Donald Trump is a traitor. The Republicans are fine with that. Welcome to America in 2019
21
Pure and simple, this is the new American Fascist Regime.
18
"who's going to stop me?" If being Donald Trump hasn't stopped Donald Trump, then the angry creamsicle has said the truest thing he's capable of saying.
Getting him out of there is as important as anything the United States has done, or will do. The country is in serious trouble, and the New York Times still refuses to call him the clown fraud liar he is. C'mon man.
12
"Not I," said the duck.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the goose.
..anyone seen the little red hen?
9
surely this is the last camel..
6
America has created a monster and unleashed it on the world. IT has the illegitimate tile of President of the United States and is kept in office by the Republican Party and the white christian evangelist.
What are we going to do about it?
13
Those dadgummed Ruskkies—they are everywhere—they flummoxed 17 federal agencies in the run up to November 2016. So Schiff says all a candidate need do is “call up the FBI”. That will nail those smart/dumb Ruskkies sure enough.
Hey, Nancy Pelosi! You say you want to see Trump in prison? How is that going to happen without you doing something about it? What do you think about this latest treasonous statement from King Donald? Does he need to shoot you in the middle of 5th Avenue before you initiate an impeachment inquiry????
5
Can this be real??? No demonstration scheduled in Austin??? Lord, help us!
2
USA the BANANA REPUBLIC!
2
DOW 30,000——Trump 2020. Get used to it!
``It happened after Trump defended white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, after he compared nonwhite countries to excrement, and after he bowed and scraped before Vladimir Putin in Helsinki``
Michelle, please add the aftermath of his Muslim ban the first week, as well as when the public really became aware of the child separations at the border.
Thank you Michelle for your excellent essay!
4
America Last.
According to Trump
1
I've noticed two significant things about this degenerate con man.
1) When it comes to true international diplomacy or push back, he is terrified.
2) When someone is nice to him, he reciprocates.
This leads me to believe Trump is a fraud with extreme mental narcissistic disorders and possibly entering the first stage of dementia.
And sadly, I voted him in
9
Who’s going to stop me if I choose to make war on Iran for reasons I invent?
9
"Who’s Going to Stop Me?"
Michelle, "What’s the surprise?" --- Emperor Trump answered like any Emperor.
But unlike all past Emperors in history, Trump acts like he’s not just a U.S. Emperor, but the first Global Emperor, with his demands and attempted economic and military control of; Canada, Japan, China, Mexico, the Middle East, and particularly the EU — which, if he can't control, he is trying to break-up.
Now that faux-Emperor Trump has shot himself on video with George Stephanopoulos --- and also killed the Republican 'R' Vichy Party --- the real question is what does the ruling-elite UHNWI, with their global corporations and banks do to maintain their Empire with only one Vichy-Party in the U.S. HQ of that Global Empire?
"The Emperor is dead --- long live the disguised Empire!"
“The U.S. state is a key point of condensation for pressures from dominant groups around the world to resolve problems of global capitalism and to secure the legitimacy of the system overall. In this regard, “U.S.” imperialism refers to the use by transnational elites of the U.S. state apparatus (hard & soft powers) to continue to attempt to expand, defend, and stabilize the global capitalist system. We are witness less to a “U.S.” imperialism per se than to a global capitalist imperialism. We face an EMPIRE OF GLOBAL CAPITAL, headquartered, for evident historical reasons, in Washington.” [Caps added]
Global Capitalism and the Crisis of Humanity, 2014 Robinson, William
2
He sounds more like an old style King every day. This is "unpresidented".
5
how do we arrive at a more perfect union? by ridding ourselves of the atrocity in the oval office.
4
“It doesn’t work that way”? Sorry Trump. It’s you that doesn’t work that way.
4
Dems need to Impeach. Americans are dumb and lazy to the core. 1/2 the country won’t even realize it’s going on like they didn’t know Obamacare was the ACA or we are still in two wars or that Mueller found Trumps actions criminal.
They can’t name their congressman or both Senators. They just simp,y can’t be bothered. I personally would just like somebody who made an oath to defend the Constitution to actually do it.
15
Who indeed? We have let this monster run wild, and now he is breaking down the fences of civility and law. Please, let there be some patriots in the GOP who can get the impeachment ball rolling.
2
Great Article Michelle that says it all!
4
don't forget the rest of that, russia if you are listening bit...I THINK YOU WILL BE REWARDED MIGHTILY...pause..."by our press". (no, he did not mean "by our press"- that was just to feign legitimacy)
4
shouldn't DJT's comments about accepting foreign interference in electing him automatically disqualify him from even running for reelection!??
5
Go Trump! The New York Times opinion section is not representative of America (thankfully). Huge swaths of this nation adores you and loves what you are doing.
Keep on upsetting apple carts.
Keep on overturning "the way things have been done".
Keep on fighting back on behalf of the non-elite.
Keep on Making America Great Again.
-Signed, a college girl who has to keep her love of you on the downlow because of her field of study (social work). But a girl who will vote straight Republican at the voting booth, despite all appearances of being a leftist. NOPE. Boy, would my classmates and professors be surprised if they knew! But then I might not get any more good grades. (3.8 GPA).
3
now he's saying of course he'd turn any information he got from a foreign entity over he fbi, or the ag, or somebody, anyway, but read it first so, he knows it's bad. but it won't happen because he loves the country too much.
2
At least Republicans have the sense to fear their base and cater to them. 80% of Democrats want Trump impeached, and Pelosi and her ilk just shrug and say, "We know better than the rabble." Are you kidding me???
1
Someone “got” to him: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/us/politics/trump-foreign.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
Not to educate him permanently, just to point out what a self indictment he made.
Mueller’s team tried to talk to him for two years, to find his thoughts. Now he opens up to them freely and publicly, while being recorded for posterity.
3
The quote of the week: "For two and a half years, ... Trump has treated his oath of office the way he’s rumored to have treated a Moscow hotel bed ..."
5
I believe both conservatives and liberals should be able to agree that executive orders or decrees should be left to the legislative branch and their use reduced after abuses by the current.... and previous.... administration are reversed.
Court activism abuse should also be reduced by legislation .
as a minimum so-called unconstitutional rulings should be limited to the Supreme Court alone and only in the case when there is no legislative remedy
2
Who’s going to stop him?
Certainly not the impotent Democrats. Looking at you, Nancy.
32
America to Trump: We are! Blue tsunami 2020!
11
Americans are generally known for their pragmatic way of looking at situations.To a large extent,this trait has helped them resolve ,overcome and survive traumatic events throughout their History.
Somehow,president Trump has managed to put a stop to the practical sense of the country he presides,through an original cocktail of braggadocio, truths laced with half truths, threats to allies and cozying up to enemies, etc etc....!
As an election year looms ,Democrats seem to have lost their compass,presenting an endless list of candidates,turning the outcome into a game show.
As things stand ,keeping in mind that president Trump and his supporters, inside and outside the country will not be interested in playing fair ,it is reasonable to feel worried about the state of the union,come 2021.
9
No More Years!
8
This latest insult from Trump sounds pretty much like a confession.
74
I don't find voters discouraged or depressed. Instead I find them organized, enthusiastic and ready to get involved. Check out MobilizeAmerican and Field Team 6.
7
He's not immune to a climactic event.
7
It's funny that Trump would scream, "No collusion, no collusion!" for two whole years, and then be dumb enough to admit on television that yes, he'd do it again in a heartbeat. The man has no shame. He admits wrong-doing in front of God and everybody. Except that he doesn't see whatever he does as wrong. And since he thinks that he is untouchable and above the law, what does he have to lose?
All the more reason to impeach him now. If we were to wait for a lull between his committing treasonous acts and other high crimes and misdemeanors, we would be waiting forever.
Keep in mind, too, that he doesn't see anything wrong with being helped by our enemies in order to win an election. So he will have no problem with Russians hacking our next election as long as they hack in his favor. And they will, and he will win again, unless he is stopped and held to account as though he were a regular citizen. Imagine if any of us tried to do what Trump has done? We'd already be in jail and serving a lifetime sentence.
16
Forget about this... and worry about the war machine -- now run by the Saudis apparently apparatus-wise and possibly war with Iran... Would members of Congress give this one the OK the way they did GWB in Iraq.
The playground stuff (sorry the pre-election stuff is all too much) pales when one considers the real harm being done not just to people in other nations but to our fellow Americans -- as well paying jobs go overseas, e.g. or bodes are shipped back from war zones.
5
impeachment hearings will add gravitas to the case against trump--- better done sooner than later
6
Had to stop at ‘Democrats craven fear of launching an impeachment inquiry.’
Nothing of the sort. Impeachment process is underway and will continue in a deliberate and dignified way. (Ms. Goldberg would prefer dramatic and ineffectual.). In the meantime, keep focus on issues and election.
8
As an interested bystander from the comfort of the northern side of the border, all I can say is: if this doesn't do it, I don't know what will... I think the Dems should stop obsessing over gaming the election and realize that impeaching Trump is a necessary first step to calling out the craven Republicans in the Senate -- who need to be put on the spot and defeated every bit as much as Trump himself. Time to get in the fight.
796
@Will
Stop focusing upon steps that are impossible. Impeachment is impossible. Medicare for All is, in 2020, impossible. Clean coal is impossible.
Tell your kids in college to not bother coming home for Thanksgiving if they are not registered to vote. Be an active citizen yourself. Register voters; very few who are currently unregistered will vote for Republicans.
29
@Will
Thank you, Will--we need good friends north of us
to tell us the hard and necessary truths.
34
@Emory
Impeachment may be impossible, with the Republicans controlling the Senate. Impeachment investigations, and patriotic whistle-blowers, will shine light on what the Mueller Report indicated.
If the information arising from those, along with what is known now, doesn't dethrone Trump. then the US truly will become a dictatorship...... and a pariah among nations.
38
Perhaps if we brought the house down on Elaine Chao McConnell and her hubby Mitch for their profiteering at the government trough they would both resign? If we won't go after trump how about Mitch? He is as dangerous to our Democracy.
22
CORRUPT Mitch McConnell has been DESTROYING America at least since 2008.
5
This is surreal. The very people who have cheered an effort to overthrow an election, cheered a candidate who paid a British agent to get dirt from the Russians on the opposing candidate, and done everything in their power to delegitimize the election are accusing the other side of being a "danger to democracy"? Unbelievable. Do you people have no mirrors? Really?
Just what to you think Hillary did by paying for the Steele Dossier? And you people in the NYTimes and Dem supporters have cheered every step.
3
@Jeff Kelley
Focusing on Trump so obsessively allows them to avoid focusing on Hillary's even worse actions. Then they wonder why they are not gaining any traction with their criticism.
1
@Jeff Kelley
But Steele went to the FBI. He was desperate for someone in law enforcement to know what he had found. And he never lied about his contacts.
16
Steele Dossier was FIRST commissioned by REPUBLICANS!
Then they dropped funding. So don't give me that "Hillary did it" phony-baloney!
4
Give it a rest, Ms. Goldberg. No one is going to stop Trump because no one who can is interested in stopping him: he has overwhelming Republican support, and the Democrats have shown no willingness to even try. From the outside Trump is America.
6
@JFB
And our neo-liberal, corporatists Dems would prefer trump to Bernie or Liz. Sad.
3
Trump is like a streaker at a sports event. He keeps slipping through security guards who are chasing him all over the field. But when he's caught, he's going down with a loud thud.
7
When does waiting, become less strategic than dereliction of duty? I'd say though would have been the day Mueller laid out evidence of obstruction of justice in his report and gave the responsibility and obligation of impeachment back to Congress where it always was. The reasons for continuing to wait grew thinner and thinner until Pelosi had to admit she just doesn't want to do it.
And don't tell me the House cannot impeach without the Senate. Only the House can impeach; it's the Senate that convicts. If Pelosi had any guts to fight, she would know how to totally discredit and disgrace Trump, the most disgraceful of presidents.
4
@citizen vox
N
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already run circles around trump with the government shutdown, She's also held her ground against funding the trump border wall. The process of impeachment is an all out effort. Frankly the more people in and out of Congress push for it the better the opportunity to succeed. Speaker Pelosi has become the most fearless Democrat to tackle the republican juggernaut in quite some time. I'll stick with Nancy's wisdom and tuff instincts. Timing is everything in this showdown.
4
"House Democrats’ craven fear of launching an impeachment inquiry..."
Listen, if I learned nothing else from Elementary School, it was not to trust anyone who dares you to do something by saying "What's the matter? Scared?"
4
Who's going to stop me?
I and other voters are going to stop you when we vote for a Democrat for president in 2020.
6
I'm annoyed that Nancy Pelosi is now at the stage where she's "waiting" for an appeal Trump made on an appeal decision that determined we had a right to subpoena Deutsche Bank for his financial statements, and that we has a right to obtain financial statements submitted to the IRS...
... and that we could compare them.
Trump decided to appeal yet again. We should not be submitting to his idiotic appeal and just get on with it.
If you're claiming you want discovery before holding impeachment proceedings, THEN GET ON WITH IT.
3
@Jbugko: US Courts age justice like the finest malt whiskeys.
2
Apparently, ‘progressive’ Wokesters are still under the illusion that the Clinton campaign didn’t collude with the Russians via Christopher Steele, who stated that he obtained his information from a Kremlin advisor. Hmmm...hypocrisy be thy name.
1
@Michal: The Clinton campaign did not use anything from the Steele dossier.
9
@Michal
However, Steele reported his findings to the FBI. He was desperate for someone in law enforcement to take him seriously. And he never tried to hide his information. He never denied his meetings.
9
@Michal
Apparently the other commenters that agree with you have read the same propaganda sheet. This point that you try to make is just plain false. A very 'Conservative Group' actually started the whole 'Dossier' by hiring Christopher Steele to gather dirt on trump mostly and any other GOP candidates. After trump won the republican nomination they sold the whole thing to the DNC and attorneys working for Hillary. But she never saw the Dossier's contents personally and never used it during the campaign.
4
Beware the incessant "Chinese water torture" technique that Little Donny is wielding. In his tiny childish brain, he plans to wear down those against him and it seems to be working. We may emerge in November of 2020, stunned once again as the Toy Tyrant declares his victory is a mandate to do more of what he has already done. Don't just pick Joe hoping his steady hand will win, don't just pick Elizabeth because she has the most cogent ideas on proper governance, don't just pick Bernie because he is the loudest podium-banger in the room. Do your homework, stay calm and vote. We didn't give up when we declared independence from British rule and fought hard for it. We won't give up now in the fight for Democracy above Fascism.
7
I just signed up for the Foley Square demonstration tomorrow at noon. Let's go people!
ENOUGH
4
As one who has lately felt the tug of despair, I welcome Ms. Goldberg’s encouragement not to give in to the Trump Deviation. At the same time I would point out that the ultimate success of our resistance doesn’t depend on us alone. Trump’s hardcore supporters, who find his awfulness somehow personally validating, won’t abandon him no matter what. The question is how to sway those right-of-center voters who hold no brief for "the Trump persona” but are so turned off by progressivism that they’re willing to swallow their scruples. At some point they may be persuaded that Trump’s demeaning of his office and trashing of our political and cultural norms constitute a true national crisis. They may realize that the threat he poses to the survival of the Republic – for nothing less is at stake – far outweighs his usefulness as an anti-progressive wrecking ball.
From this perspective, Speaker Pelosi’s dogged focus on defeating Trump in 2020 makes good strategic sense, however frustrating it may be in the short run. Voting articles of impeachment would be a set-up for failure in the Senate, and even launching an impeachment inquiry would be made to look like a partisan effort to overturn the results of the last election. We need to persevere with the Congressional investigations now underway and call out the Administration for its routine lies and deceptions. The good news is we might not have to wait another year and a half for relief. Trump bids fair to self-destruct before then.
2
@Fidelio: "Progressivism" defies the belief that God has everything in hand. It is apostasy.
"But there should also be pressure on the Senate" AND on all Republicans. Yes, the pressure on him needs to be kept up-especially since it leads him make statements in public that show his true nature. At the same time, it cannot be forgotten that by being the focus of everyone's attention, Trump is diverting attention away the fact that he depends on support from his enablers (McConnell) and the "moderate" Republicans (Romney) at the national and local levels
4
Is the "Resistance" exhausted or have they just handed off the baton to the House?
(Also: I can't stand Trump, have participated in numerous protests and have called and written to people in Congress to complain, but I can't stomach the branding around "the Resistance." Does it really need a capital-letter name? Where does "the Resistance" end and just regular opposition to Trump begin?)
2
@Jeremy
Go to MobilizeAmerica and find an event to register voters. I am now retired and plan to spend the winter in Arizona registering Democrats. Check out Field Team 6.
2
@Jeremy: Letting the enemy define what one does lets him predict your every move.
1
He is transparent. Transparently unethical, amoral and clearly not interested in what's best for the country but only himself. It shouldn't be a surprise given the 'I could kill someone in Times Square' comment early on. And he's right. His base either condones his actions or doesn't care about the country. The voters have to take him out if they/we think its appropriate or we accept the fact that our values are being severely compromised.
3
"this weekend, there will be nationwide demonstrations to demand that Congress open an impeachment inquiry. " AGAIN? Philadelphia, a "blue" city with 1.5 mil residents only managed a few hundred last time, while London protested the wannabe king's visit with 10s of thousands. Oh yeah, our "representatives" are so listening. >:
2
In yesterday's Washington Post, Hilary Clinton endorsed receiving and using derogatory information from a foreign government as “part of what happens in a campaign.” No big deal, as long as it is practiced by liberals. But if a conservative, like Donald Trump endorse it, then the world comes to an end. This kind of hypocrisy is why I no longer support Democrats, especially Democrats since 2000. This is not to say I support Republicans, but I support Donald J. Trump. Thank you.
3
@Southern Boy
I support Trump, too, and I'm certainly not going to be lectured by the same people who voted for Hillary and now are outraged over a falsely worded accusation based on a hypothetical question, nor by feminists who voted for someone who set up a "War Room" to go after her husband's sexual assault victims.
They have not one ounce of credibility. Not one drop.
2
@AACNY,
I am glad we are on the same page.
1
@Southern Boy: How did the Hillary campaign actually use this gossip against Trump?
2
The problem is not Trump. He's a fool who is just riding a tiger without knowing it. The problem is about 40% of the people who vote wanting a strong man to make the other 60% submit to what they want. It's a rejection of our liberal democracy by people who feel that they have been denied what they need by the majority and they are ready to replace democracy with autocracy. That needs to be addressed and worked out, or we face more elections where the winner does not serve all but just the people who voted for the President.
7
Perhaps Ms Goldberg should be a little less arrogant in her implicit assumption that she knows so much better than Nancy Pelosi what the most effective course of action against Trump is. The Senate will not convict and strategy is more important than symbolic actions. It is not a given that impeachment is the best way to rid ourselves of the scourge that is Trump and accusing those who disagree with her of acting out of "craven fear" has caused me to lose respect for this columnist.
1
The problem is NOT how the press has treated this un-elected (the 2016 "election" was NOT legitimate!), Putin-supported, Cadet Bone Spurs "president". It's how Cadet Bone Spurs has treated the press that is the glaring issue.
After many months of twiddling her thumbs, his self-admitted liar of a Press Secretary finally quit. (While under oath, she admitted to the Mueller team that she lied.) She could no longer take the heat she was getting from the press, so all press conferences were cancelled for months on end. The press is not supposed to just pretend they're being given the truth when faced with a continuous barrage of obvious and often malicious lies.
And I don't want to hear that she was just following orders. She's over 21 year of age and responsible for her actions. She was free to resign at any time. If she didn't want to have to lie day after day after day, then she shouldn't have taken the job. It was clear from day one (starting with Sean Spicer's lies) what Cadet Bone Spurs would require her to do: LIE! LIE! and LIE some more.
7
@NY Times Fan
Yes. Reading Mueller's report really brings this home. All his people are expected to lie for him; cover his tracks. Absolute, total obstruction of fact, truth - call it what you wish. An outrage. Wonder if any of them will be able to get another job in the future.
3
"Michelle Goldberg ... is the author of several books about politics, religion and women’s rights, and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2018 for reporting on workplace sexual harassment issues."
In other words, she has a Ph.D. in Lying As An Art Form, and she certainly uses her mendacity skills in this op-ed.
Rather than give the run-down on all the ways she has misrepresented Trump's words, actions and intentions here, I'll get straight to the worst lie of all: she does not want to save democracy. She wants to destroy democracy and replace it with a feminist totalitarian state, one that will treat men worse than the Jim Crow south treated blacks.
Compared to that, I'd rather have Trump warts and all!
2
We’re not numb. We are making our list. We are making the videos of Trump over and over again showing how he lies and cares about nothing but himself for Oct 2020. Impeachment is not the answer. Defeating him in November 2020 should be the main goal. Taking over the Senate and keeping the House in 2020 are equally important. Takeaway Trump and McConnell and we have a chance to restore America’s honor before it’s too late.
3
@Joe Smith
Trump can be replaced in 2020 if enough people vote. However, the distribution of seats by Party will not change much because they actually represent the distribution of party preferences across the country. Expect the Congress to be nearly split one way or the other by a slim margin.
2
Trump does say outrageous things but he does not take actions that will pass test for obstruction
:
-unlike Clinton and Dems, he has not received/used anything of value from foreign governments;
-cheering on Wikileaks or the Russians to publish any DNC emails may irritate Dems but is not obstruction and Mueller has failed to find any conspiracy;
-ordering Mueller dismissed, but not doing it and not asking ordering the termination of the Special Counsel, and all the while ordering massive WH disclosure to Special Counsel, will not be found to be obstruction;
-firing Comey looks like there was a possible corrupt intent and a concurrent, justified, exercise of Presidential power existing at the same time, all with the backdrop of Comey's unprecedented and widely-criticized of the Clinton email investigation, and the disclosures that will be coming in the ongoing DOJ investigation; will a jury or Senate convict?
Let's just get started with impeachment so we can get it out of the way well before the 2020 election. Formal impeachment, unlike the daily diatribe by House Dems, will require articles of impeachment. If they are too general, they won't get traction with Senate nor voters. If they are specific as they should be, we can see whether the Senate agrees with the Barr-Rosenstein conclusions or whether the Senate will, as likely, consider there was no underlying crime and enact a "jury nullification" of any obstruction they find.
2
@Sonoma, (of which I have fond memories...) Here's your definition:……………..............................................
18 U.S.C. § 1503 defines "obstruction of justice" as an act that "corruptly or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication, influences, obstructs, or impedes, or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede, the due administration of justice."
1
It's not accurate to say that Mitch McConnell is "single-handedly" doing anything. He is the leader of the Senate majority, and if Republican senators wanted him to act differently, he would do so, or he'd no longer be majority leader.
11
Trump is like a teenager because his self esteem is not sufficient to enable him to behave like a mature man. He taunts to test authority and to find out how far he can go. He tells stories to see how people respond. He struggles to see where things are going but he does not show the ability to evaluate consequences and to anticipate likely outcomes beyond getting what he wants immediately. He feigns confidence but then asserts silly things that betray his insecurities. What is that but an immature personality who lacks enough ability to grasp consequences to mange himself well?
5
Trump has succeeded in turning what once was our reality into a reality tv show. We are becoming comatose and blunted in our response. It all is becoming boring and we just want to turn it off. His followers like reality tv. They think it's funny and hey it's reality and on top of that somebody always wins. We now live in a dystopian universe where nothing is as it seems, truth is fiction and everyone talks in newspeak. This is the perfect set up for dictatorship.
5
More attention needs to be paid to Mitch McConnell. Without him, Trump would be in real trouble.
7
Good question. Someone has to (stop him). Bullies never ever stop themselves. They have to be stopped.
Here's the conundrum we have:
As long as we are fighting against him and his particular brand of corruption, he will win. He feeds on those fighting against him. He thrives on belittling those who criticize him. Without a foil, he can't make his anger pitch - that's terrible, that's good, cheer on cue. He loves the attention. Even when it's condemnation, his name is still in the headlines.
And yet we have to fight against this sort of blatant abuse and misuse of everything he can get his little hands on. We have to call it out, all of it. We have to talk about it because its wrong - best example ever of how thing can go really wrong. We have to talk what to do about it. It can't go on.
Surely better minds than mine have given this some thought.
Haven't enough lines been crossed?
When are we going to finally say 'enough! stop'! ?
1
What baffles me about this man's way of thinking is he basically got what he wanted out of the Mueller report, a win you could say, and from the point after having the AG release the redacted report he should have ordered silence from his Administration and practiced silence himself and have never said another word about the report or any related topic, period. But here he is, publically stating that it is his prerogative to take information against a political opponent from a foreign power, and to use that information against a political opponent, not to forward to law enforcement to investigate a crime, or put a stop to some treacherous or treasonous wrongdoing against our nation, but to gain politically from utilizing such information. It is exactly the suspicion of such actions that spurred the appointment of Mueller, and is the subject of what Mueller concluded - there not being enough evidence to prove there was a collusion between Trump and the Russians. Yet he keeps on talking as if there is no one out there with any power to do anything about it. There is just his loud, creepy, active, blindly loyal support base. Have we entered a time warp and suddenly returned to the Europe of the early 1930's? Please, please God let me be right in my gut feeling that, in the end, 1/3 of all American's actually are not going to support this foolish charade eternally, come what may.
4
To Trump, customary procedure, tradition, precedent, and law entirely consist of one can get away with. That is why he must be continuously challenged in blunt and brutal terms, in every possible way (e.g. from courts to "street talk"), and preferably face-to-face and in public. It is also why every Trump supporter should be similarly challenged (and removed from office).
The choice is stark. Either we have a nation of laws or we don't. And there are many examples --from assorted "banana republics" to Germany of fascist times, to present-day Venezuela -- that illustrate the likely result of the latter, which, obviously, is never pretty.
2
It is fascinating how paralyzed the Democrats are by Trump's legendary followers (the Republicans, I can sort of understand). The rationale for this, stripped of all this journalistic blather is: "Oh my God, they've got all the guns!". Their explicit and implied threats of violence are at the root of why the rest of us have tolerated them for this long. That violence is borne of their weakness and terror. That violence is all they really have, they are ignorant, isolated, and lack the habits of mind to thrive in a rapidly-changing world. Will that world stop changing because they wave a firearm around and scream incoherently? No. They will pass unnoticed as the world moves around them.
1
The truth is, no one will stop him. He is the wrecking ball of culture, custom, and history in this country. He doesn't know, or believe in, the rules of the game, the Constitution, the separation of powers, national intelligence services or criminal statutes. Whatever he can get away with, whatever suits his advantage, is what he'll do. I and many like me are sick to death of the hand wringing and tsk-tsking on the part of the press. Yes, he's destroying the democratic processes and culture of our nation. You're right, night after night, MSNBC and CNN. So what are you going to do about it besides dish about it for ratings?
