I think I see how this ends. Trump runs in 2020. Possible he may be dumped in primaries but if not he either wins reelection and runs out statute(s) of limitations or resigns as lame duck and is pardoned with the Ford formula by Pence ("has committed or may have committed or taken part in ...")
Then it's in the state AG's court (literally).
3
I would be more than happy to see Individual 1 in an orange jumpsuit, to match his hair color, assigned to a small cold cell and be required that he also perform hard labor which in jail.
One hopes as well that his sentence is long and when not able to continue hard labor, Individual 1 is assigned to kitchen duty - washing-up should be the next job.
9
Let's think - what are the worst things about Trump and, by extension, today's Republican Party? Is it the blatant corruption (e.g., the Trump University scam, cabinet members and other Trump administration officials doing the bidding of businesses they are supposed to regulate, taxpayer funds spent for personal benefit)? The immorality (e.g., the affairs with a Playboy model and a porn star - and the illegal hush money paid - and the fact that he bragged about assaulting women, many who came forward and said he did what he bragged about on tape)? The soiling of America's reputation? Alienating our allies and cozying up to vile authoritarians? Dividing the country for political gain? Behaving like a nine year-old bully (the name calling and twitter rants)? The lawlessness (who else has a self-described fixer and a self-described dirty trickster)? The undermining of political norms? The constant dishonesty and the attacks against the press for accurately reporting on the lies, the chaos and the ridiculousness? The many treasonous and unconstitutional actions trump has proposed or taken (e.g., colluding with Russians to win the presidency, proposing a broad Muslim ban, proposing a joint cyberterrorism effort with - of all countries - Russia, saying on the campaign trail that we "should have taken the oil" after invading Iraq)?
Trump is the worst this country has to offer. He is everything we teach our kids not to be. What does this say about his supporters?
27
Trump would have been in prison already if he lost his bid for election in 2016. Since winning that election by hacks in the Rust Belt and Deep South, Trump has been busy gaslighting America and staving off his family's bankruptcy with aggressive international payoffs and bribes.
Pence is every bit as criminalized by his contact with Trump as every other Republican who gets close to him. In fact, what Trump has been busy doing since taking office is calling up Russian Komprimat directly from the GRU, FSB and NRA files on Republicans. The 2018 hacks on the NRCC haven't been publicized. Occam's Razor: They've all been directed against Republican leadership, which is why Rand Paul, Lindsay Graham, Mitch McConnels, Kevin McCarthy, Peter King, and other Republican clowns are so compliant and meek.
Wake up America, and demand the immediate impeachment of the whole lot of them. We really have no time for false cynics and suppose sophisticates who can't read the writing on the wall when it's in dayglo.
22
Brilliantly stated
5
According to the New York Times,"A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels to pay President Trump about $293,000 in legal fees and sanctions after her defamation suit against him was dismissed." So Trump has one the first legal battle in the Stormy Daniels affair.
1
Bit much of a victory. It means nothing more than that he was entitled to express an opinion. Has no influence on whether his payments were illegal.
5
Maybe impeachment isn't possible at the moment even if close to 70% of the country would go along with it. I don't see why the rest of us should be held in thrall to Trumps base. Either way, if most of the Republicans are voted out of the Senate in 2020, a trial there isn't out of the question if, for some reason, Trump wins re-election.
3
"Trump’s potential criminality in this case, which raises questions about his legitimacy as president, creates a dilemma for Democrats. Assuming prosecutors are right about Trump’s conduct, it certainly seems impeachable; a situation in which a candidate cheats his way into the presidency is one the founders foresaw when they were designing the impeachment process."
In what crazy universe is this a dilemma for DEMOCRATS?? It is Trump in grave legal liability along, politically, with any Republican swho carry his water.
The dilemma is with the Electoral College which was expressly created by the Founders to prevent a person exactly like Trump from becoming president.
Why are DEMOCRATS!!! in a dilemma for what Republican presidential electors failed to do?
7
First consider Trump's life expectancy in light of his father's probable Alzheimer disease. Even if he were to be re-elected, he might die (or become so incapacitated that even the Republican party would want to remove him) before 2024. If not sooner.
Second, keep in mind that the State of New York has cause to prosecute him for felonies. Presidents can only pardon crimes involving violations of federal law.
So I see his alternatives as being this: spending the next six years (at best) of his competent life as a virtual prisoner of the White House, and then, if not sooner, death, incapacitating dementia, or state conviction and imprisonment. He will face the latter alternatives in two or six years, with death or dementia his only escape from the humiliation of state incarceration. This is not a prospect most of us would like . . .
8
Donald Trump won the nomination and the general election by his realization that reality shows attract viewers, and they admire the most bold and flamboyant character.
The wimps and nerds don't have a chance, and are thrown in to be the foils of the focal character. Trump unleashed the frustration cause by social change over the decades, going back to those who lost their "war of southern independence". His opponent played the role of a scolding schoolmarm to perfection, complete with accusing him of hanging around with nasty "deplorables."
Next election, lets cut the the reality show debates and sponsor an old fashion quiz show, featuring history, law, science and civics. If Trump refuses to attend -- offer him a head start of 50% correct answers,
This is serious- to be refined by others.
Why should the public be asked to decide who will lead the country based on the most extravagant and shameless distortions and downright lies. If Trump or his ilk refused to play the game, then the Democrat would refuse to participate in the faux "debates" that have nothing to do with capacity to do the job.
Such a"competency evaluation" could become a staple of elections, replacing the smash mouth show that goes under the illusion of being a debate.
And if the ratings drop, all the better.
8
Maybe it is time for Mueller to meet privately with Congressional leadership so that he can outline the direction that his investigation is going. If it is clear that Mueller has overwhelming evidence that Trump committed crimes, then the House and Senate leaders should convey this information to Mike Pence and other Senior Cabinet members for the purpose of removing Trump from office under the provisions of the 25th amendment.
3
I like this opinion piece and many of the comments; in search of a way to cut through the disease of so many cheap and petty crimes, each of which adds to more and worse overriding of Justice.
Isn't Mitch McConnell armpit deep as perpetrator in the sludge of abuse? And of Russia? Does the adjective revolting mean anything? I think it does.
We know careful, yet decisive action must be taken. We know we need the jaguar and not the wall.
The more we slide on all of Trumps infractions and elevate sleaze, the more harm is done to our democracy, vulnerable populations and to our environment / the global environment, and to the future of a powerful economy based on reality.
What good are markets, that are hedged, and gleeful at the plundering of the Amazon basin, poison, and despots? it makes me sick that art is the go to investment by those who have no personal taste, while Trumps lingo is mesmerizing:" drain the swamp", "build a wall". It is all about action.
I laugh, almost, sometimes at all this displaced action which doesn't have any backbone, or joy. It's almost as though we need to take back our power, suck it back; our own reality we can collectively re-possess. Let's do it! suck it back from those creeps.
Let's get back to Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, who though fallible, " cared more for, and were devoted to the commonweal they were creating, than for any personal end or personal vanity" - H.G. Wells, The Outline of History.
5
'The prosecutors argued that, in arranging payoffs to two women who said they’d had affairs with Trump, ... '
Affair, my foot! The so-called affairs did not last even a full two minutes and the ladies in question were extremely unhappy with the very short duration of the affair.
Trump wanted to make it up to the ladies by paying them handsomely - that is the whole thrust of the issue.
1
Trump and his gang have ruined a country.
They have destroyed or twisted any sense of truth, justice, empathy, integrity, unity, civility and dignity.
But they are still at the helm of nation that we obstinately continue to call democratic.
What's wrong with us?
6
There is no constitutional or federal statutory prohibition precluding the indictment and trial of Trump as a siting President. Yes, there may exist a Department of Justice internal policy, but if ever there was a case for an exception to this position, Trump’s unprecedented electorally-based felonious fraud is it. The distinguished George Mason would even appear to agree with such a prosecution. Any President is not entitled to remain in the very office that he secured through intentional, calculated acts of criminality. To argue otherwise, would be an absolute mockery of the core democratic principle of “equal justice under law “, irrespective of status.
6
The assertions that the hush money payments were unlawful campaign contributions is just the opinion of the U.S. Attorney General of the Southern District of New York. The Federal Election Commission, which has jurisdiction over campaign finance violations, has known about the payments since November 2016, when the Wall Street Journal broke the story. It has not filed charges against any of the people or corporations involved in the payments.
The SDNY added the campaign finance violations to the charges against Cohen because it knew Cohen would plea guilty to it in exchange for reduced sentence on the more serious charges. That the payments were campaign contributions hasn't been proven ins court.
If Trump were wise he would resign now. If he doesn’t I am praying this undignified, insulting, immoral, unethical madman criminal goes to jail the sooner the better
10
I remember long ago, a local official reelected from prison in Boston. Maybe Trumps base would hang in there.
3
Yes being elected due to corrupt influence is an impeachable offense, but the payments to his lovers will not change enough votes in the Senate to convict. So this is a bit of a side show.
The real question is still whether or not there is proof of criminal conspiracy against the United States by Trump with Russian intelligence agents. If Mueller can show clear and convincing evidence of that, then and only then, enough Republican Senators, sufficient to reach 67 votes, would turn on Trump.
Accordingly we can expect that Trump will pull out all the stops to prevent the Mueller Report from being released if he thinks it will show proof that he conspired with Russia.
One particularly likely and dangerous tack that Trump is calls for his very well armed fanatical supporters to take to the streets, to oppose what he will call an attempted coup d'etat. The risk is very real that we will have street fighting on a scale not seen in the United States since the extreme violence in Bloody Kansas that led up to the Civil War. He is also likely to engage in extremely risky foreign adventures that focus people's attention of the threat of imminent war. Clashes on land and sea with China or Russia or both are possible.
Unfortunately the best hope for US citizens to avoid war, calamity and ultimate disaster is a deal that lets Trump and his family retire from office, with pardons from caretaker President Pence, who would hold office until 2020 gives the US a newly elected president
1
Ms. Goldberg is not an attorney. Repeating the talking points of others does not bestow upon these words any more legitimacy than the fact that First Amendment allows her to opine to her heart's content.
While I recognize that Michael Cohen did not need POTUS Trump's assistance in being a criminal, Ms. Goldberg (and her kindred spirits) miss a fundamental point. Mr. Cohen was on retainer (at something on the order of $30,000 per month) to private citizen Trump/the Trump Organization.
While I don't bill clients at this stratospheric level, I am asked to weigh in (as an expert) matters of significant importance to the client. In many instances, this intervention cleanly resolves the matter (avoiding litigation).
In addition, the source of this funds is important. If the funds to allegedly keep Ms. Daniels and Ms. McDougal quiet were paid from one of private citizen Trump's bank accounts, then Mr. Trump may have been following his existing standard practice. [Melania certainly had to know that now POTUS Trump had a known history of being unfaithful.]
Likewise, had Mr. Cohen acted independently, these funds represent "a few months" of deposits from then private citizen Trump. While most of us do not act in this manner, it is clear that Mr. Trump was being Mr. Trump (and not concerned about looking presidential).
Riddle me this:
There is nothing in the Constitution barring the indictment and trial of a sitting "President".
There is no court decision barring the civil or criminal complaint filed against a sitting President.
There is no statute protecting a sitting President from legal action.
There is ONLY a self-imposed policy in the Justice Department that prohibits service of criminal indictment on a sitting President.
As a former prosecutor, I can smell the tax fraud, money laundering, and racketeering around "President" Trump, his business, and his "charitable foundation".
Each crime has its own statute of limitations, requiring charges be brought in a specific number of years.
Let's say DOJ sticks to its "monarchical" policy.
Once "President" Trump leaves office can he claim the statute of limitations has run on some of his criminal activities?
There is no legal basis suspending or tolling the statutes of limitation,
only a self-imposed DOJ reluctance.
Can the Grifter in Chief claim the statute has run?
And win?
4
I still think that Robert Mueller has been using the red herring of collusion as shiny keys in front of a baby to distract Trump and the media. Mueller has a bunch of mob prosecutors on his team and hopefully will be dropping RICO indictments and money laundering charges against the Trump Organization. Trump and his family have been dealing with the Russian mob for 20 years and who knows how many millions they've washed through the Trump family. Let's hope the GOP has had or will have a secret meeting in the bowels of the Capitol to decide when Mueller reports that they will throw Trump and his family under the bus an try to save their own careers if Trump is accused of multiple felonies.
8
Could Trump work a deal to resign now on condition of immunity?
6
The Democrats impeaching Trump for obvious crimes creates a problem for.....Democrats?
The Democrats standing up to obvious Republican power grabs in Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina creates a problem for.....Democrats?
What editor approves this kind of nonsense in these editorials?
The only problem the Democrats will create is if they take "measured, careful, deliberative" (translated - ineffective, half-measures, and selling out tactics) steps.
Impeach. Sue. Protest. Do everything possible to stand up for American citizens sick of this injustice.
8
REPUBLICAN SENATORS: ACCESSORIES AFTER THE FACT
By protecting a felon named by the Justice Department as Individual 1, also cited as President of the United States, the Senators who would vote against his impeachment should be considered accessories after the fact and so charged by the Justice Department.
Perhaps lawyerly legalisms could protect them; but their culpability is palpable.
6
"we also have to figure out how Republicans might be induced to care"
No. Let us have faith in our fellows that a majority will figure it out. A majority overall already have (already had before his minority elected him). And his minority--the Republican minority, shrinks every day.
And the longer it takes them to figure it out, the more clearly they publicly brand themselves Chumps.
And the slower they figure it out, the longer it will take the Republican Party to even begin trying to disentangle themselves from this Spray-Tan Tar-Baby.
And they never will: the Republican Party is doomed to die a slow agonizing death, forever branded as the party of Trump, last seen in shackles and a jumpsuit oddly flattering to his skin-tone (till it fades to ashen grey in the perpetual fluorescent twilight of his suicide-watch cell).
And the slower the Republican Party dies, the less effective the corporatists will be in heading off the progressive movement within the Democratic Party.
3
Look, I think the President is a crook who engaged in enterprise corruption including fraud, tax evasion and money laundering. I also believe he cooperated, thereby conspiring with, Russian agents to win the presidency. This conduct entails a slew of indictable offenses and a foundation for impeachment.
The likelihood of justifying impeachment as a violation of campaign finance law for paying hush money for past indiscretions equates the frivolously insignificant with major crimes against the United States. Everyone knew about the President's character when it came to his sexual peccadilloes with the release of the Hollywood 1 case. He is a cad, male chauvinist and a pig.
However, these indiscretions do not rise to the importance one talking head in the media after the next ascribes to their importance. Cut it out. There remains real criminality which needs to be investigated, disclosed and prosecuted. There is no time for this childish nonsense.
5
Prison is perfect for Trump and he well deserves it for the suffering he has brought on the American public by way of his criminality and the evil plans he has pushed on the world for instance: Ignoring climate change, absolving the heinous Saudi murder of an American journalist, trying to give Ukraine to pal Putin, attacking our allies, buying women for his sexual pleasure and trying to build a huge expensive and unnecessary wall between our land and Mexico.
Lock him up—and the sooner the better.
6
OMG! What a thought. Dystopia for sure.
Where in the constitution is the DOJ finding that a sitting president cannot be indicted? If it's in there, the framers made an enormous blunder. If the goal of our nation was to have three equal branches of government, how could a member of either of the other branches, say, a senator and a supreme court justice, be indicted for a felony but not the president? Goldberg's choice (the Presidency or Prison) doesn't seem to consider that Trump (although it's improbable) can be indicted and convicted as a sitting president. We already know his entanglement with the Russians to aid him in the election smacks of collusion, and his firing of the head of the FBI to abort Comey's investigation smacks of obstruction. Each is a felony.
3
“Shall the man who has practiced corruption, and by that means procured his appointment in the first instance, be suffered to escape punishment by repeating his guilt?” --USA fellow founding father George Mason @ the Constitutional Convention, circa 1776
Shall those who deem lying, cheating and stealing a Presidential Qualification be allowed to pack OUR Supreme Court with ... whomever he deems 'appropriate'?
Especially when they represent his very own Get-Outta-Jail-FREE cards? (Nothing like good ole Monopoly™, eh?)
Let him drag his 'legacy' along with him.
1
Perhaps it's best to not let "Individual-1" seek reelection.
1
If he can’t be indicted while holding office then the statute should be tolled for that period. Problem solved. The indictments will be waiting for him whenever he leaves.
2
I just can't resist this one: "LOCK HIM UP!"
6
All the Trump garbage hasn't been brought to the curb yet for pickup. America needs to get a full reporting from Mueller and then assess. I think the Republican Senate is going to turn on Trump because the People are going to demand it of their Senators.
Trump's resignation in exchange for no jail time may not be that hard to acquire.
After all-- we got Agnew's and Nixon's.
2
@Susanna Mueller doesn't owe a full report to the people, not even to the Congress. He only owes a report to the bloke who hired him. See the Asst. AG.
And we have the audacity to criticize 3rd world countries !?!
WHY isn't this man held to the highest standard ? Oh, that's right, he's white. He can lie, cheat and steal with impunity while the rest of us sit back and watch our democracy crumble before our eyes. We are a complete laughing stock. America, you deserve this!
6
Donald J. Trump has Narcissistic Personality Disorder ( look it up DSM-5). He has every attribute. He is seriously mentally ill and incapable of changing. Narcissists will do anything to protect themselves, literally anything. Trump is a very dangerous man.
6
Yes, I think he is dangerous and always have. More people need to understand this but the mental health experts keep guitar silent.
And the GOP led by McConnell gives another collective yawn.
2
@Anthony Nothing is something until it's.. something. See: 0 doesn't = 1.
The guy is a criminal, no doubt. But do you think the GOP really has the spine to remove him from office? They could find a $100MM ruble account in his name with cash directly flowing into him and his kids' bank account and still nothing would be done (see: Hatch, Orin).
2
@AH Hillary Clinton is a criminal, no doubt, and you'd be happy to have her in the White House.
What happens when (not if) it is discovered that the only weapon against President Trump is just opposing him?
Given the inability of the left to either find or promote for longer than a couple of days a likely 2020 candidate to thwart our President's second term, will the "loyal opposition" finally try to work with the tools he's given us all: record employment, far higher wages than 24 months ago, secure borders, and a unusually strong international trade presence?
So we now have a "president" who is - literally - only running for re-election to avoid prison. And more incredibly, this strategy may work.
How? Expect that between now and 2020, Trump will continue to rile up his base, with his continued ranting about "brown hordes" coming across our borders. Or Muslims taking over our country. Or any other lies involving brown-skinned people. Trump's voters may even know these are lies, but they don't care. This is what they want to hear, and this is what he will say to get re-elected.
He will not be removed from office, regardless of Mr. Mueller's findings. Senate Republicans are guaranteeing this. And if his "rallies" aren't sufficient to propel him into a second term, he'll manufacture some "domestic disturbance" of some sort, so that he may justify the imposition of martial law. And either there will be no 2020 presidential election, or if there is and he loses, he'll declare martial law, declare that the election results are "fake" and install himself as president indefinitely.
Sound far-fetched? I don't think so. This man will do literally anything, including destroying our country, to stay out of prison. And his voters would love for him to be "president for life". They want an authoritarian regime in which whites are favored, and the rest of us must accept the scraps of second-class citizenship. So between Trump and his voters, his actions will be seen as a win-win.
I hope to God I am wrong, but I fear I am right.
5
One of many reasons to defeat him in 2020 (he will still be around). He may not face criminal charges when he leaves office, but he knows this: he has no life after the presidency.
No lawyer will have him, especially the kind of mob lawyers he has used in the past. The mob works in the dark. Any lawyer representing him might as well carry a sign saying in flashing lights "investigate me." Legitimate lawyers won't go near him.
Regular banks haven't financed him for years which is why he solicits investment from oligarchs. I don't think they will welcome the exposure, either.
Oh, he'll get speaking engagements from the NRA, ALEC and the National Prayer Breakfast, He will ask someone to write a book and that will pull in some cash, but his business life is over. It's part of what is making him so desperate.
1
My hope is that at least those 20 or so Republican Senators will think that it is better to impeach Trump now than further alienate the public so that 2020 is another blue wave. I was long skeptical that a smoking gun for high crimes and misdemenors would be found. That is no longer the case. I'd prefer an honest conservative, Pence, to a corrupt and unprincipled man who can endanger our nation for another two years.
Reelection may be his best option but as he lost the popular vote and Democrats scored a huge victory in midterms, add in a damaging report by Mueller's team, a government shutdown, jittery stock market and it seems unlikely he'll win another election. With Ms. Butina now offering up some Russian collusion it's possible they're tired of him, too. Or at least we're better prepared to stop it. The NRA is taking serious hits especially is shown it came from Russia.
Mr. Trump's ever shrinking base may stand firm but few others are willing to undergo another four years of this chaos. With Democrats running investigations and possible impeachment he'll be swirling in the swamp of his own making until he has to pay people to show up at his rallies.
1
There are unfortunately going to be Republicans who do not take the charges against Trump seriously unless he is indicted by name. No matter what the indictments against others say, no matter how much they list him as an unindicted co-conspirator, or no matter what Mueller's report says, Trump will maintain that it totally clears him and too few of his followers will read the report or any legitimate news source that does.
So Mueller and the other prosecutors need to indict him, by name, and do not mince words; that is the only way to pierce the bubble in which Trump and too many of his Republican supporters live. Let the courts sort out the constitutionality; but it is the right thing to do here.
4
The truth is that the laws were made to favor those with power, believing that the power they need to run the country overrules whatever criminal behavior, whether illegal, or immoral, that they may have committed. In other words, the class of those elected to office have more pressing issues at hand, like closing down the government, and creating permanent gridlock. Who knew?
4
The founding fathers had checks and balances to prevent someone like Trump from taking office, but he evaded them all. First, you needed to be a member of a party to gain their support and funds for campaigning. He avoided that because he was rich. Next you needed to outshine other candidates to be on the ballot for Primaries. He was a known TV host that people were fascinated with, so his lack of knowledge didn't matter. Then you needed to win Primaries. For him it was about popularity ratings. By being controversial he outshone the others. Then you needed delegates to the national convention that would vote for you. He demanded loyalty and his base, driven by misogyny and divisiveness, made sure that happened. Then there was the election where he employed a nasty campaign of lies that were spread by outside actors who would gain by his being elected. Then the electoral college was the last barrier he had to pass, which he did because his base made sure that those delegates would remain loyal and the GOP gerrymandering assured the right people would attend. He was elected against all odds, cause he knew how to manipulate the system and his base loved him for it.
2
At the risk of sounding petty, I suspect many Americans would gleefully enjoy seeing Mr. Trump move from the White House and Trump Tower to a jail cell. I'd like to think I would not be gleeful, but I would be satisfied.
3
In my view, albeit a limited one, the only way this president is going to leave if leverage against his family is used. The children who have committed crimes, will not be indicted, if he leaves quietly (perhaps citing wanting to spend more time with his grandchildren).
2
Three points:
One--"guidelines" have neither the force of statute nor regulation. Congress has passed specific laws concerning presidential campaigns, in particular, campaign finance laws. The Justice Department guidelines would render that law a nullity. That clearly cannot stand.
Two--the Democratic house will, of course, impeach the president. They will probably wait for a year to put the proceeding closer to the 2020 election, but they want to put every Republican in the Senate on the record as either supporting or opposing impeachment. Supporting it will cost them the votes of their current supporters. Opposing it will cost them the votes of anyone on the fence, but will not gain them any voters they don't already have.
Three--The national security apparatus does not want Individual-1 impeached, indicted or tried on national security grounds or for treason. Doing so would expose grave weaknesses in our security. Impeachment over payments made to a porn star would be far better fodder, from their perspective, to feed the public.
That's how I see things anyway.
2
This is so simple it is painful.
The Art of the Deal.
For example, one possible scenario:
1. Trump agrees to resign before the end of 2019.
Democrats agree to pass a bill allowing a president, who resigns before 2020, to escape prosecution (post-resignation) for campaign financing law violations pre-presidency.
Pence agrees not to pardon Trump from (possible) collusion with Russia.
2. If Trump and Pence to not agree to this, then Republican senators not running for re-election in 2020 agree to support Romney or someone like him in the Republican primaries, and if necessary as a third party candidate or independent in the general election, so that Trump will be out of the White House, where he never should have been let in, by January 2021 regardless.
3. If Trump, Pence and Republican senators do not go along either 1. and/or 2., then Democrats in the House should unite, begin the impeachment process, and insist that Mueller's full report be given to them.
4. If Trump's AG refuses to give the House the report, then Mueller gives it to them himself. And the Clintons apologize to Democratic voters, America and the world for having helped Trump get elected.
2
@Sage LOL
1
All of this, as consequential as it is, is a huge distraction from the most important issue of our time, CLIMATE CHANGE!
We need to adjust our focus to this existential issue now by communicating to our new and current representatives that action is essential today, not tomorrow or next week or 12 years from now, all life on this fragile planet is at stake.
2
The Presidency or Prison? That choice does not necessarily have to be made. Since Trump doesn't really like being stuck in the White House, why not go ahead and try Donald Trump on the criminal charge of violating the campaign finance law and, if he is found guilty, just sentence him to White House arrest? He would not be permitted to leave the White House to attend 2016 election victory rallies or for any other reason. It would be a particularly appropriate punishment for Trump to be confined to the White House given that he committed a crime for the purpose of gaining entry into the White House.
4
This man, who boasted that he wouldn't lose votes if he shot someone dead on Fifth Avenue in broad daylight, never should have been elected president. This erratic, narcissistic, proudly ignorant cynic, unapologetic bigot and misogynist, who undermines the very foundations of our democracy in almost every waking moment, who courts dictators and adversaries while shunning freely elected leaders and allies, should be hamstrung in every way possible by both the Democrats and the growing number of Republicans who see him for the phony incompetent he is. But, is it serious or productive or even mature to consider impeachment or even eventual prosecution over payoffs to women claiming to have had affairs with him? Even assuming it's true, which I do? I don't know why John Edwards was acquitted when tried for similar campaign violations, but a jury can be persuaded to acquit by a claim of duress. These women were committing blackmail, were they not? That's a form of duress, is it not? If they thought the voters should hear their stories, they should have gone public with them rather than try to make a buck off them. (It's a sad commentary on the state of public discourse that raw blackmail brought less opprobrium upon these two individuals than that visited upon the straight up accusers Christine Blasey-Ford, and Anita Hill before her.)
1
TIMES HAVE CHANGED Since the escapades of the Watergate plumbers' crimes ended up getting them stiff prison sentences issued by Judge Sirica. The sentences were lightened once the criminals started cooperating with the Justice Department. Ultimately, the Republicans as well as the Democrats determined that it would be essential for the country to get Nixon to resign. So the leaders went to the White House and informed him that if he did not resign, all legislators would vote to impeach him. That was then. This is now: Trump has installed the third coming of the KKK in the White House with not a few White Supremacists or those who favor them in Congress. The beliefs of the KKK are that white men hold privilege in the US. Other groups and genders are not welcome. In fact, Trump has brought the Fifth Column into the highest levels of government. He created the vacuum of power because he was so hated that many senior members--specialists--resigned in disgust. Few have been replaced, because, really, who wants to work for Trump if they don't have to? People just like Trump who are also incapable of empathy and remorse. We face not only a constitutional crisis, but an existential crisis in the 2020 elections, unless Trump can be persuaded to leave office voluntarily. Right now the chances of that look to be slim to none. And so our experiment in democracy, for now, is headed down the toilet. Trump's solid gold toilet. A classy way to be flushed down the pipes.
2
The most dangerous scenario would be Trump losing the presidential election and refusing to accept the results. Trump could threaten a civil war unless he is given a pardon by the president elect and New York promises not to charge him or Ivanka in any crimes. Trump could keep the 100 million $ he collected for his re-election and perhaps another 100 million $ from the GOP to leave quietly . Trump is all about money ready to sell out US foreign policy to Russia or Saudi for money now or when he leaves office for him and his family .
3
seriously - is there NOTHING better the Republicans have to offer? NOBODY else out there with a backbone and even just half the lies?
4
As long as Trump hasn't committed a serious crime - like fibbing about a consensual sex act - then why should he face impeachment or any other sort of sanction?
2
The American public cannot take much more of this. The best gift this Christmas season would be to oust this fake president, his cronies, and his Republican enablers, and return to relative sanity, decency, security, peace, and calm. God bless America. Please. :(
5
Clarity in writing is surely needed when confusion reigns during these conflicted times.
“Trump’s own Justice Department.” When did he “buy” it? Who sold it? What were the conditions? Was it a sale or was it for rent for a delineated period of time? Who else was bidding? Was this an open sale? Were there potential foreign bidders interested?
“Under Justice Department guidelines, sitting presidents can’t be indicted.” Under what conditions, if any, is a “guideline” a law to be abided by and to be faithfully implemented. Consider the 10 Commandments. Chiseled in stone. Not just inked on parchment. Or voiced by faux-religionists-in-name-only! Are these words and their
"original" meanings more than just suggestions? Letters joined into words. Read by some. Not lived by many. A map for daily living? A guide line? For whom? Is this legalistic “guideline” an alt-fact? A politicalized fiction? A mantra for the many?
Lots of legitimate questions which need exploration and questings by an activated US. For meanings and doings which can help. Not harm. ALL of US, in our daily, toxic, WE-THEY culture, which enables the daily violation, by words and deeds, of created, selected, targeted people as "the other(s)." As well as ideas, Norms and values which underpin individual and societal menschlich interactions. Empowered by mutual caring. Mutual respect and trust. Mutual help, when and if needed. For however long. Wherever. Enabled equitable wellbeing for ALL need not be a mantra.
2
what happens if every day the NY Times wishes for his indictment, and writes articles deliberately evoking outrage?
If ever there was a criminal element inhabiting the White House it's the current gang headed by crime family boss, Donald J. Trump. Anyone who chooses to think otherwise is either delusional or a member of the morally bankrupt GOP.
Trump's mob connections go way back, and now it is becoming clearer that he and his corrupt family are in God only know's Russian's beds. And don't get me started on the smarmy Jared Kushner's ties to the murderous MBS.
3
I would change this piece as follows:
replace "Trump’s own Justice Department" with "the Justice Department in the Trump administration": unwieldy, but it is not Trump's Justice Dept.
implicit in "if Trump is voted out of office in 2020, before the five-year statute of limitations on campaign finance violations runs out" is that the statute of limitations continues to run during the time he is immune to indictment; some legal scholars believe that the SoL "tolls", or stops temporarily (or that a court would find that it tolls), so the piece should acknowledge this possibility. Otherwise, Trump could cheat and then evade prosecution as a result of his cheating.
