Report Debunks Anti-Trump Plot in Russia Inquiry (NYT, December 10, 2019)
Deep state in deep legal jeaopardy (sic) (Sean Hannity on Foxnews.com)
In which country do you live?
Do you live in the country that sees the Inspector General Report as one which asserts there is no Deep State and no political assault on Donald Trump? Or do you live in a country that sees the Inspector General Report as one which validates that every claim made against the Deep State is true and the perpetrators of the single biggest abuse of power in American history are in deep legal jeopardy?
Should Comey be taking a victory lap on the Fake News talk shows or is Duped-Again-by-Hannity right to warn him about doing exactly that?
There is only one Inspector General Report but according to the President of the United States the current Director of the FBI must have received a different one then he had. Putting aside the obvious fact that the President of the United States lacks the mental necessities to read the report and is relying on what his Attorney General told him, the comment nonetheless goes to the heart of the matter. The response to the Inspector General Report documents that we live in two countries within a single political entity. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that political entity or any political entity so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure.
As I listened to the two factions in the Civil War, I was struck by the difference in tone. The Fake News talk shows were relatively measured in their tone. The word “debunk” frequently was used. The texts related to the lack of political bias were quoted often. Ironically, people in the past who have objected to how easily the FBI could open an investigation now deployed that shortcoming to solidify the argument that no political bias was involved. In this regard, the report confirmed what many already feared about the broad powers of the FBI to launch an investigation even as it showed the Trump investigation was a legitimate one.
Obviously, the cool, calm, and collected mature President was having none of it. Instead he launched a hissy fit tirade against the report, the very report that Duped-Again-by-Russia Hannity said vindicated everything he had said about the Deep State. In the show following his, the host practically had steam coming out of her ears such was her fury about the report. She demanded that action be taken so there could never be an abuse of power by the Deep State again.
The President’s new Michael Cohen promised to fix things. The new Michael Cohen declared that the conclusion of the report made clear that the FBI investigation into the candidate was fraudulent from the start and never should have occurred. The Trump-appointed Attorney vowed not to relent in his pursuit of the truth until he had a report he wanted. It would exonerate the President and indict the Deep State. No matter how long it takes as long as it is before the elections so the voters will see the truth, there would be a report. Nunes the crooked clown hadn’t produced the goods, Horowitz hadn’t produced the goods. The Durham Bull would.
What does this all mean for the Third Civil War? Right now the President is all-trash talk all the time. His seventh-grade smart-aleck dumb aleck self will be on display nonstop from now until the election if not afterwards. He will be joined by Duped-Again-by-Russia Hannity who cannot refer to Adam Schiff by name without adding the pejorative “compromised, corrupt, congenital liar.”
The needle will not move.
Minds will not be changed.
The intensity of emotions will ratchet up.
At some point it will boil over.
At this point, it is not exactly clear when the war of words will go to the next level. The question is not whether or not we will become Hong Kong, Lebanon, Iraq, or Iran but when. There are any number of potential explosive points.
Impeachment and the Senate trial will not be one of them. Everybody on both sides has known for weeks how it will end so there will be no surprise when it does end without removing this President from office. Therefore it will not be a catalyst for widespread demonstrations that lead to violence.
In case you think I am over-reacting, consider this line from The New York Times on December 8 written even earlier and therefore before the Inspector General Report or Articles of Impeachment:
…the poll also revealed that Americans feel deeply pessimistic about the nation’s future and fear that worse political conflict is coming. Some military analysts and historians agree and put the odds of a civil war breaking out in the United States frighteningly high.
What might trigger the demonstrations?
One possibility is the President of the United States will openly defy a Supreme Court ruling. So far he has only openly defied Congress and declared that check and balance void. There easily could come a time when he will do the same to the Supreme Court. It may not come to that, but it should be recognized as a possibility that such defiance will a flashpoint, the straw that breaks the camel’s back leading to demonstrations that result in violence that cannot be controlled or stopped.
For example suppose, the Court rules that Congressional subpoenas are valid and that people have to testify. If the current President of the United States defied that ruling how would the Supreme Court enforce it? Not much has changed in that regard since Andrew Jackson. Do you think any of the Trumpicans would testify in defiance of the President because their loyalty to the Constitution trumps their loyalty to this President? And then tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Are you serious?
Suppose instead the current President of the United States decided to comply with the Supreme Court ruling, what would his people say under oath? There are four possible responses to any questions posed to them.
1. I refuse to participate in this witch hunt.
2. I refuse to participate in this hoax.
3. I claim executive privilege.
4. I plead the 5th.
In fact they might even ask questions of their own.
1. Where’s Adam?
2. Where’s the whistleblower?
3. Where are the Bidens?
In short, Jonathan Turley was completely wrong. A delay in the impeachment vote would not produce any additional information from the co-conspirators.
Then what about the tax returns? Suppose the Court orders the tax returns to be released to Congress, would the current President comply? Obviously not. Would that lead to riots and demonstrations because the current President placed himself above the law? No.
Suppose in an act of civil disobedience, someone in the IRS releases the tax returns following the Court ruling and Presidential defiance? It would led to a fury of legal actions but probably not to any demonstrations.
Suppose the tax returns reveal that this President had been laundering money for the Russian mob? Would the Department of Justice take action against this President? Obviously not? Would Congress take up new articles of impeachment? Obviously not.
What all this means is the flashpoint for in-the street action will be the presidential election itself. At this point it is too early and uncertain to know how that will play out in the Electoral College, the popular vote, and in the legal proceedings following the election. It will be an apocalyptic battle between the forces of light and darkness. It will lead to tens of millions of people being traumatized. It will be a time when people take matters into their own hands. It will be Putin’s finest moment.
