson insisted he was not guilty -- even though dozens of witnesses watched him shoot down a trainload of commuters. When he served as his own legal representation in a trial where those witnesses to whom he inanely asked, "Then what happened?" responded "Then you shot people dead," it also seemed that a mockery of justice was in progress.
But Ferguson was found guilty and sentenced to more than 315 years in jail, so it turned out he made a mockery only of himself. I hope when this poor excuse of an administration is history, the only mockery Trump will have made is likewise of himself.
2
The president should be held to the same legal thresholds as the rest of us. Period. The whole idea that a president cannot be indicted/arrested/convicted is absurd and a clear case of asymmetrical justice. We don't have kings in the USA.
1
Donald Trump will never be impeached, removed from office, indicted, convicted, or imprisoned. Why? Because the law is NOT what is written down on paper. The law is whatever a President, a Senate majority leader, or a Supreme Court justice SAYS it is. Trump says he committed no crime. Sooner or later, he will order his new Attorney General to fire Robert Mueller and shut down the DOJ investigation. Mitch McConnell will back him up on this without a qualm. Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh will make sure that Trump never sees the inside of a jail cell. And if all else fails, a President Mike Pence will pardon Trump. The Constitution is nothing more than a piece of old vellum parchment kept in the National Archives, too faded for anyone to read--or enforce. Donald Trump makes me ashamed to be an American.
2
Its a fact trump has broken campaign finance laws big time. That alone should throw him out of office and result in him becoming a convicted felon. The very very sad and disgraceful thing is that will not happen. The GOP will protect him, state run Fox news will spread lies for him and his money will pay many many sole less lawyers to look for cover in the law.
1
I understand that a statue of limitations applies to campaign finance violations.
Perhaps someone can enlighten us as to any statutes of limitation applicable to treason.
2
If Trump is "above the law" and can't be indicted as president, then the clock should stop on the five-year statute of limitations and start ticking again only once he's out of office. He shouldn't be protected by the law at the same time he is not subject to answering to it.
1
lets assume trump is guilty of what we know about and more that we don't. some would say an impeachment would be too divisive, too ruinous to the govt as a whole. I say differently; proven guilty Trump, his family and his company must pay the maximal penalty. too many people these days have too much money and they may be imaging where Trump failed to bend the govt to his will, they could do a better job. That they're more intelligent and knowledgeable then he is (that's not hard) and that there are real opportunities for someone who is rich and powerful. Irrespective of their motivations for seeking power they have to be informed, that this is about govt for the people, and moreover by the people and that there are real perils for the elitists who would seek to pervert American democracy for their own ends like Trump
1
So Trump did not declare $200k in contributions to his campaign, which are otherwise legal.
Obama had a campaign violation of $2m, for which he was fined $350k. So Trump should be fined $35k for his, which he can pay if he is thrifty.
Al lot of people would like to have Trump thrown in jail for it. So we should start, as a warning to future offenders, with a ten times longer incarceration for Mr. Obama, who has the extra convenience of being available for jail immediately, since he finished his term.
So the answer to Mr. Blow is, if we survived the 10 times worst Obama presidency, we'll survive Trump's as well...
Wait a minute! Trump's alleged criminality "aided and abetted his assumption of the position" yet now that he holds that position (that he obtained through illegal means) he cannot be indicted for the very crimes that got him there, something is wrong with our justice system. No one, even POTUS, should be above the law if we truly are a nation of laws.
2
TRUMP As "president" has attempted to act as if the law were an inconvenience to his being constantly gratified. Given the fact that he's been in 3,500 + lawsuits, many filed by Roy Cohn, Joe McCarthy's notorious witch hunting attorney, it should have been excruciatingly clear what sort of disregard Trump had for the law in his business practices. In fact, when cited along with his father for violations of the Fair Housing Act, the Trumps sued the government for $100 million. When facing a losing lawsuit brought by defrauded students of his bogus "university," he paid $25 million to silence his critics. It may have been legal, but it shows what sort of an ethical reprobate Trump is. In those two cases alone, he subverted justice by willfully attempting to tip the balance in his own favor. Nixon was clearly a criminal president who got to resign rather than being prosecuted. With Trump we have no such option. Unless he shocks all of us and resigns. The likelihood of his resignation seems to be diminishingly small, given his propensity to treat his life as a succession of food fights. A pattern that began in his childhood, when he clearly was an uncivilized monster. He has not improved with age. Trump's White House staff are known to use the revolving door, to practice for the day they beat a hasty retreat. So loathesome is the prospect of being his chief of staff that Pence's guy has refused the job. Not that that's a bad thing. Trump is our Rasputin (who revived!)