The Democratic Party isn't a bulwark against tyranny but an inept political machine in its own right. Pelosi has shown the country that she's no heroine fighting for the soul of the country, but a lifetime political hack whose vision extends only to the next election. Congratulations.
2020 needs to be an election that propels us beyond the tawdry present of Trumpism and baby boomer still-fighting-Vietnam-and-Watergate Democrats. Young candidates with ideas, data, technology, vision, and alternative media savvy are the way out of this rabbit hole. A young, engaged, multicultural, multiethnic, coalition of voting citizens who are diverse and egalitarian in every sense is the thing that will stop him. Democrats -- give us that candidate, please. Don't give us the Battle of the 75-year-olds who don't use email. For g...d's sake, stop him now.
5
Most of our youthful population is really, really busy swiping on Tinder, sending each other sexy pics, taking selfies at every opportunity, adoring “influencers,” and many of them can’t read anything pitched above an eighth grade level anyway. Their faces are too glued to their phones to have meaningful in-person discussions about anything political. They are too occupied with these activities to take the time out to get to the polls as demonstrated in the last few elections. I don’t think we can depend on them to get us out of our dilemma!
2
Trump is a nasty unqualified man who is on the brink of leading the country into a military action against Iran. That is very dangerous, stupid and once again puts the US in the position of illegally attacking a weaker country. The fact Saudi Arabia is one of the main beneficiaries of this aggression should make people appalled by this. Impeachment would be a stupid misguided effort doomed to embarrassing failure. Its becoming clearer by the day that the never Trump forces in the intelligence agencies and news media have created out of whole cloth this non sense. The Russian interference/anti Russia hysteria. The national security folks foolishly left abundant evidence of their efforts which they thought would be swept under the rug with Clinton's prospective election victory. Wrong. Flukes happen and the dumb bell Trump won a ridicules electoral college victory.
1
"... the despairing numbness engendered by his presidency..."
I think it's the other way around because the historically proven truth of politics is:
"Every country has the government it deserves."
~ Joseph de Maistre
That trump thing did not appoint itself. It is a symptom of a culture gone wrong.
That calls to mind Pogo's observation:
"We have met the enemy and he is us."
I'm not despairing or numb. Mainly, I'm ashamed...
but hopeful. Because evil empires usually die from their mindless commitment to the internal rot they generate. Thus justice awaits in reality's teeth.
1
Really sick of people saying the Democrats are afraid of impeachment. I don't think that's it at all. I think Speaker Pelosi is playing a game of three-D chess on a board that is on another planet. It's the planet Trump has created for the United States based on his sick, twisted morals and lack of ethics. I think she is doing all she can do to ensure she is not the last Speaker of the House in the last American election. Most of us dont play at that level.
4
I marched, and knocked on doors, and organized, and donated to help elect Democrats in 2018. Just as I did in 2016. What has it gotten me? If the leaders I helped elect won't stand up to Trump, what good is it to drag my family out in the streets again?
4
@Chris I’m right there with you, Chris, wondering why I should bother with all the effort and donations again next year. If the Democrats aren’t going to fight for our Constitution, why should I fight for them?
The men who wrote the Constitution were very wise. They seemed to have thought of everything. But they never could have imagined someone like Trump.
2
"Let me make something 100% clear to the American public and anyone running for public office,” Weintraub wrote. “It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election."
I'm not honestly sure what this means. If a green card holder goes door-to-door campaigning for a candidate, is that a crime? If there were absolute proof of any US candidate - even a Dem - committing a serious crime, but the holder of that evidence happens to be Canadian, are US authorities prohibited from acting on it before the election? If a candidate has done something shady in a foreign country (say, a dubious development in Moscow), how would the voters learn about it if the only ones who have the details are foreigners?
Trump is ramping up for nuclear war in the Middle East. I’m not sure we will all be alive for by 11/2020.
It's fitting that Trump's open invitation to further illegal foreign interference had zero coverage on Fox News - only his supporters spoke, proud of his "honestly" and the common theme was a claim of "democrat hypocrisy". Now of course they only feature Trump's "patriotic-American" walk back. Fox is a core problem - they made this "king", they profit immensely by race-baiting divisiveness which gives good ratings. Will a propaganda arm masking as news ever be held accountable? Probably not. It's been the key to Murdoch's rise all over the world. In addition to defeating Trump, effective counter-measures to Fox are needed. A "lie-reflector" counter, like exists for Trump, would be a good start.
1
What is the one thing America can do to dent the armor of Trump? Ignore him!
I would like to propose a day each week that is "Trump-Free", or "No Trump Day". Since he does not work weekends, easiest day would be Saturday or Sunday, and each week we the people, you the press, and folks in foreign countries leave his name out of every article, conversation or picture.
Everything he does and says is for his own benefit...a sugar high from attention and agitation. We won't miss anything good, because he is not doing anything...good.
Spread the word and delete all Trump word and deed from your devices once a week. The mental health of americans will improve.
2
@Mike I have done exactly that as much as I possibly can. Thanks to a Google Chrome extension, if I want to I can completely block his image or name or any article about him from Facebook, or even from this site. I still check out his latest travesties from time to time because I was politically active in the US in the sixties/seventies and haven't lost my belief that some things just can't be ignored and allowed to happen free of scrutiny or criticism. It runs counter to my ethics and personal beliefs. But for the most part my life is much more pleasant when I don't have to look at him or read/hear about him. It would benefit many others as well.
As far as alleged Russian collusion goes, Hillary Clinton used three firewalls — the Democratic National Committee, the Perkins Coie law firm, and the Fusion GPS strategic intelligence firm — to hide her campaign’s payments to British national Christopher Steele to find dirt on Trump and his campaign; in other words, to collude. Steele in turn collected his purchased Russian sources to aggregate unverified allegations against Trump. He then spread the gossip within government agencies to ensure that the smears were leaked to the media — and with a government seal of approval.
No wonder that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s partisan team spent 22 months and $34 million only to conclude the obvious: that Trump did not collude with Russia.
Mueller’s failure to find collusion prompts an important question. If the Steele dossier — the basis for unfounded charges that Trump colluded with Russia — was fraudulent, then how and why did the Clinton campaign, hand in glove with top Obama administration officials, use such silly trash and smears to unleash the powers of government against Trump’s campaign, transition team, and early presidency?
The question is not an idle one.
1
@ron
The Steele report where the contents have been checked with independently collected information is true and not false. The assertion which you cite is blatant misrepresentation of reality. It's nonsense because it presumes with no confirmation, the unchecked portions must be entirely false and made up. It's more deliberate twisting of facts by Trump supporters who do not care about reality just giving their boy unconditional support.
4
While I am quite heartened (and enlightened) by many comments given to a wide variety of articles/opinions in The New York Times, I read pieces like this and realize that we're just shouting down a well—though, doubtless, the NYT is voraciously vacuuming up these comments for the invaluable data they provide to the NYT for free.
So here we read that "Trump has no loyalty to his country, its institutions and the integrity of its elections."
Then we're told, "he feels no need to fake it."
So apparently it is not obvious that Trump is following the much lauded model of modern CEOs of extremely powerful multinational corporations around the world?
Or are we to think that these "global titans" who run these multinational corporations (some of which are more powerful than many governments around the world) really are loyal to their country, its institutions and the integrity of its elections?
Apparently we really are supposed to think this; otherwise, talking about Trump in this manner could not be seen as the strong criticism it's supposed to be here (and therefore, would not have the desired doctrinal effect).
And certainly, international investment bankers and other "global titans" never feel any need to "fake it" as they go about shaping our globalized world to their own interests—so why should another globe-trotting CEO who now happens to be the U.S. President also fake it? After all, CEOs run this globe.
The depths to which we've been indoctrinated is found herein.
1
"Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the President's tax returns that are missing."
7
As much as we know about Trump's mob-boss "style" of autocratic rule, his ability to get away with "it" is more a sign of how far the Republican Party has sunk into its own primordial ooze.
But this has been the long-term goal of The Heritage Foundation: to turn the government over to one-party rule — an ultra-conservative transmogrification of the former party of Lincoln. With its apparent subsidiary, The Federalist Society, calling the shots for judicial appointment by Republican presidents, losing control of the House to the Republicans again will allow an endless victory dance for extreme conservative oligarchs and autocrats far into the future.
The 2020 elections are the last stop in ridding us of the Madness of King Don, and his devoted street thugs in Congress. If the Democrats lose the White House again, they certainly lose the Senate and very likely, the House. If ever there was a test for the American People to reclaim our democracy, to show the world American still stands for something other than the endorsement, and practice, of thuggery, this is it.
2
The House can impeach and refer the case to the Senate for trial after the election. The new Senate can try the case after the new Congress is sworn.
1
@Olivia. You would vote for him again? He fullfilled his promises? What promises has he kept? 1.5 billion tax for the wealthy that never tricked down to the working class. Rolling back protections on Our water, air and land?- (just a little bit more poison - and people can't figure out why the unprecedented rise of autoimmune diseases?) Farmers losing everything? Babies in jails, separated from their Mommas likewise in jail? And no secure process to reunite them. Rise in suicide and drug overdoses across the land? The GOP agenda to take more money from the poor and give to the rich (to pay for their 1.5 billion windfall) has not stopped. Their plans to violate the Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and that red-headed step-child which gives Mitch McConnell and Trump, the most angst - The ACA otherwise known as Obama Care. What about the opening wide the doors to avarice and greed that's infecting and trickling down to every area of society? And the foul taste left in every mouth that understand what's at stake by the sowing of lies, hate and division every dog-gone day for 24 months? ..The fish is rotting from the head. God Help America. Adherence of the Golden rule, taking care of the weak, poor, disenfranchised always, always has reaped blessings and benefits and favor to America's account by God. That is why we prosper and have 1st place standing in the world inspite of Our flaws. That is why we always have more than enough to share with the world. God not Trump.
3
A year ago we took yo the streets to demand an end to family separation. Where is our outrage now?
I would like the Democratic candidates to take turns holding rallies and protests at the border.
Rallying cry: Don’t look away.
This weekend across the nation.
Short answer: NO ONE is going to stop him! The Republicans - a pitiful, craven bunch, for sure - tremble at the mere thought of standing up to this tyrant, and the Democrats are collectively chewing on their fingernails and waiting for a real leader to emerge and tell them what to do. What a completely pathetic Congress we have elected. Today's flag day, but my flag is staying rolled up in the garage. No pride here, whatsoever!
1
Good question: Who will stop Donald Trump? Only a very smart and innovative Democrat can stop him. Till now, we don’t know if the parade of the 22 Democratic candidates has at least one smart and innovative candidate with a great vision for the America 2020.
“Oh, let me call the F.B.I.,” he said derisively. “Give me a break, life doesn’t work that way.” Actually, for everyone but the lawless, such as our President, life does work that way.
Trump has welcomed the help of a foreign adversary to get him elected. He still thinks there is nothing wrong with seeking that help. Who can possibly believe that Trump is fit to serve as President of the United States?
2
The history of dictators shows that they almost always stop themselves.
Are we ready for when he defies the Supreme Court? Why wouldn’t he? Because he “respects “ them?
Our side of the covenant we have with our Nation to secure our freedom and liberty is that we participate in keeping it. We have a shameful record with just voting. If we let the Trump or any dictator take our rights away weather we like him or like the next we all lose. If we are to be free we must protect all our rights or we will surely lose them all no doubt. It is just like free speech popular speech doesn't need to be protected it is the unpopular that needs it. There are limits, hate speech and speech to brake the law are some. We now seem to be involved in a fight to protect our selves from domestic threats as told to us by our Constitution. Our fight is not in North Korea, or Iran it is right here. Freedom is not free, but we don't need to fight for it in a foreign land the battle is right here.
1
Ivanka Trump gets initial approval from China for 16 new trademarks—including for ‘voting machines’
Trump is right.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/06/ivanka-trump-gets-initial-approval-from-china-for-16-trademarks.html
Trump to America and the rest of the world: Will Pay Top $$$$ For Dirt. The dirtier the better.
3
And.still.the.GOP.say.nothing.
4
What is so obscene is that when a foreign government, government-sponsored entity or criminal group finds "dirt" on a government official's opponents, the American people are the ones who would be paying them to find it. A foreign entity has enormous incentive and the capability to conduct actual spying, to embellish findings or simply fabricate them to please those in power in the USA.
Thinking that this is ok and claiming that it is not a normal reaction to report potential federal crimes to the to the FBI are the type of delusions that one would expect from a cult leader shortly before their house of cards come crashing down.
2
Trump has actually become more emboldened now that the Democrats in the House have basically taken impeachment off the table.
4
Some people hate Trump so much that they are automatically against anything he does. For example Goldberg complains that Trump will begin housing unaccompanied minors on a military base that was used to intern Japanese - Americans during WWII. Interning our own citizens was wrong, but temporarily housing unaccompanied minors there (73% of whom are 15 and older) until Health and Human Services (HHS) can find them sponsors seems more than adequate. HHS houses them for an average of 66 days while it looks for the least restrictive place where they can live while they await their immigration hearings. HHS tries to place a minor with his parent or other relative, but must do a background check on this adult before handing the minor over.
HHS was doing this for less than 8,000 alien minors a year until Fiscal Year 2012, the year President Obama announced DACA. Even though DACA was restricted to those who were already living here, word spread that the U.S. was now granting entry to everyone. By the end of FY 2012, the number of unaccompanied minors jumped to 13,625 , and continued to grow. Just in FY 2019, by the end of last month, 56,278 unaccompanied minors were referred to HHS for housing.
It is already operating 168 facilities, and is trying to find more. Where would Goldberg recommend HHS temporary house this tsunami of unaccompanied minors until less restrictive, longer-term housing can be found with a parent, other relative, or foster family?
3
@Ann. Why the spike, why the jump? What about the 8000(?) children that were not revealed/reported?
Why do people not have warm fuzziest about Trump? For me 10,000 lies are pathological and scream, "Danger!" So when will it be safe to trust his judgement for the betterment of Our nation? Tell me when will it be safe for me, and my family, and my community, and my city, and my state, and my country to trust him? When will it be ok for me to believe "It's about the nation stupid!" And not the enrichment of him, his family, his cronies, and all the creeps that came out of the shadows since he took the helm? When will it be safe to hope again?
1
Special Council Robert Muller did not indict anyone in connection with the Trump Tower Meeting because the Special Council Office concluded that accepting information from foreign sources is not a Federal Election Campaign Act violation. The Muller report notes that "no judicial decision has treated the voluntary provision of uncompensated opposition research or similar information as a thing of value that could amount to a contribution under campaign-finance law."
However, the Mueller report did note that paying foreign sources to conduct opposition research would be a violation.
The New York Times reported on Oct. 24, 2016, that “The presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee paid for research that was included in a dossier made public in January that contained salacious claims about connections between Donald J. Trump, his associates and Russia." Clinton and the DNC paid for the Steel Dossier. Christopher Steel, who is a foreign national, compiled the dossier by paying Russian officials and intelligence operatives to shovel "dirt" into the dossier.
3
@William Case
That assertion that a foreign citizen hired by a domestic company to do research that was legal for the domestic company to perform is a blatant misrepresentation of the facts. The people who assert it know it, too. It's nothing but a red herring distraction.
@William Case Wrong. The Clinton campaign hired Fusion GPS, a Washington based, American company and therefore, the campaign broke no laws.
@Casual Observer
That's untrue. It is not okay to pay through a second party. The New York Times says Hillary paid for the research.
Can someone please explain to me why it’s acceptable for one man, one single man, to have the unilateral power of deciding what the Senate does or does not get to vote on?
This is apparently not a new phenomenon - it’s been a power reserved to the majority leader of the Senate for a long time. It took someone as craven as Mitch McConnell to expose what a dangerous power it can be when used to unreservedly endorse and support the actions of a president such as Donald Trump instead of the Constitution.
I think it seriously past the time for the Senate (and the House) to take a step back and review their rules from the viewpoint of how can these rules be used to subvert the separation of powers defined in the Constitution and the functioning of our democracy. McConnell’s refusal to even consider filling the last Supreme Court vacancy during the Obama administration and his endorsement of many of Trump’s most egregious policies exhibit a profound “party over Constitution” attitude and a curios sense of “I can do whatever I want to and you can’t stop me” entitlement.
We need to make sure no one individual ever has that kind of power in the future.
5
In some ways Trump is so obvious. He often blurts out the truth! And do the Republicans listen? Do they care about the country protected by a constitution they were elected to protect?
Or do they want to be guaranteed a role where they have the big title, with big taxpayer money-in-their-pockets but no responsibility in the evolving autocracy.
4
Harriman Gray, below, in Reader Picks:
I am chomping at the bit to protest and march for as long as it takes.
I'm in Philadelphia. I hadn't heard of any protests until just now, Friday 6/14/19, at about noon. I'm seeing conflicting reports of protests taking place today or tomorrow, but no locations or times, and I'm vigilant about following social media for reports of protests. I've missed out on two protests in the past for the same reason--no publicity or dates/times given inaccurately The opposition has to do a lot better than this. I don't have the skills or resources or the mental stamina (I'm dealing with PTSD) to organize and pull off nationwide, sustained protests. I make calls and write to my elected officials. I'm mostly ignored.
Yes, too many Americans are apathetic and self-centered. But that isn't true of all of us. Plenty of us hanker for opposition and civic groups to do their jobs.
6
@Patty Quinn
Go to MobilizeAmerica and find events to register Democrats. I am spending the winter (I am retired) to register Democrats in Arizona. Get involved with Indivisible.
Ethical doesn’t work with this man, he lacks understanding of the word. The man is unstable and those who support him are revealed as marginal and will be remembered as such.
His business activities have always been conducted with as much illegality as he could get away with without going to jail. His lawyers have sailed as close to the wind as possible to protect him from jail — they were paid to. Ethical, a sense of propriety? Foreign words and concepts to these people.
Respect for the law and morality mean different things to Trump & Co., but their interpretation isn’t what this country was founded upon nor what the majority of voting Americans expect from their leaders. We are disgusted with them and I am sure the rest of the world holds them with little respect.
7
The Democrats are more afraid of Trump's followers than they are interested in representing their own constituents. And McConnell has his back. As long as both are true, Trump is immune to anything.
348
@AB
The Democrats are afraid of leaves blowing in the wind, I'm pretty sure my mother's neurotic Labradoodle has more guts than the blue color-team these days.
41
@AB
Don't blame Trump's supporters. The democrats are aware of something progressives remain in denial about. It's their own voters who do not share the leftwing's obsession with Trump.
5
Wrong. Evidence? Midterm elections 2018!
23
And on and on it goes. Another blatantly outrageous blurting out by Trump further stirring up the cauldron of divisiveness and chaos in Washington. He's so unconscious of his own narcissism, that he's not aware of how foolish and slavishly compliant he's making McConnell and his lap dogs look to the informed public. And he's clearly reveling in, and immensely enjoying his ability to continue to be the most talked about person on the planet, even if 70% of the world population that is paying attention views him with utter disdain.
Starting the impeachment inquiry now isn't going to hurt the democrats for very long. It will be baked in like all the other shocks to our political system by this time next year. But what might be uncovered through investigations bolstered by the impeachment process could be much more powerful in shaping the enthusiasm for anti Trump voters when the campaign really heats up a year from now.
1
Republican senators and congressmen stay silent as usual amidst this latest outrage from trump.
But they wouldn't mind getting assistance from a foreign adversary like Russia. Why would they? As long as it keeps them in power, why not?
Republicans are bought and paid for by Russia.
8
Wrong: https://nypost.com/2019/06/13/lindsey-graham-calls-trumps-2020-foreign-dirt-comment-a-mistake/
Trump's contribution has been to show that this age, when citizens can do their own research, marks the end of The Big Lie for everyone ... both for him and his opponents who speak easily disproved untruths.
1
Who's going to stop him? Indeed. Just as important, who's going to stop the Republicans? The GOP-trump combo have fed off of each other in their lawlessness, mischief and outright depraved vindictiveness against all that is good - all that is truly American and civilized as they smash our nation's society made up of immigrants.
"That Trump has no loyalty to his country, its institutions and the integrity of its elections is not surprising." This applies to the GOP and their base of enablers too. It's effectively an anti-American cult. GOP capitulation to trump? Its who they are.
The double std is worse - the GOP holds everyone else accountable for made up infractions that ONLY THEY'RE allowed to get away with, including the worst crimes in American history, as they're doing now.
Who'll kick trump out of office when he loses the 2020 election? He knows if he loses he'll be indicted and jailed for his many crimes.
Pelosi's criticism that impeachment is divisive is ridiculous. NOT impeaching him divides the nation more while extending trump's impunity that endangers the nation - imagine the destructive rampage he'll inflict on ALL OF US after an election day loss as a lame vindictive duck! Indeed, who's going to kick him out of office Jan 21, 2021?
Eventually the Dems will exercise their righteous anger on the GOP just as they have "brutalized" us with their hypocritical and malicious anger on us for decades. They may have 8 trillion bullets, but we're still a majority.
4
Just responding to your title, Ms. Goldberg: Not Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Apparently, the Speaker will not greenlight impeachment proceedings until she has ironclad assurances that everybody in the country is ok with it and that Mitch McConnell will grease the skids for conviction in the Senate.
No "profile in courage" is she.
5
On this issue she is profile in maturity and good judgment. A failed impeachment would be the vindication Trump personally seeks and politically needs for reelection. It would also inflict great damage on the country. I would gladly vote for a Democrat opposing Trump, but not any candidate who has thus far supported impeachment.
3
Seems to me that Trump is pulling out all the stops to start impeachment proceedings against him. I wonder why?
3
Weekend demonstrations. Let’s do a global expansion of that idea. That might actually change minds, force action. We’ve come to the aid of Britain, France. We’ve rebuilt Germany after WW II. Now we need their help, their opposition research. On donors, companies, that back this president, this presidential candidate.
Bank records from British offshore islands. From German banks. Any useful surveillance tapes, recordings of business trips. Central, South America, chime in. Bank records. Iran- any dirt on our Saudi .....ally? It has to be good- a Turkish murder recording wasn’t enough.
Forget marching in the street with signs. Global governments, now is your chance. Our president has okayed it, invited it, legitimized it. Our leaders, in either House of Congress will do nothing. Shower us with opposition research. Of course we’ll turn it all over to the Justice Department. After we ....verify it. Oh, and publish it. Game on.
3
Who will stop Trump?
The same people who held the perpetrators accountable for the crash of the world economy in 2008.
Oh, wait. . .
5
"Trump to America: Who’s Going to Stop Me?
An unbound president invites more foreign election interference."
Ellen L. Weintraub is a Commissioner on the United States Federal Election Commission, wrote:
Let me make something 100% clear to the American public and anyone running for public office. It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election. This is not a novel concept." Trump did this when he called on the Russians to hack Hillary Clinton's email.
If people want to give our country over to Putin, Russia, Kim in N. Korea, China and Iran, vote for Trump and the republicans because it is these foreign countries who want to push for the down fall of America. It IS just this simple. America stands in their way of expanding their dictatorships around the world.
5
@RetiredGuy
Did Trump actually say, "Who's going to stop me?" Where's that quote?
1
The problem isn’t Trump. The problem is Nancy Pelosi. She cares not a whit about the Constitution and the rule of law. All she cares about is that impeachment might upset the Donor Class.
The problem with the Democratic Party is the iron death grip that the timid gerontocracy has on the Party. All those fossils care about is raising money and making sure that tax increases on the donor class are moderate so they continue to go to fancy parties.
Time for new blood.
4
Wasn't it a crime in 2016 for Trump to openly ask the Russians to provide dirt on Hilary Cllinton? He was asking for something "of value" from a foreign government in an election. That is a crime. Why isn't he being charged with that crime now?
3
@jdvnew
Oh for heavens sake, it was supposed to be a joke but the dummies on the left took ti seriously!
Until the Honorable Member for Wall Street, Nancy Pelosi, decides to proceed with impeachment against fellow establishment member Donald Trump (which she declined to do to Bush/Cheney for far worse), then we will have to live with the clown, unfortunately.
2
Yes Michelle... My question, where is the indignation?? Why did people take to the streets in the UK during trump's (small 't' is intended, and justified) embarrassing visit, and here in the US, where are the people? Where are republican senators; with the fewest of exceptions, where are GOP office holders across the spectrum? If you're looking for an insurgency in the Senate, don't expect anything from our GOP senator from WI, Ron "Limp" Johnson, who ran, initially, as a Tea Party republican, allegedly concerned about the constitution, citizens retaking the government, etc. Apparently, he's OK with all this.
30-40 % of our voters apparently are OK with this merit-less scoundrel, as are the GOP body politic in much of the House, all (?) of the senate! The numbers are out there to easily rid ourselves of this degenerate, with his facade of success and competence, in the next election.... if "Donald The Faux" remains in office until the 2020 election do not stay home, YOU will be as complicit as the republican party is.
5
The indigestion? Come on down to Houston, where Senator John Cornyn's office has protestors outside every Tuesday, rain or sun, cold or hot. Sometimes 10 or 15, sometimes in the hundreds. Activism works. It took out every GOP judge on the ballot in 2018 in Harris County (Houston). The Dems outta try it sometime. Generate a crowd bigger than the MLK rally on the mall In the'60s. Get 2 million people to drop in on Trump.
Every so often, Trump says or does something so grotesque that it cuts through the despairing numbness engendered by his presidency, galvanizing the forces of decency anew. It happened after Trump defended white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, after he compared nonwhite countries to excrement, and after he bowed and scraped before Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. This should be one of those moments.
And what good exactly have they done, those moments?
4
Whatever flaws Henry Miller had, I'd say he called this one in 1934 as fascism was rising Europe:
“Boris has just given me a summary of his views. He is a weather prophet. The weather will continue bad, he says. There will be more calamities, more death, more despair. Not the slightest indication of a change anywhere. The cancer of time is eating us away. Our heroes have killed themselves, or are killing themselves. The hero, then, is not Time, but Timelessness. We must get in step, a lock step, toward the prison of death. There is no escape. The weather will not change.”
2
I know he talks to the Prince of Whales---is he also Prince of the Orca Isles?
2
The mentally exhausted, psychologically horrified and intellectually baffled will rise to cleanse our country of this reprobate and all the baggage he brought with him.
3
Initially, I was excited for Pelosi to reclaim the gavel and begin course-correction in Washington. Now I realize that she's much too cautious (and too classy) in light of the threat Trump presents to our government. She must not realize that some of the damage he is doing is irreversible; and future would-be autocrats may be smarter and more disciplined than Trump, so they will have learned from him how to solidify power faster and more completely. Pelosi's strategy is dangerous for democracy--it's doing nothing to slow Trump's roll towards autocracy. Former federal prosecutor Cynthia Oxney likened this strategy to permitting a puppy to pee in the House without even trying to train it. Peeing in the House would be bad enough, but in this case it feels more like #2. The stains and smell won't come out. This is the mess that Speaker Pelosi will leave behind.
