Trump's Retribution & His Campaign to Subvert the Rule of Law

Trump's Revenge. This week America is getting a preview of what a second term for this President would look like and it should shock, offend and scare even the most ardent Trump supporter. The President is punishing the officials who stood for the rule of law, and protecting those who violated it.

New York Magazine: "Two days after Senate Republicans acquitted President Trump on both counts of impeachment, the Trump administration fired a number of national-security officials: European Union ambassador Gordon Sondland and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council staffer, for voluntarily testifying before the House, as well as the latter’s twin brother, Lieutenant Colonel Yevgeny Vindman, for being related to Alexander. Now, the “Friday Night Massacre” is extending into this week. The New York Post reports that the administration is retaliating against Elaine McCusker, whose nomination for Pentagon comptroller and chief financial officer has been pulled."

McCusker made the mistake last Summer of pointing out that withholding the aid to Ukraine violated US law.

And just firing Colonel Vindman [and his brother] doesn't seem to be enough for the President. Trump wants to send a clear message to whistle-blowers, to those that would stand for the rule of law.

Washington Post: "President Trump escalated his campaign of retribution against his perceived impeachment enemies Tuesday, railing in the Oval Office about a decorated combat veteran who testified about the president’s conduct with Ukraine and suggesting the Defense Department should consider disciplining him."

Trump's Campaign to Subvert Justice. And yesterday a group of four federal prosecutors took a stand against improper political influence in the Justice Department. The prosecutors followed federal sentencing guidelines, asking a court to sentence long-time Trump associate Roger Stone to 7-9 years in prison for obstruction of justice, lying to Congress and witness tampering. President Trump publicly objected to the proposed sentence for his friend, and William Barr's Justice Department overruled the prosecutors, retracting the sentencing recommendation. The four prosecutors abruptly withdrew from the case on Tuesday without comment, but their point was clear.

New York Times: "But David Laufman, a former chief of the Justice Department’s counterintelligence unit, said he could not recall another criminal case in which an entire team of prosecutors had resigned en masse, apparently to protest improper political interference."

“This is a ‘break glass in case of fire’ moment,” he said. “We have now seen the political leadership of the department, presumably acting on the president’s desires, reaching down into a criminal case to withdraw a reasoned sentencing recommendation to the court.”

"The prosecutors’ withdrawals suggest that they not only disagreed with officials at the department’s headquarters, but were concerned about compromising their own ethics, said Greg Brower, a former prosecutor and senior F.B.I. official."

Many Americans believe that because of our long history and hollowed institutions that our country is strong enough to withstand this level of malfeasance without becoming just another failed democracy, a "banana republic." But stop and think a moment about what another four years of this President would do to our most cherished principle, the rule of law.

#news #Trump

By: Don Lam & Curated Content