Was that Mueller I saw, or the wizard of Oz?
4
What's the diff betw liberals and progressives? The author bothers to use both words in the same sentence-- that they are right to complain of the outcome of the hearings. Why both words?
3
Americans are fundamentally fair.
So his people met with a someone, even a Russian, who promised some dirt on Clinton, but didn’t deliver. This kind of stuff goes on in every campaign.
So he paid off a porn star to keep quiet, which she didn’t. She should give back the money.
So he encouraged Wikileaks to release 30,000 stolen emails that shouldn’t have been on Clinton’s private server in the first place.
So he tried to fire the special prosecutor who was trying to bring him down, and fire a wayward FBI director - who Democrats wanted fired before he fired him!
So someone who modeled lingerie for him 15 years ago claims he assaulted her. Why should she be believed? The story doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
So he wants to keep out illegal immigrants who take American jobs and Muslim terrorists. Who doesn’t?
So he thinks Omar hates America. Maybe she does.
So he doesn’t want overpaid athletes taking the knee during the national anthem. Can’t disagree.
So he blusters and exaggerates. Did you ever write a resume?
He won fair and square in 2016.
Don’t like it? Vote in 2020!
34
But for the Justice Department’s O.L.C. opinion, Trump would presently be indicted, arrested, and awaiting trial for the multitude of offenses clearly set forth in the Mueller Report, Part 2., dealing with his lawless attempts to obstruct justice. These well-supported, damning findings are hardly the “legalistic haze” which the writer speaks of. As to denigrating the Special Counsel for his “poor showing “ in the witness chair, Mr. Mueller’s presentation was exactly what he said it would be, restricted to the contents of his report. If the professor expected more “razzle dazzle” from him as a witness, this stylistic deficiency was an uninformed error on his own part, not on the Special Counsel who was well known for his reserved, unemotional bearing. I, for one, hope that New York prosecutors end up indicting Trump in a challenge to that O.L.C. opinion which should be held inapplicable to the unique facts of this particular president’s criminality conducted while in office.
7
The tone of Prof. Moyn's essay is a bit holier-than-thou for my taste. Like someone who says "I told you so" even though they never told us so before it happened. Hindsight is 20/20. If liberals hoped that Mueller would find something more damning, maybe they should be forgiven at least as much as conservatives for hoping Trump would try to represent all Americans rather than just his base.
Also, Moyn writes:
"In 2016, our fellow citizens used their one form of power — majority rule, however outrageously designed by the Constitution — to protest."
Is that what power us voting citizens have? Majority rule? You sure about that, professor?
5
Impeachment is simply not the way to get rid of Trump An impeachment trial would allow him to play the victim, it will fire up his base and will divide the United States even more. It would also give the presidency to Mike Pence and that thought alone makes me shudder.
There’s only one way to remove Trump from the White House: elect a democrat, any democrat, in 2020.
Sadly, democrats seem very divided among themselves. And if these divisions persist, Trump will be re-elected. So, I’m begging you democrats: don’t repeat the mistake of 2016. If the candidate you support during the primaries is not nominated next summer, suck it up and get behind the nominee, whoever it is. (I’m looking at you, Bernie Sanders supporters...)
249
@Michel Forest you and I know Bernie won't be the nominee. And I think we both know his supporters who are mainly white, privileged and well insulated generally from Trump's policies will not be inclined to back anyone else. As in 2016 they will be delighted to snipe at, complain about and denigrate the Democratic nominee on social media. As this won't just be Bernie supporters, it will also be the progressive and far left wing in their precious pursuit of perfection.
27
@Michel Forest
Agreed. If I could hand pick the next President, it wouldn't be Biden. But if Joe's the Dem nominee against Trump, I'm all in.
40
@Michel Forest
The Democrats want to use the conversion of the Judiciary Committee into a grand jury, which is what a formal impeachment inquiry does, to obtain more quickly the information on the full extent of Trump's crimes to put before the voter in time for 2020.
A formal impeachment inquiry will help to insure a prison term, not a second term, for Trump.
27
Whether it is climate change or Donald Trump's character the majority of the GOP are into denial. The fact that the indictments and convictions were significant do not matter to members of the republican party. Democrats need to come to the realization that Trump is going to finish out his first term. The biggest concern is making sure that he is not elected to a second term.
Democratic candidates need to start talking and making sense to the people that are in the rural areas of Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. These are the people that got Trump elected.
Get off the socialist message of free, free, free and start talking about infrastructure and jobs training. Recognize that there are great jobs in construction and that everyone was not meant to go to college. Quit apologizing for what's in the past and start recognizing what we need to do to secure our future!
467
@Sean I agree with you for the most part, but the in future of America we need to train for more jobs that are not in construction and manufacturing. As in the U.S., more jobs will require more education and the less we will require manual labor.
28
@Frances
If you were involved in construction you would realize that there is a labor crisis in skilled labor. There is an incredible shortage of of pipefitters, plumbers, electricians etc. Everyone is not getting a job with a bachelors degree. Construction and infrastructure are key to maintaining everything from the power grid to roads and bridges.
113
@Sean
Sean, would like the Republicans to stop their love-fest with communists as well? Real time communists are giving money to the Republicans and "falling in love" and "sending beautiful letters" to the president, not media-created ones.
I find that far more frightening than publicly-funded state universities or taxpayer financed health care coverage.
87
I don't get why so many people can't seem to understand that there is no point in impeachment proceedings if you cannot REMOVE him. They do not have the votes in the Senate to do it. They don't have the votes to get rid of him they do not have the votes to expunge him they do not have the votes to jettison him. The Republican Party has been taken over by right-wing cabal that has hooked its caboose to this guy's train and THEY control the Senate. Case closed. If they did have the blessed votes it'd be full steam ahead and brother, welcome to it. Pelosi knows this. In addition the "American People" DID express their intense anger with this administration by flipping the House. Remember that or is our attention span so short? And that was no small feat. The NYT just continues to publish these articles that are of no help to anyone except the author who gets a nice check out of it.
2
Its all about the 2020 election. It will be put up or shut up for the Democrats
3
Right on.
2
I'm not the first to say: The Democrats' hope for divine intervention from the Mueller god got demolished.
2
He is a criminal. He should be impeached because it’s the right thing to do. We don’t have to all act like the occupant and tuck any morals away for selfishness.
4
TRUMP'S TAX RETURNS are what is needed. Impeachment with a GOP Senate is a futile effort. Get the taxes. No one hides their taxes unless they are certain they disclose law breaking issues. On CNN the other night, Jay Sekolow again said Trump is under audit, How stupid does Sekolow think the American public really is and why is he openly lying on national TV? Because he and Trump know the impeachment game is meaningless unless Trump's tax returns are made available to Congress. Follow the money. Courts move slowly but get the tax returns and get rid of Trump. Only a guilty man would fight this hard to hide what is obviously the last move he will make as president. And even if his loyal supporters do not care about what the taxes reveal the rest of the citizens of the USA do care and will expect legal action to be taken. TRUMP'S TAX RETURNS WILL SINK THE TRUMPTANIC!
3
I don't get it. The author describes this as like a realty version investigation which is only about politics, how about doing the job of protecting our constitution and laws. There is no doubt that Trump has committed high crimes and misdemeanors and is totally unfit for office. Even without the constant obstruction of justice, the fact that he openly cozies up to dictators, ignores the emoluments clause, the majority of his closest advisors have either been indicted, left disgraced or left willingly, doesn't even acknowledge Russian meddling much less do something about it. Doing nothing welcomes even better con men in the future, heck Slick Willy was impeached merely for having consensual sex with a 24 year old intern, Trump is likely a serial sexual assaulter. Not continuing to treat this as a grave realty only lowers the bar and ensures we become a banana republic run by mob bosses.
6
Hmmm. Ten counts of obstruction, multiple members of his inner circle arrested, ongoing evidence of Russian interference but all this gentlemen can seem to summon is typical Right Wing triumphalism. I guess might DOES make right.
4
American's have become one strange lot. Mueller told us all the things in the report were true, which is frightening and on going. But America wanted to be entertained. I'm 75. We have gone a long way in the wrong direction with this illegitimate president. Our country is under threat and we want to be entertained??? That is a sick byproduct of the godawful digital age. What's wrong with y'all? This country is far far far from the greatest nation on earth. We are just the richest, most materially oriented society and a lost soul.....as the bible states. Lotsa profit. No salvation. Vote, even though it isn't entertaining. A nation of fool's otherwise.
5
"Justice is Coming, Mr. President" the New York Times confidently assured readers a year ago. Apparently Justice didn't make that left turn in Albuquerque.
Barr will complete the real investigation into the 2016 hi-jinx.
It will pull in a lot of people who were absolutely corrupt in their intentions, and the voters will have even more information on which to base their votes in 2020 (so-called because they will have Congress, POTUS, and possibly a Senate seat on the ballot).
When we begin to be shown the bread crumbs to and from Fusion GPS you can tighten your seatbealt.
5
"The Mueller Fantasy Comes Crashing Down". While peddling an abstruse argument based on imprecision regarding liberals' expectations from Mueller's hearing, and so creating a fog of false 'subtlety', the professor gave the NYT a headline worthy of Fox News. Sir, there is no fantasy. The whole world heard the damning truth about the President of the United States. What Americans will do about it - and how - is anyone's guess.
4
This should be required reading for multiple hosts on CNN and MSNBC.
2
Let's get busy with winning back those Rust Belt states.
Trying to find common ground with some white working class folks in this region would help a lot.
2
Majority rule? Majority of what?
2
Instead of "rose to be the bait," I should have written "rose to the bait." Sorry for the editing error. . .
"...majority rule, however outrageously designed by the Constitution..." Are you kidding? Really He lost that vote. You too are engaging in lies. "Majority rule outrageously designed"? How about, minority rule falsely called democracy?
2
There was definitely ‘malfeasance’ alright.... within the ranks of the Clinton campaign, DNC allies, and Mueller’s investigative team. AG Barr will no doubt be handing out indictments soon. Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
2
What an obnoxious stew of platitudes and degrading condescension.
The democratic party fended off infiltration from labor forces to Jim Crow, J.Edgar Hoover to Dick Nixon bugging. Survived what happened to Martin Luther King Jr. to Reverend William Barber's arrests for simply marching to bring attention to the poor.
These bashings by Glenn Greenwald and Samuel Moyn are misguided, formed out of the internet wars journalists produce against each other blinding them of the fact that the ACLU, Code Pink, Black Lives Matter, the NAACP, Planned Parenthood are not hinging their causes on Mueller, but find the only hope for fairness and humanistic policy in the democratic party.
3
Professor Moyn, you're mistaking hope for fantasy. Yes, tens of millions of Americans want to see Trump thrown out of office, but you have failed to take a proper pulse of us. It was well-known long before the release of the Mueller report that Trump would not be indicted. We also realized that Mueller was handcuffed from investigating other potential improprieties, such that might lead to a damning money trail. Then, two days before Mueller's testimony, we were informed that AG Barr was restricting Mueller's comments. On the good news side of the ledger, Democrats crushed Republicans in suburban areas in the midterm elections. Your fantasy is that we can simply remove Trump via the 2020 election. Sure, he may lose the election, but as he did in 2016, if the polls show Trump behind he will claim the election is fixed and the if he loses, he'll claim the election was fraudulent. A recount will begin. Lawsuits will be launched. Hysterical claims of illegal voters and crooked Democrats will exit Trump's mouth in machine gun fashion. The inauguration of the new president will be postponed for the first time in US history. The threat of armed mobs will be made, again and again. SCOTUS will get involved. You see, our democracy is already broken. Trump is already presiding as a dictator in many ways. The 2020 election is no guarantee that Democrats can win, and prevail.
3
Russian hijinks? Really. We now know the Russians went into all 50 States computers and could if they wanted changed votes and destroy voter rolls. America has sunk low not to even care. We are deep decline and Trump is the proof.
2
The man already has a Purple Heart, he led the FBI for Twelve years, headed a 2 1/2 year investigation and is 75 years old.
And we want him to do more?
1
The democrats are scary, nutty, spoiled children. They are like trust fund kids-not in touch. Stick with the devil you know. Plus, Trump is not really not that bad. I will vote for him
3
I am giving up, waiting for caravans to come out on Election Day to Vote against this liar Trump.
1
How do you blow right past the fact that Mueller indicted 27 people for election interference, fraud, lying to the US government, and money laundering with Russians, 7 of which, SEVEN, were Trump campaign managers, staff, or long-time associates, and then call this a fantasy?
3
Where's OUR media? Trump has FOX, Talk Radio and a host of internet trolls to spin lies into fantasy. What do we get? The New York Times. Thanks guys.
1
Try legislating and winning the next election. Relying on "Mueller ex machina" was a bad strategy for multiple reasons:
(1) It didn't work, and never had majority support
(2) It's a stinky precedent.
(3) It distracted people from the tasks of legislating and winning the next election
(4) It let the woke left-- who according to Edsall are only one of the three Democratic parties-- drive the agenda. Because this faction dominates academia and the liberal media (including you, NYT), they overestimated their strength. Despite their delight in wedding self-righteousness with group therapy, Pelosi could see that they don't have the votes.
1
It's not Trump who is going to sink the democrats. It's their new 2020 bumper sticker:
"We intend to raise your taxes. Vote for us!!!"
3
“EXASPERATING” President ? Multitudinous adjectives exist for this poser but congratulations on coming up with a real nugget.
When all is said and done, the only possible explanation is that you can’t fix stupid, neither ours nor his.
1
What happened to faithfulness to the facts?? Mueller's testimony, regardless how old or tired he looked, detailed serious crimes and a corruption of the political process. None of this can be allowed to stand without serious damaged to our system of government. The facts are plain to see for those who care to look. Our President is a criminal and he needs to be put before a jury to determine the scope of his malfeasance.
3
Leave aside how the President is lazy, incompetent, corrupting of our institutions and principles, and generally uninterested in actually governing. (He is only interested in winning the daily TV ratings, and periodically pleasing the worst of his base.) Trump allegedly has committed multiple felonies, but the Republican Senate would not impeach someone with an R next to their name for such "minor" transgressions. (Of course, Mitch and his merciless, myopic, mostly men would have happily impeached a Democratic President by now.) Actually, one wonders if there is any transgression that might get them to impeach a Republican.)
It has always been up to the voters, and this one--who used to work for Republican elected and appointed officials and voted for a Republican governor last election-- is going to vote against Trump and every gutless and apparently soul-less Republican he can.
3
At least there was a brand NEW complaint among the usual whining about Trump:
The format of Nadler’s hearing was just bad and insufficient.
Didn’t give nearly enough time for the Democrats to dig into the facts in the Mueller Report that would certainly have changed hearts and minds.
But just too too much time much granted to dreadful “Republican conspiracy-mongering and hectoring.” Can’t have any alternate opinions, can we?
This captures well the insanity and inanity of the ‘impeach Trump’ crowd. The die hards insist that the non-Mueller report (he obviously didn’t write it...) is irrefutable evidence of Trump’s guilt but that’s the delusional conclusion. Democrats will only further embarrass themselves & weary the country with their impeachment self-flagellation. Hopefully, sanity will eventually prevail.
2
I believe that the so called expectations about Mueller's appearance before the House were drummed up by the media in order to drum up viewership. It's what they do. They hyped the "explosive: nature of the event and of course it fell on it's face. I doubt that many people were surprised. I find it interesting that the people who are beating the drum most loudly for impeachment are anti Trump Republicans like Nicole Wallace of MSNBC and Bret Stephens at this paper. Having lost a place at their party's table, they now endlessly criticize democrats for indecision and are both paid well to do so. What is missing is Republican activism on the part of these same people to try to regain influence and change the direction in their party. They depend on Democrats to be their proxy and criticize them using their media presence. Perhaps they should understand that they and others like them are not trusted.
I suggest that if Democrats believe that defeating Trump will save America, they have to nominate a candidate that will persuade moderates, centrists and Republicans to vote for that candidate.
If what is on offer is open borders, free health care, free college, free money (universal basic income) and slavery repatriation, you're guaranteeing Trumps re-election.
So, what will it be? shelve the stupidity, or become the committee to re-elect the President?
1
I saw Puerto Rico take to the streets and successfully remove their corrupt governor in days. Americans here have a much more corrupt president. Where is the outrage?
We should be ashamed.
2
Is justice a fantasy? DOJ “rules” on indicting a sitting president are a nightmare. That’s why Congress needs to impeach in the House, and convict in the Senate. Except, the Senate oligarchy (GOP) will not convict, because they lack all conviction, and value their unjust undemocratic advantage in the electoral college too much. That’s why we need to amend the US Constitution, to make it democratic. Trump LOST the popular vote by some 2.87 million votes. Biggest loser ever to win the electoral college, with Russian oligarchic meddling. No wonder GOP has lost all spine, in the name of oligarchy. Puerto Rico has the right idea: we need mass demonstrations calling for Trump and GOP senate resignations!
1
I didn’t vote for Trump last time, but I might next time.
Democrats have little to attract me. Their hatred of Trump coupled with the embracing of Socialist policies, has led them to forget the people they must win over: Swing voters. They are the people who decide every election.
The swing voters between the Hudson and the Sierras aren’t interested in sticking it to Trump. They care about kitchen table issues. They like that people they know who’ve been out of work have been able to find jobs. They like seeing help wanted signs everywhere. They like low interest rates that let them buy their first homes. To them, the status quo looks better than it has in at least a decade.
Those swing voters aren’t dumb – looking forward, they see that the policies progressives promote as unfair to them and disruptive of their world: Forcing 160 million families out of their health insurance, forgiving college debts, reparations, the Green New Deal, open borders, free healthcare for folks here illegally, shutting down ICE, etc. Swing voters understand these policies are meant to accrue to various favored victim classes or to an abstract socialized society, not to them personally.
7
Since chronically distracted Americans never pay attention, it is important to repeatedly show Mueller and to reinforce his comments as many times as possible. If it's not constantly repeated, nobody notices. USA is going down the toilet fast given our TOXICALLY DISTRACTED population.
1
The economy is booming. The rate of unemployment of African-Americans is the lowest in our history, as is the unemployment rate of Hispanics and the unemployment rate of women. Kim Jung Un has not tested a nuclear device since his bluff was called two years ago. Iran's nuclear program is out in the open again, not allowed to continue secretly as it has for the past four years. The American military is being re-built, not being torn down as it was prior to the current administration, with two Army divisions eliminated and the fewstr ships in the US Navy since 1916.
That and the policies of Congresspeople like Representative Occasionally Correct, rejecting a 25 billion dollar infusion of tax money and 25,000 new jobs paying an average of over $100,00/year to her very modest neighborhood because she demanded the 3 billion dollars Amazon was getting from the NYC government to move there to disburse to the poor, a sum that wasn't money but just a tax credit that would soon be repaid many times over, and the poisonous outbursts of her far leftist compatriots, will win Trump a second term.
If the Democratic Party doesn't wake up and get some real workable proposals to sell, not catastrophic nightmares like the Green New Deal, they will just continue to howl for impeachment all the way to irrelevance.
4
@ James
"Blaming Russia is much easily than blaming Hillary for running such a poor campaign."
Running a poor campaign is not a crime.
Everything Trump has done during his campaign and after illegitimately assuming the presidency and bringing a kleptocracy to America is quite possibly a crime!
Trump is bleeding the American taxpayers dry! Including his clueless supporters.
Hillary may have been a poor campaigner, but she would have made a very capable president. Instead we have Putin's Puppet who crawled to his master in Helsinki. We have someone destroying America from within. We have a self-serving kleptocrat bleeding the American people dry so that he can fill his bank accounts and those of his family.
This is all one big joke to Trump and the spineless, corrupt Republicans all of whom are filling their pockets with loot.
5
The report WAS damning, as were the hearings.
But we are a shallow lot; we focused on the ratings, the "drama", the absence of a "gotcha" moment- and of course, opinions pieces like this, with an insistence on the "fantasy" of Mueller "saving" us. We need to stop beating ourselves up over the failure of so many to grasp the danger the country is in.
After all, the enemy we face has been aided and abetted, every step of the way, by the GOP. They are the ones who have forfeited their responsibility.
And the ones who will pay, next year.
3
If the legal system and political system cannot provide satisfaction for the majority which was wronged in 2016 it is dangerous.
Its sort of like what happens when the police stop punishing major crime.
Saying ‘go home nothing to see here, suckers’ does not help.
Please save the condescension and think of ways the crime may be reversed and the wronged parties satisfied in a constructive, non escalatory way.
Did Samuel Moyn watch the same Mueller hearing the rest of America did?
Because I heard a well seasoned prosecutor confirming time and time again how Trump worked for his personal financial game, worked to obstruct the investigation, accepted Russian help during the campaign and lied to investigators and Congress.
If Moyn was expecting "Law & Order" fireworks from Mueller, Moyn is a fool.
1
The president has been accused of rape and sexual assault by at least 12 women. I don't understand why this has not made more of an impact in the news and the country, and why nothing seems to be done about this. Of all his horrific deeds, I believe this is the worst.
1
Tom Friedman is right. ‘Trump’s Going to Get Re-elected, Isn’t He‘
2
I agree that the Democratic Party and Americans such as myself who are horrified by Trump’s reign of error vested inflated hope in Mr, Mueller. However, the Mueller investigation and report did deliver grounds for impeachment. He presented the facts and evidence...as Mueller notes, Congress has a Constitutional remedy it can pursue even as his prosecution had been constrained . Mueller’s mandate was limited to Russian elections interference and any involvement in that conduct by the Trump campaign . The testimony may have been an entertainment bust; but the report was thorough and dispassionate.
If the Democrats had the political will and courage to prove Trump’s impeachable violations of the office he holds the Mueller report could be count 1...but only one count of many. His divisive and bigoted rhetoric; the arrogant maintenance of his conflicts of interest and security threatening nepotism; the blindness to rampant corruption and cronyism of his appointees; and of course, his pathological lying.
Yes, Trump is the protest candidate of Americans angry at the elites. BUT THEY HAVE BEEN DUPED BY THE KING OF CONS . His policies and ignorance thereof are standard issue GOP elitism disguised by bigotry and phony patriotism. His “base”loves HIM and campaigning will not beat him.
Trump defies norms. He decries political correctness. Correct politics cannot beat him or break his hypnotic spell. Only a knockout blow will beat him. Impeachment hearings can deliver that blow.
I liked Krystal Ball's version of 'kill the messenger' better (yawn!).
So if the goal is, gasp, to actually win an election, why are Democrats wasting time with 20 candidates none of whom has the remotest chance of beating Donald Trump in 2020?
And Biden, the one person that in some dream could beat Trump, if all the planets aligned on one side of the Sun in a straight line, is going to be taken down by the progressive wing. And, if he does manage to win the nomination, half the Democratic voters won't show up to vote, in disgust over why the party of enlightenment and progress nominated an old white guy who thinks he is in the 1990's and who actually, horror, wants to work with the other side. This will seal Biden’s fate even before Trump has a chance to lay a glove on him, and Biden is a target rich environment in that regard. Nothing about his past that is truly damaging has yet emerged, but it’s there and though Mueller was not a movie, Biden is.
Democrats are now so far down the path to nominating one of the 20 that no outside candidate who might emerge at the convention has a chance – the party will devour him/her. Thank AOC and the rest of the Gang of Four for that.
If I were a Democrat I’d now be focusing my energies on the House and the Senate, on state houses, and on preparation for 2024. Of course 2024 is a problem too, as Republicans will run a certain very smart woman of color.
Is this serious? Here is one reason why: Kiss the Supreme Court, the source of liberal legislation over the past 60 years, goodbye for decades.
3
The Corporate Democrat fantasy comes crashing down. When Corporate Democrats decide to serve the people, instead of themselves, and stick their well padded necks out, they will solve their questionable philosophical problem. We already have at least FOUR Progressive Dems who have promised to do that, and ELECTED on that basis. Say the words, to the people: "Impeachment proceedings have begun." It doesn't matter if the Senate convicts him, it matters that he is impeached, which only the House of Representatives can do. The current Nancy Pelosi strategy is a loser, and makes absolutely no sense, except to her and other big money Democrats.
You lost me at "The causes of Mr. Trump’s election — most pressingly, a loss of faith in the American political system — ought to be far greater priorities."
Mr. Trump's election was the result of low turnout for Hillary Clinton. Clinton was dragged through the mud by numerous Republican hearings based on absolutely nothing. They used a long game strategy that had nothing to do with offering the American public a vision to have faith in.
Mr. Trump has done nothing to restore faith in the American political system. He has taken a wrecking ball to the institutions that Americans universally respected like Justice and the NSA.
Trump and the Republicans won through nothing more than partisan attacks on Mrs. Clinton. The Democrats wiped the floor with the Republicans in the subsequent election.
72
@HL "Mr. Trump's election was the result of low turnout for Hillary Clinton."
Exactly. All of these articles that basically say we need to pander to the deplorables miss this simple fact.
8
We don't know that the "president's" crimes were "never as shockingly illegal as his critics have believed." That's the whole point of lying and cover-up: that we never know!
Self-appointed experts in service to corporate media are building two thin defenses for this criminal:
1) Impeachment and all the powers available to Congress should not be used, because it's not "popular." So, we're fully committed to being a culture that prosecutes crime according to how popular the pursuit of justice will be?
2) Mueller didn't deliver the "blockbuster" that the corporate media projected onto the Democrats as the goal. So, facts about criminal activity must now be "entertaining," must give us "shock and awe" in order for us to care?
Not all Americans are ready to become like the ancient Romans, hungry for bread and circuses and a gasp-worthy thumbs down in the stadium.
1
The Democrats are afraid to do their job. They have enough information to commence impeachment proceedings from the Mueller Report. Their fear is that these proceedings would strengthen Trumps base (as it did with Bill Clinton), so they have Mueller testify with the intention of diverting any blame should they impeach and then lose in 2020. They also know that impeachment will not remove Trump from office as it would never get past the Senate (i.e. Clinton). None of this is a reason for the House to not do their Job.
2
The professor makes some valid points concerning Democrats' wishful thinking about how real voters go about determining which candidate to support or how everyday citizens do or do not become outraged. Fair enough.
However, 20 or so diverse women and men are working long, trying hours running to unseat this president. Fresh faced, diverse congresspersons are braving ferocious and well funded animosity as they frame serious discussions about a green new deal, a more skeptical approach to dealings in the middle east, and the fight to get health care to all Americans who need it.
From these and other sources, web sites abound, chock full of policy ideas and detailed policy proposals.
So, yes, I'm disappointed that my cousins think the Mueller investigation is a witch hunt, but, you know what? We're not all that shocked, nor are we frozen in place. We're looking over those vying to be our standard bearer, seriously checking out their policy priorities, and we will, through this primary season, select the one who will win the votes of us, the majority, and we will defeat Donald J. Trump with a resounding thump.
We have no need of Republicans like Mueller. We will get the job done.
1
The "election interference reality" lives on even of the "Mueller fantasy" is dead as an electoral strategy.
This concern will amplify as we approach November 2020.
If Trump’s 2016 campaign is exposed to have been a national security threat, criminal conspiracy questions will re-emerge.
Straw dog arguments like the one in this column are patently useless. It assumes that Trump's critics all are part of what Moyn calls Muellermania. No one knew for sure what Mueller was going to say. The hope of Democrats was that Mueller's testimony would educate some voters as to what his report concluded. No one knows what impact it had on key voters. But Democratic Congressional leaders are methodically moving forward with an impeachment inquiry.
Mr. Moyn reveals his partisan bias by ignoring a key finding of the Mueller report, that there were ten instances of Trump attempting to obstruct justice.
And when Moyn says that Mr. Mueller's finding that Trump was a Russian asset was "inflated," he conveniently ignores all the Trump associates who would rather go to jail than admit what their relationship was with the Russians. Trump’s team and Russia-linked operatives had 272 contacts, including 38 meetings. 33 high-ranking campaign officials and Trump advisers were aware of contacts with Russia-linked operatives during the campaign and transition, including Trump himself. None of these contacts were reported to the proper authorities. Instead, the Trump team tried to cover up every single one of them. Why would that be?
Mr. Moyn refers to Russian interference in our election "high jinks." It was certainly more than that especially now that our intelligence has just announced that Russia attacked the voting systems of all 50 states. I guess Moyn missed that report.
3
It's time to admit that the American Constitution and the system of government it establishes are failures. Our famous structural "checks and balances" are flimsy and our system of elections and representation allows a minority party to tyrannize all levels of national government.
The only hope for American democracy is major Constitutional and structural reform. We are using 18th century technology to run a 21st century nation. It's a disaster. All our focus should now be on figuring out how we can tear down and rebuild quickly and, if possible, without violence.
I think this is straightforward. I wrote this note to Arizona's Congressional delegation (the 5 that accept emails from outside their districts:
Dear Congressman _______,
I am a registered voter and resident of Arizona. I read parts of the Mueller report and watched Mueller's entire testimony yesterday before the House Judiciary Committee.
In my view the House must impeach. We have a constitution and laws, and Congress has a duty. The evidence against Mr. Trump is powerful and of very serious nature. If the House does not impeach because of considerations of the impact of such action on the voters, and/or because of beliefs the Senate will not convict, then the House members will not have discharged their constitutional duty to protect the country and the constitution. Impeach, bring it all to light, and trust democracy to run its course. Thank you.
3
The American political system rests on the constitution. If the President has committed high crimes and misdemeanors then congress has the duty to impeach him. Of course, the determination of being guilty rests with congress. Clearly a majority in the Senate, perhaps for political reasons, will not vote for his guilt. Therefore with sadness and after long favoring the impeachment process I agree with this conclusion “The causes of Mr. Trump’s election — most pressingly, a loss of faith in the American political system — ought to be far greater priorities.”
The Dems waste time and effort to remove a carbuncle that once removed, is replaced by another carbuncle. Why? It makes a great show. It falsely demonstrates concern. It prevents discussion of AGENDA !
The leaders of the Democratic Party have not learned the lesson of '08: to offer the people an improvement in their living conditions,
in income (disgraceful minimum wage of $7.50), in health-care, control of Wall Street that destroyed the economy in '08, offer free education in state colleges.
This would hurt the wealthy in the Dem party. So the party rants on about impeachment.
3
Always great to have a non-liberal explain to us what liberals think or expect. "Mueller's poor performance as a witness" is a tell. Mueller did exactly what I expected. He said in advance he didn't plan to say anything that wasn't in the report, but he did spell out a few things --like, the POTUS was "generally" untruthful in his sworn (written) testimony.
And that accepting unlawful help from the Russians not just bad, it's a crime. And that no, he didn't interview for the FBI director job with Trump. If we are paying attention we know all these things but not everybody can keep up with these things since there is so much Trumpfog. Not so many anti-Trump Americans (that is what the word "liberal" means in this column) expected this appearance to turn the country impeachment-hungry. Despite what the President's people in Congress and his News Network kept telling us. What we did expect was that it would illuminate the meaning of the Report for more Americans who were confused, deliberately, by Barr's official lies. And by the way, that will be a factor in the election coming up. That matters, so Mueller's testimony was called for, just for that. And, bonus: His performance helped to shine a light on just how bad it is that Moscow Mitch wants to block any legislation attempting to block the Russian attacks on our election system--or put simply, our system--That Mueller eloquently warned us about in his dignified and frank testimony. That in itself is a win.
1
The flaws of democracy are in full view. Deeply weaponized demographic, racial, cultural divisions (chasms) along with media driven misinformation (not just wrong, but obfuscating, profit driven and never-ending) and monetized political marketing and winner take all political divisions has made a mockery of democracy. Whatever inherent trust in our system that is necessary to allow competing parties to compromise seems destroyed. I currently blame Republicans more, but would entertain complaints from them about Democrats. Trump is absolutely clueless about the damage to democracy he is doing. Or he is part of a reactionary (far right) movement to return power to rich or aristocratic powers aimed at thwarting the "democratic" process. Mueller could never have been able to overcome the latter as it represents the power inherent in wealth and privilege that has had to compromise with the "little people" (Leona Helmsley talked about years ago) through Unions and universal suffrage. That democratic system is in tatters.
TYhe oddity about the Muller investigation into possible collusion or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia is that it generated crimes instead of uncovering crimes. The charges it generated against Michael Flynn and George Papadopoulos were not for crimes they committed but for false statements about lawful activities they made to investigators during post-election interviews.
If there had been no Mueller investigation, members of the Trump campaign would have committed no crimes.
The severity of these crimes is indicated the by the severity of the sentences imposed. It is expected Flynn will serve no jail time. Papadopoulos served 10 days of a 14-day sentence.
Mueller also has charged Roger Stone for lying to FBI agents and Congress about his contacts with WikiLeaks, although there was nothing unlawful about the contacts. However, Stone left the Trump campaign in August 8, 2015, nearly a year before his alleged contacts with WikiLeaks.
Muller made 14 referrals. This means the Mueller investigation uncovered evidence of crimes unrelated to possible collusion or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. Twelve of these indictments are under seal. One was against Michale Cohen, a lawyer who handled some of Trump’s personal legal affairs and one was against Gregory Craig, a former White House counsel under President Obama. The other 12 referrals are sealed.
No nation can avoid being a political entity, virtually by definition. But its character is defined more by its moral and ethical behavior.
Our political stature has become increasingly shaky, and for many, radically untenable. Trump's election and governance are an ongoing telenovela, with media coverage pummeling us with plot twists numbingly bizarre and disturbing.
But morally and ethically? The Mueller Report read more like a novel -- a largely tedious one but with a few great moments! -- whose characters lacked much true character at all. And his recent testimony was a lengthy coda of exhausting disappointment, with Republicans and Democrats both behaving according to expectations.
With 2020 on the horizon, the lines on each side are drawn. But for Democrats, the goal is simply not-Trump. Unless a whole lot of strategy and plot lines are cleared up soon -- the main character is once again going to be dragging us through the same moral muck and mire. And there's no fantasy about that in the least.
I believe it is a good thing for the Democrats and journalists (a redundancy?)who entertained such high hopes for the Mueller report to come to grips with the idea that they fell victim to a mass delusion. Maybe they will be led to think more soberly in the future.
5
November 3, 2020 is coming soon and where are we?
Prof. Halderman has demonstrated the vulnerability of electronic voting machines. He has been talking about their vulnerability non-stop for the last three years. An Op-Doc video appears on today's editorial page alongside this piece. The vulnerability of electronic voting machines remains a threat. Will we see such hacking in 2020?
The Republicans and the Trump campaign forged an alliance with Cambridge Analytica to corrupt Facebook and feed fake news to thousands, if not millions, of voters. The fake news operation used Facebook servers and employees. In addition, it appears that Cambridge Analytica likely used Russian and Ukrainian troll farms as well. The Mueller Report, Mueller's public statements and testimony gloss over and ignore this propaganda operation.
Yet, Democrats remain fixated on collusion between Trump and Putin. The tragedy is that the smoking gun is the elephant in the room. Trump's victory was the product of a cleverly implemented propaganda campaign that used the data compiled by Facebook and other internet data collectors to profile millions of individual American voters and to direct propaganda to individual voters.
