IS TRUMP TODAY'S NIXON? LET'S HOPE NOT.

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     On August 9th, 1974...following the resignation of President Richard Nixon... President Gerald Ford issued the following statement.  "My fellow Americans...our long national nightmare is over."  Will Americans have to suffer through another "long national nightmare" with Donald Trump?

     I posted the aforementioned comment on Facebook on Tuesday morning, February 14th, 2017...and, at about the same time, I tweeted an abbreviated version of those remarks.

     I am not going to take this column down the path of repetitiveness.  From broadcast and cable news networks...to newspapers...to social media...our country has been deluged over the last day or so...about the resignation of retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as our National Security Adviser.  I will, touch on certain elements, however.  But first...I want to focus on Americans who - for whatever the reasons - believed that Hillary Clinton was worse for our country than Donald Trump.  

     We are perhaps headed for either the first impeachment, conviction and removal from office...or...the second resignation...of a President of the United States.  Let's recollect back to 1972.  If Richard Nixon had come forward after the Watergate break-in...and did not get involved in a cover-up...the looming threat of impeachment...would not have been hanging over Nixon's head...and he would not have been forced to resign.

     Now...think about the shameful and dishonorable acts that have already ravaged Donald Trump and his Administration since taking office less than four weeks ago.

     If Hillary Clinton was President...our nation would not have been infected with a "travel ban"...a "Muslim ban" executive order...that clearly violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  It was an order that the courts have ruled against, as it discriminated people because of their religious beliefs and ethnicity.  

     If Hillary Clinton was President...she would not have selected Cabinet members... many of whom have been embroiled in controversy for years.

     If Hillary Clinton was President...her National Security Adviser would not have been in bed - metaphorically speaking - with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  And Americans - Democrats and Republicans alike - would not be asking the question that has been beaten to death over the last 24 hours...and, quite frankly, since before Election Day on November 8th, 2016.  What did Donald Trump know...and when did he know it?

     White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says Michael Flynn was asked by Trump to resign because of an "eroding level of trust."  Let's face it.  Flynn was not asked to resign.  He was fired.  And despite the fact that most Democrats - and others who did not vote for Trump - feel that he doesn't have an honest bone in his body...how can any intelligent individual...trust Trump?  That also includes Republicans and others who supported his run for President.

     After all...it has reportedly been confirmed that the Justice Department warned Donald Trump in late January that Flynn could be "vulnerable" to blackmail by the Russians.  And that Trump has known for weeks that Flynn had not been upfront and on the level about his conversations with Russian officials.  Therefore...Trump should never have kept Flynn in a position where he had access to top secret national security information...sitting in on meetings after Trump was fully aware that Flynn had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about discussions Flynn had with the Russian Ambassador...prior to January 20th...about Russian sanctions. 

     At the July 2016 Republican National Convention, General Flynn addressed the GOP delegates...and he - among others - wrongfully lambasted Hillary Clinton.  Intertwined with hateful chants of "lock her up" by those on the convention floor...Flynn viciously attacked Mrs. Clinton.  "We do not need a reckless President who believes SHE is above the law.  Lock her up.  That's right.  Yes, that's right.  Lock her up.  I have called on Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race because SHE... SHE...put our nation's security at extremely high risk with her careless use of a private e-mail server.  Lock her up.  Lock her up.  You guys are good.  You're damn right.  You're exactly right.  There's nothing wrong with that.  And you know why we're saying that?  We're saying that because if I - a guy who knows this business - if I did a tenth...a tenth of what she did...I would be in jail today."

     Flynn's hypothetical words about himself...may end up being his invitation to a prison cell. 

     All of  the above raises eyebrows and demands truthful responses to the following questions.

