Regarding the possibility that Trump and the GOP Hierarchy are Traitors.
US Constitution: Article 3, Section 3 -
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
Note: This is the only crime mentioned in the constitution which requires the testimony of two witnesses for a conviction. It is likely that Trump will be charged as a Conspirator if indicted.
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Conspiracy -
In criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime at some time in the future.
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Aid and Abetting in Law -
Aiding and abetting is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets in the commission of a crime. It exists in a number of different countries and generally allows a court to pronounce someone guilty for aiding and abetting in a crime even if they are not the principal offender.
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Let's assume that the heads of all of the US intelligence agencies are correct in the assumption that Russia has been interfering with American elections, and that they are trying to sabotage the Western Alliance. How could we determine that Trump was committing acts of treason, even if we could not convict him for treason under the law? In the case of Conspiring with Russia to harm the United States, I think we could make a good case of it.
First, let's take a look at some of Russia's goals:
- The destruction of the Western Democracies' belief in both the rule of law and the elections which seat their leaders in positions of power.
- The destruction of the Western Alliance, freeing Russia from checks and balances that limit its use of economic power.
- The destruction of global/regional free trade policies and regulations, so that Russia's economic competition can be divided and conquered.
- The destruction of the United States' economy, eliminating the one power which could check and balance Russia's military power.
- The destruction of treaties and agreements geared to remedy the effects of climate change, thus allowing Russia to develop its frozen territory in Siberia.
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Russia has been using both money and propaganda to influence people in the Western Democracies to support extremist leaders. They do not care if leftists or rightists win. They only care that our societies are divided and our leaders are corrupted and beholden to Russia.
Russia has taken advantage of Structural Unemployment in the West to sow dissent, and cause people who have been left behind because of the incompetence of mainstream political leadership to become more agitated and violent in their protests. Look at the people who voted for Le Pen in France, for Brexit in the UK, and for Trump in the USA, and you'll see quite a few people who have lost out because of globalization. Many of these people are what we'd call racists in America, as all too many of them would not have the skills to survive in a multi cultural workplace, and would place the blame for their failures at the feet of "the others" and not consider that their value systems could be the cause for their failures.
Quite often, it is the under/unemployed who are fired up by bombastic leaders, and this is true around the world. In Germany, they understandably complain about Muslim immigration from Syria, as there is a limit to how many refugees any country can safely assimilate. In France, it is the Algerians. And in many cities in Europe, the governments ignore the "no-go" zones where the unassimilated migrants now live. In America, these same people point at anyone with dark skin, especially if they speak Spanish, and look down on them - as if they are all illegal aliens and must be deported. Strangely enough, there is a net outflow of Mexicans back to Mexico these days, and that most illegals are coming in by air and over staying their visas, working in the cash economy. No wonder why people don't trust their own governments - they do not do their jobs.
Trump has taken advantage of this undercurrent, and claimed that millions of illegals have voted in our elections. I'll cede the word "Thousands" to him for sake of argument, but this does not explain why Trump lost the popular vote. Yet, he makes this claim, and all too many people are ready to believe him - as this explanation is simple enough for them to understand. Until Trump came along, I never heard of a "Sore Winner". But the chip on his shoulder indicates that he is uncomfortable with anyone knowing that he does not have the support of the majority of the American public. And this attitude only helps to reinforce the doubt his followers have in both the rule of law and that of honest elections.
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Next we must consider what Trump has done to the Western military alliance.Our president has sowed doubt with our Western partners. For example, he has said that NATO is obsolete - even after Russia annexed Crimea. Of course, Trump has rarely said a bad thing against Russia and its leaders. He has claimed that America is paying the bulk of the price for European defense, America's contribution to NATO expenses is under 30%. He does not acknowledge the underlying reasons for NATO's existence:
- Keep America in Western Europe
- Keep the Germans from needing a strong military and threatening its neighbors.
- Keep the Russians out of Western Europe.
Russia gains from Western European instability. In the past, it has controlled Eastern Europe. Several of the former Warsaw Pact countries are now part of NATO, and that threatens Russia. Any doubt it can sow in the minds of the leaders of the Baltic Republics (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania), Poland, or other former Warsaw Pact nations in regard to US commitments to NATO is an asset to Russia, as these nations are more likely to capitulate to Russia's demands instead of supporting Western interests.
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Trump keeps looking to cut trade deals with individual nations, instead of working with existing trade blocs. He is against NAFTA, claiming we could have gotten better deals by negotiating separate deals with Canada and Mexico. He wants to cut separate trade deals with European nations, even though Europe negotiates trade deals as a bloc. He has scuttled the TPP deal, a framework of rules and regulations geared to give America a greater say than China will have in Trans-Pacific Trade. In short, he is out to dismantle many of the economic structures which have given America and its trading partners greater prosperity through fair trade.