Congress failed and refused to investigate that propaganda campaign. Does that mean that we can expect both Democrats and Republicans to use such campaigns in 2020?
Maybe 2020 will be decided by a combination of hacking and propaganda.
1
the fallacy of the article is to wrongly privilege a gerrymandered election result, where trump was the vote loser, over the equal Constitutional power of impeachment, whether for Mueller's findings or those and other Trump transgressions. I for one see no reason to sanctify his enthronement, based entirely on an outdated process, over the will of the people as expressed by the most democratic branch of government -- the house of representatives. The burden of proof properly rests on those who think otherwise. But from wsj to fox to this author they duck the issue -- because they can't meet their burden.
i remember the hubbub in one of the Hillary/Trump debates as to whether Trump would accept defeat. Now that the shoe is on the other
foot it appears it
was the right
question directed at the wrong candidate and her
Party.
4
It is plainly cynical to call truth and justice "legal machinations". The fact that the attempt to bring a criminal to justice is bound to fail does not invalidate truth -- which is impossible -- but instead, shows the wickedness of this world. In a normal world and society, the stable pussy grabber genius would have irrevocably been disqualified as a human being; instead, the villain is the "president" of the "greatest country" and is allowed to commit crimes in broad daylight and spew his outrageous lies and incredible idiocies with total impunity.
Great article, on point. Trump is a sly weasel who has spent his life walking that fine line of legal/illigal, truth/lie. At this point many, including me, would love to see him get caught, see him in cuffs with that smug wiped off his round face. Well its not going to happen any time soon. The only way to get him is win in 2020 so stop all this impeachment talk, stop all this socialist talk and get a candidate who will knock him out of the box next November!!
3
"...comes crashing down." Not. Let us hope that Mr. Moyn is the last of the gaggle of pundits who jumped on Mueller's testimony with both feet. Because the optics weren't what we hoped for, the opinion makers rushed to judgement and declared Trump had won and Mueller was a big nothingburger.
Now a few days later, they are wearing egg on their faces like my wife slathers on cold cream at night. Meuller's testimony stirred numerous Democrats to new bolder action. The I word is finally given the prominence we have been waiting for. We have enough powerful sound bites make dozens of commercials attacking Trump.
1
Sorry, but substantial evidence is already in the public domain proving beyond any doubt that the Liar-in-Chief and his merry band of incompetent bozo misfit looters committed multiple acts of treason in aiding the Russian attacks on democracy and then lied and obstructed their way thru the investigation. One Thousand-Plus Bi-Partisan Prosecutors cannot be so easily dismissed.
How refreshing to see realism printed in the NYT opinion section. Please give us more of this, as millions of pragmatists out there are yearning for more than the shrill progressive fantasy pieces that seem to overwhelm us.
6
The case for removing Trump from office is air tight but the facts will never penetrate the hermetically sealed bubble in which Republicans happily reside.
4
Please explain how urging all people who believe that Trumps is a bad President to "get out and vote!" (with exclamation marks) while the (stolen) Supreme Court gives permission to the states that elected Trump to gerrymander to their heart's content, all but insuring that a popular vote will fail.
I intend to vote but short of establishing residence in an all white neighbourhood in West Virginia...what am I missing?
3
Surely the so-called Mueller fantasists are not so naive as Mr. Moyne suggests. No one thought Mueller's appearance would much influence an addled electorate.
Mueller didn't actually fail, nor did Nadler and company. In fact, the argument was won, and won skillfully, in the first 15 minutes of the hearing. It's just that no one was there to witness the victory.
A winning argument does not win a war. We can beat our heads against the wall and despair again and again. But if we would but acknowledge the truth of Greek Tragedy, we might recall how simple truths are often misunderstood by the the best of us, and how easily these truths (such as the legitimacy of protest votes) can be appropriated, distorted, and turned in upon themselves by those with the most to gain, no matter what wanton destruction such efforts will have on simple human decency and those humane institutions built over centuries to inhibit mankind's return to the slime from which it sprang.
A realistic appraisal of the fallen state of the American electorate might mitigate the fantasy that Mr. Moyne deplores. From the very first, European settlers on this continent were not exactly in search of the world's great universities. In more recent times, the American electorate has, time after time, failed to live up to the Enlightenment, so much so that it not merely ignores the emperor's nakedness, but goes mad in pursuit of the truth of the lie: the emperor is veritably swaddled in imperial regalia.
2
@Tristan T Awesome writing!
1
As Professor Moyn wrote: “The causes of Mr. Trump’s election — most pressingly, a loss of faith in the American political system — ought to be far greater priorities.” That the Trump presidency is a symptom of this problem is obvious. What troubles me is that I can’t see our way out of this - that we are destined to experiencing a never-ending swinging of the political pendulum, which won’t get us anywhere. Something (or someone) has to break this logjam.
3
The media keeps insisting that Mr. Mueller gave a "poor showing" in those committee hearings. In their terms, perhaps so, since all they're looking for in such proceedings is high drama and nothing else. But Mueller isn't the Hollywood type, and what he did present, and that quite clearly, was positive affirmation to the questions regarding Trump's several instances of obstruction of justice. He made that quite clear, and there is now sound reason to pursue an inquiry for impeachment. Sequential logic seems beyond the ken of news reporters in our sensationalistic era.
4
" In 2016, our fellow citizens used their one form of power — majority rule, however outrageously designed by the Constitution — to protest."
No they didn't. The majority elected Hillary Clinton but were thwarted by an outdated rule called the Electoral College.
4
We can beat Trump in 20. We don’t have to unite behind one candidate now, although obviously we must do that once we have a nominee. What we must do now is accept the reality that this author states. Trump will not be resigning. He will not be impeached. We just have to beat him.
4
@Lefthalfbach If he loses he will claim the election was rigged and call on his AR-15 armed "base" for an insurrection.
1
The author is this article is no less delusional than those he cites. Conspiracy-mongering? Like it or not, it's now clear that something along the lines of an "Insurance Policy" went into effect once Trump gained the GOP nomination. FBI, Obama DOJ and CIA all had a part. The Russian Collusion bit, Steele, Fusion GPS, FISA warrants, surveillance, etc. This is not Fox News nonsense. All of this has been confirmed through the various congressional hearings and independent investigative reporting. It happened. Next time it could be the other way around. You can hate Trump. Fine. But until people take off their intellectual blinders, we're in serious trouble. Bad things result from this sort of lunacy. If nothing else, these past 2 years have shown how a concerted effort by one political faction, coordinated with the MSM, can brainwash intelligent people into believing a false narrative and refusing to mentally process known facts. It' now clear Mueller had minimal involvement in the Special Counsel investigation. Whomever ran the show looked at everything, aside from what led to the investigation itself. Really? We live in a country governed by the rule of law. The President, like it or not, is elected by the people. There was, and has been ongoing interference in the 2016 election, but it had little to do with Russia. The scary thing is the realization how much hate can remove our ability to think objectively.
5
There was no mystery about what Mueller had to say, he wrote a 400 plus page novel explaining his investigation. The only people who are disappointed are the media and news services because now they have nothing to speculate about and grind through the opinion mill, there was no big soap opera moment which would allow them to go on and on and on about it day after day. If you really want to be objective, Mueller did lay out a lot of criminality and warnings of extreme danger to our democracy. We should be disgraced and alarmed, it just wasn’t juicy enough to satisfy the blood thirst of the rabid news junkies.
1
Telling it like it is. Well said! And in The New York Times--where it most needed to be said. Game over. Move on.
6
OK!! So today for the first time I thought maybe I should just vote for Biden.
4
I was for impeachment from the moment Mr. Trump was sworn in. With one raised hand, he swore his oath to the Constitution while with the other hand, he tore up the document with his very hotel down the street as the embodiment of his complicity to violate that very oath to the Constitution and its Emoluments Clause.
I wrote my newly elected representative that day and reminded him of Sir Thomas More who placed his faith in the law and ultimately his head on the chopping block because of it.
Here is the sentinel part of Bolt's screenplay in A Man For All Seasons in the exchange between Cromwell and More describing More's silence over the King's marriage:
Cromwell:
Yet how can this be? Because this silence betokened, nay, this silence was, not silence at all, but most eloquent denial!
Sir Thomas More:
Not so. Not so, Master Secretary. The maxim is "Qui tacet consentiret": the maxim of the law is "Silence gives consent". If therefore you wish to construe what my silence betokened, you must construe that I consented, not that I denied.
Cromwell:
Is that in fact what the world construes from it? Do you pretend that is what you wish the world to construe from it?
Sir Thomas More:
The world must construe according to its wits; this court must construe according to the law.
My representative's silence then and all our silence now gives assent to those who would declare the Constitution just a piece of paper and tear it up before us.
51
@Douglas McNeill
It sounds like you were upset that Hillary didn't get elected and you and her supporters were shocked at the outcome. the media told you she was going to win by 25 points and you believed it.
If Hillary had been elected I would have accepted the outcome despite her conniving with her foundation, secret server, and string of self serving lies.
You and individuals like you will probably cause Mr. Trump to be reelected. Main stream America hasn't paid attention to this in a year. And that is who elects the President.
3
"In 2016, our fellow citizens used their one form of power — majority rule", really? HRC got almost 3,000 more votes.
And, the notion that the Democrats weren't attending to the needs of the people is absurd. We the people who have been following the Congress for the last several years have seen that the Democrats have consistently tried to bring issues that even the heartland wants addressed to the floor only to be twarted by the GOP.
3
". The causes of Mr. Trump’s election — most pressingly, a loss of faith in the American political system — ought to be far greater priorities."
Trump's "success" is due to Constitutional flaws. First, an algorithm that allows some monstrosity called the Electoral College to override how the American people voted. Secondly, it turns enforcement over to a group, Senate Republicans, that has an incentive to ignore all signs of their leader's criminal behavior.
2
Of course, as Prof Moyn hints at in his last paragraph, the Constitution of 1787 does not provide for rule by the majority. It allows for minorities to elect our presidents and to control at least one house of the Congress and the majority of the Supreme Court. Time for a new--truly democratic--form of government.
2
To use the word exasperating to describe Trump is a criminal understatement. This is not about "elites" clinging to power as he and his minions love to claim.
This is about ignoring the rule of law, respecting our Constitution, and behaving like you have enough brains to know when it is time to shut up. About treating everyone with dignity and what our people fought and died for as a true treasure.
I thought Mueller did a fine job of pointing out his criminal behavior and lack of respect for the rule of law. More significant was his absolute conviction that outside forces worked very hard to determine the outcome of our election. Still trying to continue making us all dance like their puppets.
We are numb. No excuses. We got tired of the 24/7 assault on our lives by this never ending reality show. Until we wake up and shake off his cheesy brainwashing, we are stuck in a carefully crafted cage of mental exhaustion.
I think we need to face a reality that we are a whole lot weaker and easily manipulated than we ever realized. And until we stop letting this endless vacation from reality continue, we are just pawns in some power game. Time to grab those chess pieces and put them on OUR board.
We don't have another choice.
2
It is about time that not only should the Mueller Delusion be put to bed the Russian Hoax should also be recognised and put to bed.
There is simply no evidence anywhere that the Russian State was in any way engaged in 'interference' in the USA Presidential election.
President Trump is a quite detestable individual but that detestable individual was actually elected President of the United States of America with a lot of help from a "basket of deplorables" -whom Hillary Clinton could not bear to touch. Some members of that basket had actually voted for Barack Obama,.
It is bad enough having to watch the trauma of decline of the American Empire with a 'nice guy' (Obama) in the Oval Office; please Americans could you find somebody competent and capable to manage the decline without crucifying your poor in the process? I recommend Bernie Sanders! Also he is not a war monger - Obama was a major disappointment on that front. Too conflicted!
1
I won’t hold my breath. Often repeated, but so true - Democrats can’t get elected and Republicans can’t govern.
Democrats have this terrible need for ideological purity. If their preferred candidate doesn’t get elected in the primaries, they throw their toys out of the pram, go home and sulk. If only they would get behind their candidate and vote!
2
Denying the people of the protest candidate they elected? Really? Even an intellectual lightweight can see this corrupt fraud for what he is.
The victims of this entire ordeal is us, we the people. Trump broke the law and by that I mean campaign finance laws. That’s been proven in court and Trump’s attorney is in jail for that for that crime. Did he commit other crimes? As Mueller has laid out the facts, yes, probably. To sit idly by while we allow a criminal to go free is an abdication of OUR responsibilities as citizens of this great nation to uphold OUR Constitution. All of us have the duty to our nation and to our fellow Americans to be law abiding. If the only avenue in this case is impeachment, WE must proceed.
2
Some very good points here, but to contend the Democrats want impeachment to take the place of defeating Trump at the polls is not only lazy analysis, but just plain wrong. While I don’t favor a House impeachment vote for political reasons, the drive towards impeachment proceedings is motivated by a strong sense that NO President should be able to use the Office for profit, ignore laws and violate norms that have kept America in one piece, more or less, for nearly two and a half Centuries.
That Trump’s behavior is impeachable on a number of scores shouldn’t be debatable. But the discussion on where impeachment would lead us a reasonable one.
And I certainly don’t see the current Democratic contenders sitting on the sidelines, assuming impeachment will do the heavy lifting.
"In 2016, our fellow citizens used their one form of power — majority rule, however outrageously designed by the Constitution — to protest."
No! It was NOT majority rule; Hillary won the majority by 3 Million votes. The Electoral College (as created in the Constitution and modified by the 12 Amendment) is ANTI-democratic... so the phrase "outrageously designed" is right. The phrase "majority rule" is not right because the majority did NOT determine the outcome of the 2016 "election". The Electoral College thwarted democracy once again.
And how do the myriad Russian attacks against our election system fit in with "majority rule"? They don't because Russian interference thwarted majority rule. Russian interference was designed to thwart democracy -- and I'd say the Russians (and Assange at WikiLeaks) did a EXCELLET job, wouldn't you?
For America to recover we must replace the Illegitimate One with a Democrat in the White House, Elect a Democratic majority in the Senate, Keep the Democratic majority in the House then eliminate the Electoral College, Expand the Supreme Court (adding more liberal judges), restore financial and environmental regulations (saving ANWR, etc.) get the US back into TPP, the Paris Accord (Global Warming) and back in to the Iran Nuclear Agreement, and restore our relationship with our allies and with NATO.
I'd say the Democrats have a lot on their plates. Heaven help us all if they fail.
3
Since Mueller could not indict a sitting president and because he refused to draw conclusions from the mountain of evidence he uncovered, he leaves Democrats free to lift out three or four of the ugliest facts in his report and burn them into the consciousness of American voters by repetition between now and November 2020. Also, because it is clear to most people that our justice system too often protects the high and mighty, exploit that working class resentment. Say, "Donald John Trump, billionaire president with powerful friends and an army of high-priced lawyers, will not go to prison, no. Prison is for the working man and the poor man. He could be indicted later but he won't be. He will fly his private jet out of Washington and go build his Trump Tower in Putin's Russia." Mueller gave Democrats plenty to work with. They need to use it.
3
The American people are fair minded and forgiving. Even thinking democrats like me understand that Mr. Trump has been put through the wringer -- a process that he could have aborted by firing Mr. Mueller -- and that it is now time to move on. We also understand that the party that we have called our home (in my case for the last 40 years) is now imploding and with each passing day grows more impotent.
My prediction is that Mr. Trump will be re-elected in 2020 by a wide margin because he is now being perceived less as a Machiavellian villain and more as a victim of political persecution at the hands of vengeful opponents.
6
1.So Obama allows Russia to interfere in US election.
2.In spite of all predictions Trump wins.
3 Democrats try to change election results by accusing Trump of collusion with Russia.
4. After 2 years of investigation, and millions in cost, there is no proof of any collusion.
5.Democrats change strategy, by accusing Trump of obstruction of justice for non existing crime.
6. And Democrats hope to have any credibility after this Witch Hunt ?
9
Unfortunately you appear to be misinformed, about what happened these past two years. There clearly was coordination with Russia by the Trump campaign. campaign members lied about it and quite a few are in jail. Trump obstructed justice on multiple occasions. This is all outlined in an official report. What's got me scratching my head is all the rule of law types who are genuflecting before a known criminal.
@George
Exactly.
The author presumes that we will have a fair election in 2020. Here's a worst case scenario: the democrats nominate another corporate-sponsored establishment candidate --- like Biden, or Harris; progressives and the working class -- uninspired by a take-it-or-leave it proposition stay home; aided by election fraud, supportive (fascist) judges, etc. Trump wins the electoral college again.
The trouble with the democrats isn't candidates. Any one of these candidates would be superior to any republican. The problem is that we need candidates with progressive views to inspire voters to support democrats --- not just for president but also for Senate and House seats.
Stuff and nonsense! If the “progressives” stay home because they are “ uninspired “ the fault will be theirs.
Yes, and: "Could you indict Mr. Trump after he left office?", "Yes".
That is all ye know and all ye need to know.
Our “one power” is being manipulated by foreign powers used against and we have little power to defend ourselves through our corrupt and dysfunctional government.
Mueller's "poor showing as a witness" , as you say, does not make him a bad witness.
He had nothing else to say.
1
Poor showing? Why was it poor? Is Muller a TV star in decline? Was he supposed to act like a Trumpian? Are we letting Trump and the likes of Kelly Anne Conway define performance?
10 counts of Obstruction of Justice
Witness tampering
Election fraud
Selling foreign and domestic policy to pad his personal pockets
And they haven't even examined his financial yet
I'd say it's a fantasy pretending he will not be impeached and eventually indicted and in prison.
The truth is, people like this writer don’t care so long as they think their world view is maintained and inflicted on others. The whole democracy, patriotism, fiscal conservatism, it’s all baloney. All that matters to these people is raw power through any means, fair or foul. And they are changing laws to enshrine this abhorrence.
1
The house should be investigating the financials.
Well, thanks for that hopeless prognosis for those of us who view the President's behavior as unpatriotic, treasonous, lawless, and frightening. Did you miss the part about the Russians compromising our election systems? Have you not noticed the gerrymandering? When all our legal recourse is gone, and elections are being manipulated by foreign governments to help Trump and the GOP win, how are we supposed to win? Even if more vote for our ideas, as happened in 2016, and 2018, Senate gerrymandering, and even vote-changing hacks, will ensure the dictator remains in power. You are so comfortable in your Yale professorship, yet you seem to think our democracy is still secure. It can happen here, but we are supposed to pretend that there is no undermining of democracy happening, and those who wish to save our country are just grouchy ten-year-olds who lost a game, sore losers too lazy to present sweeping ideas. We have tons of discreet, detailed plans to help all Americans, and we win when people are told the facts and there aren't laws in place to steal votes. Be a true American and see the writing on the wall. Trump is a danger to our Democracy, and the GOP created this monster.
1
We cannot accuse this president as trampling the rule of law and then not apply the rule of law to his criminality and obstruction of justice. Let the full trial in the Senate expose for the historical record the veniality and hypocrisy of the the Republican senators who would rather support an autocratic president than the constitution. Let them go down in history disgraced like the segregationists were. A full trial in the Senate will lay out the case for removal. History will show whether it occurs in the Senate or at the ballot box. Either way, he'll be gone.
A hostile foreign country attacked US computer systems and interfered with our elections. Trump obstructed the investigation into that attack.
That is serious and should be taken as such. And yet here is the supposedly liberal NY Times calling impeachment for this and Trump' multiple other high crimes and misdemeanors unrealistic and a fantasy.
There is something off-putting about articles that tell me if I want to be convinced that I should go read another thing, or listen to a podcast. If the article wants to make a point, why doesn't it just try to make it ? If the article thinks there is something condemning in the Mueller report, why doesn't it just cite some examples ? When trying to convince us to resist tyranny did Thomas Paine tell us to go read something else. No, he got our attention with stuff like "These are the times that try men's souls..." - and it worked.
We'll never know what happened. And neither will you, Samuel Moyn, even though you write as if you know that Trump is innocent. Nothing in the report supports that.
Forget the politics, Muller failed to do a thorough job of telling the American people exactly what happened in 2016. He did not get the testimony of the president and that alone makes the report a failure. In the end, he was not up to the challenge and was ultimately bullied by Barr. A profile in cowardice.
This article begs the basic question: how to address presidential behavior that is arguably within the ambit of "high crimes and misdemeanors"? The author seems to be saying that the only accountability a president should ever face is once every four years at the ballot box. What if a president aids and abets a foreign government's interference with US elections? Wait 4 years and vote him out. What if a president obstructs a lawful investigation into his campaign's foreign connections? Wait 4 years and vote him out. What if a president flouts Congress' prerogatives to investigate the Executive Branch? Wait 4 years and vote him out. What is a president grants untoward national security clearances? Wait 4 years and vote him out. What if a president violates federal campaign finance laws? Wait 4 years and vote him out. This is absurd. Just because the US Senate is populated by a majority of constitutional quislings carrying a minority-elected president's laundry doesn't mean the House of Representatives (and the rest of us) has to sit idly by and watch the drip drip drip of American democracy fade away.
I agree with the column just because You can’t except who won the election trying everything to destroy the process . There are so many policies that the opposition could run against president . Now they decided to try to look for a crime which is ridiculous Going into the election cycle.
Mueller's testimony was important whether or not it leads to impeaching President Trump. People who didn't read the report learned that, rather than "exonerating" him as he and Barr claimed, it convincingly made the case that he was guilty of obstruction of justice and left open whether he was also guilty of "collusion." This will change many people's votes who are not ardent Trump enthusiasts. Think of it as one more nail in the coffin.
2
When will the left understand that many of us voted for President Trump because the alternative was so undesirable. We are not his "base", but simply people looking for a better candidate and have yet to find one. We listened to the first debates this year and heard the same old rhetoric and solutions that won't work.
1
America, in its freedom, has always had crass individuals like Trump at every level of society, we just never knowingly elected one President. The fundamental question now is whether we will do it again as this would confirm we choose crassness over dignity, closed-mindedness over openness, selfishness over collaboration, ideology over science, past over future, climate risk over our great grandchildren....On Wisconsin, Let’s Go Michigan, Please Pennsyylvania.
1
The editorial makes a salient point that many commentators don't want to hear. You can't win politically using only the law. You need political vision. Many scoff at politics as if it's just advertising. But it's an art (the art of rhetoric) and has been since democracy/republics were invented with the Greeks and Romans. The Democrats don't understand why reading out of a legal document doesn't win politically. They need to "sway the masses" but they feel they are above that.
1
So to recap, a law prof is saying nothing matters and that whoever plays the political system the best wins.
America has lost her way and I very much doubt with thinking like this prof that it will ever be found.
RIP America - was good knowing ya.
1
For many years, perhaps ever since its founding, the US government has been based in part on the notion that most, albeit not all, Americans believed strongly in democracy and the rule of law. This has allowed our democratic legal system to retain some flexibility at its core. When I was an infant, my father and some uncles were risking their lives to fight tyrants whose political parties had taken over two former democracies. At that time, fighting tyrants was just what US citizens did to protect the basic freedoms we all held dear.
Had a President of the US, say, 50 years ago, done even a fraction of what Trump has done he would have been out of office quickly and unceremoniously. Our modern GOP just shrugs it all off. They are using this as an opportunity to cement their electoral power, weaken the checks and balances in our government, and politicise the courts.
Hopefully in 2020 the US public will decisively reject these attacks on our basic freedoms and our democratic society.
Unfortunately, we will have to endure for years a ceaseless barrage of apologists for what has happened to the GOP. Sorry, love of democracy and the rule of law is not a "fantasy" or "mania".
2
The fantasy of some savior of democracy was fueled by a tenacious, speculative opinion media looking for a story. That people believe the nonsense is not surprising. It is surprising people are not thinking further and beyond the opinion and speculation they read or hear to discover reality, nor were they likely to have read Mr. Mueller’s Report.
The reality is we have a corrupt Administration. The reality is we have corrupt Senate leadership and a minority in the House who parrot Administration propaganda that the Special Counsel’s Report was based on a conspiracy theory created by Democrats. The reality is those in the Senate who have the power to protect our elections do nothing because it is in their favor to do nothing.
The reality is Republicans have rejected American and democratic values and ideas that are the basis of our Founding. These are not American patriots. Democracy does not work for these individuals.
Americans should be thinking beyond false hopes and more about the realistic alternative government indicated by the words and actions of the corrupt Administration and Republican sycophants. The alternatives are not democratic. The alternatives will eliminate rights, freedoms, and liberties many Americans seem to take for granted. The alternatives will favor a fortunate or wealthy few. We will not longer be self-governing We The People but subjected to the whims of tyranny.
If Americans want a more perfect Union, they will have to fight for it.
4
It was a fantasy only to those who wish it to be—for their own reasons. They attribute motives to Democrats that never existed—that the prime reason for the Mueller testimony was to ensure a Democratic win in the next presidential election. Of course, Democrats think that Trump must be held accountable for what the Mueller report clearly shows—attempts to obstruct justice, among other things. Most Americans who put nation over party would agree. And that means winning the next election, since the Republican members of the Administration aid and abet his every action, specially the leader of the Senate.
Let’s concentrate on Mueller’s words. See if he testified truthfully and accurately. If not, present your proof to the contrary. The rest is meaningless. Don’t muddy the waters any more than they are already.
NSA
3
Let's face it, Trump has got away with it, like he has all his life.. They covered their tracks really well and the GOP is now the party of Trump so no chance at all of a successful impeachment, let alone removal. Sad to say it, but Trump has proved beyond all doubt that the President is indeed above the law.
3
I agree that all this does demonstrate that the President is above the law. That is a sad statement but true. Any other citizen who engaged in Trumps behavior and actions would have been charged with a crime. But because Trump is the President we will have to wait for the judgement that history brings.
1
@steve
US law states a sitting president IS above the law. You can try to get the law changed, society would benefit.
A big build up by the media fanned some very unrealistic expectations for this circus.
A great time went into preparing this report and the words were very carefully chosen. Mr. Mueller is an experienced witness. His job when testifying is to let the report speak for itself and that is the outcome. It is not, as some think, to essentially add embellish or otherwise undermine the credibility of the report.
When all is said and done, this is exactly what the outcome was. The report speaks for itself.
4
So from now on must we select a special prosecutor on the basis of whether they qualify for an Actor's Equity card? Are we unable to listen to what was said without the interpretation of the visual or an expectation that the entertainment value of the event fell short?
I understand that Mr. Moyn was not dismissing the Mueller Report and at least he does allow for some element of gratitude for what was done--even if another prosecutor might have behaved differently, even if 900 plus prosecutors indicate they would have pushed for an indictment.
There is at least as much wrong with the general behaviors of this nation as with anything Mueller did, no matter the divergent legal interpretations that (predictably) occur. We tune in for the show
2
What is clear from all that has transpired since 2016 is that:
1. There is a need for a new special counsel law that insures the independence of investigation. The interference of Attorney General Barr and the obstruction of the Congress through the excessive invoking of executive privilege claims must be remedied.
2. The law with respect interference in an election must be modified to make the 100 plus contacts between members of the Trump Campaign and the Russians or any other foreign power a crime. People are punished every day for running a red light. Violators are not freed because the government is not able to prove they had malicious intent or conspired to get to their destination faster than their neighbor.
The Democrats should focus on changing these laws now. If the Republicans object, the conversation should turn to their objections and the importance of keeping the country safe from foreign interference in our election.
3
I agree with Mr. Moyen’s main argument. The Democrats were deluded to think the Mueller report provided the magic bullet to remove Trump from office. Democrats need to get their act together and come up with a convincing argument of why the report provides the evidence of Trump’s unfitness for office and the necessity of defeating him in 2020. Democrats need to be salespeople, not self-righteous critics.
But I have to note for the record something Mr. Moyen glosses over. Trump does not hold office because democracy spoke. He’s President because the skewed process of the Electoral College spoke. Trump did not win a majority of the vote, and he has never won a majority approval rating in any poll. Nor has a majority of Americans supported any of his major legislative proposals, abolishing Obamacare being the prime example.
So, let’s not get carried away with the idea that Democrats, in wanting Trump out of power, are being anti-democratic. Americans don’t support impeachment, but they have turned thumbs down on Trump and the Republicans’ agenda.
6
Every piece of analysis of this type should come with an asterisk.
The footnote would state that the “protest” vote that swung the Electoral College and put Trump in office actually hinged on 70,000 votes in three or four states and that Clinton won the popular vote by almost three million votes.
Had it not been for the nefarious machinations around Clinton’s emails, and the blundering of James Comey, we would be in the middle of faux GOP outrage that she had not yet been impeached.
This is not to discount the writer’s advice but to give a little context.
3
@Joel Sanders
Here is why Hillary lost Michigan:
1. Flint water fiasco and her fake help
2. Strongly supporting 3 Strikes and you get "life" and other super predator laws.
But where she lost some life long Dem to the core of their being people was when she called them Deplorables and would not listen to their employment concerns. Hillary has to own the loss as it was on her.
So while some voted for Trump many stayed home. This was clearly seen in Genesee County.
2
@Joel Sanders--Are those sour grapes instead of asterisks? Methinks so.
1
@Sendero Caribe
Facts can be stubborn things. Although there are valid reasons to question Clinton’s strategy, her clumsy style, and her other negatives, the fact remains that she had a major polling advantage until the events cited above.
No amount of spinning can obscure the fact that Trump has no overwhelming mandate..
The idea that Mueller would save America was a fantasy--it's the same fantasy we see over and over in the movies. The great hero defeats the villain with martial arts techniques, some James Bond type weapon, or laser beam swords from the Star Wars series. Clinging to that fantasy allows people to abdicate their responsibility for political action--we sit back and wait for a savior.
Instead, we need to take the power in our own hands, for example the way people just did in Puerto Rico.
7
Mr. Moyn could benefit from an editor for this run-on polemic, so ready to generalize from anecdotal sources in recent events to a level of grand narrative pattern.
I'm as attached to the news as anyone (except workaday journalists, surely), and I see a shrewd strategy by Democrats: to use the controversy to ensure a strong basis for defeating Trump in 2020, not seriously intending to see impeachment proceedings begin.
What Mueller accomplished was to enhance public attention, exactly what Mr. Moyn is contributing to. Democrats can play the same game as a blathering real estate salesman.
Perhaps Mr. Moyn is a little too wanting of cohering narrative, which is common among historiographers.
2
I hope during the long summer recess that House Democrats will recognize and accept the gift that Mueller’s testimony gave them. Because no sure, clear path to impeachment exists, they can now abandon that goal, knowing they made a good faith effort to achieve it, and turn their attention to strategies for winning the next election. Above all, every Democrat needs to remember that the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary will be relentlessly conservative, even heartlessly reactionary, far into the future if these institutions are not leavened by progressive appointments. Republicans never forget that the right to appoint judges is the ultimate prize. Democrats often forget, to their peril, as the trump presidency attests.
5
Thanks, Samuel, for such a brilliant article. I have been harping the same points for a while now. The fact is that Democrats lost the election. That’s a fact. Clamoring for impeachment isn’t going to win the next election. What the Democratic Party needs to do is craft a better message, draft a better candidate, and WIN at the ballot box.
7
I agree. Democrats have to get real. I hate to say this but Robert Mueller sided with his party in a truly brilliant way. Unlike the vast majority of Republicans, he actually performs a vague sort of outrage that the Kremlin is undermining our system of government. Like most in his party, however, he accepts that Donald Trump is simply untouchable. Impeachment efforts will reinforce the untouchability of Donald Trump. He is the first president who is now above the law. This is a real turning point in American history.
4
So right! But as other articles have noted here, the progressives who have taken over the party -- the same ones who pinned all their hopes on the Mueller report -- care not at all about the working class voters ("the guy in the diner") who elected Trump. I don't just mean they don't care about appealing to them as a political strategy: they don't care about them, period. The virtually all-white far left "resistors" are mainly concerned about racial politics, and will ensure that the nominee will appeal only to them; with the help of Harris, Booker, and the likes of the Squad, they will peel off just enough black voters to assure Biden loses the primary, and the despised white working class will reelect their candidate for another four years.
7
Yes Trump won. The author is correct. But what the author doesn’t admit is that the “sweeping and systematic” hacking and kniving the Russians perpetrated on our election process, including tampering with voting machines and computer systems, and the widespread gas-lighting by the Russians of a unwitting US public on all social media, and then that same shocked citizenry catapulting the Russian-created propaganda into a viral frenzy, most certainly affected tens of millions of voters. That most certainly made the difference, as Trump won by less than 80,000 votes in 3 states. An improbably slim margin in three states. Had the Russians not interfered, and had Trump not gleefully welcomed it, he would not have won. Trump moreover, by sharing polling data on key battleground states like Wisconsin, indeed did actively cooperate (if not collude or conspire) with the Russians. My guess is that Facebook in Wisconsin in the lead up to the election was rife with Russian propaganda like that atrocious Hilary “pizza-gate” story. Trump is a shameful person, who has surrounded himself all the worst people. That’s why several have served time in prison! And yes, the author is again correct: the only solution to the Trump problem will be for a resounding turnout of patriots everywhere - Democrats, Independents, and Republicans- to rid our nation of this vile person in November 2020. That will happen.
5
The democratic legislators risk losing the possibility of ousting Trump by their refusal absolute to acknowledge that the American (democratic) public have long lost interest in the Mueller affair & other endless legal machinations, & have it tuned out. Sad but true. Too much of everything. The public wants to move on. So, find another way, another vision, as the man suggests, or you will blow it. Why can’t democratic legislators ‘feel’ the national (democratic) mood? These legislators thrash about in an extremely partisan beltway bubble, unaware (it seems) of the larger general picture.
5
The Trump DOJ is taking the investigation to the next, and final, stage, investigating the investigators themselves. Just this afternoon it was announced the Papadopoulos has recordings and transcripts of his meetings with Mifsud and others. Also, Mifsud is being sought by the DOJ and Dunham for interrogation, and Trump will get him if it means getting the Navy Seals to drag him back to the US for interrogation. Trump will not be satisfied until he has arrested and interrogated Comey, Clapper, and eventually Obama and Clinton. The coup de gras? The Trump DOJ issuing a subpoena to Candidate Joe Biden Oct. 2020 for collusion in the Coup.
4
Very sensible advice. I wonder how many Times readers are prepared to take it?
8
Preposterous. Trump may be a political terror but his power comes from laws. If we simply treat him politically, and set aside crimes committed in (now) plain sight, the laws will lose their hold on us. Much more astute demagogues (cross, say, between Nixon and Trump) will be able to easily destroy our democracy. Lets trust the laws and agreements that make us who we are.
4
Mueller did deliver a knockout blow to any President but Trump, as 90% of Republicans will support Trump no matter what he does. It isn't Mueller's fault or Liberal's fault, it's Republicans fault.
The President was clearly endorsed by Russia, which should clue people about whether Trump was the better candidate. Further, Mueller did not exonerate him, although he could have. Mueller was not able to indict Trump, as he said he was prevented from doing so legally. He put a bunch of Trump's close associates in jail for lying during the investigation and explained how their destruction of documents and lying obstructed the investigation, in additions to 10+ incidents of possible obstruction for Congress to investigate.
