FATAL FLAW OF THE SPECIAL COUNSEL LAW

History will assuredly find that the fatal flaw of the Special Counsel Law under which Robert Mueller labored was in allowing the office to fall under the control of the same branch of Government in which the party being investigated headed.

Unless the law is changed, the nation may again find that another man of low degree, lacking integrity, will once again make a travesty of justice.

IF A REDACTED REPORT?

If a redacted Special Counsel report indicates ample grounds for impeaching an official, is there any doubt that said official will desperately want to suppress the unredacted one?

OF THE ABSURDITY OF COUPS AND CAUDILLOS

Only someone who has actually lived through a coup can understand the absurdity of Trump claiming that his government was subject to a coup by a legal process.  There were no troops deployed in the streets; no armored vehicles impeded traffic' no military aircraft buzzing civilian buildings.  Even Erdogan of Turkey, who evoked Trump's version of a coup, possibly to restrict freedoms, actually faced physical danger.  The only risk to Trump has been the possible aggravation of his bone spurs playing with his golf simulator at the White House.

THE RIGHT TO BE WRONG

What feels like a century ago, I audited a few law courses at a small law school near where I worked.  Some things I learned there have stayed with me all my life.  One of the things, said to me, was: Noone has the right to be wrong.  If I were an official of the Trump Administration, faced with the dilemma of either following the dictates of my boss or those of a legislative body capable of levying large fines for failure to comply I would not count on my boss to have any right to be wrong.

TRUMP'S IMPEACHMENT APPEAL TO THE SUPREME COURT

For the Supreme Court to assist Trump in the matter of impeachment, he would have to have them rule that the Constitution, itself, was unconstitutional.  Since the power of impeachment resides solely with the House of Representatives, in response, they might have to impeach a few Supreme Court justices to revert back to the Constitution as written.

TOTAL IMMERSION INTO DOUBLETHINK

Anti-Trumpers have had reason to doubt that Trump's strong points have included logical reasoning and recent actions with respect to the Mueller Report have not helped.  At the same time that he proclaims to all that he has been totally exonerated by the Mueller Report, he wants to prevent his followers from spreading the Gospel by testifying about it before Congress.

At the same time, all this is going on, he wants us to draw a direct connection from his being "exonerated" from Russian collusion and obstruction of justice, to his not wanting his officials to testify in matters completely unrelated to the Mueller Report such as his son-in-law, Jarod Kushner's security clearance.  

It may appear to some of us that Trump is going to take the American people, like it or not, total immersion into Orwellian "doublethink"

MORE FAKE NEWS

Trump has declared, definitively, that ISIS has been exterminated therefore, reports that ISIS killed almost 300 people, in Sri Lanka, on Easter Sunday, is more fake news.  And besides it was Obama's fault that he did not kill the founder of ISIS when Bush had him locked up in Abu Ghraib Prison.

"HIGH FOLLY"

IN 1964, I left the Democratic Party because Lyndon Johnso was getting us into the Viet Nam War because of stupidity.  I became an Independent voter, to this day, even though in recent times I have voted with the Democrats because of the greater stupidity of the Republicans.

Now I find myself becoming more enraged at the stupidity of a part of the Democrats, who, as in 1964, want to take rash action because of what they are told is a principle.  If they think that their best case scenario for impeachment, conviction of Trump in the Senate  is not the best case scenario for the Republicans as well, they should  seriously consider a cranial examination.  Republicans can get off the impending trainwreck by just removing the best target the Dems have by just voting for impeachment and removing Trump from the next election and present an agenda to bring  the country back on track.  Giving the Republicans a chance to knock of the  best candidate that the Dems have, namely Donald Trump, might be considered a "high folly", indeed.

When one thinks of all those othetr shoes ripe for dropping that the Mueller report hints at, possibly enough new ones to fill the days to the next election, and considering that there is little discernable difference between a Congressional hearing and an impeachment hearing, it would be almost sinful to rush into impeachment.

REMEMBERING PEARL HARBOR

As a 10 year old, politically aware child, the Japanese attack on Pearfl Harbor, was a seminal eent that I have studied and fre-studied throughout my life.  i rach my brain to find a single Republican that would have denied  the Japanize  involvement in the attack, as did Mr. Trump about the Russians,  No. Mr. Trump, it was not a 600 pound  Hawaiin Sumo wrestler who could have done it, or minimized it like Rudy Giuliana.  No Mr. Giuliani it would not have been O.K. for American citizens to have received information from the Japanese aabout an attack on American sovereignty anywhere in the world including on our own territory.

The only person to vote against the war with the Empire of Japan was a Republican but she did it out of principle and nor fear like her Republican counterparts today. Even Japanese Americans, who fought so gallantly on our side, during the war, even when they were mistreated by their co-citizens, never tried to find excuses for Japan as do Trump and Giulianii for their Russian patrons.

THE SOURCE OF WEALTH

It never ceases to bewilder me how Republicans can extol the wealth and business acumen of members of their party who have gotten rich through fraud and deceit, like Trump, and mock and deride people like Bloomberg, Soros and Ocasio-Cortez for being wealthy, as if to be a Democrat is to take an oath of  poverty.

The fact that these wealthy Democrats have released their tax returns and Trump has not is not even a small factor in Republican opprobrium.  

The way things are going with the Republican brand these days, I wonder if even switching to become Republicans would help raise the rich Democrats because the source of their wealth was legitimate.

