It really is quite extraordinary- not surprising, but
extraordinary. On Monday, Brian Klaas of The Atlantic wrote
Late Friday night, the former president of the United
States—and a leading candidate to be the next president—insinuated that
America’s top general deserves to be put to death.
That extraordinary sentence would be unthinkable in any
other rich democracy. But Donald Trump, on his social-media network, Truth
Social, wrote that Mark Milley’s phone call to reassure China in the aftermath
of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was “an act so egregious
that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.” (The phone call
was, in fact, explicitly authorized by Trump-administration officials.) Trump’s
threats against Milley came after The Atlantic’s publication of a profile of
Milley, by this magazine’s editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who detailed the
ways in which Milley attempted to protect the Constitution from Trump....
Trump loves to hide behind the thin veneer of plausible
deniability, but he knows exactly what he’s doing. If a mob boss were to say,
“In times gone by, people like you would have had their legs broken,” nobody
would mistake that for a historical observation. The suggestion is clear, and
it comes from a man who has one of America’s loudest megaphones—one that is
directed squarely at millions of extremists who are well armed, who insist that
the government is illegitimate, and who believe that people like Milley are
part of a “deep state” plot against the country.
Noting that a member of the House of Representatives has
echoed Trump's wish with “in a better society, quislings like the strange
sodomy-promoting General Milley would be hung," Klaas' primary concern is
political violence, a growing likelihood in the USA.
That possibility is serious enough but would not even be the most
devastating outcome of Trump's threats. In the past week, the ex-President has
encouraged assassination of a general and has denounced a major media company,
which he said "should be investigated for its 'Country Threatening Treason."
Attacking the 2020 election, last December he posted "A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude
allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those
found in the Constitution.”
The wish list thus includes termination of military officers
performing their duty, media which questions him, and the entire framework of
the rule of law, including the Constitution. It's clear Donald J. Trump intends
to corral the military and all law enforcement as the next President, and it's
not to maintain a democratic republic.
Then on Wednesday evening, several Republican candidates
for President participated in a debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential
Library in Simi Valley, California. Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, and Ron
DeSantis criticized the leading candidate, Donald J. Trump, for not showing
up. Christie further knocked the
ex-President for running up the national debt and cozying up to Vladimir Putin,
as he maintained Presidents Biden, Obama, and GW Bush had done. Haley
knocked her ex-boss for largely ignoring the threat posed by China.
Seven candidates, fewer than half would criticize Donald
Trump for not joining them on stage, two for a policy issue, and none for supporting totalitarianism.
Then it got worse. At evening's end, Dana Perino would ask
what seemed like a silly question, but for which the response was telling:
And candidates, it’s now obvious that if you all stay, in
the race, former President Donald Trump wins the nomination. None of you have
indicated that you’re dropping out. So, which one of you, on stage, tonight,
should be voted off the island? Please use your marker, to write your choice, on the notepad, in front of you. 15 seconds, starting now. Of the people on the stage, who should be voted —
They are competing for a presidential nomination. Thus far,
the leading candidate has refused to show them the courtesy or respect by
engaging in debate. He obviously is taking both them and the voters for granted.
Perino gave the candidates an opportunity to say that in so
doing Donald Trump had forfeited his right to be the nominee of their party, or
at least that he should step aside for one of the worthy candidates.
Only Christie offered up Trump. Two (Pence, Burgum) said
nothing while four of their colleagues explicitly ruled out answering the
question.
Six of the seven thereby either actively or passively
defended their main rival by implying that he should remain in the race. At a
(bare) minimum, they could have said, "any candidate who doesn't respect
Republican voters should not be the nominee." They wouldn't even have had to
utter the name "Trump."
Their rival has been indicted four times, including for
encouraging a coup against the government of the United States of America and
for purloining top secret documents, even ones disclosing nuclear secrets and
plans for possible military action against an enemy. That individual now has
given the thumbs up to assassinating a general, closing down a media company
not subservient to him, and terminating the Constitution.
MAGA this, MAGA that. By contrast, Chris Christie, Nikki
Haley, Mike Pence, and Tim Scott all are
part of the non-chaos wing of the Republican Party, which much of the media
ignorantly characterize as "moderate." And all but one of those, a
guy who hates unions, teachers, and reproductive care for women, appear
perfectly fine with Donald J. Trump becoming the 47th President of the USA.
Bring him on! Four more years! Trump for President, cry GOP
voters- and the candidates for President. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it's one political party alone responsible for polarization of
the nation.
As a candidate for the Republican nomination for President, former
Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson appeared Monday on MSNBC’s ":Deadline White House", hosted by Nicolle Wallace. Hutchinson
has repeatedly said he cannot back former President Donald
Trump if he is a convicted criminal. Yet, he signed a pledge to get on the RNC
debate stage that would require him to back Trump if he is the nominee, even as
he still claims he cannot back the former president.
"If you are not the Republican nominee, will you vote
for Donald Trump as president?" asked Wallace.
"Well, I don't expect him to be the nominee so—"
Hutchinson began.
"He's ahead 30 points in the latest polls,"
Wallace cut him off. "It's certainly a possibility."
"Well, I understand that and I'm sure that will come up
on the debate stage, but of course, if you believe he's not qualified under our
Constitution, the 14th Amendment, then he's not going to even be in the
picture," said Hutchinson.
"Well, I agree with you but did you sign the pledge as
a condition of being in the debate that you'll support the eventual
nominee?" said Wallace. "I'm just trying to find the consistency with
your stated positions. I admire some of them, but some of them don't add
up."
Former Rep. David Jolly (R-FL), another disaffected
anti-Trump conservative on the panel, spoke up.
"I support your spirit, but are you going to vote for
Donald Trump as the Republican nominee if, indeed, he's on the ballot in
Arkansas, where you're registered to vote?" said Jolly.