Has Trump made election security a priority? One would think that is important coming out of the Mueller report, but he knows he can use the help again in 2020 so he's doing nothing.
Republicans should be ashamed and so should the media, which continues to run a bunch of articles about how disappointing this is for Democrats, never mind how ridiculous and un-American all the Republican Congressmen were.
6
"Does the “resistance” really believe it can win the next election by depriving American voters who are angry at elites of the protest candidate they elected?"
No, by now one might start to expect that a much more profound , but absurdly unlikely, action to occur. That would be the Republican Party rejecting Mr Trump as their candidate in 2020. Yes, deprive the voters of a candidate who fails, on a daily basis, to be a competent executive, to be a person of honesty, integrity, and compassion, and, most notably, to be one who understand the "the buck stops here" principle.
Using the Republican standards used to impeach Bill Clinton, Trump would have been gone long ago. Or is lying about consenting extramarital sex in a minor legal proceeding, graver to the nation's well being than trying to obstruct an extremely valid investigation of Russia's interference in our elections.
I suppose us Democrats are faced with the dilemma that given the temperament of a substantial minority of the electorate, aided and abetted by the Founding Fathers' Electoral College contraption, it is quite possible to reelect a very incompetent, mendacious, cruel, seat-of-the-pants dangerous, firebrand.
Since Trump lowered the bar for presidential performance so low that it is now laying on the ground, I guess we Democrats protest too much.
2
Robert Muller struggles with senility, neurosensory hearing loss, and Parkinson's disease.
Deputy Director AG Rod Rosenstein was fully aware of Director Muller's compromised state when he picked him to be the special councilor, which places Rod Rosenstein in American History's out house.
3
Totally agree.
Dems were desperate for something, anything that could rid them of Trump so they bought into the irresistible myth that the media crafted about Mueller, an unstoppable, unflappable force of nature, a cross between Rambo and Elliot Ness.
This guy wasn't even willing to fling a semi moist spitball toward Roger Goodell, so to believe that he was going to bring down a sitting president may be one of the silliest exercises in self delusion that we've been witness to in the modern era.
2
@JayK: Which “Dems” are you talking about?
Talk of impeachment obscures the powerful truth that Mueller's documentation of Trump's crimes is a crushing blow to his reelection.
Consider how the screaming about Hillary's emails, initially revealed by a Republican House committee (and breathlessly flogged by the New York Times) gravely wounded her campaign. And she wasn't even guilty of anything.
2
@Applarch: Yes, but Hillary Clinton is a Democrat. Republicans can get away with murder without any consequences. Being a Democrat is an impeachable offense by itself...
Yes, the Mueller fantasy came crashing down--for the SECOND time. Mr. Mueller made it clear that anything he had to say was already in the report.
President Trump, the Lying King, preempted the report by having his PR flak / AG package the results for consumption by his gullible base of chanting simpletons. The Democrats sat back and convinced themselves that results would be different if they could only hear the words directly from Mueller's mouth.
President Trump is overdue for impeachment proceedings based on documented criminal obstruction offenses. He is plausibly also guilty of emoluments, tax fraud and Russian-related criminal conspiracy violations.
Yes, Democrats need to focus on defeating the Trump monstrosity in 2020. In the meantime, they need to also lay out all of his transgressions to make his defeat --assuming he is still around--more likely. If Trump survives all of those challenges, and is re-elected, perhaps that is the fate America will have earned for itself.
Democrats hoped for a surprise. They had to try. Now, let's go for the pre-pre-impeachment process.
Mueller didn't know anything about FusionGps a major player in this affair. Was this an investigation or just an attempt to damage the Trump presidency?
5
If you are counting on the Democrats forget it.
The 24 of them are dead set on destroying each other, giving trump all the dirt on each of them. And the squad currently is a detriment to winning the election.Wonderful.
In addition to the Democrats, we can thank the media for their bias. Some candidates got almost twice as much time as others during the debates and interviews.
And then we have the Electoral college which will once again favor trump.
And the Supreme court vacancy which is certainly to happen in the next 5 years. Ah those Religious right are foaming at the mouth. They need trump.
There is Citizen's United.
There is gerrymandering, which the Supreme court approved of.
And finally there is voter restriction.
Like trump once said, "I can murder someone on 5th avenue and get away with it. How true.
Impeachment isn't going to work. The Senate and McConnell will see to that.
The "us" is not going to save America. Be prepared.
2
Yes, Trump stole the election. Hillary stole the nomination. This Bernie supporter wishes a pox on both their houses!
2
...Are we overlooking the fact that this entire unsightly mess got a lot of help from within America? Take one look at the Mueller Report as published in the NYT, and the sheer volume of redactions due to ongoign investigations. There's obviously a lot more to know about this mess than has so far come to light.
Whatever the expectations, real or imagined, Mueller stuck to his text. Why exactly that very clearly laid out text is supposed to do the job of those responsible for acting on it is open to debate.
You're given some information. You're supposed to act on it. Is there any reason to believe that the same people who caused the problem will then rise up and demand action against themselves? Exactly how ineffectual is the US legal system trying to prove itself to be? How corrupt is Congress trying to prove itself to be? How can this hideous travesty of basic national responses happen?
Trump reminds me very much of the fat kid ni Airplane 2 which spun around the space shuttle until it crashed. That's the more likely scenario for America, if you can't get the brat away from the control panel.
In his almost clever opinion, Samuel Moyn tries to diminish Trump’s culpability and potential removal. “Sleepy” Democrats are somnambulantly slouching toward defeat by going against Trump. Who knew!
This analysis is almost as good as the reported Madoff appeal to Trump for a pardon. Yes, a pardon! Epstein next up? Well, we know why Moyn, Dershowitz and other brilliant academics want Trump’s re-election, and it’s not to protect our democracy. It’s about the land grab of the occupied Palestinian territories; war with Iran. In other words, not issues that advance US interests.
2
Mueller's testimony and behavior were exactly what any sensible individual would have expected. Foolish "progressive" enthusiasm for impeachment proceedings, which cannot possibly succeed given the Senate's opposition is a negative for Democrats. But Moyn's patronizing tone remains inexcusable
"Poor showing?" He did exactly what he set out to do, and never rose to be the bait of his fellow Republicans who were so eager to show him up. He proved himself to be far smarter than his inquisitors of both parties. They wanted a monkey; they got a man.
So he looked tired and distracted? So would you and I, and what that has to do with anything I don't know.
3
Dream on! Mueller blew it. The dems still haven't figured out that they are fighting a losing battle. If Clinton had won the Republicans would be doing the same as the dems but probably in a winning fashion. Criticize Trump all you want but Hill & Bill would have been much worse. When all the investigations are said and done I venture to say many Hill supporters will be hiring attorneys, if they haven't already done so. That also includes members of the Obama administration esp. that sycophant Brennan.
5
This snotty little "above the clouds" discourse is meant to excuse the political leadership of this country for tolerating what should be roundly denounced. The failure to do so is not the fault of "liberals," but of an easily distracted culture that obsesses over the trivial, but cannot be bothered to expend the political energy necessary to protect our nation from gross foreign interference. I am glad this amuses you so, Professor Moyn, since someone other than Trump should enjoy this nightmare.
4
The professor's scriptural oratory reminds one of the eulogy of Julius Caesar by Mark Antony. Unfortunately, the professor makes the best mockery of the American Democracy more than of Democrats or "Liberals". I have never read such an obsession as this of the professor. He couldn't lament enough on his presumed delusion of the Liberals, Democrats, et al regarding "Trumpian misdeeds".
What is really outrageous is Moyn's assertion that Trump's (protest candidate) election is a result of the American voter's anger at elites. That is like "Cutting off their nose to spite their face(s)"! Didn't anybody tell the stupid Americans, who voted for Trump, "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face"?
Doesn't the professor understand that majority of American voters (by over 3 million) voted against Trump? He calls Trump's voters as "American voters" but then what about those who voted against Trump? They are not "American voters"? Trump's win in the electoral college is almost a fluke because that win is the result of just a hundred thousand votes in just three states. No master of the universe could have engineered such a win by deliberate design.
Punishment for a crime or violation is just that. Punishment does not eliminate crimes. The founding fathers of our nation "established the impeachment process as the constitutional remedy for those public servants who would potentially violate the public trust."
3
The USA....can not suffer the loss of our US Constitution...and
it will...if we allow it to be destroyed by a US President.
The impeachment process must proceed; and may not end
up in impeachment...however the laws of our land cannot
take a chance on not having impeachment proceedings.
If our US Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell is so corrupt and those who might also block impeachment of President
who has obviously obstructed justice...then McConnell and
his followers...should also be excoriated...and investigated
and perhaps found to be as guilty as Trump for obstruction
of justice.
Yes no on is above the law...that's you McConnell and the
rest of you in the GOP Swamp of the Senate and the House.
5
LOL
1
It's all unclear but failure to impeach will be a body blow to our democracy. and the rule of law ... and failure to defeat Trump in an election will also be a blow to democracy and the rule of law.
He will happily go on grifting, as will his family, big bucks and honing his incompetent dictator skills, leaving America spent or in violent turmoil
He's right about one thing: Majority rule. Just ask President Hillary Clinton.
1
This article seems to be pretty sarcastic about the rule of law and how it's being misshapen in America these days.
I didn't have much faith in Mueller after about the first year. He adhered to right wing demagoguery too closely to really get much done.
Letting Trump's henchman, Barr set the terms for his testimony was a disservice to his service, IMO
Nobody seems to get that the Russian interference was an attack on our democracy far greater than 911, which caused so much political and economic misery we still haven't recovered fro and maybe never will.
Trump has associated with criminals worldwide all his life, yet, somehow this author's takeaway is that he is just a silly man we can easily put behind us?
Meanwhile, chaos reigns supreme in one tweet after another and the sycophants swirl and dame around the center of power: Trump and his vicious base.
Meanwhile, we will soon wake up to find a wall of one sort or another keeping US in/inline if this guy and his cabal get a second term.
And that, my good author is nothing to joke about, that is the death of America AND the planet
2
Straight talk from the halls of academia is as unexpected, refreshing and essential as a July thunderstorm in the Mojave Desert....class dismissed folks, the final exam in 2020 is the only test that matters now.....
3
"Does the “resistance” really believe it can win the next election by depriving American voters who are angry at elites of the protest candidate they elected?
So, a corrupt sociopath should stay on the ballot to pacify the people who voted for him? Who, exactly, is condescending to these voters...the "resistance," or you?
1
Although I am a rather liberal Democrat if I must have a label, I am not averse to be contrarian if I think it is the correct perspective. I try to separate wishful thinking from detached observations and predictions.
If things go as they are I don't think Trump has a chance of winning. His base is about 40%, so voters from somewhere need to fill the gap. This happened in 2016 as Hillary lost rather than Trump won. The candidate chosen by my party will make the difference. It's sobering and a bit surprising to hear many on the left calling out some of the pie in the sky proposals from the candidates at the debate.
The charges against Trump are, to be realistic, de minimis. The examination of his financials may be another thing. Anyone in the billionaire class will have some dirty laundry. Finding it will be only a matter of the intensity of attention, not whether something is there to be found. The income tax has always been an invasion of privacy and required a constitutional amendment, since the original constitution would not allow it. This could be a large invasion.
Why Nancy Pelosi is concerned is obscure. Yes, the population may be sick of a Congress only interested in impeachment and not in governing, or she may actually be concerned about the possibility of something darker as a result, more like insurrection. In any event, long and drawn-out proceedings for impeachment will attract vigorous rebuttals from the GOP and may make Trump look like a precious victim.
3
Funny thing here. Professor Moyn insists Democrats need to forge a majority - yet Hillary Clinton got almost 3 million more votes than Trump. Poll after poll finds that Democratic proposals are supported by a majority of Americans. So what kind of majority is he suggesting Democrats need to build?
And what kind of bar needs to be met before Trump's actions are considered bad? "That the president’s actions were beyond the pale, though never as shockingly illegal as his critics have believed..."
Believed? No - shown.
The only thing keeping Trump from sitting in a jail cell facing charges for obstruction of justice is the DOJ policy that bars indicting a sitting president. The determination that Russia interfered in the election to help elect Trump, that the Trump campaign was eager to accept that help, and that they lied repeatedly about it - what is that? Chopped liver?
The news that Russian targeted the voting systems of all 50 states and that Republicans are actively blocking action to stop further intrusions isn't shockingly bad?
Perhaps the majority Professor Moyn suggests Democrats need to build is this: they have to reverse the mass indifference to Republican bad behavior that has become the norm. If GOP behavior is not shocking, it is because it has become familiar.
GOP deviancy has been defined so far down, it's nearly at the Earth's core. Perhaps that's why the North Pole is jumping around lately - and why our moral compass is broken.
3
"The Mueller Fantasy Comes Crashing Down"
That is inaccurate.
"Down" suggests that it couldn't go any lower. By September, the IG report should come out, which is likely to show that the start of the investigation was a criminal act of Hillary Clinton.
And that the Trump Tower meeting was a trap, given that Hillary's Glenn Simpson met with the Russian lawyer the day before and the day after that meeting. And that Obama had the Russian lawyer overstay her visa just for the meeting...
The impeachment fantasy has much, much more to fall. Let us say, now it just flew down, past the bewildered fellows. Looking out the 99th floor window...
6
@Lisa G:
With all due respect, your comment actually amplifies the point the article makes.
No, Mueller's mission was not to "highlight the high crimes of Donald Trump." It was to do a calm, legal, thorough investigation of Russian interference in the US electoral process.
This was not supposed to be a partisan "witch hunt", the total purpose of which was to give impeachment hearings a big boost.
The entire reason Mueller was chosen, and has a lot of credibility, is precisely because he did have a reputation for being careful and objective - looking at evidence, and following it wherever it went.
He spent two years doing that, and while he uncovered disturbing evidence of widespread Russian attempts at interference, he simply didn't find enough evidence to charge Trump for colluding with the Russians to do so. And while he pointed out different circumstances that might have lead to an obstruction indictment, he did not (and in the hearings would not) say whether or not he would have indicted him were the OLC restrictions not there.
He did not go into this assuming Trump was guilty, and trying to find evidence to support that (as, unfortunately, many wanted him to do.)
Democrats would do well to heed the advice of Mr. Moyn. Do NOT waste energy and news cycles blathering on about impeachment (in fact, that simply plays into Trump's hands.)
If you hate Trump, put all your time, energy, and resources into the 2020 elections. You need the Presidency and the Senate.
3
As I write this, there have been 595 previous comments on this topic filed. I read approximately 40 of the comments. While the authors craft arguments over process, pro-Trumpists shout yes to everything and anything the man says, even when he touts complete fictions or contradicts himself. We quibble and have no front runner while Trump has a unified winning base. The reality is that only a big personality, regardless of fi e points of doctrine, can beat Trump. And as we saw with Franken, the refusal to compromise or accept past errors has decimated the ranks.
Want to win? You need a winner.
The 2016 election showed how broken our voting system is. Unheralded interference by a hostile foreign power, combined with political gerrymandering on an unprecedented scale and the electoral college votes that clearly ignored the will of the voters was the only colossal failure I can see here. Mueller was was set up to be a balm for angry voters and simultaneously set up to fail because of DOJ rules. He had no power to indict a sitting president, the republicans then claimed without an indictment it means exoneration which is ridiculous.
The good professor crows about this win from his seat at Yale, saying that now the democrats will have to win on merit. Did the political gerrymandering in 5 states mean republicans won them on merit? The Trump campaign not contacting the FBI over Russian offers, is that merit? Does the fact that the only reason Trump was not indicted is that he is a sitting president indicate merit? Is the fact that the republican run senate refuses to enact bills to ensure voting security, is that merit? Evidently the word merit is used loosely in the Yale Law and History departments.
Once Trump is out of office, and away from the “So What” attitude in Washington he is facing a judicial system that will not have their hands tied, has full access to the un-redacted Mueller report, the tax returns and all the criminal activity of his so called empire. But I will not be crowing about this. I will be working hard to undo the damage done to our country.
1
@Catherine
Well good for you, Madam Quixote! I will be buying real estate in Canada with the all my "winning" profits, thanks to this economy for people like me.
There are times when one loses one's ability to express oneself. Times of shock can leave one silent- times of disbelief, times when one has been frozen in surprise or anguish. This has happened to many of us in this last two plus years. How can this be happening? one thinks over and over, and that is not an adequate expression of what is wrong, nor does it help to fix anything. All it expresses is the experience of the vacancy where justice and fairness and serious thought vanished into thin air. This is sometimes what happens when one has been falsely accused, or betrayed.
A lot of people in this country are in this state now.
So that blank space offers something- it offers a moment to collect our wits.
What is truly important now? Is it finding a candidate to defeat the current president that no one can find any fault with? Does such a person exist?
Is it finding common aims with the current government, so as to be a united country, to stop criticizing everything and admit when one actually can accept something he does, so as to be better able to disagree when that is most important?
Is it fighting vigorously, loudly and completely rejecting many of his most damaging policies?
There are so many issues that are of great importance to all Americans that we can get behind. In the meantime, can progressives stop trying to outdo each other at progressiveness? It's getting very tiresome. And self-defeating. Basically, we are all humans. Can we agree on that?
3
"Why, these liberals wonder, has everyone else not yet risen up in horror?
Why indeed?
Apparently the majority of Americans - if polls are to be believed - are okay with a President and his associates welcoming the interference in our elections by a foreign power. Huh! If that doesn't stir disgust and anger in people, it proves that we've become too complacent about protecting our democracy, and are more concerned that "our tribe" is winning. If this isn't reversed, our democracy is in real jeopardy. In fact, it may already be too late.
As for the course the Democrats should take, by refusing to impeach Trump, they all but condone his behavior. Moreover, they make themselves look weak and incompetent by failing to pursue their duty, regardless of public opinion. Consider: If the Founders had waited until they had a majority backing them, they never would've issued the Declaration of Independence. Doing the right thing is often unpopular.
Also, who said that Democrats can't pursue laying out an agenda that resonates with the people, and pursue impeachment? These are not mutually exclusive.
Impeachment IS a moral imperative, and it transcends political calculus. The question isn't "What do the polls say", but rather: "What would the Founders do?"
2
You write:
"Does the “resistance” really believe it can win the next election by depriving American voters who are angry at elites of the protest candidate they elected?" I'm confused: who is the 'resistance' and are they also 'elites'? Is Trump the 'protest candidate' 'American voters angry at 'elites' elected?
You've thrown a lot of cliches around, isn't your head spinning?
As a progressive with a progressive family & friends & also conservative friends I don't know anyone who fits your stereotype: "Liberals and progressives who have eaten, breathed and slept the Mueller report are right to complain of the outcome." Most of us see Mueller's report as a starting point, a very long document with many facts. during the 8 hours of Mueller's report, some facts sere ignored, some unspoken, some exaggerated. Schiff and Nadler were able to help Mueller remember some important facts:
1 The report does not exonerate Tump
2 Trump was often evasive and even lied; the same is
true of his associates.
3 The above behavior made Mueller's job more difficult.
4 If Trump were not president he would have been charged.
5 When Trump leaves office he can be prosecuted.
The Mueller report is long and packed with detail. I find it offensive that some people criticize him for not remembering every detail.
4
Trump supporters never miss an opportunity to discredit the honorable and venerable Mr. Mueller as well as any one or anything that calls attention to Mr. Mr. Trump's obstruction of justice. They can't face the truth.
1
The mainstream of the Democratic Party has been so focussed on impeachment that they have let the party identity be coopted by the left wing of the party as exemplified by the "squad". Quite frankly, a lot of damage has been done and it's not clear it can be rectified.
2
well done.. This obsession by cable and print with putting on prosecutors, ex judges, etc in a panel telling us that it was just a matter of time was absurd. O'Donnell with Mimi, Jill, Neil, Rachel with John Dean and others, Anderson and Lemon with Borger Gergen, Begala and others was laughable and has cause problems in my(and other houses) as my wife was transfixed for hours with this nonsense, and I told her that SDNY, emoluments and Mueller were going nowhere. I could vote for Biden, I did not vote for Trump but I can tell you that many non Trump voters were turned off by the 24/7 drumbeat and 40 million wasted(what is to become of the Mueller books and the PLAY that was touted. Some who did not like Trump feel this is unfair and may vote for him, white those who supported trump were vindicated by this farce. Larry, Rachel , Don and others are still talking about MORE investigations, I hope many lose their jobs in news for this absolute disastrous abuse of the power of the media.
3
Thank you for your last paragraph.The unflinching zeal for impeachment is blinding democrats to take on the issues affecting the majority of voters. Health insurance and prescription drug prices, defining legal versus illegal immigration and a path to citizenship, increased taxation on state and local levels, governmental fiscal irresponsibility. Lastly, and this is controversial, a party that automatically defines whites as privileged and racists and not woke, will probably never win an election.
4
Republicans cannot be indicted, period; the only recourse is elections. Republicans are right when they are not wrong, Democrats are wrong when they are not right. Only democratic elections and demographic shifts can right this !
1
It seems to me that the only fantasists of Mueller are media writers and talking heads with visions of pulitzers in their heads, professors of various disciplines who need something to publish, and the 0.04% of Congress who have no experience or political acuity but who are awash in self-righteous anger. Focus on the election, people. Boring but far more effective.
3
what we have learned from Mueller is that beltway outsiders are initially inept at being beltway insiders.
we need to elect more beltway outsiders. the "resistance" needs to embrace the same goal of reforming the beltway.
I'm ok with a "Never Trump" if they can bring another reformer to the contest, just don't make a mistake of bringing a socialist.
The 2016 idea that many or most Republicans couldn’t hold their noses long enough to vote for trump proved wrong. It’s very hard to imagine any Republicans sitting out 2020 either. And whichever Dem gets the nod will be so vilified by the Republican attack/hate machine that the dynamic will be much like 2016. Here we are again...
4
Democrats, hello, you need ME. I am a swing voter in a very "swingy" state. I voted for GWB in 2000, then John Kerry in 2004, Obama in 2008, Romney in 2012 and Trump in 2016. Until you win back my demographic (doesn't matter what race, religion, gender I am), Trump will be re-elected.
Why? Because you have gone so far left that I can't see you anymore! I cannot relate to people who seem to want the identity of this country to become so diluted and global that we are called "Earthlings" instead of Americans. Find a candidate that is more toward the center and you win me back...and many, many like me.
4
If I re-call correctly LBJ was about to covered by
Life Magazine concerning improper payments when
news came through that JFK has just been assassinated.
That news story was cancelled and the parallel Congressional
background investigation was quickly and quietly closed.
People in power get away with things that would put the
rest of us in prison.
Trump knows how the games are played in business and
government and has the lawyers to stall and drag out
investigation/impeachment for as long as possible.
Even if Impeachment hearings are held, and they should be,
will they conclude before the 2020 Election. ?
If Trump manages to win that Election,
can his lawyers, then argue, that he now has a new term
and this actions during and before his first
term are null and void in terms of Impeachment,
as he was re-elected by America...?
Democrats need to accept that their incompetence
put Trump in the White House in 2017.
Their refusal to learn anything, anything at all
from the 2016 election makes the 2020 re-election
even more likely.
5
To "seek justice for their plight".... hogwash. What "plight" are we talking about? The Trump voters I know are affluent conservatives. People who voted for Devin Nunes, the most unrepresentative representative currently in the Congress.
Their only "plight" was having to put up with President Obama for 8 years, during which time they were "forced" to help their fellow citizens a lot more than they felt like doing. These are people who hate Obamacare because there aren't enough doctors for all Americans to have health care (this argument was seriously made in writing by Victor Davis Hanson). Some plight.
3
I agree with the author that this delusion runs deep in some. Rather than address the various reasons why voters sent Trump to Washington, progressives have dismissed them as ignorant racists even though those people voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 and will still be voting in 2020 in the same states that mattered in 2016. The Democrats’ defeat was not followed by any humility and there was little useful introspection; denial and anger ruled. Why did people vote for Trump? “Who cares?” has pretty much been the response of Democrats. Why would those people then vote for the Democrats who, along with much of the media, has been spending the last three years rendering their garments over Trump when they could have been the adults in the room.
3
Mueller gave compelling information, but without the “pizazz” that Americans have come to expect from our government. Americans are generally too intellectually lazy to actually read the report, and too bored with a taciturn old guy who doesn’t embellish to really listen to what he said. Astonishing that Democrats aren’t screaming, and Republicans at least aren’t considering their options.
" In 2016, our fellow citizens used their one form of power — majority rule, however outrageously designed by the Constitution"
and therein likes the fallacy. The word should not be "outrageously" but "brilliantly". The Left's failure to realize that is their morally fatal flaw.
2
A lot of people question Trump's strategy of constantly catering to his base. "Why," they ask "is he not expanding his base?"
Folks, here's the strategy. Trump virtually guarantees himself 38-40% of the vote. True, not enough to win. However, the other 20-25% is up for grabs. He literally "forces" the Democratic candidate to have a massive base turnout - just to equalize his own guaranteed percentage. This is no small task. This forces the Democrats to the left, which in turn energizes his base and even tilts some moderates, because an Elizabeth Warren can scare them.
In the last election, he did just well enough in the remaining voters to neutralize Hillary - at least with the Electoral College. He knows that his only strategy is to pummel the Dems as much as possible for his base and to attack the other party's candidate as scary. It's not a dumb strategy.
But the author is correct to point out that the opposition has to really have its act together, and convince people on the merits. There are clues how to do this. Remember the massive protests of Trump earlier in his administration? Remember the fiasco of no coverage for pre-existing conditions? These were working. The key is attack ads: attack, attack, attack on foreign policy danger and ineptness, the bogus tax cuts, de-regulations, corruption, climate change, etc. Show him as irresponsible and feckless. If done relentlessly, it can work. You have the win the narrative on his incompetence.
2
If the Democratic Party were to stand for anything, their opportunity would be to initiate articles of impeachment - to seize the high ground. The point would not be to say no - we’re “ too busy working on important legislation” ( Pelosi) nor to say “ no point because the Senate won’t convict” ( many Democrats).
As this hasn’t happened ( impeachment proceedings), one is left to wonder- what exactly does the party stand for except “ not Trump”?
1
@Ellen, the Democratic Party stands for fair elections where all Americans’ votes are counted. Ask McConnell what Republicans stand for.
Mueller did exactly what he said he'd do if called before Congress. It was not his job to spoon feed them the report. It was not his job to indict the president. It was his job to investigate and report his findings which he did. When I listened to this I heard a man who didn't want to be onstage repeating what he'd written. I heard a man who had served his country and written a report that his immediate supervisor glossed over in an attempt to protect his patron rather than admit that the report did anything but exonerate said patron.
Trump is a danger to democracy. So is the GOP and its kowtowing to him. It's striking and disheartening to see them allowing Trump to get away with behavior that, had Obama done the same, they would have impeached him post haste. The hypocrisy and blindness of the GOP is notable because they are more than willing to overlook a report that shows Trump did violate laws.
4
It is so incredibly frustrating that a law professor shrugs his shoulders at what the Mueller findings revealed. Trump should be impeached. It is just obvious on so many levels.
4
I imagine that the fantasy of Mueller's testimony lighting a praire fire for impeachment did exist in some closed circles. But millions of people wanted to see Mueller publically testify because Trump and Barr so vigorously tried to keep the book shut on his investigation and report. The great value in starting impeachment proceedings is not because conviction by the GOP Senate is likely. It has great value because Trump's vile and often criminal behavior is worthy of impeachment. Is impeachment divisive? Hopefully, impeachment will further isolate Trump's hard core base as the white nationalist, mean-spirited and relatively small group it is. Yes there are people not on the Trump hard right, who don't want migrant children separated and held in squalid jails and who don't like impeachment. So let the discussion on impeachment flourish in neigborhoods, union meetings, colleges, and in the House of Representatives where dissent from the DNC is now being punished.
Mr. Moyn seems to engage in fantasy of his own with a column wrapped in generalizations and unsupported sweeping assertions.
Moyn's claim that Schiff has been the standard bearer for impeachment should be the first red flag fro readers as nothing could be further from the truth. Has Mr. Moyn been paying attention at all? Mr. Moyn claims that democrats are delusional in believing they can advance their values by means of legal machination rather than political vision. Moyn confuses Democratic, Independent and Undecided voters with the media commentariat. They are not the same. The reader should realize that Mr. Moyn's expertise is in human rights law, not constitutional law, and he probably hasn't seen the inside of a courtroom in years, if at all. This isn't about advancing "values", it's about upholding the law. Again, he misses the mark in advancing his thesis. The testimony presented by Mueller was devastating to Trump in confirming and re-affirming his unscrupulous behavior. The manner in which it was delivered doesn't matter as the print and tv journalists don't reflect the voting population writ large. If they did we would have President Clinton. What does matter is the impact of Mueller's findings on the only voters left that matter: Independents, Undecideds and Suburban voters.
3
The 2016 election represented colossal failure on the part of the Democrats. The "Mueller Fantasy" was an attempt by the party elites to avoid the hard work of reckoning with their own culpability in enabling the rise of Trump; it's far more comforting to blame external villains and wait to be rescued by an avenging hero. Instead of pinning all their hopes on Mueller, the Democrats should have been spending these years reforming and rebuilding the party so as to oppose Trump on policy and to offer a bold, unapologetic progressive alternative to Republican extremism and cruelties. Their unwillingness to do so is Trump's gain and our loss.
3
"William Barr, Mr. Trump’s attorney general, did indeed distort the report when he rolled it out. "
You refer to the fact that Barr refused to let Mueller's Democrat handlers control the entire reveal. Um, sorry, but Democrat spin doesn't automatically get priority in the real world.
Barr not only did NOT distort the report, but he specifically contacted Mueller himself and asked if the way he was rolling out the report contained anything inaccurate. Mueller was forced to admit there was nothing wrong with Barr's take, altho I'm sure he was chagrined at having to do so.
5
The fog of denial you envelope yourself in does not change the fact that the report highlights numerous examples of criminal behavior that would result in jail time if you or I behaved the way Trump behaved. No one is above the law. Not you, not I, not Trump.
One bizarre moment was the assertion that the man investigating Russian interference ( at least officially this was not an investigation of Trump only) saw no reason to look into the Steele dossier which officially originated in Russia. Can you name one thing that originated in Russia that created more upheavals, comments , coverage and discussions in our political system than that document? The excuse that Steele dossier predated the special counsel is even more bizarre. Manafort’s dealings preceded the special counsel by dozen years.
The whole investigation was a faint engineered by Comey to deflect from his actions and dealings. The fat lady is still singing however.
6
The OLC position that you cannot indict a sitting President is based on the premise that to do so would interfere with the important work that the President is doing. The current occupant of the White House doesn't get to work until 11. He watches 8 hours of tv. He calls into various tv and radio programs. He plans rallies and parades. He golfs. He goes to fund-raisers. He composes tweets. He checks to see who has booked rooms at his hotels. He flies to his Florida club and sees who can he give diplomatic appointments to. None of this sounds like important business, so why does the OLC "rule" apply to him?
3
There is no contest.
Between marching in the streets to defend democracy and decency versus uploading a photo of an avocado toast on Instagram, Americans would opt for Instagram.
And so here we are.
2
@Opinioned!
Slightly off-topic, but what is this fixation on “avocado toast”?
Not sure I have this right, but I assume it’s a toasted slice of bread with avocado spread on top. Add hot sauce and it sounds delicious.
But why this constant reference, especially the sneering insinuation that it’s some sort of liberal thing?
To paraphrase the master-shrink, sometimes a snack is just a snack.
Mueller did what he was supposed to do.He highlighted the high crimes of Donald Trump.
The proclivity of people to judge Mueller himself instead of the truth he speaks brings us farther from impeachment.
Whereas, if we listen to the actual questions and answers, we are closer to impeachment than ever.
2
America should realize that, despite the outcome of the Mueller hearings, or people’s opinion of how they turned out, as he retires we are losing a veteran, a hero, and a patriot who gave a lifetime of public service to the country.
He was forced, because of his own dedication to protocol and the rule of law, to give his most important work, his most valuable offering, the document that could have stopped the insane soap opera that exists today and continues tomorrow to a world full of self-serving, propagandist sycophants, who unlike Mueller, care much more about themselves that they do for the country.
He deserves a medal not reproach.
3
I agree that people should not have pinned all their hopes on Mueller being so telegenic that he would make republicans see how wrong they are to support Trump. On the other hand, his report clearly lays out criminal behavior that warrants an impeachment investigation. Televised hearings with witness after witness attesting to Trump’s criminal behavior may move the needle. Unless you just wait until 2020, that’s all we can do.
2
I am sadly not surprised. At this point, I truly believe Trump could commit a murder with as much evidence against him as was against OJ Simpson and he'd have the same verdict.
As for 2020, though I am a liberal who has never voted Republican, I feel the best hope in dislodging Trump from the White House is a Republican challenger to Trump's renomination. The Democratic field is way too crowded, to the point of farce. I don't see one candidate who could be elected.
2
Gee, Professor Moyn, it would be so much easier to beat Trump on our own if we could depend on the integrity of our election apparatus. But Russia's main asset in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, will not allow any bills to improve election security to be voted on.
I'll take an impeachment inquiry, please. The sooner the better.
4
This is a deeply flawed opinion. In insisting that Dems/Liberals should be focusing on the electoral/political reasons for Trump's 2016 victory, Mr. Moyn skates over the obvious problem that everyone, but the GOP, has admitted: Trump won 2016 with assistance from foreign governments (primarily Russian), and he actively sought to maximize his benefit from their interference. Worse, Trump and GOP currently refuse to take any measures to secure the coming elections, so we can expect a similar pattern in 2020.
Clearly, Mr Moyn has allowed himself the luxury of living in a world where electoral interference from foreign powers doesn't exist.
4
If I recall correctly, Obama was in office while the 2016 election took place. Any Russian meddling happened under his watch. There was no Trump collusion, not one vote was changed. No one interfered (obstructed) with the Mueller investigation, he was able to complete his report. He was not fired. These are facts. Impeachment ? For what, exactly ?
6
@B Bachmann
You are certainly incorrect about obstruction. If you read Mueller's report, you will see that Trump tried very hard to have the investigation stopped. The fact that he didn't succeed doesn't exonerate him; attempted murder, for example, doesn't mean you're innocent. It just means you didn't succeed.
@B Bachmann because, according to the law, a lawbreaker does not have to succeed to be guilty. The crime is in attempting. Trump reveled in Russian interference, enjoyed it, lied about Mueller and others, and lied under oath. It runs so deep it is difficult to keep up. By popular vote, Hillary Clinton won anyway. Gerrymandering, giving tiny populations as big a voice as larger ones, is part of it, to be sure. But all the shoulder shrugging and ignorance of serious crimes is really disheartening - to say the least.
2
@B Bachmann
I wonder who the geniuses were that conjured up the plan to hang the election tampering that occurred on Obama's watch around Trump's neck. My thought was that it was Hillary and Obama. When Hillary won, they could offload the entire thing onto Trump and walk away unscathed by something they were actually responsible for.
