September 3, 2017
Students of American History know that the Founders, inspired by the Enlightenment era philosopher, John Locke, created this country as a nation of laws, not men. The promise of that maxim is twofold. The first is that no person, regardless of position, is beyond the reach of the law. The second is that society will operate under a common framework that ensures the general welfare and provides citizens with a modicum of transparency and predictability. Consider the durability of that foundational principle in light of the events of the last several days.
On Friday, The Washington Post and The New York Times revealed that Robert Mueller had obtained the original draft of Trump’s letter firing former FBI Director, James Comey. The letter, co-written by doughy, snarling racist, Stephen Miller, is described as a seven-page screed that clearly references the ongoing Russia investigation as a key reason for Comey’s dismissal. The draft was widely read and shared with senior administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The draft was scrapped once White House Counsel Don McGahn roused himself out of his torpor long enough to recognize how damaging the admissions in the letter were. Rod Rosenstein’s memo, substituting Comey’s handling of the Clinton e-mail scandal as the patently laughable rationale, was used instead. Of course, within days, Trump shredded that pretext in an interview with Lester Holt.
The discovery of the draft letter is newsworthy not for what it reveals about Trump’s rationale, but for who else it implicates. Days after Comey’s firing, robotic Puritan Mike Pence went on the news to bolster the lie, clearly forgetting that not all Americans are as easily duped as those that voted for Trump. This new evidence places Pence in legal jeopardy for misprision of a felony, according to Harvard Law Professor Larry Tribe. 18 U.S.C. Section 4 of the U.S. Code provides that “whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.” If we truly are a nation of laws, Pence should be taking measurements for an orange jumpsuit, rather than drapes in the Oval Office.
Meanwhile, as Houston begins the grindingly slow process of recovering from a once in 40,000 years catastrophic storm, the consequences of a philosophy of governance that allows businesses and developers to be completely unfettered by sensible regulations that protect citizens and safeguard the environment are everywhere on display. The absence of zoning laws allowed the Arkema Chemical plant in Crosby, Texas to be located in a residential community, next to an elementary school. It has had two explosions in the last week and is at risk of several more, in all likelihood thanks to delayed implementation of federal safety rules. To add insult to injury, Crosby residents have no idea which toxic chemicals are being spewed into the air and water because Texas laws do not require Arkema to disclose what chemicals are being processed there.
The massive flooding in Houston has also raised the possibility that its dozen Superfund sites will spread toxins throughout the metropolitan area. Yet despite the scope of the risk, the EPA has not visited the sites nor devised any plan to mitigate the danger they pose. (Source: AP, “Hurricane Harvey Floods Toxic Waste Sites, With the EPA Missing In Action,” 9/2/17).
This is the apotheosis of the Republicans’ radical laissez-faire philosophy in action. Dangers that could have been mitigated, if not avoided, are multiplied. Government drops any pretense that its function is anything other than to grease the skids for corporate interests. Under Trump and Republican leadership at the state and federal level, America is on an accelerated descent into an autocratic dystopia. Trump campaigned on a promise of law and order. With him at the helm, Americans have neither.