"if the alternative to the White House is the big house": the third obvious and likely possibility is that Trump will cheat justice by dying (as happened in the Enron scandal): Trump is old, overweight, under a lot of stress, and severely sleep-deprived (a subject that does not get enough media attention: a chronically sleep-deprived president is arguably a very dangerous president). I expect he will die before trial, appeal, and sentencing are concluded.
2
NDAs are not illegal. Michelle is just vending the narrative du jour to besmirch POTUS. Do any of you think Trump and his lawyer are not smart enough to know campaign finance law? Let me spell it out in simple terms.
Judge: Why did you pay off Daniels Mr. Trump.
Trump: She threatened to expose our triste and I wanted to protect the Trump brand.
Judge: Case dismissed.
1
That the public would buy into the idea that hush money payoffs to a porn star and a Playboy model would be a campaign contribution violation is a real stretch.
Mueller very likely has more but this one won't cut it.
1
@Michael Lueke
This is a felony, according to the DOJ and according to our own laws. It is a felony which, more likely than not, influenced the election outcome. Breaking news: here in America nobody is above the law. It doesn't matter what the Trumpies think anymore. We already know that they simply never think at all. There may be a lot of them but they never think at all. And they certainly aren't "the public."
3
@Robert
They'd have to prove it was done to help the campaign. The more important point is that nothing is illegal for Trump unless 67 Senators agree it is illegal. I'm not sure he could do anything wrong that would reach that number. It's been baffling and frustrating to watch.
2
and to think trump has the gall to tell Nancy and Chuck that there are criminals pouring over the border - no they just get themselves elected illegally!!! and if that proves true both he and pence need to hit the road - they came in together as a ticket they go out together...
5
Prison times should be saved for the unethical columnists, who write this garbage! Also, the dismantling of the New York Times and all other propaganda organizations whose agenda is collaborated with the democrats, and establishment politicians, to bring down Trump at all cost (including lies and deception), to globalize the the nation. These organizations are a festering sore on our society and should be abolished!!!!!!!
1
But, in the end, president genital-grabber still has pence to pardon him the way ford pardoned nixon.
3
Michelle, I always love your column and your voice of reason and sanity on any number of broadcast appearances you make, however, I implore you to use the word that describes what Trump and the Republicans are guilty of, without a doubt. It's such a simple word, yet it seems no one wants to use it. Journalists and pundits will do cartwheels in an effort to explain the convoluted circumstances that Trump and his party have put us through, yet they avoid this word: the word is CHEATING. Trump CHEATED his way to the election. The Republicans continue to CHEAT in their grab for power and their resistance to uphold the law and their duty as elected officials. Trump's Cabinet and all associated with him in the White House, continually lie and CHEAT in order to maintain their position and their support by their base. The election and its aftermath have been one big CHEATING scandal, and people may be reluctant to condemn when you say, 'oh, they are corrupt', 'oh, they lied', or 'oh, they are unethical' - which all convey a sense of CHEATING, but Please, say-the-word. No One likes a CHEATER. No one wants to be CHEATED. The implication that Trump won because he CHEATED cannot sit well with most people - even his base. The best way to sum up the fact that we have Trump in the White House, and the actions of the Republicans, is that they are CHEATERS, and this specific word must be used to describe it.
4
The irony here is liberals took umbrage when Trump said, "Lock her up" during his campaign. They said it is authoritarian that we don't send political opponents to prison. But the same liberals are saying Trump should go to prison after his time in service! What does it tell about the liberals in the first place? Remember Trump didn't touch the Clintons & co. after the election, yet liberals want Trump and his family in prison for just being the political opponent and winning an election. How is the authoritarian party here?
2
I don't want Trump martyrized before the 2020 election unless it's a slam dunk. I don't much care to see a repeat of the Clinton Impeachment where the only losers were the impeachers.
There also has to be enough incontrovertible evidence to force an impeachment trial in the GOP controlled Senate. There should also be a broad-base of bipartisan support of the American voters, with the exception of Trump's base. I believe that, given enough proof, all but the hardcore haters in Trump's base will peel off.
Mueller needs to complete his work and get as much testimony on the record as possible before Trump starts issuing pardons. Also, as the House subpoenas start to fly and Mueller's continue, I think the majority of Trump's most ardent loyalists will either flip or be indicted.
I would not want to see the Democrats conduct totally partisan hearings that devolve into public spectacles like the Whitewater hearings or, more recently, the Benghazi fiasco.
Unless the public views the process as being fair, both sides end up looking bad. IMHO, Pelosi is spot on not to rush an impeachment process, that should be the final step. Any decent, non-GOP prosecutor would never go to trial without being convinced there's enough evidence to convict.
There's no legal stricture like double jeopardy when it comes to impeachment but I think the country will only support one shot at it. Besides, with Trump, time is more rope, he never fails us.
1
Edit or delete this
2
If Trump loses (or decides not to run) in 2020, why couldn't he either pardon himself during the lame-duck transition period, or, fi that's deemed unconstitutional, resign just prior to the end of the term and have Pence do it? I don't think Federal prosecutors are going to be able to prosecute; New York State, on the other hand...
It’s not over yet. George W. Bush never got charged with war crimes and we should manage our expectations now. A lot will happen between now and 1/20/2021 so we should not assume anything for another criminal president.
2
The irony here as far as the payoffs go is that Individual-1 and Cohen didn't even have to make them. Trump's base doesn't care if he cheated on his wife. They only care if Democrats cheat on their wives. Trump could have owned his behavior and his base would love him. He could have had both women encased in concrete and thrown into the river and his base would love him. He could have carved his initials on their bodies and his base would love him.
As to the threat to Trump's legitimacy, three million votes says Trump wasn't legitimate in the first place. He's only President because of the Electoral College, and we only have the Electoral College because of slavery. A European acquaintance suggested to me that if the system doesn't work we should change it. It sounded so reasonable at the time. If only!
4
There has got to be a better way than impeachment. Wouldn't some of the remaining sane Republicans want him out of the office too? Can't there be a finding that the Toad is "unfit for office"? The only problem is that if Pence takes over, the Koch Brothers and the Mercers will have America handed to them on a silver platter, and I am not sure who scares me more, a bumbling idiot with his finger on a nuclear button and on twitter or extremely calculating billionaires set on destroying our environment, government, worker's rights and erasing divisions between church and state. This country is hijacked.
4
Perhaps, (please, please) Trump will end up in exile in Moscow.
5
Trump's breaking of campaign finance rules to pay off two porn stars is "about sex" in the same way that Clinton's lying under oath about his dalliances with an intern was "about sex."
Oh, wouldn't Trump love it to end right there: impeachment, or attempted and failed impeachment - and absolutely no chance of conviction in the Senate - over "just sex!" It would supercharge his minions and enervate the left. It might even be a better outcome for Trump than this whole thing fading away.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson advised: "If you strike at the king, you must kill him."
So Dems, go for what really terrifies Trump: being exposed as having committed serious financial crimes vis a vis Russia for decades, being totally compromised by Putin, being proven a sham "businessman" who has built an empire on smoke and mirrors, graft and sleaze.
It would kill him.
5
O my name is Captain Kidd, as I sailed, as I sailed,
O my ship is what I took, as I sailed.
O my name is Captain Kidd, and God's laws I did forbid
And most wickedly I did, as I sailed.
O my name is Captain Grift as I sailed, as I sailed,
And my flag is jolly roger, as I sailed;
O my port is any port, as I sailed, as I sailed,
And my name is what I took
Most wickedly.
[with apologies to The Ballad of Capt. Kidd]
1
Laws (rules) are meant to be broken particularly if they are stupid or are you kidding me. Trump’s defenses if necessarily.
How can it be claimed that if his sycophants knew he paid for extramarital sex the results would have been different? Would these tawdry tales change the electoral college outcome? No.
By Election Day the country knew he boasted about mistreating women, that he was a business failure, that if he could he would have bed Ivanka his daughter, he is a bully, stupid, incoherent, disrespectful, dangerous, corrupt, politically inept...
With all the above and more he can easily claim his state of mind was not to defraud the election.
Case Closed.
Something bothers me about the infamous Stormy payment tape. Cohen says he will take care of the thing - Trump asks what thing - Cohen clarifies then Trump says “write a check” then Cohen says, no no no, cash.
Could this have been an act for the tape? Seems to me another example of his dim witted not surreptitious way of taking care of a matter that he didn’t think was such a big deal.
I certainly want him gone but my hopes that the system will work to oust him are not great.
He has plenty of history being “a being there” person throughout his 70+ years.
The universe needs to be patient and wait for Mueller’s final report. It must not be like Trump who is unable to temper his immediate urges.
1
The campaign finance law angle is thin at best. It's a waste of all of our time. The Russians trying to influence our election? Isn't that what cold war espionage is all about?
I'm more interested in Trump protecting his covert Russian business interests while in office. The doctored bills related to the cost of the inauguration. Remember those?
Impeaching or forcing Trump out gives Pence a chance to resurrect a Republican presidency. Let's have Trump finish his presidency lame, and then start anew in 2020. Thank goodness our constitution is strong enough to keep our country running; even when it's being run by idiots.
58
@Jeff traitors; it's also being run by traitors bought and paid for compliments of Torshin and Putin. The Republican GOP are traitors, period.
10
@Jeff
Trump seems to be getting a lot done for America
*3%GDP growth
*2,000 felons deported
*,USMCA helping farmers
*China today announced they will reduce auto tariffs from 40% to 15%. Wow!
*Military strengthened from "not combat ready"
*NADA puts Lander on Mars
*VS able now to fire incompetent
*Bipartisan criminal bill goes to Senate - First major domestic bipartisan legislation
*Energy independence. First time positive trade surplous. Keystones and access to ANWAR will strengthen
*etc...etc...
@Jeff
Well the idiots have achieved a 3% GDP growth, USMCA to help US farmers, kept North Korea from any more rocket or nuclear tests, strengthen a depleted military and NASA to get a Lander on Mars, DHS deported over 2,000 felons to make our country safer, become energy independent and with Keystone and ANWAR access even stronger, today China announced it was lowering statistics on autos from 40% to 15%, NATO paying more for its defense saving America over $5 billion, looks like criminal justice legislation bipartisan will get Senate vote and the VA can now fire incompetent like those denying Vets benefits and I could go on...
Idiots??
So the US may well have a president who is a criminal. POTUSGISO: people of the United States, get it sorted out.
2
A precedent of indicting sitting presidents is safe to establish only if the legal system cannot be abused by political opponents to harass a president. Historically, our legal system is not good at preventing or resisting abuse. Lawyers can bring frivolous lawsuits or motions without much chance of censure. It is a standard tactic for the side with deeper pockets to delay and postpone until the other side runs out of money or resolve. Prosecutors are virtually never punished when their convictions are overturned on the basis of withheld evidence or other illegal or illegitimate actions on their part.
If sitting presidents could be indicted, how many would Obama have faced?
“The story’s not over yet,” nor will it be until long after Trump is an unfortunate footnote. Yet to come are years of trying to regain the trust of the world, putting a stop to environmental looting, and restoring democracy in our own country. Then there is the infrastructure, health care, sensible immigration programs... No, the story is far, far from over, and just where it will take us - up into restoring our country, or down into ever-increasing polarization and violence - remains to be seen
4
"Our best hope may lie in the emergence of irrefutable evidence of further presidential crimes, enough to finally test the tolerance of at least some fraction of Republicans."
Republicans not in leadership roles have been leaving the party in noticeable dribs and drabs over the past two years because their tolerance went well past tested to cracked. The question is, how many more will leave before Republicans in leadership finally start putting country before party?
Or, not to put too fine a point on it, will they wait until they are simply trying to save and revitalize the tattered shreds of their party, even despite all the damage it is doing to our country?
2
My question: Why can't a sitting president be indicted if his criminality poses a significant national security risk?
In this, as in so many other ways, DJT has broken norms and disrupted expectations for presidential behavior, but with evidence accumulating that he has violated the law and that the irregularities in his campaign reflect far more serious risk to the nation than a more typical case of domestic dalliance and cover-up, it seems that the norms, mores, and typical guidance in DOJ should be set aside in this instance. We have a deeply compromised president and a staggeringly incompetent and grifty administration, depending on which nepotistic or corporately corrupt member of the Cabinet or White House circle of advisors you choose to consider in evaluating the risk to our security-- economic, domestic, or global.
That we are despairing at finding Republican votes to support an impeachment process against a president who is deeply and obviously compromised by his ties to an adversarial state (let alone his incompetence, selfishness, and reduction of the office to a branding opportunity) staggers the mind, sets up the heart for despair.
That DJT is making alliances with Russia and Saudi Arabia to serve the interests of fossil fuel and fluff his son-in-law is deeply troubling. If his policies and weaknesses set the terms for global conflict, all the signs are that he will ally us with dictators and authoritarians, murderous princes and oligarchs.
6
The crime was extortion. Trump was the victim.
@Michael W - The victim? That's rich.
2
Someone needs to look into Trump's and Jared's participation into Jamal's death. Pretty sure they had a hand in the details and plans. They both hated Jamal enough to want him dead.
3
I think Trumpolini could declare himself "President for Life" to avoid indictment and the Republicans would support him and the Democrats would cave, fumble around and look at their feet. Pathetic and outrageous, yes. Unthinkable? No. That's what we have come to.
3
Do actual Christians understand how Trump has stripped them of all credibility? Not just in their "faith," but in their value as citizens? Particularly "evangelicals," who would purport to bring us the Word.
They have become laughably inept grifters, just like the rest of Trump's associates, willing to debase themselves to any degree in exchange for a bauble.
That's the sad truth and evident based on the facts. It's not even my opinion.
6
I just hope that part of the bargaining agreement, designed to save Individual-1 jail time, include personal Mea culpas from Individual-1 himself live on Fox Kids to his base of grade school dropouts explaining that he is a self serving money grubbing liar and a cheat and that he completely lied to and manipulated his meth addled base to the detriment of American Democracy.
And Individual-1 should apologize to the winner of the American People's Vote because, as the zero charges against her show, Secretary Clinton was innocent all along.
3
Lawrence Tribe has a couple of worthwhile thoughts on this topic. You can listen to Tribe on "the Last Word", Lawrence O'Donnell's 10:00 pm show on MSNBC. The 12/10/18 show.
I don't get this idea that a sitting pres is bullet proof. Is that a law, or a JD "guideline"? And why should it apply when he got in office by felonious means? If I break laws to become pres, am I now immune from my crime? And I get to control the legal process against me?None of it makes sense. Indict first, Rob, THEN let someone tell you you can't.
120
@Whitewaterwingnut
It's from DOJ. He was fairly elected even after Access Hollywood tape.
1
Wouldn't a potential pardon by the VPOTUS-turned-POTUS have to be with respect to someone already convicted of a crime?
If Trump is pardoned in exchange for not running for reelection, can the deal also please, please include banning him from Twitter and from appearing on Fox News? Hopefully he would still be pursued by the NY attorney general and the IRS until the end of his days. That is a deal I can live with.
4
Trump has another viable option to avoid indictment. He could simply move to Mars! The inter-planetary extradition proceedings are extremely slow and tedious. Another option would be taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy.
2
Mueller and SDNY prosecutors could indict Trump now and seal the indictments, which could be unsealed after he left office. This would answer time restrictions.
For everyone else, we should be starting the drumbeat: "Trump must resign. Now."
Neil Katyal did so last evening on MSNBC.
Everyone, everywhere should add their voices to the chorus.
Trump must resign. Now.
To save the country from a prolonged impeachment ordeal. To save the country from embarrassment overseas.
To save what little dignity he has ever had.
Trump must resign. Now.
The felonies he is being investigated for, and for which he will probably be indicted, include multiple counts of conspiracy and fraud against the United States, violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, multiple counts of obstruction of justice, witness tampering, attempted bribery (dangling pardons), solicitation and acceptance of stolen goods (the emails), wire fraud (phone calls between conspirators), campaign finance violations, failure to register as a foreign agent, multiple counts of money laundering over a period of years, tax evasion and conducting an ongoing criminal racketeering enterprise.
How much of the above are his children culpable in?
Trump must resign. Now.
The GOP, especially in the Senate, will decide by April 1 whether it will go the distance with Trump throughout 2019. After that date the party needs to begin preparing Pence for 2020, so Trump has 15 weeks left on his presidency.
Trump must resign. Now.
4
If Trump is still in office, let alone not in prison, by the 2020 primary we will have already lost our democracy. The very fact of his obtaining the office using illegal, and perhaps treasonous, means, and the ongoing abdication of Republican's sworn duty to defend our nation against all threats, has placed our republic in the gravest danger since the Civil War.
What, if anything, will make Republicans do their duty? I fear that even if Mueller were to produce the "smoking gun" that Trump used to "shoot someone on 5th Avenue", it wouldn't be enough. Their inaction is a treasonous betrayal of their sworn oath.
We are living in dangerous and imperiled times, where violence may supplant peaceful reconciliation of differences, and whether Trump is held accountable by law, or not, may well trigger riots between those for and against him. But we should not let that fear prevent us from pursuing the truth and justice, because without those two pillars, democracy can't exist.
2
I see two scenarios for getting Trump out of here. The first involves a deal not to jail his kids if he goes quietly; like Agnew did. They are complicit in his money laundering business (the actual business he is in), and are thus open to indictment, conviction and prison. He has immunity, they don't.
The second is if at least 20 evangelical Christian Senators hear from their God that Trump is damaged goods, and this is an opportunity to get Pence in the Oval Office. Or something like that.
I don't expect either of these to take place, instead Trump will work a scorched earth strategy to stay in office. We're in for a fight.
1) As I understand them, the Justice Department guidelines against indicting a sitting president are just that: guidelines. They are not hard-and-fast rules. Accorting to the Times' own reporting, a legal memo from Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr's office determined that President Bill Clinton could be indicted:
“It is proper, constitutional, and legal for a federal grand jury to indict a sitting president for serious criminal acts that are not part of, and are contrary to, the president’s official duties,” the Starr office memo concludes. “In this country, no one, even President Clinton, is above the law.”
A few more questions:
2) If indictments are filed in Trump's first term, even if they have to be kept sealed or otherwise held in limbo until he is no longer in office, would that put a "hold" on the statute of limitations?
3) Would the Southern District of New York be able to indict Trump while he's still in office? States have campaign finance laws, too.
4) Could those in Congress who allow criminal refuse to hold Trump accountable by allowing him to remain in office after impeachment be considered accessories after-the-fact to Trump's known crimes?
Just wondering ...
Lots of hypotheticals. There is a huge lack of consensus on all of this.
The massive dislike of this President is the driver ( and he is easy to dislike)— and that has allowed the partisan nature of our government to rid someone based on offenses that have been ignored by other more ‘likable’ candidates in the past. Many precedents looming in the background. It could work, but it likely will not, and we will lose a lot of integrity as a result.
For the past two years Trump has been a very very bad boy. So, as a Christmas present he should get coal in his stocking. No wait, that would be a reward.
1
ANY system of government, from full democracy through monarchy to North Korean-style family dictatorship, that coughs up a trump as its head is seriously, fatally, flawed. We need a new Constitutional Convention to fix what it took 250 years to discover - that "fooling all of the people some of the time" is just not acceptable anymore.
2
The larger problem we face is the fact that republicans are the party of choice for criminals. Voters need to wake up to this fact sooner than later. Less government equals more crime - lots more crime. And the rich get richer as Fox News continues their mass brainwashing campaign.
Donald Trump is proof that in fact not all people are created equal. Criminality is in his DNA just as some people are predisposed to being brainwashed with fear-mongering dogma. Somehow, these people with alternative DNA have taken over the republican party and brainwashed a part of the vulnerable electorate into doing serious harm to our democracy.
It is time to either do away with political parties altogether or create a viable third party to replace the dangerously corrupt republican party. It appears we have passed the point of "reform".
1
Until Citizens United is repealed, bought and paid for republican representatives cannot afford to care about anything but the desires of charles and david koch.
Charles and david koch have made it a abundantly clear; they own the gop lock-stock-and-barrell and republican reps will do as they are told or they'll be primaried out of their cushy DC job.
1
Make the release of tax returns a requirement for candidacy. Congress can then debate the number of years of returns and whether some other type of documentation might be substituted. Plenty of room for them to practice negotiation around a fundamental desire of most Americans.
2
What distresses me over the incessant clamor over impeachment is that no article I have read that concerns it seems to grasp just what impeachment is, has been, or will be. Not even this--another sagacious column from MG--seems to indicate a real knowledge of impeachment or its meaning. The television pundits also talk incessantly now of impeachment, over and over, asking one another whether this or that is an impeachable offense. Any offense is an impeachable offense. Impeachment can proceed if there are votes for it from anything from a picadillo to treason. The question is simply absurd. When Nadler says impeachment is not tenable unless there is sufficient Republican agreement to proceed, it is not about the nature of the offense, but about real politics, and it immediately gets translated into a question of whether he believes Trump should be impeached either on moral or ethical grounds. when the whole thing centers on whether impeachment is even possible. And please remember that impeachment not resulting in removal from office, becomes nothing more than an exoneration for all cited offenses. I beg for a column, many columns, that would show some understanding of the process itself and the extraordinary risk it involves. It has never ended in removal from office, and given the present situation more likely to fail than ever. Every such column should begin with: Let's get this straight: Impeachment does not mean removal from office.
2
Wow, the notion that a failed impeachment essentially means a finding of “not guilty” is an eye opening notion for me. Kudos to being the first, to my knowledge, of pointing this out.
All all around excellent letter
Donald Trump may evade prison, but one thing is certain - he's finished as a businessman. Not even the Russians will loan him cash once his farcical presidency ends and he's back on the street. There was no Trump empire before Donald was installed in the White House. He and his crooked offspring were limping from one piddling million-dollar licensing deal to the next. After Trump's shameful, catastrophic "presidency," who in their right mind would pay to have the Trump name on the facade of their building? The old con man will end his days broke and universally reviled. And it couldn't happen to a more deserving individual.
192
@ChristopherM
Presidents receive pensions for life and a security detail. He will not be broke. Probably also has residuals from "the apprentice". I do hope the Trump criminal empire will crumble, but Jared owns enough real estate that he and Ivanka will prosper-unless they GO TO JAIL
2
@ChristopherM - I wish the taint of scandal and abject failure still operated in the way you've described, or that "branding" wasn't as resilient a form of marketable narcissism as it is. If Trump is defeated in 2020 *and* stays out of jail for his steadily accreting misdeeds, he'll still be a YUGE! (perhaps the yugest) bankable media commodity.
Even if his crowds aren't big enough to get him the votes to stay in office, they're certainly big enough to keep his star aloft. Consider that he can already hold rallies *about nothing* and massive throngs of his adoring fans wail and thrash and weep (and probably pee just a little) like it's John and Paul on the Ed Sullivan Show.
In his post-presidency life he could easily have a FOX show where he rambles incoherently and recycles all the hits that have worked so far. Much of his schtick is just blurting out whatever comes into his head + whatever he's half-digested from conservative cable shows and social media--and then waiting a beat to see how his audiences respond. If they shout their approval, then that slogan or insult gets worked into his bit. There's no reason he can't keep up this mirroring function indefinitely, at least now that he's established such a fanatical core audience.
Also, the right--for all its bemoaning of "identity politics"--has learned how to leverage the dynamics of victimhood and martyrdom. Nothing will play as well for Trump's brand as the idea that he was laid low by some liberal conspiracy.
9
@ChristopherM
Who? Putin according to many here.
1
" ... crowds at his rallies have taken to chanting 'Lock her up' at the mention of virtually any Democratic woman’s name." One might wonder why Mr. Trump has been conducting campaign "rallies" continuously since his inauguration. One might be tempted to think that is why he ran, to bask in the adulation of his adoring base (and that's some base with those chants), in a never-ending campaign. But he may have been surprised to learn that he won, and is expected to be POTUS. As in the movie "The Candidate", the man who was supposed to lose wins, and asks, "What do we do now?" Mr. Trump seems to answer, "Just keep on campaigning".
Trump has already proved it's possible to be elected president of these united states without winning the popular vote.
I believe this is because the gerrymandering of the flyover belly prevents the actual vote count from being counted.
And anyone who is not already selling out the fair political representation of each and every voter's rights knows what I'm postulating is true.
1
For the sake of the presidency and future holders of that office but also for the problematic individual that now sits in the seat, there must be due dilligence and process as we reach conclusion on any possible offense. The nation now can see that a fraudulent election may have occurred, and if so, that cannot stand. Either resignation or impeachment would be required. But let us probe carefully, fully, quickly. There may be an illegal occupant of the White House.
2
As some commentators have mentioned, Impeachment is like an indictment: charges brought against a sitting president by the House. Following impeachment is a trial, with the Senate acting as jury and SCOTUS serving as judge. It is a process likely to take some time, during which, I am assuming, the president will still be the president. As best I can tell the only legal way to immediately remove a president from office is the 25th A.
1
If you say, trump can be re-elected meaning ppl are willing to vote for him despite seeing in glaring details his incompetency, dishonesty, uncivil attitude (fit for a street thug), boorish behaviour towards those he firmly dislikes, his complete disregards for laws (like he is a kingpin & nothing matters if he or his cabal aren't caught) and the check & balance in the form of electoral college votes by founding fathers to prevent this tyoe of candidate then the American experiment has failed us. If we re-elect this unfit for president then who are we to blame? I shudder at the thought of him being the 46th. God help us all!
2
Since many republican Senators are up for re-election in 2020 it might be good to push the impeachment so that their venal self interest is brought to the fore.
It might also be a good idea to investigate and publish the financials of Mitch Mc, Cruz, Rubio, and other gop Senators.....lets see their tax returns......as well as the dark money the Kochs, et al have been pumping into gop coffers to destroy democracy.
So Michelle is worried that by being democratically elected a President would evade prosecution. Odd position? Even more outrageous is the clearly unconstitutional suggestion to extend the statute of limitations ex post facto. Finally she quotes as validation of her assertions "former prosecutor" Swalwell, who is a wannabe lightweight candidate who was an assistant DA in a backwater California county for a few years after graduating from a second rate law school.
2
So Mr. Trump metaphorically shot someone on Fifth Avenue. I think some Republican senators may be able to exhume their consciences. After all "you can always trust the Americans to do thr right thing, after they try everything else."
1
It sounds like the DOJ treats the "Justice Department Guidelines" just like the "Holy Document of Vatican Law" from South Park. How hard is it to revisit and potentially update the Guidelines?
2
Do the voters get to pick? I'm all in for Trump for Prison 2019.
4
Trump will be threatened with impeachment unless he resigns, the carrot behind this stick being a Trump pardon by Pence, and also pardons for whomever Trump designates as his cronies.
Trump would be nuts not to accept the deal: there is no alternative to relief for his innumerable crimes and to shush his cohorts.
It will happen either towards the end of this term, guaranteeing Pence’s presidential powers of pardon or, if the powers behind the GOP think Trump is electable in 2020, shortly after Trump’s re-election, guaranteeing Trump’s pusillanimous VP four years to further cement into place the billionaire “Christian” Oligarchs.
Trump, Jarad, and Ivanka (among others) are certain to skate — the gloom of what is to come afterward is dismaying.
43
@John Brews ..✅✅
Many of Trump's alleged crimes are at the state level, which means that pardons can't save him. And he knows that. So I don't see this working.
9
@John Brews ..✅✅
Does it really matter if he is impeached at this point? Listen to what Republican senators were saying about Cohen's (possible) testimony. They are still behind Trump. They are not (at least at this time) ready to convict Trump on any articles of impeachment that the House may bring. An impeachment at this point with no conviction, I believe, will only serve to help Trump as he can always say it is a witch hunt by Democrats.
Knowing this, I don't see Trump resigning.
2
@Human
Your dreaming. The I world will never happen. Too much blowback on Dems
Julius Caesar faced the same predicament. Once he left office he would face prosecution in the Roman courts (the Romans did not have the clear distinction between the civil and criminal courts as we have today). While in power he was immune from prosecution. The Senate would not let him continue his office when his term expired as they couldn't wait to have him face justice. Rather than face prosecution, as his term was expiring he gathered his army, crossed the Rubicon, and marched on Rome. Thus ended the Roman Republic. Trump is no Julius Caesar. But the incentives for the leader to refuse to relinquish power and for that leader to be fully supported by a party and a large number of Americans are all in place.
2
99% of Americans don't realize how dangerously close we are to losing our country as we now know it.
6
Let’s not forget his supporters: THEY DO. NOT. CARE. THAT. HE. BROKE. THE. LAW.
I get it. I could have cared less that Clinton lied about Lewinsky because *all Presidents had affairs*. I apparently thought all presidents were Kennedy, so I had that wrong. Individual 1s supporters assume that he is either doing what all politicians have always done or just pulling his usual, smarmy Teflon Don act: wading through poop that doesn’t stick.
And, even though I still believe Republicans were terribly wrong to invoke impeachment back then, I was just as wrong for believing that it was ok for the President to lie, whether to Congress or the American people.
3
“It’s dangerous,” said Swalwell, who worries that Trump could become even more erratic, making decisions to save himself that involve “our troops or internal domestic security.”
As Ms. Goldberg says, "...a situation in which a candidate cheats his way into the presidency is one the founders foresaw when they were designing the impeachment process." In other words, our vaunted Constitution is fatally flawed. I deduce that is true for the following reasons:
Congress is the body the Constitution assumes will impeach and convict a felon in office, but our current $$$ bloated Congress has been emasculated by its own avarice. Do you think the Democrats in control of the House will do what is required to shackle Trump, and I don't mean impeach him. They have the power to cut off funding for any and all of the Trump's power points, but that would require those Democrat tax-and-spend representatives to forgo some of their own spending--and that they will never do!. Congressional greed is the real barrier preventing Dems from saving America from a rabid president.
3
A month from now the house will start investigating Trump's Russian involvements and Don Jr and Kushner will probably be indicted sometime around then.
Fox News and Republicans can continue to cry witch hunt, but that will get more difficult and Republicans will have to decide whether to follow Trump down the drain.
I would not be at all surprised if 20 Republican Senators do a Casablanca style "I'm Shocked!" by next April.
3
@Paul Paul, no matter how one phrases it, impeachment is a pointless exercise unless there's a viable chance that the "indicted" (impeached) party will be convicted in court (the Senate).
Congressional Democrats understand this fundamental reality, and are naturally loathe to embark on a Quixotic attempt to unseat Trump. It could easily backfire on them, as it did with pubic opinion during the Clinton trial of impeachment.
Our best bet to get rid of this hideous excuse for a president is to keep him so on edge that he alienates sufficient members of his own party to make conviction in the Senate a real possibility.