1
I agree with this reality-testing admonition to erstwhile democrats and progressives desirous of saving, and improving, the American Experiment. Trumpism is just the latest, and crudest, iteration of Reaganism and the Reagan Restoration, which over forty years has been enabled by complicit "Democratic" centrists and their at-best-passive supporters.
The rot, and the swamp, are bipartisan - the Democrats aren't quite as corrupt or evil as the Republicans imo, but that's an extremely low bar standing in for the excellence we should demand of our politics. And the Democrats are definitely sleepier at politics (though the Republicans are quickly catching up - and Mitch McConnell plays a rearguard game of somnolence in government most excellently). The whole system must be raised up. And that can only be done politically. Especially since the Democratic rot has resulted in a Trump and Bush Court - there's now no Court to fall back on for constitutional protection of our democratic republic.
"A republic, if you can keep it." Maybe a 230-year run, sputtering at times, is all we can reasonably expect. How long did democratic Greece last?
And what other form of government will ably deal with the underway doom of climate change? None.
It is not either/or as the writer seems to think.
It is both/and
You can offer your own alternative positive vision for the country while at the same time pursuing justice against a man who has betrayed his country and it Constitution.
You can have a government that is both ethical and effective.
4
"along with Republican conspiracy-mongering"
Before referring to "conspiracy-mongering" maybe you should wait for the conclusion of the two DOJ investigations now in process. The first, conducted by the DOJ Inspector General, is looking into abuse of the FISA process at the highest levels of government - and is expected to conclude soon after Labor Day. The second is much more wide-ranging, and hopefully will discover if there was a conspiracy to cover up for Hillary Clinton and bring down a duly elected President.
3
If Dems had accepted the result of 2016 and focussed on stopping Trump agenda with their own alternative agenda by now they would have rallying around 3-4 challengers gearing up for 2029. High expectations from a nunaced legal Mueller report was built up through sensational headlines. Most people if aviid the reporting and read the report in its entirety will come out realising how much the Mueller team tried hard, including squeezing all people around Trump, but could not find the stash they were looking found. The report details incident after incident and then concludes not good enough, legally speaking. In the end, the Mueller team was forced to rely on extrajudicial claim exoneration.
1
Democrats, in general, think that if only they put forward a logical and reasonable argument, backed up with citations and clearly examinable evidence, then people will get on board because they will see just how logical and reasonable and evidence-based the argument is.
This works for them because they have a certain type of mindset, generally respectful of science and evidence based argument in general. What it shows, though, is that they need to study more psychology--the large majority of people, according to the psychological literature, do not make decisions based on logical argument; in fact, one study showed that about 85% of Americans could not recognize deductive reasoning involves eliminating/discrediting all other explanations in order to arrive at the most correct one--most simply start with a proposition and look for further confirmatory evidence, and have no propensity to attack their own assumptions critically.
Republicans know you've got to hit 'em in the gut; they have no illusions that people will respond to logic and know you get more to act on emotionality, even if that is based on demonstrably false premises--in fact, often especially if it is.
The strategy of relying on "scientism" is not going to work on a population that is largely suspicious of expertise and intellectualism, associating it with elites. How we got there. given America's traditional pragmatism, is a topic for another day--but it is where we are.
7
As they did with Joe Biden and busing, the MSM started weeks out laying the ground work for what to expect from Mueller:
1. Nothing new. Wrong.
We learned, in the true Alexander Butterfield moment, that Trump could be indicted when he leaves office.
2. THat the best way to question reticent Mueller was with yes/no questions. True But then the MSM complained there was no "gotcha" moment.
3. That Mueller would stay within "the 4 corners of the report." Wrong. The 5 minute exchange between Chairman Schiff and Mueller ALONE was enough for a whole host of articles of impeachment.
The MSM tried to lower expectations and reported they were right in that observation, making it less than 6 hours after Mueller concluded his day.
The next day 5 additional Democrats came out in support of an inquiry and House members were reviewing the technical aspects of conducting an impeachment.
The Dems focused too heavily on Part 2 of the report instead of Part 1.
1
Sorry Mr Law Professor, I did not choose to become American so I can have an almost criminal but not quite criminal enough President. I'd like to believe we're better than that.
4
>>> "I'd like to believe we're better than that."
You're free to like to believe, and to actually believe, whatever you choose.
It won't change reality even a tiny bit.
3
For the country to change, move forward:
. > Congress must muster the political will to impeach.
. > Candidates must beat Trump in elections.
. > A miracle happens.
Samuel Moyn points out the obvious.
In 2016, election results shocked Trump.
Since Election day, 2016, Democrats have been in disarray and Republicans fell into an uncomfortable complacency.
What will we choose to do?
The writer predicated his opinion on " But the report was neither definitive nor a verdict." His opinion is wrong. There is more than enough evidence to impeach Trump. That the Senate will not convict is not an acceptable excuse. It seems the writer, like many, is basing his assessment on what broadcast media tells him.
7
It feels as if it's over and that there is no other way to change things other than through your next election. But, the seeds of doubt about the outcome are being sewn, drip, drip, drip. Trump will never accept losing, his supporters will stand by him, and then what?
Trump has tried to tear down every pillar of your democracy, next up, claiming a second term, even if he loses.
The Democrats are not up to defeating Trump at the ballot box. Impeaching him would be a terrible miscalculation just like Clinton's impeachment was for Republicans.
Yet the leaders and candidates of the party haven't a clue how to talk to normal working class people. They have no political ideas or programs that could appeal to the broad middle of American Politics.
After the 2020 Trump landslide we have to work to found a new party that is beholden to the people not the NYC?Washington elites.
7
@Glenn
The United States is a wholly owned subsidiary of the rich and the corporations they control.
While the Democratic leadership is hopelessly mired in this plutocratic swamp, several of the progressive Democratic candidates do have programs that address the needs of working people.
4
@Glenn
"just like Clinton's impeachment was for Republicans."
This is a self-defeating myth. Sure Clinton's popularity rebounded somewhat after it was over. But did Democrats take the Presidency in 200? How about the Senate? No. Did they win the house? Nope, not that either.
Sure it is hard to maintain power after 8 years of a presidency, but Reagan/Bush did it in 1989. Instead, Democrats were wiped out in every branch of government after 8 years of an economy that easily surpassed Reagan's (all while zeroing out the deficit). And it is precisely *because* of the smear job Republicans engaged in for years against the Clinton's. They might not have gotten their immediate impeachment, but they reaped every other possible benefit.
1
@Jerry Engelbach Corporate media is not too fond of these inspiring candidates with ideas that appeal to the people. It's curious and frustrating
Despite the impression of chaos, there are indications, I think. of an emerging strategy by the Democrats for 2020: Keep people aware of the President's crimes but don't make a martyr of him or replace him with Pence. Meanwhile, yes, focus on programs addressing the massive real problems we all face globally and locally. This appears to be Pelosi''s view
(at least I hope it is that coherent) and most presidential candidates are moving that way. My presidential preferences ,based on that line of thinking, are Warren and Sanders
in that order with Biden a weak third. For me, a Warren-Sanders ticket would be the most hopeful, if egos don't
prevent them from running together. I don't believe that Sanders' democratic socialism will be a big problem in the
rural middle west which has a tradition of rural socialism back to the nineteenth century. A lot of people there voted for Sanders and then for Trump. And though Warren was a professor, she comes from a modest middle west background and doesn't forget to tell people that. And they're both smarter and more coherent than Biden.
3
As a man of great repute, Mr. Mueller, at least in this instance, failed to expand from his prescribed imprimatur for the greater good of the nation.
That Russia interfered in the 2016 election and is continuing to this date, was rather vociferously stated by Mr. Mueller. When it came to Trump and staff connections with Russians , however, Mr. Mueller reverted to haltered and muted lawyerly utterances. Most importantly when this prosecutor was faced with Presidential malfeasance connected to Obstruction of Justice he dithered and hid behind the OLC policy.
The nation deserved more! It was time for this Marine and DOJ veteran to man up, declare that his President met the threshold for Obstruction, and opine that he ought be charged post-Presidency.
That he chose not to do so will diminish him in the eyes of history.
@Phil, God bless Mueller. He did his job, and after two years he has succumbed to to the frailty of the aged. And I don't think he will be appearing again. The report is sound and reflects the integrity of a good man. The rest is up to Us.
5
The article in the link provided by the author about Trump as a potential Russian asset specifically states that he *did not have to conspire* with Russia in order to be an asset. The author is purposefully being disingenuous in conflating the two.
Trump has since stated that he would continue to welcome the assistance of foreign governments. This is unacceptable.
The next election is going to be a complete fiasco if there isn't a shift against Trump, but Republicans have to be the ones to do it. They created this monster and they are responsible for taking him down.
12
It sounds like the author was living in the fantasy that the Mueller hearing should be a "TV moment".That Mueller had to be some sort of telegenic superhero.The public didn't read the report,didn't watch the hearing and doesn't really know what happened. In a way,it's a good thing they didn't.Mueller gave Democratic politicians the sound bites they needed if not for impeachment ,then certainly for the upcoming election.Let the politicians provide the drama. Be glad that someone investigated Trump's illegal behavior and documented it.As we've already seen today,these hearing were only the beginning....not the end.Just imagine where Trump could have taken us without this check on his outrageous behavior ...however minor the report may seem at this point.
6
@Iamcynic1 Exactly. This whole argument that is presented in this article is off point. Maybe the author expected something from Mueller, but anyone with any sense, shouldn't have. Your point that it was to enlighten the public was paramount.
2
"Our gratitude toward Mr. Mueller ought to be that his poor showing as a witness will eventually force the president’s enemies to realize the uplifting truth that they have to beat him on their own."
Your assessment of Mr. Mueller's "showing" as poor couldn't be further from the truth. He had said previously that the report was his testimony and he stuck to the report. Seeing his demeanor, his tone and graciousness was well . . a sight for sore eyes. He drove down the middle of the road. A class act.
10
Yes, too bad Mueller was “soporific” and just not entertaining enough.
And Democrats will have to beat the incumbent on their own-just like he won on his own in 2016 with Facebook and Twitter posts from a foreign power that reached millions, hacking into the rival party’s computer system by the same country, stolen emails that were made public by a hostile “news” organization (provided by said hostile government) at strategic times (that we’re probably known about by individual one, the incumbent), hacking by the same hostile nation into all the states’ voting systems with still not completely-known effects, violation of campaign finance law that suppressed potentially harmful information about the then-candidate (that he basically was an adulterer), and failure to follow the custom of releasing tax returns (as other candidates had done in good faith) so that voters could make an informed decision, etc.
Yeah, the Democrats will have to win on their own, just like the current “president” did, and I’m sure will do again in 2020.
1
Republican and Democratic presidents are evaluated by different yardsticks, and this has become the norm. Democrats are guilty of high crimes even if they did not commit any. Republicans are innocent even when proven guilty.
19
Mr. Moyn nailed this. I have been reading the conclusive opinions in the NYT comments column since the investigation began that Mr. Mueller was going to take Donald Trump down hard.
When the report came out I read it and concluded that Mr. Trump likely did obstruct justice. If he did not he was "doing a dashed good imitation of it". (Mr. PG Wodehouse wrote that very trenchant phase in response to an amateur dictator, Roderick Spode.)
Still it seemed clear that with money and enough legal help he was not going to swing for his poor behavior.
It took me 6 hours to read the report, and by the way, it was a fascinating account. The next day, if Congressional Democrats truly believed that Donald Trump was guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors they should have started impeachment proceedings.
That they have dithered this long only confirms Trump apologists and fence sitters that it was much ado about nothing.
It was not a witch hunt, but to requote Mr. Wodehouse, the Congressional Democrats have made it look like nothing more "...than a dashed good imitation."
11
@gpickard It’s a good day when someone quotes the immortal P.G. Wodehouse.
Disagree. His investigation was informative and very helpful. Yes, there is work to be done by others but it could not be done with out his meticulous groundwork. Good job, Mueller.
8
Robert Mueller was never going to produce a report or testimony sufficient to drive impeachment proceedings. That was never his job. Everyone who bothered to pay attention knew both those facts two years ago.
Impeaching Donald Trump would have taken hard work and a heavy-hitting report by a Congressionally-backed investigator actually interested in investigating Donald Trump. I use the past tense because I see few members of Congress willing to do even what would have been necessary in the beginning, and it would be doubly hard now.
Most of Congress took the easy way out and either hoped Robert Mueller would do their jobs for them, or knew he wouldn't but used his investigation as an excuse to shirk theirs. If you are upset that Donald Trump won't be impeached, don't blame Mueller, blame Congress.
3
My sense is that Moyn is coming from a progressive perspective--one that regards the liberal fixation on Trump's ties to Russia as an attempt to cover for the moral vacuousness of the modern Democratic party. I think some readers are missing this because in this political climate, even liberals are frankly lacking in qualities of self-reflection. I have voted and volunteered as a Democrat more than twenty-five years (which is the whole of my time as an adult) and will continue to do so. But excepting the energy of the Obama campaign in 2008, my experience with my own party has been one of surprising disaffection. People in leadership positions have almost ubiquitously been self-involved and self-serving: there is more interest in the appearance of the party than in actually articulating a meaningful vision. With rare exception, the Democratic party has become the party of the focus group, with cynical decisions flowing from a pervasive sense of near-total ideological compromise. And as much as I dislike Assange and Wikileaks, there was nothing that came out of those DNC leaks that didn't absolutely confirm my suspicions about my own party. At some point, Democrats will have to learn that what people want from us is not more pandering but instead meaningful, moral and frank leadership, none of which our party much possesses at the present moment, outside of those women in "the squad" and a few others--all of whom we apparently don't even want to associate with.
12
@Jeremiah Crotser-"With rare exception, the Democratic party has become the party of the focus group, with cynical decisions flowing from a pervasive sense of near-total ideological compromise."
And the Republican Party has become the party of people that believe tax cuts for the wealthy will pay for themselves and science isn't real.
I'll take the "Squad" over the fools who get scammed time and again.
2
Because Mueller's investigation took up what had previously been a DOJ counterintelligence investigation, the public (and avowedly Trump himself) were under the false impression that Mueller had looked into Trump's finances, the most obvious reason behind his bizarre efforts to cozy up to Vladimir Putin. We know he lied about his financial entanglements with Russia throughout the 2016 campaign, but we still don't know why he and his minions (from Paul Manafort to Michael Flynn to Mitch McConnell) took such pains to hide them.
The big news coming out of Wednesday's hearing was that Mueller didn't even look into Trump's finances. That should frighten all Americans. Instead of examining the facts, pieces like this one concentrated on trivial "optics."
6
Professor Moyn is channeling his inner Trump Republican, barely containing his glee that The Donald will remain in power, inflicting more damage to the United States.
As Professor Moyn erroneously states, "In 2016, our fellow citizens used their one form of power — majority rule, however outrageously designed by the Constitution — to protest."
To protest what? Their upcoming demographic loss of being THE majority? The degradation of accepting "the other" as an equal?
Unfortunately, Mr. Trump lost the popular vote. In addition, Mr. Trump was substantially helped by the Russians. Prof. Moyn conveniently ignores this.
Republicans can only maintain their "majority" by vote rigging, voter suppression, gerrymandering, Blood and Soil dog whistles, and helpful appeals foreign powers. Their reward will be a United States that more resembles Lebanon and South Africa. What they eventually will inherit will not be worth inheriting at all.
Prof. Moyn assumes that Trump will respect an unfavorable 2020 outcome. I'd like to see his evidence that Trump will act this way.
19
@Joel Shertok I only ask, who was in charge of election security, foreign and domestic intelligence during the 2016 election?
"Republicans can only maintain their "majority" by vote rigging, voter suppression, gerrymandering, Blood and Soil dog whistles, and helpful appeals foreign powers."
Obama won twice. How did he over come such powerful forces?
2
@Joel Shertok Wake up Joel! The Mueller dog and pony show are over. If ANY Democrat had anything fatal to Trump, they would be parading it down Broadway.
a professor of law professes he doesn't feel the law should be the last word. it's up to politics. let's go golfing and when I use my foot wedge, we can call it legit.
12
"In 2016, our fellow citizens used their one form of power — majority rule, however outrageously designed by the Constitution — to protest. "
Uh - revisionist history. The majority, by some ~3 million people, voted for the other candidate.
And there was plenty illegal. "High crimes and misdemeanors" definitely includes treasonous cooperation with a hostile foreign power. And Mueller was quite clear that is what occurred.
Optics may not have been showy, but the substance is pretty damning.
Congress needs to suck it up and do their jobs. Leaders need to lead, and make the coherent case that impeachment is the right and proper course even if it might not be universally popular. If you have no standards, then you are a coward and no better - c'mon Congress, lead.
12
People are missing the big picture. Remember, we have the most powerful media in the world for manufacturing consent. Sure it still wasn't enough in this case, but it was unfair to place the rest of that burden on Mueller. Mueller was not going to manufacture consent unless his revelations provided safe harbor for the republicans in the Senate. And what was the odds of that?
No, it means we're going to have to do the heavy lifting. Let's finish what we've begun. Let's make the presidency a referendum on the great moral debate of our times. Are people with us? Or are they against us! Let there be no safe harbor for those who equivocate.
3
Trump is diabolically clever and has created a circus, with the Democrats playing the fool. As long as the discussion is collusion with Russia, which no one believes, obstructing the investigation of a collusion that never occurred, no one cares, Trump wins. As long as the discussion is about the Jihad squad, which triggers a visceral reaction in most Americans, Trump wins. As long as the Democratic candidates compete in an arms race to the left, providing free health care to illegals, reparations for slavery, abolishment if health care plans and forgiveness of all student debt, where transgender rights are On a petard, Trump wins.
The candidate who leaves the three rings and presents a thoughtful platform, with an economic plan to balance gaping economic disparity, a plan to reign in obscene pharmaceutical pricing, global warming, human decency in dealing with illegals and other less fortunate, affordable education, reengagement with America’s decent people will occur.
9
@David
"The candidate who leaves the three rings and presents a thoughtful platform, with an economic plan to balance gaping economic disparity, a plan to reign in obscene pharmaceutical pricing, global warming, human decency in dealing with illegals and other less fortunate, affordable education, re-engagement with America’s decent people will occur."
David, you have pointed out the most enlightened path for the Democrats to follow!!! Thank you for your WISDOM.
Put me down as one of those people who think that the Mueller report does in fact detail a fairly long list of shocking (or not-so shocking) illegal activity on the part of Trump... although it is of course only one of many strands to his criminality, as he has been credibly accused of many other crimes, all the way from money laundering and fraud to sexual molestation and rape, which are outside its purview).
This article seems to be pushing the opinion that the Mueller report does not provide sufficient grounds for impeachment, with no justification apart from a vague "it wasn't as damaging as people hoped".
14
Trump is so uniquely appalling in his obvious contempt for the underlying principles of our government -- for anything, really, that stands in the way of his personally profiting from the execution of his duties -- that the fact that he is likely to not only serve out his term(s) but to avoid the prison sentence he has so richly earned would seem to support the attitude that the possibility of justice is a delusion.
If liberals like me discount elections as a remedy, it may be because 1. we recognize the extent to which the electoral system is rigged against us, and 2. we find it beyond belief that we actually have to persuade anyone to withhold support from this radically dreadful and incompetent person.
12
How and why can people continue to refer to Trump as "an elected official"? He was not elected, he was "installed" by the horribly outdated and flawed Electoral College. The popular vote (which most would consider a main principal of democracy) was won by the Other One. But insead we have this "person".
And, sorry, Trump is much, much more than merely "exasperating".
11
@meisnoone
Not this again. To become President you have to win a majority of the state electoral votes, not the simple majority of voters. Those were (and are) the rules. Trump didn't change them at the last minute. The Supreme Court didn't change the rules at the last minute. Clinton knew the game. She played poorly and lost.
Trump was elected. If we don't like that (and I don't) then the Democrats need to find someone who can regain voters in the Upper Midwest and Pennsylvania.
6
"No amount of evidence will ever persuade and idiot" Mark Twain
15
@Davis. Well spelled.
This article, like so many others, jump on a bandwagon of dubious conventional wisdom and general impatience.
But there is no convention. We’re in an unprecedented situation. And only patient and persistent effort (not instant gratification) can save us.
In my view, Mueller’s testimony did two extraordinarily beneficial things. First, it amplified concern around election interference. This concern will only grow in relevance as we approach Nov 2020. Second, Mueller’s blunt and dry responses gave the Democrats much more than the reality TV sound bites they presumed they needed — it added credibility to the fact that the report was written without political prejudice.
3
"Our gratitude toward Mr. Mueller ought to be that his poor showing as a witness ... " A common refrain among Trump supporters, but self-serving at best. Mr. Mueller's job was to clarify what the report actually says, since few have read it, and rebut all the mischaracterizations from Mr. Trump and his minions. He did that.
"Representative Devin Nunes of California, the ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee, opened with, 'Welcome everyone to the last gasp of the Russia collusion conspiracy.' ” I recall one solution to the endless Vietnam War was to declare victory and leave. This seems to be the strategy of the Republicans on today's Mueller hearings. No matter that his team's report has long showed the connivances and criminality of Mr. Trump and his minions, they are trying to gloat over the lack of any new accusations. All that stuff in the report is "old news", nothing to see here, move along. And forget about the attempts by Mr. Barr et al to mischaracterize the report as absolving Mr. Trump & Co. (which Mr. Mueller flatly denied).
As an aside, "Trump declared himself a 'very innocent President' ... " (USA today,24July2019) OK, I can understand stealing MAGA from Reagan, but stealing "I am not a crook" from Nixon seems like a bad strategy. Maybe he sees that Nixon got to 66% approval rating at one point. Still, Nixon resigned in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office—the only time a U.S. president has done so. So far.
2
In 2016 some House Republicans promised to begin impeachment proceedings against Hillary Clinton, if elected, the day after she was sworn in. Trump deserves to be impeached, but in this upside-down political climate it would be counterproductive for Democrats to follow suit.
Pelosi is 100% correct. Fight this scofflaw President in the courts, continue to call witnesses and investigate. But the only way Trump is exiting the WH is through the ballot box.
3
The author supposes that either opponents of the president pinned impeachment hopes on the Mueller report’s impact, or have not acknowledged that millions of Americans voted for Donald Trump in 2016. But it’s not such an either-or situation. The president probably has committed impeachable acts. And, whatever it’s poisoned origins, his presidency has exposed fundamental problems in the separation of powers and in the two-party system.
4
@Tim Roberts what hocum.
what impeachable acts has he committed. Don't just parrot what you hear or read in MSM. Come up with facts and evidence.
Poisoned origins -- if it was poisoned it was the Steele dossier paid for by DHC, our intel community's attempt(s) to get rid of or undermine Trump and the Obama admin probably (who needs evidence here, anyway) probably had some part to play.
Didn't notice any probs with separation of powers under Obama -- you liked his exec orders so it was OK.
"Our gratitude toward Mr. Mueller ought to be that his poor showing as a witness will eventually force the president’s enemies to realize the uplifting truth that they have to beat him on their own."
Well said. Mueller's weak performance should put to rest any remaining fantasies of finding an easy off-ramp from the Age of Trump. Establishment elites have desperately wanted the hired help to come in and clean up the mess. It's not going to happen.
Congressional Democratic leaders have some good qualities, but an abundance of moral and political courage is certainly not among them. They came to prominence in the Reagan era and its aftermath by dint of knowing how and when to duck, waffle and equivocate. No one is more easily intimidated. It's in their bones.
On to 2020. Let's stop wasting valuable time and energy on pursuing empty symbolic gestures.
4
Indeed, Liberals remain in the Trump Impeachment Fantasy at their peril. This horse is thoroughly dead. Perhaps its not too late to really look at why Hillary lost and focus on a unified message, solid policy proposals and, oh, a single candidate - soon!
11
I am not worried about Hilary when we have a current president who meets with Putin without aides, lied about business dealings in Russia and has never had one firm or negative word toward Putin (a former KGB agent, a communist, an opportunist whose government interfered in our democracy, our elections) Hilary is the least of our worries and an odd distraction from the point of this article!
I agree with every point in this essay, except one. "The causes of Mr. Trump's election - most pressingly, a loss of faith in the American political system -" We cannot reject this notion too emphatically. The causes of Mr. Trump's election are much more elemental - it was racist animus, built up over 8 years of an African American president, and drawing heavily on a resentment of "elites" (translation: when Trump supporters hear "elites," they hear "people who support giving our tax dollars to people with dark skin," in simpler words, "'n word' lovers") stoked for decades by a right-wing propaganda machine masquerading as "fair and balanced" news. Racism, never solved despite the Civil War, and the power of oligarchs who shamelessly exploit it to maintain control of the government, is the battle that must be fought. It has absolutely nothing to do with "loss of faith" in the political system, unless that is a euphemism for the kind of "lost of faith" displayed in 1860 by the Confederate rebellion and the rise of the KKK in years following.
7
@Pete I thought another comment was going to be the turkey of the day but this one outdid it. I live in Trump country, and the author is correct. Trump voters lost faith--a long time ago. It's all I've heard for 20 years. Why do we do everything in our power to push away the other side? You might think President Obama reached out to Republicans but what they heard was they were losers and "bitter clingers." It's so frustrating to be a Dem in red America and always watch us shoot ourselves in the foot.
1
The author is operating under an equally flawed fantasy that the elections are a means to fix the present situation that is unacceptable to a majority of Americans. Between the phony Electoral College which overrides the majority vote, gerrymandering, and the open invitation to Russia to throw the elections in favor of Trump, it has become clear that America does not have a representative democracy. The demise of the impeachment “fantasy” shows that there are certainly no Constitutional means to deal with a scofflaw President aided and abetted by his party. What we have is what has always existed since the founding of the country: a racist patriarchy which uses every stratagem legal or illegal to ensure it will remain in power for ever.
13
Samuel Moyn is correct: It will take vision to save the country.
But as President Obama once famously said, "We can walk and chew gum at the same time." We need a vision, yes. Above all, yes. But Donald Trump is more than merely exasperating. His brand of dishonor won't be stopped by vision alone. The truth of his personal corruption and his corrupting of the American essence must also gain voice.
The Democrats have to carefully, insightfully and powerfully craft a vision to re-direct the anger built over a generation into a winning purpose. And, at the same time, take every chance to discredit Donald Trump, even those that don't hit the mark as convincingly as hoped.
The Mueller Report remains largely unread. Using Mueller's voice then was worth trying. As are the voices of his office that may yet speak more eloquently on the subject of Trump's malfeasance.
Two things at once. Also known as the one-two punch. Pelosi and Biden and Warren and Harris et al can swing it. They simply have to.
3
could it be that what Xrump has really accomplished is to expose the fallacy that the American ideal reigns supreme in the totality of human history and that in the final analysis we are not that much different from other world dominating empires?
4
Professor Moyn is right. This is not about the Republicans—what they do or don't do. Nor is it about the racist Trump and his core supporters. Nor is it about the diffident Robert Mueller. Nor is it about our outmoded system, as many on the Left like to claim.
Rather, it’s about the Democrats and their inability or unwillingness to focus on the formula that worked for them in the 2018 midterms. The voters are tired of identity politics and all the moral outrage about race and gender. They want their elected representatives to focus on bread-and-butter issues.
The Democrats have a winning formula. They need to stick to it: jobs, wages, health care, and the various other elements of economic security. If they talk about Trump at all it should be about his failure to deliver on these kitchen-table issues.
7
It wasn't a fantasy. It was a test. A test to see if the politicians are honest. They failed.
As to the American people, they have been bred and educated to be serfs. Good serfs who consume to a level beyond their financial situation and thus at a level that makes it impossible for them to complain about their work or pay without risking being out on the street. They let themselves become these weak people, in debt, and without the skill to improve their situation. They failed as well.
Trump owns them and Trump owns the politicians, because none of them has the strength or ability to stand up to him or any other bully, such as the typical employer/corporation. At least collectively.
7
Was there really any expectation on a huge revaluation by mueller? I think most Americans had very tempered expectations. After all people mostly made up their minds about the president based on other issues. It’s those issues (the ones in front of us everyday) that we can act on.
91
NKM:
1. Considering how egregiously soft the constitution is on the kind of investigation Mueller conducted -- an investigation of the president's conduct -- and considering also how soft and convoluted the federal government is in the face of such investigations, like you, I had low expectations about how bold -- how legal-forward-- the Mueller Report would be.
2. However, considering how obvious Trump's many crimes and misdemeanors are, I can't stop scratching my head.
As we Americans have learned, and relearned, too often in our 243-year history, our president has Too Much Power.
8
Yes, the problem with this article is that it argues there were high expectations for Mr. Mueller's testimony. I don't think there were. For anyone paying attention to his reluctance to appear before the House committees, the general expectation was that for the most part Mueller was going to stick to the "four corners" of the report.
2
@NKM
Trump keeps committing High Crimes and weakening the Constitution. The only other issue that compares is the one that put him in power, corporate corruption of the media and the two parties.
Michael Cohen, Trump's personal fixer, said under oath that he is afraid Trump will never leave office voluntarily. Trump keeps talking about multiple terms in office, being president for life, and equating that to king.
But centrists are too busy calling those that fight for Justice (the second noun in the Constitution after We the People) extreme for wanting to givers all Americans health insurance, while the Republicans take the side of the hostile nation attacking our elections.
These guys are adhering to Putin, and you think saying that to the People will lose you the election?
Centrist Democrats are Republicans in sheep's clothing telling you to surrender at every opportunity to a Party full of traitors that have been saying that Our government is their "enemy," for over fifty years.
How can a party let the opposition party call our government the "enemy" for fifty years and NEVER use that against them.
The Constitution takes power from the 1% and spreads it to the rest off the People. The Right are a bunch of royalists who believed that the world belongs to the rich and the rest of us are here to be their private servants.
For ten thousand years they enslaved us and taxed us to create their luxurious lifestyles.
The GOP wants to
MAKE AMERICA GROVEL AGAIN.
2
What was needed were hard-nosed and seasoned questioners (i.e. those experienced in the art of cross-examination). What we got instead was the usual grandstanding - fully expected from the GOP, but a missed opportunity by the Dems. It was lame and farcical . . .
2
Perhaps one can harbor two thoughts simultaneously.
1. An elected official who conspired with the nation's most dangerous and committed adversary to put money in his pocket and to deprive the American people of their right -- alone -- to decide who will govern them, and who then obstructed the investigation of the conspiracy, should not govern the American people and should instead be removed from office before the end of her or his stolen term, regardless of the pendency of the next election.
2. An elected official whose every act to acquire and to retain power is to divide and conquer, lamentably on racist grounds, should be defeated at the ballot box regardless of the pendency of legal and/or impeachment proceedings against her or him.
These thoughts may be mutually exclusive in New Haven, but not, it is hoped, elsewhere.
277
@Robert Yarbrough
Sorry, Mueller didn't find any evidence that the Trump campaign conspired/colluded/whatever? with the Russians. Just give it up. Blame Hillary not Russia.
24
@James
Sorry, I'll stand with House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff:
"Constrained by uncooperative witnesses, the destruction of documents and the use of encrypted communications, [Mr. Mueller's] team was not able to establish each of the elements of the crime of conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt, so not a provable crime, in any event. But, I think, maybe, something worse. A crime is the violation of a law written by Congress. But disloyalty to country violates the very obligation of citizenship, our devotion to a core principle on which our nation was founded, that we, the people, not some foreign power that wishes us ill, we decide, who shall govern, us."
68
@Robert Yarbrough
Of course you will. It's easier than actually being honest about the facts. I understand that the Dems are desperate and have been making promises about what the Muller Report would show since the beginning of this charade. Blaming Russia is much easily than blaming Hillary for running such a poor campaign.
20
Too many people have invested their careers in the collusion delusion to just let it go. The liberal hacks who were truly in charge of the “Mueller” investigation were banking on bringing down the president to get cushy jobs for life at Skadden Arps and Jones Day. Too bad. All it shows is how utterly corrupt the legal profession has become.
13
OMG!! Does this mean that whining on social media is not enough?? Can it be that people will actually have to tear their attention away from their mobile devices and go vote?? How (gasp) 20th century!! How quaint!!
4
It is alarming that nobody seems to be asking a question that Mueller’s hearing, and specifically the Republicans’ parts in it, begs: if Trump loses the 2020 election, and refuses to accept the result, what evidence do we have that the Republicans in Congress/the Supreme Court won’t stand behind him?
From what I’ve seen, I believe Trump will call foul if he loses, and his cronies will back him up. What then? What’s the plan if that increasingly likely outcome transpires?
3
@Cooper Cohen oh, please, don't be ridiculous. Presidential results have been contested before. But if you think that once the vote is certified and if (in the unlikely chance) Trump loses he won't leave office? Please -- what if little green men from mars (or somewhere else) land on earth and take over in late nov 2020 because they think we aren't doing a good job.
You know who refuses to accept election results? The dems. They won't let go of 2016.
12
I do hope you’re correct... if I’m correct, it won’t be a proud day for me, nor for America.
Trump has already said he plans to contest any election loss, and if you do just a bit of research, you’ll find video of him saying as much. I doubt you will do the research, though.
1
Trump has said in the past that he may not accept election results.
In 2016 we had hacking and actually got more votes than your guy. If you are offended we think we should win when we get more votes - sorry not sorry
I only watched the morning session but it was compelling testimony even though it did not qualify as a superbowl televised event. I found Mueller’s presence sober, discreet, and clear under the circumstances. Sadly, we are no longer able to connect with the truth just because it is not packaged in glitzy wrapping.
For me, impeachment seems to be the only logical and legal response even if politically risky.
And once over, the the president and his Republican machine cranked up immediately
into a spin of gaslightling lies.
Congress, do your duty and let the chips fall as they may.
5
The truth is, ANY of the democrats running for POTUS in 2020
would be a better president than 45. These are very shallow waters. The exact same existed among the Republican candidates in 2016! Everyone is flawed but Trump is something we have never experienced before, seriously, demonically, stupidly, recklessly. The village drunk would do less harm. The next election will speak to whether or not we even DESERVE
better. And there's every reason to believe that we don't!
3
Blaming liberals and progressives for being angry that the Mueller report didn't move us futher towards impeachment is ludricous. Trump's high crimes and misdemeamors are out in the open for all of us to see. The lack of outrage by republicans, and academic practitioners such as you is appalling. Mueller's report is only one item in a long list of his crimes that should have led to impeachment long ago. That you condone the "maneuvering" by conservatives, republicans and other MAGA cultists shows that you miss the point,and care not at all for the rule of law. Shame on you.
7
The Democrats, with their addiction to the Mueller report, and now the terrible infighting (Camilla Harris should be ashamed for attacking Biden), are doing everything they can to reelect Trump.
3
@Michael Judge if Biden cannot dish it out with Harris, he stands no chance at all with Trump.
1
Kamala Harris
Trump is a bad man, a dishonest man, a man who has no respect for the people of this country. But he longs for the spotlight, the feeling of importance that receptive audience gives him. He has seriously cultivated celebrity and the skills of an entertainer even while he was failing to live up to numerous business agreements and relying upon saviors to rescue his from insolvency. He knows how to make people feel like he's someone they admire and who knows them intimately.
