In the 20th Century, two Presidents of the United
States were subjected to impeachment proceedings. President Bill Clinton was
impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 19th, 1998 because Members believed - wrongfully, of course - that Mr. Clinton was guilty of lying under oath and that he was
guilty of "obstruction of justice." The U.S. Senate did not agree - rightfully, of course - with either the perjury or the obstruction of justice charges and, therefore, Mr. Clinton was not convicted. America's 42nd President was found to be not guilty of any such crimes on February 12th, 1999 and, therefore, President Clinton was not removed from office. The New York Times published the following in a February 13th, 1999 article.
"The Senate today acquitted President Clinton on two articles of impeachment,
falling short of even a majority vote on either of the charges against him:
perjury and obstruction of justice." And although he was never impeached
because he resigned beforehand, impeachment proceedings had begun against President Richard Nixon in 1974 because he tried to put a stop to the Watergate
investigation and, therefore, was accused of "obstruction of justice" by
Congress.
Obstruction of justice is just one of the possible crimes that Donald Trump could be charged with when Congress eventually debates the issue of impeachment. And for those of you who still question what Trump has allegedly done to obstruct justice, let me remind you. First of all, he put the screws to James Comey when - according to Comey's testimony before Congress on June 7th, 2017 - Trump pressured the then FBI Director to drop the investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and any involvement the retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General might have had in connection with Russia's meddling in to the 2016 presidential election. That's obstruction of justice. Secondly, Trump fired Comey on May 9th, 2017, which confirms even more that the current Oval Office occupant obstructed justice. However, Trump denies that he attempted to twist Comey's arm to end the Russia probe. Thirdly - and most recently - Trump seemed to have incriminated himself when he tweeted the following on Saturday, December 2nd, 2017. "I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!" So Donald Trump has clearly admitted - in a tweet - that he gave Flynn his pink slip...because he provided false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That again is obstruction of justice. But Trump's personal attorney, John Dowd - later on December 2nd - claimed it was he who wrote the tweet about firing Flynn, not Trump. If anyone really believes that...then you also believe that pigs can fly. After all...Trump has a history of spelling and grammatical mistakes when tweeting. Most anyone who has ever watched an episode of Perry Mason on television - or quite frankly is an individual who scored excellent marks in a high school English class - knows that a person confessing to a crime has not "pled" guilty, but has "pleaded" guilty. As a lawyer...John Dowd would certainly not make such an error.
All of the above being said...Dowd insists that an American president cannot obstruct justice. Expressing his thoughts first to Mike Allen of Axios on Monday, December 4th, 2017, Dowd noted..."The President cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under the Constitution's Article II and has every right to express his view of any case." Well guess what, Donald...you and your lawyer are living in "Fantasyland" if you and he truly believe...that because you're President...you cannot be prosecuted for obstruction of justice. Face it. You can be. But lawyers for Trump will make every effort to dispute the matter...perhaps all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary. However, based on the fact that President Clinton and President Nixon both faced obstruction of justice charges...Trump doesn't have a prayer in winning the fight.
For now, Trump and his attorneys are merely attempting to "snow job" the
American people (or at least anyone who still thinks Trump is sane and fit to be
President, which the majority of people throughout the United States don't
believe).
As for the possibility of Trump being impeached, I have written in columns - since his inauguration - that Donald Trump will
never let himself undergo House impeachment proceedings, let alone a Senate
trial. He will follow the Nixon playbook and resign long before such Congressional action is ever taken.
My commentaries in The Controversy are documentation
that I have been writing for two years or more that Donald Trump is a madman who
is mentally ill and unfit to serve as our nation's President and
Commander-in-Chief. On November 29th, 2017, the New York Daily News jumped on the bandwagon when the newspaper published... "After his latest spasm of deranged tweets, only those completely
under his spell can deny what growing numbers of Americans have long suspected:
The President of the United States is profoundly unstable. He is
mad. He is, by any honest layman’s definition, mentally unwell and viciously
lashing out." Too bad the Daily News and other major news organizations didn't
come forward with such thoughts - as I did - prior to the 2016 election. If
they had, Hillary Clinton would probably be our President.
And how would America be different if Mrs. Clinton was President today? I could certainly list dozens of reasons why the former Secretary of State would be a better President than Donald Trump...not to mention that our 45th President would not be a bigoted narcissist who supports the Ku Klux Klan...who admitted on the Access Hollywood video to sexually assaulting women...and whose insulting behavior has offended everyone from a Gold Star family to a Vietnam War hero turned U.S. Senator. With Hillary Clinton in The White House...Americans wouldn't be fearing the possibility of a nuclear war with North Korea. We wouldn't be concerned about a Congressional tax reform bill that will only benefit the wealthy and hurt everybody else. We wouldn't we worried that a U.S. Supreme Court Justice could suddenly die and cause Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate to replace that jurist with a conservative who could likely be the deciding vote that would overturn Roe vs. Wade and take our country back to when women got abortions by butchers. And we wouldn't be threatened - yes, even still - by Republicans who remain firm on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act...an effort that could bring death to 30-million Americans. Yes, if not for 77,744 total popular votes - from Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - Hillary Clinton would have won the electoral votes in those three states and she would be our President. And the United
States of America would be respected by the world...not despised by many of our allies.