And that may well happen. In my opinion Trump is mentally unbalanced, and the more frightened he becomes, the more likely he is to do and say things that will make "riding his coattails" unattractive to Republicans looking ahead to election of reelection in 2020.
Also, I'm beginning to think there's a real possibility of a primary challenge against Trump from within the GOP. That's a rarity, but given Trump's instability and acute narcissism, the door may be open.
3
If Trump is finally impeached, or is finally thrown out somehow, does Pence go with him? If Trump got himself elected in the first place, doesn't that mean his whole administration should be thrown out? I would think so. People didn't elect Pence and Trump. They elected Trump and Pence.
2
Acting like sharks sensing blood is not going to bring us to a place where we can nominate the best person to lead the country, going forward. Trying to use spoils from an expansive investigation that appears to have stalled with its original justification for existing feels like a "low road" approach (as it was against Bill Clinton). Furthermore, I think it would be difficult to prove that, had Trump NOT payed-off these women, he probably would not have been elected. (I believe this would be necessary to convict.) But, once again, this is the tawdry, low road. If we are going to help the country we can not continue to abandon many of those who voted for Trump. They are not monsters. But the institutions making money off conflict and hatred, like mainstream media, are getting pretty heinous.
2
At this point it is difficult to conclude that Trump is not guilty of multiple felonies throughout his life. The only think lacking is a guilty verdict from a jury. The man is the very definition of "dirty".
2
I view impeachment as essentially a political process, not a legal one. I would very much prefer to have a Democrat running against a wounded Trump than an incumbent Pence who would surely present himself as a savior to the nation, saving us from the chaos of Trump. Besides, if Pence is president, he would probably pardon Trump and let him escape the legal process.
7
For those worrying that Pence could pardon Trump on Trump's way out the door, the House could shelter Trump's liability for his crimes by impeaching. According to the Constitution, the President “shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."
So if the House impeaches Trump, Pence should not be able pardon him. Heck, a generous reading could include just articles of impeachment read out of committee -- that could be considered a "case" of impeachment, but it wasn't apparently the case with Ford's pardon of Nixon.
The House should be ready to proceed -- I suspect the impeachment could not be retroactive to before the pardon, at least not in the eyes of the Trump court.
1
Thank you Michele Goldberg, for this insight regarding the presidency and prison. Yes, he has taken illegal actions. Yet these illegal actions--covering up so-called extra marital affairs--although serious in one sense, are trivial in another. The real crimes are not considered illegal. But those of us who see the whole picture see his actions as crimes against humanity. One of the most heinous crimes is stating that climate change is a Chinese hoax and then appointing officials in charge of climate policy who benefit from eliminating important regulations to address climate change, who support policies in general that make our situation worse especially in light of reports that say we have only twelve years to avoid catastrophe. That's only one crime. Another is the backing of the Saudi led war in Yemen that has caused 85000 children to starve to death and we continue to provide weapons and assistance so the bombing can continue. There are more but this is not the place the describe them. This president is a criminal but our country looks the other way when it comes to naming what we have done in the name of so-called democracy so why should it be any different now?
4
I think pursuing impeachment is a lost cause at least at this point in time. When the Mueller investigation concludes, then the House will have to make that decision. Anything prior is wishful thinking and time consuming.
The Republican led House made this mistake with Bill Clinton by impeaching him for lying about a sexual encounter. He was re-elected by a comfortable margin. We can't afford to make that mistake and re-elect Trump.
5
He fights in the gutter, and we need Democrats to do the same - because it works. Repeat over and over: “Deadbeat Don.” That’s how he actually treated his bankers (left with unpaid loans), contractors (famously shortchanged), investors (bankruptcies), students (Trump University), tenants (unbuilt apartment buildings in Fla.) and country (let’s see the doctor’s note, then not accept it, ala the birth certificate). Each point is verifiable. “Deadbeat Don” would get to him because he’d have so much to deny and it’s all true. This would work no matter what Mueller finds. I’m sorry it’s childish but we are dealing with a successful child. He’s never faced it.
7
More egregious than the hush money to women with whom Trump has had affairs is his failure to disclose his tax returns to the American public while promising he would do so. The apparent reason is that Trump was convinced that if he disclosed the tax returns he would not have been elected. He blatantly lied when he said he would disclose the returns when the audit concluded. it has been about three years. Clearly, the material in the tax returns would be highly damaging to Trump if publicly disclosed. His failure to disclose such information, particularly after promising to do so, can be considered fraud, if in his own mind disclosure would have eliminated any prospect of his getting elected.
2
Congress wants a law to toll the statute of limitations, but will Trump sign it?
"Equitable tolling" -- a common law principle -- means it is not required to sue within the statutory period if one cannot in the circumstances reasonably be expected to do so. [Dixon v. United States, 1999 U.S. App. LEXIS 13215 (10th Cir. Okla. 1999)].
https://definitions.uslegal.com/e/equitable-tolling/
Still, a lot of legal scholars hope to convince the Justice Department that their policy against indicting a president is overly broad.
2
I was a kid during Watergate, but one thing I remember clearly is that diehard Republicans refused to believe that Nixon was as crooked as he was up until the very last minute. I remember my incredulity at the way these folks stubbornly held on to the notion that Nixon was innocent and that the Democrats were just making things up.
That was at a time when the Fairness Doctrine was still in effect and there was no Fox News, no Breitbart, and no Infowars to poison the public discourse. So, it's no surprise that four out of ten Americans still support the current criminal in office. Some people see everything through a peculiar political lens and have a very difficult time separating their opinions from fact. The only thing that will convince them of his guilt will be Hair Furor's resignation, and even then, I'll bet that some of his fans will cling to the belief that he was railroaded.
3
I am messaging from the UK where a full blown constitutional crisis is in play. The challenge facing our US friends is serious and for the reasons given probably more so with a real threat to 'life liberty and the pursuit of happiness'. But maybe the outcome to Watergate gives some guidance: is it possible that seeing the dangers ahead the main man resigns with a deal of multiple pardons? I am for sure not an expert on your written constitution, which we lack, but surely the idea has been floated?
Frank Griffiths
Leeds England
2
To my way of looking at it, the essential questions about the election violations issue are two.
First, were the payoffs made out of campaigh funds. If they were, it is obviously illegal.
Presuming they were not, then the question is would these payoffs have been made if Individual 1 were not running for President. If not, there are good grounds for election fraud; if so then they were not related to the campaigning.
Given the narcissistic nature of the alleged Individual 1, I personally suspect that he would have paid off these women to shut up under any circumstances, so as to keep the scandal down.
1
I say prison. No one is above the law.
10
How bad will it have to get for us to admit that our Lobbyocracy is broken? It took 18 months, billions of dollars, the Electoral College and gerrymandering to get this inexperienced, criminal as President. We could learn so much from other countries, who are doing so much more with so much less, if we weren't so darn exceptional. Now I suspect we will have gridlock and another Bush-type Depression before long. Sad!
3
After a number of interest rate hikes the housing market once again is collapsing. Sales of big ticket items have fallen. The stock market has become erratic and all this without the full effect of the trump tariffs having been felt. Our European allies and trading partners have been scolded and alienated by trump. Trump threatens the Chinese. The tax cuts supposedly to stimulate the economy were given to large corporations and the wealthy and that has done little to stimulate wages and growth. Just how many times can Republicans repackage and sell trickle down economics. This is beginning to smell like the crash of 2007, the "trump slump".
4
I find that this offence of paying off women to be rather silly in the larger context of individual 1's actions and behavior. He blatantly admitted to obstruction of justice on live TV!!! That he has a lot of criminal activity to hide is obvious. Let us peruse his tax filings and other financial documents.
3
I wish to be rid of this toxic president, but not before enacting positive legislation from the new democratic House Positive results beat "revenge" in the long term. Hopefully our nation will come to its senses and elect a progressive democrat to begin undoing the travesties of 45.
1
Trump is certainly the most deceitful President ever. That is even more reason to be very careful about what happens next. Bad Facts will lead to Bad Precedents. We must be very careful about what precedents are being set.
1) The justice department indicts lots of people, not all are actually guilty;
2) Some people have actual or technical defenses. Trump may be one of them as he's probably paid off other women when he wasn't in a campaign
3) There are plenty of people in prison that cooperated with Government. The person against whom they cooperated was acquitted at trial. Cohen Pleading Guilty doesn't make Trump Guilty.
4) It is a dangerous precedent to indict candidates for FEC violations rather than give civil fines as has been done in the past. (Al Gore comes to mind) Especially when the disclosure that is the subject of the FEC complaint would have happened after the election.
5) Impeaching for an FEC violation is even more dubious and bad practice in the long run.
5) Wait for Mueller report so we can see and discuss everything, not these drips and drabs. Treason is a much better impeachment option than FEC violations.
If we step back and look at the big picture, not only are the president and his associates crooks, so are the self-esteemed members of Congress, arguably members of the judiciary and justice system as a whole, and the two major political parties. The whole system is populated by crooks and criminals. We have students and former students enslaved by lifetime debt while billionaires and corporations get a free ride or are actually remunerated for their mere existence as a result of their bribery and outright purchase of our so-called representatives. The political parties are taken over by special interests and so the most unpopular, least able candidates are shoved down our throats because they do the bidding of those American oligarchs and corporate persons paying them. Foundations are set up to serve the interests of wealthy. Charities pay their officers multi-millions of dollars while the people they are meant to serve go hungry. Criminal bankers are given a pass or paid handsomely to retire. Scientific evidence is repudiated if it doesn't support a corporate interest. Corporate media talks and talks and enrages everyone on either side without informing while paying favors for access. The entire system has gone topsy turvey and I don't know if ordinary and common people voting and stepping up to run for office is going to reverse this any more. Observe France. Look at Belgium and Great Britain. I think we see where this is headed and it is very scary indeed.
2
The nation's election was turned on an 'axis of deception' by Mr. Trump and the GOP - tampering by a foreign intel service, hush money paid to former sex partners to keep them out of the election and GOP congressman making public a private communication from the FBI director. The nation could not hold a substantially free and fair election and executive authority in our republic should not be validly conveyed by such shenanigans.
Just imagine the tsuris and moaning from the Right if Donald Trump had been Democrat!
Is there a name for government by the side that whines more? That's the nation we live in now.
For the House of Representatives, impeachment would be futile if the Senate fails to convict. Failure to convict will give Trump and his supporters a victory they won't fail to exploit.
Like it or not, that's where we stand at present despite all the damning evidence against Trump.
Considering the fact that Trump has raised hundreds of millions of campaign donations from corrupt, wealthy oligarchs who care nothing about democracy, their only concern being to hold on to their ill-gotten gains, he will be a formidable opponent in 2020. Trump will also exploit the Presidency to use government funds and Air Force One to campaign nonstop across the country with impunity much as he did in the recent midterm elections.
Under these circumstances, perhaps the best strategy would be to focus on corrupt family members and Trump appointees.
2
Well now, isn't THAT a Catch-22. Does Trump drag his slothful old body and deteriorating mind through another four years to save himself from a concrete cell? Karma is sweet.
1
Please, Michelle. I hadn’t even thought of this nightmarish scenario yet!
Again, as a liberal I don’t care how many sordid bedroom affairs you dig up between consentng adults. These are as irrelevant to me as Bill Clinton and Monika Lewinsky. The government should have no right to peer into our bedrooms.
Give me proof of actual criminal wrong doing. Did he work with the Russians? Does he have a body buried under a buidiing somewhere? How much money did he launder?
Otherwise I don’t care.
2
Stick a fork in American democracy. It’s done.
1
There are no DOJ guidelines for not indicting children of the President. Let the Special Prosecutor finish his chores, then indict Don, Jr., Ivanka and Jared, and throw in the dumb one if appropriate. With that Trump will explode, implode and unload. After such a rage even the sorriest of Republicans will want this bum out and in chains.
2
"legislation that would freeze the statute of limitations"
There is case law that this would violate the ex post facto clause of the constitution.
Actually I think this is a bonus for Democrats: they get a twofer . They vote Trump out of office AND put him in jail! Makes you want to vote twice:).
It's irresponsible journalism to make the following accusation without factually supporting it (or citing a reference): "crowds at his rallies have taken to chanting 'Lock her up' at the mention of virtually any Democratic woman’s name". I believe the author wants us to think of Trump supporters as a lynch mob... many readers here probably already do! It's getting hysterical (and not funny).
1
Use the same approach being used now: Go after the accomplices. At the same time, start discussing what the Republican leaders knew, and when they knew it, and how many of them are accessories after the fact, if not conspirators during and before the commission of crimes.
As background music, Democrats should introduce very minor amendments to whatever laws apply, like inserting a comma here or there "for clarity", or stopping the clock on their statute of limitations if the accused is "exempt from indictment", and force roll call votes so that every Republican can be on the record as having read the law in question.
2
Justice department guidelines allegedly say that a sitting President can't be indicted; based upon what circumstances was that decision made? Is a guideline the same as a rule/law or is it just that, a guideline?
The Constitution indicates that no one is "above the law." If Individual 1 broke the law, guidelines do not apply...the law does.
How is it that our media has become so cowed by right wing talking points that none of them are willing to announce that the emperor has no clothes? And since when are "guidelines" the law of the land?
I find it unacceptable that our legislature is hiding behind some ephemeral guideline in order to avoid doing what must obviously be done. Indict the man and let him be judged by a jury of his peers. To do anything else would be a mockery of justice.
1
"Nadler told me he plans to introduce legislation that would freeze the statute of limitations for crimes committed by presidents, so they could be charged when their terms end."
So what? He can introduce anything he wants. It's not passing the Senate. Next.
Maybe the realization that trump could go to prison if he isn't re-elected will motivate millennials and minorities to vote for his opponent. His 40% support seems like a fixed number. Those on the sidelines of elections most likely would vote for his opponent. This election the Dems need to focus on states that have too many electoral votes for the actual size of their population. And places Hillary forgot to go.
What better time, or better fact situation, to test the legality of an indictment of a sitting President? It's time to quit falling back on the mere Opinion of the Justice Department Legal Counsel as shield or sword against such an important, unanswered question of constitutional law.
The only caveat I would offer is that we await the results of the Mueller probe to see if something even more serious - than payoffs to silence embarrassing stories during a campaign - should be included in the criminal cases against Trump. (My guess is that there will be a lot of them.)
1
"But in our current moment, removing the president through impeachment is essentially impossible, given that at least 20 Senate Republicans would have to join Democrats."
Impeachment doesn't remove the president; it indicts him. Conviction in the Senate removes the president.
Refusing to impeach a president UNLESS the senate can convict is unconstitutional because it makes the senate the effective impeachment body, the House not acting unless the senate can convict. But impeachment is the sole responsibility of the House, not the senate.
The Dems were so restrained on the impeachment issue in the midterms that Trump and his propaganda wing in the mainstream media were demanding to know why the Democrats were not speaking of it.
At least this time, unlike 2006, Pelosi did not say immediately "impeachment is off the table."
Now, the freshman class of firebrands want to focus on legislation, not impeachment.
A liberal talker on MSNBC went so far today as to say the Dems should not even speak of Trump's fate AFTER he leaves the WH using the same rationale as not mentioning impeachment during the midterms: it will rile Trump's base.
Sure, polls indicated the public by wide margins wanted Dems to be a check on Trump. Now that they have that power they are expected to cave to Trump base concerns.
140
@Paul Paul, no matter how one phrases it, impeachment is a pointless exercise unless there's a viable chance that the "indicted" (impeached) party will be convicted in court (the Senate).
Congressional Democrats understand this fundamental reality, and are naturally loathe to embark on a Quixotic attempt to unseat Trump.
Our best bet to get rid of this hideous excuse for a president is to keep him so on edge that he alienates sufficient members of his own party to make conviction in the Senate a real possibility.
And that may well happen. In my opinion Trump is mentally unbalanced, and the more frightened he becomes, the more likely he is to do and say things that will make "riding his coattails" unattractive to Republicans looking ahead to election of reelection in 2020.
16
@Paul
He probably went from CNN to MSNBC. Not speak to Trump after he leaves office? I don't understand that logic.
If he's gone his base becomes irrelevant?
If Dems cave to base it will be another Trump victory.
1
@Paul Impeachment is a political process. It would be political folly to impeach Trump if the votes to remove him from office weren't there in the senate.
The constitution outlines the procedure for impeachment and removal from office but it certainly doesn't prohibit the house from withholding impeachment if the senate isn't going to follow through.
There is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits indicting a sitting president. While Trump's multiple felonies including money laundering, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations along with his lies and attempts to cover it up have reached the Nixon Watergate level, you're right that chief enabler Mitch McConnell and his Republican "willing accomplices" in the Senate would certainly not convict Trump on these clearly impeachable offenses. If Special Counsel Robert Mueller comes forward with even more serious charges not only of obstruction of justice, but actual treason in a conspiracy with a foreign power (Russia) to win the 2016 election, the Senate may have to vote to impeach. But then again, Mueller may like you not trust Mitch McConnell who has a pattern of obstructing the Constitution starting with his unwilling to allow the required "advice and consent" on Merrick Garland followed by his brushing aside the emoluments clause, and most recently obstructing a vote on a bipartisan bill to protect Mueller. At this point with the Constitution under serious attack, Mueller may decide to indict Trump for treason and bypass the likely obstruction by McConnell in the Senate. The fate of our democracy is in his hands and "winter is coming."
144
@wortman
I would remind readers that while your assertion about presidential indictment may be believed by some, others (scholars) disagree in the interpretation of the constitution. Most agree there can be civil indictment, but criminal is a different story. Some debate that impeachment must come before any indictment. Others disagree and feel indictment is constitutional.
FYI.
2
@Paul Wortman
Your dreaming! If Mueller has the goods he wouldn't have so many lying charges, not be focusing on campaign finance which DOJ rarely prosecuted and his prosecutors are squeezing Corsi. Who?
A weak set of facts.
1
@Frank Leiboldis how strange that all those people plead guilty even though all Mueller had were “lying facts.”
And it was not Mueller who investigated Cohen and Trump, but the New York District Attorney.
Just keep repeating to yourself: “It’s only a witch hunt. It’s only a witch hunt.”
5
I'm a Republican who is disgusted by Trump and can't wait to see him booted out of the White House. That being said, I also don't want to see the next two years wasted on futile attempts by the Democrats to impeach him because "it's our turn" at the controls in the House of Representatives. We need action on infrastructure, health care and income inequality. We need some reasoned political thinking on how we extricate this country from unwindable military actions in Afghanistan, Syria, and, increasingly, the Sahel region of Africa. Trump can be politically neutered by the House and his impact minimize but the patience of the people will wear thin very quickly if the Dems can't show that they have an agenda other than Trump.
No one suggests impeachment because it’s our turn. Impeachment is justified on constitutional grounds, specifically emoluments. There is every possibility, and growing evidence that Trump is selling national policy for personal gain.
If you were convinced of that, wouldn’t you want him impeached?
2
My take on this is that Donald Trump truly thinks that when he won the election, he won a contest and that his prize was America; his to do with as he wished. I really do believe that he thinks he is now a king ( just like bin Salman in Saudi) and his wishes are actually commands to his administrative minions and by extension, instructions to the people in general. Nobody in his family, or the White House dares to try and reason with him, because of his volatility and willful ignorance.
This dolt is going to be hard to dislodge, but a good turnout in 2020, providing a comprehensive repudiation of Republicanism will be more than its apologists can overcome. Even Fox News knows its limits and will back off calling the election rigged if it's obvious, country-wide that the Trump fever has broken and sanity has returned. The only caveat to this is that a wounded animal is very dangerous and Trump is animalistic in the way most bullies are when things don't go their way. Hold tight; this may be a bumpy ride.
3
What an anti Democratic claim! The President is the ONLY person elected by ALL the people. The only one! The Democrats and the left are now trying to overturn the people's legal choice over what amounts to a possible technical and minor violation of the insanely complicated election laws.
This is not only crazed it is hugely damaging to our Republic. Is there nothing these people won't do to seize power? Is there no damage to the trust that underlies democratic politics and peaceful governance hat they won't risk because they don't like Trump?
This whole crazy pursuit of Trump is hugely damaging to our beloved republic and the principles that underlie it's continued peaceful existence.
You are playing with fire and don't seem to realize we live in a house of tinder!
1
@Steve W
“Is there no damage to the trust that underlies democratic politics and peaceful governance that they won’t risk...”
You mean like attacks on a free press and undermining ongoing federal investigations? No, wait. That is Trump.
I would argue with the idea that he was elected by ALL the people given he lost the popular vote by over $3 million votes.
I am hoping that the next House exercises some oversight of the president, which has been absent up to now. Under a normal president, that wouldn’t be that scary of a thought for his supporters.
1
The president was not elected by all the people - he didn’t even win the popular vote. The votes he did win were won with the active assistance of at least foreign government and with a focused effort by the Trump campaign to deceive the American people about what kind of person the candidate was and where his true loyalty lies. So save you outrage for the fact that Democracy is being subverted, not by the left, but by the Manchurian or more accurately, the Kremlin Candidate.
Should say 3 million votes. Need to get the money out of politics. Was probably a subconscious mistake.
If a sitting president cannot be indicted, then why would a 5 year statute of limitations be enforced? Wouldn’t logic dictate that holding the office should “freeze” the clock, elongating a window of time for charges to be filed.
4
Every body knew Trump was a crook and a racist before he was awarded the Presidency because he won the electoral college. Mueller doesn't have the goods on Trump to remove him from office since the Republicans control the Senate. The whole Russia gate effort was based on the fact that Mueller would find something because Trump is such a bottomless greedy narcissist. The problem is that there never was any meaningful Russian help for Trump nor an ability to give Trump the election. The US is going to have to wait until 2020 to get rid of this national embarrassment.
Doesn't the statute of limitations toll (i.e. stop running) during the time the alleged perpetrator is unavailable for prosecution?
2
Michelle, the stock market is teetering on the edge of disaster - the kind of disaster that only Donald Trump would be within his rights to trademark.
Once the market goes, the larger economy is likely to follow.
Hence, Donnie has as much chance of winning re-election in 2020 as he has of developing a conscience.
Thus, his best option for avoiding ending his days at Club Fed is to resign ASAP, in exchange for a pardon from the albino monk from the DiVinci Code (aka, Mike Pence).
Of course, such a pardon would not protect Trump from state prosecution...nor should it.
Sophocles advised us to never judge a life happy until its end. Methinks that the end of Trump's life is unlikely to be happy.
281
@Matthew Carnicelli
We didn't think George W. Bush would be re-elected either - and look what happened: republicans became ever more powerful, white supremism flowered, and Donald Trump replaced Barack Obama.
We have to impeach Donald Trump and re-establish the rule of law. We have to improve our education system. We have to find ways of restoring democracy throughout every state - not just in urban areas and along the coasts.
We have our work cut out for us but half measures won't work. The fate of our republic hangs in the balance.
29
@Matthew Carnicelli. What makes you think that inside of DT there is any place for happiness now or in the past?
10
@Matthew Carnicelli
You will be unhappy in 2020.
There are days where I feel that I’m going a little crazy. It seems that so much of what I took to be “normal” in our country is turned topsy-turvy. My main emotions these days are sadness and shock. My quality of life and mood has been so negatively affected over the last two years.
That an entire political PARTY does not see the danger looming up ahead is frightening. Can they not see what I see - that an criminal madman is leading the United States? There seem to be none of those so-called “checks and balances” that I calmed myself with when I got so outraged and nervous about what Trump is capable of.
People keep saying that we don’t know what is coming, but hasn’t Trump committed enough crimes to impeach him NOW? What about obstruction of justice, happening right in plain sight? What about the emoluments clause? It is maddening that that doesn’t seem like enough to begin a process of kicking him to the curb. What are laws for then?
How do the Republicans live with themselves? I know this has been asked and asked - but really. Has a large group of people who swore an oath to protect and preserve the Constitution just stopped caring about anything other than money and power? They have crossed the line between scoundrels and evil doers.
It is depressing and embarrassing to live in this country and I never ever thought I’d say that. The heart breaks.
426
I share your pain. Your words articulate exactly how I’m feeling, I would add, my heart breaks for my daughter and future generations that must deal with the fallout and the difficulty of raising their children to care about honor, integrity and morals in such a country as this has become.
81
@Kathryn
You are not alone.
41
@Kathryn
You’ve just articulated ALL the thoughts and feelings I’ve had for the last 2+ years, including the lead-up to the election. My perpetual question was and is: Where are the grownups, and the responsible people to stop this mayhem? It seems everyone is looking to his/her right and/or left waiting for someone, anyone to act. And yet, nothing happens. Frightening!
38
I’ve come to believe that, if the evidence mounts, the Democrats in the House should initiate impeachment proceedings. While the Senate may not vote for removal from office, it would put the Republicans there in the awkward position of having to support someone accused of criminal behavior. Not only is it the right thing to do, it may be the politically wise move as well.
408
@Thilo
Maybe. But I would prefer they get to work on issues of governing. Health care, environment, safety nets, infastructure. There is only so much time and energy. Devote it where it can matter instead of a hopeless show.
12
@Thilo absolutely.... otherwise we are enabling the law breaker in the WH which is the wrong thing to do... oh to release his tax returns... it's getting closer and closer to Russia supporting him
13
@Thilo
I agree. It's high time to nail these trump-supporting fools to the deck of the Titanic.
20
Of course, if a sitting president can’t be indicted, than the clock on the statute of limitations should be suspended for the same period of time.
The greater question is why should the DOJ’s “guidelines” claiming a sitting president can’t be indicted take precedent over our constitutional belief that no citizen is above the law?
558
@Wally Hayman: "...why should the DOJ’s “guidelines” claiming a sitting president can’t be indicted take precedent over our constitutional belief that no citizen is above the law?"
My initial reaction was to agree with you here. But if we set a precedent allowing indictments of a sitting president, what do you think that Republicans will do to the next Democratic occupant of the White House? They have shown their willingness to use scorched-earth tactics again and again. They will concoct imaginary crimes to accuse the president of in order to hamstring her/his ability to govern. What happens when "lock her up" is more than a rhetorical phrase?
We have to think beyond the short run.
22
@Wally Hayman
If your right about suspension of SOL then Obama should start worrying about his 2008 violations especially falsifying
dates on $85 million in campaign donations.
@pmbrig
There are large differences between being framed and committing actual crimes. If our justice system and the public can be so easily duped by a frame job that we fear prosecuting actual crimes then we have very big problems.
To not act, to not do what is just and right because we fear how those with malicious intent might behave at an unspecified later date would be the act of cowards.
11
A basic problem here is the question of indicting a sitting president. Under federal law this would mean that a federal prosecutor who works for DOJ would bring a bill before a grand jury (6th Amendment), and obtain the indictment. The conflict of interest in bringing secret evidence and testimony against the Attorney General's boss is obvious. But the legal ethics conflict of the prosecutor and/or the AG in NOT bringing charges is also critical. They are as attorneys sworn Officers of the Court, and as DOJ members of the government sworn to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.
If POTUS were to, in his example, shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue in plain view, and the videos go viral, do DOJ officials have no power? If not them, what about NY state officials? Presidential pardons do not apply to state law, prosecutors for NYC do not report to the US AG. Can NY or DC or CA bring charges against a sitting president for state crimes in the same way they bring and win suits about Executive Orders?
To wait endlessly for the House and Senate when evidence is clear and danger to the Republic is present would be both wrong and cowardly.
5
"Under Justice Department guidelines, sitting presidents can’t be indicted."
Why not? Who made up those guidelines? Why can't they be changed? Why should anyone be above the law just because he's president?
5
"LOCK HIM UP" "LOCK HIM UP". "What goes around comes around" dear Mr. President.
3
The Constitution is NOT the basis for claiming a president cannot be indicted for criminal acts. If Trump is not indictable while in office he and a deliberate, pervasive, decades-long GOP criminal conspiracy have successfully conquered democracy from within and mankind's most noble attempt at self-governance has failed.
With 42% approval.
6
TS, you are correct. There is something especially galling about people claiming things are spelled out in the constitution when it is obvious the have never read it, much less understand it.
Not indicting a sitting president is merely the current policy of the justice department. Policies are easily changed.
6
Where does it says a sitting president cannot be prosecuted, indicted or jailed as any other American felon? Where? The Constitution doesn't, the full legal system neither so why are we still entertaining this dangerous idea based on a justice department memo. Are we to believe that a president just for being president, is above the law, is irresponsible criminally speaking? If that is the case what would stop him for refusing to leave office and become a president for life. I believe we need to set the record straight once and for all to give an example on how not to behave-act when anyone becomes president. Trump may be a g big time crook but perhaps the worst crime of all is that he has betrayed the public trust in the institution. And that should't be tolerable, allowed, excused, etc. under any circumstances.
3
to all: Somebody voted for him! somebody fell for the okey-doke. somebody drank the cool aid. somebody was fooled, swayed, intoxicated, enamored, gullible, indoctrinated, enticed, hoodwinked, infatuated (women) clueless, needy, helpless, someone help me out here...please.
2
"The Presidency or Prison"
.. or maybe a suite in the mental ward at Bellevue.
Trump's mind is getting worse by the week, and stress aggravates dementia.
5
Let's have a show of hands...…
Assuming you were a multi-millionaire and on the cusp of being appointed to a highly prestigious and important job......
How many men here would hold to the moral HIGH GROUND and NOT make payments to someone extorting you, whether their allegations were true or not, thereby putting your job; your reputation, your brand and/or your family at risk?
Oh, NO ONE? Understandable!
2
@Naive allison Exactly what flavor is that kool-aid? "How many men here would hold to the moral HIGH GROUND and NOT make payments to someone extorting you, whether their allegations were true or not, thereby putting your job; your reputation, your brand and/or your family at risk?
Many men here have lived a life on the moral high ground; they would not be subject to inquiries about a tawdry past . djt has never lived on the moral high ground...see the difference yet?
@naive allison: My dear, first, in order to be a victim of extortion, a person has to have actually done something immoral or illegal that would make him vulnerable to extortion. There are plenty of honest people in the world (and maybe even some honest millionaires) who don't ever have to worry about extortion, because they haven't done anything that would make them target of extortionists. If you haven't committed a crime, you won't have to worry about anyone trying to threaten you with exposure! Hundreds of people are appointed to positions of great responsibility in diverse professions every day and they have nothing to worry about, because they have clean consciences.