And I hear you very clearly, exactly what you're asking me,
and I just gave you the answer that I am providing in signing that pledge based
upon," Hutchinson said. "You don't have to accept it. I just gave you
the answer."
"Governor, I think ... [Republicans] refuse to deal
with the facts as they really are," said Wallace. "And the facts as
they really are — and believe me, from the bottom of my heart, I wish it wasn't
the case — but Donald Trump is ahead 30 points over the second-most popular
Republican and that isn't you, sir, unfortunately. But I wonder how we are to
cover seeming contradictions in views. You make a very strong constitutional
argument, not just that he's the wrong president on policy but that it is
unconstitutional because of the 14th Amendment, but you won't say here to us,
two former Republicans, that you won't vote for him?"
"Well, it's necessary to be on the debate," said
Hutchinson. "Obviously Chris Christie and others have signed that
pledge."
Christie, in particular, has made it clear that he has no
intention of supporting Trump. While it might be required to be on the debate
stage, what happens after Trump becomes the nominee can't be controlled by the
RNC. A Republican presidential candidate can sign the pledge now and ignore it
later without any legal consequence.
Hutchinson claimed the other candidates "have their own
rationale for being able to do that. I've said I'm not going to support anybody
who is a convicted felon, I'm not going to support somebody who is disqualified
from it. So I'm trying to make it clear what my position is. It's not hard to
figure it out. If you see a contradiction in there, perhaps that will be
clarified in future discussions on the debate or down the road. But I think
I've been very clear that I don't believe Donald Trump should be the leader of
the party, should be the next President of the United States. That's why I'm
running, that's why I'm in debate and I'm making my case very clearly."
Shorter Hutchinson: "I signed the pledge so I'd be admitted to the debate and I will not support Donald Trump if his is convicted of a felony." Without confessing "I lied about endorsing Donald Trump," Hutchinson was as clear as he could be.
Not so Mike Pence. Victor Blackwell, who often demonstrates that "CNN" and "journalism" are not mutually exclusive, begins by showing a clip of the former Vice President Mike Pence stating "I'm running for President in part because I think anyone who puts himself above the Constitution should never be President of the United States."
Blackwell than responds (emphasis his)
Never be President of the United States. However, when you were asked last night if you would vote for former President Trump even if he is convicted, you raised your hand. Rectify those two.
Pence at first replied "Well, look, everyone on that stage signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and frankly, my hand was raised in that spirit, just in keeping my word." That would have been a good answer, and almost identical to that of Hutchinson. But Pence couldn't or wouldn't stop there, continuing
But I really do believe more after last night that Donald Trump is not going to be the nominee. I know that many of you in the media think this is already a rematch between Trump and Biden. I don't see that. But I also think last night the American people saw, hopefully, hopefully they got a better sense of me and my role as a leader over the last twenty years.
They already had a good sense of Mike Pence as a leader. You'll recall that
A former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told the House January 6 committee that then-President Donald Trump had suggested to Meadows he approved of the “hang Mike Pence” chants from rioters who stormed the US Capitol, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Cassidy Hutchinson, the former aide, also testified that Trump complained about his then-vice president being hustled to safety while Trump supporters breached the Capitol, the sources said.
Fifteen months later, Brett Baier in Milwaukee would ask “You all signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee. If former President Trump is convicted in a court of law, would you still support him as your party's choice? Please raise your hand if you would." Trump surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, and Doug Burgum, none of whom the 45th President recommended be lynched, agreed they would. So did Mike Pence. I may be old school, but I'd hold a grudge against someone who thought it would be lovely if I were hanged.
Pence added
But I think they got a better sense of what deep bench the Republican Party has and that we have- we have better choices for 2024 for our Party. So I'm more confident than ever that our Party is going to give us a standard-bearer fitted for the times, someone that's going to lead us to victory in 2024. I'm going to continue to work....
Doesn’t matter. If he really believed Trump should never hold office he shouldn’t have raised his hand… https://t.co/hTLffX6A2c
This "deep bench" distinguished itself by overwhelming pledging their fealty to a guy who now faces four indictments, tried to steal an election, encouraged an insurrection against the United States government, and stole top secret documents regarding USA nuclear programs and possible attack against Iran.
It's a stellar bunch. Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson stood alone in refusing to pledge allegiance to Donald Trump and they have their own flaws, Hutchinson as an ardent force-birther and Christie an obsession with breaking teachers' unions. With Mike Pence, it's the "kick me" sign he has affixed to his posterior.
There are probably more than a dozen reasons this is a bad idea. We don't know what drugs Marjorie Taylor Greene wants Joe and Hunter Biden and staff members tested for, what the consequences should be if they turned up positive for this drug or that, or whether the cocaine found was left by a drug user. And let's not get started on President Donald Trump and Adderall.
Don’t worry @PressSec, we Oversight Republicans are going to ask Secret Service about cocaine found in the WH.
I’d also like to know if WH staff and admin, as well as Hunter Biden, can all pass a drug test.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) July 5, 2023
But that's not the problem with this very odd turn of affairs. In the video to which Representative Greene linked, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre can be seen stating
This is something that is under the purview of the Secret Service. They're the ones who handle this investigation so it lives, uh, in their purview, in their world...
.
Again, when it comes to security, when it comes to anything of those types of protocols, that is something the Secret Service handles.
Those types of protocols. Former press secretary Jen Psaki would be rolling in her
grave if she weren't still alive.
Nevertheless, it's the substance that matters and this is
the same agency which tried to whisk Vice President Mike Pence away from the
Capitol on January 6, 2021 when he
refused to get into a car waiting for him in a secure
underground location as the Capitol was being attacked because he was
determined to remain at the complex, his general counsel said on Thursday.