So Special Counsel Robert Mueller needs to move quickly. He needs to prove - beyond the shadow of a doubt - that Donald Trump obstructed justice and/or committed some other crime. Because despite what Trump and his lawyers may think...nobody is above the law. Not even the President.
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.
Now, please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Now, please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Copyright 2017 Gary B. Duglin and
TheControversy.net. All Rights
Reserved.
Brother, you need to accept certain facts on Apr 13, 1999 - A Federal judge held President Clinton in contempt of court, saying he had willfully provided false testimony under oath: that is being guilty of lying. The question of whether or not a sitting president can be prosecuted for obstruction of justice is an easy one to answer, yes if he commits a crime doing it but NO he can’t if what he did is a constitutionally granted Presidential Power. Noted scholar of United States constitutional law, professor Alan Dershowitz a left wing Democrat was asked in an interview the following: I saw your comment that the president cannot obstruct justice—Alan Dershowitz:” No no no no no. Of course the president can obstruct justice. Nixon obstructed justice. President Clinton was charged with obstructing justice. A president can’t obstruct justice by simply exercising his constitutional authority. That is: A president can’t obstruct justice by pardoning. A president can’t obstruct justice by firing somebody he’s authorized to fire. If a president bribes or takes a bribe, or if a president, as Nixon did, pays hush money, or tells his subordinates to lie to the FBI, or destroys evidence, of course he can be charged with obstruction of justice, but he can’t be charged with obstruction of justice simply by exercising his constitutional authority. That would be a clear violation of the separation of powers, to punish a president for exercising Article II authority”. Dershowitz is not the final authority and I am sure many would disagree but you must admit he is a pretty good expert on the Constitution. President Trump had the right to fire Comey, the FBI Director works at the pleasure of the President, period. The President has the Constitutional authority to direct the Justice Dept (FBI) not to investigation or prosecuted someone, President Obama did it with DACA . I have to laugh that anyone would believe that President Trump’s tweet about Flynn is evidence of anything. This entire Russian investigation has been an investigation in search of a crime. The ones who should be indicted, tried and maybe jailed are Hillary Clinton, James Comey and now FBI Agent Strzok. Gary, stop drinking the Clinton Kool-Aid and believing all the fake news. There has been nothing shown that President Trump did anything criminal and as long as the GOP holds the House we won’t have to deal with a Democrat style kangaroo court Impeachment procedure. Impeachment is the Constitutional way to remove a President, I know Gary you and the DNC are not fond of that document, the way it was written, you (meaning the Democrats) try to interpret it to your left leaning ways.
ReplyDeleteMy response to the above reader will be in three parts.
DeletePART ONE OF THREE
Yes Wayne, two months after President Bill Clinton was acquitted by the U.S. Senate, he was held in contempt of court by U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright for what she called his "willful failure" to testify truthfully in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit. That being said, it is YOU who need to "accept certain facts." Although the U.S. House of Representatives - and Special Prosecutor Ken Starr - were on a witchhunt to get President Clinton removed from office...U.S. Senators were smart enough to know...and wise enough to know...that lying about a consensual sexual encounter (not "sex," but a sexual encounter...a "BJ" with Monica Lewinsky) did not warrant a conviction and, therefore, the U.S. Senate felt it would not be justified to remove President Clinton from office. Judge Wright's "contempt of court" ruling was merely her way to use her power because she disagreed with the decision by the U.S. Senate so, therefore, it was to embarrass and humiliate a sitting President. Furthermore, do you really want to compare getting a "BJ" to obstructing justice?
There are numerous constitutional lawyers and other legal experts who have already stated categorically that Alan Dershowitz doesn't know what the hell he is talking about. One of those who disputes Dershowitz's words is attorney and law professor Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School. Tribe - in case you don't know - is renowned and respected...all around the world...as a scholar of constitutional law. He is the co-founder of the American Constitution Society and he is the author of American Constitutional Law, which is a major treatise in the area of constitutional law. Now that you know Tribe's credentials, he says that Alan Dershowitz "is wrong." In response to Dershowitz's claim that the President can tell the FBI Director to do whatever he wants, Tribe reminds everyone that "The Supreme Court rejected that view unanimously in the Nixon case." Therefore, Donald Trump should not have been able, by law, to fire James Comey as FBI Director, since - as Comey testified before Congress - it was to put a stop to a federal investigation that, in part, or perhaps in whole, involved Trump himself. And that IS obstruction of justice.
A President CAN obstruct justice when exercising his constitutional authority when there is evidence that he exercised that authority to protect himself. And as the days, weeks and months go by, Special Counsel Robert Mueller is digging up more and more evidence that Trump did, in fact, exercise his authority as President, by firing Comey, in order to close down an investigation that could eventually put Trump's head on the chopping block (metaphorically speaking). You are, therefore, not altogether correct when you state that "the FBI Director works at the pleasure of the President, period." Trump did NOT have "the authority" to shut down the Russia investigation because that investigation involves Trump. What you're saying is that the fox has the authority to tell the farmer to get rid of the big dog who is guarding the hen house.