RUDY GIULIANI SAYS...

Rudy says it's O.K for a candidate for the office of President to accept information from Russia.  If he says it would have b een O.K for a Democrat, say Barack Obama, to have accepted information from the Russians, I would be forced, unfortunately to say "Bullshit!"

BLEAK HAVE BEEN THE REIGNS REVISITED-ENDGAME?

In September of 2015, more than a year before the election of of Donald Trump to the office of President, I posted an article entitled "Bleak Have Been the  Reigns" in this very blog:
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1726678915146375316#editor/target=post;postID=367093937041478796;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=741;src=postname
It dealt with my personal experience with narcissists.

In recent months plaintiff wails by Trump about angry Democrats wanting to bring him down, is reminiscent  of how I knew I had won an argument with a narcisistic relative is when they would wail, "why do you hate me so much", even though I scrupulously avoided any ad hominem arguments and stuck to the merits.

Is this a sign that this is the End Game for Trump?

IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS AS AN INVESTIGATIVE TOOL?

In the grand scheme of things, the schism in the Democratic Party between those who want to begin Trump impeachment proceedings immediately and those, mindful of what happened when Clinton was hastily impeached, can be easily bridged.  The caution that some in the Democratic Party, basis past history, is easily reconciled by initiating investigations by impeachment proceedings for Trump appointed officials who  defy Congressional demands.  

Barr won't turn over documents? Commence impeachment proceedings against him.  Republican Senate acquits Barr?  Republican Party expends political capital doings so.  Mnuchin won't release Trumps tax returns?  Impeach him.  If Senate acquits; Republicans expend political capital fighting impeachment.

Impeachment proceedings can be an investigative tool what can help even in the run up to the 2020 elections, the ultimate Presidential impeachment method.

WHAT SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS HAS TAUGHT US

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has shown us that while it is possible to hire a Robot fully capable of lying on command, it is not yet possible to hire one that can apologize for lying.

WORRISOME TAKEAWAYS II: PTSD

When the Barr "summary" of the Mueller Report came out, my Republican friends became ecstatic and began to do the Exoneration Tango, and took great pleasure in demonstrating their dancing skills to me.  As soon as the actual redacted Mueller Report, which even in redacted form, is an indictment with prima facie evidence of impeachable offenses, of the sitting President, Mueller went from being a Trumpian folk hero, to a lunatic and his report became "fake news".  My Republican friends toeing to the party line, turned on a dime in their assessment of Mueller and his report and even, trying to, preemptively, do control damage, began to call Liberals, sufferers of Trump Derangement Syndrom, for even seriously looking at the consequences of the Mueller Report.

I, on the other hand, worry that my Republican friends are suffering from PTSD (Persistent  Trump Stupidity Dysfunction) and am concerned about how they will be able to handle reality when it comes back to the world.

WORRISOME TAKEAWAYS

One of the more worrisome takeaways from the Mueller Report is that our Comander-in-Chief has done little to protect us from further intervention by the Russians in our electoral system in the 2020 elections.  My concerns are not only heightened by news reports that voting systems in Florida have already been hacked by the Russians, but card-carrying Republicans are inundating my email with Russian made memes for the next General Election.

CAN WE SWAP TRUMP FOR MACRON?

Now that the French have been exposed to the sagacity of our leader, especially in the field of using water laden aircraft in putting out cathedral fires, is it possible that they would agree to a swap of leaders?  After all, in Macron we get someone who speaks English.

MUELLER PUNTED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Mueller has made it very clear that he has punted to the American people who are not hampered by self-serving rules, of the Department of Justice, as to whether or not, a President can be subpoenaed or indicted.  

Mueller has provided ample information for the American people  to act.  Let us hope we are not found wanting.

IMPEACHMENT POWER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

While I can understand the possible difficulties in impeaching a sitting President, I do not see the same consequences for impeaching a Government official.  If a Government official will not turn over a document that may be harmful to their boss, the House should immediately impeach that official as is within their power as is set forth in the Constitution.  

It will, if nothing more, demonstrate the limitations of the protection of the Presidency.

THE MOTHER OF ALL CARAVANS

I suspect that the mother of all caravans is now forming, in Central America,  because our very stable genius, in the White House, has said that he would send migrants to sanctuary cities in the U.S.  There is not a person in Central America that does not know that once a resident in any city, one is free to travel anywhere in the country.  If he cannot get a job in San Francisco, he has friends who know where jobs are waiting for him.  Sure I know that Trump was probably joking, but don't tell me that, explain that to a poor campesino who doesn't understand Trumpian humor.

WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG?

Donald Trump may have a valid complaint when he says that he is being investigated while others are not.  For example, why are his tax returns the subject of investigations when Congress should be investigating the I.R.S. and what's taking so long to audit them?
By my calculation, it has taken more than 14 years now for them to audit one of them.  

DID TRUMP ALREADY SPRING MUELLER'S PERJURY TRAP?

How ironic it would be, if  Trump, taking advantage of Barr's delay in releasing the Mueller report and declaring himself exonerated, has  walked into that perjury trap that his lawyers warned against, when the Mueller report finally sees the light of day.

UNFETTERED USE OF PEE TAPES IN VENEZUELA CONFLICT?

As the potential of more Russian troops coming to Venezuela rises, it is reported that Putin is deploying more pee tapes to assure inaction by the U.S. in Russian affairs.