4
It has finally come to this: your President is above the law.
He can do anything he wants with impunity because a large percentage of Americans are less interested in good government than they are in Theatre of the Absurd.
Good night, America. Your day is done. The rest of the world will move on and leave you in your stagnation and rot.
6
Every day. Every single day. Yesterday, we witnessed what was almost certainly a repeat of the Bush administration's rush to Iraq, with false "intelligence" - lies, actually. This time it's trump, his administration, and Iran.
He wants war, almost certainly to distract from his legal troubles - as well as to fulfill his certain promises, quid pro quo, to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/19/us/politics/trump-jr-saudi-uae-nader-prince-zamel.html
I just hope we all survive what is to come before trump is removed from office, however that happens. And it better happen very, very soon.
5
Trump has dug the grave of our Democracy; Nancy Pelosi is shoveling the dirt on it.
4
So tired of Democrats and so-called ‘progressives’ and their situational outrage.
Not a single one had any issue whatsoever with the DNC and the Clinton Campaign paying for fake foreign dirt on Donald Trump which was subsequently fraudulently presented before a FISA court.
Your credibility is exactly zero.
(And you’ll wonder why the appalling DJT will get re-elected...)
2
IMPEACH...
and let the chips fall where they may.
4
Trump’s idiotic and borderline criminally incriminating tweets and blathering may seem like the random utterances of a demented fool ( for good reason). But as mad as he is, there is a diabolical method to Trump’s apparent madness. He is diverting Democrat’s, the electorate and the press from actual misdeeds of his administration and destructive policies that serve monied special interests (which includes his family’s business) to the detriment of us all. True, the NYT and WAPO’s gumshoe reporters turn out reams of newsprint laying out corruption, such as the recent revelations about the McConnel & wife shipping business and Kushner’s secret foreign slush fund. But these important scoops are reported and then relegated to the dustbin (no, actually a toxic garbage dump) of corruption, replaced by the constant attention given to the incoherent ramblings emanating from Trump’s twitter-finger or pie(no KFC)-hole.
Let’s not forget Trump’s tax give away to himself and friends, exploding the deficit he once decried; the shunning of science at the EPA, authorizing the use of pollutants and carcinogenic substances, gutting car mileage goals, and relegating climate change scientists to ostrich status; a false religious zealot with no moral compass gutting freedom of women to govern their own bodies; a belligerent would-be autocrat alienating allies and stumbling into possible military conflict to aid questionable allies, and reliance on flawed economic policies.And all the lies!
3
Nancy Pelosi won’t stop him.
Steele testified that his got his info for his dossier from a former head of Russian intelligence and a current advisor to the Kremlin.
Guess that makes no never mind to you folks that the Clinton campaign got information from a foreign govt and used it to interfere in the election?
Not to mention concealed the fact that they got that info from the Russians, and that it was paid for by the Democrats - from the FISA court?
Nothing to see here, right?
2
Democrats stop procrastinating all those ignoring your requests to testify need to be held accountable now. Impeachment inquiry needs to start now! This is the 75th anniversary of the Normandy invasion and the liberation of Europe. It is now time for our “Normandy” and the liberation of the United States!
2
I am not tired. I am furious.
8
China, if your listening and you are sick of Donald Trump, help the Democrats win big in the next election, it’s fair game.
4
I would hope God would, but He's slow to act, it seems.
2
"I know everyone’s tired. But democracy is not going to save itself."
Thank you for that essential reminder, Michelle Goldberg & NYT! Thank you, subscribers, advertisers, participants, defenders of the founding principles of the USA! Of the Constitution!
Resist RESIST Resist RESIST Resist RESIST Resist RESIST
RESIST Resist RESIST Resist RESIST Resist RESIST Resist
And teach your children, your grandchildren, your cousins-nieces-nephews why this thing called Liberty is important.
5
Ok Michelle,
I always read your column and generally finding them illuminating. However, but for the last 4 paragraphs, this column has been written many times before by you and others in whole or in part. Please, stop repeating the same old tropes and do something new. You could, perhaps, have focused on the material in the last 4 paragraphs and spared us the recitation of things we've heard many times. I will keep reading but would appreciate not getting the same stuff over and over again.
If liberals and progressives would concede that Hillary Clinton, the DNC and the Obama Administration all weaponized the Intelligence Community to first stop Trump's election and then to thwart/overthrow his Presidency...we could make some progress here.
Unless and until there is a full accounting of the dirty deeds done, Trump has full reign to do what he needs to beat down the NYT and other media outlets who've spent the past 2.5 years in a coup.
He didn't say he'd invite foreign entities to interfere. He said if they had dirt on an opponent, he would certainly listen.
And how..pray tell...is this any different than Hillary Clinton paying for Kremlin fake dirt on Trump that was used to get FISA warrants on the Trump campaign?
Actually..it is significantly different and the fact the Ukrainians and Chinese are both about to spill the beans on what Biden did for his son as the Obama reign came to a close...is scary to Democrats.
Hence..choose another candidate other than Biden. He though he could do these dirty deals because nobody was going to care with him retiring and riding off into the sunset.
Now that he's gotten himself back in the game...all bets are off...and Ukraine and China both now know where their bread is buttered.
Turnabout is fair play...and Democrats started this mess.
Republicans aim to make it right...then end it.
3
@Erica Smythe President Obama chose not to reveal to the American public, the ongoing FBI investigation into the Trump campaign in order to not affect the outcome of the election. So obviously, Obama was not out to sink the Trump campaign.
4
No Donald, if you want dirt on your opponent, you need to hire a good, US company, like Fusion GPS based in Washington DC, who then hires a UK private citizen, like Christopher Steele, a retired MI6 operative, to call his Russian connections to get the dirt from the Russian government, like the Clinton's and DNC.
Didn't you ever learn, you need to keep your hands clean, you can't do your own dirty work!!
2
America, that is what will stop him , if only Americans have any self respect and vote him out if office next year. I don’t believe in impeachment but in the power of democracy.
If more people people understand this time the danger of voting for a third party candidate or not voting at all then this thug has no chance
3
Michelle - if you actually listened to what he said, he didn't invite foreign interference at all. But then, perhaps you can investigate the DNC for their collusion with Russia and a British source.
1
Trump is the product of rapid profound change wrought by the information age and the reaction to that dynamic change by people who have shallow inflexible and increasingly unworkable worldview's. Trump is doing tremendous damage to American society. The fools who support him don't realize or even care because they're so terrified of losing their miserable pathetic jobs. In the end, they'll lose their jobs anyway. The systems which could have saved them will no longer exist. Pyrrhus would have approved.
1
"Who's going to stop me"? We are! The American people that is who!
2
Rs are now completely in Trump's pocket. History will judge them. But our country can't wait that long. Protest! Vote! CARE!
4
Characters like Trump will always find ways of getting around any law that Congress may pass to prevent future foreign interference in our country's. If Trump emerges victorious in the in the next election and if it is challenged, he would ward it off claiming executive privilege. And many in the Justice Department will be happy to act as his enablers.
One thing is sure: Trump is either ignorant of the existing laws on this subject and of the founding fathers' warnings on possible foreign interference in our elections or prepared to defy them. And the laughable Justice Department rule that a sitting president cannot be indicted will keep him in office until the end of his term. By then, irreparable damage will have been done to the country. Impeachment is the only way out.
Those who are against it, arguing that removing him from office through the next election is a better alternative, must reconsider their decision. What guarantee is there that he won't manipulate the next election and emerge victorious, again?
Speaker Pelosi, your argument that you would rather see Trump in jail than impeached is well taken. Once he is out of office, his next stop will be jail. Victims of his criminal conduct are waiting in the wings to sue him. Please don't stand in the way of your fellow lawmakers' efforts to start impeachment proceedings. The sooner this president is shown the exit, the better for the country.
2
When are the People of the United States going to stop this guy?
3
Put up a viable candidate to oust this lame excuse; that’s the task for the next 18 months.
4
I’m just waiting for the episode where he actually shoots someone on 5th ave and Republicans make excuses for him so he gets away with it.
I’m calling that episode America’s Finale
2
Why is Mr Trump's solicitation of foreign interference not another impeachable offense? There is no lack of evidence of his violation of his oath of office, by definition a high misdemeanor (literally bad behavior while in the highest elected office the the United States). Let's put America first, again.
3
I am so happy we in usa are inching towards an outright "Kim" protege! ( a bit older but .. works )
Question:”Who’s Going to Stop Me?”......Answer: voters in Nov. 2020.
1
Look, Michelle. Enough with this "Resistance" baloney. There is no "Resistance" in the sense of a WW II-era collective of anti-fascist heroes. And you are no Dolores Ibarruri. So knock off the La Pasionara nonsense and start thinking, and writing, politically -- by which I mean analyzing the actual political realities in this country. After generations of "rugged individualism" indoctrination, Americans' strong suit is not manning the barricades. But this doesn't mean that individual outrage at Trump's criminal conduct is anywhere near "exhausted" and that a legion of the decent will not form at the polls to send him to the dung heap of history. Start thinking and writing about that rather than employing outmoded tropes of romantic leftism.
2
Why liberals fail to understand that he was deliberately provocative ,spewing chaos,and the oh my gosh whats he's done now all hands on deck overwhelming media coverage reveals that the "fake press" once again has swallowed the bait
1
trump is a treasonous sociopath. mcconnell is as well. both of them could care less about our country. we are better than they are. vote them out in 2020, and let the sdny pursue trump's criminality after he's out of office.
4
The dumbest and most morally bankrupt President this country has ever had.
To say on national television that you'd welcome "dirt" or "Help" from any foreign government if it would help you get reelected is absolutely unbelievable.
So one must ask themselves. Was Trump intentionally giving the green light to his buddy Putin to ramp-up the interference campaign for 2020?
4
It is the Silence of the Lambs, Americans are slowly marching to the slaughter house, don't worry everything is fine it won't be painful just submit and obey.
3
He hasn't just shot someone on Fifth Avenue. He's mowed down the entire country.
5
History will no doubt demonstrate that... Oh, right. What history?
3
He, Kellyanne, trumpJr, and Barr all think they are above going to jail for their explicit crimes. We will see.
2
Part of the title of Ms Goldberg's article "...who's going to stop me?" points to the very heart of everything Trump and his prostitutes like sleazy McConnel and Graham are doing to America's rule of law and the very essence of our Democratic way of life. It's ironic that the Trumpies tell me that they voted for Trump (apart from all his lies to them) because they were so afraid that Hillary and all her liberal Progressive Dems would destroy the Constitutional rule of law in America. But they don't have a problem with Trump blatantly do the same thing. Oh, I'm sorry. This is how "We Make America Great Again"!
2
Mr. Trump,
In your arrogance you have forgotten that in the end, the USA is a democracy.
So, one voter, one vote at a time, we will stop you.
3
America is dead without the rule of law.
4
One of the things I thought was missed by a lot of people was his saying "The FBI doesn't have enough agents to take care of it". As if they have more pressing concerns than foreign governments trying to gain leverage over our government at the highest level, as well as him basically admitting that his adminstration has not done a good enough job providing the FBI with the tools it needs to do its job.
2
“It’s all shocking and outrageous, but few can summon shock or outrage anymore. Many of us are struggling to ward off learned helplessness, the depressed, withdrawn state created when terrible things keep happening and you feel powerless to stop them.
Our government is set up to protect us from an authoritarian takeover.
Trump is trampling on every norm and facing no real consequences.
It’s hard when our “representatives” can’t motivate to enforce the rule of law.
It does make the citizenry lose it’s faith and hope.
6
The Mueller report posits that the ban on accepting “something of value” from foreign sources might apply to opposition research but not to the simple sharing of information. It notes that “A foreign entity that engaged in such research and provided resulting information to a campaign could exert a greater effect on an election, and a greater tendency to ingratiate the donor to the candidate, than a gift of money or tangible things of value. At the same time, no judicial decision has treated the voluntary provision of uncompensated opposition research or similar information as a thing of value that could amount to a contribution under campaign-finance law. Such an interpretation could have implications beyond the foreign-source ban, see 52 U.S.C. § 30116(a) (imposing monetary limits on campaign contributions), and raise First Amendment questions. Those questions could be especially difficult where the information consisted simply of the recounting of historically accurate facts. It is uncertain how courts would resolve those issues.”
This explains why Special Counsel Mueller did not charge any of the participants in the Trump Tower Meeting and why Trump would not be charged for accepting information from foreign sources in the future.
Unexplained is why Hillary Clinton was not charged for commissioning the Steele Dossier. The dossier was definitely opposition research. It complied by Christopher Steele, who is a foreign national.
Source: Muller Report, Vol. I, Page 187
4
@William Case
Hillary did not commission the report. It was commissioned by Paul Singer, a Republican, during the primaries.
15
@Anon
That's not true. Singer commission Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research on Trump buh dropped out when Trump became the Republican nominee. Than the Hillary campaign and DNC hired Fusion GPS and authorized it to pay Steele to compile the Steele Dossier. Hillary and the DNC have admitted they funded the Steele Dossier. It is not a matter of dispute.
2
Steele was contacted back in the spring of 2016 by Glenn Simpson, who co-founded Fusion GPS. It was Simpson who wanted Steele to help Fusion follow leads on Trump’s ties to Russia.
This all occurred while an organization financed by Paul Singer was paying Fusion. While it is true that once Singer realized Trump would win the nomination, he dropped support, it was Fusion that reached out and persuaded Marc Elias, the general counsel for the Clinton campaign, to continue funding the research they were already doing under Singer. Steele ultimately took his results to the FBI.
1
Is Pelosi's strategy driven by 'craven fear', as Goldberg suggests? Consider that the alternative is not impeach-and-remove but with near certainty impeach-and-acquit.
"Impeach-and-acquit" doesn't really inspire, does it? The House Democrats haven't been able to make much out of their hearings so far. They are not suddenly going to transform into superheroes of messaging and debate. There's a real possibility that impeachment hearings could simply fizzle.
The goal is removal. That's a hard problem.
1
@hquain
So, why do sports teams play games at all. They might lose !!
Not a great strategy either.
Sometimes, just doing the right thing makes it worth doing.
It seems to me that we may be where we are because we’ve not enforced the rule of law, or even tried to.
2
Mitch McConnell is the only person in Washington who can stop Trump with the wave of his hand...(who quietly made Trump back down from Mexico tariffs?)
Mitch McConnell is obviously Trump's "prime enabler".
And the press should be hounding Mitch McConnell daily for his reactions to Trump's bizarre statements and behaviors.
As the one person who is blocking, and refusing to even discuss, bipartisan legislation to prevent foreign interference in our elections, McConnell needs to explain his teacherous refusal to take ANY action on our national security warnings to keep America and our elections safe.
What kind of "Senator" would do that?
All of America wants to know ...
So who, exactly, is McConnell "representing"?
9
Did Trump actually say he would accept assistance from Russia or any other foreign government? It appears from his comments that he was saying something quite different. Where are the quotes supporting this claim?
2
@AACNY
There's video. Look it up.
2
An important article inviting each of US, in our toxic WE-THEY culture, conflicted nation, and traditions and legacies which root and empower violating, by words and deeds, created, selected and targeted "the other," that daily opportunities exist to make sustainable differences for equitable wellbeing for ALL. As best as each of US can; ourselves as well as with others. Not only Trump, however,as a person, as America's highest national policymaker, as Commander in Chief, operates as being personally unaccountable for harmful-temporary and more permanent ones- voiced and written words and done deeds. Each of US, by complacency, complicity, willful blindness, deafness, ignorance and silences. Which enables what should never BE! THEN. NOW. Tomorrow?Focusing on Trump is all too easy!
What is necessary to courageously focus on ourselves. Not the "blame-game." What made it possible for each of US not to say, not to do, what might have, could have, would have, contributed to making a needed difference for increasing mutual trust. For enabling mutual respect. For being more caring and sensitive. For reaching out to build needed bridges for menschlich interchanges as well as helping to remove manmade barriers to wellbeing in safe havens! What have each of US done about our own local, city, town, state and national policymakers who have done whatever they have chosen to do, without paying a personal price? Soon after. Focusing day after day on Trump, and turning to a new article?
I believe that Liberal Democracy (I don't believe that we live in a true liberal democracy FYI) is not working for a considerable portion of the electorate and Trump is merely a mouthpiece for that. He uses it to keep his base and McConnell works with it to carry out his agenda. Democrats are not offering any real alternative to this administration. Center Left candidates are not the answer. Liberals can demonstrate all they want and perhaps they can win a few battles. But the simple fact of the matter is that no one has the answers to the real problems that the angry mob needs to feel heard and helped in real terms. Trump doesn't have the answers either but he satisfies and pacifies their frustrations and anger for now just by sticking it to the liberals who have not helped large parts of the country. Progress is not progress unless it is more equitable. My question is, what is going to happen when the mob figures out that Trump is not the answer to their real problems either? Will these people follow their own advice and pick themselves up by their own bootstraps and figure out their own lives or will they continue to look for a savior at any cost to the rest of us?
2
"It’s all shocking and outrageous, but few can summon shock or outrage anymore."
What the media should be doing is dogging every single elected Republican who will not stand up to Trump. Put a recording device in their face every single day, wherever they can be found, and demand their position on the list of Trump tweets, cover-ups, conflicts of interests, the whole parade of horribles.
Demand that they answer for it every single time they show their faces in public, until these people realize that their progeny will be ashamed of them if they don't scramble to the right side of history.
We should NOT be numb. We should be furious, and we should never stop demanding that the Trump enablers answer for this.
375
@Ann
Pointless to demand of the media something each of us should be doing with our own representatives. That’s what democracy is about!
6
@Ann
If only.
The media is a business first.
It’s about the money first, like everything else in our culture.
No one wants to alienate potential customers.
As Les Moonves famously stated, "It [Trump] May Not Be Good for America, but It's Damn Good for CBS".
9
How about the media just asking every Republican if they have read the Mueller report.
6
How about this. Concentrate on running viable opposition because it's too late to impeach him. Beat him in 2020. Stop wasting time and effort on a possible impeachment.
5
We can have endless immigration and reactionary politicians like Trump or we can have a moritorium on immigration and asylum and have a democracy again. The liberals in this country are making this choice for all of us.
What Donald Trump said about accepting foreign "dirt" is wrong, but the word "shocking" implies an element of surprise, and there was nothing surprising about it at all. As we all know, he asked for Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton in 2016. It was a commonly expressed opinion among his supporters that foreign dirt would be fine as long as it hurt Secretary Clinton. Tribal feeling has grown strong enough that for many activists on the Right, all that matters is that the dirt should hurt the enemy tribe and help "my" tribe (assumed to be the same thing). Which is why the supposed dirt on Donald Trump in Moscow was "bad" and "fake", because it was the wrong dirt. If someone had claimed precisely the same things about Secretary Clinton (or any other prominent Democrat) on precisely the same authority, we can assume that it would have been treated as true on Fox News. For people who believe in fact-based policy, critical thinking and so forth, misbehavior like Donald Trump's should be energizing, because it's a reminder of why these important things matter so much.
2
Without debating the merits of launching an impeachment inquiry I fear that Trump used the interview to troll the House Democrats into doing the very thing your decrying with "House Democrats’ craven fear of launching an impeachment inquiry". Trump thrives on chaos, playing the victim and creating a phony narrative where he can claim he's "winning". He and his core bunch of crony's and sycophants will tie up the House inquiry from now until the next election. He knows that he can obstruct, delay and refuse to cooperate for just long enough hoping to "win" again and hoping that the Democrats will lose their majority. Should the House Democrats throw the dice and take a chance? I don't know, & I suspect that neither do they. But if they do than timing is important & getting their act together is crucial. I'm just not seeing that yet.
2
The harsh reality is that much of the proper, honest and ethical functioning of our three branches of government is dependent on the proper, honest and ethical behavior of the people in those branches. Upon close examination we find there really are very few statutory restrictions on improper, dishonest and unethical behavior. This is why it is so difficult to hold anyone to account --- the executive branch can basically tell the legislative branch to go take a flying leap, and there is little they can do about it.
This also provides the opportunity for a person of Trump's warped character to flaunt his behavior. The defense against someone like Trump has always been not that we couldn't, but that we wouldn't ever elect someone of his ilk. We've always known that any elected official bent on self-serving corruption could get away with it most of the time. We've always banked on them not being that kind of person, all evidence to the contrary.
It's just that, until now, this kind of corruption has rarely taken place above the level of, say, US senator. Nixon is the single glaring presidential example of power run amok, and we did almost nothing to close the loopholes that let him slither into office.
And now we have Trump. Improper, dishonest, unethical. And like Nixon, he slid right through the front door we left open.
5
Yes, the majority of us are tired of his lies, not to mention embarrassed that we have such an "unbound" president representing the USA.
The truth of the matter is that we need to realize and come to terms with the slogan he advertised--"Make America Great Again," is Lying by Omission.
His supporters need to ask themselves, make America great again, for whom? Did they assume he meant for them or is it in fact for Himself?
2
If I were a candidate for president in the Democratic primary, I would be running around saying that Trump admits he can’t win without Russian interference. Or interference from some foreign nation. It would at least get under his skin.
4
Thank you! Someone who sees the way it is!
1
What almost no liberal pundits seem to grasp:
Trump IS America.
I know you thought that we were better than that. So did I. But at the end of the day, two years of Trump did remarkably little to change the views of Republicans in ways you might have hoped. In the wake of the 2018 midterms, I was even more depressed than before. Before, there was hope that 2016 had set loose things which were beneath most Americans. A mistake they were eager to correct—even if they could only cop to it in the privacy of a voting booth.
I was wrong. His support among those who elected him has only deepened. My only hope now is for foreign interference, but not the kind Trump means. I hope Mexico and China crush rural America. These heartland voters who don’t care what happens to gays or blacks or Muslims or women or Mexicans. They need to experience personal pain. They need to hurt more than they can bear. They need to see family farms lost to trade wars. They need young people consequently lost to despair.
I have no confidence in American decency. I have some confidence in self-interest. If Mexico and China can inflict sufficient punishment upon Trump’s base, we might be rid of him in two years. We could wait forever to be bailed out by the integrity of republicans or the courage of democrats. I have a lot more faith in pain. If enough of his base hurts, they may change. And that is the ONLY hope.
There will be no principled rescue of America from herself, by herself.
THIS is us.
12
@Andre the problem with outside inflicted pain on his base is that they will vote for him anyway, it’s hegemony- supporting someone or something that oppresses you. Plus, Trump IS a minority of Americans, not the majority.
1
I am a lifelong Democrat who has only voted twice for any Republican. The Rs I voted for were moderate and that brand of Republican is now extinct. I could never figure out why Republicans could win any elections at all since they were so stupid and bad for the country. But as time went on, I figured it out. Republicans are not right about the issues and their agenda doesn't have much in it for the average citizen. However, they do win a lot and this I have learned:
STRONG and WRONG beats Weak and Right.
Democrats, now is your chance to impeach the worst President in history and be vicious, while you're at it.
5
Why would you vote for a candidate based on the way the candidate is treated by the press? You’re supposed to vote for the candidate who you think best serves your country.
Your reasons for supporting Trump are as confused as your reason for him accepting foreign and illegal campaign help.
1
Because Trump is bereft of any concept of honor, or its worth, and because he is such a toxic egomaniac, he cannot even conceive of honor in anyone else.
6
Can't we start somewhere as one commentator suggested and begin the impeachment process with censuring Trump? The oil tanker and the Iran deal and the continuing ridiculous and treasonous statements about accepting info from anyone added on the mountain of other examples of infamy, stupidity, rudeness and uncivil behavior expected from a man in his position must be stopped. McConnell et al need similar treatment. HIstory is repeating itself with immigrant children from the Texas/Mexico border are to be sent to an internment camp where first Indians were sent by one of Trump's heroes, Andy Jackson, as well as Japanese Americans later. Must we continue with our egregious errors in history in this manner? Must we move toward war in the MIddle East while at least two campaigns are still ongoing.? Are we this foolish and ignorant? We must focus on the problem at hand: a corrupt president and his corrupt cronies, some 37 of whom are already in prison or convicted. Where are: Manafort, Cohen, Flynn, Gates, et al?
3
Based on this latest episode, it's even clearer why his lawyers advised him not to testify under oath in the Mueller investigation. He's a stubborn sorry sort of racist who's used to getting away with saying and doing whatever he wants...the type that ran rampant around the south in the 50's and 60's. It's not surprising that his two lieutenants are McConnell and Graham.
We have a lot of work to do to rid our government of these sad anachronisms.
6
Chuck and Nancy are doing everything they can to insure that Dems lose state houses, Congress, and probably the WH, just barely, in 2020. Their strategy is very clear. They know what they're doing, which is the bidding of power players like the Koch Brothers. Yes, the Kochs are giving money to corporate Democrats. Not sure which players are funding them, but you can believe it's NOT the grassroots. The Chuck and Nancy show is not just stupid, or cowardly, as many voters believe. They will both retire in 2022, and never have to face the voters again. Clever.
3
Everyone who is outraged is absolutely right, but consider why Trump said it: as part of a criminal's nonstop distraction.
Because Trump always lies, and usually the truth is the opposite, and, in fact, he retracted this statement—this implies that he won't accept foreign help this time around (or will make it much harder to prove).
It also implies that, when more proof/recognition arrives that he accepted foreign help in 2016, he muddied the water for blind followers about whether such treason was acceptable.
And simultaneously he distracted opponents from all of his other highly probable crimes and transgressions, i.e., money laundering, Russian blackmail, tax fraud, etc.
Trump is a crime feast, treason just a piquant dish to him.
So, make a note for future prosecution and legislation re this outrage, then get back to identifying and enacting what is best for America going forward, knowing that, whatever that will be, will be far better than Trump, who will, if justice prevails, be in jail.
If we’re not careful, no one will stop him.
Even if the Dem nominee is not my favorite, I will not childishly sulk. I will not stay home. I will not disqualify anyone by age, gender or race. I will hope they don’t ignore the rust belt or insult working people. I will not vote third party.
I will vote for the nominee. I must.
10
It mystifies me how republican members of congress can sit by and watch this happen with essentially no response. We've seen this Trumpian lack of accountability for two years as president and 72 as a scheming businessman who cheated almost everyone he came in contact with. Now he's cheating America and the GOP is too frightened to even speak about it. They're not on the payroll (supposedly) as were the sycophants who surrounded Trump his entire life with the single purpose of saying: "Yes Mr. Trump. You're right again". Worse yet, conservatives are complicit in what amounts to the retooling of our government to make the president's lies appear true. From the appointment of AG William Barr to whitewash and stonewall the Mueller report; to Mike Pence's announcement that we're forming "Space Force"; to the continuation of Draconian immigration policies because both POTUS and his dark knight Stephen Miller are white supremacists... And now, again, for the umteenth time, he proves unequivocally on national television that he's unqualified for the office and unworthy of the office. When will conservatives begin to take notice?