“The vice president did not want to take any chance that the
world would see the vice president of the United States fleeing the United
States Capitol,” his general counsel Greg Jacob testified to the House Jan. 6
committee. “He was determined that we would complete the work that we had set
out to do that day, that it was his constitutional duty to see it through and
that the rioters who had breached the Capitol would not have the satisfaction
of disrupting the proceedings beyond the day on which they were supposed to be
completed.”
The Secret Service had directed Pence and his top aides to
get into the waiting cars, Jacob said. He did but then got out again when he
realized the vice president had not. The
head of Pence’s security detail, Tim Giebles, told the vice president, “I
assure you we are not going to drive out of the building without your permission.”
“Tim, I know you, I trust you, but you’re not the one behind
the wheel," Pence replied according to Jacob.
Funny, not funny. The Vice President of the USA was concerned
that the Secret Service, against his wish, would kidnap- uh, er- transport him
when his duty was to remain at the Capitol to certify the electoral vote tally
for the election of Joe Biden as President. Pence was "determined that we
would complete the work" of confirming the defeat of Donald Trump and
"the one behind the wheel" was likely not going to give him that
chance.
President Biden was uninjured after falling on stage
congratulating the last of the Air Force Academy graduates at a commencement
ceremony Thursday.
Biden, who delivered the commencement address and stayed on
stage for a couple of hours as diplomas were awarded, could be seen in a video
stumbling and falling. He was helped up by Air Force officials and pointed at a
sandbag that appeared to be the cause of his tumble.
“He’s fine. There was a sandbag on stage while he was
shaking hands,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt tweeted.
The duty of the President's Secret Service detail is to
protect the President of the United States of America from harm, and they
failed. Biden later would quip "I was sandbagged." File that under
"many a true word is spoken in jest."
We may never learn definitively who left the bag of cocaine
in the White House. It could have been an extremely careless member of the
staff, an equally careless visitor, or a Hunter Biden who for some bizarre
reason wants to sandbag his father's re-election. Or as the French would put it, "Regardez le motif."
I suppose it was fairly predictable. After Governor Ron DeSantis signed his
signature "Stop Woke Act," he blasted the "myth" that
"Florida schools have been directed to 'empty libraries' and 'cover
classroom books.'"
However, as Judd Legum has pointed out, a regulation issued
by the state's Department of Education has created sufficient confusion and
fear that a few districts such as Manatee County School District have
instructed teachers to "remove or cover all classroom
libraries until all materials can be reviewed." In addition, a librarian
must "vet every classroom library book" and
In Escambia County for example, there have been challenges
filed to remove 175 books from school libraries. 148 of those books have been
removed from library shelves during the challenge process, which includes
multiple reviews and appeals. But thus far, the Escambia County school board
has considered and made a final decision on just four books. It voted to remove
all four. The other 170 challenges are still pending. But, in DeSantis'
intepretation of the data, Escambia would have only removed four books.
Large numbers of books have been removed pending appeal in
Clay County and other school districts as well.
These challenges of individual books is entirely separate
from the reviews of classroom libraries, which must be performed by librarians,
mandated by the DeSantis administration. That process is why, according to data
released by Duval County, more than 1.5 million books remain inaccessible to
students.
Confused? I am, and I'm writing about it, although Legum is thorough. Confusion probably is the intent, ambiguity the means for the governor. Far less
ambiguous is the six-week ban on abortion approved by the legislature in
Florida and signed by DeSantis which
will take effect only if the state’s current 15-week ban is
upheld in an ongoing legal challenge that is before the state Supreme Court,
which is controlled by conservatives.
The policy would have wider implications for abortion access
throughout the South in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year
overturning Roe v. Wade and leaving decisions about abortion access to states.
Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi have banned abortion at all stages of
pregnancy, while Georgia forbids the procedure after cardiac activity can be
detected, which is around six weeks.
A woman often does not know prior to six weeks that she is
pregnant but the punitive ban, as the cliche goes, is "a feature rather
than a bug," which more properly would be phrased "a benefit rather
than a bug."
Supporters of DeSantis' expected candidacy for the GOP nomination for President have supported his legislative initiatives, however cruel or authoritarian, or both (here again, benefit rather than bug). However, so have his critics, whether supporters or skeptics of Donald Trump's bid for the nomination.
In the latter category would be former New Jersey governor Chris Christie. The Guardian reports
DeSantis accused Disney of perpetrating a legally unsound “sham”, which he said he would dismantle. He also threatened to build on state-owned land next to Disney World.
“What should we do with this land?” DeSantis said. “Maybe create a state park. Maybe try to do more amusement parks. Someone even said, like, maybe you need another state prison. Who knows? I just think that the possibilities are endless.”
Christie said: “I don’t think Ron DeSantis is a conservative, based on his actions towards Disney.
“Where are we headed here now, that if you express disagreement in this country, the government is allowed to punish you? To me, that’s what I always thought liberals did. And now all of a sudden here we are participating in this with a Republican governor.”
As well as questioning why DeSantis attacked Disney, Christie blasted how he did it.
“For him … to not have foreseen that Disney was going to do what they did in response, which was to completely take over the millions and millions of acres and the zoning decisions on that … well, I’ll tell you this much: that’s not the guy I want sitting across from President Xi.”
BREAKING: Former Republican Governor, Chris Christie has just spoken out against Ron DeSantis and his attacks on Disney World:
“I don’t think Ron DeSantis is a conservative, based on his actions towards Disney. I mean, where are we headed now, that if you express disagreement… pic.twitter.com/tig5dz3ysw
Christie is not alone in his criticism, for former Vice President Mike Pence is doubling down on attacks
against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis:
The latest salvo came during a Yahoo! News interview
Tuesday, when the potential Presidential candidate likened “government
activism” from DeSantis to that of California’s Gavin Newsom, comparing
Florida’s handling of Disney to how California dealt with abortion pills.