The Mueller Report did not make the case for impeaching Trump, but it more than laid the foundation for further inquiry into what this man's conduct as President is actually motivated by promoting private interests and so failing to fulfill his oath of office. If there are high crimes and misdemeanors, that's where they are. And there are indications from his rather odd choices of behavior to indicate that that might be the reason.
1
It's the vote, guys.
And once you win, blast that darn Electoral College to bits,
stop the life tenure at the Supreme Court, and get rid of gerrymandering.
And, oh, by the way, do give the poor what the rich have stolen.
4
If the only thing that will save America is us then we are finished. Our society no longer has the fortitude, the integrity, or the grit to overcome Bozo the President. As long as their 4G or WiFI are not interrupted no one cares about much else.
3
@arusso sadly I agree. I’ve seen those 40% who support Trump and they are everywhere.
2
The problem is not just Trump supporters. Americans do not seem to be willing to exert themselves at all to change this awful situation. Voting, a right that people fought and died for, is ignored and not utilized by a huge percentage of our apathetic population. Because it costs so much to run for office the best activists do not wind up in Congress or in the White House. Yet we do not take decisive action to get corporate and dark money out of political campaigns and politics. The Glaciers are melting, the planet is scorching, and we are all glued to our phones. I wish we could take a lesson from the people of Puerto Rico and the people of Hong Kong and stand up for ourselves.
2
"The Only That can Save America is US"?
I happen to be a supporter of the current administration thank you very much. I have more money in my pocket and we're not sending sons and daughters off to fight senseless wars. President Trump is not perfect but I have seen one that is.
Why doesn't the NYT ever have anyone doing an opinion piece supporting the president. I really don't understand.
6
@John S.
Trump is right on small businesses, prison reform, war and immigration. That's more than I can say for all those hand-raising Democratic presidential contenders, combined.
3
@John S. The fact that you don’t understand why the NYT does not do an opinion piece supporting Trump says it all.
Professor - Can you please make an argument based on History and Law, rather than opinionate using the twin tools of sarcasm and incredulity?
2
What you don't get is that you have blown it. Your refusal to accept the fact that Trump won and then literally allowing your Trump Derangement Syndrome to run wild has blinded you to the fact that with all this you have guaranteed Trumps reelection.
There is a huge backlash coming for Democrats in 2020. Your only hope is that it does not take a generation to rebuild what you allowed the maniacs to destroy.
7
The Democrat’s charade came stumbling down, loudly. It serves them well. Unfortunately their latest circus act made Mueller look pathetic. But this ongoing show has shown to the American voters that the current democrat cabal in Washington doesn’t care about the real and present problems of American citizens. Their irrational hate for Trump has made the democrats lose touch with the American reality. Sad to see they continue to pave Trump’s re-election.
7
Funny you should mention our one form of power as "majority rule"...
Is it?
1
What Democratic fantasy? The NYT and every other media outlet is describing a HUGE disappointment. Monkey see, monkey do - one source / opinion will travel. I do not believe the Democrats imagined Mueller was going to behave any differently than he did. They merely hoped that the report would have more meaning if the public heard Mueller directly. Mueller said Trump lied. Among other things, Mueller said the Trump campaign was happy to use Russian help and that that was unethical and illegal. Not once have I seen a direct quote from a Democrat who expressed distress or disappointment. Headlines that are born of assumptions and editorializing have got to end or my subscription will end.
3
Let's test the seemingly less than intuitive theory that an impeachment inquiry will be of political benefit to the target of the inquiry.
I personally think it's a bunch of hooey and if the Dems don't use the information they have from the Mueller report because his testimony wasn't exciting enough for the American public, then that's congressional malpractice.
Problem#1- McConnell and the Republican majority in the Senate.
Problem#2- Trump's staff consists of his daughter and his son-in-law- and Pompeo. That's it. No organizational skills.
Problem #3- religious extremism
Problem#4- it's so easy to "go low". It doesn't really require that much effort, and reaps huge rewards. (History lesson #101)
Problem#5- Money is more important than the law.
AND ONE POINT "we" never make- What and who is Melania? A piece of luggage? A useful accessory, like a nice tie clip or a pair of cuff links? She's supposed to be the love of his life, his lawfully
wedded wife. What IS their relationship? Where does his money go if he dies? I wondered about this the other day, and the starkness of the space between them is so deep and wide that don't the "family value" folks even stop to think about what kind of nuclear family we're talking about here? Is she so unimportant to Trump that it wouldn't even matter if she was to suddenly return to living in Slovenia, hanging out with her friends? What can Trump actually offer her of any real value? This could be a useful issue to bring up, and keep bringing up, as we go forward. What does Trump feel deep affection towards? What does he really care about (aside from his own reflection)? We must make every effort to find out what that is- especially prior to election day.
1. Sober and well-informed observers and commentators said all along that Mueller would not accuse Trump of a crime, but rather leave a trail of crumbs for others to follow. He did this quite well.
2. Mueller's performance on Wednesday showed me what many had predicted: no way Mueller was going to get dragged into the impeachment rassling match on the pro-impeachment side, thereby proving the Fox-Trump alt-reality line that Mueller and his colleagues were the real deep state villains all along, intent on upsetting our democracy by defying the will of the people.
3. Trump is not going to be removed from office by impeachment, thanks partly to Mueller's caution. If Trump is to be removed, it MUST be as a result of overwhelming rejection at the ballot box, period. Any other hoped-for outcome is Land of Rainbows and Unicorns stuff.
4. Keep in mind, however, that Trump could win the Electoral College vote while losing the popular vote by 5%. So a Democrat victory by 5.1% of the popular vote and 8 electoral votes would be quite acceptable, and, indeed, sufficiently 'overwhelming'.
3
"Does the “resistance” really believe it can win the next election by depriving American voters who are angry at elites of the protest candidate they elected?"
Is this what the author thinks was the impetus for Trump's victory: the elites? Really? A billionaire and former star of a popular reality show doesn't qualify as an elite? Trump claimed during the campaign he was always a winner. Isn't that what elites do? Isn't that what defines them as elites?
Isn't it really the case that Trump was running against "those people," liberals and the disadvantaged people they support (who are anything but elites)? Wasn't Trump's presidential campaign defined by the usual anti-government Republican pablum, with not-so-subtle racism added to the mix? Haven't researchers concluded decisively that Trump's appeal was really about racism and not economic distress? Isn't anti-elitism really just thinly disguised anti-liberalism?
6
Sounds like the author is from the Bill Barr Sovereign Presidents Society, a fan or member of the Federalist Society. And , of course, the 1000+ prosecutors who said an indictment was a no- brainer are all sadly mistaken.
8
@Johnnyd, Yep. I got that feeling too. An acerbic cynical amendment to Trump's inauguration address...But I still think a shoe from 10,000 feet will land. Plenty of unaware undecided people were schooled and listened. Amash's town meeting revealed the lack of knowledge and shock of his constituents. Woke some people up. Brave man Amash showed some guts and broke ranks with the GOP languishing in the Trumps poppy fields and put America and the Constitution first. Trump is as we breath, impeaching himself unless someone locks his phones in a safe,and halt the scorched Earth flyby's before he boards the helicopter. Impeach vs. prison? hmmmm....
Impeachment was the trap that republicans hoped the house democrats would fall into. Thanks to Mueller that won’t happen. Impeachment was always too good for mr. trimp; he should go to prison. Mueller made clear, and most importantly, that he can be indicted as ex-president, which is what worries, nay terrifies, him.
5
This is not a “Meuller Fantasy”. This is a crescendo of political corruption that is more than fantasy. The Investigation by the special counsel team uncovered only the tip of a very extensive iceberg of political and financial corruption and moral depravity.
4
One of the most frustrating aspects of Mueller's passivity, was his lack of fighting back, or even replying to every single Republican
attack, which were not on the validity or the report but on it's origin, or the email of the investigator who was removed, etc etc.
Or even of the lack of the Democrat response (with one exception) to these attacks. The Republic attacks were so obviously for their corrupt 'leader', I could only view them--Jordan, etc with disdaib,
2
I am surprised by Mr. Moyn's take away from the Mueller hearing. The Special Counsel said his report did not exonerate Trump. When asked by Adam Schiff if aiding a foreign adversary is unpatriotic, Mueller said yes and it is also a crime. When asked by a Republican if Trump could be indicted when he left office, Mueller said yes which implies that we have a felon in the White House. Those statements in addition to many others are damming for the president.
I am not sure if Mr Moyn and I watched the same hearing
3
Ok, so maybe nobody is coming to save us and we have to face the fact that we have to be the change. I could live with that if I thought that the election of 2020 was going to be played on a level field, but I fear that Trump, the GOP, and Russia will even further taint the electoral process and that only a massive upheaval of the body politic will produce the needed purging of Trump and the GOP senate from office. As such, continuing the investigations might yield enough evidence of wrongdoing and corruption to produce the requisite disgust with this horrific regime.
1
It was really a shame. The upshot of everything is we won't indict Trump because it isn't the "policy" of our government to apply the law to everyone. But it is worse. Assuming Trump loses next year and the government is "free" to indict him, it probably won't because everyone in Washington will determine it would be "unseemly" to try an ex-President for criminal activity. And everyone will say let's just be thankful we are rid of him and move on. He will get away with everything bad he did as he has all his life.
And this precedent will encourage all Presidents to come - ten years, twenty years even fifty years from now to do whatever they like in office because they too will get away with it. That's the ultimate tragedy for the United States.
3
They will let him slide as long as apathetic voters keep electing the same representatives
I am 66 years old and over my adulthood have largely voted for Democrat candidates. Also, I am not a fan of Donald Trump. However, this incessant Democrat chant of impeachment is tiring. It is time for House Democrats and their supporters to put-up or shut-up. Impeachment is a political process. Although it is predicated on a President having committed high crimes and misdemeanors, it requires neither a criminal indictment nor conviction. That the Democrats might be playing this more for political advantage/advancement than any actual desire to impeach Trump is truly disheartening. As the author of this article notes, if Democrats have any hope of beating Trump in 2020, they had best get off their duffs and advance a meaningful national political agenda....one based on the possible, not the aspirational. Prior to the 2016 Presidential election I was certain that the Republican Party was soon to assigned to the dustbin of history. Trump, pretending to be a Republican, saved that party from itself. Today, I believe the Democratic Party might be destined for that same dustbin. It is its own worse enemy.
6
It’s clear from Republican talking points and right-wing media response to Mueller’s congressional testimony, that they’ve adopted the Bill Barr approach to spin. And the mainstream media, ever trying to be even-handed, simply repeat their rubbish for days until realizing too late that they’ve been duped again. Even the reasonable-sounding Mr. Moyn, who is misdirecting and telling us up is down and that really there’s nothing to see here, so please be quiet and wait for the results of the next Russian-rigged election, also seems to have adopted this pathology. No doubt the Democrats have misplayed their hand, and have let this game of Trumpian whack-a-mole go on for too long, but that’s no reason to ignore obvious truths and his treasonous misdeeds. Those of us hoping for an honest discussion of the facts of the investigation are once again plum out of luck
Trump has been a deceptive and unreliable person for his entire adult life. He has failed to live up to his words thousands of times and sued because of that. Few business people go bankrupt and it’s rare for anyone to do so four times without some intent to cheat creditors. His legal filings for taxes and bank loans always contradict the values of the same assets. There is clear probable cause for investigation into fraud but he has never been so investigated. This all tells you something about Trump, he is clever and vigilant enough to never have been criminally prosecuted. He knows how to get away with cheating people with the worst outcome being paying them money.
Those who are honest, mistrust him because he continually misrepresents the truth without shame. The people who defend and support him think that he is going to enable them to have things which would be near impossible for them to get on their own. Classic con-game arrangement.
If the Congress looks carefully, they will likely see Trump has used his office for personal gain and at the price of sound decisions in terms of our national interests. That’s not illegal for the President but it could be high crimes and misdemeanors for impeachment.
1
Mueller did pretty much what he said he'd do, nothing more, and nobody should be surprised. None of my left-leaning friends thought anything more would come out of it. Mueller is known as being thorough, and everything he found out during his tenure as special counsel was in the report. I'm rather sorry that we, the American people, put him through it. Next time he's asked to step into such a job, he, or someone else with his qualifications, may just decide to pass on the offer to a job that may have no end.
That said, I was encouraged to see a right-leaning newspaper in my area, The Daily News, put the Mueller quote, "Trump not exonerated" on the front page. That actually seemed to gotten Trump to shut his face for a day. Despite this, I expect Trump to re-start his "Witch-hunt, Part 3,012" soon.
While there are certainly many things to see here, I suggest we move along now, folks. At least until he's out of office, when it sounds like he's fair game for indictment. Regardless, I'll feel giddy if America is smart enough to make him a one-term blunder. Fire the liar in 2020.
1
Trump is unfit for the Office of the President. That said, for the past few decades who has been fit? What we witnessed with the election of Donald Trump was the rejection of our Power Elite by a very large percentage of Americans. They were willing to cut off their nose to spite their face.
The pat “Elite” response is to patronizingly opine that voters are not voting their interests. Well, if one does not trust or feels betrayed by the elites’ their opinion hardly matters.
The Democratic leadership has been exceptionally good at grasping defeat from the jaws of victory. Due to their arrogance they are at risk of repeating the 2016 outcome.
@Rick
"What we witnessed with the election of Donald Trump was the rejection of our Power Elite by a very large percentage of Americans. They were willing to cut off their nose to spite their face. "
The "Elite" response is to accept that nose as a gift and opine that it's evidence of rampant racism and "privilege" because it doesn't have the requisite wide nostrils.
"They have to beat him on their own----." Thank you ! But, that will not happen with far left wing candidates. A win is so easy: nominate a moderate and have a moderate platform. Voters will flock to it, and we will be rid of the calamity we now have. But, alas the power brokers do no get it or would just rather be power brokers though losers. We will get stuck with one of the AOC candidates, and voters the majority of which can not stand the left wing agenda, will hold their noses and vote for Trump.
1
I really do not understand how this column warranted publication. Sorry. Those of us liberals who watched the hearings saw pretty much what we all expected.
3
President Trump is "an exasperating president." That's a kind assessment.
1
The big difference between Trump and Nixon is that Nixon tried to keep secret what he did and many people already had an opinion of him as dishonest. When Watergate came to light it fit the opinion that many already had of "Tricky Dick" and thus the Republicans were ready to impeach him when enough damaging evidence came out. The difference with Trump is that he makes no secret of what he does and doesn't even act as though his actions are misdeeds. He has no sense of guilt the way Nixon did and acts as though what he does is simply a normal way of doing things so the public sees it as normal and not as a misdeed. As one example, he never made a secret of welcoming the assistance of the Russians so many do not see that set of actions as problematic. Only someone who thinks deeply about American government sees it as a problem which unfortunately most people do not. Trump has a way of openness that many see as refreshing even when he is talking about things that in terms of the Constitution and American history are horrible. The reason that the Mueller Report and hearings did not ignite the impeachment movement is because there wasn't anything in there that had not already come out through Trump's own mouth. Mueller could have dramatized his findings and created an impeachment road map for the Democrats but he declined.
1
This is one of the most well-written Opinion pieces I have read for a long time. Lines such as “Does the “resistance” really believe it can win the next election by depriving American voters who are angry at elites of the protest candidate they elected?” gets at the heart of the issue, the reality of the situation, and the election politics in one strategic sentence... kudos to Mr Moyn and to the NYT for printing this kind of quality writing.
2
Your headline is minimally irresponsible. Try Netflix if you need a thriller. Mueller delivered 400+ pages of factual text. If you cannot respect that work, grab something hot from David Pecker.
3
To me, the frustrating thing about Mueller's Report is that its insufficient evidence can't remove the oaf-scourge president from office now.
However, the more I've contemplated my angst, the less it's aggravated me. Why?
Because, when you really think about it, voting Trumpty Dumpty out of office by the Millions will be much more satisfying than having merely to observe a few hundred congressmen impeach the imp.
4
It’s not that the evidence is insufficient, rather, the will of Congress to act on the abundant evidence is insufficient. The Senate lacks the will, because they enjoy to status quo too much, being oligarchs, just like Trump and his puppet master Putin. Impeach! now, or swing far left later.
1
R*C, very good point.
"Impeachment referral" Perhaps there's no such thing in the prosecutorial rule book But Mueller's report documented with substantial evidence 10 instances of obstruction of justice committed by Donald Trump while President. Around 1000 former prosecutors have said that for anyone there was more than enough evidence in that portion of the report to back a multiple count indictment for obstruction of justice. What has prevented that from happening, it appears, is the Justice Dept's policy memo on the subject, the force of whose logic is that in the case of a sitting President the remedy is impeachment first, then indictment. Apparently Mueller adhered to this policy, and so framed his report in order that another form of legal process could be set in motion. It is clear now that it should have happened as soon as the report came into the hands of the Congress. The fact that Nancy Pelosi and the so-called savvy strategists in the Democratic leadership decided to wait until public opinion called for impeachment is the reason we continue to have someone as President who likely would be convicted of multiple felonies were he tried for what he did. Its not too late. An election will not answer whether or not our laws have been broken. Making a judgment about that its not a question of poliical tactics.
obviously you focused on watching and did not pay careful attention to listening to mueller's committee hearings. if you had, you would have heard that when republican buck asked mueller if the president could be indicted for obstruction of justice after he left office he simply and emphatically said "yes;" just for your edification, he was asked and responded with a yes to that question twice!
furthermore, mueller made it very clear that the russians had a very strong affect in the election of trump and trump and his campaign were more than happy with their help. in fact, he stated that russia and others were up to being involved in the 2020 election now. and mueller found trump's gleeful love of the articles that wikileaks put out, with russia's stealing various democrat emails, "problematic" being an understatement.
plus, when asked if he exonerated trump he clearly said no. he also emfatically stated no to both of trump's continual lies that the investigation had been a "witch hunt" and a "hoax."
i think you should pay attention to the short responses carefully before you declare that mueller's testimony came "crashing down"; hardly.
4
I think you should read this article again.
There was not a "game to be played" but a story to be told. And the Democratic House Leadership decided not to tell the story. As any first grader can tell you, the simple way to tell the story is to begin at the beginning, go through the middle, and end at the end. Instead, the Democrats chose to begin at the end, then after lunch, head to the beginning. Not only was the organization cockeyed, they completely ignored Mueller who made it quite clear he would not, or could not, address the substance of his report, BUT he was anxious to talk about Russian interference (the beginning of the story). And in fact, that's how the day went. He stammered in the morning, but was coherent and clear in the afternoon. The House Democratic Leadership, looking at you Ms. Pelosi, should be held accountable for this disaster. Like the author, you took impeachment off the table.
@Mark Rabine:
Another Republican posing as a "Democrat" trying to convince people that Pelosi is the real problem
Marcia Clark didn't kill Nicole, Mark - OJ did
Funny how you are so quick to blame Pelosi, but conveniently gloss over the reasons why you think she should impeach
Democrats accepted Muller conclusion's that evidence did not establish the existence of a conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign because thee conspiracy theory was implausible. Russia views Hillary Clinton as anti-Russia and would have worked to prevent her from becoming president regardless of who ran against her. No conspiracy was required.
But Democrats hoped Mueller might conclude that the president committed obstruction in an effort to cast off the cloud of suspicion that hung over his presidency.
The Muller report lists 10 incident it investigated as possible obstruction. It presents exculpable as well as culpable evidence of each incident. During Wednesday’s hearing, the Democrats read only the culpable evidence around, but the exculpable evidence is as powerful or more powerful than the culpable evidence. This is why the Justice Department concluded the evidence does not support prosecution for obstruction.
For example, the Mueller report says that Trump changed his mind about firing Mueller after Chris Christie warned him it would be perceived as obstruction and would cost him the support of congressional Republicans. No jury would convict someone of obstruction for deciding not to commit an act that might be construed as obstruction.
2
The Russians intended to interfere and neither Trump nor anyone in his campaign let on. Now how would you feel if your neighbors saw someone peering into your house through the windows, confronted that person and found out that he wanted to see what you had and what might be good to steal, but never told you?
1
@Casual Observer
There is no evidence that members of the Trump campaign were aware of Russia's effort to interfere in the 2016 election until they read about other Americans. A Maltese professor told George Papadopoulos the Russia had dirt on Clinton but he didn't bother passing on the remark to the Trump campaign he though the runner unimportant.
1
The ignorance of the president is not exculpatory evidence, just as ignorance of the law does not prove innocence. Trump very clearly obstructed justice. The GOP senate now obstructs justice, and is complicit, defending his actions with lies. Trump’s every word shows he is afraid the world will find out he is a fraud. Too late! we all know it. Only some of us are also frauds, who think we can profit from that fraud. Others know fraud when we see it, and know that such grand fraud will bring us all down. The corresponding correction, when the pendulum swings back, will be nothing like Obama. It will be real revolution.
True long-time Democrats realized the truth of this opinion piece long ago.
But the Democratic party is no more. It has been hi-jacked by the radical left.
Thomas Edsal's recent column showed how the last election would have resulted in Trump going back to hosting a reality TV show except that Sanders' supporters didn't vote for Clinton.
Have they learned? No.
They, and the radical left, are doing it again. Except this time there is an added wrinkle: They are telling us long-time Democrats who have kept this country sane for 50 years that we are as much of the problem as is Trump, that we are just "Republican-lite."
And that if we really "cared" or were "smart enough" we would see their wisdom. Yeah, right.
Be ready for another 4 years of Trump.
4
Democrat or Republican, people will vote to throw this criminal administration out, to fix our obsolete US Constitution, to bring our government back in line with our values. The grifter in the whitehouse is a momentary blip in the long arc of justice.
Trump can win again in 2020 despite any of the obstruction of justice findings in the Mueller report. His supporters will reject them and see him as a victim of Mueller and the Democrats. He will inevitably include the "exonerating" report in the litany of his proven 2016 strategies. It is a welcome addition to his other successful marketing tools: the great economy, the threats of immigration and socialism, the disappearance of jobs to China, and just about "all things Obama" among others.
The unwavering support of Trump's bamboozled loyalists, the super wealthy who remain endeared to him for his tax cuts and the unwavering allegiance of the Evangelicals and Republicans make Don a formidable opponent to any Democratic candidate with or without the findings of the much touted and controversial Mueller report.
Trump is clearly counting on the report to backfire on the Democrats confident that he would never lose any part of his base (as always) nor be indicted. So what's next already? The political stakes must be daunting for Nancy and crew as they try to figure out how to move forward. Time is of the essence and the public is tired of dragging this out. Don has already figured out how to use it as a powerful new marketing tool for victory in 2020. His "No collusion, no obstruction of justice" mantra is now ingrained in the minds of his supporters and will stay there until the election. Nothing the Democrats will finally do will erase that in the minds of millions.
2
Immediately after the Mueller Report was released, Mr. Mueller told us that the report was his testimony, i.e,"read it and see what I say". The various committees prodded him to go to their hearings and he said his report was his testimony. But he went to the hearings and answered the questions in monosyllables and perfunctory sentences. Same as the report. We were not satisfied.
But he repeated his main evidence -based accusation and it was about Russia hacking our elections "as we sit here today" Why doesn't that resonate with us?
When I first heard this several months ago, I had chills of fear. Now I have fear chills because of our non-reaction to Mr. Mueller's statement.
If we want this man out of our lives and off our devices, VOTE him out in 2020. That's where our power lies.
2
If this were a matter of trying to remove Trump because of a policy decision or a particular, even peculiar, personality quirk, I would agree with the author. But the matter before us is whether the sitting President of the United States knowingly accepted assistance from a foreign government (which is belligerent to the United States, Russia, and actively succeeded in undermining our voting systems in all 50 states) in order to win the presidency. Also, did the same person, Trump, also actively obstruct justice during the investigation of the alleged acceptance of the known voting interference. These matters are fundamentally legal, in nature, because they are potentially criminal offenses. I’m sorry if this doesn’t fit on a bumper sticker or it involves a person to concentrate more than a few seconds on the obvious connection between these events and the sitting President, but it is a potential violation of The Constitution and should be pursued by the DOJ and the Legislative Branch in accordance with rules set for running the country in the same Constitution.
This idea that it’s only a liberal fantasy or a small esoteric issue for discussion at Chardonnay parties in Berkeley or the Upper West Side to hold the sitting President accountable for his potentially criminal behavior, is the height of white privilege at best and infantile at worst.
A number of House Democrats in 2016 and 2017 states that Trump was an illegitimate President; they were correct.
2
The article is far more thought-provoking than its title suggests. And it hits like a slap in the face, as if designed to shock us back to our senses so that we can get to the business of saving our Democracy.
1
It's actually worse than Mr. Moyn describes: The Democrats have emboldened and energized Trump's base. I just spent a few days in Appalachia late this week, and people are ecstatic! The hotel had Fox News on this morning, and the atmosphere was downright festive.
The biggest problem is that most GOP representatives are doing a good job of representing their constituencies. They know full well that they dare not impede Trump or they won't get reelected. Meanwhile, the delusions of Democrats are making reelection a whole lot easier by reinforcing Trump's crazy claims.
3
@hammond
The GOP knows its constituents. They knew how unhappy certain Americans were over the changes Obamacare made to their health insurance. Since the democrats denied all problems, the GOP wound up doing all the listening. They ran against Obama -- and Obamacare -- in that midterm and decimated democrats.
Now democrats are equally tone deaf on the "racism" charges. Trump is rude and crude. He exaggerates like the biggest braggart. He says whatever comes to mind. But he is not a racist. Racists don't help African-Americans get out of prison early, they put more in. Racists don't worry about African-American unemployment.
This could very well be the democrats' new Obamacare. And I don't mean that in a good way.
2
Trump’s base is a minority, and very base indeed, growing smaller and more base daily. Trump LOST the popular vote by some 2.87 million votes, but won the election thanks to the electoral college, the broken US Constitution, and Russian meddling. Is justice a fantasy? DOJ “rules” on indicting a sitting president are a nightmare. That’s why Congress needs to impeach in the House, and convict in the Senate. Except, the Senate oligarchy (GOP) will not convict, because they lack all conviction, and value their unjust undemocratic advantage in the electoral college too much. That’s why we need to amend the US Constitution, to make it democratic. Puerto Rico has the right idea: we need mass demonstrations calling for Trump and GOP senate resignations!
1
Of course the right wing anger at the elites is based on lies and half truths. This is the problem, people sealed off in the right wing media ecosystem are fed a steady stream of lie and half truths to get them angry at Democratic politicians, climate scientists, liberal arts academics, and mainstream media journalists. When Washington actually worked everyone basically had the same sources for news such as the network evening news, 24-hour radio news stations, and magazines like Time and Newsweek. But the right wing created a strategy to take power which included think tanks and media outlets which it has tuned out have not only provided the news but also plenty of lies and misinformation. The Democrats cannot dismantle the right wing media ecosystem which if they did would be the end of Trump. So they cannot get at the source of the problem, the wide dissemination of lies about immigrants, climate change, etc, but can only deal with indirectly by trying to get enough votes among those outside the right wing media ecosystem. There are enough potential voters to defeat Trump but there is not that much room for error.
1
What’s laying outside of the right-wing ecosystem is completely decided. Unlike the rights devoted army that would go to any extent to stick it to “the libs,” the rest is spread from independents to far right that are not willing to give up their primary motivation (jobs, climate, lgbtq, illegals etc) not support others candidate (ala Bernie crowd in 2016)
We made this bed and Trump recorded tapes on it ...
It has always been something a pipe dream that collusion with the Russians would end Trump's presidency. The first problem is that, rather than be angry or concerned that the Russians got Trump elected, his base and most of the GOP would send the Russians flowers and kisses. They got what they wanted and who cares how it happened? In today's world, that's all that matters.
Second, highlighted by Mueller and before that, Comey, the executive branch is responsible for investigating itself. The FBI may have honest and ethical men who believe in their soul that they work for the American people but the bottom line is that they work for the Attorney General, who is appointed by the president and a member of his inner circle.
What has kept America going as a government is not the Constitution, but a commitment to a certain civic virtue, perhaps as a tradition of Judeo-Christian morality or maybe just a profound respect for the concept of Sovereignty of the People. I may disagree with policies or presidents but I never have for one moment felt the president did not sincerely put the interests of the country above those of himself -- until now. Trump's greatest crime is not collusion, or obstruction, or ignorance, or his lies, or even racism, it is the callous willingness and need to place himself and his ego at the top of every action. He said he could make money as president and he has. That should tell us something. (But see above for why that doesn't seem to matter).
5
"The Democrats invested everything in this issue. Well, turned out there was nothing much there. They gave Trump a huge gift. In fact, they may have handed him the next election. That’s just a—that’s a matter of being so unwilling to deal with fundamental issues, that they’re looking for something on the side that will somehow give political success. The real issues are different things." -Noam Chomsky
3
The real issue is the status quo, the oligarchic US Senate, and the obsolete undemocratic US Constitution, that installs an oligarchic grifter in the presidency.
Bob Mueller shares interpretation of constitutional law without color of party. He should not and did not apply his team's reasoning to either party.
The writer of this piece is no different than most opinion writers, he does it with his own condition applied to what constitutes truth and honesty. While one group of citizens sees clearly what has happened, another sees for themselves that political reason should take precedence over the scales of justice.
One could discern from what I note that either side could write what I do. My point is this, one would wake from a long nap in a cave and see malfeasance in the Mueller report. Its a basic matter of how one is capable in their own heart of truth and honesty. Say they are on a deserted island with a woman not their wife or a bottle of drink they are allergic to. What they do is between themselves and the God of their understanding. That is what a fair sector of our society do not care of, that the rest of us are not God but can see with clarity what has and is going on. Lies and lies about lies that go on and on.
The "plight" of the Trump supporters that you refer to is not economic, it's racial and social. There's nothing that can done to "heal" these voters. But if a Democratic nominee articulates how the system is genuinely rigged against the middle and working classes in this country, she will win.
1
@Stephen Holland how offensive. As a Trump voter I don’t need healing. I’m willing to listen to any alternative candidate or platform and my vote is there for the taking. Perhaps the current democratic platform of canceling my healthcare plan, raising top marginal taxes to 70%, handing a generation of student loan bills to my kids, banning cows and airlines - not to mention policing every word I say for “wokeness” is a bit of a turnoff.
3
Do you really think the tax cuts, a $1.5 trillion gift to the ultra wealthy was the right thing to do?
If the Democrats were truly in favor of doing those things I would agree with you. None of them is true, however, and just illuminate where you get your news.
Find out what the Democrats are truly offering before telling us how terrible they are.
The Left is mentally incapable of processing the causes that brought Donald Trump into power. This incapacity will also be the cause of their predictable failure in 2020.
20
Agree with this analysis with the caveat, that for many of us liberals we are all suffering severe bends over the rapid descend into deep pit of moral depravity. And so, some of us on the way down, are still grasping at the time honored institutional safeguards---when, as the article suggests--the only remedy is now at the ballot box, which, after Mueller's testimony, not sure that even the remains a viable option.
1
"...it became clear how tenaciously many liberals and progressives are clinging to fantasy — not just that President Trump will eventually find himself impeached and removed, but also that they can advance their values by means of legal machination rather than political vision."
Referring to impeachment as a "legal machination" is not a particularly felicitous expression of a constitutional process to remove a criminal or otherwise unfit executive.
4
It seems to me Mueller did not "write" the report.
He did sign off on it, obviously.
He was obviously not the best person to answer the questions regarding the minutia.
I have to imagine his role was akin to the president of General Motors having to answer questions about the fuel emission devices in some of the vehicles.
As executive overseer, he didn't write the report and thus was really not the "go to guy" for answers.
It's too bad he allowed the charade (that he knew all) to continue.
Somehow, the knowledge Aaron Zebley needs to brought to the front.
3
With only 21% of the country supporting impeachment, it would be wise for the Democrats to try to put together an election strategy based on policy and find a vibrant attractive candidate. It's hard enough to beat a sitting president without a solid recession or depression ongoing. Calls for impeachment are turning Trump into a folk hero.
3
Mueller, like Ken Starr and Jim Comey, is a lifelong Republican
Mueller was interviewed by the subject of his "investigation" right before being chosen and was appointed by Rod Rosenstein, another lifelong Republican
Perhaps it was folly to assume anything but an "exoneration" given this particular cast of characters, but Moyn's suggestion that Congressional oversight of the Executive Branch is "fantasy" demeans the basis of our government
2
Huff Post:
‘Robert Mueller: Court Fight Over A Trump Subpoena Would’ve Taken Too Long’
“We were almost towards the end of our investigation and we had little success in pushing to get the interview of the president,” Mueller said. “We decided that we did not want to exercise our subpoena powers because of the necessity of expediting the end of the investigation.”
“We understood we could subpoena the president,” Mueller said. “We had to make a balanced decision.”
Balance!
So, after not 1, but 2 long years, while the public waited, and the media obsessed, Mueller says he wanted to expedite the END of the investigation, so didn’t push to interview Trump?
Seems both Mueller and Pelosi use delays. They don’t want to impeach Trump. Period.
1
I agree wholehartedly wth Professor Moyn. The belief of some Democrats that further explication of the Mueller Report would produce a huge groundswell of opposition to President Trump reminds me of Charlie Brown's repeated efforts to kick a football, only to have it snatched away time after time.
Barring a near-miraculous revelation concerning Trump's unfitness for office, the way to defeat him is for Democrats to persuade the electorate that they favor policies -- on healthcare, the evironment, immigration, and other issues -- that are better for our country and its citizens than Trump's misguided approaches. The 2018 election shows that this can be done.
2
Get back to me when you have the unredacted Mueller report please, and perhaps the buried supporting documents. In the meantime your hero can please stop blocking access to everything related to this investigation? I realize he is assuming his presidency will never end, and maybe it won't. But for now let's just assume laws do still exist.
4
Mr. Moyn is wrong. Impeachment will move forward in the House. Mueller was quietly effective. He essentially testified that Trump lied in his written statement as well as lying about " no obstruction, no collusion." Part of the problem is that Mr. Moyn was the one who had been expecting Mueller to be more flamboyant not the D's.
Mueller's testimony is just one step in a process. The house is now pursuing information about Mueller's grand jury records imlying that they are necessary for an impeachment inquiry. Just remeber that pundits like Mr. Moyr are no more knowlegeable than you or I.
3
I think the Democrats were hoping for a lot more from Mueller's testimony.
Susan, ya think?
1
If the midterm election is any indicator, Americans will judge Mr. Trump with their votes in 2020.
1
Boy, if these comments don't prove his point, I don't know what could. Instead of screaming "collusion," then "obstruction," now back to "investigation," how about attempting to actually pursuade someone of your position? Liberals, whom I love and was educated by, have lost their ability and desire to pursuade.
3
I live in the a part of the US that is mainly Democratic, liberally inclined people who traditionally voted for the Democratic party. I am one of the few conservative, Republican people in my area and I do not support Trump. When the topic of the Mueller investigation comes up, I stay quiet and listen to others' opinion. I only hear "stop with the investigations and pass some bills!" or "he's being investigated by prosecutors. Congress should do its job and pass legislation!" or "find common ground with Republicans and stop this impeachment nonsense!". We are less than 18 months from an election where Trump can voted out if the Democratic party shows it is capable of governing. If not, we are in for another 4 years. What will the Democrats do then? Still try to impeach Trump?