3
Exactly.
No one is going to stop him.
2
When Merkel and Marcon inevitably support the dem nominee, will that nominee assign a dollar value to that speech and record it as a campaign contribution from a foreign source.
I doubt it.
1
Nobody knew being a patriot could be so complicated.
1
I chuckle when I hear Democrats' feigned outrage about foreign interference in our elections. The interference that occurs now, if detectable, is a minute fraction of what occurred in the Cold War, and no one then questioned the legitimacy of our elections or trembled in fear worrying about the end of democracy. Did you ever hear of Radio Moscow, Radio Peace and Progress, Radio Peking, Radio (East) Berlin International, Radio Sofia? They all had extensive, if not 24/7, broadcasting directed at the U.S. audience. They all sent me extensive literature - through the U.S. Mail - during the early 70's. New 5-Year Plan details anyone? It's a near certainty, based on his age and history, that Bernie Sanders was a regular listener to these broadcasts. Ask him, why don't you? Also, post-Cold War discoveries of Kremlin documents showed extensive in-country infiltration of student and other "activist" groups seeking in every way to sway American public opinion on matters such as the Vietnam War. Of course, the communists' Cold War efforts, and Russia's efforts in recent years are not even in the same universe, for their level of evil and effect, as those made by Democrats to impede the election of Donald Trump and then cripple his presidency through the use of lies. The evil is that this influence was cloaked in legitimacy, having come from within "our own" government, and was sparked by the Clinton Campaign's procurement of falsehoods from a Russian source. Tremble for that.
1
Trump is evil incarnate. Time to use all the weapons available to destroy evil. Unanimous consent is one tool. It is time to realize that it is not just the Russians who are the enemy of our country, Trump is. He can not be shamed. He must be destroyed, lest our country be destroyed. It is him or us. Half measures are not enough.
It was a hypothetical question and Trump's answer was hardly "an assault on the very core of our democracy". Leftists will grasp at anything to try to get rid of Trump. They (the left) have no room to throw arrows when they paid for bogus information and used it to try to change the outcome of an election. As far as using military bases to house migrant families, Obama did the same thing. Military bases have beds, toilets, and are set up to serve meals. It makes sense. And the liberals are shocked, shocked!
Apparently Trump and his sniveling GOP pols who know better will accept any so-called OPO without verification. Those who would do our country harm are proven masters of disinformation and AI fakery. Feels like we're approaching some probability of the collapse of the 230-year experiment in American representative democracy. Putin would like nothing better.
Amazing that Trump doesn't perceive that he's being played for a fool by Putin, Kim, MBS, Netanyahu, et al. His needy ego blinds him to their seduction while they chop away at our institutions.
That's it, in a nutshell. We are exhausted by the blatant greed and exploitation coming from the top, and the blatant cheating, greed, and exploitation coming from Trump's enablers. His hand-picked team - the entire cabinet, Barr, his judge appointments (carefully saved for him by Republican cheating before he took office) - are busy destroying my country in the most unpatriotic way.
He could shoot someone on 5th Avenue.
He's happy to get help from the world's top authoritarians.
Selling us all down the river, at speed, for profit and lies. And people are too obsessed with blaming victims to think about the lies they are swallowing so they can stay distracted and poison the earth.
Sad ... making America as small and mean as possible, bankrupting the economy for short-term profit, criminalizing poverty and jailing and killing those uppity "others".
5
I can't see that accepting and using TRUTHFUL foreign dirt on a political opponent serves to "betray and subvert American democracy." The marketplace of ideas rationale underlying the First Amendment presupposes that the more information the American people have when making their political decisions the better, which is to say that it exists for its value to the nation. There is nothing to suggest that that value is diminished if truthful, relevant information comes from a foreign source. If the law against campaigns' receiving anything of value from foreigners were construed to cover speech, I question whether could withstand a free speech challenge.
1
"No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. -Constitution of the United States."
"...no Person holding any office...shall, without the consent of Congress accept any present...of any kind whatever,...from a foreign state."
Information has monetary value. It is against the Constitution for a president to take information to be used against political opponents from a foreign government.
Trump is openly saying that he would commit a High Crime.
This is on top of all of the other High Crimes that Trump commits regularly, like calling for violence against tree press, political opponents, and protesters, demanding personal loyalty from public servants, and taking the side of a hostile intelligence agency hacking our elections, against U.S. Intelligence agencies trying to stop them.
Trump always puts his personal interests above he interests of We the People. His base knows that aid loves it.
Trump thinks that he is king and that We the People agree subjects. He is against any limit on presidential power.
Trump's base is in on it. When he lies, they don't believe it. They sell the lie.
(Michael Steele was not representing a foreign state, by the way.)
6
@McGloin
"Michael Steele was not representing a foreign state, by the way"
and you know that how exactly?
1
McConnell is NOT "single-handedly blocking all election-security proposals." He has the consent of all the Republicans in the Senate.
Our government used to work until Newt Gingrich, the Tea Party and the Freedom Caucus -- and Mitch McConnell -- just refused to compromise on anything.
The Constitution can stop Trump only if the Congress works. Right now, it's not working.
We need the media and we need the votes. But the election is too far off to let our bet ride.
Trump must be impeached if only to show Republicans they don't control everything.
7
@Occupy Government
Occupy Empire (which was my only Occupy movement sign) was aligned with Kevin Zeese's Oct. 2011 DC movement version of Occupy focused strategically against Empire --- which was alas too early for its time.
A decade later, and with the all too obvious nature of Emperor Trump being the first (and last president) to be an actual "Empire-building", Empire acting, and "Empire-Thinking" [George Lakoff] unitary executive --- along with being an insane megalomaniac sociopath --- has essentially provided a 'gift' we the American people, to WakeTF-up and expunge/'excise' this Disguised Global Crony Capitalist Empire of which Prof. William Robinson most accurately diagnoses:
"The U.S. state is a key point of condensation for pressures from dominant groups around the world to resolve problems of global capitalism and to secure the legitimacy of the system overall. In this regard, “U.S.” imperialism refers to the use by transnational elites of the U.S. state apparatus (hard & soft powers) to continue to attempt to expand, defend, and stabilize the global capitalist system. We are witness less to a “U.S.” imperialism per se than to a global capitalist imperialism. We face an EMPIRE OF GLOBAL CAPITAL, headquartered, for evident historical reasons, in Washington.” [Caps added]
Global Capitalism and the Crisis of Humanity, 2014 Robinson, William Cambridge University Press
2
Robert Mueller should step forward and tell the American people the truth about Donald Trump since very few are going to read over 400 pages of facts. Democrats need to begin impeachment proceedings even if Republicans continue to warm their seats in the Senate and twiddle their thumbs.
8
Can even his supporters doubt that should Trump lose in 2020, he might well declare a national emergency based on "voter fraud" or some other lie, and order the military to protect his possession of the White House? And that a considerable swath of Americans would be just fine with it? Its not Trump who is the problem. It's the swath.
14
Trump is trying to create the impression that the Democrat he fears the most is Biden. That's another con. He is trying to choose Biden as his election opponent. Joe is too old and one of the younger Democrats would be a more formidable opponent.
28
@Clark Landrum Seriously? Open borders, abortion up to birth, gun confiscation, reparations and incipient socialism are a winning combo?
OK.
The irony of Republican support for Trump in Congress is that Trump always knew that Republicans were power hungry; and, as President, he is proving it.
Donald Trump is showing America that as long as he can give Republicans what they want, they will suspend the constitution, laws, ethics, morals, virtues and protocols. The underbelly of the Republican party is on full display.
30
@DA Mann
Oh my god...what utter nonsense.
The Democrats are not power hungry??
Please...the Dems want power just as much as any other political party and they will do whatever they can, whether it jibes with our constitution, morals etc or not to access that power.
As they have shown in their disgusting activities in the House.
The only way out is to teach a lesson to the Republican Party since its members will not decide not to let this Trump represent the Party.
All voters should just vote against the Republican Party and Trump in the next election, as a matter of principle and to uphold the role of conscience and responsibility that is inherent to the office of the POTUS, and to protest the 'lack of admissible evidence' in support of a President whose actions and positions endanger what the country stands for.
At this level of defiance, just a 'legal case' cannot be the only way out.
7
@Nirmal Patel
'All voters should just vote against the Republican Party and Trump in the next election...........'
Yeah, but you're conveniently forgetting one thing. A lot of Americans like this guy. Why ? A good question. There are a lot of marginalized people out there. Underemployed, undereducated. Resentful of people they view as 'haves', while they have not. Along comes a guy like Trump who promises to bring back their town's factory jobs. To bring back coal mining. To bring back the stage coach and the Pony Express. And, to kick out and keep out the people who are to blame for their troubles. That the guy hasn't delivered on a single one of his promises doesn't matter. If you can't manage to pull yourself up, pull the rest down to your level. Those are the people you have to sell. Good luck.
4
I agree that what Trump says sounds horrible and un-American. Security experts have asserted that taking campaign help from a foreign government, or foreign nationals who may be associated with a foreign government, means that the recipient is owned by the foreign government. Such help is not given without the expectation of something of value in return. But, if we step back a little, Trump's words raise serious questions. A former campaign staffer said on PBS Newshour last night that the Clinton campaign did not violate the law because it hired an American company, which then hired foreign national Christopher Steele. If the Clinton campaign had paid Steele or any foreign national directly for opposition research (as opposed to receiving it gratis), would that violate the law? Should it be illegal?
Trump's comments about his meetings with foreign leaders in relation to campaigns sound a bit silly, but an incumbent president can use such taxpayer-funded, official meetings to "look presidential" as a boost to his re-election campaign. No law can prevent that; it is up to each voter to decide.
Finally, I am now wondering whether some members of Congress have accepted foreign help and are now owned by foreign governments. Opposition to legislation requiring notification of the FBI of any foreign overtures to a campaign is a definite red flag.
11
@CH The comparison with Steele is specious, at best. Just because he is a citizen of another country doesn't make him an operative of a foreign government trying to meddle in the direction of our politics or election. Understandably, he was a well-informed, well-placed person, but he was just offering his services in the market. What's more (and always conveniently unmentioned) is that Steele himself was so concerned with his own findings that he took them to the FBI.
The people he interviewed for his dossier does raise questions as to whether they were giving him real information or misinformation, but at that point it's mostly caveat emptor, isn't it?
The bottom line is, there is no reason to believe that the Russian government, itself, was out to do any favors for Hillary Clinton. And Steele was not representing any foreign government.
5
@CH sez yes, trump is awful, BUT: But, if we step back a little....Democrats!
Trump's comments about his meetings with foreign leaders in relation to campaigns sound a bit silly, but......meh!
What standard of honesty and service do you require of the highest office we have? Zero, because.......you keep justifying his behavior. This is why he prevails, because people like you accept the logic that because other politicians have, throughout history, been caught trying to sell out their country, it's expected that trump will too!
You are NOW wondering if 'some members' of congress have taken foreign money, and you would like to start with investigation 'some' Democrats, instead of the toad lying straight to your face every day; trump himself.
2
Pelosi's reasoning in failing to begin impeachment hearings (the senate won't convict) is like saying that the Raptors should have given up the game to the Warriors because the Warriors were unbeatable.
12
I'm many decades out of school. I remember classes like Civics and Social Studies. They weren't my favorites but, still, imbued me with this idea of "co-equal" branches of government.
It is my understanding that Civics is no longer taught in public schools across this land. Endless late night examples exist that prove many Americans don't know which end of a rake to use. Or that Popeye wasn't president.
Isn't it ironic that the gap in civic education is being filled by a laboratory class in which we as a culture are being taught that Democracy isn't something on which one clicks when prompted but is rather something that needs constant nurturing and, even then, ain't a sure thing.
I'll take a B-minus right about now.
14
The question is asked in the title of: ''who is going to stop me? '' - supposedly posed to America and to the world.
Well, the short answer is the American people when they overwhelmingly vote you (and a lot of republicans) out of office, and take control of the White House and even perhaps the Senate. (holding the House easily)
The long answer is the Secret Service that will forcibly remove you (if need be). This is a direct quote from their website as to one of their many duties:
- '' Make arrests without warrants for any offense against the United States committed in their presence, or for any felony recognizable under the laws of the United States if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed such felony.''
That would be one mechanism, but another would be capitol police, or a myriad of other law enforcement. The bottom line is that the infrastructure of law grinds on regardless of what the President deems acceptable, or to his own devices.
He is testing all of our norms, but the more he does, the more people want to go back to ''normal'', (whatever that is now) His time in office is running out whether he likes it or not.
11
Hold on. Wasn’t it the Clinton campaign that engaged former British Intelligence officer, Christopher Steele...who in turn consulted with the Russians to obtain dirt on Trump...resulting in the Steele Dossier?
Pot kettle black.
6
Give me a break. Steele was a private citizen hired explicitly to gather the research he did. He was working for no government; he was originally hired by the Cruz campaign. False equivalencies and what-about-ism are destroying our electoral and political processes. Just stop.
68
@Michal
The funding for the dossier originally came from an organization financed by Paul Singer, a Republican who disliked Trump. After it became clear that Trump would win the Republican nomination, Singer dropped out and Fusion persuaded Marc Elias, the general counsel for the Clinton campaign, to subsidize the unfinished research. The findings were handed over to the FBI by
Steele.
41
@Wendi Wachsmuth
Yes, do give us a break. Not only did the Clinton campaign collude with a foreign source (who, in turn, colluded with the Russians) but they also intentionally derailed Bernie Sanders campaign.
Pot kettle black.
3
Dear Ms. Goldberg, the withholding of unanimous consent gambit seems worth pursuing. I will contact both of my US Senators, Gillibrand and Schumer, proposing that at least one of them employ it. But, for my money, here's the much larger point -- indeed likely fact: Almost the entire congressional GOP, i.e., the remaining GOP members of the House of Representatives AND the GOP members of the US Senate (Romney included despite his false testimony to the contrary) are in total agreement with the current Oval Office occupant's conduct in this regard. The GOP (congressional AND rank and file) observed the two-time election of Barack Hussein Obama as 44th POTUS, found that they had looked into the abyss...and decided then and there that there shall be no more of that EVER! Overlay the projection of Caucasians as no longer the majority demographic within the next generation and you have what America is now experiencing as the result.
Two years ago, I concluded that the GOP (i.e., the white party -- not a perjorative but simply fact) made the decision to forever maintain power whatever that goal might require. If it required extreme gerrymandering, vicious anti-"minority" voter suppression, and the eager receipt of "dirt" from foreign countries to win elections, so be it.
14
@larock, your comment is another reason, besides Trump's corruption and undermining of democratic values and institutions, why Pelosi should invoke the remedy prescribed by our Constitution--impeachment--now. We must move past what Michelle describes as "House Democrats’ craven fear of launching an impeachment inquiry."
1
Agreed. Numbness creates complacency. Helplessness undermines duty. If we value democracy, we have a responsibility to remove this racist, smug, semi-literate man-child from office -- along with the family members and greedy hangers-on who've come along to profit while they can.
9
Family values are gone but they're not forgotten.
This is the story of Donny Rotten.
It's better to burn out than it is to rust.
The king is Don, and he's misbegotten.
Family values can never die.
There's more to the picture than meets the eye.
Hey hey, my my.
12
When you have based your life on fraud and deceit and believe that laws and rules don’t matter unless they are being enforced to support your greed or enforced against you you don’t believe anything will stop you until you are stopped.
23
He admitted and invited collusion and conspiracy in the same sentence and the Republicans are so immoral they still won't impeach him.
We'll have to lose our allies, the economy and our entire trading empire before they show any regret for their immorality and shortsightedness. Tyranny is here to stay because of an ignorant, greedy minority.
26
What will it take to rid ourselves of this Trump nightmare?
9
@Panthiest
I suggest you wake up and face reality. First, much of the reporting on Trump is so seriously biased, it becomes untrue. Second, you don't get to get rid of a president because you dislike him.
The arrogance of Trump's critics is staggering. They actually believe they can just get rid of a president they hate. Thankfully, our system doesn't permit this type of crazy behavior.
My Congressman’s campaign used DNC material stolen by Guccifer 2.0 for his campaign and other then a couple of items in the media nothing came of it.
5
@Rich Murphy Could you please provide us specific and documented information related to your claim? Thank you!
"I know everyone's tired." Trump's not tired.
3
Headline answer is very simple: The Electorate!
3
Its just sad we have gotten here and the Republican leadership to whom early on during the campaigns all slammed "individual one" as a kook, unfit for the job, etc, have now coward down to him. Hey McConnell the case isn't CLOSED, and you sure don't speak for the majority of Americans in saying so. Graham was one of the most outspoken voices against "individual one" when he was just a candidate, and now for a few judges and a round of golf at one of "individual one's" resorts at the tax payers expense, he has crawled up into the backside of "individual one". It must be getting very crowed in there. Now that we have heard "individual one" say he would be willing to take dirt on another candidate from a foreign country, those words should wake up those who thought he was so innocent from the 2016 Russia election interference. 'Individual one" knew exactly what he was doing then and he knows what he is saying now. I feel sorry for the young people in the future when they have to read about this administration and learn that we as a country can allow this type of lawlessness, habitual lying, and disregard of our constitution to happen, because of 35% to 40% of Americans who fell hook, line and sinker for such a corrupt person.
9
Two things will get Trump re-elected.
1. Economy
2. Media
3
@Joe-
And collusion.
5
the economy won’t get him defeated. I can agree with that. the media...meh...that seems more like singing along with the choir.
no...I think that there are a sizeable minority (that is, less than 50 percent) of Americans who will vote for him regardless of those two things. so what is required to change those minds (and votes). that is the real question. everything else is simply caterwauling or, again, simply singing along with the choir.
2
@Joe
The problem is that Trump's critics clearly don't mind being misled. If they did, certainly the NYT wouldn't be producing so many articles based on false premises (ex., Trump said he'd accept assistance from Russia).
How many readers were actually surprised to find there was, indeed, a crisis at our border? This after repeated denials by the NYT.
The level of Trump animus is now so great it has become an addiction and the NYT and others are happy to provide a fix.
2
Trenchant language in the service of Truth! Thank you again for deflating criminal narcissistic pomposity. Now what???
Several Dem candidates are at least focused on the nuts and bolts of better policies and governance. Those discussions are crucial to reawakening public concern and motivating voters. While the campaign rolls on [why have we made an endless, tiresome parade of cosmetics out of the important process of democracy that Britain can accomplish in 6 weeks ??] we still face gerrymandering and thetraitormitch. Winston Churchill famously offered only, "Blood, tears and sweat". It worked to stiffen British resistance. We need to inhale and carry on. His war went another ~4 years. Ours, mercifully, MAY see a change within fewer than 2. Persevere! Resist! Never, never, never give up......
3
No collusion or obstruction of justice. No collusion or obstruction of justice. No collusion or obstruction of justice. No collusion or obstruction of justice....
Trump has been trumpeting his lily white innocence despite the facts for two months since the Mueller Report came out.
"...but Norway, call me if you have any dirt on my political opponents in 2020."
America, are you listening??
8
@Thomas Fillion
Such silliness. Trump said he wouldn't call the FBI after every conversation with a foreign leader. Rational Americans understood this.
“Oh, let me call the F.B.I.,” he said derisively. “Give me a break, life doesn’t work that way.”
Not his life, that is for sure.
He has defrauded, conned, cheated and got away with every thing his entire life. He has never shown any personal responsibility which used to be the cornerstone of Republican thinking.
His recklessness and thoughtlessness has been enabled first by his daddy, then by banks giving him loans based on clear misrepresentations and then by the shadiest of characters he associated with and borrowed from.
He life sure doesn't work that way, but for most of us, we have morality, responsibility and a duty to our country and others. We believe in the rule of law and want our presidents to do so as well. At this point only those with little values and even less sense of morality can support this gonif.
24
Recently (go back as far as you like) POTUS has increasingly baited Congress to take action.
The man is finished and he knows it - and wants out ASAP.
Congress - wake up.
4
@bud
If he truly wanted out, the option is every day the sun comes up -- quit.
@bud I suspect Trump thinks he will be welcome to "retire" in Russia, but Putin will be done with Trump, who he considers an imbecile, as soon as Trump is out of office.
"Just this week, the administration announced plans to move migrant children to an Oklahoma military base that formerly served as a Japanese internment camp.”
While it is shameful that we restricted American citizens to this base and other internment camps during WWII, it makes sense for Health and Human Services (HHS) to temporarily house unaccompanied minors there. They live there for an average of 66 days while HHS tries to find them sponsors (who are usually their parents or other relatives) and conducts background checks on the sponsors.
The HHS web site on Unaccompanied Alien Children says that it served under 8,000 children a year until 2012, when the number jumped to 13,625. In 2018, the number had exploded to 49,100, 73 percent of whom were 15 and older.
Goldberg’s column links to a 6/11/19 Time Magazine site which says, "Apprehensions of children at the border are already nearing record numbers. U.S. Customs and Border Protection released data last week that showed the figures had skyrocketed to 56,278 at the end of May, a 74% increase over last year.” The government has grown to 168 facilities for unaccompanied alien minors, but needs more.
What is wrong with temporarily housing the minors at the military base which once served as an internment camp? Keeping in mind that there have been complaints about some of the facilities where we house our own minors, where could the foreign minors be temporarily housed?
4
Please re-read the Declaration of Independence and the part concerning the King of Great Britain. And ask- does this apply today to the current leader of the US. You may be surprised on what you find.
5
@Lowell Greenberg, much applies to Trump and some to McConnell, certainly the part about refusing to consider much needed legislation for the public wefare.
2
Aren’t those statements violations of some law? Do they qualify as high crimes and misdemeanors?
Does the president actually have to act? Or are those statements enough to light a fire under legislators to take action and remove him?
Simon Wiesenthal was quoted in another article in the New York Times today. His statement:
“For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.”
9
Americans, by a very slim margin, elected a marauding, deranged demagogue to the presidency, and have seen him rob their democracy from right under their noses. I doubt that they will vote for a repeat in 2020.
3
Never underestimate the stupidity of the American electorate.
We are totally deflated by the debacle of this spring: the Barr spin on the Mueller report, followed by Nancy Pelosi's almost inexplicable reluctance to an open impeachment inquiry.
I'm seeing pundits say really foolish things like, "Well if the House impeaches but the Senate doesn't remove Trump from office, Trump won't change his behavior." This is so wrongheaded.
Trump is emboldened now, clearly, as witnessed by his statement about not calling the FBI. The House holding him accountable for his corruption and the crimes he's already committed won't make him more emboldened. It may indeed not change his behavior. But accountability is the point. Upholding the rule of law is the point. Standing up for democracy is the point.
The longer Nancy Pelosi waits, the more emboldened Trump feels right now, and the weaker she makes the Democrats look.
14
@Amelia
Sheer commonsense.
So much so that soon we will have to come to the conclusion that even Nancy and the other Democratic leaders have been successfully 'bent' by Trump one way or the other.
3
@Amelia-
In 2006 she pulled the same stunt with Bush-43 by refusing to allow the The Kucinich–Wexler impeachment resolution to go forward.
2
Think of the opportunities for oratory this presents, if we had one or two decent Democratic voices in the Senate. Schumer seems hapless, Feinstein has one foot in the grave, Leahy and Durbin seem feckless and stuck on civility. Why aren't they stepping up?
Because they are only good at one thing at this point...getting re-elected!
2
Trump intends to run his administration like he ran his NYC real estate business: he is in total charge; small worshipful staff; stay on the front page as often as possible; plunder taxpayers to make money for himself and his family; flaunt the law; lie.
11
A sidenote to this excellent piece... regarding Fort Sill.
Not only are children being moved to this base, separate from their families...
Not only were our own Japanese citizens imprisoned there during WWII..
Fort Sill was the site of the mass imprisonment several bands of the Apache peoples, after they were removed from the territory in which they had lived - a huge swatch of the southwest US and northern Mexico, and declared prisoners of war... around 400 of them were removed to Army installations in Alabama and Florida... where they suffered.
The Apaches remaining had been promised lands surrounding the Fort. That was reneged upon. Some of the imprisoned agreed to settle in reservations..but about one third wanted to stay and received the lands they had been promised.
They were imprisoned for DECADES.
and when they were released they were dumped onto unwanted lands in Oklahoma. By then they had lost their tribal status which was not regained until 1976.
1976!!
This is a place steeped in racism and genocide.
And this is where our government is sending the children of migrants and asylum seekers... the trauma these children are already enduring is staggering, The repercussions from this state imposed trauma, as they grow to adulthood, is yet to be known.
9
Only a couple of years ago, calling Trump a traitor and his actions treasonous was regarded as an extreme and provocative claim.
With his cynical and arrogant interview disclosures, those same claims now appear prescient and indisputable examples of giving aid and comfort to our enemies.
Our institutions now seem to be only as robust as strategically placed powerful obstructionists and fifth column ideologues' subversions allow. It will not be and is not enough.
A second civil war looms. And we have not yet come close to resolving the issues of the first one. They are connected at the hip of our country's corpus.
3
I think our Democratic Republic has to utterly fail before anything will change, and we're watching that failure take place daily.
We'll end up at war with Iran, when we could have - SHOULD have - been on track to make the world better, safer, but not now. Trump wants to use nuclear weapons like a little boy wants to play with his cap gun on Christmas morning, and not one Republican will stand in his way.
The presidency, the Senate, the Department of Justice and the Supreme Court are now thoroughly corrupt and nothing will stop them. Democracy will be a farce, reduced to a word Republicans like to use.
4
@JL22, yes, I fear that Trump will launch an assault on Iran in order to solidify his re-election bid--something about Americans not changing horses in midstream of a war. I recall an interview in which Trump asked, about nuclear weapons, "Why do we have them if we're not going to use them?" or words to that effect.
Who's going to stop him? We must stop him. Nancy Pelosi, are you listening?
1
@Mary C.
I fear it's too late to stop him. The elections will be rigged and your point about changing horses in midstream is an excellent one.
Nancy Pelosi needs to stop clutching her pearls and get a move on. She's worried that impeachment will hurt the Democrats' chances in the 2020 election, but I think she's dead wrong. I'm not the only one who feels that the Democrats are accomplices in the demise of our democracy. I would like to go to the polls in 2020 and feel that I am voting for someone who will stand up for "we the people". However, at this point I'm not thinking anyone has the guts and the patriotism to fight the corruption. Right now it feels like our democracy is sewn together by a hot needle and burning thread.
