What we have learned in the last twenty four hours is that the Republican Party’s bloodlust for the power to enact their noxious agenda that virtually no one, other than their wealthy donors, supports, far outweighs any fealty to the Constitution or duty to our 244 year old democratic institutions.
Consider the evidence. Yesterday, Dan Coats, Mike Rogers and Ron Rosenstein testified before Congress and repeatedly refused to answer the straightforward question of whether Trump had requested that they intervene in the FBI’s investigation of Mike Flynn or his campaign’s possible collusion with Russia. They refused to answer the question, whether asked by Democrats or Republicans. They did not offer any legally cognizable rationale for their refusal, admitting that the information was neither classified nor covered by a claim of executive privilege. When pressed, they responded like Melville’s ”Bartleby the Scrivener,” saying, in effect, “I prefer not to.” In a normally functioning democracy applying the same rules that have governed Congressional testimony since the 1790’s, the Chairman might have admonished the witnesses that their refusal to answer constituted contempt of Congress. After all, Eric Holder was cited for less. Instead Republicans admonished former prosecutor and California Attorney General, Senator Kamala Harris, to be more polite, continuing their tradition of silencing Congressional women.
This appalling display gives us a preview of what we can expect when James Comey testifies today. By now, we have all read James Comey’s opening statement and learned the details of each meeting that Comey had with Trump from January 6th until he was fired. We have read about the January 27th dinner that reads like a bad “Godfather” parody, where Trump lured Comey to The White House for what turned out to be an intimate dinner for two in The Green Room. Comey’s testimony goes on to describe Trump’s ham handed effort to “create some sort of patronage relationship.” We read of Trump’s thuggish demand for loyalty and the awkward conversation that ended when both men settled on the ambiguous phrase “honest loyalty” to describe the duty that Comey owed to the President. While we can expect questions from DemocratIc Senators to flesh out the damning narrative, we can expect Republicans to either attack Comey’s credibility or to spin it on Fox News in accordance with Republican talking points designed to gaslight the American public into accepting the unacceptable.
While we all will be riveted by Comey’s testimony today, if we are honest, we fear that virtually nothing Comey says will impel Congressional Republicans to impeach Trump. Although Trump admitted to actions that would constitute obstruction of justice, we know that impeachment is a political question and until Trump’s approval ratings descend enough to imperil their majority, Republicans won’t lift a finger to get him out of The White House.
This is despite the fact that Trump’s infatuation with murderous dictators endangers U.S. security and standing in the world. Just this week, in addition to insulting the Mayor of London, Trump’s intemperate Twitter outbursts caused a rift with Qatar, where we have our largest military base. If Republicans continue to stand by while Trump recklessly threatens both the country and the planet, they must abandon any claim of patriotism. After the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin famously quipped that the Founding Fathers had created “a republic, if you can keep it.” Today, we will find out.
#Comeyday
#Comeyhearings