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The Screaming Moderate

Dershowitz gives cover for a no-impeachment vote

1/30/2020

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President Trump, who views himself as at most a tyrant and at least as a CEO-type who every employee should kowtow to, will feel all the more powerful when he is acquitted in the impeachment trial.

That is partly due to one of his lawyers, Alan Dershowitz, who argued that as long as the President, who like every candidate believes his election is in the national interest, is acting in what he sees as the public’s best interest to get himself re-elected, he has done nothing impeachable.

I don’t care in this moment if you are a supporter of Trump or not, Dershowitz’ argument would put anti-constitutional power in a president’s hands. Dershowtiz’ take on the Constitution is a minority one in the world of constitutional experts. As one of his former Harvard colleagues, Professor Charles Fried put it, Dershowitz’ position made the “very best argument for getting (former NSC Advisor John) Bolton’s testimony” so the Senate can determine Trump’s motives and whether they’re “different from the national interest.”

Some Republican senators already are using Dershowitz’ words to justify their coming "no witnesses" vote which will lead to their not guilty verdict. Dershowitz’ argument whether they agree with it or not is giving them cover to acquit Trump.

Of course today Dershowitz and some Fox talking heads are saying, basically, he didn’t say what he said. Dershowitz tweeted, “They (critics) characterized my argument as if I had said that if a president believes that his re-election was in the national interest, he can do anything. I said nothing like that, as anyone who actually heard what I said can attest.”

Well, I was watching and listening. He said that if a president (or any candidate really) thinks his election is in the public interest, then any action he takes cannot be considered a quid pro quo. But more importantly, many Republican senators are taking what he said as cover to vote to acquit Trump.

Just go listen to the tape, or on YouTube or whatever, and try to forget your political beliefs. Just listen to what he said and I think you’ll agree.

Now in the great scheme of life Dershowitz', who is at heart, a criminal defense lawyer, is a minority interpretation. But those Republican senators are using it as a crutch to justify their acquittal vote. And, when he is acquitted you can bet your bottom dollar that Trump will use it to further his corruption of the government. It should be a humdinger of a State of the Union address next week.

There also are articles today saying that the ultimate vote on calling witnesses could end in a 50-50 tie and put Chief Justice Roberts in the position of breaking the tie, or letting the tie stand and then the issue of witnesses will be moot.

There will be no 50-50 vote. Majority Leader McConnell isn’t the only good vote-counter in the Senate, Those couple of senators who indicated they might-maybe-possibly could vote for more witnesses (Romney, Collins, Murkowsi, Alexander) will read the votes and see no witnesses is a foregone conclusion and they will vote to have no witnesses. It’s done all the time in Congress – see how the vote’s going; if you can’t win by voting your conscience, go with the majority and cover your rear. 53-47 here we come.

Of course I believe Bolton should testify. He was in the room. He knows. And anyone who knows Bolton knows he’s a straight-shooter. In fact, that’s one reason Trump didn’t like him on his staff.

On a side note, if they call Joe Biden, he could see it as a huge opportunity. They would be questioning him on the subject he feels most passionate about – his family. If he gave a good performance, it would only help him. But, it’s a big risk because he could screw up.

In any event, he has no relevant testimony. If there were any evidence of his wrong doing, Republicans should pull it out, show it and have the Justice Department investigate. There has only been innuendo, no evidence. They aren’t asking the FBI or Justice to investigate. That’s because there is no evidence.

Our political situation is very messed up, to say the least. If Trump is acquitted, as he will be, and if he wins re-election – the country will be in for the test of our lives to protect our Democracy.


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I'm no lawyer but...

1/20/2020

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The President’s defense team is going to argue that Donald J. Trump not only committed no crime but that abuse of power is not a constitutional violation.

So, no crime and abuse of power is okay.

This would mean the only way to remove a president from power is for him or her to commit a statutory crime.

With his caucus publicly firmly behind him, Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell is counting on keeping the 53 votes he has, which will mean an acquittal for Trump.

No matter your view of Trump, think what those arguments will mean if Trump is acquitted. This President will feel he has the freedom to basically do whatever he wants with his last year in office and his potential four more years in office.

With some guardrails in place, we thought there was some control on the President whoever it is. If those rails are taken away, it’s literally Katie bar the door! Think what that means for future presidents who want to make money rather than maintain the American people’s security. Or are in the pocket of a foreign government that can sway an election his or her way.

I was accepting of the fact that Trump wouldn’t be convicted but that was when I thought his legal arguments would be based on his claimed innocence.

Now, his acquittal would increase his power. There will be no check and balance on the President

Think what a Democratic president, too, can do if he or she feels that he cannot abuse power
This truly makes this trial more than a political trial and one that literally is about the future of this country.

If my non-legal background take is correct as outlined here, this truly can mean the end of the rule of law – and the end of this country – if Trump is acquitted. I do not believe that is overstatement.

We have to let our senators know how we feel as this trial goes on because if we don’t, those 53 senators – fearful of being the target of Trump’s wrath and his voters votes – can do as they please.

This is not about liking or disliking Donald Trump. This is about what we have believed our Constitution says about removing a President from office who has gone rogue on following the law or has sold his soul to an enemy of the country.
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Trump thinks he's King (he isn't)

1/14/2020

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Typical of President Trump’s style, he is creating his legacy without earning it. Among the things he takes credit for are:

  • Improvements in cancer survival rates (he actually has cut dollars for cancer research in his budgets)
  • The biggest tax reduction in history (it isn’t)
  • The best economy in history (it isn’t)
  • The leader of another country winning the Nobel Prize (he had nothing to do with it)
  • Saving “pre-existing conditions” in health care (he did the opposite)
  • Bailing out farmers hit by trade wars (he instigated those trade wars causing the farmers to lose that money)
  • Making it okay to say “Merry Christmas” again (he didn’t)

You get the idea.