4
@Carole A. Dunn
Impeachment is a political process. What will it take for progressives to realize the country doesn't want it? Progressives also seem to believe the case for impeachment is much stronger than it actually is.
Progressives need to step back from the cliff and start seeing what they've been resisting. They may believe Trump is guilty of [fill-in-the-blank], but that doesn't mean it's actually true.
Progressives, educate yourselves. Inform yourselves. Get out of the echo chamber and recognize there's a giant country out there.
1
Donald Trump knows that he can get by with anything because he has tapped into a vein of American racism and bigotry that most don't want to admit exists.
While praising the intelligence of the American electorate, he secretly knows that they can be led around like a bulls with nose rings - only instead of bull rings, he uses their beliefs and prejudices to lead them wherever he wants.
If DJT doesn't destroy our fragile democracy, he has published the blueprint and playbook for some other demagogue to do it later. If a democracy like America's is going to exist, there will have to be a paradigm shift in human thought throughout the world.
In the near future, we will program the human mind in the computer based on a "survival" algorithm, which will provide irrefutable proof as to how we trick the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what is supposed to survive - producing minds programmed de facto for destruction. These minds see the survival of a particular belief as more important than the survival of us all. When we understand all this, we will begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
2
No election interference from foreign countries has become a Democratic Party mantra. And why not? For democracy to work, elections need to be open, free and fair.
So why aren't we making that our statement. "All elections must be open, free and fair and free from foreign interference."
The sad answer is because neither the Democrats nor the GOP really believe it.
The GOP's record of voter suppression directed at people of color violates the very basis of open, fair elections.
While the Democrats make lots of noise about fair elections, they don't put their money where their mouth is.
Nearly all the civil rights challenges to voter suppression and violations of the Voting Rights Act have been brought by small, not for profit groups with little or no support from the Democratic Party.
Bibi Netanyahu appears before congress and basically endorses Mitt Romney for president and no one says that's an interference with our elections.
And both parties agree on one thing, manipulate the election laws to keep all other political parties out. Control the primaries so that they become a fundraising contest and talk about campaign finance reform, but do nothing.
Trump's ridiculous comment about accepting dirt on opposing candidates from foreign governments is, well ridiculous.
But our attention should be on the very real failures of our electoral system, not the comments of a man who has never read the constitution.
In a democratic republic, We the People get the leadership we deserve.
We the People ought to show that we deserve better than this by voting against Trump and the entire GOP. Craven political hack Mitch McConnell trashed the Constitution BEFORE Trump was elected.
The entire GOP has got to go.
2
Think for a minute, Ms. Goldberg: you and the collusion conspirators have led to a situation where any Progressive opponent can easily set Trump up, by arranging for a foreigner to claim that he told Trump something, or sent something -- whatever -- to Trump, and then leak it to the media. And you and the media would then have a field day with suspicions and accusations. So Trump is prudently anticipating the issue and diffusing it. Sorry, but once again, Trump has outfoxed you.
1
Hahahahahaha
It’s not a matter of whether or not a foreign entity sets up a meeting with our Putin president, it’s what he does when that happens. Let the fbi know
Same for all of his meetings with foreign governments. I’m guessing the fbi already knew he was meeting with the queen
But no, Putin president has never called the fbi in his life. Why would he? I’m guessing he knows he’s guilty as sin
Lock him up
I am tired of Trump’s daily debasement of everything good and decent about America.
I am not tired of resisting.
7
“Any senator, however, could try to force McConnell’s hand by exploiting the Senate’s unanimous consent process, rote agreements that the body uses to waive time-consuming procedural steps.”
first, I think this will not matter to McConnell. he will be just as happy sitting there doing nothing as he is now—doing nothing except pushing through “conservative” judicial nominations.
second, a “do-nothing” legislature is exactly what those surrounding trump want. I would say that it is exactly what trump wants but...you know...that whole low intellect thing he has going on....
1
Americans, by a very slim margin, elected a marauding, deranged demagogue to the presidency, and have seen him rob their democracy from right under their noses. I doubt that they will vote for a repeat in 2020.
1
Donald Trump, if you're listening - Nixon was asked to resign for breaking into the DNC files, but at least he used burglars who were US Citizens.
You shouldn't just resign, you should be thrown in prison.
And about that Trump Tower. Well, you know what you can do with it.
4
The president and the republicans are not a patriot and do not love democracy.
2
I've been sounding like a prophet of doom here, saying for a long time that #45, Mc Connell and cohorts are all traitors to the United States and its institutions, its rule of law, etc. But now it is quite plain for everyone to see, and cannot be ignored. Pelosi has to back an inquiry for impeachment, or her and her party will be left in the dust of history as enablers in this most criminal regime in our history.
1
It is past due for an impeachment inquiry to begin. This Presidency has stretched every std of conduct and lawful execution to the limit. I found it absolutely representative of the “reality TV” that this administration is, that the Queen of Realty Tv, Ms. Kardashian was seated between Ivanka and Jared for the Ceremony on Criminal Justice Reform legislation. This is what this Administration is, Reality TV, as it exists in chaos, bouncing between each instance of manufactured crisis and chaos after another. It is time for the Dems in Congress to step up to the plate and demonstrate the courage to take every action available to them to Initiate Impeachment Inquiries. Not to do this is cowardly and ill advised, and will not go well for them.
1
Trump said he would "listen" to what anyone had to say. Not "invite". Stop with the unhinged madness.
Americans, by a very slim margin, elected a marauding, deranged demagogue to the presidency, and have seen him rob their democracy from right under their noses. I doubt that they will vote for a repeat in 2020.
Ms. Nancy. I hope you are reading. The Times today has two sobering articles: this one (Michelle, I have fallen madly in love with you) and the front page story on the Nazi history of a famous German company whose heirs and leadership have vowed to make amends for a complicated, hidden past. In the latter article is this quote from Simon Wiesenthal: "For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing." That means you, Speaker of the House and your circle of fleckless (mostly male) leadership. Now about the rest of us. I am doubling my political contributions this year and next. During the election period I will do phone calling. But I want to do something else: march on Washington like we did in the 60s. A million plus marchers at the Fourth of July Trumpster rally would send a strong message of repudiation. We all need to take risks to save our democracy.
4
When Richard Nixon got caught with hand in the cookie jar he famously declared "people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook". What our current president seems to be saying is "I am a crook and there is nothing you can do about it".
5
We have not one but two Manchurian Candidates in our government. Trump has been bought by the Russians. McConnell has been bought by the Chinese. The Dems can only save the country if they win back the Senate.
5
"This should be one of those moments". Yes, of course, in another time when there were a few elements of patriotism that were considered universal - regardless of political party.
But here we are and I bet if you took a survey, you would find that most Republicans are now convinced that Liberals are more evil than Putin, that Progressives are worse than Kim and that American Socialists are worse than MSB.
The alt-right has succeeeded in it's mission of main streaming the demonization of the Democratic party. Trump is just displaying it and enjoying the ride.
Earth to Democrats: time to get out the big artillery and grow some fangs and talons. This is about the survival of the USA.
3
@Bob Bruce Anderson, there's an insight in what you've written: demonization is the goal. Reading recent comments supporting Trump, I notice that no one tries to praise him at this point. Virtually everyone concedes that he is corrupt, bigoted, and autocratic. But they love his insults! They enjoy his putdowns of liberals, democrats, anyone who criticizes his pals in the alt-right. They identify with and imitate this trait.
His base seems to consist of people who need someone to blame for domestic demographic changes and global economic changes, and maybe for their own social and financial slides. He and the GOP will fuel these people to vote for more scapegoating in 2020, and given the damage done by Republicans to voting rights, they might be able to enjoy this single bright spot in their lives for four more years.
Any Democratic candidate who talks about bringing Americans together--restoring national unity--shows that he or she is out of touch with reality.
Voters will stop him in 2020. Sanders, Biden, Warren, Harris Buttigieg and Beto all currently poll as beating Trump.
2
I can't believe there hasn't been an uproar over the news about the special treatment and major conflicts of interest with China involving Elaine Chao and her family.
To remind you all, she is in the Trump administration, the transportation secretary, and she is none other than the wife of Mitch McConnell.
She and Mitch have received many millions from her father making McConnell one of the wealthiest senators ever...
The swamp is a sewer!
2
Politics isn't a game/for the fainted-hearted or tame/Gathering dirt/on others to hurt/is ev'ry president's aim.
Yup, I agree.... thanks for the heads up. There are three close to me can get to.....protests. This is so wrong. Dems, do something!
1
Trump is Ayn Rand's sociopathic id come to life. "Don't ask who will let me, but who will stop me?" It's his philosophy of life and we are letting him get away with it.
4
So miss the days when real presidents made statements that conformed to existing, not pretend laws.....
Isn’t it obvious at this point that Trump is conspiring with Russia. I mean do you really need a piece of paper that says we agree to conspire to undermine America's democracy? And the truth is that no one can stop him because Mitch McConnell and most of his fellow Republicans have become co-conspirators. Wink wink nod nod.
2
Yeah, it's as bad as your title suggests. To misquote Roger Stone, "it's America's time in the barrel." Too bad we no longer have this monster's single most effective critic in the Senate. But you had to lead an effort to run him out of Washington without so much as a hearing. (Where was your column wondering where all these allegations were coming from?) Well, you got some great exposure leading the campaign to get Franken to resign.
1
Other nations scoff at U.S. laws that presume to tell their citizens what they can say about U.S. political candidates.
The disinformation that Russian trolls placed on social media platform were indistinguishable from the tsunami of disinformation placed on social media by domestic sources.
According to Twitter, Russia’s Internet Research Agency generated eight million tweets during the 2016 election camp. But there are 500 million tweets per day and around 200 billion tweets per year
According to Facebook, the IRA posted about 180,000 comments during the 2016 election cycle. Facebook users post five billion comments every month, or about 60 billion a year.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton spent $81 million on Facebook ads before last year’s election. Facebook says an internal investigation uncovered $100,000 in advertising spending by hundreds of fake accounts and pages, likely operated out of Russia, during the 2016 campaign.
Most of the Russian ads were legal because they addressed issues. The FEC has ruled that foreign nationals can place political ads that address political issues aa long as they do not support or disparage a specific candidate. Only the ads that supported or disparaged a specific candidate were illegal.
1
@William Case
Consider that The Times' own Peter Baker falsely claimed that Trump said he'd accept "assistance from the Russians". I'd say our problem lies much closer to home. Trump animus is now fueling much of the "disinformation" being reported.
2
It is past time to start the articles of impeachment. Lets get this ball rolling.
4
Comey, McCabe, Rosenstein, Mueller, Barr, Roberts, (SCOTUS), McConnell, FBI, CIA, NSA. These men and institutions are Republican first. Look not to them to save the Republic. If Trump wins reelection---a real possibility, the effective government of the US will be in the Kremlin
Dear Ms. Goldberg,
Once upon a time: we had a president, who famously told his father “I cannot tell a lie, ...” We now have a president who the entire free world knows that “he cannot tell the truth.”
Once upon a time: we had a game show, before cable, “To Tell The Truth” where three contestants all claimed to be the same person, who happened to have some small claim to fame. If you have three or twenty-three individuals all claim to have done, or said something our current ‘occupant’ at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. has ever said or done while in office (and in life-generally), this would cause the biggest free-for-all EVER.
Who would be the biggest L/I/A/R out of the whole bunch? Who could win at telling the most outlandish lie in all the land...?
Are we at that point where we need a “Liar’s Roast” where guests and actors are hired to brag and boast about who told the biggest lie?
So often, we laugh at and deride the French, but they would be rioting en masse in the streets to protect their democracy and overthrow a President such as Trump. We Americans sit on our behinds, gazing at our TVs, computer screens or smartphones, while things get worse here in the US day-by-day. What will it take to wake everyone up?
2
Where is my Robert Kennedy ?
1
Maybe it's time for a new crime category--domestic treason--to become part of the Code of Laws of the Unites States.
3
Thank you Michelle. I'm going to find an impeachment rally this weekend. I hope and pray there are big implications and consequences for the cowardly GOP Senators who continue to fail America by not censuring this man. Who in affect agree, America is for sale to Saudi Arabia and Russia and anyone one with a dime. Trump has become their toy and is compromised and twisted.
2
The republican party has become the enemy of the people.
3
Start an impeachment investigation. Who cares that the immoral republican Senate won't convict? Don't forward impeachment articles, but instead, censure him. Then when he is no longer "president", take all his money away in the courts.
4
In his first iteration, Candidate Trump was blowing the dog whistle.
Now that he is president and feels he has been exonerated, off come the gloves and the mask: our traitor-in-chief is hiding in plain sight, just barely in the shadows cast by his boot licking lackeys. Mitch and Lindsay must be very proud.
Treason is an impeachable offense, which Trump has committed many times. I trust Nancy Pelosi to lower the boom on Trump at the precise moment when it will work best.
Trump is toast whether now or in 2020. His legacy will be a black mark on our Republic. He will be demonized in the history books for generations to come. He has diminished the moral fiber of America in a manner befitting a failed real estate hustler. His entire life is bankrupt and devoid of depth.
3
Mueller not charging chump was a mistake. Now, dotard is doing anything criminal he can and boasting about it.
1
Joseph Welch, where are you now when we need you?
2
I blame religion for the current state of affairs.
2000 years of christianity gave us Donald Trump.
Something is very wrong here.
2
Then the Dems need to get foreign dirt on Trump and exploit it to all it’s worth. “Germany, are you hearing me? Find Trumps taxes and fast!”
2
A message to the nation and the free world: At last resort, We, the majority American electorate, will stop Donald J. Trump in his re-election bid. It will be a great lesson to generations of Americans, how a Democracy reclaims its government from a wannabe lawless tyrant. From this point on, Donald J. Trump is officially a lame duck. This dysfunctional administration can not be allowed to continue. Make it our mission to get it done. This is no longer a Democrat, Republican, or Independent issue. It is what’s right for our country. America is too great for one just person, even if that individual is the unfit President of the United States. Onward!
2
Everyone is inured and exhausted but that’s not all of it, really. We HAVE marched and protested. We HAVE called and written our Congressional leaders and House Representatives. We HAVE donated. We HAVE written to newspapers, and called into radio shows. We have done everything it has been suggested we do.
Nothing changes. Nothing happens to this grotesque man and his family of grifters. OTHER people are in jail while Trump golfs on the tax payer’s dime.
It is depressing and deflating in the extreme. Hopelessness has set in on a cellular level. How much longer can the American people spend their days dealing with this kind of stress? It may be the wrong reaction, but it’s understandable that people have almost stopped caring. It has become physically and psychologically unhealthy to stay alert and hyper-vigilant every minute of the day.
What terrible times we live in.
8
Land of the free and home of the brave?
With the first adjective becoming obsolete, the second one is noticeably scarce in the corridors of congressional power. The Republicans are scared to death of trump's base. The Dems, rather than impeaching as is their obligation to the Constitution, let themselves be spooked into cravenly calculating some imaginary electoral cost of doing so.
00:30 EDT, Flag (at half-staff) Day
You are absolutely right, Michelle Goldberg. It seems that millions of persons living in America today, as citizens of Germany in 1936 and after, would have agreed with and enthusiastically supported Adolf Hitler. Mitch McConnell would be among the first of those marching in the Bundestag with an arm raised in salute. This time his arm is raised for Donald Trump.
Twitter and YouTube have been a conduit to this hatred and disrespect for the law. Trump has violated the user standards of these social media. Why isn't his Twitter account blocked?
Americans are better than this. They will turn away from Trump after his presidency when he is arrested for racketeering, bank fraud and wire fraud. I have no hope for Mitch McConnell, who should also go to jail.
3
I never give up on anything important. But I'm on the verge of giving up on democratic leadership. It's time to pull all the levers available. Failure to do this will induce people like me to check out. Not just for the next election, but permanently. Put up or shut up.
2
Yes we are tired, yes we are numb, yes we remain in disbelief. But we are WOKE. And we haven’t tuned out. On Saturday, friend from Seattle!!! is traveling to Florida for a week to register felons to vote before the state GOP end run on Florida voters restrict their access to vote on July 1. We won’t stop.
1
I didn't know about Sat demonstrations. Nothing on TV that I've seen. Just ckd the Times, found nothing.
Here's Washington Examiner:
"Saturday: #ImpeachTrump Day of Action takes off, 133 events nationwide
Saturday’s planned #ImpeachTrump Day of Action has expanded greatly in the past week with over 100 events now set around the nation to call for House impeachment hearings.
Organizers said that the number of events grew from 75 last week to 133 today.
Several groups are involved including Indivisible, MoveOn, By the People, and nearly 20 others.
Some of the events will be simple protests, and others will include the reading of pro-impeachment speeches from Democrats including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota Rep. Rashida Tlaib."
2
Why would Donald want to limit his Russian friends from helping him fix another election! You gotta give the Donald credit for being smart enough to believe in taking help from his friends and financing partners.
The senate would be deciding impeachment and we all know mcconnell and the rest of the gop cowardly cretins won’t let that happen so it’s up to us voters to vote the bums out - and the way eligible voters turn out is more then a little depressing- so there we are…in a sewer …
I have waffled about impeachment proceedings for all of the by now well-known reasons and rationales. What I find most deflating and desultory about this dilemma as evidence amounts that further delay would be a dereliction of duty, is that in many senses Trump has already won. It's clear his base of supporters will rise up in loud, open-mouthed, possibly violent support of his "victimhood" and that the Republican capitulation will continue in its "see, hear, and speak no evil" ethical erasure/disappearing act, cheered on by the vile and amoral Mitch McConnell. But what is utterly flattening is the lack of faith in the American people -- that the majority of the electorate who gave Hillary Clinton the plurality of votes in 2016 is not strong or able enough to withstand the holocaust that Trump's supporters will unleash the moment impeachment proceedings are initiated. I admire Speaker Pelosi's restraint, but as I follow events it is clearer to me that to not impeach further undermines the rule of law and the role of the legislative branch of government, and will only further embolden Trump. Yes, we are exhausted. But we must not let him bully us into submission. Ms. Pelosi must know we can "go there" -- and we will. We have the strength, the persistence, and the fortitude to see this through. He may have won for the moment, but we need to demonstrate that he cannot -- as Michelle writes -- "treat his oath of office the way he's rumored to have treated a Moscow hotel bed."
1
There are two things at play here and Impeachment is just one of them.
The real target of all this angst should be focused on Mitch McConnnell. It is long time for him to go. As such, instead of an Impeach rally, I suggest a "Get Rid Of Mitch" rally. Trump is corrupt but openly so. Mitch is corrupt but hides much of his corruption in his tortuous like shell.
While we are all so focused on getting rid of Trump, we really need to focus on how to get rid of McConnell. Him and perhaps another half-dozen GOP Senators.
Now that we have a plethora of qualified presidential candidates targeting Trump, it is time to focus more on the Senate. If a Democrat defeats Trump, it will be meaningless if the Senate remains Republican, especially if McConnell is still in charge.
6
There's a hidden message in these words. He (with assistance from others--he's not smart enough on his own) could invent a national emergency as an excuse to suspend the election. Or, if he loses, even by a landslide, refuse to leave.
4
SO we have seen the Republican response to Trump's call for foriegn interference in our election. We have seen that while 5 GOP Senators have said they would call the FBI, not one has directly criticized Trump nor will they allow what should be a mom and apple pie bill that would require such disclosure explicitly. So for those who are calling for impeachment, just which of these Senators who are silent or even defending Trump ( more likely attacking Clinton) is going to shift when the Mueller report becomes the subject of an impeachment? If this wasn't a redline moment, just why would anyone think that there is going to be? For those who support impeachment I have been asking for one simple thing, please list the names of the 20 GOP Senators you think could be brought to convict.....so far not one impeachment proponent I have spoken to has even made an attempt....instead we hear about the "judgement of history".....so I will worry about beating him in the election and you can worry about what Jill Lapore or Philip Foner might write in 40 years
2
"Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption. These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one querter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own (Trump) to the chief magistracy of the Union? (the POTUS)" - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist 68.
1
There are two reasons nothing will happen and American democracy will continue to erode.
First, Americans divide into three camps: those who like everything about Trump, including his authoritarian nature; those who don't care about government at all; and the rest who believe in democracy but, for the most part, aren't willing to upset their lives to save it. We might attend a demonstration or two, but does anyone think Americans are willing to completely shut down the economy to force change? Will we rebel? Will anyone risk losing a job for this?
Second, our Constitution is 18th century political technology applied to a 21st century government. It's "checks and balances" are illusory. The combination of divided sovereignty (between state and federal governments) and separation of powers (between the three branches and through bicameralism in the legislature) does not actually protect our freedom, but creates ineffective and unaccountable government, with a gaping power void that an authoritarian executive is in best position to fill.
Change will require a population far more motivated to act—and far more willing to make the real sacrifices required to force change. It will also require a complete rewrite of our Constitution and transformation of our government into something more appropriate for the modern world. That won't happen without rebellion.
So don't expect authoritarianism to go away. Trump may leave office, but the imperial president is here to stay.
3
everything can be an article of impeachment.
but, that doesn’t mean everything should be an article of impeachment.
don’t get me wrong, trump isn’t and never has been morally, socially, culturally, or intellectually qualified [add whatever other categories you might like. the score is still “goose eggs”] to be president. not even close.
but whatever else you might think of the 46.1 percent of our fellow Americans that voted for him and what voids you might think they have, the 48.2 percent of Americans that voted differently must either change the minds of some significant portion of that 46.1 percent, start our own country, or defeat the incumbent incompetence at the ballot box. And, yes, sometimes I feel that the second option is the best. I don’t think that. I feel it.
1
As a practical matter, the only way to end the fix we got ourselves into is to vote Trump out. So the question of whether to start impeachment inquiry or not comes to whether one believes that doing so will hinder Democratic presidential chances in 2020 or not. Those who say that impeachment is a moral obligation no matter the politics should ask themselves if they would want impeachment hearings if they KNEW that would lead to a second Trump term.
The McConnell issue is separate since he would be doing the same even if Clinton were president. The ability of a single person to stop the Senate from passing most bills is a structural flaw in our system. It needs to be changed.
4
Mr. Trump knows that there are still on-going investigations into interference of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Israel in 2016 election. And he knows that the truth about their roles will be out sooner than later. Therefore, his recent statements on being open to foreign involvement in the US elections are carefully calculated (probably on the advice of his lawyers) to soften the impact of the shock that the US public will suffer, when the ugly truth will be revealed.
3
Mitch McConnell is blocking all efforts to combat the dismantling of our democracy. 53 Republican Senators make him the majority leader with that power. Recognizing McConnell's intransigence, if four of those senators - - decided to temporarily caucus with the Democrats, the Senate could take actions to save our democracy. But they will not, because there are not four Republican Senators who value democracy over party. Until they take action to stop this, all 53 of them are 100% complicit.
15
...“With the end of Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation, House Democrats’ craven fear of launching an impeachment inquiry, and the abject capitulation of Republicans to Trumpian authoritarianism, the president is reveling in his own impunity.“
With House Democrats fear of launching the impeachment inquiry they alienate their own base, contributing to the sense of political exhaustion.
3
@Thomas H.
There seems to be confusion about the democrats' "base." It's not made up entirely of their angry leftwing, although that's a very critical component. It's also made up of millions of Americans who are not interested in Russia and don't believe their party should be focusing on Trump.
When democratic Congressmen and -women went home for the midterms, they learned that their constituents don't care about Russia. This is an inside the bubble issue.
Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the world. He is a chaos agent causing social division in this country, he is disrupting the world alliances, and he is destroying Truth. His war on institutional knowledge, science, civil discourse, culture, and basic human decency are basically irreversible. The country cannot meet this challenge meekly, he needs to be confronted with a rebuke from a clear majority. Those who have ridden his coat tails, or used him as cover to advance their own antisocial agendas must be confronted as well. This is an existential threat to this country.
5
Republicans are corrupted by their power, dark money, and efforts to keep their jobs.
Democrats are spineless wimps. And they, too, seem only truly concerned with keeping the House...their jobs.
While I enjoyed the panel on Monday with John Dean, it only got full coverage on C-Span. Only a Select Committee on Impeachment will have the power to get courts to quickly get subpoenad people to appear. Then there is a chance that the public attention can be held... Constitutional Reality Tv. There is absolutely no point in having people appear in closed door hearings with transcripts published. That didn't work for the Mueller Report and certainly won't for these.
The only way to put any constraints on this appalling lawless administration is by holding impeachment proceedings. Call it an inquiry, at the very least if it will get this started now. With 18 months till the election and Trump openly inviting adversaries to help him get re-elected, Republicans blocking any and all legislation to free and fair elections (McConnell's power grab comments), even blocking Wagner's bill clarifying the existing law against foreign intervention in our elections, imagine how much weaker our institutions will be without aggressive push-back.
Congress is eviserating its powers by its fear of Trump (Republicans) and fear of losing the House (Democrats). Our democratic republic is in its death throes and courage must be shown by people we put in office to protect us.
First, I agree that Trump is a disaster. And, yes, I agree that ACCEPTING foreign produced dirt on a political competitor is wrong (though done on both sides with regularity). However, SOLICITING foreign produced dirt, as Hillary's campaign did from their intermediary to Russia, Christopher Steele, is even worse. All of your screams for impeachment would be much more effective if they includeD demands for Hillary's prosecution, along with the Democrat partisans within the FBI who used Steele's dossier to justify spying (oh, I mean surveillance) on Trump and his campaign.
@Southern Man
The funding for the dossier originally came from an organization financed by Paul Singer, a Republican who disliked Trump. After it became clear that Trump would win the Republican nomination, Singer dropped out and Fusion persuaded Marc Elias, the general counsel for the Clinton campaign, to subsidize the unfinished research. The findings were handed over to the FBI by
Steele.
7
@Anon
Funding is irrelevant. It's how the dossier was used to spy on Americans that is the fundamental problem.
The real lesson of the moment is that most people don't care about our so called democratic republic.
Both the left and the right have already seen that we are no longer a democracy. Congress does not respond to the public will: it responds to the rich and powerful (see Gilens & Page). You cannot worry about democratic norms if democratic norms no longer protect democracy: They protect oligarchy.
The creaky protections of the Constitution no longer work. The Republican Party has determined that what this country wants is continued white Protestant control and if that means voter suppression, gerrymandering and violation of 'democratic norms' so be it.
The name of the game IS white power. White Americans do not want to live in a country run by black and brown people or are at least unwilling to go to war to protect democratic institutions. Even the House can't find 218 angry Democrats who are willing to risk their own jobs to save the Constitution.
Democracy is dying before our eyes. No one cares. I am 74 years old and was privileged to live in the United States during its most glorious era. I was also condemned to live through the period that marked the beginning of the end of American democracy.
We no longer care about democracy. We no longer care about equality. Welcome to the new America.
