Donald Trump is crowing and taking a victory lap this morning. And we'll hear a lot more crowing in the days to come. While it's true that Robert Mueller found no evidence of a conspiracy with Russia, it's not true that Mueller cleared Trump of obstruction of justice charges. Trump claims that's what Mueller did. But, as usual, Trump is lying.
What Mueller did was leave the decision to prosecute Trump for obstruction in Barr's hands. Given Barr's previous statements about the Mueller enquiry and his view of the president's expansive powers, there is the distinct possibility that Trump may walk away unscathed.
It's an indication of how thoroughly the American system has been corrupted under Trump -- which happens to be the subject of Andrew Sullivan's latest column in New York Magazine. Sullivan writes:
Talk about “ripe for tyranny”! And that, it seems to me, is the real salience of the tweets. Trump is showing his foes and friends that he can say anything, abuse anyone, lie about anything, break every norm of decency, propriety and prudence — and suffer no consequences at all. It’s all a dominance ritual. And just think about what he has actually claimed: that the heads of the FBI and DOJ engaged in treasonous and illegal activity; that Russia, despite the unanimous judgment of U.S. and Western intelligence, did not attempt to intervene in the 2016 election; and that the opposition party cannot “legitimately” win an election. The latter — repeated over the years — is a direct assault on liberal democracy, and on the integrity and legitimacy of the entire system. It opens up the very real possibility that Trump will not concede an election he loses. In any functioning democracy, such statements would end any politician’s career. They merely burnish Trump’s hold.
In this post-truth world, where Trump has allied with social media to create an alternate reality, lies work. This week, he approached the press corps simply repeating, “No Collusion! No Collusion!” And he will continue to say this regardless of what the Mueller report may reveal, because it doesn’t matter what actually happened. Whatever Trump says will become the truth for 40 percent of the country, while the expectations of the opposition, troubled by pesky empiricism, may well be deflated. Fox, a de facto state propaganda channel, will do the rest.
This is a dark time for the United States, indeed, for the world. However, there is a ray of hope. If Washington can't deal with Trump, perhaps New York State can. There are a raft of indictments waiting for Trump in New York. Prosecutors will deal with Trump under the RICO statutes. Like New York mobsters before him, prosecutors will attempt to take his organization apart.
It took a while for them to catch up to John Gotti. But, like Gotti, Trump may die in jail.
Image: The New York Times
10 comments:
Weren't politics corrupt even before "the age of Trump"?
Why not simply state that, generally speaking, Donald Trump is one shameless self-aggrandizing and remorseless individual?
That's just his overall character trait. And there's nothing anyone can do about it ...
...although one can still comment on it---provided he doesn't circumvent the First Amendment via criminalizing "any and all disparaging remarks, opinions, and statements made about public officials by either the media or private citizens".
True, Tal. But more important than Trump the man is the damage he does. He destroys everything he touches.
I do fear, Owen, now that Trump controls the narrative (at least temporarily), some supporters who were growing tired of him will now use this 'exoneration' story to return to his camp. If they do, the goal of the Democrats to unseat him in 2020 will be harder to achieve.
This is not good news for the next election, Lorne. Eventually, Fate will catch up to the Liar-in-Chief. But, until it does, he will leave lots of destruction behind him.
And I suppose the wiretapping of the Trump campaign by the FBI before the election was legit?
http://www.onlinecolumnist.com/2019/03/23/mueller-report-disappoints-democrats/
A sample:"Comey had the green light from former President Barack Obama, former Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch and former National Security Adviser [NSA] Susan Rice to use the national security apparatus to wiretap Trump campaign officials to help Hillary win the election."
I expect to read more of these "yes, but" opinions on the Mueller Report. Apparently heads are thick enough to not have realized Saint Robert Mueller did not recommend further indictments. He had shown no mercy in the past on 37 cases, so one presumes he would not have hesitated to indict further if he felt the facts warranted it. If people cannot work out that the case against Trump is/was weak indeed, then I presume that all's left is "yes, buts" to comfort the tortured soul.
I've begged you lot to get out of the bubble of endlessly quoting mainstream corporate-propaganda papers like the NYT or Gauardian as if they were worthy of serious contemplation, and show some curiosity by reading some alternative press. Too far out of your zone of comfort, one presumes. But to be so ill-informed is not a sign of intellectual prowess.
I don't support Trump. I definitely did not support the warmonger Hillary. Both choices were beyond bad for Americans. The needs of the population were entirely overlooked in favour of the rich and the neocon establishment. Defense spending has soared under Trump, the War Party Democrats fully in favour, even giving $57 billion more than asked, for corporate welfare purposes one can only conclude. It certainly does not renew infrastructure or provide free medical care. Fifty percent of the country's budget for Defense is sickening.
Trump deserves all the labels that the overall term "complete lout" encompasses. Hillary is a neocon US expansionist warhawk, supporting the idea that the US is exceptional and indispensable and can swagger around the world booting anyone in the ass it feels like, and interfering in elections with impunity. Pence lectures the Germans and the EU - who needs that aggro from a bible-thumper?. But when the US itself is subject to election interference, even at a minor level, the "intellectual" inhabitants of Sugar Plum Fairy Tale Land react as if they've been violated by the Big Bad Monster, quite unable to comprehend their own interference/destruction of foreign countries is far, far worse.
The neocons have converted Trump in any case, and now he wants to invade Iran and Venezuela, so neocon Hillary/StateDept and CIA won. All they had to do was convince Trump it was all his own idea - he's that dumb, he bought it.
Hand-wringing after Mueller let you lot of one-issue anti-Trump wonders down will continue, the caterwauling intense. But the reality of US hegemony and likelihood of starting the next war remains high. Redirect your energies to a higher purpose. Trump is bad, neoconnery is far worse, the combination of the two completely toxic - and what does Canada do? Rubber stamp US foreign policy. We have nothing whatsoever to crow about, and worse, not a politician in sight who seems to be awake and criticizing the BS we spew.
BM
A higher purpose, BM? And Mr. Curtis is "politically nuetral?" Hilary was no gift. But there wasn't a moral -- or immoral -- equivalency between the two. The American Enterprize scholar Norman Ornstein has been trying to make that point for years.
Wow, I checked out BM's link to "online columnist." He'd do well to come up with a more credible source for his claims that this character, Curtis.
Despite the claim at the foot of the column, Mound, Curtis doesn't strike me as "politically neutral."
I think I'll make better use of my time and remain ill-informed.
I find all of this stuff depressing, John. If you choose not to pay attention, I inderstand.
Post a Comment