“I’m a limited government conservative, and I believe in
private property, free enterprise. My concern more broadly was just simply
about taking action against a company in the wake of a political dispute, where
the company had taken a different position than the state,” Pence contended.
“I have concerns about that in Florida. I had the exact same
concerns about California, pulling a $54 million contract from Walgreens
because Walgreens announced that they’ll not be distributing the abortion pill
in 20 states where it would be illegal to do so. To me, it’s the same kind of
government activism — one on the right, one on the left, and both are wrong.”
Ronald Reagan said the 11th Commandment is "Thou shall not speak ill of another Republican." He first said that, though, well over a half century ago. No, it is more like "Thou Must Not Antagonize Corporations."
Mike Pence has been talking to his old friend from Indiana
again. In an excerpt, reported by MSNBC, from their book "Peril"
(Robert) Costa and (Costa) Woodward report that Pence rang
up Quayle in late December to ask if there was any way he could give Trump want
he wanted, according to the Washington Post:
Quayle was adamant, according to the authors. “Mike, you
have no flexibility on this. None. Zero. Forget it. Put it away,” he said.
But Pence pressed him, the authors write, asking if there
were any grounds to pause the certification because of ongoing legal
challenges. Quayle was unmoved, and Pence ultimately agreed, according to the
book.
CNN’s version added some additional detail to Pence’s
entreaty:
"You don't know the position I'm in," he said,
according to the authors.
"I do know the position you're in," Quayle
responded. "I also know what the law is. You listen to the
parliamentarian. That's all you do. You have no power."
And Pence did just that: He listened to the Senate
parliamentarian. Together, as Politico's Kyle Cheney showed on Twitter, they
crafted language that made clear that there would be no chance for alternate
electoral slates from states such as Georgia to vote for Trump. And in doing
so, Biden’s win was — once the Capitol was cleared of insurrectionists —
certified as it had been every other presidential election beforehand.
Pence is fighting a subpoena issued for him to testify
before a grand jury about the 1/6/01 insurrection. Nonetheless, on March 10 at the annual Gridiron Dinner in Washington, DC, after the obligatory jokes the former vice-president
took a serious tone, noting the attack on the Capitol was
“one thing I haven’t joked about” and calling January 6 “a tragic day.”
Pence rebuked Trump for his role in the January 6, 2021
attack, saying he was “wrong” for claiming Pence had the authority to overturn
the results of the 2020 election in his role presiding over Congress that day,
saying “history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
“President Trump was wrong. I had no right to overturn the
election and his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the
Capitol that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable,”
Pence said.
Pence repeatedly praised the media’s coverage of the January
6 attack at the dinner, which traditionally includes members of the Washington
press corps among its attendees, and said he was able to carry out his role in
certifying the election “in part” because of the media’s real-time coverage of
the insurrection.
“We were able to stay at our post, in part, because you
stayed at your post. The American people know what happened that day because
you never stopped reporting,” Pence said.
“For what you do to preserve and strengthen this great
democracy, you have my heartfelt thanks and I know the thanks of a grateful
nation. Thanks for what you do to preserve freedom,” Pence continued.
After criticizing the insurrectionists and Republicans who
have defended them, Pence
repeatedly praised the media’s coverage of the January 6
attack at the dinner, which traditionally includes members of the Washington
press corps among its attendees, and said he was able to carry out his role in
certifying the election “in part” because of the media’s real-time coverage of
the insurrection.
“We were able to stay at our post, in part, because you
stayed at your post. The American people know what happened that day because
you never stopped reporting,” Pence said.
“For what you do to preserve and strengthen this great
democracy, you have my heartfelt thanks and I know the thanks of a grateful
nation. Thanks for what you do to preserve freedom,” Pence continued.
Pence attacked both the individuals who would overturn democracy- and
the most popular figure among GOP primary voters- and expressed appreciation for the media. Those are safe remarks to make to the likes of the Gridiron Club but
suicidal for someone presumably planning to seek the GOP presidential nomination. If it
wasn't stunning to hear him call out Donald Trump by name- something Joe Biden
has been reluctant, and Barack Obama loathe, to do- the former V.P actually
commended the press, which Republicans hate to hear.
Actions speak louder than words and thus Mike Pence,
if he meant what he said, must drop his motion "asking a judge to block a
federal grand jury subpoena for his testimony related to January 6."
However, his words still were bolder than those of almost any GOP politician
which, admittedly, is analogous to referring to someone as the "most
honest or demure Trump." When a moment of silence to honor law enforcement officials
was held at the Capitol on January 6, 2023, only two Republicans (Liz Cheney
and Mitch McConnell) were present in the House chamber, and the latter
denounced Democrats for what he claimed is politicization of the attack.
So, let's give the devil his due and credit Mike Pence for
some fine words one evening. And let's do it quickly- he may retract his
sentiments before the next business day is out.
Dana Bash interviewed Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin on
Sunday's edition of CNN'sState of the Union. Conceding "the White House
response to this nothingburger has been slow-footed and dull," Charlie Pierce remarks
Into this manufactured melee have come some of the
president's fellow Democrats. From the AP:
Biden should be “embarrassed by the situation,” said
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, adding that
the president had ceded the moral high ground on an issue that has already
entangled former President Donald Trump. Special counsels appointed by Attorney
General Merrick Garland are investigating both cases. “Well, of course. Let’s
be honest about it. When that information is found, it diminishes the stature
of any person who is in possession of it because it’s not supposed to happen.
... The elected official bears ultimate responsibility,” Durbin said.
"Ceded the moral high ground" implies that El Caudillo
del Mar-A-Lago now occupies a piece of that "moral high ground." The
former president* hasn't been within an area code of any "moral high
ground" since he took his first breath of air. Lord, why did you make
Democrats so dim?