Trump, on the other hand, is as dirty as they come. Many people who have followed his erratic career trajectory over the years were surprised that he even bothered to run, considering that his misdeeds are legion and he is legally compromised on so many levels, from stiffing his subcontractors to hiring undocumented construction workers, to housing discrimination violations, probable tax fraud, multiple bankruptcies and lawsuits, fraud charges against Trump "University," and playing fast and loose with NJ casino authorities. Trump is simply more vulnerable to extortion than most Americans, and he has only himself to blame for that.
This is a joke, the same way Clinton’s impeachment was. He paid 2 women to be quiet. Not a crime. He spent millions of his own money on a campaign. So whether the money came from campaign funds or his private account who cares. It’s accounting. That’s it. If this is all they have, talk of impeachment is a farce.
3
Y Surgeon, a joke you say? He spent millions of his own money, you say, with a article in today's paper describing how he actually made millions by being paid by his own campaign. You bring to mind another surgeon that isn't very intelligent.
conspiracy to break laws, such as campaign finance laws, is a crime.
nearly anybody knows that's just not something you should do.
@NY Surgeon: Hmm. So, if Obama had been elected under a cloud of suspicion of having assaulted a number of women, and then it came out that he had arranged for other women to be paid hush money just before the election, in order to prevent them from informing the public that he cheated on Michelle multiple times, you'd be writing the exact same letter to the Times in his defense? It wouldn't have upset you at all? You'd be calling the whole story "nonsense"? Hmm. Makes one wonder what it is, exactly, that you value in a man.
Ms. Goldberg is, I think, a little too close to the situation. Stepping back, we see a country angry, frustrated, lashing out, primarily because people's ability to survive economically has been bled from them for decades by the wealthy.
Trump's base has stuck with him staunchly through lies, incompetence, cruelty, embarrassment, philandering, immaturity, and more. They are not going to leave him for committing crimes.
The only thing that will relieve this situation is to address the cause, that is, to better people's lives -- a living wage, forgiveness of unfair debt, healthcare, job security, a safety net, retirement. As soon as people see these things being seriously advocated for, they will leave Trump in droves. This is the kind of 'attack' on Trump that will work.
Conversely, if economic relief is NOT in the offing, the rage will persist and no amount of criminal prosecution will make a real difference.
76
@Msckkcsm
It’s a myth that Trump’s base of support consists mainly of economically disadvantaged (white) working people. And it’s certainly a myth that Trump is doing anything meaningful to address the plight of such people.
Regardless, you’re correct: his base won’t abandon him, no matter what. But that’s no reason not to prosecute him for any crimes he’s committed.
18
@Msckkcsm
If I ever met you I would want to give you a big hug. And I abhor handshakes more than Howie Mandel.
You have summed things up better than any of the bloviators and better than most writers.
Many democrats, especially coastal elites, are so blinded by hatred of Trump that they fail to see the very real probability (not possibility) that he will be reelected.
There will be no 'Mueller Miracle'. There will be no criminal indictment. There will be no removal from office before the next election.
And if the issues you so eloquently state are not seriously addressed there will not be a democratic President in 2020.
3
@Msckkcsm
There are some people who will support trump no matter what. They will gladly stand on the deck of the sinking ship. Example - they are now parroting his statement that his payoffs were a "private matter", even though he said/told them that he:
1. didn't know the women
2. didn't have an affair with either of the women
3. didn't pay either woman
4. Cohen didn't pay either woman
5. Cohen did pay them, but it was all his idea
6. Trump did pay them via Cohen but its a private matter
If his followers can't follow the trail of his lies or can't remember what he said last week, if they don't feel used or fooled, then there is no hope for them. the only hope for America is that they are the minority.
12
"...crowds at his rallies have taken to chanting “Lock her up” at the mention of virtually any Democratic woman’s name."
To the people out there still supporting and defending trump: you can't all possibly think that these rallies which are a mash-up of a forced attendance North Korean military parade and a scene from 'Idiocracy', and clearly exist for the sole purpose of fluffing the ego of the man-child POTUS as he continues his slow cognitive decline, are a good thing?
More than anything, they are fact-free propaganda, and a complete embarrassment to our government, the attendees, and most all, our nation.
5
I think that the Republican Party will move faster than ever for the next two years to subvert the voting rights of millions of Americans. If Trump is not gotten rid of before the next election, the Republicans will see to it that he wins a second term. Americans knew what kind of man (?) he was before the last election and a near majority voted for him with glee. Too many people here in the Bible Belt believe Trump was ordained by god to be president and believe that all the scandals are nothing but a devilish, liberal plot.
3
I did not always agree with Republicans, but at least they stood for something. Now they're just accomplices in trumps crimes
4
Want this to end asap? Have Congress release Trump's tax returns....
11
And the likely answer is "neither of the above." Trump is mostly like a rare combination of all of the Yellow Brick Road creatures in the Land of Oz. You know, no courage, no heart, and no brains. As such, he is most likely to flee the country and live out the rest of his life wealthy, but isolated. St. Helena would be most appropriate, where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his last days. Perhaps some private island in the Caribbean or the South Pacific. He wouldn't last a day in Russia, so never there. Rest assured that his private pilots have his personal jet and helicopter on standby 24/7.
The last thing we need is Trump in prison. He'll never shut up and will be worshipped as a martyr by many. The best thing for everyone is that he disappears from North America.
3
I can see the bumper sticker now:
Trump 2020!
Keep him out of jail!
2
If it is proven that Individual-1 was elected president through fraud, how does that effect any and all selections he's made for....say Supreme Court Associate Justices?
Can the argument be made that since Don the Con and his criminal cohorts engaged in criminal activity that resulted in his winning the election, wouldn't all actions taken by him while in office be equally fraudulent? And should that prove to be the case, why should the American people be saddled with Associate Justices who were picked by a fraudulent president?
8
If you were to put this all in a literature format, such as a novel, it would assemble itself in the same general hierarchical pattern as a crime family. The American GOP mob.
The real head of that family is Mitch McConnell. And evidently along with his wife.
10
Isn't bribery a crime? Isn't paying two women in a position to harm your election chances to withhold damaging information from the voters a form of bribery? These payments were not part of some "confidentiality agreement" signed by the two women BEFORE performing illicit sex acts. How is this different from a gangster buying the silence of a witness to him murdering somebody? Isn't paying "hush money" how organized crime bosses operate and stay out of jail?
1
@abigail49, There is nothing inherently illegal about an after the fact confidentiality agreement where the underlining act was immoral but virtually never a prosecuted crime. The illegality in these cases was making an expenditure that by virtue of its timing was obviously intended to influence a particular candidate's electoral chances and not reporting it. If it was made with third party funds there is also the question of individual contribution limits.
2
and if you instructed a flunky to do it, to obfuscate that it was done, and to cover it up, and then lay the flunky for his trouble, isn't that a criminal conspiracy?
@carol goldstein So if the two sex partners were paid for their "services," the underlying acts would be the crime of prostitution, right? Would it be illegal to pay a prostitute to keep quiet?
If Trump loses the election, I would be surprised if he suspends the Constitution and declares martial law.
The sad thing is no Republican would object. My guess is that Southern Republicans would be overjoyed. To them martial law would be an opportunity to reinstate Jim Crow or Slavery.
3
Unfortunately, if the Southern District's case rest on the premise that Trump took action to suppress embarrassing information that if exposed could have altered the outcome of the election, even I wouldn't convict him. If the past two and a half years have demonstrated anything, it's that Trump voters are not impacted in the least by his personal failures and immorality. If he still won the election after the revelation of the disgusting things he said on that bus with Billy Bush, what jury could conclude beyond a doubt that knowledge of his extramarital affairs would have cost him the election? Trump's argument that he had more to fear in the way of retribution from his wife than from the electorate, and thus his motivation was personal, not political, is actually pretty convincing.
22
@Number23, then why was bill clinton impeached for lying about an affair? We are not a direct democracy-- the "feelings" trump's cult members have about their guru should not matter in a decision about legal action against him. Many Clinton voters were outraged at the ken starr investigation, from beginning to end. But we let it play out. Even though we are still sickened by it.
11
@Number23 His motivation is irrelevant. He suppressed important information that has brought down other candidates. If he squelched information, even if it didn't get him into the WH, he broke the law.
18
@Number23
Given that Stormy Daniels had already been interviewed in the press a few years earlier, it is clear that Trump was motivated solely by the impact of this reprehensible behavior on the election. I'm sure Melania harbors no illusions about Trump. Only the electorate is susceptible to Trump's frauds.
13
If Republicans choose not to pass a law that would freeze the statute of limitations, then they are effectively saying that Donald Trump is above the law.
1
How can the very office won by criminally cheating legally shield the criminal/cheater as if he had actually won said office w/o criminally cheating? Makes no sense whatsoever.
3
If Trump shot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue, could he be indicted? His actions as a candidate and president are tantamount to committing mass murder on democracy, the environment, human rights, and decency, and he has a Congress filled with accomplices. For this, he should be indicted.
2
By the Republicans in office knowingly turning a blind eye, doesn't that make them co-conspirators or accessories after the fact?
2
they nominated Trump, therefore they are accessories before the fact of anything he did in his campaign and subsequetly while in office.
In my earlier comment, I noted that in the same article cited by Ms. Goldberg, Andrew McCarthy pointed out as a matter of comparison that “Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign was guilty of violations involving nearly $2 million – an amount that dwarfs the $280,000 in Cohen’s case – the Obama Justice Department decided not to prosecute. Instead, the matter was quietly disposed of by a $375,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission.” The constant theme running through the replies I received was that there is no comparison to violations by the Obama campaign to the so-called violations of the Trump campaign. I disagree, in both cases federal campaign laws were broken. Laws apply equally to all Americans, regardless if the two are Barrack Hussein Obama or Donald John Trump. I support the President. I support Trump. I did not support Obama. Thank you.
4
@Southern Boy, first there is no CSA-- your side lost as the traitors they were. Second, Mr McCarthy states the president (trump) is likely to be indicted for violating campaign finance laws." Where does he state that Obama was, or should have or could have been indicted for his violations? Unless you can prove your statement, it's just a bunch of hot air. It doesn't matter if you support of like trump, any more than my support of Obama was relevant in the case the right wing keeps citing, but has no explanation as to the outcome.
@karen,
Mr. McCarthy is simply showing that some people can break the law and receive a slap on the wrist and others are punished to the fullest extent of the law. But two things are certain, I support President Trump and I do not support Obama, never have, never will, NADA!
1
Unbelievable that we are still having this debate.
His criminality is no longer in doubt.
If he is allowed to serve a second term we are all to blame.
2
Lock him up! Give Hillary the last laugh! It should be just like the notorious cackle on hearing of the death of Qaddafi.
After weeks of silence from Mueller--who genuinely didn't want his investigation to impact the midterms--and cries from conservatives (and some liberals) that he's found nothing in two years and should be shut down, I think his latest public information dump has made it politically almost impossible for Trump to interfere now. And I'm convinced there is more to come. This is good news.
Bill Barr may indeed chose to open an investigation of the Uranium One deal--the main reason, I'm sure, that Trump tapped him, along with his credibility and having been confirmed to the job before--but it won't help Trump in the least.
The DOJ says the president cannot be indicted while in office. This mess all hangs on this opinion, which is just that. It is not in the Constitution itself. This opinion is a bizarre stranglehold on the country, as if someone says to their shrink "I can't go outside because the door, although unlocked, won't let me."
The answer would be, open the door. You are trapped by a belief.
The answer here is just indict the criminal.
3
Perhaps one way to get our elected Republican representatives to care is for the Democrats to offer THEM all pardons, if they will support the impeachment of Trump. To the extent that the GOP let Trump's lies mount up, or did not speak out when they were privy to damning evidence against Trump, they are all vulnerable to be named co-conspirators of his fraudulent election and tenure as President.
1
@Jennifer Almquist, not on my watch, not in my name. I suspect that leaders of the GOP will be found deeply embedded with Russia, and I want that all to come out. No immunity for the likes of Dana Rohrbacher or Devin Nunes.
1
"But if the president has committed felonies, we also have to figure out how Republicans might be induced to care."
Michelle, I agree with nearly everything you wrote. I have two problems with your final sentence (quoted above), however.
First, I don't believe (and I expect you and most people who have been paying any attention during the last two years don't believe) Individual-1 is innocent of felonies. So I suggest one problem with your closing would be resolved by changing the "But if" to "Since"; he surely doesn't deserve
the hypothetical.
Second, since Republicans have acted nearly in unison as a rubber stamp for our national disgrace, I believe it is pointless to attempt to induce them to care, and that our time would be better spent figuring out how to eradicate them.
2
I'm a bit confused. We are told "Under Justice Department guidelines, sitting presidents can’t be indicted. " Do those guidelines have force of law or is this simply non-statutory policy dreamed up by somebody? If the latter, why can't the guidelines be changed?
2
@Mike, the guidelines exist to prevent vengeful retaliation by opposing parties. If the Democrats were able to indict the president without Republican support (they can’t, but let’s assume that was possible) what is to stop the Republicans from doing the same to Democrat?. You can be sure that given the current formation of the Republican Party, they would attempt to do that at the first possible opportunity. There were many in the party who wanted Obama indicted, even though he ran one of the cleanest and scandal-free presidencies ever,
1
Talk of impeachment is nothing more than handing the Republicans the weapon they need to push back Democrats gains.
5
Michelle the Great!
2
Stay after 'em. Remember Molly.
1
NRA indictments. Compliments of a Russian spy named Butina.
That is what it will take to convince GOP Senators.
As soon as the NRA (funded by Russia) is exposed as to how much they are helping the GOP retain power, the worm shall turn.
4
It very may be that the JD's guidelines say that a sitting president shouldn't be indicted. I never heard it said that a president cannot be indicted. There's a big difference between the two.
I would grant that the crimes mentioned on Friday are probably not severe enough to warrant indictment at this time, we have not reached the end of this process, of a listing of all the crimes for which he could be indicted. Should there be more from Muller or other prosecutors, particularly related to obstruction of justice and conspiracy related to Russia, that becomes a whole different story. To put it another way, there may be crimes that are too numerous and too serious not to warrant indictment.
Impeachment is another matter. Friday's crimes may be impeachable offenses but, again, I'm sure they are not enough to gain anything but partisan support for impeachment. But as one item, one charge (or group of charges since there is likely to be more than one crime) in a bill of impeachment, that is a different matter. Bottom line is that it is going to take more than this to have the weight to make an impeachment really feasible. Remember that Clinton was impeached but continued to govern because the Senate wouldn't find him guilty.
This has a long way to go but less far than it was.
3
We should keep in mind that "Justice Dept. guidelines" are NOT settled law; nor should they ever be considered so. They are a custom of that government dept., but by no means legally binding. I'm sure Mr. Mueller is fully aware of this, as well as the extraordinary nature of the crimes and the criminals under consideration. His findings must not be handed to some traitorous GOP hack running Justice, and then swept under the rug, because our democracy is at stake here. They must be made public ASAP, and in the most conclusive, ostentatious showing of the crimes involved and their perpetrators. Anything less will jeopardize our country and our rule of law.
2
come next month, when there is a Demicratic majority in the House, it is a remote possibility a bill of impeachment may be introduced. even in the most favorable of circumstances, this will be a divisive and protrated process. if the House eventually does vote to impeach, there will be a lot of wrangling before it came come up for a vote in the Senate, which is notoriously slow and constipated under the guidance of Mitch McConnell, so who knows what tricks and tactics could be in store over there, even before an unlikely vote would be taken on the President's guilt. therefore, even in the House impeaches and the Senate doesn't totally squirm out of a vote that would require 21 Republicans to become turncoats, by the time this all happens Trump's term would probably be over anyway, so the whole thing is a nonstarter.
1
I am firmly convinced that a number of Republicans are also tainted with Russian money (re: the NRA)) and consequently have been subject to Russian influence, hence their unfathomable support for Trump. Perhaps a number of them need investigation regarding their sources of money and connections. Then we might see a sudden interest in fulfilling their constitutional duty regarding oversight of this criminal presidency. Who knows, there might then be enough of them to guarantee impeachment in the Senate.
8
The lack of ability to indict seems like hogwash. If a President and the Congress were in cahoots, and the President committed a felony such as “stepping out on 5th avenue and...” as Trump has trolled in the past, surely the Judicial branch should have some capacity to bring justice to the President. Otherwise, what’s to prevent the republic from becoming just like another authoritarian state where the rule of law does not rule?
1
We already are an authoritarian state where the so-called “rule of law” does not govern; just ask the voting majority of Wisconsin, or Michigan, or North Carolina (more to come).
Goldberg probably is right that the President won't be indicted while he remains in office, and, if impeached, won't be convicted in the Senate. So no indictment seems likely before January 2021 at the earliest. Further, there may be a statute of limitations for whatever crime he's accused of that would preclude indictment, ever. Maybe some criminal lawyer would care to address that. Absent some definitive decision on statutes of limitations, opinions like Goldberg's seem to me nothing but blather.
A law tolling the statute of limitations for presidential crimes seems appropriate, but would not such a law as applied to our current president violate the Constitution in that it may well be ex post facto?
If the ex-president goes to jail, bone-spurs and all, Trump Tower could have new branding possibilities. With the largest prisoner population in the world, the untapped U.S. market could be very lucrative, and the Russians don't have to be involved.
2
Trump's presidency will be proven illegitimate. The democrats better be ready to dig deep and turn our government around.
2
I have an idea for a way out that won't completely satisfy anyone but get us out of this mess. Trump stays in office until late spring of 2020 (before the conventions). Then he resigns and Pence becomes POTUS without enough time left in the term to do much harm - I see him as more dangerous to the secular, rational society that I believe in than Trump. Pence immediately pardons Trump and his adult family. The Democrats nominate a strong enough candidate to win the Presidential election. How to sell it to Trump? Appeal to his well developed survival instinct.
1
"Our best hope may lie in the emergence of irrefutable evidence of further presidential crimes, enough to finally test the tolerance of at least some fraction of Republicans."
No. Our best hope lies in voting him out in 2020.
4
"But if the president has committed felonies, we also have to figure out how Republicans might be induced to care."
Perhaps. I've watched republicans for 40 years. Seems clear that what they value most is the promotion of oligarchy, militarism, and christian nationalism. Caring about our democracy doesn't even make their top 10. I'm open to inducing them otherwise, but history teaches me not to place too much hope in it.
8
It could be that Trump fears the release of his tax returns more than impeachment, and with good reason.
Concrete evidence of money laundering for international mobsters would peel off sufficient GOP support to ensure success in 2020.
The Democrats should follow the money, not Mueller.
4
The best way to characterize this column is that it approaches delirium. We haven't even seen Mueller's report, but Ms. Goldberg is spinning off ways to avoid the statute of limitations if Trump is re-elected.
She appears to be assuming -- hopefully correctly -- that he will win re-election. So much for the Resistance. It's now been reduced to Post-presidency Revenge. And you wonder why the Dems have yet to come up with a strategy to effectively counter Trump?
I'm afraid that Ms. Goldberg is another victim of Trump tunnel-vision -- which is, no vision at all.
“...a strategy to effectively counter Trump” is impossible in the face of complete ignorance.
Not stated here is a larger problem.
Whatever the ultimate legal 'exposure' of Donald Trump may be, the Republican Party is fully complicit - so far - in aiding and abetting him. Sham Congressional hearings, refusal to hold Trump or his administration accountable - those things are bad enough.
But there's more.
Add vote suppression, gerrymandering "with surgical precision", outright fraud over absentee ballots, and the very idea of free and fair elections is in jeopardy. The refusal of Republicans to address the vulnerabilities of our voting systems to foreign meddling is also chilling.
On top of that we are now seeing Republican-controlled state legislatures moving to strip power away from governors and other state officials - where voters have chosen to elect Democrats. This nullifies the very reason for holding elections in the first place. This is explicitly anti-democracy.
The rule of law is under attack. A stolen Supreme Court seat, a Supreme Court justice nominated and approved despite serious questions about his character and his truthfulness - and all of this on top of a rush to install as many activist conservatives justices as possible.
An informed electorate is essential for a healthy democracy - so what are we to make of attacks on the press, or a 'news' network that's official propaganda?
As bad as Trump is, the bigger threat is the Republican party and conservatism in general. They all must go.
8
"The filing emphasized the way Cohen’s actions subverted democracy. 'While many Americans who desired a particular outcome to the election knocked on doors, toiled at phone banks or found any number of other legal ways to make their voices heard, Cohen sought to influence the election from the shadows,' prosecutors wrote." Yeah? And just how is this different from Paul Ryan making a money call to Sheldon Adelson? Subverting our democracy, ha. Newsflash, we don't have a democracy, we have an oligarchy and plutocracy.
4
I'll say it again, as succinctly as I can: Bob Mueller, an American patriot, a man who has spent most of his adult life protecting this nation from enemies within and without, will not permit a man whom he know is a treasonous, constitution-destroying, amoral, despot-wannabe, to have a chance at a second term running this country.
If Donald Trump's name is on the ballot in 2020, it'll be because some people have written it in.
6
Trump is as Goldberg writes a peril to our democracy, but the smart people know that the Democrats so noted in this article must be joined by Republicans. That is the heart of the matter and the more obvious this becomes with each and every passing day and the addition of more corruption, collusion, obstruction--all of it---the more difficult that choice seems for those who have not shown any concern at all for the great and serious misdeeds of this POTUS. The big boys in power in the GOP, the McConnells, Ryans, McCarthys, all choir boys, are utterly silent. The evangelicals do not cry out in horror at the transgressions of this POTUS, preferring as in this state to be concerned about bathrooms for some people, protecting the fetus, executions, or immigration concerns. Not the man in the White House. Shame shame shame.
5
Republicans don't care because none of this is a surprise.
Anyone who read the Times knew (a) Trump bragged about sexual assault, (b) Trump cheated on his wives, (c) Trump cheated on his taxes, (d) Trump stiffed his business partners, (e) Trump admired autocrats, and (f) Trump wanted Russia and Wikileaks to help him win the election.
Republicans elected him anyway.
Republicans are going to need an impeachable offense that we didn't actually know about when they elected him.
3
@Sam I Am
Maybe, Sam, or it could be that they are quaking in their sewerbooties. How much damage can they do on their way out?
Lots. But they know they only have 2 years at the most to pull anything off. Trump will be long gone by then... maybe hiding out in a palace in Saudi Arabia, like Idi Amin did for a decade or so? Cannibalism and bone saws? That's trump's future.
The GOP knows that some dawn, he'll be gone - and the price will have to be paid.
I say impeach him and let the Republican Senate be exposed as his lackeys.
1
Considering GOP willingness to conspire with NRA and Russian agent Maria Butina, who pleaded guilty clearly indicates that it seems like GOP would be more than happy to establish in our country autocratic and corrupt Russian rule of lawlessness.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/maria-butina-pleads-guilty-agrees-to-cooperate-with-us?ref=home
Subversion of democracy in plain sight!!!
4
Actually I think we will have an option for getting rid of Trump. We saw Michael Flynn collaborate with the Special Prosecutor and it seems to me part of that is because of his son. The question is whether or not Trump will be willing to go quietly if his children are threatened with prison.
But that won't fix what ails our country and that of other democracies around the globe. It is only when we seriously tackle the enormous wealth inequalities which have led us to our current frightening state that we can rest. It's not just the wealth but the power that comes with it--look no further than Rupert Murdoch and his empire of lies to see how dangerous unlimited wealth can be.
5
The GOP senate is the main culprit enabling Trump. Mitch McConnell--uninterested in preserving our democracy--has abandoned the senate's responsibility to act as a separate, but equal body of government. McConnell has dropped all pretenses at collective governance and pursues a dictatorial policy of blatant obstruction and denial.
Trump would not be the scourge on our nation that he is, without the compliance of Mitch McConnell and his spineless senate majority.
12
Thanks for nothing, liberals/Democrats. You think you’re going to reverse the Election of 2016 but you are only reinforcing and strengthening Trump’s base. You also risk making a sympathetic figure out of him, which would be truly calamitous. Concentrate on developing policies and candidates with broad, centrist appeal and power will fall to you when this barbaric narcissist undoes himself, as he most certainly will.
4
@Larry Ultra telling that it bothers you not that a US President attained that position by cheating and deceiving the American electorate. Perhaps a stolen election deserves reversing? Oh wait, only if it's stolen by a Democrat, right?
1
@N8t, he won, end of story. There is no credible evidence that the election was stolen in any way. That’s what galls liberals/Democrats. That, and the knowledge that they handed him the Presidency. Get over it and move on before you get him re-elected.
@Larry
With your scornful opening, "Thanks for nothing, liberals/Democrats" you forsook any chance of persuasion. You suggest centrist policies as an antidote while insulting the decency of law-abiding Americans as belonging to only one political stripe.
That's an epic fail in following your own advice.
Lock him up?
No.
Wag the dog.
The most frightening scenario is that this cornered beast initiates a war to keep himself in office.
National emergency. Assume dictatorial powers. Cancel elections.
The constitution in shreds. Chaos in the streets.
It can't happen here?
3
Pence will not pardon Trump because Pence knows what happened to Gerald Ford after he pardoned Nixon. The best clue to the correctness of this prediction is Nick Ayers’ turning down Trump’s chief of staff position. Pence won’t want anyone tainted by Trump’s White House nor does Pence want to anger the president. Thus, Ayers has taken a way out of this administration that doesn’t cause Pence to raise Trump’s paranoid index nor does it cause Ayers to be tainted as a traitor to Trump’s base. Thus if Pence assumes the presidency he will be able to bring Ayers on board as chief of staff.
2
Every sitting republican member of congress has been paid to not care how criminal trump is during his tenure. All of them have been implicated in his crimes either through their acceptance of Russian money laundered through the NRA or by suborning perjury when they helped Cohen craft his testimony before congress.
No....they'll never vote to impeach him because they are all his coconspirators. It's why cowardly Ryan quit. It's why McConnell will do everything he can to prevent democracy, and why there were so many 'retirements' among republicans who believe they are either too old, or too special to go to prison. It's time this country's good people demand that all of them stand trial with us as their jurors.
4
@snarkqueen
So, electoral victory in 2020, rather than impeachment.
I'm on board. But two things have to happen:
Mueller reports out on all the shocking things not currently, publicly known of Trump's and the so-called Republican Party's misdeeds.
The Democrats nominate someone capable of uniting law-abiding Americans.
Oh, there's a third: young, idealistic voters refrain from casting votes for a destructive third party candidate who snatches defeat from the hands of victory.
Of course, Trump sees the White House as his ultimate refuge. It is his security blanket and he will stay until he is dragged out. Trump is a short-termer. Everything he does is transactional and every motivation is Self-Preservation or Self-Enrichment driven. That is in the man's DNA. No forest, just a tree. One tree. A Trump tree.
1
Republicans will never vote to remove Trump from office because indication of such an inclination would open them up to a possible primary defeat at the hands of the rabid Trump minions!
Our campaign finance system is ruining the country. Along with Citizens United it actually encourages corruption. Yet, despite this completely lax system, Trump couldn’t manage to stay on the right side of the law.
This all just proves once again, things like laws and taxes are for average citizens, not for Trump and his ilk.
166
The problem may not be limited to the campaign finance system itself. That may be a side effect of our economic system, which relies on persistent unrestricted growth to function. A system of accelerating consumption in a reality of limited resources eventually will require stepping outside of established social norms to accomodate it's overwhelming desire for money and power and any other form of capital. Each election cycle absorbs more money and, as we're now seeing, more of our sanity.
5
@KPH
Citizens United? What has that got to do with anything? While we are on the subject of right and wrong, it is wrong to use words you don't understand to incite rather than inform.
@Ian Maitland
You mean like its wrong to chastise a person in language so strong, so passionate, so non-specific its meaningless, leaving behind only the impression you're deeply upset about...something?
4
Avoiding of Justice's hammer
And a real long sojourn in the slammer
Who knows what Trump would do
What outlying crew
Might unfold a real Gotterdammer.
Count on all dirty tricks in the book
Wisconsin just gave us a look
Preparation is vital
For tactics benightal
Every swindle a Repub can cook.
300
@Larry Eisenberg A+ for that one, Larry.
16
@Larry Eisenberg excellent!
11
@Larry Eisenberg
A long sojourn isn't a sojourn, so maybe there's hope for Trump after all.
How did we get here? How did Americans elect an unread, groping, delusional game-show host and porn-star-diddling liar? Now we’re in a pickle, and we’re trying to find a way for the system to save our democracy from ourselves.
We won’t get any relief from the compassionate conservatives in Congress. Republicans, to a man and woman, would rather collude with a criminal than stand for justice and honor. They’ll pack the Supreme Court with compromised jurists. They came within one thumb of killing affordable health care. They gave billionaires a Christmas bonus while they gave us stockings full of clean coal and a climate in its death throes.
It hardly matters if this defective president ever faces justice. The injustice that he’s already brought down on all of us will change the way we think of our country for as long as we live. We can no longer trust ourselves to do the right thing. We’ve gotten a taste of neo-Nazis marching in the streets, Alt-Right hate speech, mass murders galore and an economy taking swoops and dives that mirror the erratic and inarticulate tweets from our commander in chief.
He hasn’t committed individual crimes as much as his entire persona has a criminal patina. His associates are low-life operatives. He sidles up to dictators and oligarchs, as if he recognizes kindred spirits.
He won’t go to jail. But he’ll leave us stranded in a country that we no longer think of as our own.
1593
@gemli
It's already happened. I, for one, no longer recognize my country...
190
@gemli-Republicans will jump ship in droves when it's revealed:
* Foreign actors funneled millions to the Trump campaign/WH and were paid off by policies that favored them--breaking multiple laws.
* The Trump campaign shared Facebook and RNC voter data with the Russians via Cambridge Analytica.
* Trump/WH orchestrated and/or allowed Russian fake social media campaigns and voting machine hacking.
* U.S. foreign policy is being written by foreign-paid lobbyists.
* Trump, family, and enablers have committed treason.
And so on....
139
@gemli Why did 80% of evangelical whites vote for trump? It is indeed puzzling. Why do 99% of the people that vote Republican vote for a party that has no policies to support their interests or needs. I don't know. I am guessing there are too many emotional reasoners and not enough intellectual ones out there. Hopefully over time evolution will weed out the emotional reasoners. Our species depends on it.
116
Trump may be impeached at some point. However, he will almost certainly be forced into resignation before Senate Republicans agree to remove him from office. There will naturally be a plea deal in return for his peaceful exit.
If Trump isn't willing to go quietly, I suspect Republicans will challenge his nomination. A few conservatives may even challenge him on the general ticket if Trump survives the primary.
Failing those two scenarios, there's a good chance Trump will lose the election. Even with an unpopular Democrat, James Comey's announcements, massive Russian interference, FEC campaign finance violations, and porn star cover ups, Trump only barely won the first time.