GBD
END OF PART ONE OF THREE
PART TWO OF THREE
DeleteYou can laugh all you want about Trump's tweet about Michael Flynn, but you'd be mistaken...and there are numerous lawyers and Congressional Members who disagree with you. By Trump saying that he fired Michael Flynn because Flynn lied to the FBI is obstruction of justice on Trump's part. Your statement that "This entire Russian investigation has been an investigation in search of a crime" is nonsense. There is a crime. Every U.S. intelligence agency has concluded and confirmed that Russia meddled in our 2016 presidential election. There is positive proof - based on the June 2016 meeting with Donald Trump, Jr., Jared Kushner and the Russians, at Trump Tower in New York City - that people close to Donald Trump, Sr. communicated with Russians. And also based on Trump, Jr.'s e-mails, it shows that there was collusion in doing whatever they could to hurt Hillary Clinton. Remember the line about getting "the dirt" on Hillary?
You, Wayne, are in denial. Donald Trump IS going to be removed from office...more than likely by resignation versus impeachment and conviction, as I wrote about in my column, and as I have written about in other columns throughout this year. You and Trump need to stop already with your obsession about Hillary Clinton. The FBI, the Justice Department and dozens of prosecutors stated that there was no evidence whatsoever that Mrs. Clinton did anything illegal that would cause her to be indicted. You, Trump and other Republicans are on a witchhunt against Hillary Clinton as Ken Starr and the Republicans were with Bill Clinton. There is plenty of circumstantial evidence that Donald Trump broke the law. Now it's up to Bob Mueller to get the definitive evidence to prove it. And as I wrote in my columns back on February 15th and April 1st...Michael Flynn is going to throw Trump under the bus and he's going to spill the beans all over Mueller's desk. And after Flynn, count on others - perhaps Reince Preibus...perhaps Sean Spicer...perhaps even Donald Trump, Jr. or Jared Kushner and/or others - to save their own skins by telling Mueller everything they know. Remember that Flynn's plea agreement is that he must "cooperate fully" with the FBI. And remember one more thing, Wayne...a President can ONLY pardon a criminal for FEDERAL charges. Trump, Jr. and Kushner could very well get charged...and convicted...on state charges in New York. Trump cannot pardon them on those charges.
GBD
END OF PART TWO OF THREE
PART THREE OF THREE
DeleteYou are probably correct that as long as the GOP controls the House, the beginnings of an impeachment will not happen. But as we get closer to the November 2018 mid-term elections, if it becomes apparent - which I think it will - that more and more Republicans will lose their House seats...you just may see Republicans make some very bold decisions. And if Trump continues to prove his lack of fitness for the job, don't be surprised if Mike Pence and the Cabinet don't exercise the 25th Amendment. But then...we still don't know whether Pence was or was not aware...or even involved...with whatever it is that will eventually take down Trump. All that being said, if the Democrats take control of the House...and the Senate...an impeachment and conviction would be a definite. Except for the fact that I go back to my thinking all along that Trump will never let it go that far. He will resign before that. However, you need to realize - and so do others in our country who simply are unaware - the Constitution is clear about "treason and bribery" with regards to the impeachment of a President. But the concluding phrase "other high crimes and misdemeanors" is not clear at all. The Constitution Center says, "It is open-ended for the reason many constitutional provisions are vague and open-ended." The Constitution Center reminds us that Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the "Constitution is intended to endure for ages to come and, consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs." The Constitution Center also states..."In the context of impeachment, this means that the Constitution cannot be expected to specify in detail every ground on which impeachment is or is not permissable." The Constitution Center goes on to say that "The Constitution sets forth the general principle of impeachment and leaves its more specific definition to be developed by the House of Representatives and the Senate." In other words, Wayne...Democrats CAN INDEED interpret the reasons why a President should be impeached and removed from office. But then...Republicans could do the same. In February 1999, Republicans in the Senate believed that President Bill Clinton did not deserve a conviction and removal from office because of a blowj--...even though the House felt it was right to impeach him in December 1998. I happen to believe...and I am confident about this...that when Bob Mueller and/or Congress finish their investigations that the Democrats...and yes, some - if not many - Republicans too...will want to evict Donald Trump from The White House. But once again...before that happens, Trump will move out on his own accord. He'll accuse Congress of believing "fake news"...but he'll head back to Trump Tower or Mar-A-Lago and that'll be it. Wait for it. Because it's going to happen.
GBD
END OF PART THREE OF THREE
Gary, the Judge wanted “to embarrass and humiliate a sitting President” you’re a funny guy. You also stated “Furthermore, do you really want to compare getting a "BJ" to obstructing justice?” whenever you and the left are talking about Bill Clinton and impeachment you tell the same story that it was about a “BJ”, wrong it was about lying under oath. I won’t go into what he was accused of by other women.
DeleteAs for Alan M. Dershowitz, Harvard Law School (a pretty good school) claim he is one of the top Constitutional Law experts in the world today. I think he might know what he was talking about. Was it obstruction of when President Ford pardoned Nixon which stopped a FBI criminal investigation? How about when George H.W. Bush pardon Caspar Weinberger and five others stopping Independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh investigation into Iran-Contra. It was decided that and agreed that use of constitutionally granted Presidential power is not obstruction, done for any reason. President Trump had the constitutional power and right to fire Comey, NO obstruction!