2
Don't forget his tax fraud, the tax fraud conviction of his campaign chairman, and his hidden tax returns.
1
If it appears Trump won't be reelected in 2020, look for him to resign, Pence becomes president and pardons Trump for his crimes.
I wish some of these reporters would be more forceful in questioning Trump's lawyers. Example: "If the president murders somebody in plain view of the world, is he not indictable? If the president molests an infant, is he not indictable?" Get them to fess up to what kind of crimes (if any) the president CAN be indicted for.
3
@Occam's razor
I could not agree more!!
1
The sooner we're no longer a captive audience for this two-bit grifter to bellow "No collusion" the better.
3
Sometimes the sanest reaction to an insane situation is Insanity.
We, the People, are being “served” by a Sociopathic Personality
Disorder who blatantly serves only Himself. I remain Daily thankful for the diligent Presence of Robert Mueller, who is bringing, I believe and trust, a good Conscience to our consciousness.
4
I am old enough to remember all the Presidents from Kennedy. If you listen to the Democrats, all the Presidents should have been impeached or imprisoned or both. I remember when Johnson was called a criminal. Most of my friends wanted Nixon locked up and wanted to see him die in prison. Carter might be the exception. Iran-Contra tagged Reagan as a felon. Bush has been smeared with crimes going back to his father's conspiracy to take over FDR's White House. Clinton: say no more. W? Many would have had him jailed by the European Courts along with the British MP. Race has protected Obama but one has to look carefully at his electronic surveillance of his opponents. And now Trump. Personally, this is not my fantasy. I just can't see how justice is served by one branch of government going after another. I can't see what's wrong with just throwing the guy out of office. Where does this lust for blood come from?
@David Totally agree!
1
Every day, a lot of people, especially the rich, are above, and get around, a lot of laws, just as they get around a lot of the social contract. They get traffic tickets fixed, taxes avoided and really big cases settled to their satisfaction. And none of them are president.
"Surviving the Criminal Presidency" has a conspicuous sequel: "Cleaning Up an American Tragedy" to be written over the next two years.
3
Not only is Donald Drumpf a criminal, he continues to commit crimes on a daily basis. Just allowing his businesses to profit from his elected office is a crime. I believe a thorough scrutinizing of his tax filings would provide additional evidence of criminal activity. This is more than enough reason to remove him from office and send his habeus-corpus to federal prison. I am also of the belief that our country MUST NOT suffer a Mike Pence presidency for so much as a day. An illegitimate presidency should not get to pick a presidential successor! We do not, after all, allow the heads of organized crime families to continue running their criminal enterprise once they are incarcerated. Neither should Mike Pence, or any other individual who supported Drumpf's criminal enterprise be allowed anywhere NEAR the Oval Office.
5
"Equality before the law." I guess the Republicans have a new, sliding definition for that, too.
2
Donald J Trump is anxious to get elected in 2020 not so much because he believes he is a great President, it is because as long as he is President, he is unlikely to be indicted, tried, and convicted. It is to escape prosecution and make money for himself. He doesn't care about budget deficits, he's said as such (that it'll be the next President's problem). He can pardon himself!
When we vote in 2020, it will be as much to have justice on what Mr. Trump and his organization have done, as it is to vote out a total incompetent in the Oval Office.
3
Apparently in today's United States a Republican President is above the law.
To paraphrase Leona Helmsley - laws are for Democrats.
3
The president is supposedly immune from indictment and prosecution while in office, because that would interfere with his busy schedule as leader of our country. But Trump doesn't read or digest information. He spends the great bulk of his time watching TV, tweeting in response to the stories there, and golfing. It is only precedent that prevents him from being indicted, not his sub-standard workload.