We can reasonably expect him to under perform in reelection. The public knows what a Trump presidency looks like. There are 15,000 out of work car manufacturers who have certainly cooled on Trump. Trump won Michigan by 11,000 votes in 2016.
All the while, Mueller and the House investigations will keep churning. We could realistically expect an impeachment proceeding to coincide with the 2020 election. Again, all the more reason for Republicans to question Trump's continued viability. If Trump somehow manages to survive, Republicans still have the option to remove him from office.
Trump probably won't ever serve time. However, his presidency is compromised. Trump might have criminal immunity but he certainly doesn't have political immunity. A point everyone in politics will use against him now.
62
@Andy Actually, I would not be so certain that Trump will not serve time. He can be prosecuted in New York State when he leaves office either voluntarily (resignation) or involuntarily (impeachment) and the acting Attorney General for New York State, Barbara Underwood, is well aware of Trump and will have all the information she needs prosecute with potential conviction going forward.
11
@Andy Trump might be challenged from within the Republican Party for the nomination - but who could stand against him? He took on all the candidates the GOP could throw at him in 2016, and he destroyed them all.
Trump and Trumpism is what the GOP base wants. The party has been priming them for decades. Unless that changes, anyone challenging Trump would have to win over that base.
Take away the corruption, the incompetence - they'd still want the racism, the xenophobia, the politics of resentment - and they're willing to give up on democracy to get what they want.
11
@kkm I see Trump doing a "perp walk" out of the White House. Aww...I can dream can't I?
8
As I understand it, part of the rationale of the JD's rule not to indict a sitting president is that he/she would not have time to deal with indictments because of the burdens of their job. However, what does Trump do all day? His official schedule is sparcely populated with time consuming presidential activities. Rather, he employs his time tweeting, watching FOX, scrawling his signature on what is set in front of him, conducting stand-up shows to admiring crowds, and golfing.
5
The voters don't really care because nobody has any faith in the electoral process at all.
- corporations perform legalized bribery to control elections
- media houses propagandize people into believing anything they want (the level of propaganda is not any less than say the USSR)
- Washington is full of lobbyists - legal bribery and influencing at work
- politicians are only beholden to their donors.
In this scenario, which affects both Parties, nobody cares about a half-legal payoff of a few thousand bucks.
Move on. Try to implement campaign finance reform and get money out of politics if you really care about democracy.
4
We can’t allow our feelings of distain and disgust for The Donald to urge impeachment yet. If the findings of the Mueller investigation prove conclusively that he is guilty of multiple crimes and misdemeanors (and he probably is) the House should have no trouble drawing up a bill of impeachment.
But it is the Senate that must vote to approve that bill. That will only happen when the republican senators ( who value power and wealth, and their keeping their own seats above all else) decide Trump is more of a liability than an asset. Should his poll numbers and the stock market tank, and should public outcry deluge their inboxes and flood their call lines, that could happen, but I’m not holding my breath, since the Senators would also have to grow backbones in the interim.
Even so, I have faith in democracy. I saw it work brilliantly during Watergate, and believe that it still can triumph.
2
Given the fact that the democratic candidate won the popular vote by over 2.5 million votes over Mr. Trump - 2020 will be the democrats election to lose.
@David C. Clarke. Again.
One sure thing that we all know is that this guy is a 70 plus year old person, horribly out of shape, prone to delusions, unable to control impulses, hyper erratic in actions. How long will his health stand up to this kind of relentless stress? He cannot continue on this course for long without complete collapse. I am here waiting for that day.
4
Unfortunately, Republicans will never "be induced to care." Just ask Senator Hatch. I think a more scary question is what will happen if Trump loses and refuses to leave?
2
Ted Cruz, clearly eager to take up Trumpism, encouraged a campaign crowd shouting "lock him up" in reference to Beto. So Republican candidates are already using this against any opponent who appears to threaten their power.
1
Bottom line---we have lost, from both parties, the honorable value of country before individual. All office holders in our capital care only about holding office---that's it. If that means turning a blind eye to blatant criminality---so be it. As JFK said, there is a reason Profiles in Courage is a one volume work---
1
@ACJ ENOUGH with the"both sides are bad" argument. It is false. Look at the shenanigans in WI and MI, where republican gerrymandering allows the legislature to tell the newly elected governor to go pound sand. That has not happened in states with democratic legislatures. Republicans cheat to win and then don't respect the outcome when they lose.
2
I have said it repeatedly. Trump is a threat to our national security, domestic and foreign. If the evidence indicates he committed crimes, then he should be tried under due process. The Republican Congress that continues to protect the Administration is not much better. Perhaps it is time for a new conservative party.
1
This will truly put the Democrats ability to lose elections to the test: I’m not sure even Hillary could have lost to a candidate who was running just to avoid jail time. Maybe 2020 is what they were saving Bernie for?
Inducing the enthralled base of Trump to care seems impossible, save a stray defection here or there.
Inducing somewhat reasonable, or more than tolerant thus far people who have supported Trump, for other reasons than worship, is possible. Just as the evidence and facts overwhelmed Nixon, so too will it occur with Trump.
And frankly the many different avenues of misdeeds, lack of ethics and integrity, and highly likely, outright criminality of Trump make the outrageous crimes of Nixon and his cohorts look tame.
Just as Senators Goldwater and Scott and Rep. Rhodes went to the White House to tell Nixon he must resign and had lost the trust of the county, a similar trip is awaiting Trump.
Not certain who will make the trip, as McConnell seems to lack the spine for such morality and ethics. But there are plenty of other Senators and Representatives who will ultimately take up the baton, as well as a few Cabinet Secretaries.
Mueller is being utterly thorough and exhaustive in leaving no stone unturned to allow the slippery and manipulative Trump an escape. He disseminates information and facts brilliantly.
It will be ugly, as that is Trump's nature, but the last true minority rule 'governments' in my lifetime in 'democracies' were in the former Yugoslavia and in Apartheid South Africa. These despotic governments just don't stand up to the test of time.
1
A key question is:
Will Trump take a hit for his Children?
If a deal is made wherein he either declines to run again in return for his children walking away without jail time, will he take it?
or
If the crimes become so blatant and treasonous, will he do time in exchange for his children( or some of his children) being protected from Prison time?
1
I continue to be mystified at the silence of @Richard Luettgen, of late. Hmmmmmmmmm.
The down side of impeaching Trump is that we get Mike Pence as president. He shares a lot of Trump's bad ideas and inclinations without his flamboyant style and offensive language and manner.
3
I can feel a little sympathy for Trump, can you? I’m positive his real plan was to run for office to get a gig on his own Fox TV show. It’s the Sarah Palin career path. Instead the right wing propaganda machine kicked in and pushed him over the line. But his huge ego keeps him from seeing that the GOP is really using him. They will get him to sign off on every unpopular bill they can, then they will dump Trump and blame all the problems on him. He will lose everything. Though I feel some sympathy for him, I know this is the fate he deserves.
@EW I feel no sympathy for Trump. But your theory is plausible.
@EW
Unlikely scenario. Trump lead the Republican establishment to him. They never wanted him. His supporters think he's genuine (unlike most politcians and the media). IMO, it's arrogant and probably wrong to assume they're fools.
Trump will almost certainly face a trial over his 'charitable' Trump Foundation.
As revealed a week after the election, Trump was not using it for charitable grants to needy organizations,, he was using it as his own piggy bank. Legal fees, art works for Trump Towers, etc. Not a dime went to any scholastic or indigent relief.
If I have heard correctly, New York State is prepping the case for January 2021?
3
The Justice Department guideline that a sitting president cannot be indicted is just a guideline, not a law. It would bother me to death to think that our president has committed crimes that would put ordinary citizens in jail, but he is getting away and sitting in that office. It is like a criminal being allowed to be in charge of the country and the world. That is not and cannot be acceptable except in a rogue state.
3
I don't think Trump hiding his affairs influenced the election. I don't think his supporters care now or would have cared during the election about this history. Therefore, I don't think the actions of Cohen and Trump with respect to these affairs were a campaign finance violation: at least not a serious offense.
However, if Trump colluded with a foreign entity, say Russia, to attempt influence of the election through any means, that is treason. When Trump publicly invoked a foreign entity to expose Hillary Clinton's email he committed treason. Any cooperation in this endeavor by associates or family was also treason. Those who commit treason belong in prison.
@John G That public invocation was the taunting of a happy warrior. He was gleefully jamming his finger in Hillary's eye and all her supporters. For the left, this was a greater sin than actually trying to telegraph instructions. Clearly detestable behavior in the opinion of some, but that no limits approach is also what dispatched 17 primary rivals. Hillary, on the other hand clearly conspired to freeze Bernie out. Politics is dirty business. I'm personally on the "Firewall plan" -- said so in person to minions lined up as I went in to vote in 2016. "Whoever wins, I'll firewall the way I choose to live against the impact of fools on either side of the aisle over whom I have no control"
The House of Representatives will likely impeach President Trump, but the Senate will not vote to convict and remove him from office. If Trump loses his bid for reelection in 2020, I predict that he will resign during the lame duck period. Then, President Pence will grant him and his family a full pardon for any and all crimes committed.
2
Perhaps the indictment of family members in the near future might change the equation somewhat. dotard Jr. and kushner seem to be seriously exposed to that possibility.
2
Trump's ascendancy to the highest office in the land should be an object lesson for the next presidential election. No one as unqualified and secretive as Trump, with a past history like his, should have ever been allowed to be a candidate, much less a nominee.
In the future, more than citizenship and age should be considered for the post.
113
@Gardengirl Like, for instance, character?
2
@Gardengirl
Right, isn't democracy such a drag! No one should be forced to put up with it.
@Gardengirl
Not sure who would disallow him to be a candidate. Remember it was the Republican voters who nominated him.
2
The DOJ memorandum that a sitting President may not be indicted is not law. It is only DOJ policy. That policy conflicts with statutes of limitations given that a President serving two terms might well fully escape prosecution of most crimes, including shooting someone on Fifth Avenue. Query whether a sitting President may be indicted but the proceeding stayed until their term of office has concluded. In that way both the policy (assuming it is agreed to be a correct interpretation of the Constitution) and the statute of limitation can coexist.
2
It is in the myriad of potential offenses (not in any particular) and the abundant and detailed substantiation that Individual-1 will be indicted by the House. Between Mueller's report and congressional investigations, the inarguable record of the subterfuge(s) will become known. The tax returns and the testimony of the co-conspirators will be damning. Impeachment is undoubtedly a slow process, but this factual ground must be fully prepared before a Senate trial may start. There is no shortcut just because he is manifestly unqualified for office. If 34 GOP senators remain unconvinced, so be it. The American people as voters in 2020 will see it for what it is--political cowardice. Individual-1will be held accountable one way or another.
5
I'm somewhat surprised that this article didn't touch on how exactly Trump might behave if he loses the election in 2020. Before the possibility of indictment, there was already a chance that if he lost, he'd throw the legitimacy of the election result into question. Now that he's facing criminal charges when he gets out, that seems all but a certainty.
There doesn't seem to be a plan in place for if and when he decides an unfavorable election result is fake news. What are we going to do when he says, "I have serious concerns that the election was hacked and I refuse to leave office."? The GOP won't stop him. Fox News will support him. Odds are that by that point, there will have been several (false) news narratives put out by conservative media outlets that'll lend support to him not leaving office, so his base will be in favor of him not leaving office, as well.
Is this far-fetched? I don't know. But for my money, it's worth giving some consideration to because of the intense severity of the consequences.
8
@Kevin, AR 15's are at record low prices, so I would urge all good patriots to stock up on them for the coming years.
2020 Democratic National Convention chant: "Lock him up, Lock him up"
6
Amazing article. What is disturbing and ....sickening is that the so-called-party of “law and order” IS complicit with a man who has lied, cheated and colluded with Putinin order to win the presidency of the United States! Putin, the sworn enemy of freedom, democracy and justice, attacked our democracy and must become the pariah of the world!
History will not be kind to the Republicans who sold out our Nation! Shame on them!
Vote them all out in 2020!!!
16
"I ain't gonna work for Donald Trump no more.
No I ain't gonna work for Donald Trump no more.
He hands you a nickel. He hands you a dime.
He asks you with a grin if you think he'll do time.
A prison guard should be knock, knock knocking on Donnies door.
No I ain't gonna work for Donald Trump no more".
6
Hilary Clinton had to endure the humiliating chants of 'LOCK HER UP!" without being implicated in any crime by the Justice Department.
What goes around comes around - LOCK HIM UP!!
11
"Under Justice Department guidelines, sitting presidents can't be indicted."
Oh, hogwash!
It is only the Saudi Arabians that are stuck with a murderer as their 'ruler'.
We do not have 'rulers'.
Are you seriously saying, Michelle, that if trump chops up a reporter, commits cold-blooded murder in the Oval Office, that......what? We are just going to walk around the mess singing, "Lalalal, I see nothing!"
For how many days? One? Two?
I'll bet by Day Three that trump is hauled off in a paddy-wagon and thrown in the slammer.
Don't tell me that just because white-gloved, lily-livered frat boys born in the 18th century, who owned slaves and never met a woman they thought was even a human, decided that they didn't have to get specific on what constituted "crimes and misdemeanors" and that we are tied to their inept standards.
I once worked for the government. I understand the word "guidelines".
It means: There are time's when you must use your own discretion. That's why the word "guidelines" is not "rule" or "law".
trump has said: "I can stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someone and never lose a voter."
That what he thinks.
He is not Mohammed Bin Salman.
He cannot shoot people. Or cut them up.
He is not above the law.
This country only gets to tip-toe around dead bodies in the Oval Office because it WANTS to.... but the LAWS are entirely different.
Do the crime - and do the time.
What goes with that is: Justice delayed is justice denied.
He's not god.
8
Russia collusion: throw him out. Covering up an affair to affect the election: you’ve got to be kidding — this is thrice married Donald Trump! What voter’s mind would have been changed knowing about these two women from a man with his king-size womanizer reputation?
FDR, JFK, Clinton, among our better presidents, had affairs while in office. Going after Trump’s affairs before he was in office seems petty. Focus on Russia collusion. Otherwise, stop.
1
@Pragmatist In CT, think carefully. Why the slush fund in a secret new shell company? If they opened another secret account to hire someone to kill the women he sinned with, that would be OK if no Russians were involved?
Because using campaign funds (donated by people like you) to pay personal expenses is illegal. Using taxpayer money in an election, to fly to Brazil for an abortion, have an opponent silenced, or pay off one's mistresses is an attempt to hide stuff from the electorate. It's kind of un-American, as if trump supporters cared.
At the same time, Jared, Cohen, Manafort et al were working like ambitious little beavers, doing trump's bidding in an effort to gain power and money for themselves on the American peoples' dime. We don't have to choose which string to pull in this mess of knots. Also, didn't President Clinton get IMPEACHED for consensual affairs?
Go take a civics class, pragmatist. Covering up anything to affect the election actually IS a big deal. Honestly, if the republicans nominated Ted Bundy for 2020, you'd say "Well, everyone KNOWS Bundy is a murderer, so what's the big deal when he murders people while he's president? He has a (wait for it) king-size murderer reputation!
THAT's the trump mind set these days: They see absolutely no problem when vultures like Cohen see the presidency as a big juicy greed pie, America theirs for the grifting.
1
@deb 1 response - Congressional slush fund -- our tax dollars to hush bad behavior. Bad behavior is everywhere. It thrives in halls of power. This is human nature.
@deb payments were not made by you and me -- it was his own money and having a consensual affair is quite different than being a mass murderer. as for whether there were substantive meetings related to colluding with Russia to affect the election (Jared, Cohen, Manafort, Flynn)...we're all waiting for Mueller, let's see what he's got. as for your the rest of your indictment to get him on whatever you can -- that's not exactly the American way.
It is absolutely impossible that Trump will be re-elected in 2020. He will therefore most likely end up in prison, which is where he belongs. Everyone knows that he is a criminal, as well as being an immoral narcissistic megalomaniac with the vocabulary of a junior high school student. Certainly the American people could not be so stupid as to re-elect him, or could they?
3
Republicans in collusion should all be prosecuted
6
although Donald Trump's appalls me, the first paragraph in this editorial is truly fake news. it is most definitely NOT, I repeat NOT, Donald Trump's justice department. please don't imply that it is.
As a proud educated trump supporter wailed to me,Hilary was going to take my guns away. That’s the idiocy we are dealing with.
4
Then we hope he gets re-elected. His crimes are nothing in comparison to the world-class grifters, Bill and Hillary.
2
@M Be more specific!
2
He'll move to Moscow before he does prison time here. The sooner the better.
"Crowds have taken to chanting 'lock her up' at the mention of virtually any Democratic woman's name."
... is the problem. Media can't just show that happening and assume people get it - we need to see and recognize the insanity, like the crazed looks on faces ala Riefenstahl. The Times has tried with some photos of the crazies at rallies - it's not enough.
2
Reporting from the front lines of the Republic, Michelle Goldberg.
Plain and simple please. ITMFA.
@Steve Beck Translation please
Pure garbage. Pure speculation. It’s been like this for two years now.
The radical left’s hairs on fire. Every. Single. Day. Yet, here we are. Alive and well.
3
As a rabid Anti-Trump voter, I must say that he doesn't deserve to be impeached for paying off women after affairs. I mean, come on, Kennedy got away with everything, and Bill Clinton was having an affair IN office. I am more concerned about Trump's possible treason with Russians than I am with a stupid old grifter caught having sex with porn stars. I have no doubt that Republicans would be calling for Obama's head if he did this, but I don't want to be like them, nor do I want to set a dangerous precedent. Don't impeach on this. Let's wait and see what the real story will be.
7
@Mixilplix, You are a perfect example of why impeachment for unreported campaign expenditures is a bad idea. The average voter of nearly every persuasion sees that as minutia (not so much those few of us who have served conscienciously as campaign treasurers). No one in a position to do anything is suggesting that the legal problem is the affairs themselves, nor would the payments have been a legal problem except for the context of a political campaign.
Once someone figures out what Michelle Goldberg asks for in the last sentence, they can turn to something easy like resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict or figuring out where all the missing singleton socks are.
Hear John Kelly’s upcoming book will provide insight and wisdom and perspective...
Reliable sources outside of the publishing industry and without a slightest clue as to what’s going on but who are not authorized to admit ignorance in this exchange – whispering that his Dystrumpian tome will be entitled:
“Beyond Extreme Carelessness: Running With Scissors for President”
With a forward – heavily redacted – by James Comey...
And revelations never surfaced on Fox – examples:
> When informed that 2 senior FBI officials were carrying on an illicit adulterous affair – replete with steamy and suggestive texts – while using their official smartphones, Trump tweeted up both, asking if any interest in a 3-way...After they agreed, though, Kelly intervened, explaining that Trump meant for the 3rd person to be Rudy Giuliani – who’d speak on any subject off the record on Trump’s behalf...
> As the pee-dossier circulated inside the beltway, Trump was laser-focused on understanding whether his livestreaming had garnered more viewers than Rachel Maddow’s evening show...He was about to hit the “send” button, tweeting on how his stream made Maddow’s stream look very weak by comparison, but Kelly pried the smartphone from Trump’s small hand, and calmly smashed it into shards using Winston Churchill’s bust...This raised tensions between the Chief of Staff and the Commander-in-Chief’s more pliable staff to unworkable levels...
PS
Enjoy the $15M, General - consider it hazard pay...
One way or another justice must be served, or American will no longer be America.
1
There's a large crowd cheering, and tossing a grinning, sawdust stuffed, clown into the air, marching through the land. They're a ghastly lot, and their numbers are as frightening as their ignorance, their greed, and their moral squalor.
And as we watch them tear our constitution to shreds, and turn our country into a police state, they laugh at us, because we're trying to figure out how to put the clown in jail.
6
This idea of not indicting a sitting president is ridiculous. If a president shot someone on 5th Avenue, or raped an intern, is the only sanction impeachment? Clearly this was not the intent of the Founders.
3
Re-elected? What's that old adage? Paraphrased and mangled by our former semi-literate president George Dubya', who Trump now makes look like a poet: Fool me once...fool me twice, won't get fooled again.
Please, how stupid can Americans be? On second thought, considering how many Republican zombies refuse to believe on smidgen of Truth, maybe America has every right to be afraid. Very afraid indeed.
DD
Manhattan
4
"But if the president has committed felonies, we also have to figure out how Republicans might be induced to care."
The short answer: "Why should we care? He's ours."
Too many on the right are ideologically, emotionally, politically and materially invested in the Donald Trump presidency to admit that the country and the Constitution are in the most severe crisis mode since the first Civil War. We're immersed in the second.
Here's a simple Petri dish test: if one fraction of the noise surrounding this president had happened under Barack Obama, would No. 44's tenure have been shortened or even terminated? And if the answer is yes, who would have led the charge(s) to remove him from office?
In no particular order, could President Obama have survived:
(a) Maria Butina's Russian intervention into the NRA for the purpose of determining (buying) the outcome of the 2016 election?
(b) Vladimir Putin's $50-million "Obama Tower" suite in Moscow?
(c) Hush-hush payments to an adult film "actress" and a former Playboy "hostess?" And we're not even talking about a tape in which he boasts "just grab 'em...it's easy when you're a star."
(d) An "Obama Tower" meeting in New York where "Russian adoptions" was discussed?
(e) His dictation, aboard Air Force One, of a proven lie about what happened at that "adoption" meeting?
(f) A WikiLeaks dump of his opponent's emails?
The Republicans would have been all over No. 44. No. 45? "Well, hold on now, they bleat."
"Induced to care?" Hah!
2
2020?
Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina - just sit back and watch democracy disappear.....
In Vulgaria, who needs democracy?
2
Might be a criminal?
Good lord people, how much proof do you need?
He is trashing the environment for starters .
He is a sick evil man bent on nothing but destruction. Unresolved father issues , his father having been a brute and a bully like Donald. But we are not here to analyze him,
We are here to try to salvage democracy.
Looking grimmer every day.
Clean air and water? Who needs it!
1
the neo-confederacy will NEVER abandon trump. he will be their new Robert e. lee/Jefferson davis/stonewall Jackson.
trump is a traitor, a gangster, and an abomination. indict him and his arrogant spawn. if there's going to be a fight (and there is), might as well throw the first punch. with a bully like trump, the first punch might well end it.
2
Michael Cohen wasn't convicted of anything. He arranged a "plea" deal. The prosecutor doesn't even consider it a conviction. The media doesn't get this.
If someone has committed a crime, charge the person, indict the person, have a trial and then possibly a conviction may arise.
Indictment is not a conviction by any stretch of the imagination. Ask all the death row inmates that have been let go. Or maybe ask the people "wrongfully convicted" in the Whitey Bulger case that was prosecuted by Robert Mueller. Another intellectual midget.
Spreading bad information as e news organization id intellectually bankrupt. Opinions are one thing, bad news reporting is dishonest.
1
@Matt You really don't watch the news do you? Have you actually been in the court room? Cohen was charged. You cannot process a criminal act without being charged. Thats what an indictment is but I guess you its too much to ask for anyone like you to really read the news versus being led like a sheep by trump and his fake news outlets like Fox, Breibart etc. The New York Times reports honest news. It may not be news you like to see but when you have a sitting president who has as many and maybe more indictments than Nixon you have to really use that brain and realize that maybe just maybe you got conned and were gullible enough to believe someone wasn't who they played you to believe they were. Its ok, it happens. You just need to accept it and realize that you voted for a crook and a charlatan.
1
Sounds like so much hate for Trump, which is really an ongoing temper tantrum (circa Nov 2016) by the Democratic “faithful”, who seem to very little faith in the resilience of the country’s cooler heads. A lot of raw emotions, but little concrete factual new info. Lots of disinformation and distracting comments from the usual suspects: CNN; the NYT echo-chamber; and “interview needy” Waters, Blumenthal et al. Meanwhile the Mueller witch-hunt grinds on at taxpayer expense, as the so-called news media waits with “baited breath”, emotional hysterics and political posturing from both Dems and Republicans. With regard to the Stormy/Donald conundrum, we all need to reflect back on the Monica/Bill dilemma for context.
1
"Fair enough. But if the president has committed felonies, we also have to figure out how Republicans might be induced to care."
One way to induce Republicans to care is to start putting their heads on the investigatory chopping block as it were. What did Nunes know and when did he know it? He and his cohorts have actively sought to shut down Mueller's investigation. Why? I think we deserve to hear answers.
But we don't have to focus on any particular Republican. Aside from a few like Flake, pick at random. Put em under the lights and see what kind of slime crawls out.
The bottom line is that it has become blatantly obvious that Trump's administration's corruption is so deep, so manifest there now exists only a binary choice in regards to supporting him. To my way of thinking if you're not decrying Trump and all his sleazebags you are just another co-conspirator in Russia's attempt at subverting democracy.
2
The left is delusional. The former head of the Federal Election Commision and numerous legal scholars including Allen Dershowitz say that since campaign contributions were not used that the payments to the women were a legal private transaction and not a crime To carry this to its logical absurdity anything Trump did to better his chances of winning the election is a crime. What if he had a large personal debt he had neglected to pay for many years and decided to pay it so it would not be made public and make him look bad to potential voters .That would be a crime under this line of thinking So would be spending money on a new haircut and a new wardrobe to look more appealing .Enough of this Democrats. Why not simply try to elect your candidate in 2020 and stop this embarrassing idiocy
3
Have to wonder what else the left can conquer up to attempt to take down President Trump. Hmmmmmmm, hey let's try a Bill and Hillary speaking tour...OK never mind,folks don't seem that interested. They are even having trouble selling tickets at a discount on Groupon.
Oh, I've got it.... President Trump forgot to flush the Oval office toilet....Naw, not serious enough.
Let's re-read those BLACKED out lines in Mueller's report and see if our coded rings can pick up some evil.. Still looking :-(
You folks need to get a new life. Reading the various tabloids around the country, over 90% of the opinions/articles are NEGATIVE against President Trump. Yet his accomplishments continue to pile up, I know, he has Obama's help in the background doing the heavy lifting. Isn't life great
1
@Jane blanda. What accomplishments are mounting up? Tax cut for all his rich buddies while the rest of us mortgage our children? Threatening to close down the government unless he gets his multi-billion dollar wall (that Mexico was supposed to pay for)? What planet are you living on?
2
So the Criminal1 will do anything to be reelected.
Mitch McConnell...republican leadership in the senate.
These old white boys don't want anything to change. They are in it for themselves; they do not care about democracy, and they want to stay in power. No checks. No balances. As Trump said during his campaign, " I could shoot someone and they won't come get me." I hold Mitch McConnell and his white male cronies responsible for not reining in the crook(s) in the White House.
2
I am totally convinced, by now, that this president will indeed resign in exchange for a get out of jail free card.
He'll come up with some cockamamey idea which will get his supporters to offer him relieve, and they'll jump on it like a fly onto something flies jump on to.
Trump’s deplorable followers mindlessly chant “lock her up” at his Nuremberg style hatefests about women political opponents, yet the only persona who are in danger in prison are Don the Con and his criminal associates. Yet they keep chanting their hate; completely unaware who is in danger of prison.
These crowds are truly comprised of clueless deplorables.
2
Let us prepare now for action, because President Trump will not leave office of his own accord - ever. If he's impeached by Democrats, he won't leave, and nobody will make him leave. If/when he loses re-election, he will call the election a fraud, as he did his own victorious election.
Pack your bags. There may come a day when millions and millions of us may have to march on Washington and remove this blowhard would be tyrant ourselves.
1
What are the chances he’ll be put in the same cell as Cohen?
Don’t dismiss the grifter.Remember Donnie’s mantra ‘We’ll see about that soon.’ Are you as sick of that as I am?
Another 4 years of Trump would be disastrous for America and democracy. He is the antithesis of a democratic president and a synonym for an incompetent autocratic thug.
“This president has potential prison exposure.” With his army of lawyers this deviant man has managed to dodge many bullets, but assuredly his day will come when he can no longer rant, bully, blame, cheat and destroy the lives of those who have dared cross his path - a truly loathsome person who indeed deserves to wear orange, and it would be wonderful complement to that dyed mop.
2
I'm old enough - just barely - to remember Nixon. Have we all forgotten?
Some say that adaptation is our most important human endeavor. It must be true that Americans in general are tired of Trump and his antics - and his crimes - as it is also true that the Republican Party in our legislature is silent about this behavior and his crimes.
It seems that half the people of America have gotten used to Trump and the other half support him - in some cases vehemently.
I have but one simple suggestion to restore our democracy: "Lock him up!"
2
What would you do if a crook assaults your home, trying to steal, perhaps even kill as needed, to escape with the booty? Well, here we have a most vulgat bully that did, indeed, assault the White House and is stealing our democracy. And sitting idle and not calling the police may be tantamount to cowardice, even complicity, especially on the part of a republican- controlled legislative body...supposed to put the brakes on a runaway presidency.
2
I hope Trump ends up being a two-term President - as long as the first one is in the White House and the second one is in prison.
4
Putin would almost certainly be willing to begin a phony dust up in the Ukraine to help his flunky pose as a war-time President, rallying the country to support his re-election. Putin wants our country damaged still further.
Maybe the only way to get this unbelievably destructive clown out of our lives is to fully pardon him and his family, but even that might not work. Trump must continue to think that he's a "winner," not someone we detest.
Forget the 2016 election -- it's over. How we got to where we are today is that Republicans in Congress have broken their oath, which each one swore on the bible, to protect and uphold the Constitution. Republicans can end this national nightmare and downward spiral anytime they want, but they are much more concerned with their own seats, money, and power to act. They are all a disgrace. Jefferson is rolling over in his grave with disgust.
1
The media and liberals have already decided he’s guilty. I am waiting for charges to be filed, so far NOTHING! Until when is the Mueller investigation going to last?until they find something they can charge him with? It’s been two years and they have not charged him with anything. He will win in 2020...if he runs.
1
Holiday gift idea: Give Trump "Individual 1" vanity plates!
1
What's truly amazing is that Trump wasn't indicted and imprisoned before he became president. Even more amazing is that more than 60 million voted for a self-professed fraudster, conman and sexual predator. Those 60 million still don't realize that Vladimir Putin won the election helped along by the cowards in the Republican party.
3
Trump apparently does represent the Republican Party. Only defeat at the polls matters. Overwhelming disgust by the American people. A certain percentage aways will always harbor the views, the attitudes of Trump, buy into his lies and livel in a fairy tale. But, I am hopeful that anger and disgust will sweep away the garbage that has accumulated in the Republicsn party, itself corrupted by Trump and its desire to do whatever it takes to hold on to power in a changing world.