4
The key take away from this is the fact that MOST Americans have lost faith in our Government, election process, and constituent representation. They voted for Obama hoping "change" in the failed system, but he did not deliver. Further, exposed DNC corruption colluding with many MSM networks to promote HRC while killing Bernie's momentum for the nomination and the way the Obama's DOJ handled her Criminal investigation exasperated the issue. So the non-politician enters the WH. Washington Elites & MSM are mad, but must accept responsibility. The Manipulation MUST change direction, or expect more pushback. 20% approval ratings in CONgress, and the Jerry Springer sound soundbite coverage MSM coverage has ran its course.
2
Amazing how the elite of them all somehow is the champion of those revolting against elites... I’ll never be able to understand how he gets away with it!!
Yeah, the liberals and progressives cling to fantasies. They have this fantasy that the USA is a democracy! What a howler. They fantasize that the USA is a country of laws and that nobody is above the law, not even the president, They think that a president, who has clearly broken the law, and is perhaps a traitor, should be held accountable. Hilarious!
The professor says that these progressives and liberals, and why not, Socializts? have a vision which is shortsighted. Maybe time for GOP/MAGA brand rose-colored glasses.
Not to worry. The right-wing will prevail. Not because of their values or any agenda to help the people of our country.
Their agenda is to gain and hold power by whatever means, and siphon off the treasure of the country into their pockets and those of their johns: the rich, the corporate, foreign criminals.
Instead of fantasies they have conspiracy theories that they don't believe themselves, but throw out to a gullible public. Don't worry about fantasies and vision. They have none.
5
We expected the Media and pundits and opinion egos to be distressed but the American people are more intelligent and heard between the lines. Most Media on both sides assume
we are a dim-witted bunch demanding spectacle. Oh contraire! You wanted Mr Mueller to do the work for you and that was not his assignment nor was it to act like Mr Trump, a liar and con-man who is illegitimate as a President.
Why not do good journalism instead of sensationalism.
1
Trump is guilty of obstruction at the very least. Barr aided and abetted.
No editorial pretending otherwise changes the fact that Trump should be impeached.
Why do so many Americans hate democracy?
2
The larger truth is the American fantasy has come crashing down.
Each passing day reveals the hollowness at the core of the American soul.
A bigoted, lying, con artist is the president and the streets are empty of Americans unwilling to countenance that fact.
So - you *do* countenance that.
It's at least OK enough with you that you're not doing what Puerto Ricans did when it wasn't OK with them any more.
4
@stilldana
I'd still rather live in America.
@James As I said Trump is OK with you.
Judging Mueller for not providing a dynamic and entertaining presentation is very annoying. Mueller laid out evidence America has a felon in the White House with traitorous affectation for the leader of an adversarial Country that intervened in an election on his behalf. Those are Trump's endearing qualities. To suggest the findings do not add up to high crimes and misdemeanors is a study in absurdity. Failing to impeach allows this standard of behavior to prevail, and essentially neuters impeachment as a remedy for despotism in future cases.
3
I doubt that Trump's obstruction violations if proved would amount to high crimes and misdemeanors. His campaign's involvement with Russians to the extent that they knew what Russia intended to do to disrupt our elections and to use disinformation to help Trump win is clear but since it did not rise to criminality, that cannot amount to high crimes and misdemeanors. As far as his conduct with Putin, Mohammed bin Salman, and Benjamin Netanyahu is concerned, all just happen to have been people with who Trump and his family have worked with privately in the past, roughly corresponds to his failure to represent the country's interests when it would upset these individual. His obvious racism and his continual disgraceful talk and obvious refusal to fulfill the responsibilities of the President have brought down respect for our country. But for all of that conservatives just love the heck out him.
Trump has given conservatives what the majority of citizens of this country have denied them, reactionary jurists, impunity for anti-social behavior by businesses, and infringements of personal liberties to satisfy religious right wingers and right wing anti-liberal populists.
All of this is very destructive. It makes our form of government nearly unworkable. Instead of people sharing the same basic interests it leaves us divided between a large minority who prefer an autocrat who makes the country live by their preferences or a democracy that cannot govern.
None are crimes.
If a female Fox-and-Friends lookalike read the Mueller report on TV, maybe then Americans would pay attention to the facts it contains?
2
I have read all the 123 comments so far, too tired from weed whacking to work anymore right now. I want to compliment all the writers on their thoughtfulness and passion.
It was nice try with Mueller. That dog just did not hunt. Move on.
"In 2016, our fellow citizens used their one form of power — majority rule..." Wrong. Russia used a lot of their power. You sound like my conservative in-laws. "So what if Russia hacked our election, we do it all the time, it didn't help Trump that much, and look at my 401k!" You are a bad American and a disgraceful excuse for a citizen.
1
The myth that we most of use were taught was that a group of noble men (read actually noble - not "Nobles") repelled tyranny to form a new republic, etc.etc.
How I wish that those of us who wish only so solve problems and embrace the basic learning s of our "experiment", could completely turn our back on the childish, wasteful theater perpetrated by both sides - which, to anyone who truly cares to notice, are simply machinations to preserve a status quo that should have become obsolete long ago.
We are already approaching the Presidential election year. The best course of action for Democrats certainly is to beat him in the upcoming election. Impeachment may be a somewhat obtainable goal though it’s already clear that moderate Democrats are not on board, but removal isn’t going to happen. An impeachment trial would only serve to give Trump another public forum. If you want to charge Trump, the days after he is voted out of office are the ones to target. Focus on an election win in the interim.
1
Conservatives support a bad man as President. They support is refusal to respect the limits of power upon the government. They support his complacent disregard for the consequences of his behaviors. In short, conservatives have decided that liberal democracy is not for them, but an autocrat who will impose their preferences regardless of the will of the majority happens to be just right.
The simple fact is that this country cannot operate as designed unless all agree to some basic rules, like policy decision making by majorities is going to be accepted with civility and the rights of minorities are not going to be disregarded by majorities.
2
@Casual Observer you’re correct. As a conservative I do support a bad man as President. The reason I do is simple - the Democrats have yet to nominate a single candidate who wants anything other than quasi socialist, anti growth, anti business, anti opportunity policies. And so yes - I sacrifice certain principles in voting for Trump and I do not like it. But you fail to recognize that normal, moderate, hard working Americans don’t want 70% taxes, bans on cows, government run healthcare. I could go on. Wake up Democrat’s. Come up with a plan that appeals to most of us, not just the most progressive 10%.
4
Those are just talk, no efforts by anyone to enact laws nor policies along those lines. I did notice that when Obama proposed policies which both Democrats and Republicans have approved in the past, Republicans accused him of attempting to impose European socialism upon Americans. The fact is that conservatism in American is no logger conservative, it’s old fashioned reactionary return to the 19th century politics.
1
Of course, Mr. Moyn is right.
Impeachment ultimately is a political process and judgment. There is not--and there never will be--a possibility that Trump will be removed from office. The chances of the Senate voting to remove Trump from office are similar, if not identical, to my chances of becoming shortly a tenured Yale faculty member. And it is not clear that a majority in the House would vote to impeach Trump.
An effort to impeach Trump that politically stands no chance of success would be a political blunder of the first order, allowing Trump to play his victim card and to argue that clearly there were no grounds for impeachment since was not removed, would jeopardize those Democratic members of the House serving in purple districts, would embolden Trump in ignoring Congressional requests even more (if possible) since impeachment once had failed, and might adversely affect the chances of Trump's opponent in the 2020 presidential election.
Incidentally, Mr. Mohr, nicely written as well.
3
"clinging to fantasy ... that they can advance their values by means of legal machination"
If this is the case, if legal recourse against a rogue President under any circumstance is "fantasy", why even have an impeachment clause in the Constitution ?
2
@Marion Grace Merriweather It’s not fantasy to believe that a President can be impeached and removed. It is a fantasy to believe that this President will be impeached and removed.
2
@John
There is nothing in this article to suggest that the same wouldn't be true for any other President, or for this President no matter what he did or might do in the future
He writes, "And at a moment of intense polarization in American politics, this fantasy is especially shortsighted."
So as long as politics is intensely polarized, the legal system is moot. Now ask yourself when has American politics not been intensely polarized ? 1792 ?
It's a cleverly disguised endorsement of 4 year terms of absolute rule with impunity
Trump did not win the last election, the Democrats lost it. And they are preparing to lose the next one, too. Unless Democrats can somehow convince average Americans that they represent US, and will work for OUR benefit, it no longer matters who wins.
10
@Mike Boswell And yet, we still have healthcare.
2
@Mike Boswell "Unless Democrats can somehow convince average Americans that they represent US, "
I did not get that impression watching the last debate.
Why do Democrat leaders need a "groundswell" of public support to impeach Trump? Do they think they need more support from Republicans? Not gonna happen. Besides, they have PLENTY of support from Democrats.
You were elected to lead, so lead. Impeach, or not, based on what they believe is best for this country and the Democratic party.
2
The outrage, hardly honorable, is simply rote, practiced but unconvincing and self pitying in a way that repulses rather than attracts.
5
What a great article - truly amazing that the Times would print it. There are two lines in it that are wonderfully clear and insightful
" None of this, however, excuses the deepest fantasy around the Mueller report, which is the belief that it could save the trouble of crafting a winning majority."
You have to love this. It needed to be said. If the Dems want to win in 2020, they have to actually develop a platform, elect candidates, and run campaigns. They can't rely on Mueller to do the job for them.
Secondly;
"Our gratitude toward Mr. Mueller ought to be that his poor showing as a witness will eventually force the president’s enemies to realize the uplifting truth that they have to beat him on their own."
The Dems were using this report as their main political platform, which was the ridiculous idea that Trump was effectively an agent for the Russians. It is an insane idea - and the Mueller report dismissed this notion.
Great article
17
@Randy
Guess it depends on what you mean by ‘agent.’ Why’d Putin want Trump to win if it wasn’t because he thought Trump would do things to benefit Russia? Think Putin wanted to make America great again?
Our political rhetoric has been used and abused so much that when most people hear it they feel that a con is unfolding -- and they are usually correct. The rule of law justifies forcing poor defendants to accept plea bargains whether they actually did what they are charged with or not, which allows us to cheaply fill our prisons and thereby create an illusion of safety. The separation of powers enables those with power to make governments powerless to do more than pretend to fix problems and prevent abuses; the pretending is encouraged because it serves as a coverup, as with Jeffrey Epstein's conviction last decade.
Many people expect lip service to our political platitudes, but no attempt to rock the boat by trying to make them more real. They do not even mind when the platitudes are contradicted and rejected in specific instances, or when they are incoherent or demonstrably false. The hypocrisy in the Pledge of Allegiance is an integral part of that pledge, so we recite it without thinking about it. The nation is indivisible but our side will force our will on the other side, or those of us who do not want sides will force our will on those who do.
People support the Donald if he serves their interests or goes against other interests they do not want served. They like him because he both uses and mocks our standard political rhetoric, but without the usual and standard pretense that it actually means something or is effective in the real world.
1
If Mr. Trump's naked effort to obstruct justice done out in the open doesn't bother a Professor at Yale Law School perhaps it ought not to bother other Americans either. That nail-driving case chronicled in the Mueller Report was reiterated in Wednesday's hearings by competent Members of Congress and agreed by Mr. Mueller, though without his direct say-so because of the peculiar relationship between the presidency and the law in our "constitutional" system as interpreted by the Department of Justice.
There is, however, one point which Professor Moyn has nailed, here, and it is simple: there is a convergence between the "outrageous" structure of the Electoral College and the absurd malapportionment of the U.S. Senate--between those things and the equally preposterous culture of the Democratic Party in the last 40 years.
For that long, the party has been moving away from its traditional defense of working people and families and in the direction of cultural fantasies of its sexual radicals whom the elite leadership of the party is loathe to confront or discipline. In foreign policy, the party is unable to express any effective resistance to the unilateral control of our Middle East policy by a standing consensus that blind support of Israel is the bedrock of our interest in the Middle East.
In that respect, the Democratic Party has in fact thrown away its popular base and has no one but itself to blame.
3
Prof. Moyn makes some good points about how the Democrats need to accept and embrace the need to beat Trump in the upcoming election. Even if the House were to impeach, Trump would likely remain in office since the Senate will not give him the boot. There is the possibility that impeachment proceedings would generate enough heat that Trump would be forced to resign, but I wouldn't count on it.
Prof. Moyn makes a puzzling error, though when he says that Trump was elected as the result of exercise of the power and protest of majority rule in 2016: 3 million more US voters went for Clinton rather than for Trump ... majority rule? I think not.
1
@Benjamin
Trump's critics need to give up the notion that if only they could convince more people, everyone would agree with them about Trump. And, no, this doesn't mean they should just write off all Trump supporters are racists. Somewhere in there is the truth, and they haven't found it yet.
3
I predict that this Op-Ed will not age well.
While I may not have the same high Ivory Tower view Prof. Moyn looks out from, I don't really see this "Mueller Fantasy" as a thing among the progressive rank and file. It's a convenient straw man. Is it fun to imagine Trump in a "Perry Mason" moment with a tough G-man? Sure. Mainly, though, the concern has been to understand the what and how of Trump's malfeasance and the extent of future hazard. If anything, Mueller worked assiduously to put himself in the background for the duration of his investigation. It was never about him, or any one of his staff, but the rigorous search for and analysis of evidence.
Pronouncements like Moyn's on the day after some supposedly determinative event might get a gold star from the chattering class, but they rarely square with subsequent reality. Indeed, we see that Nadler et al. are moving in a direction that could lead to impeachment, sort of a "stumbling towards impeachment" strategy. As for his other points, well, of course it's up to us. It's always been up to us.
2
The truth could not have been put more eloquently.
6
@somebody
Falsity could not have been put more eloquently.
I doubt that liberals suffer from the fantasy that Mr. Leonhardt decries; his view appears to be a fantasy of his own.
What liberals and progressives do have is a deep sense of obligation (Republicans seem to view principled obligations as "fantasies") to protect the bedrock values of American democracy -- values that Donald Trump daily wrecks in his valueless juggernaut of a presidency.
While Mr. Mueller's performance failed to rise to the production values of riveting Trumpian television and thereby no doubt emboldened Trump's base, Mr. Mueller's Oscar-losing performance (proof that just being one's self, honest and authentic, is a sure bet for low ratings) can hardly cause any fair-minded person to believe that all is now lost.
A compelling prima facie case already existed for removing this president from office. Mr. Mueller's testimony word for word only strengthened that case. Nothing the Special Counsel said, or did not say, weakened it in the slightest.
4
Correction: I mistakenly entered day-off columnist Mr. Leonhardt as the author of the article I commented on. Professor Samuel Moyn of Yale is the author.
1
"Does the 'resistance' really believe it can win the next election by depriving American voters who are angry at elites of the protest candidate they elected?"
The answer is clearly, "Yes, they do." They think they're angry? They have no idea how angry Trump's supporters are at their behavior. Think Obama, TEA Party and their response.
5
I can't wait for the movie.
1
The dems need to get a grip as this article points out, yet, members of the commentariat are still claiming here that Trump colluded with Russia and obstructed justice.
First, there was only media hysteria behind the Russian conspiracy. No evidence ever existed. What happened - the intel community under Obama issued a report saying Russia interfered to help Trump. They may have done it to help trump -- how would we know, we've never seen the evidence -- but even if they interfered to help Trump that means nothing. It may mean they simply didn't want HRC and they would have interfered to help any Repub. And we don't know if it was at the direction of the Russian government do we. Where' s the evidence. But in any case, it doesn't mean collusion.
Second -- there is no evidence of conspiracy. If you have some, please bring it forward. Even the wildest eyed loon crazy lefty has to admit they have no evidence. Schiff claimed he had evidence but he's brought it forward, has he.
Third -- obstruction is a rabbit hole. Jump down it if you want, but clearly the legal standard is you must provide evidence of guilt, the legal system doesn't require exoneration. It is innocent until proven guilty. Think it through, there was no crime, no witness were suborned or bribed, no investigations were impeded. Trump could fire Comey for whatever reason he wanted.
Just grow up folks. Democracy is not in peril. But your feelings have been hurt. There there.
6
Please tell me how Trump’s playing footsie with the Russians was patriotic in the least? I have yet to hear that argument.
@Ralphie
The obstruction verdict has already been rendered in their minds. They fail to realize that the case hasn't even begun yet.
1
@Andy Makar first, he didn't play footsie with the Russians. Until you prove that he did something unpatriotic, then his is pure and simple an example of a progressive holding on to vague hopes and dreams htat there's something there re collusion. What do you mean by footsie?
well here's what I mean by playing footsie with the Russians. First, you take $100 millions in donations to your "foundation" from Russians.
Then, you pay millions for a dossier to smear your presidential opponent that uses anonymous Russian sources. That's footsie. And don't get me started on Uranium 1.
2
Mueller did the perfectly right thing by proclaiming in May that he couldn’t say the president didn’t commit a crime. Positive as this was, my reticence about Mueller goes a step further in a different direction; choosing to shift the burdens of impeachment onto a criminal process was the first fundamental mistake in the present case. Yes, prosecutions must be and were made, but the whole thrust of the anti-trump ouster movement was doomed to failure if the criminal process swallowed the political process. And it did. Politics will most likely win out with a president with a vigorous political base controlling a national party. Instead of political strength of will, we got “reams” of speculation by ex prosecutors on TV fashioning the shape of the debate. In one of his execrable appearances, Barr stated that congress shouldn’t keep asking the criminal prosecution process to do what the political process should do. He was right, Additionally, Barr’s mendacious parsing of Mueller’s statement today reinforces the point.
These circumstances present the awful dilemma that doing the “right” and ethical sometimes subverts the greater good. It was an impossible situation for Mueller. Congress’ wanting to compel Mueller testimony continues to betray its foolish belief that there is some magic silver bullet in the prosecutor’s arsenal which would slay the demon werewolf! There isn’t; political “will” to render bold judgement about high crimes and misdemeanors is wanting.
1
I STRONGLY disagree.
It seems that he is not just criticizing the fantasy that impeachment is pragmatically possible, in today’s politics, but that the whole anti-trump mentality is an obsession, blown completely out of proportion.
He criticizes Mueller’s “soporific bearing”, or the report’s “legalistic haze”. Well, this isn’t a reality show! Are we already an “idiocracy”? Instead of more potently arguing the obvious points, he thinks we should just move on. Only sizzle sells. And Mueller didn’t sizzle.
Well, IT IS PROVEN! And in any sane world, trump should have been impeached quite a while ago. He should NEVER HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO RUN!
Disagree?
“The Press is the enemy of the People!” Or, that he’d accept the results of the election, IF HE WON! If our country had any aggregate sense of ethics and civics, that should have already been “Game Over!”. I never needed a Mueller investigation to know this.
trump is also ridiculously guilty of being in breach of the “Emoluments clause.” Am I wrong? In this case, the burden of proof MUST be on him, to show that this is not a credible allegation. Produce your taxes! This is a matter of national security.
There is so much guilt here, it’s laughable, if it weren’t. You could not write this!
This freak show has all been enabled by a complicit Republican Party. History will show what I already know is true. But, we’ll be wiping away the tears, and wondering why our country is no longer the global power that it was.
2
Trump once boasted he could shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and not lose a single supporter. I believe him.
I also believe he could shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and instantly a million columns would show up in the New York Times saying "If Democrats want to win in 2020, they need to ignore this shooting thing and focus on pandering to white midwesterners who are justifiably angry at the elites!"
6
The fantasy is the elitist notion that the jobs that once supported an upwardly mobile life, the institutions that aided in neighborhood amity and the sensible immigration policies that measured need with capacity are unnecessary and that they, the beneficiaries of globalization, are not to blame for their loss. They are. The vast electorate sees the hypocrisy, the self-appointed dictators of proper thought, the innumerable instances of academic idiocy and recoils. To the point of Trump. Yet these snotty superiors are unrelenting, unaware and unrepentant. They will be soundly beaten again and detested even more going forward.
6
Your economic problems are not caused by immigrants taking the low paying jobs that are beneath you. And Trump and his rich buddies really don’t care about whether your job pays enough.
Trump has made rules limiting overtime. He has worked against your healthcare. He is not doing anything other than talk about giving you good jobs. The only people he has showered money for n is the rich. And he is leaving it for them to trickle on you.
But he does make you feel superior to Central Americans. So you let him pick your pocket and subvert your government.
1
Not at all sure you are right, including the 6 prosecutorial offices still at work and investigator reporters.
Ever hear od SDNY, Manhattan prosecutors office, NY State prosecutors office, Penn prosecutors office, and D. C. prosecutors office?
Have you?
3
The comments mostly prove the author’s point.
10
We ignore this at what peril? POTUS has committed impeachable offenses - no doubt in my mind. He's being given a pass for whatever array of reasons. That is, we complain but take no action. Ok, fine. Fast forward to my greatest fear: Donald Trump loses in 2020. He refuses to leave office. We've already excused him all his past offenses, and there are rationales for this, so I guess we can let this one slide, too. After all, there are the mid-terms to worry about.
"And wasn't it a long way down..."
1
I cannot claim to know Nancy Pelosi's reason(s) for not champing at the bit to impeach at this time. I know only why I, in her position, would be reluctant to do so. If, say within this calendar year, Trump were impeached, convicted, and forced out of office, Pence would step into the Presidency and finish out Trump's term; along the way, he would become the Republican candidate in 2020. He could be assured of every vote from Trump's base. Somewhere in the space between Trump's base and the never-Trump voters are the disillusioned, fed up Republican voters who helped elect him but are either planning to vote for anyone-but-Trump or not vote at all. Pence, especially with some experience at the top, would be their acceptable alternative, pulling more Republicans back under the umbrella and making swing voters and independents feel it's safe to vote Republican again. I doubt the Democrats are hoping an impeachment will have that ultimate outcome.
2
Professor Moyn, Take a look at Stephen Colbert's response to the negative new coverage of Mr. Mueller's presentations. He is both funny and informative.
The law is a splendid thing -- except the part that doesn't allow conviction and sentencing, even though everyone knows the creep is guilty as sin.
3
The author believes that voting for and now supporting a man with a history of lies (birtherism) and misogyny who surrounded himself with currently indicted or jailed associates is a form of “protest” against elites. I believe the rot is deeper.
2
Although many commenters here insist that the sky has fallen and we must immediately respond appropriately. Man the barricades!
Apparently, Ms. Pelosi disagrees. She must think that we can make it till 2021 under the reins of this president.
Well, we have made it 2.5 years, not without great stress, but we are still buying, selling, and living a pretty good life, many of us anyway.
Thus, the fiery revolutionary spirit is largely dormant. But that may be historic normalcy because I've read that only about 10 percent of American colonists desired a rebellion from England. Most of us are used to mediocre to lousy results from government. Why get excited, you can't do much about it, unless you risk your life and livelihood, which few want to do.
We've got food, clothing, shelter, and Netflix. If we revolt, we may end up nothing. A bird in the hand ...
The Repubs have found that the sky is the limit: The more you grab, the more you keep. To stop this grand theft of a nation, you'll need to go all-out patriot. And we're just not there. Besides, we've got other fish to fry: We're not all political junkies living and dying with the latest out of Washington, D.C.
2
Thank you sire, some one finally got it:
‘None of this, however, excuses the deepest fantasy around the Mueller report, which is the belief that it could save the trouble of crafting a winning majority.
‘Our gratitude toward Mr. Mueller ought to be that his poor showing as a witness will eventually force the president’s enemies to realize the uplifting truth that they have to beat him on their own’.
Almost unreal to read an OP in the NYT that is not full of leftist delusions.
I’ve been saying since day one, do you want my vote? Give me a candidate that appeals to me.
Yet the Dems keep rolling out a contest of who wants to be to the left of Mother Theresa. All along while chanting that Trump is going to be burned at the stake, any day now.
That’s not how you win my vote.
You have to work at it.
6
We don’t need any rights votes in NY... you can go beck to glorifying yourself for beIng different
One of the best op-Ed’s I have read in a long time. Political parties are best at crafting strategies to win elections. When the party get distracted, whether it’s by focusing on impeachment or the Squad or the latest tweet, then the strategy suffers. Please Dems, focus on a strategy to win the 2020 election.
4
"...but also that they can advance their values by means of legal machination rather than political vision. "
It's the GOP playbook regarding the ACA.
Republican Trump appointed Republican Rosenstein who appointed Republican Mueller who said that Trump obstructed justice, (enough of a High Crime to force Nixon's resignation and Clintons impeachment), and that his Report was an Impeachment referral, because "the Constitution has a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president." Everyone knows that process is impeachment, from article II section 4. If you find another clause that explains how to accuse a sitting president tell us.
The real story is that even someone appointed at the highest levels of the Trump administration was forced by the evidence to refer evidence of federal crimes by the President to Congress. Any journalist that can't make that exciting is in the wrong line of work.
If corporate media, was actually liberal, it would be saying that Trump commits High Crimes every day. Instead they picked yesterday to pop the giant sense of expectation that they built for almost three years, without saying that Trump was accused of committing High Crimes.
Trump keeps committing High Crimes in TV, like calling for violence against American Citizens without due process, as if he were king.
The decision by corporate media to help Trump by constantly talking about impeachment without mentioning High Crimes might be the end of our Constitution.
The Press is supposed to protect the Constitution, not have ridiculous demands that investigators be entertaining.
She the Constitution.
5
"The democratic way to engage with them (Trump's base) is to seek justice for their plight . . . ."
Their "plight" has largely been that, before Trump, no national leader has been willing to enable their delusional self images at the expense of the rights of others. Good luck seeking justice for that.
8
A less insecure country with leaders of actual integrity would have impeached DJT long ago for emoluments-clause violations, if nothing else.
But we're not that country.
So it's up to the results of Nov. 2020...Russian hacking, gerrymandering, vote suppression and possible martial law notwithstanding.
5
@Diego -- very well and truly said. Our nation's woeful paradox is that it is one of the most powerful on earth, and yet also among the very stupidest.
1
So tired of these smug pundits.
Maybe this is an equally smug comment, but: following Mueller’s testimony, I scanned reader comments in many digital papers to get a sense of varying reactions.
Given the media pundits’ obsession with Mueller’s “performance” as if the day on the hill were an episode of The Bachelorette, I was heartened to read so many comments that showed;
1. respect and understanding for the constraints on Mueller that prevented open, candid expositions;
2. concerns about the substance of his testimony and the report;
3. disdain for the disrespectful conduct of Republican interrogators; and
4. alarm at the extent of the Russian cyber war on America and connections between Russian actors and the Trump inner circle - and at current foreign threats to American election systems.
The House of Representatives, investigative reporters, and law enforcement independent of the Trump administration all need to stay on the trail of the facts laid out by Mueller et al., wherever they lead.
More Americans will support these efforts and dedication to the rule of law than the pundits might think.
14
Perhaps Mr. Moyn read a different report and watched different hearings than I did, or perhaps as a historian he understands words differently than I do as a former prosecutor, who is currently a federal appellate attorney.
In response to Rep. Ted Lieu, D-CA, asking why Mueller didn't indict Donald Trump for the various obstructive acts he laid out in Volume II of the Mueller report, Mueller said that he didn't indict because he couldn't. Then, in his opening statement on Wednesday afternoon before the House Intelligence Committee, he took it all back.
We are left with Mueller refusing to read the words of his own report, repeatedly stating that his report was basically "correct", and resisting all attempts to clarify any legal element of, say, obstruction. (No normal prosecutor does any of this).
Mueller gave us the worst legalese along with the most extreme form of "Unitary Executive Theory" under which neither Congress nor the federal courts can tell a President what to do or how to do it. Mueller, like Barr and the five right-wing Supreme Court Justices, hails from the Federalist Society which has long sought to impose this doctrine of unfettered Executive power.
One cannot credibly argue for impeachment, but not for the reasons this author states. We've all seen that ours is a thoroughly corrupted system. Trump was not properly investigated, because he was never going to be properly investigated. The process is entirely rigged so that Trump cannot possibly lose.
3
@Robert B At the Mueller hearing Radcliff{?} also a former prosecutor made the point that if they decline to indict prosecutors can't imply that the person is still guilty. That is unethical. This means that Volume 2 should not have been released.
1
@h dierkes
John Ratcliffe (R-TX), is the most right-wing Congressman in the United States. That's not my opinion, it’s the results of The Heritage Action's final scorecard.
That in itself should not matter, except when you consider how preposterous it was for Ratcliff to misrepresent Mueller's refusal to draw any conclusions as to Trump’s guilt or innocence, since Ratcliffe has actually violated the US Constitution repeatedly as a prosecutor by having committed numerous Brady violations.
Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), is the landmark United States Supreme Court case that established that the prosecution must turn over all evidence that might exonerate the defendant (exculpatory evidence) to the defense. Ratcliff deliberately and repeatedly failed to disclose evidence in his possession proving that defendants he was prosecuting were innocent.
If that wasn't enough, consider that after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, Ratcliffe went on Fox News to state that FBI Director Comey was under investigation for violations of the Espionage Act. It was a blatant lie which was a pure fabrication of Ratcliffe himself.
It was Ratcliffe who had tried and failed to convince Republicans to open such an investigation, and it was Republicans (not Democrats) who killed it, calling it ridiculous.
Ratcliffe is totally corrupt and a blatant liar who will do anything to protect Trump. It is why he’s now being offered a high-level position in the Trump Administration.
1
Professor Moyn knows as well as anyone that our government rests on our common commitment to principles -- words on paper -- and always has. I suspect he'd also agree that the rule of law is among the most important of them, perhaps the most important of all. Although he minimizes the whole idea of Trump's criminality, if not the American people's stomach for it, the truth is we've been told the U.S. Department of Justice has a policy against indicting a sitting president. So what? The rule of law still holds. I hope the six-week recess that begins today will be a time of soul searching for the Congress, and that it will return to do the ugly job that desperately needs doing. Waiting until November 2020 willfully ignores that the principles involved here are the foundation of our democracy. Regardless of whether the Senate convicts, impeachment is worth the trouble.
4
@David Rountree
The Democratic Party, now the party of sanctuary cities and open borders, is in really in no position to lecture Americans on the "rule of law."
1
Impeachment enquiry is necessary to get information about impeachable offenses. It doesn't matter that the Senate stand against impeachment. What is necessary is to show how low the GOP has become and how they are willing to sell their ideals to keep hold of power. That is the only way to get those few in the middle to choose and to act upon their choice.
2
I would like to ask Professor Moyn one question: If Hilary had done all this, would she have been impeached by the Democrats and Republicans in the House? Of course she would. The Republicans would not have hesitated and the Dems, after some uncomfortable days or weeks, would have announced that in order to do the right thing by the Constitution they would have impeached, and of course she would have been removed from office by the Senate.
The Democrats believe in democracy, even if it hurts them, whereas the Republicans have no such ideals. They believe in power and their right to hold it for their own agenda.
7
Wow Mr Moyn obviously can't understand the obvious. Multiple contacts with the Russians, multiple attempts to obstruct the investigation and multiple lies. It is typical of an American malaise to use Liberal as a term of abuse. Trump deserves to be defeated on every level not because he is a Conservative but because he is deceitful and threatens world peace and survival.
6
Our Congress appears to be dominated by Republican and Democrat Neanderthals. Yes, our country, and all states has been attacked by Russia and "they are so doing as we sit here." Muller's voice may have a quiet voice but it was the Voice of Truth. Can anybody settle down and listen or read what Mueller said?
The White House and Congress are filled with angry, snarling , faces, who for whatever reason ,seem to be striving for even more power, fame, and money. They are not striving for the good of our country.
If Trump is handed a second term we can all say good-bye to the country we once knew. We may get it back but it will take decades.
Vote, people, vote.
4
I have a new fantasy. As the next Democratic President takes the oath in January 2020, Federal agents walk down the aisle to individual 1, cuff him, and walk him up the stairs and out before the start of the inaugural address.
4
Save America from what? More peace? More prosperity?
Donald Trump may not be much for ideals and abstractions, but he sure can deliver in the real world. He knows how to deal with people to get things done. Rare for politician Chief Executives. Not so rare for business CEOs turned Chief Executive.
Those who believe Donald Trump are indeed on a witch hunt. They think he should be impeached, and are just hunting for a reason. Any reason will do. They cheapen impeachment and do a disservice to us all. Criminal justice should not be made part of politics.
As for Robert Mueller, the fantasy was that he was carrying out an unbiased criminal investigation. He wasn't. No more than anyone who looks for a crime to charge someone with instead of investigating a crime that there was probable cause to believe was committed.
Perjury traps. Obstruction of justice accusations. These are all crimes that spring out of investigations. They should never be used when there was nothing to investigate in the first place.
And the Robert Mueller fantasy was that of the man portrayed by Robert De Niro in his Emmy-nominated performance on Saturday Night Live. A confident, powerful, experienced, no-nonsense prosecutor. (Like a Bill Barr.) Yet what we saw in the hearing was a frail, addled, stumbling, uncertain man who was clearly in no shape to lead any investigation.
Welcome to the real world instead of fantasyland.
4
@John Smithson
Trump delivers. That's the bottom line and why his support remains constant, despite everything they've thrown at him. The man is a machine. From tax reform to prison reform to judicial nominations. He takes a licking but keeps on ticking.
3
Funny, isn’t it, that it’s the responsibility of the president’s “enemies” to save our democracy. His “friends,” on the other hand, seem very interested in subverting it. You can judge people by the company they keep.
3
The appeal of a TV entertainer skilled in appealing to tribal tendencies in most people ,who is constantly tweeting and acting as a blowhard clown to get attention 24/7. Snake oil salesmen like Trump have to have a snazzy colorful show to sell their snake oil while an aging reluctant witness without all that snazzy TV star schtick cn state the facts and agree with what the report said . THe conclusion of the report is that Trump is unfit to hold the high office of president that he lies,conspires and may be compromised by Putin witness how he fawns over Putin and is horrified of any discussion of Russian interference in our elections as he knows its true and has his blessings.
2
Please. If it were possible to beat Trump on our own, it would have been done in 2016. You cannot beat a rabble rousing populist at the polls. No one can beat Trump because he stands for everything America stands for.
1
The House has a duty to introduce Articles of Impeachment, even if the likelihood is that the effort would not succeed. Failing to do so demonstrates that Democrats have little integrity and even less backbone. Will voters who ignored the last presidential election turn out in great numbers to support a party with "convictions" that depend upon which way it thinks the wind happens to be blowing? Congressional Republicans have demonstrated complete surrender to Trump. I, for one, am looking for a party with honesty and backbone.
2
Yet another person telling us to ignore what our own eyes told us. The pattern of conspiracy and obstruction was made very clear by Mr. Mueller. The fact that you choose not to see it is revealing, but not for what it tells us about Mueller's testimony.
5
I hope Americans, and especially Congress, take to heart what Mueller told us yet again about Russian interference in US elections, the original reason for his investigation. We need to act to block that no matter what happens with impeachment.