Truth be told, the Senator never stated (full transcript of
segment below) that President Biden has "ceded the moral high
ground." Bash asked him asked him whether the President "has kind of
lost the high ground" and Durbin responded
Well, of course. Let's be honest about it. When that
information is found, it diminishes the stature of any person who is in
possession of it, because it's not supposed to happen. Whether it was the fault
of a staffer or attorney, it makes no difference. The elected official bears
ultimate responsibility. And we have to worry, since this new group that has
taken over control of the House of Representatives has promised us endless
investigations, confrontations, impeachments and chaos, what is going to
happen.
Still, Durbin did generally agree with the thrust of Bash's
question and maintained "it diminishes the stature of any person who is in
possession of it." Durbin did get around to contrasting the responses of Donald
Trump and of Joe Biden to discovery of documents, noting
what happened and followed from it is significantly
different. Donald Trump defied those who knew the documents were in place and
ultimately led to, involuntarily, a court order and a search of his Mar-a-Lago
hotel resort to find out how many documents were there.
Contrast that with Joe Biden. Embarrassed by the situation,
as he should have been, he invited the government agencies in to carefully look
through all the boxes he had accumulated. It's a much different approach.
That's not good enough. American voters aren't going to be
impressed with Joe Biden cooperating with a Department of Justice and an FBI it no
longer holds up in such high respect (in part due to Trumpy attacks). It's a mere legal matter- except insofar as
there was a motive for the former President to obstruct an investigation in
contrast to the cooperation thus far demonstrated by the current President and
former Vice President Pence, who has now reported the existence of documents in
his Indianapolis home.
Since the Biden difficulties emerged, there has been no
discussion and virtually no speculation about the reasons either possessed classified documents in insecure locations. That is the major distinction
between Biden and Trump. No one suspects that Joe Biden squirreled away
documents to barter with the Saudis, the Russians, or the North Koreans. But
Donald Trump may have done so. No one suspects that Joe Biden is possessing
them so that if he is indicted, he has collateral in negotiations with the
Justice Department, state or city authorities. But Donald Trump may have done
so.
Nonetheless, now the American people think that the only
difference between Biden and Trump is that Biden played nice with the federal
government. They believe this because Durbin and other Democrats have
encouraged them to believe that. Democrats refuse to suggest nefarious motives
on the part of Donald Trump, which virtually every Democrat and most
independents believe characterize the former President.
And another thing- please stop with this
"embarrassed" thing. In a fair and just world, this would account for
something. Americans would appreciate their leaders recognizing their
wrongdoing and feeling guilty about it. However, not only do people realize this
is not a fair and just world, most voters of the left or the right, whatever their reasons, no longer believe this even of the USA. Not only does
an admission of embarrassment come off as weak, it is a virtual admission of guilt.
We have here a classic example of Democrats believing the
press is their friend. Dana Bash plays a video clip of Durbin labeling the
hoarding of documents at Mar-a-Lago "an outrage, a literal outrage,"
asks if Biden's behavior "was also an outrage," and the Senate's
second leading Democrat replies "and its heart, the issue is the same.
Those documents should not have been in the personal possession of either Joe
Biden or Donald Trump." If media
personalities suggest Joe Biden=Donald Trump, the question should be turned
back on them.
The response of the two men been dramatically different, but
the track record and motives very likely
are, also. Some Democrats such as Dick
Durbin much prefer to play defense rather than offense, to admit guilt, error,
or embarrassment rather than focusing on their opponents. It's a defeatist
media strategy and losing one.
And, Senator, I just should say sorry in advance if I have
to interrupt you to go to that press conference. But we will go back.
And, while we are waiting, I want to turn to the new
classified documents that the FBI found at the president's house in Delaware.
It was a 13-hour search. That happened on Friday. It's just the latest
revelation of the president having classified items that he shouldn't have.
You have been in Congress for 40 years. You have handled
classified material for a lot of those years, probably most of them. How
concerned are you about this?
DURBIN: Well, I'm concerned.
There's a standard that we follow when it comes to members
of Congress and classified information. The door to my office is closed. The
person who presents the document to me takes it out of a locked briefcase,
hands it to me and watches as I read it, when I finish reading it, and he takes
it back and puts it in the briefcase and leaves the scene.
I mean, that's how carefully we review these documents. To
think that any of them ended up in boxes in storage one place or the other is
just unacceptable.
But, having said that, let me make this point clear. Joe
Biden has said from the start: We are going to be totally transparent about
this. Let the chips fall where they may. I'm going to open my home voluntarily
to a search, not the first search, I'm sure, of his offices and home.
He has shown total cooperation in this effort. That is a
sharp contrast to President Trump.
BASH: Well, I want to -- speaking of former President Trump,
I want to play something that you said last year about the classified documents
found at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DURBIN: It's an outrage. It's a literal outrage. For the
president to take this important information down to his home in Florida, and
then store it in a closet with traffic, people back and forth in his resort and
golf course, is an outrage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Is it also an outrage for the current president to
have what appears to be multiple classified documents in multiple locations?
DURBIN: At its heart, the issue is the same. Those documents
should not have been in the personal possession of either Joe Biden or Donald
Trump.
But what happened and followed from it is significantly
different. Donald Trump defied those who knew the documents were in place and
ultimately led to, involuntarily, a court order and a search of his Mar-a-Lago
hotel resort to find out how many documents were there.
Contrast that with Joe Biden. Embarrassed by the situation,
as he should have been, he invited the government agencies in to carefully look
through all the boxes he had accumulated. It's a much different approach.
It is outrageous that either occurred. But the reaction by
the former president and the current president could not be in sharper
contrast.
BASH: They are. They're very different, no question about
that.