As for the Trump’s tweet about firing Flynn, it was tweeted by the White House social media office and written by one of his lawyers. Please tell me what the “crime” was? It is not a crime for a candidate for President or for his campaign to be in contact with foreign governments, what’s the crime? Hillary’s campaign and the DNC she controlled paid through intermediary’s Russian agents to come up with the phony Trump dossier, and then lied to the Federal Election Commission, that’s a bigger crime! You stated “The FBI, the Justice Department and dozens of prosecutors stated that there was no evidence whatsoever that Mrs. Clinton did anything illegal that would cause her to be indicted” Jim Comey said it only after Peter Strzok, the deputy head of counterintelligence at the FBI changed Comey's earlier draft language describing Clinton's actions as "grossly negligent" to "extremely careless," the Federal Statute says gross negligence is an indictable offence with or without intent! That’s the law! So Clinton was investigated by a fan, Strzok who led the FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton's private email server a person who donated to Clinton publicly denounced President Trump. It is Strzok who should be investigated and maybe indicted for tampering with a Federal investigation.
You say “if Trump continues to prove his lack of fitness for the job, don't be surprised if Mike Pence and the Cabinet don't exercise the 25th Amendment,” where has he shown “lack of fitness”? Is it because you don’t like his policies? I didn’t like President Obama’s policies and they were a lot worse than anything President Trump has done. You did columns on President Trump’s immigration ban claiming it was un-Constitutional, the US Supreme Court ruled 7-2 to allow the full ban to go into effect, I guess it’s not un-Constitutional. It should be clear that anyone who looks at the facts that Robert Mueller and his band of Clinton Fans will do anything they can to go after the President, they will lie, cheat, and even maybe fabricate evidence against the President. This could be the closes thing the USA has ever come to a Coup!
That's right, Wayne. The judge's "contempt of court" ruling was merely her way to use her power because she disagreed with the decision by the U.S. Senate so - as I stated above - it was her way "to embarrass and humiliate" President Clinton.
DeleteYou can make your false statements, Wayne, but the United States Senate did not agree that President Clinton lied under oath. Plain and simple.
Accusations do not mean a person is guilty. You can spew your venom towards President Clinton, but accusations do not necessarily mean that a person is guilty. President Clinton was...and is...not guilty.
You like to try to compare apples to oranges, so I won't even comment on your references to Dershowitz and the rest.
Donald Trump fired James Comey as FBI Director because Trump wanted the Russia investigation stopped. That's obstruction of justice. And Special Counsel Robert Mueller will get the definitive proof - which any honest person already knows - that Trump gave Comey the axe in order to put an end to him finding the truth. That Trump colluded with Russia and was involved in a conspiracy to interfere with America's 2016 presidential election.
If you really believe that Trump's lawyer wrote the tweet about the firing of Michael Flynn then I guess you believe in the tooth fairy. Yeah, every kid does...but we all know it was Mom.
I'm doubled over with laughter after reading your question..."Where has (Donald Trump) shown a lack of fitness" as President? Have you been living in a cave these last two-and-a-half years since Trump announced his candidacy? Have you been living on another planet since Trump's inauguration?
Bob Mueller is an American hero who is respected by Democrats and Republicans alike. Mueller will not "lie, cheat" or "fabricate evidence" against Donald Trump. The proof will be evidence that Trump must take a hike...and Bob Mueller will provide Trump with his walking stick.
GBD
Gary, you love to twist words, I never said the Senate found Clinton guilty. He was found in contempt for lying under oath in a federal court that is a fact. I find it very funny that when President Trump said that a Judge had a bias against him you and the left called him a racist, demeaning to the justice system and anything else you could think of. Yet it is fine for you to claim that a Federal Judge had a bias against Clinton. You say “accusations do not mean a person is guilty” but you claim President Trump is guilty with only accusations to hang your hat on. There has been zero proof that the President did anything illegal. Today’s issues are not about Bill Clinton, the fact that he lied under oath in undeniable and whether or not the accusation that he raped or sexually assaulted woman will go unanswered. You wouldn’t comment on Dershowitz and other’s comments because you cannot disprove facts, all you have is you hatred for President Trump. President Trump had the right as all President do to fire the Director of the FBI or anyone else who “serve at the pleasure of the president” done, no obstruction of justice. No I don’t trust Mueller and his team of Trump hating Clinton fan boys.
DeleteMy response to the above reader will be in two parts.
DeletePART ONE OF TWO
No, Wayne...it is YOU who "love(s) to twist words." I did not state that you "said the Senate found Clinton guilty." But you DID say that President Clinton was guilty. Read your first comment above from December 5th, 2017 at 7:10 A.M. You clearly write..."Brother, you need to accept certain facts on Apr 13, 1999 - A Federal judge held President Clinton in contempt of court, saying he had willfully provided false testimony under oath: that is being guilty of lying." The judge's contempt of court ruling was a joke...but not in a funny way. As I noted earlier, Judge Wright's "contempt of court" ruling was merely her way to use her power because she disagreed with the decision by the U.S. Senate so, therefore, it was to embarrass and humiliate a sitting President. But I once again ask you a question that you left unanswered previously. Do you really want to compare getting a "BJ" to obstructing justice? Donald Trump is accused of obstruction of justice...just as Richard Nixon was...thus it was one reason why Nixon was forced to resign.