2
I agree that we Americans are the only ones who can save ourselves. Those of us who live in rural America are acutely aware, but so are many other Americans, suburban, urban and everywhere. I don’t think changing hearts and minds works well. Getting like-minded people to the polls is the better strategy if we can rely on the integrity of our electoral system.
There seem to have been many comments about Mr. Mueller’s “poor performance”, comments that he was “boring”. We would, in my opinion, have a much more just, effective, safe society if more of us were as boring and poor performing as someone such as Mr. Mueller who has served his country so well for so long.
2
The Hill: What are Democrats waiting for? Time to impeach Donald Trump
BY ELIZABETH HOLTZMAN, July 25.
“As a member of the House Committee that voted to impeach Nixon, I remember the hostility of the leadership toward impeachment then. But public outcry at his conduct forced the House to start an impeachment inquiry anyway.
No House Republican publicly supported the Nixon impeachment until just days before the Committee began debating articles of impeachment nine months after the inquiry started.
Yet, Republicans ended up voting for impeachment, even before the Supreme Court released the “smoking gun” tape proving Nixon was complicit. The process changed minds in the House then and could again now.
IF NO INQUIRY IS BROUGHT, Trump will likely use that to his advantage and claim it was all a witch hunt all along.”
And we could add, if an inquiry IS brought, of course Trump will claim a witch hunt also—he will lie and distort either way, as we see daily on every issue.
The Dems can’t let his and his voters’ possible reactions lead our politics in this crucial time.
3
"it became clear how tenaciously many liberals and progressives are clinging to fantasy — not just that President Trump will eventually find himself impeached and removed, but also that they can advance their values by means of legal machination".
Mr. Moyn is clearly not a Democrat and not qualified to tell us what Democrats want. Mr. Moyn is not appalled by the Trump behavior chronicled in the Mueller report and in Mueller's testimony. When did seeking an investigation into potentially very serious criminal activity constitute "legal machination". The Democrats are investigating clearly unethical behavior to determine whether it is illegal. Trump is blocking them all the way, necessitating court battles to gain access to information. This article is blind to the moral and justice issues and clearly is, itself, a political statement. Wonders never cease.
4
Democrats have won the majority of the vote 6 out of the last 7 presidential elections but have lost three of those elections, twice due to the Electorial College and once at the hands of the Supreme Court so your argument that the Democratic Party did not and cannot win the majority of the country is false. Clinton got 3 million more votes than Trump.
And are you really saying the information available not only does not warrant but does not demand impeachment? This is far more serious than anything Bill Clinton did or even Richard Nixon.
8
@jonathan
Thank you. The only way Repubs seem to win the white house is on technicalities. Oh, and also lying and cheating (gerrymandering, voter suppression, Russian fiddling, etc.).
1
Please. This was not a fantasy. Or wouldn't have been, if it had been handled properly. I'm sorry, but the reason the Mueller Hearing failed to move the needle is because it was conducted in the middle of summer, while many Americans are fed up and in desperate need of a summer break, and it happened 3 MONTHS after the report came out. If Nadler had moved quickly and gotten him in in May; if he had lined up enforcement of McGahn's subpoena for shortly after; if he had properly prepared Mueller for the purpose of the hearing and what they needed from him -- articulating a summary or two might have really helped -- then it would have been a very different outcome indeed.
1
If you claim the election of Donald Trump was via the rule of the majority I refer you to the popular vote totals, where he lost by 3 MILLION votes. He won a majority of an arcane and outdated system designed to keep elites in power at the possible expense of the majority, and which was designed because the elite men who wrote the rules feared a possible mob rule. It may well happen again since that system is still in place.
2
@Michael
Donald Trump won a majority or plurality of the popular vote in 30 states, just short of 3/5 of the 50 states and District of Columbia. Somewhat interestingly, the states in which he won a majority or plurality of the vote have slightly more than 56% of the US population. Unsurprisingly, then Donald Trump received 304 of the 535 electoral votes - slightly more than 56% of the total.
The designers of the federal government considered popular election of the president and rejected it for what they thought were good reasons. Those now in haste to change the process they designed (and tweaked in 1804) would do well to consider the discussion in the Federalist (No. 68), and whether, if that process had been followed as evidently intended rather than as later modified, we might have a different president today.
1
Do you really expect me to believe that if the shoe was on the other foot democrats would want to change the electoral college system??
3
@Thomas D. Dial
Winning big in California and New York does not a president make.
1
There have been many comments here, stating that since House action will not lead the Senate to remove Trump, House Dems should not entertain impeachment. Better to vote Trump out in November 2020.
After what we all heard from Mr. Mueller on Wednesday, does anyone really feel assured that the Russians will not give Trump a second term? And Trump himself has said that the only way he could "lose" in 2020 is if the election were "rigged."
He has also stated his intention, more than once, to remain in office more than eight years.
This man will leave only at a time of his choosing. He will declare any "national emergency" for something that exists only in his mind, and this Supreme Court will toady to him.
The fact is, we now have our nation's first dictator, and we have no idea how long he and his family will remain in power. Treating Trump like just another dishonest politician will be our undoing.
He knows he faces criminal indictments as soon as he leaves office, some of them for state court charges that cannot be pardoned. And he will do whatever it takes to hold power - literally anything.
And one final point to remember. Trump has his base - some sixty million of the most heavily armed people in this country - who will support whatever he does. Still think waiting for November 2020 is a good idea?
11
@Kyle Reese
Kind of like a terminator, Kyle?
The Trumpinator? Democracy = Sarah Connor.
Robert Mueller was not elected. He was a creature of the DOJ and a limited special counsel law. He did his job and filed his report. To expect him to push for Trump’s impeachment is a weak showing by the responsible elected officials.
If Democrats, and Justin Amash, want to impeach Trump they should step up and do it. Mueller gave them some ammunition, but they are the ones with the power, not him. Unfortunately, Democrats are a spineless bunch who want someone else to,do the lifting for them.
The author is largely correct that defeating Trump is the best antidote, not using questionable legal maneuvers to remove him from office. He’s a disreputable character, and probably corrupt, but that isn’t a replacement for running for office with a governing agenda. I hope Elizabeth Warren steer clear of impeachment and sticks to her plans as a reason for electing her.
Everyone arguing we need to beat Trump at the ballot box is ignoring the truth of the Mueller Report and today's Senate Intelligence Committee report -- that the Russians can hack our vote, did hack our vote, will hack our vote, and the GOP isn't interested in doing anything to defend against that threat. But yeah, let's all just expect 2020 to be the answer.
7
@Keri, exactly right. And McConnell is blocking election security bills passed by the House from coming before the Senate.
2
@Keri
They are "ignoring the truth of the Mueller Report"? The truth is that it failed to recommend an indictment on collusion (democrats' word) and didn't take a position on obstruction, except for musings outside its scope.
Then there are the footnotes. Leaks were made to the media and then reported by the media. Those reports were then used by the Mueller team to substantiate the contents of the leaked information. Quite a neat trick. If only someone didn't go through in painstaking detail and identity all the times this happened (many).
Then there are the suspicions about the objectivity of the Mueller's team, several of whom had to be removed because they were on record as trying to bring down the president. Given how unfamiliar Mueller was with the details, the report is now seen as a document likely authored by Clinton operatives.
There's the "truth" if you're willing to see it.
1
We heard Mueller acknowledge that Trump lied, in writing, under oath.
Any other President would be impeached for that. Clinton was impeached for lying under oath about an affair, not the undermining of the American system.
And, of course, this is only the latest bit of impeachable behavior.
So, to be clear, there was nothing wrong or disappointing about Mueller except for those who were expecting histrionics.
But, the author is right that it's political. Trump's supporters control the Senate. They cannot be convinced. They have to be beaten at the polls.
6
While I think Mueller could have gone further in reference to the President's misrepresentations, I think he did what he needed to. No one should have been surprised that he was reluctant to go beyond the printed report. We have expected as much for half a year.
Indeed, he delivered confirmation of key points, such as that the President was not forthright in his written responses, and that the report did not exonerate the President, and that it would have stated do if it had found that it could exonerate him.
One should not confuse dynamic testimony with strong testimony. I believe this is strong testimony, its credibility supported rather than diminished by its parsimony.
For a supporting analysis, please read Renato Mariotti in Politico.
https://politi.co/2GqgE7R
2
"The democratic way to engage with [our fellow citizens] is to seek justice for their plight . . . ."
Yes; but just what is their "plight?"
A year prior to the 2016 election Tom Edsall noticed that Trump's "presidential campaign was following the path of right-wing working class parties in Europe.” He concluded that Trump had given voice to views his supporters likely didn't know they had before he came down the golden escalator. The result was white identity politics.
Six months later Edsall asked Jonathon Haidt to account for the resentment Trump's supporters were displaying. Haidt looked to Brehm's "reactance theory" which explains "the feeling you get when people try to stop you from doing something you’ve been doing, and you perceive that they have no right or justification for stopping you." Men are especially prone to reactance.
Trump tapped into a simmering backlash against thirty years of a growing elitist PC culture.
And he's trying to do it again -- witness his attacks on the Squad. The left thinks it's racist and are prepared to call anyone who disagrees with the Squad's politics a "racist." But that's not Trump's game, and he's not doing a Nixon/Reagan dog whistle.
He's found four radical women who are proponents of the worst of PC culture -- identitarians who promote the theory that everything wrong about our culture is the fault of privileged cis-white males. And he's after hanging that theory around the neck of the Democratic Party.
3
It was extremely important Mueller spoke to the country, and I find it odd that its effects have been declared "dead on arrival." I haven't seen one poll to substantiate any DOA opinion. What were the news punditry and political class who've labeled it DOA expecting? That mid-hearing, millions of people would rush out and burn flags in the streets?
It's important that we all now have a chance to check out something easier to digest than the report, using C-Span or YouTube or the news. This isn't some joke or political game. The Republican party accepted foreign help, and we're right now dealing with the infiltration of our collective mind through hostile foreign actors using social media. It's going to rig 2020. Citizens are either in denial about, or feel helpless about, or are accepting and embracing a level of corruption in the President's campaign that our grandparents couldn't conceive. Instead of commending the Dems' attempt to raise public awareness about this, all I hear is criticism and mockery. Should Schiff have said, "Oh, forget it, it's not gonna change anyone's mind?" Stop the internal sniping, Democrats - real donkeys never kick themselves.
Face the truth that we have no idea who listened to the hearing and how it affected their thinking. And we don't know how today will be seen in the future. Play a long game. Our enemies are.
1
Thank you. This is the most persuasive analysis I have read in a long time.
3
Thanks for this realistic perspective for Democrats.
I suggest Democrats focus most on a new democracy, most.
While they can push the Mueller findings, they need future focus.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leonard Cohen had a prophetic song on "DEMOCRACY" (1992).
He sang, "Democracy is coming to the USA", again and again.
I sense a new democracy wave coming in response to Trump.
So, the question is whether Democracy will seek to push for
new democracy safeguards in 2020, or rehash Trump's insanity.
Please check out the words of "DEMOCRACY" and encourage
the NY Times to discuss it: "Democracy is coming to the USA."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3
"..the president’s actions were beyond the pale, though never as shockingly illegal as his critics have believed.."
Oh, that's all right then. Felony campaign finance violations, felony obstruction of justice, emolument violations, security-clearance abuses, blanket obstruction of Congressional oversight ---- nothing impeachment-worthy, like lying to conceal an extramarital liaison between consenting adults!
4
How to improve the Democrat's chances:
Start talking about real things, not fantasy.
- Trump's "crimes" are at least overblown, if not fantasy.
- Having open borders into the US is fantasy.
- Keeping people safe from offensive speech is fantasy.
- Debating the merits of busing to counter racism is history, and irrelevant.
- Free college for all is fantasy.
- Medicare for all is dubious, if not fantasy.
- A socialist United States is dubious, if not fantasy.
- Believing the Democratic Party is the only honest and good party is delusional.
- Believing Republicans are singularly tainted by evil is biased, and a fantasy.
4
@David
Believing Trump "colluded" (democrats' accusation) with Russia was always bizarre. When collusion fizzled out, they switched to "obstruction". That was the new big crime. Except the obstruction case isn't all that strong.
Pelosi is doing democrats a favor by not setting them up to fail again. Right now, they can say whatever they want. They can define anything they dislike as a "crime" even racism. Once a formal impeachment process is begun, however, the president will have plenty of legal experts defending him. Public opinion will be swayed by these arguments. We all know how that ends. Just like "collusion."
1
Don’t get this column.
We should be more interested in safe guarding the institutions that Mr Trump has destroyed and id destroying. After Trump is gone the damage done will be not easy to undo. If Trump is impeached there is a good chance that normalcy can be restored to the mauled institutions. If nothing else this should be the sole reason to impeach Mr Trump
1
When this author writes that we on the left need to understand “why the president was elected,” does he mean that we need to acknowledge the racist ideology that formed the basis of the president’s campaign? Does he mean we need to understand that racist ideology and empathize with it? Does he mean we need to see the Trump presidency as anything other than a reaction to the nation’s first black president? If he means those things, then we really do occupy two different worlds.
2
Nov 2020 is not far off. Really, wealthy liberals should be paying moving expenses for any democrat who wants to move to Michigan, Wisconsin or Pennsylvania and promises to vote in Nov 2020.
"The Senate won't impeach!" So forget it. Right. Next time a police officer pulls me over for running a red light I'll just say; "But here wasn't an accident!" "I didn't hit a pedestrian!" "No harm, no foul!" And the officer will respond; "You broke the law; and as an enforcer of that law; I must act accordingly." The Congress must do the same.
Moyn attempts to keep yesterday's meme of "no fireworks" alive today. Wednesday Mueller said flat out; "It's a crime."
The entire Russia Election Meddling Scandal is getting worse the more we know. Deliberate and precise hacks are still being discovered.
The 2020 election will be subject to the same type of hacks if we don't guard against it.
Mueller warned of this as a new normal.
Right wing deniers like Moyn are choosing inaction when it comes to safeguarding 270 years of democracy. Some patriots!
3
It shouldn’t be as hard as it currently is getting rid of an obviously incompetent and mentally disturbed President.
A simple Amendment to the Constitution would do it.
One allowing the removal for “unsuitability” of any President unable to secure votes of confidence from at least 60 percent -- or some other agreed-to number --of the members of the House and Senate sitting as a Joint Committer Of The Legislative Branch To Consider The Need, If Any, For Removing The President From Office On Mental Grounds.
No fuss, no muss, no high crimes and misdemeanors, the President is right in his mind or he is not.
As matters now stand, it’s difficult getting rid of even an Ivan the Terrible or Vlad The Impaler or Donald Trump.
3
It's Moyn who is naive. House Democrats haven't been expecting the populace to 'rise up in horror.' They have been watching T-Rex lumbering toward them with a bag of sarin gas in its claws, and have been consumed with stopping it. Not really the right time to create a vision of a dinosaur-free utopia when you're about to be trampled. I suppose the Democrats are dithering. That's not the same as being clueless.
You state, "In 2016, our fellow citizens used their one form of power — majority rule, however outrageously designed by the Constitution — to protest." This is an untruth. As we all know the majority of Americans voted against Trump. He won the election due to the ill conceived and undemocratic mechanism called the "Electoral College". This is likely to occur again in 2020. Simply put, our Constitution is broken. It's the leftover and outdated remains from another era.
4
@Bruce Sanderov You seem to have missed "however outrageously designed by the Constitution"--even while quoting it.
2
I remember the late Charles Krauthammer commenting about the Russian story saying Dems should be careful of what they wish for. The Dems have open
ed a Pandora’s Box and If the conspiracy story you say the Republicans are telling is true, it will be a sad day.
3
@Patrice Davern
There is a another storm brewing. There are several investigations into the origins of the investigation into collusion. If the Obama Administration broke laws, they are going to be hearing all about "crimes", just not Trump's.
1
The claim of treason, which would require that we be at war with the country in question, was changed to "collusion". That term is ill-defined.
Further, Mueller could not find proof so now the new Holy Grail became "obstruction". Sort of difficult to be charged with a derivative crime when the primary one is unproven (as unfounded as when cops charge "resisting arrest" without articulating why arrest was attempted in the first place).
Then Mueller started saying "we didn't prove collusion, but we can not exonerate the President of it either"...hmmm...I thought our system was innocent until proven guilty and that one did not have to "prove innocence".
Trump is likely guilty of emoluments or financial fraud, but to pursue those charges probably would likewise sweep up too many other politicians, so prosecutors will tread likely there.
At the end of the day, the Democrats who campaign as "anti-Trump" or "bipartisanship" will have tepid support compared to the candidates that actually offer a vision of where they'd like to take the country.
My preference is a progressive one, Medicare for all, living wage, more affordable school, address climate change, invest in infrastructure, stop endless wars, higher & fair taxes for corporations & the rich, reasonable gun reform, lower defense budget, etc.
But I'm ready to listen to anything reasonable beyond "anti-Trump", despite how terrible he's been and is...
4
I believe that trump is a hugely unethical person, and obstructed justice. I have read the Mueller Report and have been appalled at his conduct and the conduct of the people he surrounds himself with.
On the other hand, I have been saying for months and months, he would not be impeached. I knew Nancy Pelosi was right all along, and unfortunately has taken a good deal of heat, especially from the far left about it.
Americans are simply not engaged with their government. It is shameful. They are much more interested in Amazon Prime days, than having an unfit, unethical, unstable president.
The only way to remove trump from office is through voting him out. As a Democrat, I only see one possible candidate that might be able to do it. This turn to the far left has been counterproductive and may very likely give us four more years of trump.
I am left with hoping that the great awakening will happen in 2024, and the Democrats, will be able to capture the Executive Branch, the House, and the Senate. That is sadly my hope now. I have lost my hope for the 2020 election because of the sorry lot of candidates running.
6
I am puzzled by the contention that Mr. Mueller's testimony did not contain any dramatic revelations. His statement that President Trump's written testimony to his questions was incomplete and 'generally' untruthful was fairly astonishing, and if true, grounds alone for impeachment. Democratic congressional representatives are apparently looking into this.
4
The problem is that the line of unacceptability keeps moving. The movement towards impeachment should have started long ago. The Democrats putting all their eggs in the Mueller basket was ill conceived. They didn't need Mueller to tell them Trump acted improperly he did it out in the open, but if you don't act on it the words get lost in all the smoke generated by Trump and his team. If any other president Democrat or Republican did what Trump has done over the past 30 months they would not have remained in office. Clinton was impeached over a lack of judgement, not treason!
Speaker Pelosi wants it all wrapped up in a neat package before she is willing to authorize an impeachment proceeding. The Mueller testimony didn't change that equation. If anything it showed just unethical the Republicans are and how far they are willing to go to back Trump no matter what he does.
The Democrats need to get their act together or we all will have to live through the catastrophe of a Trump second term.
260
@Richard, Trump has done far worse. And Obama uncovered but did not perpetrate what the IRS officials in Cincinnati did. What Trump did paying off Storny and lying about it is far worse than what Clinton did as it was a campaign violation within 60 days of the election.
21
@Richard
Val B. Demings: “his [Trump’s] answers showed that he wasn’t always being truthful?”
Mueller: “I would say generally.”
Trump was under oath. That’s perjury.
And Trump wasn’t lying about having sex with an intern. Trump was lying about defrauding his country.
42
@VMG....yes the Dems waited, waited....and waited. While Mueller took not 1 but 2 long years for his 'investigation'.
Do we have a party of true opposition to GOP/Trump?
Hope our elected representatives have a nice 6 week vacation!
5
Mr. Moyn has written on human rights, so it is perplexing that he would characterize Mr. Trump in the conclusion to this piece as merely "exasperating." The Trump administration's human rights record is appalling. The sheer cruelty towards children keeps people of conscience awake at night. Compassionate people can be forgiven for hoping for a savior, for desperately hoping that Mueller might have been that person. A bolder man in full possession of his faculties could have risen to the challenge, rather than hiding behind the OLC memo and 448 pages of detail. Laying blame at the feet of the people who care most about democracy and the desperate is too easy. Our system is broken and our culture is ruinously warped. Pointing towards political winning on a gamed field is not a solution.
4
"In 2016, our fellow citizens used their one form of power — majority rule, however outrageously designed by the Constitution — to protest."
Majority rule would have defeated Mr Trump - he lost by ~3M votes. Also, the house doesn't reflect majority rule, nor does the senate. Its not an "outrageous design" of majority rule, it is quite intentionally NOT that.
4
What a great column. I wish I could have said it as well. And for the true Mueller believers there are no UFOs in either Roswell or Area 51.
2
Mueller could have given a star performance and told all.. and it wouldn't have made a bit of difference.
When you have characters like Kudlow holding an umbrella like Winnie the Pooh and tsk tsking the press saying that "Trump doesn't make things up", then there is nothing to work with here.
213
@Postette
Counselor Mueller looked tired and sad,
His verbal performance was shockingly bad.
Well-earned credentials were not on display,
With curtailed answers defining the day.
We should have expected he’d go by the book,
But hoped he would give US a personal look
Into obstruction by our corrupt Prez.
He stoically stood by what his report says.
4
@Postette Exactly! As in "Trump doesn't lie, that is why I voted for him." Republicans should put this on a 2020 campaign bumper sticker.
8
@Postette
The Party of Trump is against the Constitution and supports Trump attacking it.
It is up to the rest of us to save Our Constitution from them, not convince them that they are wrong. True believers never change their minds.
Corporate media certain isn't making them face any facts.
It is up to everyone that believe in our Constitutional Republic to save it from those think that Truth is not Truth, only entertainment is truth.
5
The Dems/Pelosi waited, waited....and waited. While Mueller took not 1 but 2 long years for his 'investigation'.
Now post- Mueller, everything is still as confused and debatable as before. As this op ed shows.
Many Dems/Pelosi don't want to even have a true impeachment inquiry, and risk alienating who? Independents who might defend Trump? Voters on the fence?
So who exactly is ‘regulating’ our politics now? The moderates? Who are influenced by warped norms of left/right/center , and who are afraid to go 'too far'. We are good and stuck.
Do we have a party of true opposition to GOP/Trump? Can they protect us? Will a future Trump swamp creature be able to rise up to the surface, and do anything he/she wants to the country?
Hope our elected representatives have a nice 6 week vacation!
While our national distress and confusion continues.
1
This author strangely ignores the most important reason for impeachment: that Trump's disgraceful actions are so bad as be demand impeachment in the Constitution, and so blatant as absolutely to be deserved.
It is so, however, that conviction in the Senate is out of the question, given the truly equally disgraceful state of the Republican Party; and conviction in the Senate is the only legal and politically effective test in the matter. And the exercise alone is unlikely to change the minds of anybody significant --i.e. Trumpite voters in Nov. 2020.
5
Democrats have wasted now almost three years during which they might have been fashioning and selling voters a credible alternative way forward for America. Why haven't they done that, it is that they don't have such a vision? They still have not shown us why we need them in charge. For all his shortcomings, Mr. Trump has at least consistently promoted economic growth and less government intervention in peoples' lives. What have Democrats promoted--open borders, more programs to increase dependence on government? Who wants that?
6
@Ronald B Duke: What have Democrats promoted? Well, for one, Democrats in the House passed election security bills that would ensure all Americans’ votes are counted. McConnell blocked it, explaining — out loud — that it would result in more Democratic votes. Yes, free and fair elections are anathema to Republicans.
2
It’s more likely this fantasy harbored by “many progressives and liberals” is actually a media construct originating with right wing propagandists than a popular belief among Democrats.
The overly timid phasing in the actual report served as a warning to most of us that Mueller was not going to jump up on any prefab crosses.
And he never needed to. As the wizard could have told Nancy, had she bothered to pull back the curtain, we already have all the evidence anyone could possibly need to begin the process of impeachment.
While impeachment will never remove Trump from office, well played it could serve to establish Democrats as leaders, instead of members of a party beholden to the whims of a criminally led Senate.
5
If the Nixon investigation is an indicator, then the public needs to see a much more thorough investigation of the Trump administration for a sizable majority to be convinced to vote "no Trump" in 2020. Impeachment may not be necessary, but a fair and thorough public exposure of the facts surely is required. The Mueller Report opened this Pandora's Box.
It's now up to the House to let us see what's really inside.
9
@Doug Giebel Yup. That's what we need. A bigger, better, "complete" investigation. Two years with a Special council, one or three or however many Congressional investigations weren't enough. A thousand prosecutors looked at the report and Trump should be impeached, arrested or assumed guilty and sent to Alcatraz.
The President could not be exonerated. Hopefully, no one will ever be exonerated. Remember, we are innocent, until found guilty. With that premise, there is no logical point of exoneration.
There was no collusion. AKA, conspiracy. But, the President could not be exonerated of "obstruction". I guess, if you don't help the prosecutor gather evidence to convict you, that is considered obstruction. I need to watch some more lawyer movies.
Now about the whole Russian interference, did anyone ask Obama, Biden, Clapper, Brennan and Comey about how much evidence they had on Russian involvement? Seems like like that would be an interesting path.
1
@Mike
Whether Obama and others did or did not deal with "Russian involvement" is entirely separate from whether President Trump and others in his group addressed the interference.
There are obviously serious remaining questions regarding the Mueller Report material.
Your definition of "exoneration" is not stated, but by common understanding, people are
"exonerated" (found not guilty, declared innocent, absolved of blame -- Mueller recently used the term "exculpated").
Regarding procedures, both Richard M Nixon
and William J. Clinton were accused of obstruction and of lying under oath, two of the claims at least strongly hinted at in the Mueller Report.
Even President Trump has claimed he was "totally exonerated" by the Report.
While we may be presumed "innocent," we will only be legitimately "found guilty" through
a trial based on evidence, witnesses, the in-person testimony of the accused.
President Trump others deserve their days in court to prove that presumption of innocence.
So, like it or not, more investigation, more pubic hearings are necessary. The Muller Report is not and was never intended to be the end of the beginning.
dg
@Doug Giebel
"Mueller recently used the term "exculpated")."
Yes, he was looking for a new word.
"The Muller Report is not and was never intended to be the end of the beginning."
It sure sounded like that, for the last 2 years.
And, Mueller came off as Mr. Magoo. I doubt we'll be seeing him again.
Based on the facts presented in the Special Counsel's report alone (which excludes numerous sexual assault allegations, violations of the emoluments clause and whatever the State of New York has uncovered), President Trump should be impeached by the House and removed from office by the Senate.
And we all know that it won't happen with the Senate in Republican hands. In another era, perhaps, but not in this bitterly polarized one. That is the cold, hard reality that Professor Moyn is describing. Impeachment is a constitutional remedy but at present, the Constitution is under siege.
The professor, despite his rather smarmy tone, is right. Democrats will not get the votes they need in Congress so they must seek out those votes among the electorate.
12
Maybe if Muller was wearing a "Tan suit and while answering his questions they could have played the theme to Chariots of fire, MEH.
NADLER:
Director Mueller, the president has repeatedly claimed that your report found there was no obstruction and that it completely and totally exonerated him, but that is not what your report said, is it?
MUELLER:
Correct. That is not what the report said.
9
At long, long last, the NYT contributes a sensible, nuanced analysis of the unbelievable amount of denial that Progressives have heaped on this whole mess for two years -- Mueller as messiah, false allegations of Trump campaign "collusion" with Russia, a prosecutor misleadingly writing that he could not "exonerate" Trump and then testifying that "we did not reach a determination as to whether the president committed a crime." That means there wasn't enough to file charges, period.
Moyn is absolutely right -- that most Democrats believed they could "advance their values" through legal means but were really fighting out of their frustration over losing to a "protest candidate" who won due to voters who were "angry at elites." It looks so far as if few of them have learned that lesson.
18
@Scott "That means there wasn't enough to file charges, period."
It doesn't mean that at all. It means the DOJ says the president can't be charged with a crime so they didn't bother to make a determination as to whether or not he did. The evidence, at least for obstruction of justice, is staring you in the face.
33
@Scott.I hope you're enjoying your Fox News Kool Aid. As soon as Mueller said YES, he would indict Trump when he was out of office, Nadler should have shut down the session and started impeachment proceedings. If it had been Republicans going after Obama, that's exactly what would have happened.
2
Just wow. Pretending the Russian crimes did not happen does not make them go away.
Trump clearly conspired with Russia to influence our election with illegal means. Trump clearly obstructed Justice on many occasions. Trump is clearly violating the emoluments clauses. It’s mind-boggling how we as a nation cannot recognize and focus on these simple facts. The case for impeachment is a slam dunk. How Pelosi can be do cowed or distracted or confused or disinterested is mystifying. How McConnell and all the GOP can be so thoroughly corrupt is horrifying.
23
@Kurt -- Why do you still cling to the collusion idea? The special counsel found that Russia did interfere with the election, but “did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple efforts from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.”
2
@David, once again, conspiracy is a notoriously difficult charge to prove. Evidence was insufficient to get to that level. However, there is plenty of evidence of the Trump campaign openly encouraging Russian interference, doing nothing to stop it, capitalizing on it anyway they could, cooperating with Russian intelligence, lying to the American people about business dealings in Moscow, etc. Then they obstructed justice to keep this nefarious activity from coming to light. This is documented in Mueller’s report and said many times over by commenters. Why is this so difficult to grasp?
2
I thought the Mueller Report did prove 1) Trump engaged in activities that were unethical and not patriotic in any way shape or form; and 2) that the prospect of his activities becoming public lead him to obstruct the investigation. Thus, we have learned that the President is willing to engage in unpatriotic activities to advance his personal power and then use his political office to avoid accountability.
Now, apparently the American people are fine with this. I am willing to accept that verdict. It seems that they are just fat enough on a good economy that they do not care.
But Trump will escalate. He is doing his victory dance and he will not have the good sense to realize he dodged a bullet and step back. His behavior will get ever more outrageous, and about 40-45% of the population seem fine with that.
This level of hubris cannot end well. The people will suffer the consequences of this folly. And the longer it goes on, the more they will suffer. So, my personal plan is to accept that this will happen. I will do whatever I can to insulate myself from the resulting calamity.
The sad thing is that Trumps most ardent working class supporters will get hurt the most. And I will feel sorry for them. But not overly sorry. The rich Trump supporters will laugh all the way to the bank. And those rich supporters will laugh at the rest for being so gullible.
67
@Andy Makar The investigation's mission was ascertaining whether criminal acts were committed -- not whether the Trump & Co. did things most of us would find immoral or unethical. Dems need to get their act together politically, or we'll be stuck with Trump for another 4 years, by which point he'll have appointed more judges and further gutted Federal oversight/agencies.
1
I think, sir, that you are confusing the officials of the Dem Party with the rank and file.
Mueller's simple, crisp, "Yes", and "No" was exactly what I wanted.
Not surprising was the speed-rap on obscurities from the R's.
We, the lowly peons, are paying attention.
Trump - and Trumpism - will go.
15
Lefties have become hysterical. Yes, they won the 2018 election, but to what degree can that be attributable to the public being deceived by the hyped Trump/Russia conspiracy hoax. That horse has left the barn. Pelosi has the right strategy; i.e. focus on " kitchen table " issues that interest all Americans, and forget being the chorus in aide of media efforts to boost it's ratings.
10
@BD
A kitchen table issue IS the corruption of Teump, you have to acknowledge that.
1
@CTMD ... the " kitchen table " was indeed quite concerned with the possibility of mutual collusion between Trump and Russia; but that's over. Mueller was a yawn. The public has moved on. If Democratics keep beating this dead horse they will lose the election. Get on board with Pelosi.
Finally, finally, some rational analysis rather than the nonsense that has been passing for fact. What a waste of time and money this has been (Russiagate), and as is documented here, taken away from the most important task of removing the court jester from office. The handwriting is on the wall, so to speak. Find a viable candidate, support that candidate in any way possible, and vote in November 2020!
6
@Howie Lisnoff How do you figure this was a waste of money? It cost around $30-35M and we have $42M in judgments against Manafort alone. And apparently he has collectable assets. Who says government can't run at a profit?
1
@Howie Lisnoff
Howie, your paragraph is a declaration of anodyne evasion that plays into the Fox rhetoric of denial. It is nakedly clear from many reports and reportings, not just Mueller's, that Trump and his stooges are guilty of 1.) asking for and repeatedly abetting a foreign power's brazen interference in our election, for his benefit (and with further invasion to come, thanks to McConnell and other enablers), and 2.) repeatedly trying to obstruct and end a credible investigation that was pre-hobbled by a fatuous internal "rule" about indictment, then by an oath-breaking and partisan Attorney General, and finally by Mr. Mueller's clerkish, almost benumbed resistance to full candor in public performance, even after his work was highjacked for re-branding by the Uriah Heep-ish Barr. The "nonsense that has been passing for fact" is in fact a bulging indictment that would have rapidly led any past President to a trial in the Senate. Our worst President, a hidden-in-plain-sight criminal, will now face that trial from an increasingly indignant electorate.
2
Well, one thing is for sure in the upcoming election -- We have to contend with about 40% of an electorate that is gullible, uninformed ,and easily conned.
29
It's time we understand two things: That Trump is obviously an obstructor of justice, and thus a lawless individual. And that the law will never touch him so long as he is in the White House.
It strains my credulity to think that Trump himself, a not too bright, not entirely subtle, intellect, could have constructed this maze of deceit on his own. This is a guy who lost money running Casinos, after all. So the deep truths, who informs, him, who pulls the strings, remain hidden. Russians? Sure, but here at home, this Lyin' King is surely run by forces we can only guess at.
Let's stop wasting our time. Trump's has never been the problem. Our rotten Corporate/government alliance is the problem.
17
“In 2016, our fellow citizens used their one form of power — majority rule, however outrageously designed by the Constitution — to protest. The democratic way to engage with them is to seek justice for their plight, and not merely to bring down an exasperating president.”
I’d change that up slightly to clarify that truly engaging with them involves listening to them, authentically responding to them, and then accordingly seeking justice for their plight.
I don’t understand why the democratic left resists doing so. Programs like Obamacare, Medicaid, and food stamps are necessary programs but they don’t address the problems of decent jobs and functional families. You can’t make the leap from the existence of those programs straight to “what’s the matter with Kansas” and “they’re all hateful racists.”
The problem is compounded by the fact that the center left party is supposed to engage with and look out for the people of whom you speak.
3
Don't listen to this guy!
Trump is guilty of dozens of impeachable crimes, and they are all laid out in the Mueller Report!
He wrote it in code! If you assign a a numerical value to each letter, then divide by two, the truth is revealed! It also works to read it backwards, watching the Wizard of Oz and listening to Pink Floyd!
Don't suggest that the Democratic party's only recourse to avoid four more years of Donald Trump is to put forward a series of proposals that will appeal to anyone aside from the east and west coast progressive elites who care about things like A Green New Deal and Medicare For All and Reparations for African Americans and Trillion Dollar Student Debt Forgiveness and Open Borders.
Because if you do that, the Big Fantasy -- that America is finally a country ready to be governed from the extreme political left -- will be exposed as nonsense.
18
I've been saying that for a long time here in the NYT's comments section. Stop hoping the democrats will do anything to change this mess (they won't). Stop hoping some investigation will change anything (it won't). And most of all, stop hoping some cowboy will come riding over the hill with the sun to his back and save us.