1
He can't get decent lawyers. He can't recruit a chief of staff. He can't keep his pals out of the clink. Come January, 40 newly Democratic seats will flip the House away from his control.
He can't keep his own administration from telling the truth about climate change, environmental health risks, or his wiseguys' indictable antics. Even if he were to sack Mueller, he can't halt the investigations bearing down on him.
One of these days, he'll have exhausted his usefulness to Putin, and his chums at Fox will garner better ratings by chronicling his ruin than by propping him up.
Prison pallor is the new orange.
1
It isn't "Trump's Justice Department". it's OURS. Mine.
Ms Michelle while I share your unbridled enthusiasm in seeing El Duce doing the Perp Walk, I really think you are getting ahead of yourself. Let Mueller do his thing. This Pres and many around him have done much worse than break campaign finance laws.
I think more & more he is going to get a primary challenge by someone like Kasich. I also think there is a good chance he could resign or choose not to run, esp with the wolves pounding on the door and everything closing in. I am more worried about the damage and utter confusion he continues to rain down on the world & this country day after day.
It's not Trump's Justice Department, it's ours...
Republicans in Congress won't desert Trump unless and until a) adoring Trump voters finally smell the stink and give up on him b) the Russia-funded NRA, Sheldon Adelson, etc. stop funneling money to them and c) they decide that the Trump albatross is just too damaging to their own legacies. I'm not holding my breath.
The very tenor of this piece, that Trump would happily blow up America and American democracy to avoid losing the election, is an imperative that he should be impeached. That’s if branches of government are acting in the best interest of America.
1
Michelle,
You’re never going to change the minds of Trump supporters, but you don’t need to. There are not enough of them to win an election.
If you want to win in 2020, all you’ve got to do is stop promoting the insane neo-liberal agenda that cost you the independent vote in 2016.
Leave Kevin Hart alone, stay away from Star Wars and stop hectoring Rudolph the red nosed reindeer.
The left’s obsession with political correctness and identity politics along with their ceaseless attacks on comedy and free speech turn off independent voters more than corporate personhood.
I would like to share a new moniker for our president: Felonious Trump.
1
@sgoodwin@Nicholas
I believe the Real Clear Politics recent poll had him @ 47%. To answer your question How Is He Still So Popular, I offer you the following:
*3% GDP
*No North Korea rocket or nuclear tests. Visit. Dialogue.
* Assad not gassing his people
*NATO paying more for their collective defense
*Depleted military strengthened to eliminate "not combat ready"
*NASA finally supported with Lander on Mars
*DHS deports over 2,000 felons to make us safer
* USMCA helping US farmers and others
*Energy independence. Keystones and ANWAR access will help
*Criminal justice reform legislation WH has to push more
*etc.
He does what he says
Obama said what he will do
The difference is profound
Trump is driven by doing what he promised and no more apology tours. He just wants a little fairness and balance from left and MSM
Have at it!
Michelle,
Most of America, certainly the Right and center, and probably many on the Left, doesn’t care whether Trump paid off porn stars to keep quiet about his extramarital affairs. Doesn’t care whether Trump looked into building a Trump tower in Moscow. And doesn’t care whether Trump people met with Russians.
What do most Americans care about? Jobs, income, healthcare, and safety.
The sooner the Democrats get that, the better.
So sitting Presidents can not be indicted? Apparently that goes double for lying Presidents.
"After two years of hearing people say we were all trigger-happy on impeachment, now I’m hearing we’re all constitutional fraidy-cats." - Jamie Raskin
Well, that DOES sum up the Democrats' usual M.O. on a lot things.
A POTUS commits federal crimes and commits treason with a hostile foreign power to get into office, but he gets to stay in office because he won the office.
His party has lied to their voters for over a decade and are now afraid of those same voters because they believe the lies they've been told by their party.
There is nothing anyone can do about any of it because you can't indict a criminal POTUS because he's POTUS.
We're in full-blown fascism, (it will be another year before media figures that out) but we have to take it for the next two years.
Republicans have two years to solidify their power, change laws in their favor, instill more fear, tell more lies, destroy the economy and environment, the rule of law, ethics, and the good-faith of the American voter, and we have no mechanism in place to stop it. We just get to watch.
Huh?
What exactly is Trump doing in the interests of our national security that he can't be indicted? There's a strong argument that he's an active threat to national security.
3
@Michael
How about North Korea? Or the Ukraine and Russian intrusions. Iranian sanctions? Middle East peace would be great. It's been reported the US will soon roll out a Israeli - Palestinian peace plan?
Then there are those two Russian bombers that just arrived in Venezuela.
Please no Trump loves Putin comments.
Nice pivot from collusion to campaign violations. Whoah. That's is? Seriously?
For all this assumption of prison, you're assuming there'll be a conviction. Campaign finance violations may warrant a fine. Ask Obama. If it goes to court, it is hard to prove. Ask Edwards.
No, this is not going anywhere. Just more wishful thinking that this is finally the end of Trump. He's not going anywhere any time soon.
23
@Bret Thoman
Best I agree.
By far most of the inditements have been for lying. Some say this indicates a weak set of facts. Campaign Finance is even weaker. There is a high bar to prove intent. McCarthy says DOJ choses often to not even prosecute. If Trump's attorneys can prove that he would have made the payments even without a campaign - it results in another Edwards verdict. Derschowitz indicates this in legal prosecutions is akin to "jay walking."
Obama and Holder decided the FEC was more preferable than DOJ. What puzzles me is his violations in 2008, based of my search, only became public on Jan. 4, 2013 when Maggie Habberman, then at Politico, devulged the fine et.. This conveniently was just "after" Obama started his second term?
Has anyone else has found an earlier public reporting of this I would like to see it.
1
@Bret Thoman
Bret I agree.
By far most of the inditements have been for lying. Some say this indicates a weak set of facts. Campaign Finance is even weaker. There is a high bar to prove intent. McCarthy says DOJ choses often to not even prosecute. If Trump's attorneys can prove that he would have made the payments even without a campaign - it results in another Edwards verdict. Derschowitz indicates this in legal prosecutions is akin to "jay walking."
Obama and Holder decided the FEC was more preferable than DOJ. What puzzles me is his campaign violations in 2008, based of my search, only became public on Jan. 4, 2013 when Maggie Habberman, then at Politico, devulged the fine et.. This conveniently was just "after" Obama started his second term?
If anyone else has found an earlier public reporting of this I would like to see it.
1
@Bret Thoman
Correct. Sad.
3
I know that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty. But Trump's corruptness and malfeasance is becoming more obvious and irrefutable with each passing day. If proof is to be found re Trump's breaking the law during his campaign and even after, I believe it is Congress's Constitutional duty to begin impeachment proceedings. Yes, it is time-consuming, messy, and polarizing. But if this man is allowed to stay in office because of Congress's weakness, irresponsibility, and in the case of his GOP abetters, amorality, we threaten the very tenets and principles which sustain and nourish a healthy democracy. Let us stand back for a few minutes and replay in our minds' eyes the events, lies, manipulations, and exploitations of this inept, unhinged Individual-1. And let us remember how half this nation has allowed it to continue. Trump once said that he could walk down 5th Avenue and shoot someone.... and get away with it. Well, guess what? Metaphorically he is, and he relentlessly threatens our rights, our bodily health, our physical environment, even our very identities if not White or Christian. He will never go to prison, because like Nixon he will be pardoned if the next president is Republican. (God, help us!) But this man absolutely must be called upon to pay dearly for his egregious behavior and character, no ifs or buts about it.
1
Wouldn't it be wonderful to see Trump in prison? He already eats badly so the food won't bother him.
Ah - just daydreaming. America does not throw its upper-echelon criminals in jail - that is reserved for turnstile-jumpers and other members of the unwashed.
2
"...a pardon...would also be deeply corrosive, unless it was offered in return for his resignation." Substitute "because" for "unless" and you've got a sentence that makes sense. I believe we will all be in need of a shower when the full extent of Trump's treason and venality is exposed. Can you imagine?
"Yeah, it's true that I betrayed my country, actively tried to cover up the murder of a Washington Post journalist, did my best to destroy the environment, sowed hatred for anyone who isn't white and Christian, allowed my cabinet members to wantonly break the law, told and then repeated thousands of lies in an all out assault on the truth, and used the mighty and solemn office of the presidency to enrich myself and my family. And hey, it was fun while it lasted. But I have to hand it to you, America--you finally got me. So just give me a pardon and I'll be on my way."
If we are idiotic enough to allow that to happen, then we should all just plant a banana tree in the backyard before joining the caravan surging toward the Canadian border.
1
You got it all wrong. The rallying cry of 2020 will be "lock him up!", literally, not "lock her up". And you can bet we'll move to NV, AZ, TX or whereever our votes will count toward sending Trump to the Big House. Anywhere but CA. Just imagine the Democratic fervor at the prospect of locking the orange one up.
Trump may end up being a three-term President: the first two in the White House, the third in prison.
2
The only thing that has become crystal clear to the voting public is the FBI's double standard for witness's lying and their own agents personal desires to get Trump at what ever the cost. Hillary and her cohorts lied left and right with no charges. The FBI was already planning to let Hillary go long before her investigation was finished and before she was even questioned. And then of course there's the liberal left media's double standard. We won't touch Hillary but we'll get Trump.
@Harrison
The only thing that has become crystal clear is how delusional the President's most hardcore supporters are.
1
If Trump were a democrat there is no doubt he would be in the crosshairs of insanely rabid republican legislators and their constituents everywhere. The fictional conspiracy network of the right would be in full out red flag and wailing sirens mode screaming for an immediate public lynching for these traitors to democracy.
The contrast here is so vivid that its is almost blinding. We now actually and factually have an un-indicted accused co conspirator at the helm of the US and the rabid right is furious that the rule of law dare be imposed on their man.
Given the facts of this matter it is next to impossible to view Trump and his criminal cabal of supporters as anything other than traitors to this country, traitors to democracy, opponents to the rule of law, proponents of political double standards.
To be fair we all knew before Trump that these were very compromised Americans. The difference now is that Trump has delivered their agenda from the shadows into the light of day and they seem quite proud of their hateful fear mongering divisional ways. The onus is now on the backs of good and decent Americans everywhere to loudly say no more to their un-American ways.
2
"But if the president has committed felonies, we also have to figure out how Republicans might be induced to care."
Convincing the 5-10% of reasonable Republican/swing voters is doable.
Convincing The Deplorables, who make up 30-35% of the electorate is a lost cause; their either too brainwashed, too tribalistic, or too ignorant to care.
(Yes, I intentionally used the word "ignorant." Ignorant means something different than "stupid." They might not be stupid, but they are igtnorant. And they're usually proud of that fact.)
Convincing Republican office-holders? I'm afraid that they've proven that that's a lost cause too. They're too power-hungry. They're too beholden to corporate donors. They're too beholden to rigid dogma of organizations like the NRA and Right to Life. And worst of all, they've jettisoned their basic ethics and morality, and care more about their own power than the good of their country. Truly, Trump COULD shoot someone on 5th Ave, and they wouldn't care.
In other words, they've become part of The Deplorables too.
The only way for truth and justice to prevail is for Dems to:
1) Win more elections, to excise the rotting infection of the Right.
2) Use all of their nasty political tricks (like obstructionism and gerrymandering) to cement our power.
3) When this generation of Deplorables dies off and gets outnumbered by reasonable citizens, ease the country back into bipartisan normalcy.
1
WHY won't Democrats consider impeachment?
The argument that impeachment made Clinton more popular is specious, and seriously wrong. Let me remind you, in the next election cycle, George W Bush squeaked out a win and created mayhem, Republicans began gerrymandering almost every state until they are now in effective control of every state house, and impeachment guru Newt Gingrich's third wife, with whom he was cheating on his second wife (never mind the first wife) is now the ambassador to the Vatican.
Come on Democrats. We didn't elect you to be passive cheerleaders for these anti-democracy goons. DO SOMETHING, for God's sake. That includes you, Nadler.
It’s foolish to speak of impeachment for campaign violations. Who really cares if the charlatan paid off a couple of “lovers”? The Slovenian high school graduate and national security staffing advisor isn’t concerned, why should we be?
Wait for the Russian story to emerge. Trump couldn’t borrow a dime from a legitimate bank after stiffing his lenders in Atlantic City. It was reported right in this publication in 2016 how the failed condo project in SoHo was financed by Russian and Kazak money. Look for the shoe to drop with Jarad’s rescue deal for this bad 666 6th Ave building- a advance-paid 99 year lease from Qatar?
These criminals are about much more than porn stars and Playboy “models”. Let’s not be distracted by nonsense.
2
I don't really care whether or not Trump ends up in prison. I hear that Idi Amn's old villa in Jeddah is vacant: that works for me.
1
I do not think the Republicans will come out against Trump no matter what even if Mueller were to produce a video tape of Trump handing our nuclear launch codes to Putin while simultaneously urinating on the Crucifix. But seriously, if Russia is our enemy (and they are), when do we start talking about acts that are either outright treasonous or at the very least traitorous? I believe Mueller is building a case so severe that we may be talking at least along the lines or traitorous acts.
At this point there is nothing too illegal, too abhorrent, too fraudulent, too life threatening to US citizens that Trump could do that would result in him losing support from the Republican senators and representatives. Aiding, if not in some cases abetting a President that has been committing traitorous acts is one heck of an indictment for an entire party to bear.
3
There is another possibility not mentioned. The Senate also turns Democratic - overwhelmingly so, and the President is re-elected. He is then impeached. Also, there is no rule that NYS can not indict a sitting President. Expect charges from NY AG. Expect charges on tax avoidance on his inherited wealth, and his fake foundation. Even If he avoids jail time, his brand is toast. He ran for President in part to increase the luster on his brand, not recognizing that if he won, he would be subject to intense scrutiny that has revealed misdeeds of all kinds.
There are valid reasons to oppose Trump and to vote against him in 2020, but this hush money indictment is ridiculous. Two women wanted to tell the world they slept with Donald Trump. He wanted them not to. Apparently, asking them politely to keep a private affair private didn't work, so Trump tried instead to buy their silence. To only the most virulent I-hate-Trump-so-much-I-am about-to-spontaneously-combust viewpoint is this activity a "violation" of election finance laws. Prosecutorial discretion in this case put its thumb down as hard as it could against Trump. The indictment's claim that paying hush money to mistresses and then NOT DISCLOSING IT is a "perversion of democracy" is simply ludicrous.
A little perspective here. The "crime" isn't paying hush money. Rich folks do it all the time. Trump himself is the brand, so paying to protect the brand perfectly within the law, and a justified reason. The "crime" is not reporting it. That is exactly why Obama's campaign had to pay one of the biggest FINES in US election history, not reporting various donations. There was no investigation. No suggestions of criminality by Obama. The Justice Dept didn't lift a finger. They just fined Obama's campaign, and that was that. So now given that perspective, Michelle, and the rest of the Trump hating media, are attempting to create this narrative by suggesting Trump is a criminal, who could be impeached or got to jail over nor reporting this hush money. Even further still, that hes an illegitimate President because his voters didn't know this about him. Setting such a standard means every dime a candidate spends, especially of his own money, could be construed as "attempting to influence the election".
Just wondering if you folks have given this any thought, or are you just blindly allowing this media to lead you around by the nose?
So we incentivize committing felonies in order to win the presidency? Maybe you're not sure your campaign fraud will get you elected (and therefore earn you a "get out of jail" card), so why not make SURE you win by murdering your opponent? *
That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
* Hypothetical for illustration purposes only, ignores statute of limitations longer than 8 years.
If Trump’s a criminal, maybe we can get McConnell and the rest of the senate on aiding and abetting.
1
The only way to induce Republicans to care is to offer them money.
1
The Democrats should not focus on what happens to Trump after 2020,
Rather, they must concentrate on making his current tenure as short as possible. The daily damage he’s inflicting on this country has to be stopped by all means, the sooner the better.
I prefer seeing him walk away “Scott Free” now than having him serve as president one more day.
3
It is for this very reason, exposure to the criminal law once he leaves office, that perhaps stops him from resigning. He will not, cannot therefore resign unless and until he receives a bulletproof pardon from his successor. If Pence guarantees such a blanket pardon, then Trump will leave. However, the question becomes would Trump trust assurances from Pence in advance, since Pence could withdraw clemecy as Trump walks out the WH door.
The Rule of Profit and Power has more of a grip on the present Republican Party than The Rule of Law...Thank-you for this article, but until the Republicans consistently come to terms with this idea of our Democracy we will be continuing to go the path we are heading....as in today's social media I tag Lindsay Graham, et al...Senators get a grip on what has happened to your Party of Lincoln...
4
Just as world wars tend to last 4 years, this battle for the rule of law in America will last 4 years, and all those on the side of truth and justice should gird themselves for that.
Trump has been right about exactly one thing, that he could commit murder in times square and neither the GOP congress or his "base" would care at all.
Both Mitch McConnell and Orin Hatch are ON RECORD that they "don't care" about Trump's felonies to date, and FOX news will brainwash the base to rationalize away the issues as "not that bad" compared to "whatever Hillary did".
The GOP Senate will not act, and it will be clearly established that the rule of law does not exist in the GOP/KOCH/FOX axis of evil.
There is only one way back to representative democracy; short term the Democratic and Independent majorities must vote out Trump and the GOP Senate in 2020, and then long term REPEAL CITIZENS UNITED to shut down the slide toward oligarchy/kleptocracy. Read John Dingell's article in The Atlantic.
6
@GFM
first Mr Hatch will no longer be part of the august membership of the Senate in 3 weeks.
Second only a minute slice of the population (one percent or so) watches Fox News.
It is the large slice of the population that is either sufficiently stupid to realize they are being lied to, or too uninvolved with their own future and that of their children, more interested who wins the Voice and the power that must shoulder a portion o0f the blame. Democracy presupposes an informed electorate, not one that can be tricked into voter suppression and gerrymandering. And that is what we have, a country with tooo many "don't cares", too many "don't knows".
Let me get this straight, ("No person is above the law" *)
* Except Presidents who can't be indicted while in office.
Where in the US Constitution does this article reside?
Oh, it's not in the US Constitution, it's just policy.
Then, a sitting President can be indicted, if the policy is amended. Right?
9
@Denis E Coughlin
and the present acting AG, and whoever Trump nominates are just going to amend this? Sure! And I've got a bridge to sell you.
First, the argument that Justice Department policy forbids indictment of a sitting president has no application here. That policy does not anticipate that the criminal conduct at issue is exactly that enabled by Trump's being in office, i.e. destruction of our country and ignoring multiple laws over and over - every agency is being gutted, allies are now alienated and treaties are broken, our national security is being sold for his personal gain, and he is always lying, lying, lying. The issue is not whether prosecution would interfere with his ability to govern, the issue is that it must happen because his corruption and crimes are enabled as long as he holds office.
As to impeachment for campaign crimes, I'm more in favor of impeachment for treason, obstructing justice and campaign crimes. They tie together all of his actions to ignore laws in favor of his own gain, the pattern of his whole life. Selling our country to Russia, Saudi Arabia and others for his personal gain is the most important. Tie them together and rid us of this criminal.
8
@Eero
you are flat out wrong when you say "First, the argument that Justice Department policy forbids indictment of a sitting president has no application here"
The sad and stark reality is that Mueller's mandate does not include the ability to, on his own, decide to indict the President.
The reality is that the Attorney General of the U.S. would have to approve such an attempt to indict. IF the new presumed AG, Barr, does not recuse from anything involved with Mueller, we are still faced with having whomever is in charge of Mueller having to allow the attempt to indict.
In this context the best we can hope for is that Rod Rosenstein has already allowed Mueller to get a secret Grand Jury indictment against Trump or a secret order to release Mueller's full report to Congress in the case Trump fires him to close down the investigation.
Pelosi faces a difficult problem. Allow the house-majority fringe members to drive the decision, much as the House Freedom Caucus has driven republican decisions for the last 6 years, or to stand up to the fringes of her own party and make sure that impeachment proceedings are based on smoking-gun evidence that even the most partisan republican cannot brush off, ignore, or support.
Since republicans have become the catamites of the Russian Tsar Putin, it is unlikely that anything less than that smoking-gun, or a collapse of our economy, will change their minds towards backing Trump
When public opinion hits the toilet for Trump, the GOP will cease to care out of their own selfishness and turn on Trump for their own selfishness. The base is insignificant here, they are a willfully ignorant reality denying group that will never be swayed (unless they lose their jobs, hold the phone...), and are only a collegial electorate majority, not popular. Repealing the The CRA, pardons, indictments, impeachment, forget about it. Today is the time to rally for 2020. We must earn the house, the senate, the Presidency. Then, and only then, can we change the laws to ensure this never happens again. Focusing effort on impeaching or jailing Trump is Trumpian. It’s vindictive, short-sighted, mean and useless since he will be pardoned. His impotence for the rest of his term is guaranteed. What is not guaranteed is that a criminal tyrant, from any party, can get elected by the minority and dismantle choices legislated by the majority. This is about the long game, and keeping Trump in office, with all the risk, is worth it if Democrats can get a super majority and a real president by allowing the Chief Apprentice to continue showing us as much as he can’t do.
2
During the past two years republicans have tasted the forbidden fruits of authoritarian rule and found it quite tasty. Not one of their leaders at the federal or state level has pushed back one iota. It's apparent to me that the roots of corruption, Russian and otherwise, run very deep across the entire party, their propaganda arm (fox 'news'), their militant arms organization (NRA), their alt-right think tanks and anonymous money-laundering PACs, and their five justices on the Supreme Court. I truly believe they will destroy this country before they willingly give up power. Every single day I expect the worst from them and they never disappoint. Never.
12
Kasich/Haley 2020. Let’s all make it happen.
1
@Midwest Josh: No. No more republicans. They always mess everything up. Always.
@Midwest Josh
Sorry, but until the Republican Party shows an interest in the rule of law, rejects "fake news," and acknowledges reality, all Republican politicians are suspect.
He'll resign in January after losing the election and receive a pardon from Pence.
1
The Republicans are led by old white men who seem to have lost any semblance of a moral compass. Yesterday, Orrin Hatch told a reporter he "didn't care" if Trump act illegally. That pretty much sums up the situation on that side of the Senate. Democracy is predicated on some minimal commitment to law and decency from its leaders. If we are to preserve this democratic republic, we must find a true conservative alternative to Republicans. The GOP is a dead party walking. The country needs a true conservative voice.
4
Consider the possibility that Trump will not get the Republican nomination for president in 2019. That would be unprecedented, but more evidence of criminality is sure to emerge by then, and denying him the nomination will probably start looking like an increasingly attractive way to derail his crazy train.
1
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
@Larry Greenfield One of your most skillfully crafted limericks. The rhymes are brilliant. I am in awe. Oh, and I agree with the substance too.
@Gnirol Thank you.
Let us not forget the possibility of seeking asylum for the entire family in a Trump-friendly country, say, Russia. I'm sure he will much prefer avoiding the prison walls and welcome riding horses with Putin.
1
@Cemal Ekin
Once Trump is of no use to Putin, he will be discarded. No riding horses with him!
1
@Mike in New Mexico, don't forget the money he would bring to Putin! Never underestimate the power of the dark money.
Many esteemed legal scholars are making the correct assertion that the Constitution does not forbid indictment of a president. It in fact requires indictment in a case like this.
The Department of Justice guideline is just that, a guideline. It is an opinion that did not take into account a crime boss conspiring with foreign enemies to steal office and fill his own pockets. It did not envision a criminal syndicate operating from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, with an annex in the Republican caucus at the other end of town.
It is imperative that he be indicted, along with his coconspirators.
6
Looks like prison to me. And it looks like most Republican senators will have to be indicted as coconspirators if they continue to ignore Trump's criminal conduct.
8
Perhaps someone( possibly the leaders of the Republican Caucus) will make trump an offer he can’t refuse( as happened to Nixon) resign or be impeached. Thrown out of office and into the arms of the SDNY. The system might be working. The voters gave some power back to the dems( they can investigate ). The justice department is revealing facts that ratchet up the pressure. Trump seems to be flailing. He looks slightly hysterical.
3
You don't understand how a con man works. Telling him he'll be indicted if he leaves office is a reason to never leave office.
If Gotti could manage from jail I'm sure DJT will do just fine. Nice role model, Don.
1
A DOJ 'guideline' is not the same as a law.
Challenge and overturn the 'guideline'!
And extend the statutes of limitations on political crimes!
If tRump serves no time in jail, then the rule of law in the US is OVER. Dead. Buried.
Put that pariah where he belongs, whatever it takes politically!
4
Working Americans get fired if they don't do the job they were hired to do. Republicans in Congress aren't doing the jobs they were hired to do and they deserve to be fired. A refresher: “I, _____ , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
3
I despise Trump BUT- putting him in jail should not be in the cards. Ford pardoned Nixon to avoid that result-no President should be jailed except in for the most grievous crimes. Violating campaign finance laws is not one of them. Its best he be cast out and with a scarlet letter placed over him and that the name Trump become synonymous with trash. That everyone associated with him be forever tainted. All of this is the best lesson that America can be taught as to whom we should elect to the office of President. He should be tossed out like a dirty rag-but not imprisoned.
@Den Had Nixon at least been tried i.e. had Gerald Ford thought of the long-term consequences of his decision for the Republic, instead of the short-term discomfort the nation would have faced during and following a trial, regardless of the outcome, would Donald Trump and his associates have been so glib in apparently breaking laws and committing obstruction of justice with that precedent having been set? As it was, knowing he was home free, Nixon became a sort of elder statesman, not reviled by the whole nation, the sort of person who got his books published and was interviewed by Barbara Walters. And before VP Pence makes up his mind what he would do if his boss is impeached and convicted, or chooses to resign, he should consider that then-Pres. Ford lost the 1976 election to a man who has been perhaps the greatest ex-president we've ever had, but was not exactly a fireball of a campaigner for the job. He was a nice guy, earnest, and untainted by scandal. Then again, that could also have described Ford, except for the scandalous pardon. It was close, close enough that the pardon, though two years earlier, might have decided the election in Jimmy Carter's favor. Take heed, Mr. Pence.
@Den
This argument is baseless. No person is above the law.
As the Justice Walls close in, TrumpBannon will manufacture a low-risk foreign invasion, say, landing on the shores of Venezuela (think Abyssinia, 1936). Trump is not even a dictator, he's single-cell organism who combs his hair more often than he reads intelligence reports. He'll blow up the country to save his golf equipment. Goppers are doorstoppers. When the chaos hits the markets, and employment soars, and interest rates, the House of Trump will fall.
2
It would be a travesty, perhaps a nail in the coffin of our democracy, if politics 'trumps' justice if the justice department does not indict the President and/or Democrats do not proceed with impeachment. There is already enough evidence to go forward! No one is above the law has to be a singular theme!!! here not caution.
I am still incredulous that anyone would have voted for the guy. I know of two people for sure because they told me that they voted for him. One I can understand. He suffers from PTSD so his behavior is rational to a degree. The other, well that I don't understand other than to tell myself she is like the Grifter-in-Chief. What is in it for me?
1
So Michelle is worried a democratically elected President would evade prosecution. Odd position? Even more outrageous is the clearly unconstitutional suggestion to extend the statute of limitations ex post facto. Finally she quotes as validation of her assertions "former prosecutor" Swalwell, who is a wannabe candidate who was an assistant DA in a backwater California county for a few years after graduating from a second rate law school. Besides, he is a white male.
"Our best hope [to mitigate the peril to our democracy] may lie in the emergence of irrefutable evidence of further presidential crimes, enough to finally test the tolerance of at least some fraction of Republicans."
Test Republicans tolerance of a felon in the White House? That's our best hope? That's what the fate of America's democratic republic has come down to?
The current crop of Republicans in Congress and state houses around the country (Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina and more) are openly, arrogantly subversive of democracy. More than that their voters - Trump's chumps - are first-order banana-republicans.
Our democracy is failing. Our institutions, principles, rules of governance, along with truth and reality, are all under frontal attack by an authoritarian cabal (known as the Republican Party), their Fox propaganda outlet and their Fox fed voter fools.
What a sad, pathetic way for the American experiment to collapse. And it is collapsing. This is what the felon Trump presidency signals. He didn't do it by himself. He is the end product of the Republican cabal and Fox. They are the Trojan Horse within our borders. So how do we fight this peril?
Our best hope to mitigate the peril to our democracy lies in the outrage of patriotic Americans. Republicans and their deplorable voters, fed by Fox and led by Trump, must be confronted with enormous outrage of hundreds of millions of good patriotic Americans. We must let them know,
We won't take it anymore!
2
Imagine this scenario with any Democrat in office. I don't think there'd be any debate. They'd be gone, possibly on the way to jail.
1
Mr. Trump is guilty as charged.
1
I loathe Trump, and he has committed a crime here. Yet I don’t think this particular crime is as bad as others he has probably committed.
A rich candidate can put as much of their own money as they want into their campaign. So if he had declared the payments it would have been perfectly legal. Yes, he tried to hide the payments, yes it was a crime. No, he probably doesn’t deserve to go jail for *this* crime.
"Under Justice Department guidelines, sitting presidents can’t be indicted." That is not the law but a recommendation and I am tired of seeing it blazoned across the news.
If and when he and his cabal are indicted and charged he needs to be removed. America will not survive having a felon as a 'sitting president'.
Constitutional fraidy-cats beware. The majority of Americans can call, email, and write Congress for impeachment and removal and we will.
"And Democrats won’t be able to uphold the general principle that in American elections, losing doesn’t mean personal ruination, because for Trump it will and it should." Heard the same thing said about LBJ for bombing Vietnam, about Nixon for covering up Watergate, about Ford for pardoning Nixon. I think Carter was let off the Democratic Party hook. Reagan was to be imprisoned for Iran-Contra, Bush for invading Iraq, Clinton for cutting welfare, lying in a deposition, sexually molesting several women, and for bombing Kosovo. Bush and the UK's Blair were threatened by the left for invading Iraq. I think Obama was left alone although many wanted Hillary tried by Benghazi. Now Trump is targeted with everything for anything from being rich to wearing a wig, eating McDonald's, having a beautiful wife, and now for campaign finance violations. Lock him up is the cry. And when we are finished with him, as Congresswoman Waters says, we can aim for Pence. I've been reading Soviet history and this reminds me so much of the sort of blood thirsty antics of the Bolsheviks. Is it to be lock them up or line them up?
1
Republicans might be "induced to care" only by being voted out of office. As long as they can hang on to their seats, they would stick with Satan if he was the head of the party. The Republicans who have shown they care, like Bob Corker and Jeff Flake, had to leave office - because they cared, and dared to speak.