Donald Trump IS a racist. His words and actions over the past two-and-a-half years (since he became a candidate) are clear evidence that Trump is a bigot. He's prejudiced against Mexicans (which is offensive to all Latinos). And...despite his Jewish family members, Trump is anti-Semitic, as he has sided with the Ku Klux Klan...which also makes Trump bigoted towards African-Americans.
I have never stated that Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice or conspiring to collude with Russia. I have laid out the facts and provided my analysis. It will - I believe - be Special Counsel Robert Mueller who will provide the definitive proof that Donald Trump did, in fact, perform illegal activities...and therefore...such guilt will force Trump to resign, before Congress has the chance to impeach him, convict him and remove him from office.
GBD
END OF PART ONE OF TWO
PART TWO OF TWO
DeleteYou can spew your hateful venom towards President Clinton all day long, but there has never been any proof whatsoever that he "raped or sexually assaulted women." Those ludicrous accusations will go - as you say - "unanswered" because there is nothing to answer. The answer is that he never did what you want to believe.
You really make no sense at all when you invoke Alan Dershowitz. But since you want to play your game, I will comment here. President Ford pardoned Richard Nixon not to "stop a FBI criminal investigation" but to end - as Mr. Ford stated - "our long national nightmare." And have you forgotten? Nixon resigned the presidency. Trump has yet to do so. But when Trump does resign...I won't be surprised if a President Mike Pence pardons Trump. But as I have written in the past...if Pence has been involved in a cover-up...Bob Mueller will learn that too...and Pence would be out the door also...thus making Paul Ryan (or whomever is Speaker of the House) the new President. Just remember...if the Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate (following the 2018 mid-term elections)...the new Speaker of the House will be a Democrat. Therefore, it is possible that if a Republican President and a Republican Vice President both resign...the Speaker of the House - who would be a Democrat - would then become President. Think about that for a moment. You might want to dwell on that point.
Furthermore - as I noted earlier - you're comparing apples to oranges when you discuss President George H. W. Bush and Caspar Weinberger. As for your ridiculous remark that "Trump had the constitutional power and right to fire Comey, NO obstruction"...that is untrue. Numerous legal experts, Constitutional scholars and Members of Congress have stated that because Donald Trump is under investigation (despite what he may think or acknowledge)...by firing FBI Director James Comey, Trump got rid of the lead investigator of a probe that was - in large part - directed towards Trump himself. Thus, enter Bob Mueller...who will - I believe - find proof that Trump is guilty of offenses that will cause his presidency to end in disgrace. You are so wrong to think that Trump "has the right to fire the Director of the FBI" who "serve(s) at the pleasure of the president." Not when Trump fires Jim Comey to stop the Russia investigation. That IS...obstruction of justice.
Let me make my point clear. I am not saying that Trump has been found to be guilty...yet. But that day is coming. You can distrust Bob Mueller and his "team of Trump hating Clinton fan boys"...but it will be them who will show you and other "Trumpers" that "The Donald's" life - as he knows it - will soon be over.
GBD
END OF PART TWO OF TWO
Gary, you can call it a joke but a Federal Judge ruled that President Clinton was guilty of contempt for lying. That is a fact, you can try and spin it any way you want but it doesn’t change the facts. I don’t believe President Trump is a racist, his actions of wanting a wall to keep illegal aliens out of our country is not racist, it is patriotic and those who want open boarders are the opposite. I do not think he is anti-Semitic, would Israel ever side with and back an anti-Semitic president. I don’t agree he ever “sided” with the KKK, the leftwing anti-Trump mainstream media want everyone to believe their lies. I guess you believe their lies and their hate. They are the true haters. I spew no hateful venom about President Clinton, I stated a FACT that he has been accused of sexual assault and rape. It amazes me that in today’s times of Weinstein, Lauer, Spacey and so many others, that you take the word of the men and woman that claim they have been abused/attacked and violated by them, yet you are unwilling to take the word of those women that claim Bill Clinton did the same thing and sometimes worse to them. Talk about a hypocrite! As for your claim of obstruction of justice, you can quote all the Trump haters you want and that is what you and the rest of them are, Trump haters. I believe the courts if it ever goes there will uphold that document you guys try to revise all the time, the US Constitution and the Court will say that it is the Presidents right and Constitutional power to fire someone. Just remember if (God forbid) the House goes to the left and even worse if the Senate went to the left you would still need 11 Republican Senators to vote to convict the President and that’s not happening if all you have is him legally firing the FBI Director and some of his staff meeting legally with some Russian officials. I have never seen such venom and hatred against a sitting President as you and the left have done against President Trump, we on the right lived through two of the worst policy Presidents in America’s history Jimmy Carter and Obama and there wasn’t this massive venomous hate. This investigation has been a search for a crime (where there isn’t one) Mueller and his team of Trump hating Clinton loving insiders will do anything and everything needed including lie, cheat, invent evidence, even invent a crime where none exist to satisfy their hate and the hate of the left wing in this country.