Having said that, you are a politician. You have been around
for a while, and you understand how these things play out. Do you fear that,
because of that, the current president has kind of lost the high ground on this
notion of classified information being where it shouldn't be?
DURBIN: Well, of course. Let's be honest about it.
When that information is found, it diminishes the stature of
any person who is in possession of it, because it's not supposed to happen.
Whether it was the fault of a staffer or attorney, it makes no difference.
The elected official bears ultimate responsibility. And we
have to worry, since this new group that has taken over control of the House of
Representatives has promised us endless investigations, confrontations,
impeachments and chaos, what is going to happen.
[09:15:00]
I only have one word for those who are dubious as to whether
that will happen, and the word is Benghazi. How long did we spend going through
Benghazi hearings in the Republican-controlled House in the past? Now imagine
the MAGA Republicans and what they're setting out to do. I'm sure that they are
going to have investigations to our heart's delight.
BASH: I want to turn to the debt ceiling, sir.
The White House insists they are not going to negotiate with
Republicans who are demanding spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt
limit, so America doesn't default on its debt. Do you think the president
should negotiate?
DURBIN: No, absolutely not.
Let's get to the bottom line here. Those who are posing for
holy pictures as budget balances, the MAGA Republicans, should note one important
fact. Almost 25 percent of all of the national debt accumulated over the
history of the United States, 230 years, was accumulated during the four years
of Donald Trump.
So, the notion that there is some partisan holy position
that they're taking and that they're going to fight this battle of the matter
of principle, when they enacted tax cuts for the wealthiest people of America
during the Trump administration, they added dramatically to the national debt
which we are now facing.
Having done that, they need to face the responsibility of
paying for it. That is what the debt limit is about. And if we play games with
this, if we delay this, if we have short-term extensions of the national debt,
we run the very risk of a recession in this economy, millions of Americans out
of work and interest rates going even higher, denying people an opportunity to
buy a home or a car. And this economy will be stalled.
We shouldn't play games with the national debt.
BASH: When Joe Biden was vice president, I'm sure you
remember, back in 2011, he was the lead negotiator on negotiations for spending
cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.
But you think -- you're saying you think it's different
because of what happened during the Trump years?
DURBIN: I think it's different, not just because of the
Trump years being the origin of much of this debt, but by the new House of
Representatives, 15 ballots, Dana. You were there. You saw it, or at least
witnessed it on television, 15 ballots to choose the speaker.
And he gave the authority to each member of the House to
initiate a vote of no confidence on a daily basis. I mean, this is a House of
Representatives which is under control of the MAGA Republicans at this point.
And I'm fearful that very few constructive things will emerge.
BASH: Before I let you go. I have to ask about the Supreme
Court. You are, of course, Senate Judiciary chairman.
You saw what happened at the court. They announced this week
that they were unable to determine who leaked the draft decision overturning
Roe vs. Wade last year. Clerks had -- and employees had to sign a sworn
affidavit saying that they didn't leak the draft opinion.
The justices -- neither the justices nor their spouses
actually had to sign affidavits. So, do you believe that that was a mistake?
Should they have to do so to figure out where the leak comes -- came from?
DURBIN: Listen, the universe of people who are suspects in
this leak of an opinion of the Supreme Court is really a small universe.
It includes the justices and their families, if they had
access to this opinion, which I assume some of them did. They should have gone
into the -- at least a position of assertions by each one of the justices as to
what they did or did not do when it came to these opinions.
But I find it hard to imagine, with the small group of
people who had access to this opinion, they couldn't come up with more
information.
BASH: Are you going to try, in your capacity as Judiciary
chair?
DURBIN: No, I don't think this is an area where we can go in
with any kind of force and make for a changed result at this point.
BASH: OK. OK.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, thank you so much,
and, I should say, the Senate whip. Thank you so much for joining me this
morning. Appreciate it.
Pence was speaking to CBS, to promote a new book in which he
sets out his version of events on the day supporters of his president, Donald
Trump, attacked Congress, some chanting that Pence should be hanged.
Pence previously said he would consider testifying. But to
CBS, he said: “Congress has no right to my testimony on separation of powers
under the constitution of the United States.
“And I believe it will establish a terrible precedent for
the Congress to summon a vice-president of the United States to speak about
deliberations that took place at the White House.”
Trump supporters attacked Congress after he told them to
“fight like hell” to stop certification of Joe Biden’s election win, in service
of the lie that it was the result of electoral fraud. Nine deaths have been
linked to the riot, including suicides among law enforcement.
You might say an attempted coup encouraged
by the outgoing President of the USA against this nation's government establishes a terrible precedent, especially if a Vice
President refuses to testify about it.
In the book he is granting interviews to promote, Mike Pence noted of the insurrectionists "And, as I later learned, many had come
looking for me." They had not come to join the evangelical Christian for Bible study. Rather, according to The New York Times
Shortly after hundreds of rioters at the Capitol started
chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” on Jan. 6, 2021, the White House chief of staff,
Mark Meadows, left the dining room off the Oval Office, walked into his own
office and told colleagues that President Donald J. Trump was complaining that
the vice president was being whisked to safety.
Mr. Meadows, according to an account provided to the House
committee investigating Jan. 6, then told the colleagues that Mr. Trump had
said something to the effect of, maybe Mr. Pence should be hanged...
Another witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Mr.
Meadows who was present in his office when he recounted Mr. Trump’s remarks,
was asked by the committee about the account and confirmed it, according to the
people familiar with the panel’s work.
Pence acknowledged that he learned the President's "reckless
words had endangered my family and all those serving at the Capitol." However, Mike Pence will not: testify before Congress; state that he would not support Donald Trump if he were nominated for President (or even for the nomination); state that lynching a Vice-President is wrong. (He was not asked the latter, to which he'd probably equivocate.)
