Elect A Clown, Watch a Circus
Soon after becoming President, Trump invited law enforcement leadership to the White House to thank them for their help in the inauguration. One of the many people invited was then FBI Director James Comey. Comey really did not want to go to the meeting. He believed a strong distance must exist between the President and the head of the FBI. Further, he was already hated by Democrats over his handling of Clinton’s emails and did not want to look like he was working with Trump.
Benjamin Wittes, a long time friend of Director Comey, says in an article published in his blog that Comey dreaded the meeting so much, he wanted to hide. So he did. Comey walked into the meeting and noticed that the drapes were the same color as his blazer. He stood in front of the drapes and hoped to go unnoticed. Comey-flauge if you will.
This dynamic seems to go against the dynamic between the FBI and the President that we are so used to learning about. Shouldn’t the President fear the swift hand of justice or something like that? Instead we have seen a very different dynamic in the Trump Administration. Justice, and basic fundamentals of democracy, have been ignored by the Administration while personal gain is prioritized. It is time to start taking action. Even without looking at personal politics, or who makes up this Administration, it is clear that a line has been crossed.
Donald Trump won the election by talking about his business history. He would make deals, the best deals, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Donald Trump, and his administration, has made deals, but they benefit themselves and their businesses.
The Kushner Family, who has now been positioned only a few steps away from the President, has used ties in government to build deals abroad. A few weeks ago Nicole Kushner Meyer, sister of Jared Kushner, spoke in front of a group of Chinese investors in Beijing. She wanted them to invest in a Kushner property. If they invested $500,000 or more into the project they could take advantage of the EB-5 visa program. The program was summarized at this event as “invest $500,000 and immigrate to the United States.” The EB-5 program in very controversial and previous administrations have worked to undo the program. In this meeting, Kushner Companies used their proximity to the Trump Administration in order to ensure the visa program would not end.
Further, Kushner himself has used his business connections to better deals that the President organizes. After crafting a controversial arms deal with Saudi Arabia, a government official tried to add in a sophisticated radar system. In order to lower the price, Kushner called Marillyn Hewson, CEO of Lockheed Martin, to lower the price on the radar system. This is significant for a few reasons. Trump told the voters that he wanted to create “America First” policies. Certainly having one of his top advisors, and son-in-law, pursue an American company to make less money in order to benefit a foreign nation is not what his voters had in mind. Additionally, Kushner’s involvement in both of these incidents shows that a country does not have to go through layers of bureaucracy in order to make deals with the President, they simply need a personal relationship with Kushner.
Trump himself has been accused of using the presidency for personal gain, yet it is important to pay attention to who he surrounds himself with.
Furthermore, the Trump administration has also been full of law breaking. The confirmation hearings were a circus of misinformation, yet the crowning jewel was Jeff Sessions lying under oath. Claiming he had no contact with the Russian government and this was later proven to be false. Later the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General seeking his disbarment. Actions like this have gone relatively unpunished. While any regular lawyer, punishment for lying under oath would be swift, yet Sessions is still running the Department of Justice. Allowing these politicians to break the law, obstruct justice, and continue working is dangerous. It threatens how our democracy works, and makes more law breaking inevitable.
It is important to look for next steps. Most likely and necessary is impeachment. With Trump’s escalating pattern of illegal or questionable actions, Trump is looking down the barrel of possible impeachment. Trump’s impeachment is far from definite. The loyal Republican majority has historically put party over country time and time again. Trump’s current actions have led to lots of pushback yet few Republicans are ready to ditch their party leader. This being said, Republicans face a tough fight defending this administration. Every week Trump has found a new way to hurt his base, prove his own incompetence, or put American security at risk. Local governments, who have no say in the impeachment process, have begun to urge Congress to take steps. Currently, with dwindling approval ratings, Trump’s impeachment is more popular than he is.
This all means that action is necessary. A broken and justice defying Justice Department, an unaccountable Congress, and a foolishness that has never been seen before are all letting this madness continue. Protest is the people’s easiest response. Go to the streets, demand action, call legislators to either vote for impeachment, or press Congress to do so. Do not let our democracy die in ignorance. Give light to these issues and make sure your voice is heard.