DeleteThe judge's ruling is irrelevant since the United States Senate ruled that President Clinton did not lie under oath.
DeleteAs for Donald Trump, my above comments cannot be disputed based on Trump's actions. Trump IS a racist, as he has shown his bigotry towards Mexicans (Latinos) and African-Americans. And Trump has shown his anti-Semitism, despite his family members who are Jewish. If you don't believe that Trump "sided with the KKK" then you must believe that pigs can fly.
I have never commented on the sexual harassment accusations regarding those entertainment and journalism celebrities, so you have no idea whether I "take the word of the men and women that claim they have been abused/attacked and violated." As for President Clinton being accused, all I will say is that Mr. Clinton has been accused. So I am NOT a hypocrite because I've never commented on any of the current accusations throughout the last few months...and I will not comment here.
I...and those who you want to name-call...we are NOT Trump haters. The man is mentally ill and needs to be institutionalized. If you go back to the early days of the campaign, I wrote columns stating that Donald Trump is mentally unfit and unstable to be President of the United States. I called Trump mentally ill, long before it was commonplace by others in the media and across the country. Long before Michael Wolff, long before The New York Daily News, long before others...I was telling my readers that Donald Trump is nuts. This is a man who is a loon. He's out of his mind crazy and needs to be put away in a rubber room before he hurts himself or others. And trust me, Special Counsel Bob Mueller is going to make sure that Trump is forced out of office by resignation.
The U.S. Supreme Court will never hear a case that questions whether Trump could fire James Comey as FBI Director. Trump will resign long before that.
You're in denial, man. Just as Republicans joined with Democrats to force Richard Nixon out of office, so will Republicans do the same with Trump. Once marches begin...once Trump's approval ratings get below 30 percent...perhaps as low as 25 percent or lower...Republicans will not want to lose their jobs...and they will jump on the bandwagon with the Democrats. But as I have stated all along, Trump will never put himself through impeachment hearings. He will resign before then.
You and other right-wingers have spewed more venom and hatred towards both Bill and Hillary Clinton...as well as President Barack Obama...than you seem to think Democrats are doing towards Trump. The opposition to Trump is because of his lunatic policies and because - as I have stated over and over again - Trump is mentally ill. Nobody has ever thought that either one of the Clintons or Mr. Obama were mentally unfit.
You're a true hater of Democrats if you think that Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter were "two of the worst policy Presidents in America's history." I won't list all of President Obama's accomplishments - you can read them for yourself, as they are documented in books and all over the Internet. As for President Carter, he saved the lives of 52 Americans. Yes, they were held hostage for 444 days...but President Carter saved their lives. And don't start in with me that Ronald Reagan saved them...THAT has been proved to be false by every reputable historian.
The Russia investigation is a probe about a crime that is true. Every U.S. intelligence agency has proven that. Now Bob Mueller needs to prove that Trump and his family of felonious henchmen were involved...and that they colluded with Russia to meddle in our 2016 election.
You are going to be so amazed when Trump and his family are escorted out of The White House for the very last time. It's going to happen. Wait and see.
GBD
Gary, a few points and then end this, you have your hatred and your left wing policies that have been hurting this great country for years and you will never change, maybe you will when the left makes us hit rock bottom and turns us into a third world nation. Now for the few points, the judge’s ruling is not irrelevant it declared him guilty of lying, which is a FACT he did lie! Next, pigs can’t fly and the left is the true haters and the far left progressives are the real danger to America! As for Carter, he was weak and a coward who did nothing and allowed 52 Americans to be kept hostage for 444 days, helped caused the gas crisis, reduced our military and lowered our standing in the world. He seems to be a nice guy but stunk as a president. Obama on the other hand his policies where just plain terrible, from the beginning with his apology tour, blaming America, never standing up for American exceptionalism, he increased racial tension by always blaming the cops, the white guy or America before knowing the facts, whether it was in Boston with the beer summit or the “hands up, don’t shoot” lie, he always blamed the police. The list goes on and on. He cut our military, he didn’t back the Generals in the field during war time, he gave us DACA and the ACA. He lied to America, you can keep your doctors, you can keep your plan, the ACA will lower your rates on average of $2500 per family, all lies. Instead it raised the cost on average over $5000 per family (including deductibles and co-pays). He gave GM to the unions (his backers) instead of the rightful debt holders. He gave America, far left wing judges that wish to rewrite the Constitution. I could write a book but you would never see the truth. All I can hope is that the left doesn't drag this country any further down then it did for 8 years. Let’s make America Great Again! We're done.
DeleteMy response to the above reader will be in two parts.
DeletePART ONE OF TWO
Simply by you making a statement...accusing me of "hatred"...shows YOUR true hatred. I hate nobody, Wayne. Simply by you making a statement that "the left" is going to make America "hit rock bottom and turn us in to a third world nation" shows YOUR true hatred.