That is not a profile in courage. It is a profile of cowardice.
Can't there be just a few ancient Republicans left who will decide that maybe holding on to one last shred of dignity is better than doing interviews like this. https://t.co/DH6htopxTu
If that's a question, the answer
is "no." Ben Stein here states
Well, first of all, the thing
that's most apparent right away- as life goes on I wake up every morning-
President Trump and President Nixon were kicked out of office for doing exactly
nothing wrong and it was just a mob- a lynch mob- that was assembled on the
word of, on the words of some crank, uh, some people who have been highly
placed in the media.
At least on the basis of this
very short video, we don't know who this crank, or these people, are who have
been highly placed in the media. We do know, however, that neither President
Trump nor President Nixon was kicked out of office. Nixon resigned, and Trump
was defeated at the polls by some 81 million "cranks."
Donald Trump did not face a lynch
mob; he encouraged a lynch mob. The January 6 committee
heard testimony indicating that
then-President Donald Trump — after rioters who swarmed the Capitol began
chanting “hang Mike Pence” — expressed support for hanging his vice president,
according to three people familiar with the matter.
The White House chief of staff at
the time, Mark Meadows, was in the dining room off the Oval Office with Trump
at one point during last year’s Capitol attack, the committee has been told.
Meadows then left the dining room and informed other people nearby that Trump
had signaled a positive view of the prospect of hanging the vice president, the
panel heard.
Meadows’ account as it was
described to the committee came after some members of the mob converging on the
Capitol had broken into chants of “Hang Mike Pence!” Those chants were a
reaction to Pence’s decision to accept electoral votes that indicated Joe Biden
had won the presidency.
This was not idle rhetoric:
No, Ben Stein and his ilk
won't opt for decency. They won't,
because they don't have to do so, confident they will be welcomed back into
polite society, even heralded, by the media if it's necessary ever to turn on
Donald Trump.
Ben Stein has never run for
political office and won't. He has no
reason to be intimidated by Donald Trump and he's not. Yet, he supports the
ex-President. He supports him for a reason which the media and Democrats
underestimate as a motive for backing Trump. There are many people, especially in the Republican street but many GOP officials, who like him. It was the
motivation for the vast majority of individuals who voted for him in 2016 and
2020.
Most Republicans realize Trump is belligerent, bellicose, and bigoted (though not given to alliteration). Some of those Republicans refuse
to criticize Trump because they are intimidated by the 45th President. However,
many of them support him because he is belligerent, bellicose, and
bigoted. It's a sad and disturbing fact,
but many facts are.
Senator Ron Johnson tells a friendly "interviewer"
.... on January 6 I never felt threatened because I didn't
because I knew even thousands of people that were marching to the Capitol were
trying to pressure people like me to vote the way they want me to vote. I knew
that those were people that love this country that truly respect law enforcement,
that never would do anything to break the law, so I wasn't concerned
Now, if the tables had been turned, Joe, this could mean
trouble. Had the tables been turned and President Trump won the election and
those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and Antifa protestors, I
might have been a little concerned.
.@RonJohnsonWI says that the people who stormed the Capitol “respect law enforcement.” Respects them so much they assaulted & killed them?! https://t.co/DBNbHeuzwU
The Washington Post's Dave Weigel notes 'Why is 'how the left would have reacted had Trump won' a
hypothetical? Trump won in 2016, there were all sorts of left-wing tantrums,
but there was no storming of the Capitol to get Biden to throw out electoral
results."
Maybe Ron Johnson wasn't concerned, unlike colleague Mitt
Romney and another Republican as a "Hang Mike Pence" chant
was heard in the US Capitol on Wednesday, as a mob incited
by the president attempted a putsch, roaming the halls, confronting law
enforcement and in some cases apparently planning to kidnap lawmakers.
Jim Bourg, a Reuters picture editor in Washington, said on
Twitter: “I heard at least three different rioters at the Capitol say that they
hoped to find Vice-President Mike Pence and execute him by hanging him from a
Capitol Hill tree as a traitor. It was a common line being repeated. Many more
were just talking about how the VP should be executed.”
Five people died as a result of the attack , including a
Capitol police officer reportedly struck with a fire extinguisher and a rioter
shot by law enforcement. Multiple arrests were made, among them men who brought
firearms and explosives to Washington.
Johnson is right about one thing, although not in the manner he intended. If President Trump had won re-election, rioting would have been persistent, considerably worse, and endangered more lives while featuring a triumphant cadre of white nationalists and supremacists.
This is an interesting argument by Will, whose last name is
not "Bunch sign up for my newsletter":
The thing that's driving me crazy about the impeachment coverage on TV cable news is that the primary goal isn't getting him out of office these last 12 days (although that would he helpful). It's all about banning him from running in 2024 and removing him from public life
— Will Bunch Sign Up For My Newsletter (@Will_Bunch) January 8, 2021
Surely, as Bunch suggests, the primary goal should not be
getting Donald Trump out of office in the last few days of his presidency.
That's especially true given that President Pence's first act would be to
pardon Donald Trump in what would be for once, a President actually doing
something on "Day 1."
Unless the US Constitution was, unbeknownst to the public,
changed overnight, neither Donald Trump nor anyone else can be "removed
from public life" except by incarceration.
Donald Trump could be impeached for a second time or be
removed via the 25th Amendment, the latter highly unlikely, though it would let
congressional Democrats and Republicans off the hook.
Yet, there is little chance Democrats will be officially in
charge of the Senate before January 20 and thus there will be no conviction, if
even a trial, of the President before that date. Obviously, then, he would not
be banned from running in 2024 because he'd first have to be convicted by the
Senate; nor removed from public life, whatever that phrase means.