Like most thing in Trump’s life, he figures if he claims credit often enough, he’ll get credit. (he won’t).

Trump apparently also believes that as President he has a license to kill. His various explanations of why he ordered the assassination of Iran’s top general has floated among several options – from we faced “imminent” attack by Iran to they were about to attack four of our embassies and his latest which can be summed up as “the general deserved to die for all the heinous things he did in his life.”

That is true, but apparently Trump now believes he can kill at will and answer to no one. Let me quickly add: NO ONE BELIEVES THE GENERAL’s DEATH WASN’T JUSTIFIED NOR IS ANYONE TAKING HIS SIDE AND DEFENDING HIS MURDEROUS DEEDS.

It’s just that the United States doesn’t kill without a legitimate justification. And, it’s important that the Congress, or at least the Gang of Eight, is notified.

He even thinks he can tell the Republican-led Senate to just dismiss the impeachment articles about to be sent its way without any kind of a trial (a trial he begged for to show his innocence). Seems if he is innocent, he would allow his people to testify under oath to that fact. No one holds back a witness who can clear his name.

Bottom line: Trump thinks, as we all know, that being President of the United States equals being King/Dictator of the country and he can ignore the Constitution (he can't).


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When does the lying end?

1/10/2020

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If you thought this was a politically polarized nation before, the killing of Iran's General Quasem Soleimani completed the deal. In the aftermath of the Trump Administration killing what everyone in the West considered a terrorist with American and other blood on his hands, we have seen Republicans pointing fingers at Democrats as the “only ones mourning the general’s killing.”

That’s far from what any Democrat has said but it is one line of attack some Republicans are using, including President Trump. But it doesn’t end with Trump, of course, it begins there. We have seen the formerly respected and former United Nations ambassador, Nikki Haley, go full Trump by being a leader of this chorus.

The woman who, on leaving the Administration, tried to balance keeping Trump on her side but not always agreeing with him, has now decided apparently that her future rests with Donald Trump. She clearly is all in with him.

Another leader in the “Democrats love terrorists” chorus is Rep. Douglas Collins (R-Ga.) who led the Trump defense in the House impeachment hearings and who said, “…they mourn Soleimani more than they mourn our gold star families who are the ones who suffered under Soleimani.” (I won’t go into how Collins’ North Star has treated gold star families when he was a candidate for president).

This line of attack while not being true is beyond disgusting. No Democrats love terrorists. Any more than any Republican loves terrorists.

But this is the depth our rhetoric has sunk to in the opening days of 2020. If you like what January has brought for political debate, just wait until Trump’s State of the Union address in early February which will probably be after the Republican-controlled Senate holds its trial on impeachment and clears Trump of any wrongdoing.

War, or near war, used to be where the political swords were put away in Washington. No more.  I don’t believe there has been a President in my lifetime who has notified Congress before going to near-war or war. The timing of such decisions just don’t make it an easy notification to make. But, Congress does have a role (in spite of former Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders claiming the Democrats on the Hill’s efforts to “run foreign policy” violate the Constitution. Actually, what they’re trying to do is exactly what the Constitution gives them a role in.)

But, truth matters not a whit to Trump or his people. He lies and he has shown his people a new path in politics – the Politics of Lying. When the facts don’t help, don’t use facts – make them up.  (I hear you saying “but all politicians lie.” Truth is, they don’t. And most don’t flat-out like as the President does).

Count me in on those who think the world is a better place without Soleimani. That isn’t the issue. The issue is what role Congress has in determining when the United States goes to war. They have a role. They have a right to information to make their decisions. We pay them as we pay the President, we have a right to know (not all classified information) but enough to know what the heck our tax dollars are going to.

(Tangent: The Treasury Department as we speak is trying to hide expenses for the President and his family when they’re on vacation. This is not how our government is supposed to work. We have the right to know. That's our money they're spending.  And, one more thing, we learn more about what the President is doing in meetings with foreign leaders from those foreign leaders. Russia put out details of a Trump phone call before the White House even announced the call. And, Iraq announced it talked to Secretary of State Pompeo about removing our troops from Iraq when the official read out from State never mentioned that little detail.)

As we head toward the end of Trump’s term, you need to look ahead to a possible second term for him. If he has so ignored traditional norms (not that some of them shouldn’t be updated) in his first term, when he does have to face accountability in the form of an election, how much can he ignore or violate in a second term? The punishment for a President committing "high crimes and misdemeanors will mean nothing once the Senate clears Trump of his current charges. He will know he can, as he has throughout his life, beat the rap. Pay no consequences.

Trump sees himself as the all-powerful leader of the United States. He doesn’t seem to understand the Congress’ role in governing the country. He went to a foreign leader(s) seeking help in his re-eleciton campaign which is against the law, his people lie (I’ll explain) to the Congress when they go to brief them on a military action, and a 1000 other things, what will he do in a second term?

His folks lied to Congress when they briefed them on the Soleimani Operation. They apparently claimed that they could not share some of the intelligence with them because of its sensitivity. That is total baloney. The Gang of Eight, the top leadership in the House, is cleared at a very high level. And there are ways to offer information without identifying the source, if that is their concern. Plus, I wonder how much the President has told his cronies (yes you, Lindsay Graham) but won’t tell the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, a man who Trump’s “counselor” called untrustworthy in a TV interview.

Where and when does all this lying end?
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    B. Jay Cooper

    B. Jay is a former deputy White House press secretary to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He also headed the communications offices at the Republican National Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Yale University. He is a former reporter and is the retired deputy managing director of APCO Worldwide's Washington, D.C., office.
    He is the father of three daughters and grandfather of five boys and one girl. He lives in Marion, Mass.

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