3
You capture the situation perfectly Michelle. US voters of reason are dispirited and depressed by the constant barrage of illegal, unconstitutional and down right stupid things that Trump does daily. He cares only for himself which his acolytes do not seem to grasp.
Of course he would accept foreign help in getting reelected as his only priority is his personal brand and he obviously has no regard for the laws, values and morals of this country. When he attacks a war hero such as John McCain while practically getting into bed with some of the most authoritarian dictators on the planet it is obvious where his priorities lie.
I am one of those dejected citizens who see no hope in impeachment. The cowards in the Republican party would never support it, since he is doing many things that they have dreamed of for years. They know that he is evil but their narrow focus and self serving interests outweigh any regard for the laws and norms of our society.
My only hope is that decent, honest hard working Americans will see him for what he is and not return him to office in 2020, although I admit that it is a faint hope at best.
As President Lincoln said of the US being eventually conquered, "If it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
2
It is time that Mueller is forced to appear before Congress. He needs to be the next one to testify to Congress.
We, the American Taxpayer paid him to do his job and now he gets away without having to explain exactly what he found . A redacted report does not help the ordinary citizen. Our security has been breached from the beginning of Trump's Candidacy. How much more can be in the Mueller Report that would breach our security. At this point it serves as a convenient excuse.
The House now has the go ahead to step up their game with Trump's latest statement how he would accept Foreign interference to help him win, in the next election. Do they need anymore proof that Trump is really a Traitor, not a President of the United States, but an enemy of the United States?
4
The Republicans are inviting foreign interference. Why? Because having Trump in power lines their pockets. Talk about disgrace.
4
It is quite apparent that trump committed illegal "Collusion" with a hostile, foreign entity or government, namely 'Russia' that gave him the final push in collecting the majority of 'Electoral Votes." He frankly explained his reasoning this past Wednesday evening. He no longer claims to have taken the high road of putting America first. Rather he took the lowest road available to him, and he always has judging from the now public record. His behavior has been to deceive, lie, and outright cheat people he has done business with in the private sector. This has been evidenced by his numerious lawsuits that have ended in settlements. The donald's University comes to mind, as does his record of breaking contracts with people who have worked on his construction projects. Then of course are the "Hush Money" paid out to women with which he had extramarital sexual relationships: that we know about.
Nothing that trump says can separate himself from all these dysfunctional characteristics. But of course all these failed personal relationships are always the other party's fault, except that this a lifelong pattern. We can go on and on in pointing out donald t. trump's personal and business failures. The door to his reasoning of intent was made crystal clear this past Wednesday evening. And he couldn't have said it better than anyone else.
He did NOT invite foreign interference NOR did he say "Who is going to stop me." He said he would listen if someone called and would report it to the FBI if warranted. It is his job to know what is being said rather than put his head in the sand and refuse to hear information that could be a potential threat to the country.
1
It’s not Trump’s job to determine what should be reportable to the FBI. He is required by election law to report it, plain and simple. It’s up to the FBI to figure things out from there. The reasoning here is pretty obvious: if we leave it up to the individual who receives information from a foreign source, there’s a built-in conflict of interest. Regardless, the reasoning does not matter — plain and simple, it’s the law. Not reporting it is rather obviously a violation of that law.
1
The fact that Republicans are not up in arms about this signals the death of the Republican party. Trump's comment are antithetical to American ideals and to the framer's very clear intentions. It is absolutely time for an impeachment inquiry. While the Republicans sit on their hands this country is being dismantled by an intellectually-challenged, would-be dictator.
Let's not let the country slip any farther from us! The time is at hand!
3
When Nancy Pelosi first met with Trump I thought the Democratic Party had finally found its Churchill. It turns out that she was just another Neville Chamberlain. Cowering and afraid to act, appeasing and hesitating by refusing to begin an impeachment inquiry she's allowed Trump to swallow the whole of our government. He and his Republican enablers will never stop because there's no one out there to stop them.
Why is no one pointing out that Mr Trump is now admitting that he has committed and that he will again commit collusion. And thank you for rousing us, Ms Goldberg, out of our torpor of disbelief and fear. Indeed democracy will not save itself.
5
In no article discussing this issue have I seen reference to this statement in the Constitution, Article I:
"no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."
Surely accepting assistance from a foreign state to win an election is a present and therefore unConstitutional, right?
5
Michelle may be right in her argument, but the vast majority of voters have no awareness or interest in what Trump said in an interview in response to a hypothetical question. Democrats will be better served focusing on things that matter to voters such as jobs and wage increases.
1
Wait, I don’t understand. My government wants me to answer a question on the census form of whether or not I’m a citizen of the United States when I’ve lived here all my life? And yet anybody, from any other country, gets to meddle in who I can vote for? Even if they’ve never stepped foot on U.S. soil?
13
Trump is exhausting, and everything he does is likely an article of impeachment. My fear, however, is that impeachment without some bipartisan support would be a pyrrhic victory at best.
5
According to Justice Department guidelines, POTUS can engage in illegal or criminal behavior with impunity as long as one house of congress will block impeachment. If a law cannot be enforced, it essentially has been repealed and does not exist.
3
Why is the false equivalency between the Steele Dossier and the attempt to hack Hillary's emails by operatives of the Russian government still being made? The Steele Dossier was put together by a private British citizen. Yes, he used to be a British spy but he wasn't when he put the dossier together. A private citizen is NOT a foreign government. The president of the US being beholden to a FOREIGN government is dangerous. That's the difference. BTW, the Steele Dossier was initially commissioned by Republicans. Somehow that fact is usually left out by Trump supporters. So can we please stop using this false equivalency?
12
@Marguerite T
Steele testified that he got his information from a former Russian spy chief and an advisor to the Kremlin.
Hillary knew it, Democrats knew it, the investigators presenting that evidence to the FISA court knew it - but they didn't tell the Fisa court.
oops.
@Sports Medicine according to a June 14th article by Aaron Blake in The Washington Post, "Republicans tried to argue that Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016 essentially did what Trump was saying by hiring Fusion GPS, which paid for the Steele dossier — a document compiled by a former British intelligence agent who relied upon sources from within the Russian government. As we’ve noted, that argument doesn’t make much sense. And in fact, even the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee confirmed in their 2018 report that the arrangement was legal, as long as the information was paid for at market rate. Steele shared his reports with federal law enforcement officials." In other words if the Russian government were to offer to give the Trump campaign information that could hurt his opponent and that information is accepted, that could be considered a form of aid for the campaign and is illegal. Since the Russians would have received no monetary compensation for it, there could be a concern of expectations of favors by the Russian government. In contrast, Fusion GPS was paid for the dossier that Steele produced. There would be no expectations by the Russian government for "favors" related to the report. For a more detailed discussion of this, see this article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/08/06/why-the-trump-tower-meeting-may-have-violated-the-law-and-the-steele-dossier-likely-didnt/?utm_term=.12099319a026
1
The headline on this column is exactly right. Trump has no internal controls, no conscience, no inhibitions, no shame, no guilt, no sense of social propriety. He will do whatever he can get away with. The only thing that limits his actions is an outside force. Without external checks, he is an out-of-control 12 year old who breaks everything he touches. He must be stopped.
This is why it is finally time for the House to open an impeachment inquiry. Enough dithering.
5
Trump continues to break rules, decorum, and norms as he continues to test the boundaries of democracy. This is done in advance of the 2020 elections to see just how far he can go. So far, he has gotten away with everything. The ABC interview sets a new benchmark in lawlessness. The Democrats just stand around, waiting for 2020, thinking they will be swept into office by Trump’s antics. Even if Trump loses, he will not concede. He will declare the election rigged and refuse to leave. Trump’s armed minions are waiting in the wings to be called upon to do his bidding. Every anti-government, alt-right group is primed for this moment. I suspect the Russians are waiting as well. The clear and present danger ensconced in the Oval Office is a ticking time bomb for democracy.
5
Get ready for the next norm-shattering revelation. A few years ago House minority leader Kevin McCarthy said behind closed doors that he thought at least a couple of people were on Putin's payroll, and Trump was one of them. Turns out McCarthy was lamenting that he wasn't in on the grift. It should now be abundantly clear that a significant number of influential Republicans have been bought by Putin. Sorry, but no other explanation makes any sense. Why would proud, competent, accomplished men grovel at Trump's feet and humiliate themselves in public for a salary that doesn't amount to 1/5 or 1/10 of what they could earn in the private sector? Answer: because they can't make more money in the private sector. $20 million buys a lot of treason.
So be prepared for the coming headline that reports Putin has donated $1 billion, a pittance for the world's richest man, to the Republican National Committee. Trump's defense: "Look, when I pay a state visit to Great Britain or France, those countries spend a ton of money to make me look good back home. That's all that Putin is doing now. And if he wants to spend his dough supporting my administration and, by the way, boosting our economy in the process, I'd be a fool not to take it."
And the ultimate in norm-shattering will occur on election night when Trump discovers that he's been thumped. "This is Fake News," he'll proclaim. "I'm not leaving."
3
@WDG I could not agree with you more. The entire Republican party is on the Russian payroll......there is no other explanation for their behavior.
So on the issue of where the bar stands for impeachment, Americans are already in a lose-lose situation. Even if we impeach Trump now, the depravity-meter is so high that subsequent Presidents will be judged vis-a-vis Trump (versus Nixon). If a future President doesn't exhibit the qualities of an out-and-out traitor, danger to national security, who behaves as an nihilistic, amoral miscreant he/she will not qualify for impeachment. If America fails to impeach, given Trump's incredibly toxic range of behaviors, then it is worse, i.e. the President's become essentially unimpeachable.
5
It is incredible. And, American's, increasingly, seem to be as guilty as Trump - apparently don't get it; do not fathom the message. In a trance, blind. Cannot help but be reminded of Eugene Ionesco's 1959 play, Rhinoceros. Every day more Rhinos popping up everywhere you look - there's another one! The ultimate is watching people sitting on a bench thumbing their phones. Lost - as if in some sort of bizarre reverie. Finally, of course, only Rhinos are left. Poof!
2
When is Christopher Wray going to put country over his current position as FBI Director and publically repudiate Mr. Trump's assertion that he is wrong in stating that public officials should immediately contact his Agency if approached by foreign agents who offer "dirt" on their opponents? He should be willing to resign rather than serving this increasingly treasonous so-called President.
3
Russia (or any other country) doesn't need to repeat their 2016 election-related activity. They can simply teach Americans! Trying to apply communication prohibitions written centuries ago in today's world -- in which one can just as easily speak with a person anywhere on the planet as you could a person next door -- is foolish. A Russian lies to me and I believe it, an American lies to me and I believe it -- what is the degree of difference there?
Apparently, McConnell has completely gone over to the dark side. Early in his political career, he possessed some democratic ideals and political ethics even. But they eroded and disappeared. Behold the transformation from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde.
Now he probably not only sleeps well, but is tremendously proud of how things are going. His is an amorality; all that matters is winning. Ethics are encumbrances and irrelevant in the real world.
I understand him, but what about his enablers and supporters? Have they also become Mr. Hydes, or were they already there?
I wonder if many years hence some of them may not snap out of their dream and realize what they did. If so, however, Nietzsche's shame-avoiding mechanism may kick in: “'I have done that,' says my memory. 'I cannot have done that,' says my pride, and remains inexorable."
5
Trump the GOP, Fox, Sinclair and the rest of the cheerleaders for this assault on the Constitution and Democracy need to be held accountable. It’s time for Pelosi and the rest of the House ( this includes republicans) to step up and flex the muscle that is their branch of the Government and bring the foxes watching the hen house to justice.
4
Let's flesh this out with another dose of reality. Trump controls the Executive, McConnell controls the Legislative, Barr controls Justice (who cares about the feckless and neutered Supreme Court?) and Mnuchin controls Treasury.
Vote if you want, but democracy as we've known it for almost 250 years is over. Only Caligula and Nero have held this kind of power, but that was after Caesar crossed the Rubicon, or in our case
Trump didn't even have to cross the Potomac to end the Republic.
3
Trump has been digging his own grave for quite some time and one must have faith that our system of government will prevail. His words, indeed, are despicable, reflective of a man who has little self-control or the ability to process what he thinks before he launches into a series of petty thoughts. We must look to our beacons of light, leaders whose integrity shine with love, wisdom, and right thinking, those who are mentally strong and make us stronger by association. Hubris is a great failing. So is dishonesty and treason against one's own people. Good sportsmanship is not a game Mr. Trump understands. He is a bad sport when he defies the rules and undermines the game. Well, I could go on. But history will have the last words. Hopefully impeachment is coming soon. And when it comes, I hope he is found guilty of the charges stacked against him. Tar and feathering and time behind bars would be a fitful parting. Maybe then will he repent for words uttered in contempt and for callous actions. Maybe that's what it will take for this man to say "I'm sorry."
Spot on assessment Michelle Goldberg! And no doubt after the revelation of Donald Trump's willingness to betray this country by accepting foreign interference in the election process...again, there's no doubt that this president is a danger to everything we hold dear about living in a free and democratic society.
I have never been in as much fear for America's fate as I am now.
2
Dems will do the exact same thing Ms. Goldberg, if you think differently look at who paid for this Steele dossier, the Clinton's, who pranked called an eager Congressman Schiff with info on Trump ? It all depends on whose ox is getting gored here. You can put the back of your wrist to you forehead and collapse on your fainting couch as much as you want, both sides pull this stuff, always have , always will.
4
The Steele Dossier is nothing like inviting/using a foreign government to help you win an election. With the Steele Dossier, the Democrats hired and paid an American firm to research Trump and that firm hired and paid a foreign citizen to do research for them. With Trump, he is willing to accept help offered for free from a foreign government, accepting all the power and resources of a foreign government (not individuals) to act on his behalf which then makes him beholden to that country which in turn means he will make policy decisions that favor that foreign government not America.(Probably doing this in part, so they will help him win again.) You cannot compare a paid foreign individual to an unpaid foreign government.
8
Despite the best effort of Lyin’ Lindsey (Graham), the “dossier” is a non-issue. I listened to him spouting off about this yesterday, the lies rolling off his tongue like good old Carolina gravy. A dossier by its very nature contains “iffy” material (see Tony Blair’s “dodgy dossier”). It merely aggregates the available material.
What Graham never mentions are four points: 1)The dossier was opposition research initiated by REPUBLICANS; 2)It was *not* the predicate for the Russia investigation and was taken up by the FBI had already begun that investigation, as it well should have been!; 3)the dossier did not originate with any foreign power, let alone hostile ones devoted to swinging elections, and 4) it has *not* been discredited.
To every reporter in the scrum yesterday (the occasion being Graham’s tepid criticism of Trump’s willingness to take campaign info from Russia) why oh why do you not confront Graham with these facts and let him get away with lies to Trump’s base?
3
It’s the American people, virtually all of them, who are being gored. That so many are writhing on the ground, attributing their pain to a grievance they don’t comprehend, yet, rise to cheer their increasing discomfort, is noteworthy. That those who cheer are sounding a little exhausted themselves, is typical of the dying of the light against which trump rages.
I am not tired. I have power, and so do you, and together we are very strong. We need all of us together, trying every day. Together we are unstoppable.
4
Robert Mueller's self serving dodge on refusing to come to a conclusion essentially gave Trump a green light to assert that inviting "foreign assistance" was "legal".
That's why it was so critical for Mueller to have at least tried to push back on that half baked Justice Dept. "memo" that prevents a sitting president from being indicted.
But he didn't, and this is the result. So much for our "nation of laws".
Once Trump was elected, it was inevitable and totally predictable that we would end up at this point.
And you ain't seen nothin' yet. Pray we don't end up with a disputed election in 2020, because there is a good chance Trump won't go quietly.
2
It may well not be too soon to fear that Trump and the Republicans are willing to subvert and end checks and balances and create an authoritarian permanent majority, even with Trump remaining in power. The notion which we have long believed that "It can't happen here" is beginning to happen here. The Democrats need to act to stop our slide towards the end of American democracy.
8
@Joseph C Bickford: Pssst: they are acting. Only they don't hold their breath, and jump up and down until they pass out.
If Nixon had the advantages Trump now enjoys like: investigations of wrongdoing launched and controlled by his own oval office and DOJ; blind Republican partisan loyalty;
an opposition House fearful of upholding its own oath of office, he would be remembered today by airports and universities named in his honor instead of by a black mark in the history books.
Hopefully, with my advancing years, I won’t live to see a resurgence of Trump University.
6
Can we stop saying the Republican spin that the Mueller report was "anti-climatic" as if it is true? Trump committed multiple crimes, whether or not Mueller was derelict in his duty by not charging him despite obviously unconstitutional "department guidelines" is the only question.
9
Yes, we are totally dependent on the good will and sanity of our leaders; we have no recourse when they chose to ignore the law, both written and unwritten, when they behave unpresidential. Of course, almost all politicians, except Obama, are guilty of violating the rules of fair play, but only up to a point. But when it comes to Trump and the leaders of the Republican party, there are no limits: good sportsmanship is not important, only winning counts. And once those people (ogres ?) gain power, our Constitution cannot protect us, our judiciary (ha !) cannot protect us, we have to wait and hope that the gerrymandering and other nefarious deeds of these bad guys can be overcome by the vote of a sensible, caring, citizenry.
2
on another note - trump isn't paying cities for the use of arenas, police, and other emergency responders. maybe cities should stop booking rallies unless he pays up front for the use of facilities.
4
Democracy is not a lazy form of government. It demands an informed electorate and disciplined legislative bodies. On both counts we have an electorate more concerned about what Kim Kardashian is wearing today and legislative bodies occupied by individuals more concerned about obtaining a lobbying job than serving the American people. Trump is merely a symptom of a body politic, whose daily lives, are consumed with bread and circuses.
17
@Amanda Jones
Excellent. Sleep walking. Down the slippery slope.
Donald Trump's comment yesterday that he'd accept help from a foreign entity and saw nothing wrong with it is even more alarming to me as I'm reading the Mueller report.
Russia organized rallies here, posing as American citizens doing this, they paid for ads, fake stories and to get all kinds of polling data from the other party. And I remember Donald Trump standing next to Mr. Putin, despite these known incursions, and telling the American people that "Putin says they didn't interfere in our elections, and I believe him."
I urge anyone who cares about our country to read the Mueller report and encourage others to do so. See you at an impeachment rally!
14
@Jane
Democrats organized rallies, paid for ads, and fake stories too.
The dossier being just one example.
@Sports Medicine Hopefully , the Democrats were Americans....not foreign nationals intent on influencing our elections.
Donald Trump will never pass the smell test with lovers of
America and all its people.
Conservative Evangelicals will never pass the smell test
with serious lovers of Jesus of Nazareth's teaching about
the nature of God.
14
Thanks Michelle Goldberg for sounding the alarm, but I assure you that The Resistance is NOT exhausted. As individuals, we might take a short respite, knowing that others will keep up with the cause, but "Exhausted"?? Not even close. Impatient with the process? You bet. This is down to "We the People". And not just Trump, but the complicit GOP, are in our sights. GOTV. Plan to "Be Best" and get rid of the rats.
11
Dictators only need to win one election.
10
Trump Yes I did it and I will do it again
now go to sleep GOP.
7
Emperor Trump has no clothes on. THe Congress knows it. INow I think is time for the Senate to tell him he is walking around nakedly revealing that he is out of his mind.
6
Blue wave 2020. Vote them all out!
10
@Andrea W. I agree.. however the current system as noted in 2016 when he ran the first time with the assistance of foreign interference he won. That same system remains broken, his polling shows him losing to everyone in a head to head matchup , and he is now basically saying he is welcoming further help in 2020. The Senate has voted down any major electoral updates...so he's banking on a repeat of 2016 in his favor under the same conditions
6
@Sara I agree, but it was that same system that turned the House blue. I think now that everyone knows what to look for, Trump can do his worst but people will know, and vote him out.
1
What are all the 'patriots' in trump's party doing when he is selling the country to the first bidder ?
7
Those Norwegians..ts ts ts.
Oppo research was made famous by them
2
When I protested in college against apartheid, many of my classmates scoffed at my efforts as a waste of time they couldn't spare from their pre-law, pre-med, pre-life studies.
But when enough people pressured companies and universities to divest from South Africa through boycotts and protests, apartheid eventually toppled!
When Iceland's Prime Minister's name appeared in the Panama Papers, Icelanders protested en masse outside the Parliament, banging pots and pans for hours on end, and, within the week, the PM had resigned.
Protest can work, however, the ultimate protest, is your vote. So if you do one thing in your life, VOTE and make Trump's defeat the biggest in history. Who knows, maybe McConnell and Trump's other courtier's will come tumbling down too!
15
@Concerned American
So much wishful thinking. Trump will take any country’s help, wait until Russian money and Saudi money show up in our next election. You think trump will send it back?
Residing in a state that normally has a problem counting votes I wonder if it even worth it to cast a ballot?
1
@George
I understand your skepticism. It would help if Buttigieg had his way and the electoral college became a relic giving each citizen's' vote more chance to count.
1
I Donald J. Trump hereby declare myself Emperor for life. Who's going to stop me ?
7
I look forward to the Impeach Trump protests scheduled for Saturday June 15. Will enough Americans take time to attend? Do enough Americans care about the America founded as a republic with a government answerable to the people?
Supposedly Americans have always wanted their children to be better off or at least as well off as themselves. What about the country your children will inherit from you? Do you even care?!
Well some of us do, but I write here to a select audience of patriots. The real question is, is anyone else paying attention and if so, do THEY care?
6
Indeed!
Guilty trump should’ve been impeached a very long time ago ...
3
The evil propping Trump is Mitch Mcconnell. To beat Trump simply beat Mitch.
13
Trump’s hold on power may seem impenetrable but he’s herding a pack of sharks. If they smell blood in the water (like bad polling numbers) they will turn on him. Meanwhile, a Ryan/Halley ticket is quietly waiting off stage, avoiding the fray. But, for now, Trump is their “useful idiot”.
1
Who? You and I.
Or down we go, if this crook is re-elected.
3
If this was a Democrat the Republicans would have gone nuts and would have had him removed. Is Trump blackmailing them? Our country is dieing and becoming a dictatorship. And it's not Norway who will help Trump. It's Russia, China or Korea calling.
7
My my. The russian misinformation/discord bots are out in full force the last couple of days. Even in the Times comment sections.
Don't be fooled people.
Most of us are well aware that Trump is a traitor unfit for office.
Keep fighting the good fight.
6
@John S
How are you aware he is a traitor?
the Mueller report proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the Russian collusion narrative was false.
Didn't happen.
So what else do you have? Any evidence? Or just accusations from what CNN tells you?
So is it okay to let millions in our country illegally and then not allow States to require voters to provide an ID in order to vote? Yes, according to the Dems it is. And why do they and others on the left accept this foreign impact on our “sacred” elections? Because it provides votes for Dems. Obviously. So this moralizing about foreign impacts on our elections using social media while rejecting ID requirements for actual voters in a country with millions of illegal foreigners present is a cynical farce.
1
Trump has massive reinforcements; the pitchfork crowd. Like Trump, they are the most aggrieved people in our country. They live in fly over country and Trump is their finger in the eye of the establishment. They relish a fight. Huge turnout of these people is Trump's only hope and impeachment will stir them up to show up in record numbers. Pelosi understands this.
4
Anyone outraged about the president's statement should be insisting that Congress legislate the matter immediately.
Why do we keep freaking out at every idiotic missive from this doofus? We have to understand by now that The Donald was riffing with George. When faced with a superior intellect, Trump always resorts to his shock and awe response: he gets George off his game and focused on the ridiculous declaration of seeing nothing wrong with treasonous behavior.
This is the con in process.
Please stop taking every thing that this hustler says as meaningful. We are his marks and the news media are the suckers.
3
American Voters can Stop Trump...in 2020 !!
5
His base loves it.
Nothing will change. Everyone knows he is crooked, dishonest, lies, is racist, sexist and all the other isms and ists.
And his base loves it.
SAD
1
@esp
Sounds like the Clintons and tens of millions of Americans voted for them with no problem whatsoever.
Let’s cut to the chase. On Wednesday, the President gave ALL of us a nonpartisan “middle finger”. The President was right ; He took his shot on 5th Avenue. Crickets....
1
So it is apparently true that the Democrats are afraid/scared/chicken and trump smells it!! Gees Dems get a backbone before it is too late!!
Trump is testing the waters and so far the water is the perfect temperature for him.
2
Might as well vote for Trump, who cares? Yay for our Dear leader, our lives for you!
Oh sorry, just kind of lost it there. The brainwash is almost complete, so it gets tougher and tougher everyday to wade through the propaganda and lie repetition.
It's not only Trump who is getting away with all of this. It's also the GOP and the Trump base. We can't seem to stop talking about Trump and listing all of his offenses day after day. He loves it, and it only feeds his engine to keep doing the say. It is time to start focusing on the fealty and soul-selling, country-selling GOP and the fact that 40% of this country'e electorate has also abandoned its duties as citizens of a democracy and are embracing this anti-democracy, lying, criminal, megalomaniacal autocrat wannabe and willing to turn this country into a banana republic and dictatorship only because the GOP's decades-long campaign to paint other Americans, "the left" as the enemy. It also explains why his base and McConnell even now defend Putin's attack on our democracy, defend this unAmerican, dangerous president, while continuing to turn everything into being about a war against Democrats.
3
Remember, Trump is actually the most honest and sincere individual on Earth, who is reluctantly forced to be corrupt because everyone else is more so.
1
I am truly astonished that Congress continues to sit by as Trump flagrantly violates the Constitution time after time. Mueller was clear. He is violating the emoluments clause daily, has staffers violating the Hatch act and yet nothing is done. This is how Republics fall. Checks and balances are ignored. We must demand that Congress do its job.
13
Your selective hearing is deeply disturbing. The president commented on a hypothetical situation, got it? Does he lose his first amendment rights as president? He said that if, say, Norway called, he would listen. And if he thought something was wrong, he would let the FBI know. Did you miss this part? The Clinton people actually did pay for and kick to the FBI made-up dirt provided by a British spy. The Mueller report confirmed that he did not act on offers from Russia. The more you do this, the more certain is his re-election. In America, we defer to the party treated unfairly. I am a Hillary Clinton voter who will almost certainly vote for Mr. Trump next time based on the way the press has treated him, and because of his performance.
49
@Anthony Pastor I am still wondering what Trump has actually achieved as POTUS beyond tariffs, tax relief for the wealthy, and erasing as much of Obama's actions as he could. It all seems a bit thin for a legacy of achievement.
746
@Anthony Pastor
Don't let the facts about Trump's behavior, fairly reported in the mainstream press, disturb your intention.