Sadly, Trump lives in a world that sees Trade as a win-lose proposition. To him, America can win only if someone else loses. However, the best statement to refute Trump's position comes from John Oliver (Last Week Tonight) who said in a recent show:
“The overwhelming consensus among economists is that trade between countries, generally speaking, can create jobs, lower costs, and be a net benefit to both nations. That makes it a lot like sex. If you’re doing it right, it can be good for both partners, though the odds of that happening plummet as soon as Donald Trump gets involved.”
But we have to ask: Who gains from Trump's position? And the answer still is: RUSSIA! An economically weakened America and a weakened set of trading partners are less likely willing to stand up against Russia's interests.
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Now we get to the destruction of the United States economy. And this is where Trump has done the most long term damage. Most businesses object to the tariffs Trump has imposed on imported items. Certain tariffs, such as those on Aluminum and Steel, are in violation of certain treaties - NAFTA is one of those treaties. We are seeing businesses such as Harley-Davidson relocate production outside of the United States, in order to sell product at an affordable price in countries Trump has targeted with his tariffs. Other businesses, such as one last American factory producing nails has had to shutter a newly built plant, as its products are no longer competitive because of Trump's tariffs.
Trump has scuttled (or has attempted to scuttle) deals such as the Hudson River Gateway project, where new tunnels were to be built to augment two 100+ year old tunnels carrying passenger rail traffic between New York and New Jersey. These tunnels are at the end of their useful life, and need to be shut down, so that they can be renewed/overhauled for long term use. What would happen if these tunnels had to be shut down without replacements being available? What would happen to the nation's economy if millions of people could not make it to work in the New York City area? If one was looking to cripple America, this would be an easy target. Trump did this shortly after taking office, and I'll bet that Putin is quietly chuckling at how soon America will be crippled by one of its own.
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Next, we must ask what Trump's cronies have been doing to the Departments of Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Education. Each person in charge of these agencies is dismantling the associated department, and making it impossible for the department to accomplish its purposes. For example, the Energy department has called for a stop in the retirement of unprofitable Coal fired electric plants, something that upsets environmentalists, energy companies, and consumer groups. Why should unprofitable plants be kept open? It certainly doesn't add to the bottom line of energy companies. It certainly doesn't improve the environment left for future generations. And it certainly doesn't benefit the average consumer. The additional pollution caused by keeping these plants open will be in the thousands. Yet, Trump prefers to pander to a small number of loyal, but gullible voters instead of America's long term interests. We could look at HUD,and we would find that the department is de-emphasizing one of its main functions - to insure that marginalized groups have reasonable access to housing. And when we get to Education, we see the dismantling of protections for the LGBT communities. But what may be worse, is this department may be considering shifting some funds to arming teachers in the classroom.
Trump's policies are widening the gap between a corrupt GOP elite and the average American. And this does not bode well for our economy, our environment, or to the long term health of our country. Again, only one nation gains from hurting America in the way that Trump's cronies want to do, and that's RUSSIA!
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At the time I started this entry, Michael Cohen had pleaded guilty to 8 felonies, 2 of them directly involve the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. Assuming Cohen is telling the truth, Trump has violated Federal Election Laws. It has been stated that Cohen was also in the room when Trump jr., and Russian Operatives discussed how to deliver dirt on the Hillary Clinton campaign that would be made public by Trump. It was also claimed that Cohen had first hand knowledge that Trump knew about this meeting, making him guilty of another felony.
Paul Manafort was convicted of 8 felony charges at the same time Cohen was "singing his song" in New York. Only one holdout jury member kept the jury from convicting him on all 18 counts. Why is Manafort so important? Well, he was a Russian operative who got paid to help a Russian Supported candidate win in a Ukraine election. The Ukrainian was corrupt and was a puppet of Vladimir Putin. It's very suspicious to see Manafort come to work on Trump's campaign (for free) just before the 2016 elections. Where was he getting his money? What was being delivered to Trump?
Of course, we must note the Alfa Bank connection in Trump Tower. Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner, was trying to establish a back channel to Russia, and it's amazing to see one of Alfa's servers in use to facilitate communication between Russia and Trump. Alfa bank has been sanctioned in the past for its nefarious doings, and the location of this server probably isn't coincidental in nature.
Do you remember Wikileaks? I do. And I wanted to see dirt on Hillary Clinton. However, it never materialized. Julian Assange and Wikileaks may be pawns of Russia, as Wikileaks rarely distributes any dirt on Russia. Instead, it seems to get dirt from Russia to be redistributed when Putin's crew gives the word.