Once he leaves office, Donald Trump could be impeached and
tried in the Senate. The former may well happen; the latter will not, given
that conviction requires a two-thirds majority and the distribution of power in
the next Congress between senators Schumer and McConnell is yet to be determined.
If the Senate were to convict and- as is uncertain even in
the next Congress- then rule that Trump could not again run for public office,
it would be a punishment akin to that rendered upon more than 99.9% of Americans.
Donald Trump could not enter another presidential race, just as you, I, and
virtually every other individual will never even sniff the presidency.
This would not be a fate worse than death, the latter a far
more likely condition for what in 2024 would be a 78-year-old man who has made
at least two trips to the hospital in the past 14 months.
Nonetheless, there is an action which Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi
and other Democratic officials, and much of the media realize holds greater
peril for Donald J. Trump. That is prosecution, and not of the variety being
investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office nor the New York State
Attorney General but that which would be pursued by the Justice Department.
Joe Biden- and probably Merrick Garland, the presumptive
upcoming Attorney General- would like to go in another direction. It would be
easier for them to fulfill their fantasy of moving on or "not looking
backward" were ex-President Trump to be impeached, thus "punished
enough already," as we might hear.
Paradoxically, that may be why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, her caucus,
many Senate Democrats, and Democratic-leaning legal analysts see impeachment,
if the 25th Amendment is not invoked, as the easy way out.
Speaking at a "Life is Winning" event Wednesday at
the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Vice President Mike Pence effusively
thanked what he calculated as the "more than 20" anti-abortion rights
organizations present. Appreciating "the opportunity to thank the most
pro-life president in American history" and to "bring greetings from
President Donald Trump," Pence cited the three pro-forced birth judges
Trump made into Associate Justices of the United States Supreme Court and
maintained
when the President took office, one of the very first things
he did was reinstate the Mexico City Policy, ending government funding for
promoting abortions around the world. And before long, we expanded it to more
countries and more policies on the planet....
Moreover
thanks to President Trump’s leadership, in March of 2017, I
had the honor of casting the tiebreaking vote in the United States Senate to
allow every state in America to defund Planned Parenthood, and President Trump
signed it into law.
And putting that priority on the unborn, just last summer,
with the strong support of leaders in this room, and the full support of our
Secretary of Health and Human Services, President Trump ended fetal tissue
research at the National Institutes for Health. We will always stand for the
right to life and the dignity of the unborn.
Counter-intuitively, at an event meant to honor Trump and
other anti-abortion rights Republicans, Pence invoked his own work as chairperson
of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which he claimed the President had
established- as the Vice President put it- to "save lives."
That's bogus. However, President Trump has been a faithful
pro-life President, in the manner the expression is meant to convey. "Life can be judged by
how it treats its most vulnerable," Pence contended, around the time we
learned why the Trump Administration has treated its most vulnerable as people
they'd rather have die.
🚨BREAKING: New memo reveals Trump admin official pushed "herd immunity" plan to let coronavirus spread widely among infants, youth and younger adults w/o other conditions. Memo via @WhipClyburn quotes official as saying: “We use them to develop herd...we want them infected.” pic.twitter.com/BiZ4VLUXWf
The cynical will ask how it is possible that President Trump, fan of herd immunity and oblivious to the preventable and tragic loss of life it has engendered, could possibly be "pro-life." Nonetheless, Trump has been a "pro-life" President as pertains to abortion, thus illustrating how the
anti-abortion movement is less interested in life than it is in forcing birth.
The pastor of the East Saugutuck (MI) Christian Reformed
Church has resigned because
There’s a quote from Martin Luther King where he said, ‘The
church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state,
but rather the conscience of the state. That just hit me hard because I think,
broadly, the white evangelical community in our country has abandoned that
role.
The question of the church largely and how it’s functioned
in this moment has been really disturbing. That’s been troubling enough that I
need to lay it all down.
He adds
It just floors me how church-going people who read the Bible
and sing the hymns can show up at a (Trump) rally and just do that deep bellow
like an angry mob supporting these horrible things that come out of his heart
and his mind. It just began to trouble me so much that I am a pastor in this
big enterprise.
Evidently, Reverend Keith Mannes was referring less
specifically to members of his own congregation than to what the media likes to
portray as "individuals of faith." One of these is this guy who
frequently deifies President Trump:
Also without apology for inflicting lifelong trauma on thousands of children forcibly taken from their parents. https://t.co/WEAIQObrNw
Mike Pence, who heads the Administration's response to the novel coronavirus maintains the sanctity of human life is being upheld by the President who in a February 7, 2020 call told Bob Woodward
You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed. And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate
one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flus.... This is deadly stuff.
On March 19 he admitted to Woodward "I always wanted to play it down." .So six weeks later he said "I’m not looking to tell the American people when nobody
really knows what’s happening yet, ‘Oh, this is going to be so tragic.’” He continually stated that it soon would be over, discouraged testing, and ostentatiously consistently appeared without a mask in public, all the better to discourage face coverings and encourage large gatherings.
In a job well done (in his mind), over 220,000 Americans have died from the disease. Yet Mike Pence, fearful of reproductive freedom for half
the population, claims Donald Trump "stands without apology for the
sanctity of human life."
On January 30, the anti-abortion, pro-death president stated "We think we have
it very well under control. We have very little problem in this country at this
moment — fiv ... We think it’s going to have a very good ending for it."
With more than eight million Americans victimized by Covid-19- , there has been for
Donald Trump a very good progression of the disease. Indonesia, 82% as large as the USA, has had 13,000 deaths; closer to home, Canada has 11% as many people as the USA and has suffered slightly under 10,000 deaths, But for Mike Pence, head
of the White House Coronavirus task force, President Trump, the best friend of SARS-CoV-2, possesses "a true commitment to "the sanctity of human life."