470
@Anthony Pastor
No, Mr. Pastor, I'm afraid it's you who doesn't get it. A politician taking something of value, like campaign dirt, from a foreign government--whether friendly or not--is AGAINST the law for good reason. After accepting that gift the politician--let's just say it's the PRESIDENT--is now beholden to that foreign power. Get it now? A President beholden to a foreign power or subject to blackmail by a foreign power will violate his oath of office to put America above all else.
Also Mueller did NOT confirm that Trump did not act on offers--you need to read beyond Barr's bogus "summary." He stated that while a Criminal Conspiracy could not be proven in court, in his view, that Trump welcomed and benefitted from the help he asked our greatest enemy for. Get it?
1242
A guy who says this, on top of saying he would contest an election if it were close and rile his supporters, is one who thinks he’s a dictator. Even the Navy/DoD hides a ship named after his personal enemy to please him. When will this end? Certainly not January 2021 if his support hasn’t waned.
7
"I know everyone's tired. But democracy is not going to save itself."
Exactly ...
10
"Such a measure should probably be used only in a crisis."
If what we have now isn't a crisis, what do you think a crisis looks like?!
6
"Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible" by Peter Pomerantsev describes Putin's reality twisted Russian media controlled population. Keeping them perpetually off balance and numb. This is exactly what is happening now in America with your the episodic reality TV presidency and his The Fox News mouthpiece driving the country into stupefaction. People are losing their ability to see or even care about what is happening right in front of them.
6
@D. Healy True, but Trump is hardly to blame for apathy or even the stupefacation. You can't blame a single person for what has been going on for decades. What Trump has done, almost single-handedly is to hold up for derision those that try to something. Trump has managed to give a large swath of people hope by simplifying or ignoring problems, and demonizing those who don't simplify or ignore problems. THAT is the democratic danger - that those with a different opinion are made to be seen as outsiders and lunatics.
@Jim Cricket
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, There is nothing democratic about this situation. Trump was aided (installed) buy by hostile foreign powers on many levels. Facebook date, Polling date exchanged and used in modeling sophisticated attacks. The Republican underfunding of education has a great deal to do with low discernment and awareness. Trump, McConnell, Chao are just cashing in on it.
@ D.Healy
You could not be more spot on with that comment. America is in a stupor and can not see what is right in front of their face. We have a criminal cartel posing as our government.
Michelle you are trying to keep us going.
But unless we see the MSM hold their congressional interviewees to the flames of response and action now .....trumpian autocracy is the order of the day.
And move away from the democratic candidates this month after the debate and focus on removal of McConell and freedom caucus senators for aiding and abetting treason and take over of our elections by foreign powers.
It is bizarre to the voting public because we are calling our representatives and yet on MSM they announce “ our constituents are not interested in impeachment. They are more concerned with jobs and local state issues. “.......nope the reps must be fibbing too. I know many voters as an activist in Ct. and believe me we are sorely disappointed in Sen Blumenthal and Sen. Murphy and our reps who have been in Washington over 20 years having a grand old time under multiple administrations. Rep. DeLauro and Rep. Larson. And Rep. Himes. Are not addressing the treason of our leadership and they are not rejecting the Donor class
of billionaires.
3
"I have been accused of this exact Felony in the past and I would certainly do it in the future, hypothetically..."
Recorded, on video and broadcast for the world to see.
8
The Republican's don't want to stop him: they don't mind Russian help to win there space at the trough.
The Democrats are afraid to stop him: it might damage their right to a space at the trough.
The American people don;t really much care: it the modern world, Russian interference in our politics is ho-hum normal now.
Pelosi’s refusal to proceed with a criminal investigation (as Donny Deutsch calls it) or impeachment investigation as many call it, makes her no better than Mitch McConnell. Refusing to put people, the constitution and the country over politics , in this instance, is no different than his blatant attempts to do the same. Why is no one calling her out on this Comparison? Republicans, better at the politics game than we are, would not hesitate to go forward with such an action, if a Democrat were in office. I am beginning to feel my own party beginning to let me down.
4
I can think of one person who can - Putin.
2
Thank you, Michelle Goldberg!
4
No body is going to Stop Trump. He is the messiah America (sorry, not all. But enough) deserved.
I think republicans are caught in their own trap...... they have nurtured and energized a rabid and reactionary base. now they can do nothing lest the mad dogs they have created bite back. trump merely takes advantage of the situation.
7
The problem, Michelle, is that Israel is a foreign country that meddles openly and often in US elections, and gets away with it. That is Trump's trump card, to point this out if things get hot. You can't have a double standard.
You can say Russia is an enemy and Israel a friend, but Trump has consistently maintained that he disagrees.
As long as AIPAC is allowed to run rampant, any foreign country can meddle, and point to the "gold standard" set by Israel.
3
Elijah Cummings said a month ago that Trump sounds like he is asking us to impeach him.
I think he is begging us now.
4
I think republicans are caught in their own trap...... they have nurtured and energized a rabid and reactionary base. now they can do nothing lest the mad dogs they have created bite back. trump merely takes advantage of the situation.
Speaker Pelosi, please. It's time.
3
Time. No more after Tuesday, November 3, 2020. or January 20, 2025. Nothing is PERPETUAL.
Trump owns America. End of story. Pelosi is afraid, the Democrats are hopeless. All the commenters here can attack Trump but they should be attacking their fellow Americans. Trump couldn't get away this if it weren't for all those foos. The Republicans do not believe in the Constitution and do not believe in America. BTW, it isn't "Trump to America;" It's "Trump to the sad other half of America." The New York Times keeps forgetting that a huge portion of America supports Trump.
2
@Ralph
Actually, we do believe in the constitution.
You want to impeach a President over hypotheticals now?
Trump sees no need to fake his intentions to break the law because at heart he is a criminal, who is also mentally unstable, and who has broken the law many times and has used the courts to sue people he has cheated. He cheated in his businesses. He cheated in his military draft. He cheated in his taxes. He has ganged up with all sorts of nefarious characters, including Russian ones, to cheat the 2016 election. He fluked a win. He sees no reason not to do it again. Why should he ? The system allows him. All you fools who follow the laws and the rules are suckers, in his criminal mind. He thrashes and tarnish everything America stands for ; and the rest of the world is laughing itself silly about this once great Republic being helmed by this man. He has to be removed from office.
4
If Trump is reelected, Facism will roll over America like a great Juggernaut. "Civilizations die from suicide not by murder ." Arnold J Toynbee.
2
This question is this.....
Now that the dems are all lathered up about about this, what are they going to do about it?
Same as always, nothing.
Keep writing angry articles like this one and stomping around, it changes nothing.
3
he has opened bidding for the worst actors to commit the worst crimes
2
What is wrong with you??? I know Donald Trump. No, not as a member of the administration or as a politician but as someone involved in Manhattan Commercial Real Estate. If he, or I, state that it doesn't work that way he is talking to or about some clean finger nailed manicured thinker without street knowledge … like you. Too many in congress and elsewhere in government lack any experience in how things really work. What experiences, exactly, do Schumer or Poloci or others have to help them apply their theories to reality. None.
1
Craven fear? ...... No, realism. Trump is taunting the Democrats because he knows that a failed attempt to remove him will only make him stronger. ..... And there is this: Realistically, you can only impeach him once. If you try prematurely and fail, you're done. ....... Better to unify behind a single candidate and beat him in 2020.
Trump needs to be impeached in the House and tried in the Senate and convicted. He is unfit for the office he holds. He knows it and we know it. These days he is just playing at it.
That's theoretically what could happen. But we ain't there yet. McConnell needs to put on his big boy pants and do his job. Otherwise he'll go down in history as Trump's toady. A fate worse than death when this all gets sorted out. Trump doing 5-10 in Sing Sing. McConnell remembered as a cowering toady. Sarah Huckabee Sanders working at KFC...
1
Answer to the article's question: all Americans who vote against a divider, a narcissist, a racist, a misogynist, a cheater, a liar. Help me here; there just so many reasons why we will vote out trump. It is despicable that Democrats are not setting up an impeachment inquiry given all the questionable actions he has taken while in office. And, Republicans, for shame. May our generation and future generations bury the Republican party permanently along with their fake religious piety.
1
Looking forward to the FISA investigation results to see if the Democrats who talk the talk also walk the walk.,
Michelle, it's not that people are exhausted...they're disillusioned because the Democratic leadership appears to be assisting Trump, not resisting him. Pelosi has said Trump should be in prison, he's against democracy, etc. So, since she's the one person that can do something about it, what is she going to do? Nothing. Pelosi is making the biggest political miscalculation in recent history and will help re-elect Trump.
That's why Democrats are in the mood they are. They have to fight their own leaders and Trump. They've lost hope that anything will change.
3
Money talks. Citizens should refuse to pay further taxes. File W-4’s with maximum exemptions. Cut off the lifeline of the administration. Just as Trump can shut down the government for his wall, citizens can turn off the faucet.
2
Add it to the stack of evidence against him that's already accumulated. The saddest aspect of this is that it's entrirely believable, yet reveals nothing new about his lack of character.
Pseudo news.
Hillary actually PAID for foreign interference in the ‘16 election in the form of the phone Steele dossier.
The left’s desperation is maddening, as they know Trump will win in ‘20.
2
@Cjmesq0
The funding for the dossier originally came from an organization financed by Paul Singer, a Republican who disliked Trump. After it became clear that Trump would win the Republican nomination, Singer dropped out and Fusion persuaded Marc Elias, the general counsel for the Clinton campaign, to subsidize the unfinished research. The findings were handed over to the FBI by
Steele.
4
And when he declares himself president-for-life - perhaps as early as November 2020 - who will stop him? Not the GOP. Not the Supreme Court. The military? Don't count on it.
2
@Rethinking
Good!
He sure is getting away with obstruction of justice and paying no consequences. He will again use the help of foreign adversaries to win re-election. Why wouldn't he? If the Democrats do nothing in the face of his behavior he will just continue to walk all over our laws. Impeachment is the only way to hold him responsible.
5
No Impeachment. Let Trump find out on all November 3, 2020.
Vote him out. Silence him permanently. No tweets, no more TV.
Feds at Southern District of New York is waiting for him.
1
Why don’t you call out the shadow Koch government the real power behind all this. Naming the beast, pulling the curtain aside is absolutely crucial. Follow the money you always say in MMS but never do!
3
As angry as I am at the Republicans for aiding and abetting the destruction of the pillars of American government, I am also angry at the Democrats for their inaction. Mueller should have been brought in, voluntarily or by subpoena, the Monday following the Friday release of his report. They languished while the Barr-Trump team stole the narrative.
It is long time to start an impeachment inquiry. I hear the excuse that the McConnell Senate will never convict. If Trump is impeached in the House, doesn't he have to testify. under oath, in the trial in the Senate? Trump will self convict there under the grilling of the Democratic senators. The Republicans may not be able to look the other way.
Get on with it Dems!!!!
4
And if Trump doesn't win the 2020 election, he'll try to stage a coup based on an allegedly "fixed election" perpetrated by the "Deep State" and the "fake news" mainstream media. You have to anticipate this guy...and expect the worst. There's something the matter with him.
2
Sometimes the best medicine is the bitterest tasting one. Trump has brought forth an underlying layer of despotism that has existed since the discovery of our continent, and betrayed our yearning for a truly free society. Slavery, denial of women's rights, exclusionism in immigration, etc.
It is now up to us to repudiate once and for all time these ugly characteristics and to show the world what a true democracy looks like. Take heart this too shall pass.
2
Thanks. This is the motivational speech I've been needing.
President Trump does have loyaty to the country. That is not an issue. As far as integrity of elections, 2018 mid-terms went off without a hitch, unlike 2016 under the previous president.
I miss the days when front pages of newspapers reported non-fiction news, instead of drumming up yet anoher false narrative becuase a president actually invited a journalist to spend a lot of one on one time with him, not seen in the previous administration either.
Norway nor any other country is giving Trump "dirt" on anyone. The Mueller report is over. The crying and yelling and insulting is not interesting and only a distraction from a Congressional leadership vacuum on any issues that effect our daily lives. Where are the Congrssional answers and initiatives?
And those that do come out of congress Trump rarely vetoes, unlike his predecessor.
As far as the next election, whoever has the best plan without steering away from our Constitution has my vote.
May the best plan via republican or democrat win. The media attack on Trump is not helping the Democratic side.
The independent centrists among us are tired of hot non-productive air. we don't ride bandwagons just to ride.
1
What has made me numb is less Trump's outrageous tweets and more the crickets from Congress. Will there ever be any leadership in not just condemning this corruption of our democracy, but actively taking action against it? Why should bribery, fraud, and collusion be seen as politically okay so long as used to your party's benefit? How can politicians with such a moral defect consider themselves devout Christians? How can SCOTUS continue to okay political gerrymandering and voter suppression laws? Trump is just the tip of a twisted spear.
3
We certainly need to impeach this president but let’s not forget the presidents right hand man. McConnell has been subverting democratic norms and bending the rules of law to suit his own personal agenda as he felt entitled to for years. These two alone have been able to cause considerable damage but together they have succeeded in trying to rip apart everything this country was founded on. They should both be removed from office!
1
What struck me about Trump's comments was how comfortable he seemed talking to the little, polite journalist in his office like he was patiently explaining to the visiting rube how we make the sausage here. Of course we're corrupt! We're politicians! We'll do anything, pay off anyone, imprison anyone, even kill people to stay and maintain power! And we're internationalists like corporations! Duh! To me the scary thing is that I really don't think impeachment will do anything, and then the people will feel defeated. Americans want solutions to the utter rot of the Republican administration and its enablers like, but not only Mitch McConnell. Is there one? Is the next election already fixed?
1
@Dr. Conde "And we're internationalists like corporations!" Exactly. Companies have blurred the lines, why wouldn't politicians? Especially a politician who does business internationally and doesn't seem to know or care if he's breaking the law. Not that he supports NAFTA, but that's just another of his contradictions.
Do all politicians and the public know the difference between legal and illegal dirt? Maybe it's really all the same (I mean, the legal dirt digger probably wants something in return too) and candidates should just stop trying to dig up tangential dirt on their opponents. Set a good example.
There is a pretty wide gap between what he actually said and what his opponents in the media claim he said.
There’s a reason why the media is loathed.
1
Yes Michelle. Tired. Exhausted. At wit's end. As for me, I'm voting in the primary. Then whomever gets the nomination, no matter who, will receive my vote. What else can I do? I guess I can hope my vote counts and isn't corrupted by a foreign entity that the president just egged on. But I'm just one exasperated citizen of the USA. I feel helpless.
1
Time for a national strike. Can’t call it that of course so a day of prayer and reflection would work. Call in sick. Stay home, don’t go to work, play with your kids. Don’t worry if this isn’t 100% effective, it doesn’t have to be. Give some spine to those in congress who want to do the right thing.
Michelle - your two Op-Ed's this week have been brilliant, and get right to the heart of grave crisis that the DJT presidency presents. Thanks for expressing so clearly and directly the pain and abuse so many of us are feeling! Now its up to us to act to end it!
It is confounding beyond words that Donald Trump's right-wing, flag-waving, America First, professed patriots follow him like sheep while turning a blind eye to his overtly anti-American behavior.
What is this country coming to, and what will it take for these people to come to their senses, stand up loudly, and reclaim the country that belongs not to Trump, but to them?
Mr. Trump is, from all appearances, operating a criminal enterprise and using the office of the President to facilitate his objectives.
Senate Republicans are just fine with that.
This is where we are in America.
Fantastic column. I think you captured this moment and the way some of us feel about it perfectly. I do feel terribly deflated after the anti-climactic aftermath of the Mueller report. Yes, our president is a criminal who is destroying our republic with the full cooperation and assistance of the GOP, but really nobody is going to do anything about the situation so it's a bit like being stuck in quicksand with nothing to hold on to as you sink deeper and deeper into the muck. Reading this, I realized that I really am "struggling to ward off learned helplessness, the depressed, withdrawn state created when terrible things keep happening and you feel powerless to stop them." I sometimes wonder why it is I am feeling so down. Then I realize it's because I am witnessing the death throes of America. I try to ignore it during the course of my day to day but it keeps inserting itself into my consciousness. I want to stop reading the news but I can't. With each passing day, the parade of bleak headlines beat out their incessant drumbeat of despair with no relief in sight. Yet, as I watch this horrendous train wreck destroy our once great nation I find it impossible to look away. I have to be honest and admit that, between the moral bankruptcy of the GOP and the cowardice of the Democrats, I am starting to give up hope that our country can be saved from this completely self-inflicted disaster.
You know the answer, if there is an answer. The only solution is at the polls. Neither Congress, nor SCOTUS, nor other Courts, nor his advisers, nor the Press will stop him. Vote Democratic in every election at every level. Let the Republican party know that to support Trump or his ideals will be their doom.
1
Well personally I blame NBC and the Apprentice for Trump. They built him up, and didn't deflate him before he ran for office, now they are making the big bucks reporting on him. Don't get me wrong I love NBC news programs, however NBC television needs to back track and run Trump the Man and the Myth. Have a big event that shows him in real life, and what they did to build the myth on the Apprentice, go behind the scenes and show everything including the racist tapes they have in the vault. Do this soon please so those who think this guy is for real can see who they are voting for.
1
Congress needs to stop worrying about being re-elected and do what is right. Our Founders did not intend for senators and congressman to hold seats as a life career. Congress, get some integrity, get some gumption, and do what is right. Cowardice because you want to keep your jobs is not the answer. Cowardice may just get you thrown out of office.
4
It is clear why Trump’s lawyers wouldn’t let him testify to the special council - clearly he was happy to provide the smoking gun Mueller needed: willfully accepting assistance from a foreign power.
4
That Trump has no loyalty to his country, its institutions and the integrity of its elections is not surprising. That he feels no need to fake it is alarming.
Exactly.
3
Thank you, Michelle. As a card-carrying liberal, I have protested, I have marched, and I have rallied to get out the 2018 vote. We made great strides in those midterm elections, and now, we expect our elected officials to feel the fire we tried to light under their posteriors and FIGHT. Nancy Pelosi, why so passive?
1
It’s up to us. Take to the streets! IMPEACH!!!
2
You might be over-thinking this a bit.
Trump fears facing the judgment of voters. In 2016, he claimed the elections were rigged against him. Now, he wants to rig elections for himself. It matters little to him who does the rigging, as long as it favors him.
This is the key 'lesson' that Trump has learned since childhood: Meritocracy is for chumps. Every process / outcome can be manipulated in his favor.
Income / Wealth / Taxes. School. The Draft. Bankruptcy.
So, why not elections?
1
Truly, if the House doesn't start an impeachment process, the country may not get another chance at democracy. The current resident in the White House has no cares except for himself and his constant chart-topping, outrageous publicity. And the Senate with the staunch backing of the ultra-rich are gleefully getting what the rich have wanted since 1776: a return to aristocracy. At the rate Trump is demolishing democracy, it is becoming more and more unlikely that we will have another election at all. And what will all the sputtering "oh my gods!" do for us then? Nothing. The only thing Trump bows down before is someone who wields power with no hesitation.
What we have to do is make the Republicans share the responsibility for Trump's actions. Trump is the titular head of the Republican party and whatever outlandish policy action he takes represents the policy of the Republican party. If Trump says he will accept dirt from foreign powers, he is speaking for the Republican party. We have to make sure we paint the entire party with the same brush.His party never condemns his actions therefore they share the blame. the party cannot claim that Trump is an outlier. He is their man. McConnell is as much or more guilty of misdemeanors as Trump.
3
I am going to stop Donald next November. Who’s with me?
6
By now all Americans should be walking around in boots to wade through all the doo-doo our president and elected officials have created. It is like quick sand, bringing our nation down to record low morals.
Republicans still support this lying President. The truth thrown in their face and still can't see the forest for the trees.
I am tired, but all I want is for the house to start impeachment procedings.
3
Perverting democracy in USA is perverting democracy worldwide. It's the reason why I, as a european, feel so deeply concerned about what's going on in America whith your would beecious asset you dictator president. Democracy is a fragile way of life, so quickly destroyed as european history show us, your democracy saved our 75 years ago .
1
If a foreign country learns about illegal and secret activity by an American candidate I see no reason they cannot make it public.
Once again Democrats focusing on all the wrong things.
Trump will win again.
I am a democrat too.
My fellow democrats are cry babies and cant see why we will lose again.
It seems to be forgotten that before Trump was even elected, McConnell was obstructing the Obama administration from publicising what the Russians were doing.
McConnell is the architect here, of the breaking down of American norms.
Until Americans wake up to what the Republicans are doing, nothing will change
3
Who is going to stop Trump?
Not Nancy Pelosi or anyone in the Democratic Establishment, judging by all the hedging they keep doing.
Certainly not the GOP.
We're still in Yeats territory here.
"...The best lack all conviction, while the worst
are full of passionate intensity."
If only Democrats had someone like General Grant in a position of leadership:
'Oh, I am heartily tired of hearing about what Lee is going to do. Some of you always seem to think he is suddenly going to turn a double somersault, and land in our rear and on both of our flanks at the same time. Go back to your command, and try to think what we are going to do ourselves, instead of what Lee is going to do.'
1
Trump can't be stopped in this world, nor should he be for fear of creating a greater nightmare of humanity. He is not of prescient humanity. Only God can Judge him now, and he will as he lives.
My main question is why his red meat Republican base is still supporting him. Wasn't it the people in the heartland and working class who used to be the most paranoid of Russia and Communism? Wasn't the worst epithet that they could fling on anybody was that he or she was a "Pinko"? And yet they're fine with their President working in collusion with Russia to torpedo the integrity of the next election? I hope the Democrats never forget the hypocrisy the Right has displayed in this matter. I hope the next President, who will be a Democrat, does not play as nice as Obama did with the miscreants of the Republican party.
Trump seems to be emboldened by the Mueller report.
Governments attempt to influence elections in lots of ways. I don't even think that Donald Trump knows the first thing about how electoral politics work in the U.S., never mind the rest of the world. He does know how to incite his base. He's still angry that he lost the popular vote in 2016. But the founders fixed that with the Electoral College.
I'd like to see an article about U.S. interventions in elections around the world and some of those violent interventions: Honduras, Nicaragua, Iran, Chile, Vietnam, come to mind. It's quite a long list and it wasn't done solely through the use of media.
@Howie Lisnoff: Trump has experts who know all about how this monstrous insult to intelligence political system works.
The barrage of outrage is getting old. Trump said out loud what most people know to be true about virtually every politician on either side of the aisle.
You’re resonating with the echo chamber. With the rest (the majority) of America, not so much.
1
As long as trump's enablers...Mitch McConnell, the GOP Senate members, the republicans in the House, republicans in general, supporters in particular...refuse to see that their actions are undermining America the country's spiral down will continue.
Hopefully not to a war with some vulnerable country chosen at random in an attempt to "Change the Subject".
4
@Lalo: It is "Rapture or Bust!" time for Evangelicals now.
@Steve Bolger
That will be sad for All of us. Unless the Evangelicals simply take THEMSELVES to the Rapture.
Every day it gets worse and everyday I watch with dismay the idea of "checks and balances" disappear into thin air. And grieve for my American friends and the America I knew (and loved)as a college student.
7
@s.chubin: Checks can be rubber and balances can be biased.
The question is not who is going to stop Trump -- the correct question is " Who is going to stop the Democrats?" Their Kafkaesque pursuit of Donald Trump is divorced from all reality.
Apparently, it is OK for Hillary Clinton to solicit opposition research from the Russians in the Steele dossier, as long as there is a buffer between her campaign and the Russian oligarchs, but when a Russian approaches and is rejected by the Trump campaign, this is a problem.
Donald Trump does not deserve impeachment, he deserves and apology!
1
The Steele dossier was initiated by GOP operatives who didn't want trump elected. When he got the nomination, democratic operatives took it over. This get lost time and again, but it needs to be made clear to the public.
8
Steele’s not Russian.
1
@Gary M.
The funding for the dossier originally came from Paul Singer, a Republican who disliked Trump. After it became clear that Trump would win the nomination, Singer dropped out and Fusion persuaded Marc Elias, the general counsel for the Clinton campaign, to subsidize the unfinished research.
And Steele went to the FBI with his info.
The lies from the Trump camp need to be continually challenged.
2
America needs to take lessons from France and Hong Kong and, even the UK. Having little polite protests on weekends achieve absolutely nothing. If you’re not disrupting anything you’re not achieving anything. Just look at examples cited here: blocking airports. Flooding congress. These actions were disruptive and therefore successful.
5
As an employee of Department of State, I had to take the following oath, I guess it doesn't apply to the President or his Republican enablers.
"I solemnly swear 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."
11
From the few GOPers willing to speak, all I hear about is 'what about Hillary?'
My understanding is the opposition research of trump was started by a Republican opponent (as of yet unidentified). After that Republican dropped out of the race, the democratics took over this particular opposition research.
Moreover, it's my understanding that except for a few people (at the top of firm contracted to do the research)nobody knew of the Steele Dossier . Anyway Steele is a private entity, not associated with the UK government.
I'm not sure when the knowledge of the Steele Dossier became public.
Thoughts?
6
The GOP is skilled in pushing false equivalencies the base is then trained to accept. Steele is not like a Putin operative and Steele turned over his research. None of it matters to the believers—not the bullying, the lying, the ignorance, the casual cruelty. Never has, never will.
3
trump regularly employs the tactics of your average 4-year old. I'll do what I want until someone stops me.
Time for a time-out. A long long vacation at Mar-a-Logo. Until the sea comes up and washes that hideous place away.
10
@Plennie Wingo Rikers or Leavenworth are equally available and appropriate
2
I knew this country was a joke and a lie back in grade school when they taught the truth about where we got this country. That was bad enough and now after fifty more years of lying from our so-called government I see nothing to indicate anyone has learned anything. The death of real journalism within our boarders and our minds. The death of facts and reality and most upsetting of all the Selective-Ignorance people have immersed themselves in and the willingness to blame each other rather then the real issues destroying human society. We may not live in caves anymore but we sure act like it, or is this an insult to cavemen and women of the past when society seemed to function realistically?
3
I will vote for Trump again. He is fulfilling all of the promises he made during his campaign.
1
Really? Infrastructure projects? Better cheaper health care? Taking on the big banks? Taking on Wall Street? Recall he and Bernie often were singing the same song. The only thing he didn’t lie about was his racism.
2
It's crunch time for democracy in America, and elsewhere, by the look of things.
The choice is clear. Do Americans still believe in their anti-monarchist Constitution, or will they vote for a Trump royal family in 2020?
5
Frankly, he was just being honest. Any politician of either major party would willingly use information about their opponents without regard to its source, so what’s the surprise here? This is nothing new and nothing good, but its is the way the political world works.
2
@Thomas Smith: Sadly, the political and social climate produce views like yours--not ready for democracy.