It wasn't much of a democracy to start with. The Constitution doesn't even trust Americans to select their own president. Instead, we are saddled with a convoluted system of selection that gives superior voting power to the less populated states. Now we have a moronic president who obviously prefers fascism to democracy. Our democracy, such as it is, might not recover from this chasm.
2
For everyone commenting here I pose a question: out in rural America how many folks are reading The NY Times? They are watching Fox or reading their local newspaper, and more likely than not the local paper is conservative. They no doubt see Trump, the strong bull-headed guy they liked and voted for, as a victim and a hero.
Their legislators are never, ever going to vote against Trump on anything. The sooner we liberals figure this out and treat these folks with some level of civility the more likely they will be to be more critical of Trump. A lot of their support for Trump stems from the fact that they don’t like big-city people telling them what to do and treating them like rubes... which is commonplace in liberal publications.
I’m a liberal and a Hoosier and think Trump is a vile human being. But... I get mad to when the coastal folk speak of Midwesterners in an ugly way, refer to the “flyover zone” and the like.
1
Ford set a horrible president. Pardoning a felon who gained his power through crimes. It seemed Ok at the time and made better by Carter beating Ford. But if Nixon was not pardoned and went to prison would it been a warning to future office seekers?
2
What a horrible, despicable person Trump is, and has been, in plain sight, all his life. How anyone could have voted for him, knowing exactly what he was, defies reason. Knowing that millions of people thought so little of the future of the country or knew and cared so little about our Constitution is cause for grief on an epic scale. The last two years have been an unrelenting, obscene nightmare. Every day the paper reports some new horror: Trump promotes fossil fuels, erodes clean water protections, threatens to destroy ANWR, rolls back protections for endangered species, praises murderous regimes, insults our allies, supports criminals running for office, tries to destroy healthcare, gives for-profit colleges free rein to swindle students, abuses the military by sending them to the border to play a political stunt, insults and defames good people. And the relentless lying, the defamation of the presidency. It’s beyond obscene.
What is even more heartbreaking is that the Republicans stand by and let it happen. They could not care less that America is being destroyed. They’re throwing fuel on its funeral pyre.
2
Easy-peasey
Trump loses in 2020
Trump resigns in the lame-duck session
Pence becomes President for two months
Pence pardons Trump
Both retire in January 2021 and start their Presidential Libraries
Isn't American democracy great!
If Trump's campaign violation of not declaring $250k (far from being proved to be a violation, since if it benefitted him in general, and it did, it's not a violation) would lead to jail, then Obama for his $2m violation would be in jail for life.
The NYT wants to ratchet excitement, but the punishment is just a fine. $350k for Obama.
The punishment for Trump would be a few tens of thousands, the cost of a golf weekend...
But Trump should be reelected. Selling US coal to the sanctimonious Earth savers in Katowice is priceless.
Don’t wait for Republicans’ opinions to be swayed. Republicans — like all politicians — will change their opinion only after the public has changed theirs. Meanwhile, the public that the Republicans care about are the fringe conservatives who vote in their primaries. Convincing this less-than-quartile of Americans is a fools errand.
Democrats need to show backbone, put aside calculated reservations and squeamishness, and move decidedly forward based on facts uncovered by the Special Counsel and NY Attorney General office. It’s time to throw this fool out. If Dems fail in this effort and are rebuked by the American public, then American electorate has demonstrated that it demands propriety from one side (Ds) and let’s crazy garbage fly on the other side (Rs). In that scenario, this confused electorate deserves the sad government it will get.
Before Republicans jump off the Trumptanic, Mueller (or another patriot) will need to show a video of Trump taking a satchel of money from Russians or Saudis. The fact that it has probably happened, unfortunately a video doesn't exist.
Check out Orrin Hatch's most recent hypocritical comment. That should tell you the state of our union.
Only massive street demonstrations will save our democracy.
2
Somehow I think Trump might get away with everything criminal he has done.
Rather than living under fascism, we'll likely have a civil war.
The good news is that the suffering will include congress and Fox News.
They helped create this nightmare and will be sorry they did.
2
“Build that wall!” starts to take on a new meaning.
Chances are slim to none that Trump will even run for re-election in 2020. Our democracy is a powder-keg today and the fuse has already been lit by the Republicans and the most ignorant president in American history. Only by voting can we
Americans hope to put an end to the monstrous and frightening 45th presidency that was voted into office two years ago.
1
Since there is SO much debate over what the Constitution means when it refers to impeachment, I say let the public decide. I would say that bribery, Campaign Finance felonies, mis-use of our troops, profiting from the office would be high crimes against the Citizens of this country, and then there's the fact that 45's a National Security Risk and also not conducting the duties of this office of the Presidency. But again, let's list all the "bad" things he's done and let the public decide if he should be impeached. It is our Right and now our duty to inform our "elected" officials on how to proceed. They don't get to decide, we do.
6
@KatieBear: The public has a vote in whether to recommend impeachment through their representatives in the House. The public voted November 6, 2018. Voters should write, phone or email their representatives to let them know they want impeachment (or not).
I suppose what seems almost missing from this discussion is that Trump did not win the popular vote and I suspect he will not win it again in any 2020 reelection bid. The question does remain how the midterms and changes in State houses have altered the electoral college. We can argue whether he can be effectively impeached or indicted and when but the stop gap is keeping him from being reelected. I do not believe Trump's base is close to the majority of potential voters or will ever be, sympathy vote or not. If those of us who care to see this chapter come to an end by any legal means simply insure the real majority, silent but present turn out to vote we can start to erase this embarrassing chapter to our democracy and reverse some of these retreating global positions whether concerning the environment or migration or...
12
At his point in our history, the only thing we can do is allow the probe into Trump's actions to finish, and be fully understood by all Americans and anyone else who is willing to study what has actually happened.
When we know the truth, we must punish Mr. Trump (and all others who took part), with the punishment being on an equal footing as the crimes. If that is not done, we will have committed a crime ourselves. The punishment meted out must be sufficient to dissuade any other deranged person from attempting what Mr. Trump has tried. We must also deliver a strong message to those people in the government who went out of their way to suborn our laws, and the reasons so many people seeking a better life want to be Americans. If this is not done (and done properly), it will only happen again.
Our laws must henceforth prevent a gangster from taking the power of the US presidency for his or her own gain. There cannot be the chance for a candidate to say they "didn't understand the law", and brush it away. As we have understood regarding other monstrous acts by humans who do not care, this must be a thing we now agree can happen "NEVER AGAIN".
12
In this reader's opinion Trump will be re-elected. The GOP dominated states are making it more and more difficult for minorities to vote. There are other signs that ballots are not being counted even though they are being cast by registered voters who ARE citizens. And there others out there, not necessarily GOP members, who have no qualms about intimidating Latino voters, African American voters, and anyone else they don't like.
Another problem was evident in the 2016 election: Clinton was well qualified to be president. She won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College. There was more of a focus on her problems than there was on Trump. This can be laid directly at the feet of the media, all of it. One last thing: Americans vote with their gut not with their reason. I didn't love Clinton and I could understand Trump's appeal to voters. He did pick up on the anger. But that was not a good enough reason to me to elect him. He was, and continues to be, a menace to democracy.
Watching this presidency and the GOP support for it I'm stunned to see a party, a president, and an administration working in concert to destroy a country for all but the richest in it. It may not matter what happens in 2020. This triumvirate of panderers may have ruined the country for the next 50 years with what they've done. One can hope for the Democrats to slow the damage. Americans need to understand that their votes have consequences: Trump's incompetence is one.
12
It’s due to pent up anger. Conservatives have been apoplectic about Democrats since FDR. Unlike the left that wants a thousand different items on a political platform, the right has played a long game of attrition.
1
Even as you say, this has got to be a substantial concern. The country typically rallies around the President in time of war. Mr T will provoke a war or conflict in order to hold onto power. It could even be a nuclear one if things get out of control. Verrry converging indeed.
4
The JD reading of nonindictability of presidents must be studied and maybe subjected to a test in court. As far as I can tell, the advisement was made by JDs that were charged with protecting the potentially liable presidents. It’s not in the Constitution, and should be subject to review/debate, at very least.
9
Before WWI, the Austro-Hungarian Empire held parliaments where there were 23 different languages spoken, and speeches were given in native tongue, with no interpreters, to no one. Trump is taking the meaning out of our Democracy. No prison, continued watering down of institutions, country, patriotism, democracy, republic.
2
What will make Republican officeholders care about voting for impeachment is the same as it always was: They have to understand that Trump is more toxic to them than their own voters are.
13
It seems to me the Republican's best bet is to vote for impeachment soon and let Pence fill the vacancy. Pence is deeply unsavory IMHO but not insane (a low bar, mind you). He is a practiced public speaker and might be electable as an incumbent in 2020. This would free the GOP from the Trump drama and give them something workable.
Democrats have probably considered this possible scenario.
4
@ecbr
Exactly why the Democrats would be stupid to try and impeach Trump. We need to get rid of Republicans, not just Trump, and running against Pence would be a more difficult task.
Trump is not the problem. Republicans are.
Trump has shown himself to be totally unprepared and inept for any public office, let alone the highest office in our land. Even he admits he did not expect to win so continued his Russian business interests into the campaign.
Republicans were (I believe genuinely) surprised when Trump delivered the White House. But like finding a wallet in the street they picked it up and ran with it. They knew it was wrong - but hey - finders keepers!
Republicans have fallen in line behind Trump because they were already corralled into toe the line behaviour by years of Gingrich, Bush, Cheney, Rove, Grover Norquist, the NRA, Koch and all the others who have taken America down the hard right path since Reagan. It was just the natural thing for them to do. It was in the same general direction. The Republican policy can be summed up simply as "Rule or Ruin".
I honestly don't know of any Republicans who do not support Trump. There is no Resistance .
And let's be clear, it is funded in racism for the most part.
18
The problem with the crimes involved in the election of Trump to the presidency is that is a two-person ticket. If Trump's election was based on fraud, then so was Pence's. Personally I think both should be removed from office and the order of succession should be in effect.
21
So Michelle is worried a democratically elected President would evade prosecution. Odd position? Even more outrageous is the clearly unconstitutional suggestion to extend the statute of limitations ex post facto. Finally she quotes as validation of her assertions "former prosecutor" Swalwell, who is a wannabe candidate who was an assistant DA in a backwater California county for a few years after graduating from a second rate law school.
@No
Are you democratically elected if the majority of the votes go to your opponent? Just asking.
@No If he cheated to get elected he was not democratically elected was he. If he cheated and it can be proven he should be removed because it was not a fair an honest election, just another Trump scam.
"Under Justice Department guidelines, sitting presidents can’t be indicted."
Why? He said his supporters wouldn't care if he shot someone in broad daylight, but what if he did murder someone in broad daylight? Would he serve out the rest of his term as president or would he be incarcerated and indicted as would befit the situation?
6
It's time for all the creditors stiffed by Trump and his family over the years to convene on the National Mall for a massive selfie. Dollars to doughnuts I bet that this group will be much larger than the tiny crowd that attended Colonel Bonespurs inauguration. If you cannot indict a sitting president who broke the law in attaining the presidency, surely you can indict the rest of his family because they have all been actively flouting the law. Orange jumpsuits for all!
11
So a man commits a felonious act which directly facilitates his being elected as President of the United States, as a result of him becoming President, he cannot be prosecuted for this felony which caused him to be President, this is crazy town! How does this discourage other Presidential candidates from doing the same in the future if there are only positive consequences for their crimes? If our democracy is based on the principle that no one is above the law, than what is a President, is he not one of us? This is not how our system is supposed to work and now is the time to fix it.
10
As long as the United States Department of Justice has an outstanding policy opinion that no sitting President of the United States can be indicted prison is not a looming prospect for Donald John Trump,Sr.
As long as there is a Republican President and a Republican majority in Congress supported by Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin and Mohammad bin Salman prison is not likely for Trump.
As long as Donald Trump has solemnly sworn to preserve, protect and defend whatever he is hiding from the American people in his personal and family income tax returns and business records prison is impossible.
As long as Donald Trump can fire Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller and pardon his family and friends prison and any criminal justice consequences and exposure is all shadow, smoke and mirrors.
4
Maybe the best way for the country is for Trump to make a deal now. Resign now and no indictments in the future.
2
"Fair enough. But if the president has committed felonies, we also have to figure out how Republicans might be induced to care."
Elected Republicans and Democrats alike fear losing elections, losing campaign funding and exposure as criminals or abetters of crimes. In addition, today's Republican office-holders fear Donald Trump.
The president and his closest advisors and appointees in the White House are becoming unglued literally as seen in the undisciplined turnover in the executive wings and figuratively as they scramble for cover.
So, to Republican office-holders in Congress, a decision needs to be made whether to fall on the sword for a criminal, incompetent or break away to save their own political lives and more dramatically, their party and arguably the nation.
Ultimately, only the Republicans have the votes to remove Trump from office through conviction in an impeachment trial. As indictments pile up and the walls continue to close in on Trump and his team, removing him might be seen as a prudent course of action and politically courageous.
In fact, removing him from office might be the only choice if Trump possibly becomes even more incoherent and a danger to the world.
2
The only way Senate Republicans will ever join the effort to oust Trump is when the wolf comes knocking on their doors. Once their individual candidacy is in jeopardy, stand back so you don't get trampled in the crush to disown Individual-1.
4
Believe me, it's a curse, but I am driven to look for the root cause in all things, including the current lunacy in our political system. How can this happen in the USA? How did we get so close to being a banana republic? How can 40+% of my countrymen think trump is doing a good job?
The simple root cause of our current dilemma is money in politics. We live in a representative democracy, we are just no longer the ones being represented - that is unless you're a multi-millionaire or a corporation/person (Citizens United). There is nothing inherently bad or evil about money or corporations, but to imagine that they - as a group - have the best interests of our nation as a whole at heart is just silly.
Until we reform our political system to remove the out sized influence of money on politics, we are doomed. That is the root of the particular evil that we now find ourselves engulfed in. Bad news: the chances of the wholly-owned system reforming itself is less than 0. Enter existential crises and feet in the street.
6
"Ye reap what ye sow". , to quote some wise old guy. The Republicans are getting what they deserve so let them have it a while longer. I say lets not rush Mr. Trump off the stage until he has completed his work of setting the Republican party back for a decade. The Speaker of the House quit along with many others, no one wants to work in the White House so I say let it play out and see who else goes down with the S.S.Trump and good riddance to them.
3
I fear that even a Blue Wave in 2020 bring a Democrat in as president and a majority in both the Senate and House will fail as long as we have the corrupt new justices brought in by Trump. Gorsuch and Kavanaugh had corrupt track records beforehand - all that we hold dear will not be upheld in that Third Branch -
We must create term limits to bring that unchecked branch into balance. We must go back to 2/3’s majority approval to get presidents to select more centrist judges. We must make every prior decision and statement public for all of us to see, so they can’t hide behind the black robes and thuggish congressmen and women.
3
So much for the validity of the Electoral College, or Trump University for that matter. Or our Ivy League Law Schools, with their professors sitting on their hands during this crisis.
Regarding the Electoral College, the notion that it assures representation of geographic interests (above individual interests, one person one vote) is what the Russians noticed and exploited to get us in this mess. Think Montana vs. Rhode Island in terms of the geography/population argument.
The Russsians also exploited the fatal flaws of the Senate election system. Two senators per state, regardless of population OR geography. What we end up with are near-senile senators from states with such low populations the necessary votes to elect a senator are lower than that needed to become a mayor or perhaps dog-catcher in New York or California.
That I can tell you. Believe me. Look at the senators rrom the sparsely populated states. Russia is not stupid. We are.
3
Ms. Goldberg has presented voters with a possible dilemma. If Trumps only way to avoid imprisonment is winning a second term, he’ll do it and pull out all stops.
Further complicating the choices is the large contingency of voters who justify their Trump votes based upon a moral equivalency for both candidates—they could not support a woman whose immorality in the public sector was worse than a man's immorality in the private sector—hiding possibly nefarious choices behind non-political ideologies.
That means that Democrats are faced with a very undemocratic choice: Democratic minorities, women, children of immigrants and transgendered people have to step aside and nominate a white male with a platform of clearly articulated desired and achievable political goals; leaving no rocks for voters to hide behind or under.
We found out last night that Maria Butina, a Russian agent, has entered into a plea/cooperation agreement with Mueller. What we know so far is that she infiltrated the NRA to gain favor with far right Republicans, and that the NRA gave 30 million to Trump's campaign--3 times what they gave to Romney. Once she starts to sing, we may find out the reason why so many Republicans continue backing Trump in spite of his obvious unfitness for office.
2
I wish people would stop calling it "his" Justice Department. I know he appoints the AG but Justice belongs to all of us and serves US, not just him and his whims.
19
It would be interesting to see what Republicans would do about impeachment if Trump wouldn't step down for fear of jail time but the election was clearly going to go to a Democrat if he's the Republican candidate.
Would they impeach him so they could run a different candidate?
It's not like their loyalty is actually to Trump.
2
My hope is that come January when the House convenes, with a majority of Democrats, the Mueller investigation will reveal further crimes and misdemeanors committed by diaper Donnie. The more crimes the better. Perhaps then impeachment will be possible.
3
Donald Trump appears to enjoy living in public housing. I say let him do it. In terms that he has shown himself to enjoy recommending for others, it should be done by locking him up.
Taken in their totality, Trump's transgressions are of such breathtaking magnitude that there should be no question of his removal from office. Yet, political realities on both sides of the aisle, and the seriousness of the moment, provide reasons for caution and restraint.
Sadly, most politicians seem to be viewing potential courses of action through their own personal lenses, as if what's good for them individually is good for the country and its people. That is not the case; there is a difference.
There is also a difference between politics and governing, even if they are necessarily intertwined. What we need now is a focus on governing, and the reality that a compromised and hobbled president is incapable of doing the job he was elected to do.
Whether Congress and the judiciary step up and do their own jobs remains to be seen, but as representatives of the American people and stewards of our government, they must hold themselves to a higher standard than does our president.
Then, and only then, will the peoples' interests be served, even if it results in time served for Donald Trump.
5
No one is supposed to be above the law. And yet, the President's answerability to the law is only theoretical, rather than practically possible. Justice Department guidelines hold that we may not indict a siting president. Prudence and politics suggest that impeachment is not currently a viable option (as today's op-ed from Adam Schiff sagely points out). The law prevents prosecution if Trump is re-elected, because the statute of limitations will run. Prudence and politics again suggest that prosecution in the event Trump is not elected would set a dangerous precedent of persecution of political opponents usually only seen in banana republics.
Our laws and institutions give plausible deniability to the statement that the President is not above the law---reality undresses that myth.
8
The key player here is Mitch McConnell. Even if the House were to impeach Donald Trump, McConnell could indefinitely delay conducting a trial. He has experience delaying actions he doesn't want to take, see, for example Merrick Garland. McConnell could also derail any legislation tolling the statute of limitations for criminally charging a president.
9
'The President of the United States is in jail' sounds depressing and depressive for our Nation. 'Demoralizing' is the word that comes to mind. His safest outlet is to remain as a sitting president, where the G.O.P. takes over the governance. True, Paul Krugman earlier wrote that this might be the end of Democracy in America.
If Trump tenders his resignation, it would be the end of his empire and a view in plain sight of the ruined billionaire. For Trump loyalists, it might be more pacific if he were to be found playing golf at his pad in Florida. It would give them hope that he might return as King, one day in the future, and remove this ruler that is preventing our country from moving forth into 2020.
Our vote, having been tampered with, this G.O.P. should be declared void and null. Its greatest accomplishment is to have blocked any effort for a detente, understanding, or bipartisan reconciliation.
The welfare of the country comes first, the commander in chief second, and for the last two years, some of us have sensed a lack of guidance in our current state of affairs; the compass is out of control, and Congress can try to figure out 'what happened', while we prepare for a new administration, one that is well versed in the law of the land and our Constitution.
We are in need of a breath of fresh air.
12
@Miss Ley
What we need is a chief executive who is not an annoying, noisy child's toy. More important, perhaps, than Trump, is determining the motivations and criminality behind those who got him to power and defy our laws to keep him there.
4
@Miss Ley Disagree 100%. Putting this criminal and his coconspirators would send an undeniable message to the world that the United States is a nation of laws, and that we stand by our creeds.
His NOT going to prison is the only wrong outcome
3
@Odysseus,
Good point, and while you are away for the next decade, Penelope may not be awaiting your return.
1
The problem here is that many of these "crimes” were not discovered until the anti-Trump resistance took off. That said, there is a reasonable point here. Like Berlusconi in Italy, Trump may feel safer in power than elsewhere. This creates a bizarre series of incentives not really considered by the Constitution. It's hard to see it playing out well.
9
@Mike Livingston
That’s the reason for the investigation to unearth the facts. In this case they are turning out to be detrimental to trump.
3
Goldberg needs to relax. Lets 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
@Bill Brown, it's strange you would feel that way, living in a state like California where "progressives and their co-dependents" as you put it have effectively destroyed the GOP as a viable second party for at least the next ten years. This progressive will take comfort in a 40 seats-flipped House victory, despite widespread GOP gerrymandering and voter suppression as a sign of demographic changes that spell doom for the long-term prospects of the Republican Party.
20
@Bill Brown are you saying that Dems, Liberals, Progressives, “lefties”. Etc. should just throw away their ballots and not bother vote? Because they’re losers? Hubris has its own price to pay. As for 45 leaving on his own accord, there’s zero chance of that happening. When he loses in 2020, he’ll call the election rigged and then... fill in the blank.
@John Hensley I've traveled all over America and California is an anomaly. Most people I meet are moderates. The GOP has effectively destroyed the Democratic Party in several states and have super majorities. The 62 million people who voted for Trump are not going to become liberals overnight. If the Democrats run on a progressive platform you will discover the long term prospects for the GOP are pretty solid.
If Trump looses in 2020 is tried found guilty and sent to prison does he still get secret service protection in the big house?
14
@H Salzberg
Hope not. (Ettu, DonDon?)
1
The country cannot fear what Trump supporters or Trump himself may do in reaction to facts. That would set terrible precedent and make a sham of our democracy. These cult members are a minority. The rule of law and justice must not be quashed.
36
@LFK This is the most important point. I’m so tired of left-leaning pundits and politicians being concerned with the “political questions” involved in impeachment. This is bigger than Trump, and bigger than the Democrats’ electoral chances. Trump committed felonies in order to win the election. The founders laid out pretty clearly that this is grounds for impeachment, and any other concern is secondary. The republic must come first.
14
"No man is above the law." Saying it over and over again doesn't help it become true, y'all.
6
I have zero hope that Republicans will do the right thing. They refused to do their constitutional duty to consider Merrick Garland's nomination. If they can ignore the constitution and get away with it, they will surely ignore any law that threatens their power, up to and including a murder on Fifth Avenue.
30
The last sentence sums up the problem, which is that elected Republicans gave up any semblance of loyalty to country or government institutions long ago. The likes of Devin Nunes and Mitch McConnell picked Trump over country long ago.
Best bet for the Democrats in the House is to investigate Trump thoroughly and to make the results of their investigations public as they go. There is not doubt in my mind that Trump is covered in so much slime that most Americans will recoil in disgust.
And while Trump as a sitting president may not be indicted, the same does not go for Don, Jr., Ivanka, and Jared Kushner.
22
@Vesuviano you forgot Barron.
@Vesuviano, I can hear it now....
The deal: "We got all of you. Your kids are in prison. We'll let them go if you go in." Don the Con: "Forget them. I'm staying out."
I wouldn't put it past him....
"..hiding alleged facts that he believed would have had a substantial effect on the election.” Hypotheticals, like hearsay, are inadmissible in court. Can you imagine the lucky, federal judge who has to rule on an ox cart's volume of whacky conjecture?
1
@HLB Engineering
Right, because Trump's voters don't care that he's a serial cheater and con artist. They don't mind now that he violated election law because he thought they might still have some scruples about a felon in the White House. Funny thing--he gave them more credit than they deserved.
@Paula It won't matter what Trump voters think. Once it's in a federal court, reason will prevail. Also: The defendant is innocent unless proven otherwise. See: Thank goodness.
Ms. Goldberg rightly pointed out the column on the Fox News website by the former conservative federal prosecutor, Andrew McCarthy, in which he wrote, “The president is very likely to be indicted on a charge of violating federal campaign finance laws.” In the same article, McCarthy wrote, “when it was discovered that Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign was guilty of violations involving nearly $2 million – an amount that dwarfs the $280,000 in Cohen’s case – the Obama Justice Department decided not to prosecute. Instead, the matter was quietly disposed of by a $375,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission.”
1
@Southern Boy
I am no expert on campaign finance law --- I understand it is pretty complicated. Errors could be made and remedied. But, these Trump and his people lied about these matters, which would seem to indicate malicious intent, not an error. So, are these equivalent events?
20
@Southern Boy I call "FALSE EQUIVALENCE!" The character of the omissions and errors is not at all the same. Line-up the errors and omissions and detail the nature and performances, and see if you think they're the same. Oh, and please note that Pres. Obama's campaign committee and its chairman was not under indictment and responded quickly to take responsibility.
5
Wow, you really stick to the Fox News script, don't you. There's no equivalence, here. Obama's violation was a paperwork error where they received contributions in the last weeks of the campaign and didn't immediately report it. The $2 million was a fraction of the contributions they received; there was no need to hide such a small amount. Once it was discovered, they paid the fine. That's a far cry from bribing people to keep quiet and influence a political campaign, which is a felony. And, once again, you're still assuming you know everything Mueller knows and this is all he has. It's fun watching you twist yourself in knots trying to defend this guy, though, boy. Might be time to cut your losses and move on with your life. Enjoy your tax increases in 2019.
1
Our Constitution has made a great error in requiring impeachment consistent with high crimes and misdemeanor. How do you define high crime? For Republicans today even the highest crime would be considered not high enough.
Impeachment does not and should not require anything more than a person unfit to occupy the office of the President. Mr Trump is uniquely unqualified to be the President on almost every level.
He should be impeached.
9
High crimes is the Common Law phrase for Felonies.
@Eraven AMEN! He should be impeached, and the Repub Senators, who won't acknowledge his "unfitness" will be exposed as similarly "Unfit!"
@Eraven My take on it is a High Crime is Conspiracy, Bribery, National Security High-Risk, Misuse of troops or public money, profiting from the Office and any/all felonies, Misdemeanor speaks for itself. And all other such offenses that would result in you/I or any CEO getting fired. Much like 45 did on the Apprentice. He's the Project Manager this time and he 's FIRED
He was given the world on a platter from birth on. With more wealth than can be imagined, he still is driven to acquire more, more, more. If couldn,t win the election he lusted for more deals in russia to enrich him self further. He is a bully who lords it over others through threats and nastiness. Are we of this great nation ready to submit to his bullying? Can he get away with it or wioll we start to fight back. Boycots, pickets and marches are our weapons. Start with his defenders.
9
The fealty to Trump of Republicans, especially those in Congress, has now become pathological and arguably treasonous in that many are, shockingly, saying outright that it does not matter if Trump broke the law because "he's doing a good job as president." That is the GOP's "Leaders" putting one man above the Constitution. (A reminder to Hatch, Grassley, et al: Bill Clinton did a good job as president as well, including given you your catastrophic repeal of Glass-Steagall. That did not stop you from spending seven years on what actually was a witch hunt in order to undo his election). Equally frightening is watching so many affirm for Donald Trump his admitted belief that he is above all, that his supporters will sell their souls, the country, everything, for him. I've never understood how, throughout history, so many came to get behind and feed megalomaniacs, which never ended well. That it is happening now in the US is shocking. That it is the GOP doing it is ironic. I feel unmoored under this president and his weak "Michael Cohens" in Congress. Way to feed his megalomania, Hatch, Grassely, et al. You will take this shame to your graves.
11
Yawn.
Precedent for “hush money” as a campaign finance violation was set in the John Edwards case, worthy of only a fine. Nothing illegal about pursuing business interests, even in Russia, while being a candidate. No collusion. Mostly process crimes Mueller instigated
2
@Robert L Smalser "None so blind as those who refuse to see." Wake -up from your yawn. The hush money thing is the least of it. The money laundering and contact w/ Russians to subvert American law (Magnitsky Act) is the most obvious crime, but the emoluments violations are off the charts.
I find the options on the table dispiriting. As many commenters have said, impeachment is a highly political act and would ultimately fail because the Senate will protect him and we'll get at least 2 more years (6 if he is reelected out of sympathy) of retribution against Congress and the rest of us. Indictment while in office will result in a legal battle that will attract every Avenatti and Deshowitz wannabe from the rotten woodwork of our legal system, be so sensational as to make the OJ trial seem like traffic court, and go on for years with the legal maneuvering that poisons high profile 'justice'. Making a deal to resign, although good because he'll be gone from the White House, will make his statement that he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and get away with it an awful truth, and certainly would not be any punishment because a) our oligarchs that put him in the White House will take some of the multiple billions he handed them in the tax deal and make him whole, and ensure that he never sees a minute behind the bars he deserves, and b) Pence. There'd only be a small ding to his ego that he'll repair by subjecting us to years of whining about it. Sounds like a sweet deal to me.
So how do we get out of this mess. And what a mess it is.
2
Indictment, impeachment, are what most people see in trump's future. I see Big Mac's, fries, double scoops of ice cream, steaks, lack of exercise, all leading to a major coronary event or a stroke.
10
@Steve43 Hope springs eternal
1
@David Devonis
Biology is destiny.
I'm tired of this ridiculous argument that we can't indict a sitting president. If a person obtains the office illegally and continues to commit crimes in office that person is NOT above the law. Trump's entire presidency, administration, appointments and activities since he took office are illegitimate. He has committed treason. He has committed felony campaign finance crimes. He has evaded taxes for decades. He uses his public office for profit in his personal and family businesses (Russia and probably Saudi, Israel and others we haven't discovered yet). He has colluded with foreign governments and nationals, namely Russia and Russian oligarchs. He should be indicted for his crimes as anyone should be.
14
Three points: 1.) The DoJ's memo stating that a sitting President can't be indicted applies only to crimes in the US Code. Crimes committed under the laws of a particular state--for example burglary, murder, rape, illegal avoidance of state taxes--are not covered by the DoJ's memo. 2.) The constitutional authority of the DoJ's memo has not been tested in the courts. Until it is, what it states is only an opinion and not the law. 3.) Even assuming the general applicability of the DoJ's memo, does it apply to acts of treason in times of war, or the equivalent in the betrayal of the vital interests and secrets of the country in times of peace? Or would impeachment be the only avenue to hold the President accountable? If so, what might be done if a sufficient number of Congressman and/or Senators had been compromised by the same foreign power as the President or by the President him or herself. Would there be no avenue of recourse? We're in unchartered territory here. The only thing I would add is that it would be irreparably damaging and unconscionable to have a felon occupying the Presidency.
