Dispatches from the Trump Circus
The Trump Administration has been such a circus, with outrages following scandals in quick succession, that it’s easy to lose track of some storylines. Here are three worth remembering:
The 545
According to reports this week, there are 545 children separated from their parents at the border who are still in U.S. custody. Due to the barbarism and callous ineptness of the Administration, their parents were deported without first being reunited with their children. Over two years has passed since the policy ended, yet the children have still not been reunited with their parents.
If you want to grow a terrorist, someone who hates the United States with a passion, you could hardly do better than to start with forcibly separating this person from his mother as a child. Remember, this policy was not done in the name of Trump, but in the name of the United States of America. Whatever evil comes from this, it will fall on all of us.
The Fake Witch Hunt
The President, trailing in the polls both nationally and in key swing states, is desperate for an October Surprise, like the one Jim Comey handed him late in the 2016 race. Comey’s announcement that he was reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server knocked the wind out of her sails and allowed Trump to sweep past her.
Trump was hoping that digging into the origins of the Mueller Investigation would reveal some wrongdoings on the part of Obama and Biden. Those hopes were dashed earlier this month when the investigation by US Attorney John Durham was quietly shuttered. Meanwhile, the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Republicans, verified everything that was in the Mueller Report and added a few details besides.
As I argued in my June 2019 blog, “Manafort the Spy,” the Mueller Investigation was no witch hunt. It was, in Trump’s words, a “fake witch hunt,” that is, a real investigation, leading to some warranted convictions.
The Long Arm of Cyrus Vance
The President, desperate to stay in power, has tried unsuccessfully in recent weeks to muddy the name of Joe Biden, and to attack the former Vice President via son Hunter. The Biden camp has gathered lawyers, expecting Trump to fight in court any election result that does not have him as the winner.
One reason for Trump’s desperation: the long arm of the law is slowly closing in on him. Trump has fought subpoenas from Southern District of New York prosecutor Cyrus Vance for over a year. The battle reached the Supreme Court for the second time earlier this month. The arguments that Trump’s lawyers have made have been rejected at every level.
The New York Times has obtained some glimpses into Trump’s taxes and pointed out areas of potential criminality. These include Trump paying his daughter Ivanka both as an employee and as a contractor, presumably to avoid payroll taxes. Documents held at Mazars could point to further areas of guilt or make the case for intent to commit tax fraud.
I expect the Supreme Court will decline to hear the case again, forcing the president’s accounting firm, Mazars, to hand over the paperwork Vance is requesting. But Chief Justice Roberts, keen to keep the court out of presidential politics, will wait until after the election to give his verdict.
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Thanks for reading! Remember to like and comment! See you next week!
The 545
According to reports this week, there are 545 children separated from their parents at the border who are still in U.S. custody. Due to the barbarism and callous ineptness of the Administration, their parents were deported without first being reunited with their children. Over two years has passed since the policy ended, yet the children have still not been reunited with their parents.
If you want to grow a terrorist, someone who hates the United States with a passion, you could hardly do better than to start with forcibly separating this person from his mother as a child. Remember, this policy was not done in the name of Trump, but in the name of the United States of America. Whatever evil comes from this, it will fall on all of us.
The Fake Witch Hunt
The President, trailing in the polls both nationally and in key swing states, is desperate for an October Surprise, like the one Jim Comey handed him late in the 2016 race. Comey’s announcement that he was reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server knocked the wind out of her sails and allowed Trump to sweep past her.
Trump was hoping that digging into the origins of the Mueller Investigation would reveal some wrongdoings on the part of Obama and Biden. Those hopes were dashed earlier this month when the investigation by US Attorney John Durham was quietly shuttered. Meanwhile, the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Republicans, verified everything that was in the Mueller Report and added a few details besides.
As I argued in my June 2019 blog, “Manafort the Spy,” the Mueller Investigation was no witch hunt. It was, in Trump’s words, a “fake witch hunt,” that is, a real investigation, leading to some warranted convictions.
The Long Arm of Cyrus Vance
The President, desperate to stay in power, has tried unsuccessfully in recent weeks to muddy the name of Joe Biden, and to attack the former Vice President via son Hunter. The Biden camp has gathered lawyers, expecting Trump to fight in court any election result that does not have him as the winner.
One reason for Trump’s desperation: the long arm of the law is slowly closing in on him. Trump has fought subpoenas from Southern District of New York prosecutor Cyrus Vance for over a year. The battle reached the Supreme Court for the second time earlier this month. The arguments that Trump’s lawyers have made have been rejected at every level.
The New York Times has obtained some glimpses into Trump’s taxes and pointed out areas of potential criminality. These include Trump paying his daughter Ivanka both as an employee and as a contractor, presumably to avoid payroll taxes. Documents held at Mazars could point to further areas of guilt or make the case for intent to commit tax fraud.
I expect the Supreme Court will decline to hear the case again, forcing the president’s accounting firm, Mazars, to hand over the paperwork Vance is requesting. But Chief Justice Roberts, keen to keep the court out of presidential politics, will wait until after the election to give his verdict.
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Thanks for reading! Remember to like and comment! See you next week!
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