9
@Des Johnson. I simply acknowledge the truth. As I said it’s not good but it is reality. Let’s try to live in the real world shall we?
1
Sounds like you have given up. Jail time would turn things around. We stopped jailing white collar crime. Every offender knows better. Even Trump. But offenders know they’ll suffer little if caught. NO WALL STREETER WENT TO JAIL !!!
Americans are exhausted not only by Trump. Most are working as hard and as long as possible to stave off falling into bankruptcy. People consumed with issues of survival can appear apathetic. But we do care.
Right now, we have the House. With great effort people voted in numbers great enough to overcome the disenfranchisement of extreme Republican gerrymandering in as many places as they could and, despite the odds, we took the House. We have no guarantee that this energy can be sustained and, in some states, voting and registering voters has become even more difficult.
And we are losing heart.
So Ms Pelosi, this might be it. We may not get the Presidency. We may not win the Senate. We could lose the House. This may be the last opportunity we have to fight back for that old cliche of truth, justice and the American way.
It’s time to lead or go home.
Impeachment hearings.
Now.
It might even inspire a nation to survive.
23
@Chickpea We have over 20 folks vying for President or VP. My hope is that some who will drop out will considering running for Senate. If we could flip the Senate, even if trump is in for another term, things would be different.
3
This declaration parallels Trump telling Lester Holt he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation... with that he publicly declared obstruction. With this, he publicly declared collusion.
I was willing to let Pelosi continue investigations, but this crosses a line - it's time to impeach. I sense Trump will still ignore Congressional subpoenas, but an impeachment inquiry should make it quick and easy for courts to tell Trump to stop stonewalling. It'd be interesting to see if Mnuchin and the IRS pawn still withhold his tax returns.
24
It's time for Speaker Pelosi to call a vote on an impeachment inquiry. She can slow-walk the actual vote on impeachment for as long as she wants -- until the election, if desirable. But the House needs to have maximum power to force this corrupt Administration to comply promptly and completely with its constitutional oversight duties.
38
@Ray Reinhard: A vote on impeachment gives the House no new power whatsoever.
1
Trump has so little understanding of the US Constitution that I would not be surprised if he declares that any effort to defeat him through the 2020 election is treason.
If it appears that he will lose the 2020 election I would not be surprised if he declares a presidential emergency and cancels the election. Far fetched? Probably. However, I suspect that there is a hard-core of GOP Trump supporters whom would go so far as to block an override of a veto of a House and Senate resolution invalidating the such a decree.
8
I have a friend who regularly says that if Trumps gets in next year, he will change the constitution such that only an assassination would remove him. Even if he loses 2020 he will find a way of nullifying the result with McConnells help. Talk about draining the swamp - they drained it of good bacteria so the rest could fester and multiply.
@Brad And back it up with firepower, or at least threats. "There are many fine people" (at least on "MY" side)
Give it up. Nobody is stopping him because most of Congress is afraid to do anything. The courts? They've become very deferential to Presidential Authority.
We could vote him out, but the Russian bots all already active and Mitch M sees no reason to put much effort into seeing they aren't effective. Better to impeach McConnell than Trump.
Actually, I look forward to a record popular loss and an amazing Electoral College win by Team Trump.
1
Trump is running out of shiny objects.
Military retaliation against Iran for the "attacks" on the two tankers in the Persian Gulf - next.
That'll change the focus away from him - as it always does.
6
Thanks for reminding us of the unanimous consent process in the Senate whereby any senator can block senate action by withholding consent for senate business to proceed. I think it is time to use that procedure as a bargaining tool to overcome McConnell's resistance to passing legislation, especially on the use of information obtained from foreign governments by candidates for office.
18
McConnell is now so used to blocking all legislation that he probably doesn’t bother reading anything anymore. Besides if he allows a Republican to vote with their conscience then his who house of cards falls and he will suffer.
1
As usual I come late to the conversation. More often than not I just don't post because so many have stated my thoughts better than I could.
But tonight as I read your opinion article,
Michelle Goldberg. I realize I am no longer just angry at what might happen with this President and this Congress.
Our Constitutional way of life, which has served us so well for over 200 years, is in danger. If I have anything to do with it; It will not go lightly.
38
@Atticus
The US needs a new Constitutional Convention. The old operating instructions don't apply any more.
1
your are correct, the "resistance" has faded. the weekly protests are absent. perhaps that is because the good economy has allowed them to become employed even though are generally not capable to accomplish much of anything. because of work, they too tired to protest on the weekend.
Look at the protestors in Hong Kong. Seems to me we have a lot more to complain about, but yet here we sit shrugging our shoulders. At this point, maybe we deserve what we get.
25
I will never say one good word about Trump because he represents such evil and everything grotesque about people who use and abuse their power and cheat to get it AND YET I must say that IF the American voting public were smarter than it is then NOTHING that any outside country or person or whatever could do would be sufficient to convince voters to cast their ballot for that creature living in the White House. We've all seen him tear down anything "good" remaining of American idealism and he's so obviously broken laws and lied about them that the very idea that people would ever vote for him AGAIN is beyond my understanding. However, millions WILL vote for him again, without outside pressure to do so, and THAT is the tragic reality that we Americans of good character have to understand and do something about, which I think should include looking at the ties that bind us together as a nation because those ties are chains as I see them. Let Alabama detach itself into some new entity because I have ZERO in common with the people living there. My point is that while we should all be fighting against outside influence over our elections, I find it hard to accept that ANYTHING could play a decisive role in getting this man Trump reelected by the voters of this country and yet it might well happen.
20
Trumps remarks of course offensive and it doesn't take much insight. The public of course needs to protest.
That being said The U.S. has a long history of interfering in foreign elections including Russia so a serious step forward would be to pass a Congressional Resolution which pledged to not interfere in other countries elections and state we expect the same treatment. Trump's encouragement of foreign interference is another action beyond the pale. Meanwhile we can hope that Trump doesn't start a war with Iran. So far Trump has kept us out of foreign wars and lets hope the streak continues. While Trump is not a good President, we forget how much worse Bush II was. Impeachment of Bush II did not even get serious discussion.
1
A flip in apathy may stop Trump. Many would-be Trump voters will not show up at the polls while many would-be anti-Trump voters will.
3
"...Mitch McConnell, has made himself Trump’s partner in the dismantling of our system of government."
I think McConnell is actually leading the dismantling.
45
We are no longer a democracy, but a dictatorship. Just as Weimar Germany was a democracy but became a dictatorship when the Chancellor was allowed to rule by decree instead of adhering to the laws on the books. If an impeachment indictment reaches the senate it would go nowhere, Trump will ignore any unfavorable court rulings, and we will probably have a "national emergency which would cause elections to be postponed".
19
@Cassandra We are not even remotely close to a dictatorship. If you believe this then you don't really understand what a dictatorship looks like. Go to China and visit a city like Shenzhen. They don't have police officers on the street for public safety - they have armed soldiers on every block for public control. And by armed, I mean small machine guns. I've seen it first hand and let me assure you - THAT is a dictatorship. By the way, we are not a democracy either. We are a representative republic.
@Once From Rome
I have been to China more than once and taught in a University. I stand by my comments.
Thank you Michelle.
You're right about the fatigue and the depression.
But we can't quit. Everything is at stake. And this blitzkrieg, this tsunami of outrages is a deliberate tactic, meant to destabilize and demoralize an enemy -
And guess what. We the American people are apparently the enemy.
Think about that. We're being treated to a propaganda war as though we were the foreign enemy, or a nation like France, which has been invaded and is now being terrorized into submission.
This is horrifying.
People, don't give up and don't quit.
40
Bullies are the next step up to being dictators, fascists, etc. Now we are seeing it in high ranking adults in the government, DT, and Barr, just to name several in this administration. The ability of the average person to pick those to vote for the last 20 years leaves something to be desired. That is how we got to where we are. Neither George W. Bush, or Barack Obama realized that it is about America's ability to run a competent, and fiscally sound domestic policy agenda from immigration, healthcare, housing scarcity, and homelessness because of the real estate deduction that lets those with the borrowed money drive up the price of real estate whether they receive the deduction, think DT's Organization, and the Kushner Holdings, which are not only being funded by Russia and Saudi Arabia to keep them afloat, but they are depending on them for political help in the election next year. This country is set to run out of money in September in the Treasury Department, as these 3 have been playing house, they believe it is play money. Too much spending, and generously funded mandated entitlement programs are bordering on bankruptcy in a few short years. This is what is passing for good government, I beg to differ. We had almost 18 years in the middle east with millions killed, millions of refugees deposited on the doorstep of western Europe, trillions of borrowed money with little to nothing to show for it in Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen and now Iran?
9
He has done nothing wrong. This is a manufactured event. He was asked if he would immediately call the FBI if approached with oppo research. He said if Norway came to him with info, he'd listen, and if he thought something was wrong then he would call the FBI.
7
You did not hear the entire interview
1
An event manufactured by whom? Are you referring to Trump famously saying on the debate stage, "Russia, if you're listening..." This wasn't a hypothetical situation. Trump did it in 2016, and GS wanted to know if he learned from that or if he'd do it again. Trump's answer: he'll, yes! Bring on the dirt.
3
@C. Shhh...you may wake up the leftists who watch MSNBC and CNN on a continuous loop.
1
A news item in the Washington Post makes clear that what Trump said he would do, accept assistance for election from a foreign government, would violate American laws. That Trump was willing to say he would do this shows incredible ignorance of our laws or an even great willingness to challenge the American public, and law enforcement, to stop him from any effort, or willingness, to corrupt our elections.
Here is a clip from the Post story:
Federal Election Commission Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub released a statement Thursday making clear that candidates for public office may not receive help from a foreign government, in what appeared to be a warning to President Trump, who said he would consider taking information about an opponent from another country.
Tweeting her statement, Weintraub wrote, “I would not have thought that I needed to say this.”
The head of the agency responsible for campaign finance laws clarified that any campaign that accepts help from a foreign government “risks being on the wrong end of a federal investigation.”
“Let me make something 100% clear to the American public and anyone running for public office,” Weintraub wrote. “It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election. This is not a novel concept.”
19
It isn't ignorance of the law so much as disregard for it. He may not have known the law regarding campaigns in 2016, but he has surely been advised of it now.
7
The capacity for extinction among humans is self-actuating. Yes, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. In that case, look no further than Mr. Trump (aka Individual 1). He also happens to be reason number 122,365,701 not to have children.
5
Trump's behavior is a dramatic acceleration of the natural progression of decades of a steady dissipation of political norms, the politicization of institutions, the tearing of the social fabric and the undermining of the spirit and sometimes even the rule of law, mostly by Republicans.
The next president (especially if he's a Republican) will feel even less obliged to follow the old rules of engagement.
The genie has been let out of the bottle and there's no going back to the old ways.
Without moral leadership that can restore some sense of common norms and navigate a new way, the damage to America could be irreparable.
22
Agreed, and as Sen. Warren says, the best way to fix that is to get big money out of politics.
10
Mr. Trump:
I doubt you will read this but it is a plea to you to recognize that your reckless comments have enormous consequences.
You have just told the governments of every nation and their intelligence apparatchiks to spy upon any person -- Republican or Democratic -- that may oppose you. You did this once before, and the consequences were significant. Having disclaimed the impact of Russian meddling on your first election, how can you now affirmatively invite foreign interference in the 2020 election. The only conscionable response on this issue should have been that you would ignore outside interference. Instead, you invited it.
For a man who insists that he won the 2016 election fair and square, your open invitation to foreign governments to interfere again in 2020 with your complicit approval is -- and I could use harsher words -- revelatory of who you are. No president should invite foreign interference in our democratic process.
14
We need to determine the statutes of limitations for these crimes and future crimes that wil surely be committed by this administration. Pelosi is correct, imprisonment in the future should be the goal. Trump, Conway etc, admitting they will continue to commit crimes makes the prosecutor's job all that much easier. Barr will not lead the Justice Department in 2021.
29
Earlier today while walking through an alley in downtown Pittsburgh I noticed I faded bumper sticker that had been pasted on a wall. "What would Jesus do?" the banner inquired. That was certainly not the first time I had read those words. I'm sure others have too. Today, I'm sure because of Trump's latest outrage, one I think is so far beyond the pale that it makes impeachment hardly sufficient as a means with which to deal with him, I found myself asking "What would The Sons of Liberty or Sam Adams or Patrick Henry or John Paul Jones do?" As I continued on my way I mused about how we have forgotten how to deal with people like Trump.
21
@Michael What would John Adams have done? He passed the Sedition Act of 1798 to squelch press criticism of him and his administration. What did Patrick Henry champion for - liberty? I have yet to identify any way in which Trump has taken away our liberties. There were numerous attempts at this though by his predecessor.
4
@Once From Rome. Well said. No one can produce an example of Mr. Trump failing to comply with a ruling by the courts. His opposition has simply become, or chooses to look, deranged.
@Michael
'As I continued on my way I mused about how we have forgotten how to deal with people like Trump.'
That's a slippery slope. Step onto it and you've become a Banana Republic.
Let's not forget that in this cycle of news hurricane. he is doing his corrupt business as usual, this just in from WAPO.
Trump's company sells California mansion to firm linked to Indonesian billionaire ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps...sells...indonesian...a.../5d73206a-8de5...
5 hours ago - Donald Trump bought the property for $7 million in 2007 and sold it ... by a corporate entity linked to an Indonesian billionaire and Trump business partner. .... in government and politics and has covered elections since 1994.
He sold it for 13.5 million, and not even real estate experts could justify the price tag.
Here's Forbes headline couple of years ago...
Meet The Donald Trump Of Indonesia: Another Billionaire Who Wants To Be President
https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2017/03/20/donald-trump-hary-tanoesoedibjo-indonesia/#20d3811c50b1
And let's the drumbeat of war begin...somehow it feels very fishy and totally orchestrate in advance, I guess that would be his best way out of imprisonment...no matter the human cost
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/world/middleeast/oil-tanker-attack-gulf-oman.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
19
Interesting account of what sounds like a possible bribe/ money laundering event all rolled into a real estate transaction.
5
Auspises, Trump's favorite word. "I love that word".
Michelle Goldberg thank you for your service. I am so tired and angry re Trump I appreciate you carring this burden. I'm feeling like I'm getting dumber by the day. I'm not laughing.
12
Thank you, Michelle. Well said. Please, we all need to care and stay engaged. Resist the notion that this is some new normal. The future of the democracy depends on We the People acting, via non-violent demonstrations, the voting booth (to the extent you haven't already been disenfranchised),
and public commentary that we will not stand for this dystopian, tyrannical bully and his accomplices (I'm talking to you in particular, Mitch McConnell) unravelling this democracy.
19
How bout this: I am not in the United States and I have information on Donald Trump and his taxes.
22
Call the IRS or the Justice Department.
Any other questions?
@EC, Call the FBI.
What can be done when we have an unhinged president that claims ignorance about the rule of law, and the constitution, and, additionally, has no scruples whatsoever? Especially when we have the Senatorial obstructionist in-chief, Mitch McConnell, lending Trump his full complicit support? Fascism comes to mind, when the despot in the Oval Office is convinced he is the only one that can save us from our own obfuscation...by taking us to the slaughterhouse by our nose. The question is, do we have the will to face these fraudsters, stop the damage, and seek redemption for this suffering democracy by ousting them? I ask because no one else is around to do our job, clean the swamp.
13
Worse. Trump does not claim ignorance. He claims that he knows more than the head of the FBI. That and that the laws do not apply to him. And that Congress may not investigate if it appears that he may have broken the law, that only the President has the power to investigate lawbreaking by the President. And he does not find that he has broken the law.
To claim that he is ignorant is to be, as the Speaker of the House said, is to be almost too generous to him.
1
@Martin Well said. Actually, Trump's ignorance is of the malevolent style, as his ignorance is by choice. The facts are out there, the truth always available for the asking. Trump is an expert liar, so convinced that he can twist things to his needs and circumstances, that he lost count of the beauty of honesty, and decency. Why do you think he has no compunction in trampling on us, just because he can?
This is more about mental illness than crime, politics, history, or our reaction.
Anyone who has ever had a mentally unhinged boss knows the symptoms both of the bosses' madness and also the way it affects our lives.
Those situations play themselves out with the boss eventually getting fired, hopefully before the company suffers.
In this case Trump is protected by the GOP, and the relatively short time until the next election.
He's probably laying the groundwork now for his afterlife if he gets defeated.
He will be a nuisance for the foreseeable future, whether he gets re-elected or not.
8
@Postette The problem is, Trump will NOT leave office. He will never concede--I truly think this administration will cause a civil war--they no longer are the law and order party. They are now the party of Trump. Buckle up--rough ride ahead.
Seems to me like Trump is trying to lay the groundwork for a claim that he did not know that accepting campaign help from another country is wrong. Hey, who knew - isn't this the way the world really works, all secret meetings and backstabbing and trying to personally destroy your competitors? Well, it works that way in Real Estate, apparently, and we should have expected Trump to keep doing what has made him so "successful" as he lobbied for votes among the only people he could fool, people who distrust smart people. "I did not know that (insert enemy name) was nasty." I did not know that Russia would lie to me about having dirt on Hillary, so I can't be responsible for asking for it.
7
Much of the Resistance is exhausted by last year’s push to retake the House and deflated by the anti-climactic aftermath of the Mueller report. ................No we are not.
14
We have tragically moved from American democracy, to American autocracy. SAD.
9
Be afraid, my fellow Americans. The Trumpet and his gangstas (McConnell, et al) expect to stay in power "by any means necessary."
Sad, that monuments to Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and MLKing are positioned so close to the White House. The Trumpet does not deserve to have these giants of government and human rights as close neighbors.....
And how about all those who served and gave their lives in Vietnam? Did any have bone spurs? Probably....
Be afraid and display your flags upside down.
What I most want to hear from the Trumpet is the statement, "I will not run in 2020. Who knew how complicated this would be?"
9
You can bet that Trump is derisive at the notion of calling the FBI.
Mr. Snake in a Suit prez has no respect for the legal eagles in the FBI.
5
People will finally take to the streets when Trump refuses to leave the WH. Trump now has the entire judicial and law enforcement in his pocket with Barr at the helm. The only thing that can stop Trump will be millions of us in the streets. The military will side with the people and Barr and Trump will be forced out. Until then expect nothing but frustration, cowardice and abdication from democrats.
14
@Ward Jasper. TDS in action. Refuse to leave the WH? Really?
@Ward Jasper. By the way, Barr does not have the judicial system in his pocket. The judiciary is a separate branch of government and to date Mr. Trump has not refused to obey an order of any court.
@Thomas Smith
Barr is in charge of every federal law enforcement agency and prosecutorial body in the US. He also outranks DC police. No one can physically stop Trump when he stays....the military would have to be called and Trump is in charge of the military.
It’s time to pay attention. This is the moment when everything turns. This time we need to hear what astute observers have been telling us for years. We need to accept and understand that nothing is going to stop Trump, the Roberts court, or the Republican Party. The Republicans — as Snyder, Ornstein, Mann, and Browning, among others, have consistently pointed out — are no longer a political party. They aren’t interested in governing. In Ornstein and Mann’s words, they’re a radical insurgency determined to delegitimize the opposition and take permanent control of the government. Nobody likes comparisons to Hitler but as Snyder said, when he predicted in May 2017 virtually everything that would follow, the comparisons would be too obvious to ignore. The Republicans are on the march to fascism and will get there at any cost, most importantly election theft. McConnell isn’t a politician; he’s a thug and a gangster — in Browning’s words “the gravedigger of democracy.” Two years ago Snyder said it might already be too late to stop Trump from destroying American institutions and seizing power. That was two years ago. It doesn’t look better today. If the oligarchs want fascism, they’ll get it. If they have any patriotism and any belief in republican government, they can stop Trump. They don’t appear to be interested, and short of a miracle the end of the republic is near. How can so many stand by and watch and say nothing? Are there no patriots left? There don’t appear to be many.
18
You could say Trump should be impeached. Nah! That's not very nice and so divisive.
1
Trump doesn't know because he doesn't care and he doesn't care because he doesn't know - anything. He's such a bore.
trump voters, how's that corruption-collusion-obstruction-5th grade playground thing working for you now?
7
@nancie
How is that Hilliary thing working for you? Donald is President and she is not. Hilliary tried to use foreign information against Trump and look what happened.
Get ready for another term for Trump.
Build the wall!
Vote. Anyone who sits it out this time is a TRAITOR. This time, anyone who votes 3rd party is giving Trump their vote.
Trump obviously has immunity while he is president. Is this right? He was right when he said he could shoot someone and they would still vote for him. He could also shoot someone now and not be prosecuted.
McConnell needs to go. He is complicit in all of this.
The DOJ memo needs to be abolished. No one is above the law.
Trump is a TRAITOR and we saw this when he was in Helsinki. I heard him ASK Russia to find Hillary's emails. He asked a foreign government to help him win.
This country is in the toilet. Our elected officials act only in their own self interest. I am angry and appalled.
Am I exhausted by this insanity? Yes but I still have enough juice to RESIST.
VOTE AMERICA.
34
Another option is to jail anyone who ignores a subpoena. A mandatory 6 month term for each refusal to comply. Then disqualify them from their profession because they have a criminal record. Start at the top with Barr, McGahn and Mnuchin - you will only need to do three before the message sinks in and the corruption can be cleaned up.
2
Since 2015, I've heard that Trump would soon self-destruct. He hasn't. He will continue to survive everything thrown at him until those few who have some power use it and quit tiptoeing around afraid that someone might be offended. Trump is now saying he would break the law. He hasn't upheld laws. We've marched, written letters, given money, and flipped the House. What are we supposed to do, carry pitchforks to Capitol Hill? Stop worrying about the Trump voters. They aren't going to change. Try doing what is right. It might work, and if it doesn't, well, then I know for a certainty it's time to go to Canada.
11
The ONLY thing Trump has going for him is an economy bolstered by low unemployment and low inflation. That said, household debt is rising as is homelessness. If the tariffs started to seriously damage the economy for millions of people, he would instantly lose his luster. Many experts think we are heading for another recession. It matters the timing...before the next election will have one outcome, after the next election a very different outcome.
2
Regrettably, I think Trump is right on this one: nothing short of the 2020 election can stop him. Congressional Democrats are getting nowhere; demonstrations are just theater. I fully expect he will disobey any court orders. Gear up for 2020. It's our only hope.
12
I agree fully with your arguments. I am also saddened that the measures that you propose to Reign in Trump such as withholding unanimous consent further undermine the norms that ruled congress. As with the disintegration of the Roman Republic, the measure to fight tyranny became the tools to dismantle democracy in an increasingly partisan society. The result was cicil war and dictatorship also known as empire.
7
@R Fishell Correct--Rome was destroyed from within--history has a way of repeating itself.
5
I find it disturbing that over and over, in most of the coverage I've seen about this, the fact that it is illegal to accept campaign help from a foreign source - not just a foreign government, but a foreign national as well - is not mentioned. At some point the question of whether it's wrong, or inappropriate, or customary, or not, gets put aside in a nation of laws, not men. It is illegal. Breaking the law has consequences. Why did George S. Not follow up on that?
24
After all the complaints about the Steele (a Briton) Dossier being used by the Democrats, Trump is open to foreign actors providing information to him?
Let's be clear, though. The Steele Dossier had as its origins opposition research commissioned by Republicans against Trump before he became their nominee.
I guess the Republicans did not mind giving it to their opponents even if it meant hurting their own candidate?
8
How does it feel to be one of Trump's tools?
Do you care that Trump is ramping up his outrageous statements deliberately to overheat left-wing ideologues until they're so blinded by self-righteous outrage that they do his bidding, pressuring House Democrats and Nancy Pelosi into trying to impeach him?
The GOP is now a true right-wing Authoritarian Party controlling the Senate, the Judiciary, and the Executive. Trump's the figurehead, Mitch McConnell's the true leader.
As a former prosecutor who is a civil rights and criminal defense attorney, I know when a case is unwinnable. Trump should be impeached, but there's a reason he wants Democrats to impeach him now and Pelosi keeps saying he's guilty yet won't give it to him. Mitch McConnell, who stole a Supreme Court seat from President Obama, has promised to quash impeachment and make sure a trial is never held. Do you think he's lying? The GOP totally controls the Supreme Court's 5 authoritarian yes-men. Tell this highly experienced litigator how you possibly win impeachment now?
Impeachment now will catastrophically fail and immunize Trump because the process is entirely rigged in his favor, meaning he can't lose. It's not 1974 when Democrats controlled the House, the Senate with a 14 seat majority, and 2 Republican appointees to Supreme Court were William J. Brennan Jr. and Harry Blackmun, liberal lions.
In US v. Nixon the Supreme Court unanimously ruled against Nixon. If the case was held today Nixon would win 5-4.
16
The impeachment hearings would enable Democrats to get more documents and force people to testify, so they can make a case to the American public before the 2020 election. It could also expose crimes that people could later be prosecuted on. Finally, it would help the government and the public better understand our national security weaknesses, so we can do something to patch them up.
7
@Michael
Unfortunately, you support my points, not yours, in asserting Democrats must impeach despite having no chance of winning because...:
1)"Impeachment hearings would enable Democrats to get more documents".
No.
Impeachment would not allow Democrats to get any documents they can't currently obtain through the committees they control. Trump will invoke Executive Privilege, meaning it will come to the courts, which the GOP now controls, to decide if Democrats get them. I cited US v. Nixon (1974) as that landmark decision is the only reason Congress obtained any "more documents". Which part of the Supreme Court now being controlled by 5 right-wing GOP yes-men who would rule 5-4 in favor of Nixon (and Trump) did you miss?
2) "Impeachment hearings would enable Democrats to...force people to testify".
Again, No.
Impeachment doesn't give the House any more power here either. It can't "compel" anyone to testify. It can hold them in Contempt of Congress. It carries up to a year in prison, but the courts (which the GOP controls) must enforce it, and they never do. As Law Professor Josh Chafetz correctly stated of Contempt of Congress in 2012, "Just by going to court, the House guarantees it loses".
Finally, you insist Democrats using impeachment will magically "make a case to the American public before the 2020 election". How many of the 61.9 million people who voted for Trump knowing he was a totally corrupt racist and white nationalist do you suppose they'll convince?
1
Viewed from afar , a big part of the US problem is a lame snr democratic leadership who seem to belong to a nicer, but bygone era.
3
Yeah, if rules only benefit those willing to break them, then it is time to update those rules.
Yes there are no rules for republicans anymore. Dems need to wake up to that.
It’s time for 5 million brave Americans to march on Washington and shake the hinges off of the White House gates.
It’s time for civil disobedience
Some of us will not go down without a fight.
14
the 99 percent will triumph over Trumps
2
Agreed, but the reason that won't happen is everyone has at least one full time job where staffing is short and vacation time is scarce.