It is up to us.
8
"In 2016, our fellow citizens used their one form of power — majority rule, however outrageously designed by the Constitution — to protest."
Sorry, but our fellow citizens decided in majority to not have Trump as president. Don't try to obfuscate this fact with fancy wording about 'the constitution'. No one would ever dare come out and say "majority of land rules", which of course is why you did not say it- yet say it you did.
We're ruled by a minority. Deal with it. You have to understand this if you don't want to lose with a 10 Million vote lead next time.
4
Obviously impeachment will not rid us of this lawless and corrupt president - the spineless Senate Republicans will follow him like lemmings. But it is the right thing to do.
Impeach him, then beat him in the ballot box in 2020. They are not mutually exclusive.
4
“Russian high-jinx”?? What was the number of voters who pushed the electoral college to Trump in key states? 100,000? How many people were exposed to Russian disinformation and propaganda? Something like 125 million? Where did Russia concentrate those propaganda efforts? Those key electoral states?
Democrats have a winning message. They won the popular vote in 2016, 2018 and will again in 2020. Trump is the result of a perfect storm of Republican gerrymandering and voter suppression, decades of racial dog whistling from the GOP, fear-mongering, greed and an antiquated electoral college.
Also, it’s from a lack of critical thinking skills among Americans who think no one could possibly be swayed by Russian propaganda. It’s because so many people are so certain of themselves that they think of it as just “high jinx.”
3
As usual, the Conservative party line is "Where's the proof?"
Great question! We don't know the answer and can't know the answer until the logjam of "I won't answer because of Executive Privilege" is broken.
The entire staff of the White House, it seems, is covered by one giant Non-Disclosure Agreement... except the taxpayers never agreed to it. The Conservatives have co-opted a Trump strategy for hiding whatever it is he does - cocaine and sex parties? porn with teenage girls? selling nuclear secrets or launch codes to the highest bidder? - we will never know, because everything that goes on in Trump Tower Washington is protected from public view by a team of lawyers Paid By The Taxpayers!
This is not rocket science...when you deal with dishonest people you get dishonest results.
Come Clean, Conservatives.
3
"...William Barr, Mr. Trump’s attorney general,..."
This sentence has one too many words. What he meant to say was "William Barr, Mr. Trump’s attorney".
7
This is horrible news from Prof Moyn. Trump is not going to be impeached.
On the plus side, the absence of 'Trump focus' finally lets the Democrat candidates reveal to voters how they will provide free college, free health care, end climate change, fund reparations, end racism, promote veganism and generate enough electricity to switch 272 million fossil fuel cars to battery-operated ones.
So, a little bad news about Trump, but a great day begins for Democrats. Onward!
5
@Teller
And tax the wealthy and corporations what is fair, provide proper protection for our precious environment,’protect women’s rights, stop the kidnapping of children at the border,stop the massive escalation of national debt ( how did the Greed Over People Party ever get themselves to be called fiscally conservative?),restore our relationships with our allies, continue to improve health care for all rather than voting 60+ times to repeal when there was no plan to replace, etc.
Much to look forward to.
2
Dream on Mr. Moyn. If you think the conduct of this president and his administration is sustainable, you are the one living in a fantasy. I don't pretend to know how it will end for '45, but if history is a guide, it won't be pretty. Nothing built on a foundation of lies can last for long. Call me a fool, but I haven't lost all hope in my fellow citizens just yet.
15
A man who covers up his adulterous affairs to get elected should be impeached.
A man who admits, on camera, to sexually assaulting women should be impeached.
A man who encourages divisiveness and racism should be impeached.
A man who egregiously sets out to destroy each and every accomplishment of his predecessor -- good and bad -- should be impeached.
A man who commits crimes against humanity should be impeached and held accountable for those crimes.
Anything Mueller said is icing on the cake.
3
@Art Likely
Under normal circumstances, I would whole heartedly agree. But, these are not normal circumstances, not normal times. 40% of the electorate will support Tr*mp, regardless of his moral or criminal transgressions, the remaining 60% are in play. Let’s not risk increasing the 40% via inflammatory impeachment proceedings that will never lead to a conviction. If the Democrats can unite behind a candidate who doesn’t elicit visceral repulsion (ala HRC), while at the same time crafting a progressive, but level headed campaign platform (read, not the time for more left wing proposals) that the average American voter can actually understand, then this nightmare could be over on January 20, 2021. Let justice be served to Tr*mp after that.
1
It is was more than many liberals and progressives clinging to fantasy -it was a disaster for the Democratic Party
How could it allow it?
The Neue Zuericher Zeitung, Switzerland's leading Newspaper, fact based and neutral, called it a flop for the Democrats
The Democrats MUST sort out their internal difference before taking on Trump, stop Nadler's ego trip, and concentrate on formulating policies that can beat Trump
2
" ... depriving American voters who are angry at elites ... "
Ummm ... To which elites does the author refer? Brown kids at our borders? Coal country drug addicts? Teachers who can't repay their student loans? Farmers losing their farms from tariff-induced shrinking markets and falling prices?
Those elites??
5
I hope that Yale has a process for "impeachment referrals" of misinformed faculty members, as it is all too apparent that Mr. Moyn knows nothing of law or history; perhaps his next work will explain that Nixon "was not a crook" and got a "raw deal."
4
So the Mueller fantasy comes crashing down. But wait, just yesterday the Governor of Puerto Rico said he will step down.
Why? MASSIVE public protests in the streets for DAYS. That's how. Americans (that's you) need to go out into the streets from sea to shining sea until Trump is forced from office. We just saw the playbook for this and it worked. Grab your pitchforks everyone. This vile man needs to resign.
4
@George
Yes. We should be discussing how when and where to protest in these comments.
@CTMD, one of the many PACs like MoveOn could do this. They have the logistics to connect large groups of people, quickly. Social media is very powerful. Look at the same protest in Hong Kong.
Mueller passed the counterintelligence investigation to the FBI and therefore wasn't making an assessment as to whether Trump is a russian asset (which has a wide range of meanings).
1
A proposal for a constitutional amendment giving us a constitutional right to vote would be a simple way to begin the discussion, showing us which values people place as most important.
My own unpublished survey of 500 people reveals that 99% of Americans do not know--and were never told in school--that we have never had a constitutional right to vote.
Democracy?
"The popular vote": The founders would not even allow the subject to be discussed.
Is it time now?
2
In reading this I find myself wondering if Prof. Moyn actually reads the paper this very column appears in, and strayed past the very early take Mueller's testimony was a "bust."
It was not.
Getting past the quick take again, we did learn something new and big - there are ongoing counterintelligence investigations. That is huge. T
hen the major story appeared in The Times yesterday that the election systems of all 50 states were compromised in 2016, not just some of them.
It's just plain dense to ignore all that and insist Democrats need to "win the game" while ignoring Mueller's clear warning the game may be rigged, and probably was the last time.
5
Time to move on from Mueller. Democrats have a lot of policy differences with Trump that they can highlight. That was the key to the 2018 victories.
2
If I hear impeachment one more time..
Wake up American liberals.
Trump will not get impeached.
He will not show his tax returns.
And he will get re-elected unless Democrats get behind one single candidate.
483
@Jenny McGrane
Funny, isn't it, how the Republicans were able to field multiple candidates in their primary season in 2016—all sniping at each other and most calling Trump terrible things—and yet they all came together afterwards and Trump won despite the primary competition?
Meanwhile the Democrats tried to anoint Hillary Clinton the nominee and were outraged that one person, Sanders, tried to oppose her. And then the Democrats lost.
Why are Democrats so afraid of being themselves? Maybe if they were more like Republicans—loud and proud—they'd win more. Maybe then they'd actually have something compelling to offer. Because the usual pablum isn't working.
41
@617to416
The Republicans came together, to the extent they actually did, largely after Donald Trump surprised nearly everyone, including nearly all of the "experts" by winning election.
We can reasonably expect the Democrats to do that too.
If (and only if) they settle on a candidate for 2020 who can and does win election, that is. I do not think that looks anything like a certainty right now.
14
@Thomas D. Dial
‘We can reasonably expect the Democrats to do that too’
The real difference is most GOP voters have country, jobs and the economy on their mind, thus you can easily unite them by running on these lines.
Meantime the Democrats cannot even decide what they want. DO they want to be Socialists? Or leftists, or centrists? What about Illegals, I can’t tell how many Democrats are pro open borders, erase ICE and full legal and economic rights for illegals, and how many are pro securing he border and fixing immigration. I cannot tell what percentage want to pay black and gays for being black and gay, and how many would never consider that seriously.
Democrats self divide and then squabble among each other. Even in 2016 after the DNC’s anointed candidate was gifted the nomination by Debbie Wasserman, the rest of the Democrats kept trying to make Bernie happen.
You were divided then. you are fractured now. Hard to make a stand if no one can agree on what you are fighting for.
36
Mueller established that the Russians interfered with our elections and Trump interfered with Muller's work to determine Russian interference. He has also shown on Wednesday that Republicans are happy to ignore these facts. and bully and shame Robert Mueller, instead of pay attention to the facts.
Those findings should set us all on fire and yet the Republicans continue to look the other way. In our elections next year, how can any republican candidate be sure that a win is because of his or her own merit and not because there was a thumb on the scale from Russian hackers -- or North Koreans or Saudis or Americans for that matter. Actually a Mitch McConnell win could be just as much a product of the Russians as of Kentucky voters. Illegitimacy should be a personal concern even if Republicans can't make it a patriotic concern.
I understand that Democrats have to coalesce around a platform of the future. Democrats are doing both actions at the same time-- investigation and leadership. But we need the other party who occupies the other legislative seats to wake up and do their part-- like pass federal legislation to fight back against foreign election tampering. Aren't they Americans also or do they prefer to cease resisting the Russians, as quislings?
2
I am glad to see someone point this out. I would go a step further then Prof. Moyn. I disagree with Mueller's conclusion that there was no evidence of collusion with the Russian dictatorship just because that evidence was out in the open ( "Russia, if you are listening....) Moreover the grounds for obstruction are multiple and clear. Nonetheless,this was a long road to no-where in that there was absolutely no indication that the requisite 20 GOP Senators would ever vote to remove their absolute leader weeks before an election and that, as is stated here, the very idea that we would make the legal removal a priority over a victory at the polls would legitimate all of the faux victimization of the Right that they feed off of. Let me also note another thing that I find tragic about this saga. Countless times I have read about Trump's attack on National Monuments such as Bear Ears, his regulatory "reforms" that will poison the lakes, streams and aquifers of Appalachia to try to keep coal alive through one more cycle of nightime rallies, andof coursehis assault on the Paris climate accords. All of these stories aswell as other acts that assault our rights and aspirations have been buried by the endless Mueller focus. It is not surprising that many Trump supporters,who had tuned out the investigations, would sincerely say "What has Trump done to you that makes you hate him?" I honestly think this investigation has kept him afloat and I am glad that it is at an end.
3
All I know is I'd certainly enjoy it if the Democrats spine stiffened enough to treat impeachment the way Republicans treat Obamacare repeal -- something to vote quixotically for 50+ times even if it stands no chance of ultimate success.
Yes, the ballot box is most important. But standing resolute in opposition to a dishonorable presidency might just be a decent way to win some votes.
358
@Tim
Re impeachment: Imagine the probably consequences if Trump were impeached or stepped down before the 2020 election. Pence would probably win a landslide. where would we be then?
10
@Joanne
I really don't think that is true. Pence has little appeal as a candidate and almost no personality. I wonder if he wouldn't even be the Republican nominee under this scenario. For Trump to go down, the scandal and stench around him would have to get so bad that no one within 100 miles of the Presidency would survive.
27
@Tim
Be careful what you ask for. A classic example of perfection being the enemy of good.
3
Why doesn’t someone in the Democratic Party produce a summary of the top ten things that are in the report, and then focus on how to communicate the results to the Democrat candidates who will be in the next two debates.
And hammer home those things to the public. Over and over again.
Defeating Trump is the only issue I, and I bet many many others, care about.
All the other issues candidates are currently pitching, or attacking, pale in comparison.
Attack Trump. Attack Trump. Attack Trump.
Period.
Then we can pick the best candidate in the primaries to attack Trump in the 2020 general election.
4
I was, naively, under the impression that the law was the law. I didn't realize that monetary or political power were going to be determinate factors when gathering evidence, evaluating guilt or even proceeding with enforcement. I didn't realize the most important thing was laid out by Lincoln when he said "With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed."
297
@Richard
"I was, naively, under the impression that the law was the law."
Yes, please tell that to 45, who with his most recent anti-Constitutional travesty (changing asylum law) has a penchant for creating his own law. Article II, Richard, Article II. In spite of how 45 interprets it (and he has absolutely no Constitutional power to interpret ANY law), there ARE limits to what 45 can do.
Democrats, contrary to the "Republican" narrative, certainly do want and expect immigration laws to be enforced. As written. Not reimagined.
41
@Rick Gage
Bryan Stevenson says "In the American legal system, it is better to be rich and guilty instead of poor and innocent".
While I'd like to believe, like you, "the law is the law"....it has never been thus...
19
@John. One might suppose, then, that the same proposition would apply in the past as well: that President Obama had "absolutely no Constitutional power to interpret ANY law."
Yet he clearly did so (in the matter of DACA, for example), to a good deal of cheering, much of which came from those who object to the same sort of action by the current president.
If the law, indeed, is the law, we cannot have it both ways.
7
Nancy Pelosi is beating Trump at his own, "Art of the Deal". The 2 parties had not agreed on a budget since 2014. Pelosi got a 2 year deal that is good for the democrats (America) while the Republican president had to cave in on her budget that will get us past the 2020 election. The government now stable, she can turn to the "moral majority" that knows this man should never have been elected President of the USA. I agree with Professor Moyn.
5
I come from a family of life-long Democrats, and I hate to say this. But the Democrats' handling of the Mueller report is beginning to look a lot like the GOP handling of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Remember how that turned out for Clinton in the next political campaign?
5
If Trump is a result of a loss of confidence in our political system as this writer hypothesizes, then surely he will be defeated in the next election. That is unless the people of the USA want a know it all braggart who claims he can fix everything who spews toxic hate every single day and during the night via the Twitter machine. If this is the one man rule system that appeals to voters, then they will richly deserve the government or lack thereof which they get. Or they can choose any one of the Democrats who will almost certainly defend the Constitution and present a political program which is not a glorified cult image. I do not believe the majority of Americans will vote for Trump next time around.
3
@Harold Johnson
Actually the majority of Americans didn't vote for Trump last time around. We need to do much better.
1
So as long as the Republican party controls the Senate, impeachment is impossible and Trump is above the law. A mad king, kept on the throne by his royal court. So much for the American Revolution.
6
@Sarah
Conviction in the Senate is impossible with the Republicans in the majority, but impeachment in the House is absolutely possible. But I agree that the Republicans are all-in with protecting Trump at all costs.
@Sarah Maybe it's time for another American Revolution.
I understand the difference, I was using the term impeachment to imply his removal. But thanks for nitpicking.
This sneering put-down ignores the only salient point: if it’s not appropriate to begin the impeachment process against this President, when would it ever be justified? Winning isn’t everything. Sometimes, it’s more important to be right. Or does that just make me a hopelessly naive sucker?
5
Democrats, the party of nutless wonders. When Schiff asked Mueller if Trump could be indicted for obstruction of justice after he was out of office and Mueller said, yes - three times! - Nadler should have shut down the session right there and declared impeachment proceedings would begin immediately. If it had been Republicans questioning Obama, that's exactly what would have happened.
6
Sir, your piece is an insult to the FBI, CIA, and journalists who have tracked Trump, Inc., the crime family now running this country, from tax evasion to wholesale cooperation under the thumb of Vlad Putin. While Mueller's presentation left much to be desired, his answers were always positive when it came to identifying Trump, Inc. as an asset of Russia. Why else would Trump hold private conversations with Putin, who is his handler? Why else would Trump defy the Constitution to stall providing his financial records for congressional oversight? Why was Hope Hick's so shocked when she stumbled on the blackmail file Putin has on Trump?
There are so many examples of collusion but as Mueller points out conspiracy is a crime but collusion is not because it is not a legal term. Conspiracy is hard to prove when Trump, Inc. and Putin do so much to hide evidence from law enforcement.
Obstruction is a slam dunk since Trump seems to not recognize the legal ramifications of his actions. His obstruction is done in public.
5
The only fantasy today is in Mr Moyn's mirror.
As a raging moderate and registered Independent, Mr Moyn clearly misses the mark if he thinks it's only liberals and progressives want to see Congress exercise their constitutional duties.
What folly and a lousy pretext for his diatribe against the aforementioned voting bloc.
I too want justice not a feeble partisan smear by an Ivy League all professor.
And what a poor analysis on the performance of Bob Mueller under testimony instead of the content of his report and testimony.
I do not care at all about optics.
All the American people need to do is look at the conduct of this President and his administration and read the entire Mueller Report.
Only 7% of Americans have.
I have read it and watched all of Bob Mueller's testimony.
Absence of character and partisanship abound in this op ed.
9
For some reason, despite what has been the common perception, Mueller does not seem that concerned. -Sigh- he says, foreign interference in our elections seems to be the norm now. Oh well. But I have to agree with one of the members of the Dirty Party (that is the Republicans, in case you don't know), who complained, Where is the evidence? For example, where is the evidence that Kilimnik is connected to the GRU (remember, that is the collusion, the Trump campaign passed their poling data to Russia through him)? Indeed, we need to see the evidence. But we never will as long as Caligula (I mean Trump) is President. The DOJ will continue to obstruct. But that itself is impeachable. So eventually the President can be impeached simply for stonewalling the Congress, even if they call it executive privilege, Caligula can be impeached for that. The Executive branch cannot be allowed to flout Congress. Ask for everything, the impeach when on the basis of lack of cooperation. Impeach Barr first.
1
There's a dangerous man in the White House surrounded by dangerous sycophants. All the letters here quibble over the failure of the Democrats in response to the Mueller hearings.
In the meantime, scientists are telling us we have only months to turn around global warming not years. Trump's elimination of environmental regulations is very dangerous to the planet. Wake up people.
5
The author only got half of this right - that Americans need to stand up and vote Trump out on the rules as they are drawn today. But his assertion that somehow the reason the American populace hasn't risen up to address the real malfeasance (not narrow and political as inferred here) is stupid.
That there isn't a groundswell of American outrage about the behavior of Trump, his campaign, and associates, (a number of which have plead guilty to crimes) has far more to do with the politics of the day than the facts on the ground.
In no way does this lack of groundswell amongst average Americans who a.) haven't read the 440 page report, and b.) many of which only get news from Fox which has distorted the facts of the report to its viewers, mean that the administration been absolved of wrongdoing, or that the "liberal" position (that the President of the US shouldn't encourage or enable foreign tampering with our elections or try and obstruct investigations into such) is somehow an issue of wishful thinking rather than rank corruption.
3
D's are stuck because they are 110% invested in Mueller saving them and have no idea how to appeal to working class voters besides trying to shame them by calling them racist, sexist, xenophobic, deplorable etc.
If you are also stuck, look to Andrew Yang's campaign. He is doing terrifically great with the Obama-to-Trump voters that the rest of the D's have no idea to reach.
5
The truth is sad, shocking and sickening: Trump got away with it. He cheated, lied, most probably worked with Russia; he and his inner circle got rid of evidence. They helped steal a presidency and nurtured a foreign enemy. History won't be kind, but the present is, thanks to Republicans' refusal to do their jobs and act as a control, and thanks to Mr. Mueller's sad investigative ineptness in cracking Trump's inner circles' encrypted messages, or finding destroyed messages, breaking Manafort and his failure to follow the money (how can you do an investigation of corrupt businessmen without following the money?).
2
@Andy
Counselor Mueller looked tired & sad,
With a verbal performance shockingly bad.
His well-earned credentials were not on display,
With curtailed answers defining his day.
We should have expected he’d go by the book,
But hoped he would give US a personal look
Into obstruction by a corrupt Prez.
He stoically stood by what his report says.
1
"to bring down an exasperating president."
Would that he were simply an exasperating president. Such presidents may not get much done. Such presidents may dither when action is called for or assist their patrons with sweetheart contracts. We are used to such presidents.
However, such presidents do not undermine the rule of law by utter disdain for it. They do not pack the courts with judges so far from the mainstream that the ALA will not endorse them or that hundreds of legal scholars sign statements saying the candidate does not have an appropriate judicial temperament, as in sniveling, self-pitying Kavanaugh.
They do not tear up international agreements, offend our friends, and give succor to our enemies. They do not invite murderous dictators to visit the White House. They do not show off intelligence knowledge to visiting diplomats from an enemy state. They do not tell members of Congress to "go back to the countries you came from." They do not stonewall every legitimate Congressional request for information to hide their corrupt actions or staff their cabinet with people intent on destroying the agencies they head.
Exasperating presidents may be inept and incompetent, but they are not gratuitously cruel to babies and children.
Your characterization is far from the mark and corrosive to democracy. You attempt to make extreme corruption seem benign.
Shame on you.
6
@nora m
Absolutely. Well said @nora m
Those of us who call ourselves progressives need to accept the ugly reality that Trump and his millions of fiercely devoted followers, which notably includes the Republican Party, have hijacked the political system.
The Democratic Party is paralyzed by fear, timidity and confusion. Party leaders wring their hands worried that if they impeach Americans will rise up in indignation. Or they hope that someway, somehow there will be some earthshaking development that will make Trump really vulnerable.
Sadly, there is no white knight among the many Democratic presidential candidates.
Trump is insane but incredibly crafty and calculating. He long ago found that monstrous vein of racism and white nationalism, tapped into it and became its voice and champion.
All Trump needs to do is reheat his 2016 campaign. His cultists are unmoved by his utter failure to accomplish anything, his bromances with dictators, his pathological lying and nepotism.
1
Collusion is and always was just the tip of the iceberg. Democrats should follow the money and then everyone will know what Donald Trump knows ... why Putin wanted him to be president so badly. Donald Trump is scared to death of this. Until then as far as impeachment a simple "nothing is off the table" for public consumption will suffice.
3
"Our gratitude toward Mr. Mueller ought to be that his poor showing as a witness ..."
A witness? Mueller wrote his report as he was supposed to. The show on Wednesday was just that, a show. He knew it and didn't play along. Perhaps they could have called John Dean (again) to give it some flair.
Looks like obstruction of justice was attempted. The legal remedy is impeachment. Should the Congress not proceed, they will be letting Trump off the hook. A rich white man will not be charged for a crime that he in all likelihood committed. Only this time it's not some prosecutor in Floriday, Missouri or NYC (!) letting the perp off the hood. It's the Democratic controlled Congress.
"Does the “resistance” really believe it can win the next election by depriving American voters who are angry at elites of the protest candidate they elected? "
Beautiful sentence. That's exactly what they wanted. They wanted to overthrow DT who, whatever his grotesque shortcomings, won fair and square, more or less, and represents a legit will of the voters. The entire idiocy around that report and that poor guy was totally and shamelessly constructed by the liberal clique in an effort to 'persuade' the citizenry that the wrong candidate won. Didn't work, fortunately. And guess what - he'll win again.
3
And this from a professor of law at Yale? No wonder we're in big trouble. The rule of law is all we have left.
3
Far better a Mueller “fantasy” than a Trump nightmare, in which the latter’s supporters would “rather be a Russian than a Democrat,” and whose best defense is Orwellian political language, which “is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and...give an appearance of solidity to pure wind”. Besides, one person’s fantasy is another’s idealism. Far better that we hope, dream and aspire than that we wallow in the ceaseless Trumpian muck and mire.
1
There is absolutely no difference between the Democrats who still swear by the "Trump was working with Putin" hustle, and the Republicans who still swear by the "Obama was born in Indonesia" hustle.
Both of our political parties and heavily dependent on the support they receive from fools. We are a "ship of fools" nation.
2
Collusion is and always was just the tip of the iceberg.
Democrats should follow the money and then everyone will know what Donald Trump knows ... why Putin wanted him to be president so badly. And Donald Trump is scared to death of this.
1
It is too risky to leave Trump in office till the next election. He might start a war with Iran or North Korea, dozens of children might die on the southern border, where he has locked them up in cages. He has claimed sweeping powers under Article Two, as shown by his instructing his former aides to disregard legal subpoenas. Above all, he has exacerbated the divisions in our country to the point where we no longer have a national identity.
He needs to be impeached as soon as possible.
2
Between NYT, MSNBC and Wapo all pushing this same narrative -- responding to, for example, stating the president could be charged with leaving office, with a resounding 'meh' -- leads me to wonder if Trump is good for your business's and business is good.
2
I have been saying this for some time.
This is a democracy -- by the people, of the people, for the people -- and it is up to each one of us to defend this magnificent birth-right of ours. Do not let the sacrifices of our fore-fathers go in vain.
I'm all for the notion of a champion, which is the role we designated for Director Mueller.
But it does obscure the duty that each of us has.
Some 2,500 years ago, Pericles of Athens declared as follows to his fellow citizens:
"Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it."
And . . .
"We do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds his own business; we say that he has no business here at all."
1
Prof. Moyn asks, "Does the “resistance” really believe it can win the next election by depriving American voters who are angry at elites of the protest candidate they elected?"
To which I answer: such voters will only be deprived if Trump were impeached, replaced with a centrist Republican, while the Dems ran their own centrist candidate.
In other words, his question is condescending to both Trump supporters and the Left. There is good reason to think that Trump voters who were (and are) angry at elites will vote for Bernie Sanders or a similar candidate running from the Left on economic grievances if (say) a more centrist Republican appeared in the wake of Trump's impeachment. [Besides, supporting the rule of law while demonstrating we will not support foreign interference in our election is simply the right thing to do, for all voters - whether Trump supporters recognize it or not.]
If Democrats steer between the centrist establishment candidate and a far Left candidate who seems beholden to talking about so-called "identity politics", finding a candidate who plays the economic grievance card pure and simple, they could get some of the Trump voters and win, whether Trump is in office or not.
1
Impeachment takes time. It looks like they will slow play it, and if he not reelected, then prison is likely on the horizon. If he is reelected, like Nixon, impeachment will come in term 2.
Sigh. Sometimes the criminals get away with it. This is not an NCIS episode.
Trump got Sessions, who failed to guarantee to protect his mobster boss. So, he got Barr, who promised ahead if time.
At least for now, it appears that the bad guys have won.
Only a blue wave can rectify this.
That can only be done with policies, along with strategies to reach Fox dabs with reality.
I am not optimistic.
1
The only thing that can save America is us.
s Thomas Jefferson said, the only safe repository for democracy is with an educated public.
Were we better educated, Trump would be impeached by now.
Were we TRULY educated, such a candidate would never win a primary.
3
Amen. This is the slow boring of hard boards. Trump will be leaving office in January 2021 at the earliest. So let us keep doing the work that won us the midterms. Donate, volunteer, and vote.
There are special elections happening all the time. Several are going on right now. Many of them provide remote opportunities, like phone banking from home. Or take some time to register people to vote. Again, you can write letters or postcards to people in other states.
There is no Deus ex Mueller. There is only us. But we are enough.
5
@Mercury S If we keep pretending this is a revolution, we will get slapped back with civil war. Working through the system is the only option.
1
Why does the author presume that Democrats don’t have a winning electoral strategy? They have a forty-seat advantage in the House precisely because they ran on health care and Trump ran on caravans in the midterms. If Pelosi has her way, Democrats will run again on bread and butter issues while Trump apparently is planning to double-down on his failed strategy of stoking racial animus for the presidential campaign. Despite all the hand-wringing from Democrats over impeachment and circular firing squads, I’m feeling good about Democratic prospects in 2020.
Wasn't the Democratic landslide victory in the 2018 mid-term elections just the sort of political solution to Trump you say liberals need? Democrats, the opposition party, won the House overwhelmingly, now it's time for the loyal and patriotic opposition party in the majority to bring impeachment proceedings. It's what the Constitution calls for.
Excellent summary! Time to move on. Just because you don't like Trump doesn't mean he should be impeached...which is what this turned into. Do we want the Republicans doing the same when the tables are turned?
7
@Reasonable Person Not liking Trump has absolutely nothing to do with his treasonous behavior, as spelled out by Adam Schiff and Jerrold Nadler, based on the Mueller report. Accepting help from one of our country's enemies is against the law. THAT is why, along with his racism and other, numerous execrable behavior, he must be impeached. If we do not impeach him, we are truly telling all the children in this country that the president is above the law.
1
Au contraire Mr. Moyn the hearings showed Trump is unethical, ill informed, commits or tries to commit illegal acts. It falls in line with interfering with due process for asylum seekers, destructive removal of protective regulations. He has violated his oath of office almost by the second. His attack on duly elected officials in the most obscene way has no parallel in modern history. If impeached and not removed it will still give the American people a view into this man's sleaseness. He should not be near any leadership position unless you want your enterprise destroyed or abhorred.
4
We've tried the "Compassionate Conservative" (Bush) and we got more divided. We then tried "Hope" with a silver tongued political neophyte (Obama) and we got further divided. Then we tried the political neophyte outsider and we got to levels of division that we never could have dreamed we'd reach. If I had my way, I'd next try Justin Amash. He's not a neophyte, he has a solid independent streak, he is principled and articulate without being a showman. He has a bio that can make us feel good as Americans (first generation American born of Christian Syrian parents) and he comes from a swing state. Let's give him a shot.
1
What? Now "liberals an progressives" is code for the ability to see past the gaslighting as here... What was clearly spelled out Wed, if not with any real passion from Mueller, is that Russia interfered and continues to interfere in our democracy; they did/do so for the mutual gain of Trump, Russia and their cabal; our current President and his party minions actively tried, and appear to be succeeding, in obstructing judicial processes; shifting US foreign policy on the Ukraine and elsewhere to Russia's gain.
Ask not how "liberals and progressives" are so outraged. Ask how everyone else is not???
33
" Nobody likes to be outmaneuvered. Nobody likes to lose." Do you refer to the William Barr lies following the release of the Mueller report in which Barr "exonerated" (which he has absolutely no power to do a judicial function) Trump? That's not "out maneuvering" anyone. It's simply misrepresentation, bordering on fraud. Barr joins Trump in violating their constitutional oath.
I strongly disagree with the premise of this article. The democrats continue to investigate, have clear evidence of obstruction, will unmask Trumps financial dealings with the Russians/Putin, thus his compromised position and lending additional credence to his traitorous actions.
I believe it's now time to fish or cut bait for the democrats. Initiate the impeachment inquiry, otherwise Trump's stalling will run out the clock.
8
Stephen Cobert was right. It is wrong that we Democrats and the News are not sounding out like Trump is sounding out that he was vindicated in the Mueller questioning. The News and all of us should be out there yelling victory that we proved our case. No wonder there is little uproar. Instead of overanalyzing everything MAKE IT SIMPLE..MUELLER FOUND TRUMP IS GUILTY WE MUST IMPEACH!
3
@Frances Huh? He found him guilty?
Perhaps you should get out of your corner, turn off Colbert and volunteer for a Democrat nominee you think can beat Trump. Rather than, as this column suggests, still lost in the woods with Mueller and thinking his report is going to save you.
You beat Trump with better ideas spoken from a believable candidate. Not thinking Mr. Colbert has the answers.
Mr. Moyn' s simplistic view (e.g., Trump was elected because of a loss of faith in the political system) is somewhat shocking. Trump is not just "exasperating", he is criminal. Mr. Moyn fails to acknowledge how the Muller report was smeared: It was redacted, propagandized by the Attorney General, and further muzzled by the last-minute DOJ 'guidelines' for Muller's appearance, which didn't help his catatonic testimony.
Without these blatant political plays, the Muller report in all likelyhood would have been devastating to Trump, and may still be if he loses reelection and is indicted. BTW, Trump's criminality is also being pursued in the State courts, so all the eggs are hardly in the Muller basket.
9
This is maddeningly simple, and I would dearly appreciate it Congress would keep it simple:
1. Russia interfered -- and continues to interfere -- with our elections. Super clear.
2. To be a witness to this interference, and obstruct investigation into it, is criminal. Super clear.
3. Whether someone witness or part of this interference is an American citizen, an American president, or an American member of congress, they must face justice. Super clear.
It is no more complicated than that.
Nancy Pelosi, keep it simple. Do your job. Start impeachment proceedings. Please.
11
No prior president could have survived this long in office behaving as Trump has behaved. But Trump is the new political normal, and he will reify that position if he is allowed to remain in office. I might be feeling more confident that the majority of American voters will take care of this problem in November 2020 were it not for The Electoral College, Russian trolling, a Department of Justice that has become Trump’s Pretorian Guard, and more domestic and foreign dark money influence than we can even imagine.
At this point, I don’t see how the Democrats can avoid impeachment, win or lose. To not impeach Trump is to affirm his new normal, to allow it to continue to grow unrestrained as far as the public can determine. At a certain point the Democrats have to stand for something other than cautious and plodding committee deliberations. Democracy requires impeachment. Sanity requires impeachment.
22
If Trump loses the election he will refuse to leave and claim it was rigged. the Republicans will back him up. Yes we must vote against him/them but we must also be prepared to continue beyond that to regain our democracy.
1
Actually I think they will be glad to see him go. Yes they enable him, to ward off primary challenges and cling to power. But they also loathe him and will be happy to see the end of him once the electorate has spoken. If it does...
1
@jlc1 I don't think Trump wants to be escorted under arrest from the White House, and then to be indicted for obstruction of justice and jailed without bail.
Having achieved the presidency, he is not likely to consign his presidency to the eternal flames of history. But I do share your readiness for paranoia.
@jlc1 When Trump loses the election, he'll be frog marched out of the Oval. Count on it.
The fantasy in this essay
is simply its premise that the crimes or lies of Trump’s campaign (not to mention the later cover up) don’t matter.
The author wants the country to ‘re-do’ the 2016 election!
I think not. The legitimacy of the sitting president is THE political and moral issue for this season.
9
Professor Moyn acknowledges that Trump's actions were "beyond the pale," a startling euphemism for felonious obstruction of justice and for anti-constitutional defiance of congress. He advocates using the democratic (voting) process, but the Mueller report is chock full of excruciating detail on how the Russians interfered in that process with the Trump team's knowledge, consent, and encoragement. As recently as this week, Den McConnell has thwarted legislative measures to combat foreign interference. Excuse me, Professor, but I think you are intentionally ignoring the overwhelming evidence here that justifies, and even mandates, impeachment.
18
Sorry professor. In 2016, the majority didn't rule or HRC would be president. You may not have noticed but we have an electoral college which gives outsized influence to the states least populated (how much larger, population wise, is California from North Dakota? Many times that of their representation in the electoral college. By the way, why are there two Dakotas?) The one thing I do agree with is that Mueller should never have been viewed as a panacea. The evidence of collusion and obstruction are in plain sight. The House of Reps. should have done their Constitutional duty months ago and initiated an impeachment inquiry. Handwringing won't solve the problem and if Trump is re-elected, with no accountability ever imposed upon him, we may be seeing a president for life- his.
10