What you don't seem to understand is that just because a judge gives a ruling doesn't mean that something is fact. The United States Senate believed that President Bill Clinton DID NOT LIE UNDER OATH. Can't you get that through your HEAD OF HATRED? The United States Senate...and I...do not believe that President Clinton lied under oath. So you can say or write all day long that Mr. Clinton lied...BUT HE DID NOT. So it is NOT A FACT that he lied just because you say so...or just because a judge said so.
Your hatred is heinous and reprehensible when you say "the far left progressives are the real danger to America."
Now to your deplorable remarks about President Jimmy Carter. President Carter was NOT weak. His strength is what kept 52 Americans ALIVE for 444 days. To call President Carter a "coward" is disgraceful. His courage is what brought Israel and Egypt together. Have you forgotten that it was President Carter who, in March 1979, met at Camp David with Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt? They signed a peace treaty ending thirty years of war between their two Mideast countries. Have you also forgotten (or don't you know) that President Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize? Mr. Carter was awarded the Prize in 2002, which states..."for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development" Don't you dare call President Carter..."a coward."
I won't even dignify your loathsome remarks about President Obama with much of a response...except to say that Barack Obama will go down in history as one of the greatest Presidents of the United States of America. As I noted earlier, read about his accomplishments. But I'll just give you two. But two big ones. And I will quote the man who may be elected the 46th President of the United States. Vice President Joe Biden would defeat Donald Trump in a heartbeat, if Mr. Biden decides to run in 2020. So here is his quote. "Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive." But as I have said, time and time again, Trump will not be running in 2020. He will resign the presidency long before that. Trump will not be on the ballot in 2020.
One more point regarding President Obama...given the fact that a bunch of racist Members of Congress weren't going to help him be successful with many of his plans, President Obama was enormously successful. Remember what Senator Mitch McConnell said in October 2010..."The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." McConnell is a disgrace...and your comments about President Obama are atrocious. Your wicked remarks are contemptible. There is no "truth" to your remarks...only despicable lies...so go ahead and "write (your) book." It will be filled with falsehoods.
GBD
END OF PART ONE OF TWO
PART TWO OF TWO
DeleteThe U.S. Supreme Court must be more liberal so that America is not destroyed. Liberals, progressives, Democrats in general, make America strong, healthy and a great country...the greatest country. For 8 years, President Obama took us out of the worst recession since "The Great Depression." President Obama brought us out of the depths of despair that President George W. Bush put us in. Mr. Bush nearly killed our nation economically...and if he had listened to his own national security adviser for terrorism, Richard Clark, along with the CIA, then there might not have been a 9/11 attack. Mr. Bush and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice ignored every warning that al-Qaeda was going to attack. So it was George W. Bush who "drag(ged)down" our nation. President Obama kept America safe. As for Donald Trump...he is poisoning our country...and between Congress and Special Counsel Bob Mueller... Trump WILL be stopped.
Now we are done.
GBD
END OF PART TWO OF TWO
No lies, Wayne, just facts. They are NOT lies. They have not been proven to be lies. But they have been proven to be true. Every reputable economist has documented that President George W. Bush nearly killed our nation economically. As for "9/11"...if Mr. Bush had listened to his own national security adviser for terrorism, Richard Clark, along with the CIA, then there might not have been a 9/11 attack. Mr. Bush and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice ignored every warning that al-Qaeda was going to attack. These ARE facts...pure and simple.
DeleteLiberals, progressives and Democrats in general make America strong. And yes...America should help anyone who cannot take care of themselves. America was built on the rich helping the poor. That's one of the reasons the rich should pay higher taxes. But with the new tax law that the Republicans passed through Congress and Donald Trump signed, the only people being helped will be the super-rich and other wealthy people. Therefore, the tax bill became law so that Trump, his family and friends would pay millions and millions of dollars less in taxes...upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars less in taxes for Trump alone. The poor and the so-called "middle-class" (of which there is none) will be paying more in taxes or, in some cases, will not be getting any tax break whatsoever. These are not lies...but facts. Not hatred...just the truth.
GBD
Gary, as I said proven lies. These are some of the actions taken by President Bush and the administration prior to 9/11, stop saying they ignored every warning, it’s a lie: July 5, 2001 - The FAA issues another warning, specifically the threat of "using explosives in an airport terminal." July 5, 2001 - President George W. Bush requests more information about the recent upswing in terrorist threats and "chatter" from National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. July 2001 - The CIA warns the White House of possible attacks against President George W. Bush during the July G8 Summit in Genoa, Italy. July 18, 2001 - The FAA issues another warning to airlines concerning possible terrorist attacks. July 31, 2001 - The FAA issues another warning to airlines advising that "terror groups are known to be planning and training for hijackings." August 6, 2001 - President George W. Bush receives a CIA report about al Qaeda and the possibility of airline hijackings. The warning is passed on to embassies and other overseas facilities. August 16, 2001 - The FAA issues an alert about "disguised weapons." Airlines are alerted the terrorists might use common objects such as cell phones or clothespins as weapons. August 23, 2001 - CIA director George Tenet, concerned that an al Qaeda attack is imminent, orders the CIA to search their files for leads. An urgent cable is sent to the FBI, State Department, Customs and INS, alerting them to the CIA's concerns about Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar. After the INS reports that Almihdhar re-entered the country on July 4, the FBI begins searching for them. September 4, 2001 - The national security advisers to President George W. Bush approve a draft version of a plan to combat al Qaeda. It includes provisions for $200 million to arm the enemies of the Taliban. The advisers plan to present the draft to President Bush on September 10, however the president is traveling and does not see it. September 10, 2001 - The National Security Agency intercepts two communications from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia. One says, "Tomorrow is zero hour," and the other says "The match begins tomorrow." The messages are not translated until September 12.