Recently, Trump scuttled a bi-partisan bill meant to fight election hacking by foreign operators. When both Democrats and Republicans support a bill, it's needed. Yet, this White House wants to scuttle the bill for spurious reasons. Why? It's obvious that he wants to keep allowing Russia to have enough access to rig future American elections. Again, this points to treason, but is it willing or coerced? The most important "tell" is that Trump rarely has anything bad to say about Russia. Given that Russia likely has Kompromat on him (most of the Steele Dossier has been confirmed, save the "pee pee tape") since his Miss Universe and "Trump Tower, Moscow" days, it makes sense that Russia could groomed this man to do its bidding. And now that he is in office, he is reluctant to enforce even the most trivial of sanctions or other actions against Russian interests.
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Years ago, the GOP hierarchy ended up helping to force Richard Nixon out of power. Today's GOP has seen much worse from Trump, but has done little to check and balance Trump. The big question is why not? Well, the answer is as simple as a desire to stay in office.
Trump has maintained a 40% approval rating since he took office. Among Republicans, he has the highest approval ratings of any modern president. Among Democrats and Independents, no one approves of Trump. Given that one can generally count on a 35% approval rate, no matter how bad you are, Trump isn't doing that well by normal standards. But these are not normal times. America is extremely polarized, and the GOP has absorbed the racists who used to be Democrats due to a "Southern Strategy" introduced by Nixon in the late 1960's.
Leaders in the GOP are afraid of getting "primaried" off their tickets if they stray too far from supporting Trump and his crimes. So they look the other way as Trump commits his crimes and do nothing to stop him. The longer he stays in office, the more he harms this country. Yet, they do nothing. They aid and abet by looking the other way. They have an adequate Vice President (who I'd hate to see in office), but won't tell Trump to cut out all of his shit. When curious to find out why this happens, one only has to follow the money.
How many of you remember the name of Maria Butina. She claimed to be a Russian Gun Rights advocate. And much of the GOP elite were very friendly with this woman. Russian money has been flowing through the NRA to GOP candidates, and any action to force Trump to behave might end up shutting off the spigot which funds many downstream candidates' campaigns. This looks awfully suspicious....
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So we get back to the definition of Treason. Do we have multiple witnesses? Probably. Has Trump aided an enemy of the US? Probably, given his actions. And when I factor in his refusal to acknowledge Russia's interference in our election, something that all of our intelligence agencies state as fact, I feel he is a traitor who will continue to betray this country while in office.
Next is conspiracy. Do we have evidence of this? Probably. The Trump Tower meeting seems to tie this all together. Throw in Manafort's involvement in the campaign, Trump's signaling to Russia to help expose Hillary's supposed misdeeds, and it is likely that the whole Trump family is involved. (I'm not including Melania or Barron here.)
And then we get to aiding and abetting. This is where things get very interesting. Why is it that Devin Nunes has been trying to throw roadblocks into Mueller's work? Why is it that Paul Ryan has not supported Mueller? What about Mitch McConnell? Why hasn't he told the Senate committees to do an honest job in investigating Russian involvement in the election? Again, when one is addicted to power, one does his best NOT to do the things that could get him voted out of office, or to land a good lobbyist job upon leaving office. Inaction in the case of the GOP held House and Senate may be properly described as aiding and abetting a crime. But I'll let lawyers discuss that in another forum.
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There are so many loose ends I've not bothered with in this thought piece. Could I have mentioned Carter Page? Yes. But his place in all of this seems immaterial right now. Could I mention the firing of James Comey? Yes. But he seems like the tip of the iceberg, and little needs to be said about him, save that his firing catalyzed the mobilization of a special prosecutor.
Johnathan Chait, in a New York magazine Daily Intelligencer article notes:
The only way to restrain Nunes’s anti-Mueller crusade, or to look at Trump’s tax return and see who was paid off by whom, is to replace the Republican majority with a Democratic majority, which will hold oversight hearings and use its subpoena power to probe the overflowing sewage spill of misconduct and lawbreaking surrounding Trump.
Chait's right about that. The GOP has acted, almost in unison, to protect Trump while he continues to destroy the American polity for future generations. By aiding and abetting in Trump's continuing crimes, they no longer deserve the right to participate in the governing of this country.
I believe that Trump may survive until the 2020 election. But his presence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will continue to mobilize the Democratic Base and hurt the GOP for at least a generation. The GOP by its inaction may please its base. But it poisons the GOP brand for future Americans. And the longer the GOP stays in power, the greater the damage will be. For America's sake, I hope they are voted out of power soon.
PS: You might be interested in this interview with Craig Unger that posits that Trump has been owned by the Russian Mob for 3 decades.
PPS: John McCain snubbed Trump when planning for his funeral. Both Bush #43 and Obama were invited to speak. Trump was deliberately excluded.