     Who else had contact with the Russians before the Presidential election and before Inauguration Day?  Was Trump - or anyone in his campaign - in cahoots with Vladimir Putin and his Russian comrades...namely by illegally meddling in our election and the hacking of computers at the Democratic National Committee?  Was there collusion with Russia to affect the outcome of our election...in an effort to sway enough American voters in to not voting for Hillary Clinton and, therefore, to prevent a victory for the former Secretary of State?  And why did Trump not tell his own Vice President...of the Justice Department's alert...that Flynn could be the subject of Russian blackmail...until eleven days after Trump knew?  Was Trump trying to conceal the damaging information because he believed Pence would have immediately wanted Flynn dismissed...due to the General lying to the Vice President's face...while Pence defended Flynn on national television?

     America needs answers.  It is essential that an independent investigation be conducted so that our nation can move forward.

     There is a dark cloud hovering over Donald Trump...that is causing The White House to be blackened in controversy and scandal.  With Democrats in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives calling for a probe in to ties between General Flynn and Russia...and possible ties between Trump and Putin...are Trump and some Republicans on Capitol Hill worried that if Flynn is subpoenaed to testify under oath before Congress...what beans will be spilled?  Has Flynn's friendship with Trump been disintegrated...and, if so...will Flynn throw Trump under the bus?  And should he do so...will we learn through irrefutable evidence...through positive proof...that Trump is an illegitimate President who must be evicted from The White House?

     Regular readers of The Controversy may remember - in my Monday, February 6th, 2017 column, titled WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN, WHERE ARE YOU?...I wrote..."What deep, dark secret about Donald Trump...is in the mind...or on the tip of the tongue... of Vladimir Putin?  What is it that Putin knows...that Trump fears?  Did Trump - at some point in the past - give some of his U.S. dollars...to benefit Putin's poisonous political ventures?  Is this why Trump has never released his income tax returns to the American people?"

     Prior to that, however...in my Friday, December 9th, 2016 commentary, titled TRUMP WON'T LAST 4 YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE...I stated..."It's quite possible that Donald Trump will be impeached or he will be forced to resign before the scheduled conclusion of his term of office.  If 'The Donald's dirt' rises to the top - as I expect it might - the same Republicans who wrongfully shouted...'lock her up'... about Hillary Clinton...would undoubtedly then express similar sentiments...about Trump...as they yell even louder...'LOCK HIM UP.'"  And as I later stated in the aforementioned February 6th editorial..."If Donald Trump continues to receive such strong negative reactions...such powerful opposition...from Republicans nationwide... he won't need to be afraid of Democrats calling for his impeachment and removal from office...it'll be his own Party who will eventually boot him out of The White House."

     So how then does Donald Trump survive?  He cannot be Richard Nixon.  He cannot cover-up anything dealing with Vladimir Putin and the Russians.  He must be totally transparent with absolutely everything concerning the election...concerning General Flynn...and concerning every non-classified bit of information that the American people deserve to know.  If he continues to think he's the boss...as if he was still President of The Trump Organization...then his Presidency will sink so deep...that it...and he...will not recover.  At that point...I don't think Donald Trump will be able to physically, mentally and emotionally handle such a tragic defeat.  It would be a devastating loss to him if he had to undergo the pain of an impeachment process.  So before any of that were to happen...a more likely scenario for Donald Trump would be...to throw in the towel...pick up his marbles...and go home to Trump Tower.  And then...Americans on both sides of the aisle would need to pray...that Mike Pence would be better.  

     For the sake of our country though...for the sake of the nation that I love...I hope that..."Mr. Trump"...cleans house...dismisses certain inexperienced people in his inner circle...that he realizes he needs help from professional politicians who know what they're doing...and that he sits down with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi...in a valiant effort to be a bi-partisan President...for all Americans.  America cannot handle another "long national nightmare."  We in the United States must all come together if we are ever going to withstand the turbulence and turmoil of the last two years.  But it will take a caring and compassion President to do that.  And I don't know if Donald Trump has it in him to be that President.  Prove me wrong, Donald.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin.

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