5
Even without the threat of impeachment, Trump isn't going to willingly leave the White House if he loses in 2020 -- for the simple reason that he can't stand to be seen as a "loser." We're headed for a constitutional crisis no matter what. And why? Because GOP congressmen belatedly discovered that all the NRA campaign cash they were taking was actually Russian money?
9
@Julie well said; it’s called money laundering; funneled through Deutche Bank (and other phony banks in Cyprus) to John Bolton’s Super PAC to the Trump Campaign. They were all in thick with Cambridge Analytical, urging the deplorables to scream and shout lock her up, all the while robbing them blind. Which continues with impunity to this day, business as usual.
It is the obligation of our elected officials to uphold the law regardless of party. That is their sworn duty as elected officials. Not prosecuting a felony (or more than likely several felonies) is a dereliction of these duties and they will be held accountable.
And by accountable I mean not just at the voter’s booth but also in a historical sense as history will not look favorably on these officials who many times run for office because of ego and not so much for civic obligation. They know that their legacy is just as important to them as their time spent on this planet. I suspect they will all cave when Mueller tosses the proverbial bucket of water on our “witch hunt” king and they watch aghast with their own eyes as melts right in front of them for a pair of ruby red slippers called Trump Tower Moscow and Mecca.
2
Lawrence Tribe explained tonight that Article I of the Constitution allows for indictment of a sitting president, and argues that Justice Department policy violates the words in Article I.
6
Banana republic....raucous, hateful crowds incited to scream "lock her up" at political opponents while convicted cronies are promised presidential pardons. And our elected representatives fail us again and again. We aren't there yet but we are well down the road.
10
Michelle wrote:
“While many Americans who desired a particular outcome to the election knocked on doors, toiled at phone banks or found any number of other legal ways to make their voices heard, Cohen sought to influence the election from the shadows [in illegal fashion] ”
This is a concept that Trump enthusiasts have the hardest time with. They think that because there are so many more of them (Democrats and Others), and so fewer of Us, all is fair in love and war.
I don't know what their threshold would actually be to fade away from Trump, but this Girlie stuff, while perhaps legally strongest, is weak in a political sense. Here's one reason why:
It is said that these quasi-blackmail pay-offs are depriving the Public from necessary scrutiny of a candidate and that a payment to muzzle the women becomes a campaign finance violation.
But this presumes that Stormy or Playgirl would actually take their experiences to the media when there is less, or more difficult payoff, there. The offer to accept hush money is first choice because it is the best/easiest choice. Intuitively the public understands this.
I think as a way to Dump the Trump it is only part of the operation. For a conspiracy/operation this indeed is, that is one thing the yo-yo Right is correct about.
Treason. For money. For ever more money.. Scrooge McDuck that doesn't care about Walls or work or jobs or health, or even about immigrants. Money. He fooled you for your money. That's the bait that bites.
3
Individual 1 is in trouble but wait until we see all the copy which has been redacted in documents from Mueller and from the New York Second District. Hopefully we will get a clear picture from Mueller of both conspiracy and collusion.At that time there will be no doubts -time for impeachment! I am more worried about the next six months than about 2020!
4
Trump must be indicted. There is nothing in the constitution that speaks against indicting a sitting president. And best would be to indict Pence at the same time. Our future is at stake.
5
@Zane
Indicted. Convicted. Sentenced. Incarcerated in a glass-walled cell block (along with Mitch, et al) where tourists can take hourly tours of the lifestyles of the egregiously disgusting. Income from the tours should permit a degree of tax relief...
1
"Donald Trump — or, as he’s known to federal prosecutors, Individual-1 — might well be a criminal."
The official air traffic control call sign for the US Air Force aircraft that transports a president is Air Force One.
However, right now, there's no official air traffic control call sign for transporting an illegitimately elected, unindicted co-conspirator president.
Might I suggest "Individual-1."
It's apt in light of the prosecutors that target him, and it also fills the president's need for self-aggrandizement.
The upside is, when he's en board "Individual-1" he won't actually comprehend the designation's legal meaning, and he'll take it as a compliment.
1
The argument that a sitting President cannot be indicted, even when his crimes are the reason why he's/she's President in the first place, is ridiculous. Taken to it's obvious conclusion, it would mean that Mike Pence, as Vice President, could murder Donald Trump, and then be free of indictment because he would then be President.
10
Why is it preferable to allow a sitting president charged with criminality to wait until he/she is out of office to be prosecuted?
Talk about having a "lame" duck as president representing our country, and worse, a lame duck that can only be imagined as sitting in the Oval Office wearing an orange jump suit! That may be a preferable solution for Trump, but it is a huge problem for the functioning of a supposed democratic country domestically and globally.
What is the matter with the wimpy Democratic Party? Wrong is wrong! What do we think the morally bankrupt, partisan Republicans would be doing if Obama or Hillary were president and accused of doing the same things Trump and the higher ups in his campaign are charged with doing?
What message are we sending our children and future leaders of our country?
What kind of precedent is the Republican Party setting here for a president engaged in political, criminal, and ethical wrongdoing? If only, the GOP could get Trump to resign like Nixon did for the sake of the country.
In a democratic country, no one should be above the law. But I guess, if the leader of a country is charged with serious criminal and ethical wrongdoing that does harm but he/she is allowed to continue in office as usual, then this would not be a democratic country; it would be a dictatorship.
Trump and the Republicans are definitely NOT making America great. What is most worrisome is that Trump supporters cannot figure this out for themselves.
5
I want Trump out. But in the end, there better be more than hush-hush money. How anticlimactic if this is it.
As far as fraudulently influencing the election, I don't think his base would have blinked at these revelations of affairs. His supporters don't care where he grabs women, but extramarital affairs crosses a line? Don't make me laugh.
4
It is to be devoutly wished that Mr. Mueller will ignore the justice department's ''guidelines'' and indict Trump when he has an absolutely iron clad lase against him. From what I read, that time is rapidly approaching.
Then there is Junior and Ivanka and Jared and . . . . .
7
Trump, as Michelle says, may well be a criminal. But is that even important? Criminal or not, it now feels like he’s been approaching for a long time.
Why? Only a heartsick nation elects Donald Trump.
He was not unanticipated, even a generation ago. After Ross Perot, another billionaire entrepreneur populist, shook things up in 1992 by getting 19 percent of the presidential vote, The Washington Post quoted Perot spokesman Jim Squires:
“The next time the man on the white horse comes, he may not be so benign,” Squires said. “He could be a real racial hater or a divider of people.”
5
While we all wring our hands over hush money paid to prostitutes and other campaign finance violations, the much (much!) more serious crimes -- crimes the effects of which will be felt for decades, and in some cases possibly centuries or even millennia -- continue apace: opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling; undermining the climate talks in Poland; the continued funding and support of the Saudi's murderous war in Yemen; the continued support of Israel's illegal occupation of the West Bank and its criminal blockade of Gaza; the ongoing separation of migrant families and the detention of migrant children; the unremitting attacks on the 1st and 14th Amendments…. The list goes on and on. Sadly, though, as with Al Capone, Ehrlichman & Haldeman, et al, or Poindexter and North, et al, the best we seem to be able to do is catch them on tax evasion and obstruction of justice while the truly massive crimes of which they are so obviously guilty go completely unpunished.
6
Trumping family must answer for their criminality. Extend the statute of limitations in New York to 10 years!
1
2019 will be a bigly year for Individual 1. The House of Representatives will commence real investigations of Individual 1 and his family. The Special Counsel and the State of New York will likely reveal findings about Russian collusion, obstruction of justice and those pesky tax returns may just show up, a result of discovery for the case involving Individual 1's non-profit foundation. And maybe the GOP senators will find their collective spines, abandon Trumpism, and stand for democracy.
1
I think the American public has still not come to terms with the insanity that is visible in this president. Crimes they understand, but insanity seems to be a judgement call, a personal and subjective reaction to policies that some may not like. But insanity has no necessary visible component, no giveaway, it is not lampshades on the head or talking to people who are not there. It is the terrible and profound distance from reality that corrupts all thinking based on that frame of reference. We are dealing with a mind who does not think about nuclear holocaust in the way that rational people do. We are dealing with a transactional mind that sees all reality as a set of deals, deals with nature and deals with enemies, a mind who thinks that it can trick god into making a mistake and take profit from the heavens. In such a mind there is an upside to global destruction if his family and fortune can be saved in a magic realm that only his deals can provide. In short, this president is not beyond taking chances that no rational mind would. We are not talking about impeachment here, we are talking about existential danger and we cannot summon the will to deal with it. I think Trump knows how far he can go and it is as far as he wants, he knows that in the end no one will dare to stop him even at the cost of their own lives, and someday he will hold that over us and ask us to chose.
1
Every night you can find a Republican who grimly repeats that there is nothing to see here. Move along, no collusion, this has gone on long enough, blah, blah, blah. Rick Santorum, Kevin McCarthy, and even Allan Dershowitz try to run cover for the biggest con man who ever existed. Why would anyone think that the party that has shown zero backbone when it comes to standing up for democracy will change their ways? Until,there is a smoking gun or poll that shows their party will be annihilated in the upcoming elections for senate and president they will hide in the shadows, like the cowards they are. There might be one other tactic that will get them to change their minds about confronting the impending doom headed their way, and that is public shaming of the highest order. The letter from former senators that just came to light is a good place to start. Let's see who has the guts to stand up for decency for a change. Any takers republicans?
If you’re waiting for GOP support on removing Trump, remember-
“You cannot get a man to understand something when his job depends on him not understanding it”
-Upton Sinclair
2
If I were in Conversation with Jemli and Socrates, I would remind both of them that they have, a number of times alluded to “President” Trump as “Sociopathic”. This old (81) year old
long-retired Licensed Family Therapist still contends that Trump
is indeed manifesting all of the cardinal symptoms of Sociopathic
Personality Disorder. Meanwhile, he is also actually Enjoying
the chronic Center of Attention of We the People. Thankfully,
I hold an abiding Trust and Gratitude for the diligent presence in our Country of Robert Mueller. While “President” Trump is
diagnosable, he is beyond Treatment. We the People are,
Collectively, Sick.
4
The probe was to look at possible Russian collusion to influence the 2016 election. They may have the President on this technicality about hush money for sordid sex, but it sure has nothing to do with the Kremlin. Lord help even Mother Teresa if a special prosecutor spent two years digging into her life. Not that Trump and Mother Teresa should even be in the same paragraph, but you get the point.
But it had everything to do with getting him elected...get it?
There are only bad options for Trump.
His VP knows Trump is considering replacing him. Pence was a lousy GOP congressman and a governor facing replacement. His shallow Christian entertainment fame was stunting his ego. He has been a devoted BOP Vice-President (Blind Obedient Party) but sycophancy with must be exhausting for both the giver and receiver.
(A) In the case of impeachment, Pence may finally be tired of of the boot polish taste in his mouth and harbor a vestigeal backbone, aching for vengeance. Lying to Trump to encourage resignation would somehow be ironic justice. Loyalty has become an endangered species. Lock him up.
(B) Trump would not enjoy the confluence of good luck factor benefits as in 2016 and it’s unlikely he would face an opponent as unlikeable as Hillary. Trump was lousy at running to LOSE and is equally incapable of running to WIN. Lock him up.
If he isn’t the BOP candidate for 2020, no matter who wins, lock him up.
Mrs Trump will be saddened, I’m sure, when they don’t have conjugal visitation at his new address. I wonder how that gut feeling is going.
1
The bitter irony for the now suicidal Republican Party will ultimately be that its very success in creating Fox, Rush, and the rest, to brainwash about 35% of Americans (a solid majority of all our white voters, of course) will be what wipes it out at the polls in 2020. Because of Fox and the rest, and the moronic mob they have hypnotized with Trump, there is no way for Republican senators to dump Trump, put the real Republican Pence in his place, and gird for 2020 as soon as possible. Instead, the Republican Party will have to face the music with Trump, after Mueller nails Trump as not just a crook on a gigantic scale, but also the greatest traitor in any Western nation in modern history. If the American public can't muster a lot more than 35% of dead-enders for Trump to wipe out Trump and the Republicans who backed him to the end, America truly deserves the doom Trump and his puppeteer Putin will give it. But have some faith. Are Trump and the Republicans really likely to survive both Mueller and the Dem investigations on national TV?
Only the Donald is bigly enough to take refuge in the presidency to avoid jail time. Most people can only aspire to joining the military, of the police force.
The Republicans are moving lock step away from everything this country was founded on: democracy (at least in principle even if it did not include women or black men), justice, the rule of law, balance of federal power, balance of state-federal power, freedom, liberty, separation of church and state. The GOP seems to want a theocracy, a rigged system to keep them in power, gutted justice system, and authoritarian rule. As climate change intensifies and produces economic stress as well as physical dislocation, added to this toxic brew, I think we will see the breakdown of our United States into smaller country-states, red and blue. I think that's what Trump, the GOP, Fox propaganda, and state officials are bringing about.
3
Trump can only keep faith with his minions as long as they believe he can do no wrong and media reports of his criminality are nothing more than fake news (regardless of the fact that much of his illegal conduct is demonstrated by his own words, caught on videotape). Wall Street has come to learn that Trump lies --- not how this time Trump's assurances that the trade situation with China is about to be steeled did not result in the market rebounding after falling due to trade concerns. Perhaps some of Trump's minions will begin to allow the facts to have an impact on their opinions. These minions had a legitimate point when they voted to "kick the bums out" in 2016. Unfortunately they were tricked into believing that Trump would drain the swamp and was capable of honest leadership.
2
Voters knew trump’s past, therefore it’s ludicrous to say that had the payoffs been public knowledge he would’ve lost the election. Look who his competitor was! “Lock her up!” The irony is, that Hillary Clinton, and the Clinton foundation, are the truly guilty ones. Comey, and the biased heads of the FBI have given them a free pass. Many Americans will never forgive them for blatantly Proving to the American people there is one set of rules for us and one set of rules for them. The 24/7 negative trump coverage will only hurt the democrats in 2020.
18
@Pvbeachbum
What a peculiar rationale: It was ok for Trump to violate campaign-finance laws because his core supporters know how fundamentally dishonest he is, and don't care. Talk about ludicrous.
As for bringing in the Clintons, whatever would Trumpers do without them? No matter what comes to light about Trump's double-dealings, lies, substantive allegations of criminality, Trump supporters always offer up Bill and Hillary in "what about?" fashion. They're the gift that keeps on giving.
112
@Pvbeachbum
What if we could lock up both of the 2016 presidential candidates in adjacent cells? Would it constitute cruel and unusual punishment to force them to spend time in one another's company?
9
@Pvbeachbum One set of rules...like impeaching a president over a fib in a meritless civil suit paid for by the opposing party after seven years of a witch hunt, including replacing the special prosecutor, Fiske with Starr, when Fiske found no wrongdoing in Whitewater by the Clintons, despite our knowing Clinton when we voted for him but Republicans insisting that, since perjury is a crime he must be impeached but now saying that, despite a crime being committed here, it doesn't matter because Trump is doing a good job....like that kind of one-set-of-rules?
65
Speaking of Trump's re-election. His best bet is likely to polarize the country even further during the next 2 years . His dream outcome would be a centrist Republican who runs as an independent (trying to represent 'true' GOP values). Then all you need is the 35% base for whom he can do wrong and hey presto you get to stay in the White House 2020-2024.
2
So this will be one gauge as to how authoritarian the Republicans have gone: Will they let someone 'primary' Trump. Considering what's also going to come out during the House investigations, any Republican would be within their rights to join the Republican primaries against the President. However, a fully 'authoritarian' Republican party would not allow it, seeking instead the unity of Trump as head of the ticket again. Because this time Trump wouldn't be the 'Teflon' candidate he'd be the glue.
9
Trench warfare politics, the art of winner takes all and the heck with decency and decorum. The Newt Gingrich introduced pathogen has infected wide swaths of elected offices.
Mr. History, was known for strolling the halls of Congress with a book under his arm while lobbing grenades at the civility and institutional memory membranes. A Typhoid Mary pariah now relegated to Fox News and channeling the inner trump for editorials.
These torch and scorch skirmishes have hardened into prolonged molecular warfare. The Citizens United decision a potent Petri dish to incubate new strains of the pathogen.
Can an inoculation to the pathogen be injected to combat this scourge? The American experience need not be a history defined by Gingrich’s, McConnell’s, Adelesons, Koch’s and Trumps.
Let US hope not.
12
@Tabula Rasa
You are so right. Gingrich is the source virus. Germs were always present, but he singularly, intentionally cultured them in such a destructive way. Now we are dealing with the super virus that are hard to combat by conventional laws and justice that had for so long protected us. it is very frightening indeed.
2
As we move forward in this political morass it's important to at least try and avoid hyperbole.
From what now know it looks like the Feds can sustain an indictment against Trump for conspiracy to violate the federal elections laws. But the key isn't this charge.
Even if he were convicted, paying hush money to avoid embarrassment is unlikely to result in jail time. But if there were an obstruction of justice charge on top of the conspiracy that might be a much more serious problem.
Remember that Nixon's real downfall was his coverup of Watergate, not his actual involvement in the break-in.
But let's not characterize this as a "peril to our democracy." The GOP has done a much better job at that than anything Trump has done.
Voter suppression, gerrymandering, faulty vote machines, unconstitutional re-count procedures, just to name a few, have a far deeper impact than Trump's lies.
Now add the striping of executive power of several governorships that the GOP lost and you have what was democracy hanging by a thread and becoming a full fledged corporatocracy.
Trump should face the music, but after he's gone, preferably by not getting re-elected, there's plenty of dirt to clean up.
13
"What happens if re-election is Trump's best hope of avoiding an indictment?" The unthinkable: the end of any possible restoration of America as we thought we knew it. "Our best hope may lie in the emergence of irrefutable evidence of further presidential crimes, enough to finally test the tolerance of at least some fraction of Republicans....[We]...have to figure out how Republicans might be induced to care." I'd say appeal to their humanity, but few have shown any in recent years. Their continued support of the indictable Individual-1 is proof thereof.
4
I am more concerned about what Trump supporters might do if they see legal action being taken against him. It plays perfectly into their irrational narratives about the "deep state" and they've got their guns loaded, literally.
13
The Democratic nominee should promise to pardon Trump for anything short of selling nationa security secrets to Russia. Otherwise, if the dems look like winning, trump may order out the troops into the cities.
3
Trump is guilty of far more serious crimes than those involving campaign finance. Mueller has been working for a long time, and he has Trump's taxes; he knows of Trump's long pattern laundering money for Russians. The corrupt deal for a Trump Tower in Russia, is only one of the many instances of Kompromat that Putin has on Trump.
But Trump's pattern of financial crimes is insignificant compared to his election fraud. He is an accessory after the fact to the Russian cyber-attacks; he colluded with Russians when they released information to Wikileaks; Russian hackers gave Trump details of democratic campaign strategy in key swing states.
Trump is guilty of a major election fraud. He stole an election and became the leader of the most powerful country in the world. We should not be distracted by his relatively minor campaign finance violations. Those are significant mainly for Mueller to obtain cooperating witnesses.
The Senate should wait until Mueller reveals the major crimes Trump has committed. As a country, we need Republicans finally disavow Trump. They have cravenly used Trump to get tax cuts and court appointments. They have revealed themselves to be deeply corrupt, and that will not end, but they will not be able to stomach all that Mueller will reveal. Even reporters at Fox News will blink.
7
@Ruth Appleby and you know all this how? If. There is proof of all you say, why isn’t he being charged with anything? What are they waiting for?
if a President is unindictable while in office, it seems that an equally unique concept of statute of limitations by suspending them should also apply.
5
I was in my 20s when Nixon was in office. I thought he was a disaster, but little did I realize what an unmitigated catastrophe we would face 50 years later.
4
This is an unacceptable choice -- and now the reality in the USA?
Michelle, there is no doubt on Mr. Mueller's and the minds of the federal prosecutors from the southern district of New York that Trump has committed a felony when he directed his lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen in the wee hours of 2016's presidential campaign to pay off two women who claimed to have extra-marital affairs with the Republican candidate for presidency.
Now the question that comes to the minds of all the legal scholars is,"Is this act by Trump an impeachable offence ?"
Or "Does it come under violation of campaign finance law ?"
If John Edwards trial of 2005 is any indication, then this act of paying off a mistress or mistresses, which both Mr. Edwards did before and Trump now acknowledges grudgingly, is definitely of a criminal nature.
As per the legal scholars, if this illegal act was done in the closing moments of a campaign which Trump committed only to stop the disruption in his presidential campaigns, then it is criminal.
If we remember what Gary Hart did in his bid for Democratic nomination in 1987 in his boat appropriately named "Monkey Business" was a glowing example of how a presidential campaign could drown with just one affair with a mistress.
Either Trump knew about Mr. Hurt's downfall or it was Mr. Cohen who reminded him that if he didn't pay these two women, his presidential campaign will hit rough waters.
Trump wisely paid off. But being such a cheap businessman, he paid off from the campaign funds just like Mr. Edwards did in 2004.
Go figure !
2
Trump is trapped is trapped in his job like a crooked bookkeeper who can never take a vacation without risk that the years of embezzlement will be discovered.
Still, the chance that Trump will serve time for paying hush money to cover-up affairs during a campaign, even if it's a felony, is unlikely to say the least.
Even conspiracy with Russians to impact the election if proven, and the obvious and unrelenting obstruction of justice, is unlikely to result in Trump missing a single night of sleep at Mar-a-Lago.
Politicians do not seem to go to jail for running sleezy campaigns, even Illegal ones. Which is a shame.
But Politicians do go to jail for taking money and income tax evasion. Trump's exposure to prison has always been, and still remains, Seriously State level financial crimes provable with a paper trail. And not subject to a Presidential pardon.
3
The Justice Department policy that a sitting president can't be indicted should be eliminated or revised. Aside from possible felony charges pertaining to campaign law, money laundering, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations to name a few, what if Trump is found by the Special Counsel to be an agent for or hopelessly comprised by Russia? Under the DOJ policy, we'd have to suffer through a presidency with the White House occupied by the "property" of an inimical foreign power. This is a preposterous outcome. Perhaps the authors of that DOJ policy didn't have the imagination to foresee the kind of craven mercenary who could one day occupy the White House. Now that failure of imagination is hiding in plain sight, and American democracy requires that the policy be changed.
3
Restrict the outsized influence of your country‘s billionaires on campaign finance and media, and maybe, just maybe, you will return to a semblance of democracy. If not, brace for the day when your grandkids ask what ,democracy‘ was.
6
@Eric Ewald
Alas, You’ve distilled the state of US to it’s Sad essence.........
As he did in the recent mid-terms, Trump, if he runs again, will use the threat of impeachment to reinforce the motivation of his supporters to vote for him.
2
What gets me is the total lack of costs to the oligarchs pulling the strings -- they've gotten their tax cuts, their Supreme Court, their deregulations, etc etc And if these are allowed to stand, what's the point of all of this? At best, to make this admin the fall guys while the swamp continues to thrive? At worst, ho hum, this is our new normal? It's not just that someone can steal the Presidency, then, it's that a cabal can get away w rigging the game w impunity.
10
The real and only reason Nixon finally decided to resign was because of a bipartisan effort by members of Congress to demand that he do so. Unfortunately, since today’s GOP has put itself and its Individual-1 above the law and our democracy, it is not only complacent but, more importantly, complicit in aiding and abetting this criminal behavior which is a crime in and of itself. Thus, the impending constitutional crisis has simultaneously become an existential one threatening the immediate as well the long-term future of this country.
Accountability must always be the responsibility of our elected officials and if they are incapable of providing it, then they must also be charged with committing criminal acts. None of this is likely to happen when Individual-1 doubles down on his mendacity and lack of patriotic principles by inciting violence by his supporters against the media and his opponents.
The cooler and calmer heads that prevail will be the Democrats (and perhaps Independents) who will rightfully avoid a revolution akin to that of a banana republic or perhaps even another Civil
War.
Unfortunately, that scenario will be nothing more than a temporary bandage for a mortal wound.
Where's the outrage? Where's the courage?
2
Look no further than your colleague’s (Krugman) column. We’re in for a bad time ahead because Republicans have already proven they’re not interested in democracy anymore. Wisconsin is a perfect example. As was McConnell’s brazen move against Garland. Power is more important to them.
I don’t see how they can sleep with themselves at night.
6
He should be impeached by the House.
If the Senate does not convict, so be it.
But the law is the law, and NO ONe should be exempt, regardless of JOD "guidelines'.
5
1. How Ironic...the slogan is going to be "lock him up"
2. Clinton's impeachment offense was for lying under oath about a sexual deed. During a mickey mouse investigation that the public saw through.
In this case..... these charges look far more serious. We are talking about intent to defraud the election process. Once the evidence is revealed and these charges continue to build you have no choice but to impeach and hold a trial.
However, I bet he will resign. The knock out punch being the economy turning. He can't win if the economy goes into a recession even if he was a saint. A massive impeachment scandal and bad economy... I still believe he is pragmatic and "likes to win". I don't think it will ever come to impeachment.
I can read the resignation tweet: "I did in two years what others couldn't do in 8. "
As far as I’m concerned, Trump lost the election by three million votes. No amount of Republican Electoral College skullduggery changes that. Lock him up, throw away the key, and beg the real winner of the 2016 election to take over the office she legitimately won. There’s no one else capable of cleaning up Trump’s unholy mess.
2
Trump will do whatever it takes to stay out of prison. He will cancel the 2020 elections, he will suspend the Constitution and declare martial law. Anything and everything is on the table. He will have every election booth in this country hacked if need be. He doesn't care who gets hurt or what gets destroyed. The most dangerous animal is the one that is cornered with no way out.
Trump, though he is an incredible ignoramus, is not ignorant of the prospect of being indicted and he knows his path out of it is to get reelected, so look for him to ramp up his schedule of rallies. Mueller's pending report will rock even the most steadfast Trump supporters on the GOP side of Congress. Even so, I doubt the McConnell-led Senate will remove Trump in an impeachment situation. So, what's left for Trump? Win the 2020 election and escape prosecution because by 2024 the statute of limitations will have run out and it will be too late. Stay tuned.
Let's cut through the fog of confusion shall we. It's time to just do something rather than talk talk talk. Nobody understands this method better than republicans. They just do things or say new things and leave it to everyone else to react to that.
The informal norms or guidelines of the DOJ on not indicting a sitting president do not stand up to scrutiny. Take Trump's own fantasy of shooting someone on Fifth Avenue. He shoots a democrat and kills them dead. Murders them in cold blood. Do you mean to tell me our constitution and legal system does not allow for his arrest, indictment, trial, sentencing and incarceration. Period end of story. The founding fathers were not devoid of common sense and the last thing they wanted was an American president being treated like an English monarch above the law.
So simply indict this luddite. Indict him several times for several of his crimes. Just do it. And we'll go from there. The office of the presidency does not give you immunity from the law. Period, full stop.
Once indicted, like anyone would be for committing anti-social criminal actions, he can be brought to trial for prosecution. It would make no sense to let someone obtain the presidency by fraudulent means and then reward them by exempting them from prosecution for that fraud. Otherwise people could pursue the presidency by any means necessary with no fear of consequences if they win the prize.
Indict him post haste.
3
Trump may not loose reelection because he's a criminal. His base feels he lies and cheats for them, so that might be fine. Democrats will surely seize upon the fact that, like Michael Flynn who only lasted a few days in the job of National Security Advisor, now Trump has been exposed lying in public about contacts the Russians can confirm he had with them--exposing him to extortion as well while he was denying them. Republicans may not want to impeach him, and this may or may not be an indictable offense, after he leaves office. But on this account alone, of being basically Russia´s puppet, his base will thin out more and he will loose reelection. Amen.
1
My fear is that no matter how much proof of corruption is exposed, few republicans will turn.
It's still puzzling why, given that it's been fairly established that Trump likely cheated, lied, and colluded his way into the White House, anyone would back him as president of the United States. What does this say about that segment of this country?
3
Trump is probably not too concerned about a criminal prosecution after he leaves the White House. In that scenario, he would just hire the best defense money can buy.
1
It's stunning that the Justice Department and New York State allege that trump is a criminal, and the forces that exist to apply justice, Congress, test the political winds to decide if if applying our constitutional justice system is feasible. Waiting for a crisis in these circumstances is a crisis. trump has done enough damage and broken enough laws. Are we cowards or americans?
Enough.
1
Impeachment that fails to convict would be incredibly divisive and would severely damage the Dems. Just as it severely damaged the Repubs who railed against Clinton for 8 years. Be smart, folks. The trier of fact in impeachment is not a jury of 12 in which the self-interested are systematically excluded. That hardly defines the U.S. Senate. Dems are wise to insist on its being bi-partisan and to have the votes for conviction counted before they start the process. By then there won't be a whole lot left to "investigate."
We should wait and see about impeachment. And don't start unless Republican Senators are on-board with it. In the meantime, investigate and expose the pervasive corruption associated with this administration and by extension, the Republican Party. There are so many threads to pull.
"Trump’s potential criminality in this case, which raises questions about his legitimacy as president..."
Trump, indeed, is not a legitimate president. But when all the facts are out this case will look like small potatoes. Paying off and lying about affairs may have had an effect on the vote, but working with a foreign government to attack our elections was worse, much worse. But is that all? No, the president may also be compromised by Russia in many other ways: violations of the emoluments clause, laundering money, lying about Trump Tower Russia, benefiting from Russian money funneled to the campaign through the NRA. The illegitimacy of this president is unprecedented in our history. If only we had honorable Republicans in the Senate, we might be able to restore decency to executive branch. Wouldn't it be great to have someone who is not a criminal in the White House?
1
At this moment Republicans will not act if Trump is found to have committed criminal acts.
As badly as I want to see Trump brought low immediately, we can’t expect a corruptible Senate to convict a corrupt President. Certainly, we can hope that Mueller has more substantial evidence of impeachable offenses than he has shown to date . . . things that at least 20 Republican senators could only ignore at their peril. But unless Mueller can swing the Senate it will be up to us—the voters—to end this travesty.
2
Indict and convict all the operatives and enablers around Trump, but assure Trump himself of no conviction. He'd have no problem throwing his own people under busses and trains if he thought it'd save his own bacon.
If assurance of no conviction made it possible to remove this blight from the White House, I'd be all for it. I don't need to see him shackled; I just need to see him gone.