Long read, but worth it. Via Thomas Clay Jr.
On the night of the election, I made a meme saying, "You don't know what you've done. You've thrown our democracy away." It got shared a bunch and I am certain that even now some will think, 'oh Nostrathomas, you're just being hyperbolic.'
Seven or eight months ago, Trump dictated a letter about his son saying that the meeting all of his people had with Russian agents was about adoption. Someone leaked that Trump dictated it. When the NYT printed it, do you remember what Trump said at the time? He reiterated that it was about adoption and said he did not have anything to do with the letter he also sent to the NYT probably because someone informed him that it was obstruction of justice. Then he called it fake news. I pay close attention to politics and I cannot think of one single, solitary instance when Trump said something was 'fake news' that was actually false.
100% of the time Trump has called a story that proves he lied about something 'fake news', it has been proven true. Remember the Hillary dossier Christopher Steel did? 'Fake news.' What exactly has been proven untrue about that dossier? Not a damn thing. When Trump said he had nothing to do with that letter to the NYT about the Russian adoption, Sarah Huckabee Sanders came out and repeated that lie several times through the course of her briefings.
Yesterday was a day like no other in American history. On day 499 of this criminal administration, several of the last filaments separating our Republic from the rule of law were severed. Rudy Giuliani told George Stephanopoulus that Trump could have shot James Comey and he couldn't be indicted for it. He also is under the impression that the President can pardon himself.
Our founders weren't big on the tyranny of a monarch. They were very big on the rule of law and that no man (or woman) is above the law. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have sacrificed their lives in many bloody wars dying for that foundational principal to our very Republic.
A cursory glance at American history will show that Republican presidents have absolutely no regard for the rule of law, at least not for them. Nixon was a serial felon. Reagan had more convicted felons than any other president because of his illegal Iran/Contra skullduggery. Bush lied about uranium and Scooter Libby outed a covert CIA agent to help start an illegal war against Iraq. But there is no president as debased and more crooked than Trump's.
Today is the 500th day of this criminal administration and what's left of our Constitutional Republic hangs by threads. This right here is not something an innocent man says. This entire tweet, is a lie. There is not one single thing in it resembling the truth. I will address them one by one.
1. Giuliani is not a legal scholar. Neither is Joe Digenova or Jeanine Pirro. They are political hacks and propagandists and nothing more.
2. Nowhere in any letter, speech or document did a single founding father infer that they president could pardon himself. They said the opposite in fact. This would make the president above the law. That is anathema to every principal this country was founded upon.
3. Mueller is a Republican. Rosenstein, Republican. Andy McGabe, Republican. James Comey, Republican. Jeff Sessions, Republican. This entire investigation is being run by Republicans.
"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Trump has violated his oath of office, period.
Republicans are now saying 'in jest' that the president could assassinate his political rivals and the Justice Department couldn't do anything about it. Imagine for a moment if President Obama had said any of these things. Or if Eric Holder had said anything as idiotic as Rudy said yesterday. Republicans would have already impeached him and had democratic support.
That's the one thing the founders could not have imagined with all of their checks and balances, they could not imagine a complicit party aiding and abetting a man who relishes absolute power and will destroy every check on his power that exist. We are there, right now. If you saw the Trump rally interviews, you know that his apostate base do not trust the CIA, FBI, Department of Justice, Jeff Sessions, Robert Mueller or anything else because the 'deep state' is running everything.
It took the complicity of Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, two of the biggest traitors our Republic has ever known and just 500 days for us to get to the point where now, Republicans have culled the principle that no man is above the law.
"All empires fall, there are no exceptions." Oscar Wilde
This right here, is exactly how they fell and there isn't one goddamned Republican in congress who isn't complicit in this crime of the century.
On the night of the election, I made a meme saying, "You don't know what you've done. You've thrown our democracy away." It got shared a bunch and I am certain that even now some will think, 'oh Nostrathomas, you're just being hyperbolic.'
Seven or eight months ago, Trump dictated a letter about his son saying that the meeting all of his people had with Russian agents was about adoption. Someone leaked that Trump dictated it. When the NYT printed it, do you remember what Trump said at the time? He reiterated that it was about adoption and said he did not have anything to do with the letter he also sent to the NYT probably because someone informed him that it was obstruction of justice. Then he called it fake news. I pay close attention to politics and I cannot think of one single, solitary instance when Trump said something was 'fake news' that was actually false.
100% of the time Trump has called a story that proves he lied about something 'fake news', it has been proven true. Remember the Hillary dossier Christopher Steel did? 'Fake news.' What exactly has been proven untrue about that dossier? Not a damn thing. When Trump said he had nothing to do with that letter to the NYT about the Russian adoption, Sarah Huckabee Sanders came out and repeated that lie several times through the course of her briefings.
Yesterday was a day like no other in American history. On day 499 of this criminal administration, several of the last filaments separating our Republic from the rule of law were severed. Rudy Giuliani told George Stephanopoulus that Trump could have shot James Comey and he couldn't be indicted for it. He also is under the impression that the President can pardon himself.
Our founders weren't big on the tyranny of a monarch. They were very big on the rule of law and that no man (or woman) is above the law. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have sacrificed their lives in many bloody wars dying for that foundational principal to our very Republic.
A cursory glance at American history will show that Republican presidents have absolutely no regard for the rule of law, at least not for them. Nixon was a serial felon. Reagan had more convicted felons than any other president because of his illegal Iran/Contra skullduggery. Bush lied about uranium and Scooter Libby outed a covert CIA agent to help start an illegal war against Iraq. But there is no president as debased and more crooked than Trump's.
Today is the 500th day of this criminal administration and what's left of our Constitutional Republic hangs by threads. This right here is not something an innocent man says. This entire tweet, is a lie. There is not one single thing in it resembling the truth. I will address them one by one.
1. Giuliani is not a legal scholar. Neither is Joe Digenova or Jeanine Pirro. They are political hacks and propagandists and nothing more.
2. Nowhere in any letter, speech or document did a single founding father infer that they president could pardon himself. They said the opposite in fact. This would make the president above the law. That is anathema to every principal this country was founded upon.
3. Mueller is a Republican. Rosenstein, Republican. Andy McGabe, Republican. James Comey, Republican. Jeff Sessions, Republican. This entire investigation is being run by Republicans.
"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Trump has violated his oath of office, period.
Republicans are now saying 'in jest' that the president could assassinate his political rivals and the Justice Department couldn't do anything about it. Imagine for a moment if President Obama had said any of these things. Or if Eric Holder had said anything as idiotic as Rudy said yesterday. Republicans would have already impeached him and had democratic support.
That's the one thing the founders could not have imagined with all of their checks and balances, they could not imagine a complicit party aiding and abetting a man who relishes absolute power and will destroy every check on his power that exist. We are there, right now. If you saw the Trump rally interviews, you know that his apostate base do not trust the CIA, FBI, Department of Justice, Jeff Sessions, Robert Mueller or anything else because the 'deep state' is running everything.
It took the complicity of Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, two of the biggest traitors our Republic has ever known and just 500 days for us to get to the point where now, Republicans have culled the principle that no man is above the law.
"All empires fall, there are no exceptions." Oscar Wilde
This right here, is exactly how they fell and there isn't one goddamned Republican in congress who isn't complicit in this crime of the century.