It's time to break precedent and bring our criminal president to justice. If we don't, we won't survive as a law-abiding nation. Every crazy, anti-democratic thing the president says has consequences, as do his criminal actions.
491
@David The idea that the President cannot be indicted or prosecuted is DOJ policy or theory--it has never been tested in a court. The closest is the decision that the President can be sued in a civil capacity for actions before he became President. That is the Paula Jones v. Clinton case. In the Trump situation, his crimes helped him become President, his crimes go to the very essence of democracy. I think he could be charged, and the 25th Amendment would dictate that the VP would become President during the pendency of the case.
22
@David
The Constitution has two mechanism for removing the president: having the Vice President and a majority of the cabinet assert that he is incompetent and having the Senate confirm the assertion; or having the House impeach him and the Senate convict him with a 2/3rd vote.
Arguably, every president in recent history has committed an offense for which he could be impeached and/or committed a criminal act. Even if he paid off two sex workers for their silence, it is not sufficiently egregious an offense that it would have affected the election.
He is turning over to the Treasury any profits associated with foreign government use of his hotels and resorts, which invalidates the claims of violation of the emoluments clause.
If members of his family or campaign supporters spoke with Russians or any other government officials, there is nothing illegal about it unless money changed hands. [Money did change hands between the Russians and Hillary. The Russians paid Bill and Hillary paid the Russians for the Steele dossier, despite the fact that it is not only unverified, it is fraudulent.]
The NYT and supporters of Hillary want the election overturned. They are in the minority. The people who voted for Trump accept his frailties, which means it is impossible for 67 Senators to vote to convict unless there is an actual violation. To avoid conviction only requires that 1/3 of the electorate objects.
2
@Alexander Harrison, so two high-level thugs slugging it out make it all right? No, sir. Not when we're talking about the supposed Leader of the Free World who is leading it into the toilet. "Tough guy" does not equal wisdom. "Tough guy" does not equal leadership. "Tough guy" means you can brawl better than someone else, and we need better than a street brawler.
14
I think there is hope. Leading Republicans are indicating that they aren't going to tolerate Trump going rogue against Mueller or condoning serious crimes, such as obstruction and conspiracy against the United States to manipulate the 2016 elections. That and they the indictable crimes related to the payoffs combined with the investigatory powers of the House should take Trump down, probably before the 2020 elections. He may never get there. In any event, the only place for Trump is where his erstwhile loyal servants are going i.e. federal prison.
1
with all due respect, what is the "crime"? if he has to pay a fine, levy it. then let the electorate vote, or not vote for him, in 2020.
“...when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Richard Nixon said that (about ordering and committing criminal acts), on nationwide tv, three years after he resigned rather than face impeachment and likely conviction and forced removal from office. The only reason he did not face criminal prosecution is that President Ford pardoned him. I don’t think Trump and his corrupt cadre of cronies have paid any attention to this.
2
Thousands of American men and women have died defending the institution of democracy over the last two hundred years. The question now is, put bluntly, was their sacrifice in vain or truly meaningful. Let us pray that their great sacrifice did have profound meaning. Our current president is a criminal, who in a democracy can not stand above the law. That is one of the principle tenets of a democratic society.
2
Thank you, Mr. Blow, as we try to sort through the implications of these events as they unfold on a daily basis.
And then there is the ongoing appointment of federal judges by the Senate. (And shame on Democrats in the Senate who made deals with the Senate Republicans in the interest of expediency and time off to campaign.)
Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh are now seated with dark clouds hanging over their heads, not least of which is their being picked by a probable felon and possibly illegitimate president. Perhaps these judges should wave Russian flags on their limousines on their way to the once noble Supreme Court Of The United States. But we already know who they are.
A note to some comments posted here regarding fears of Trump’s largely weaponized base. A few weeks ago Trump began testing his texting Alert program. I turned off my phone. The texts were to be used in case of a national emergency, such as a tidal wave (in the Midwest?) I understand receipt of these texts is mandatory. “Hello, my fellow MAGA Americans! It’s time! Your President needs you!”
1