DeleteThese are the facts from the 9/11 commission, your comments are not facts!
The following is part of a report from a July 2004 broadcast of 60 Minutes on CBS.
DeletePresident George W. Bush's former national security adviser for counter-terrorism, Richard Clarke told 60 Minutes that President Bush ignored warnings about terrorist attacks before 9/11. Clarke also wrote a book stating the same and he sharply criticized Mr. Bush for doing "a terrible job" battling terrorism since 9/11. Clarke went on to tell 60 Minutes, "Frankly, I find it outrageous that the President is running for re-election on the grounds that he's done such great things about terrorism. He ignored it. He ignored terrorism for months, when maybe we could have done something to stop 9/11. Maybe. We'll never know." Clarke also said that in a January 2001 memo he asked for a Cabinet-level meeting, shortly after President Bush took office. Clarke told 60 Minutes that he wanted to discuss the threat al-Qaeda posed to the United States. "That urgent memo wasn't acted on," Clarke told CBS News. Instead, Clarke said that Mr. Bush and others in his Administration were more interested in missile defense and Iraq. Clarke told 60 Minutes that President Bush should have gone to "battle stations" when the CIA warned the President of an al-Qaeda threat, many months before the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon. But according to Clarke, "President Bush never thought it was important enough for him to hold a meeting on the subject, or for him to order his national security adviser to hold a Cabinet-level meeting on the subject." Clarke also told CBS News that President Bush asked him on September 12th, 2001 to look for links between al-Qaeda and Iraq. Mr. Bush wanted Clarke to come back to him with a report that Iraq was responsible for the attacks...even if they weren't. But Clarke told 60 Minutes that when he informed President Bush that U.S. intelligence had nothing connecting Iraq with al-Qaeda, the President responded in a "very intimidating" manner: "Iraq! Saddam! Find out if there's a connection."
Richard Clarke reported THOSE FACTS to the 9/11 Commission. My comments ARE facts.
We are totally off the topic of the column above so let's end this here.
GBD
ZZZZZZ.... Wake me up when you have something original to say and aren't just regurgitating what you watch on TV all day. In the meantime we'll be planning how to comfort you liberals after Trump wins again in 2020. Wait for it. Because it's going to happen. That should give you plenty of time to dream up some new reasons for why the voters don't agree with you and why everybody who votes for Trump is a horrible person.
ReplyDeleteLOL!!! You are hilarious. But I'm not really laughing because unfortunately, it's sad that you have such hatred in your heart, in your mind, and in your soul.
DeleteFirst of all, my thoughts are my own. I certainly don't sit around watching TV all day, so therefore, there is no regurgitation. Every column is written with my own words and my own political analysis.
Secondly, not only will Donald Trump not win in 2020, he won't be running for anything in that year...except maybe from Melania, who will be divorcing him as soon as "The Donald" is forced to resign the presidency... and she's going to take him for every penny she can get her hands on. Trump better have a pre-nuptial agreement or he'll be living on skid row.
You "Trumpers" are in such denial. Bob Mueller is going to bury Donald Trump (metaphorically speaking). And when the Democrats win back the House and Senate in the November 2018 mid-term election, the new president - Mike Pence - won't be able to do a damn thing unless he compromises with the Democrats. Wait for it. Because it's going to happen.
And if Mueller proves that Pence colluded with Russia too...or if he was aware of anything that Donald Trump, Sr., Donald Trump, Jr., and Jared Kushner did that was illegal then Pence will be back in Indiana as fast as he can say "Hoosiers." And then...Paul Ryan will be president. Wait for it. Because it could happen.
As for your last line in your remarks above, Democrats don't need to "dream up new reasons" about anything. We know for a fact - and so do two-thirds of the country - that Donald Trump is mentally ill and totally unfit to serve as President of the United States. People are realizing it now. As I stated in my column...too bad they didn't realize it - as I did - before the 2016 election.
GBD
1. Trump recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
ReplyDelete2. There are increased terrorist attacks on the homeland.
3. Trump uses the terrorist attacks to show that he is right about the Muslim ban and the need for the wall.
4. North Korea gains the ability to strike anywhere in the US with a nuclear attack.
5. Trump uses North Korea to show how years of failed negotiations before him got us to the point where the US is now in direct danger.
6. Trump gets reelected.
People don't care about this whole fake Russia thing, especially when we will have terrorists killing people right in our own country and are under the threat of nuclear war that past administrations could have prevented.
You Trumpers are like your hero...certifiable.
DeleteThere will not be any "increased terrorist attacks" on the United States. Trump and the Republicans like to use fear tactics...and nobody should.
I suppose you're a racist and a bigot since you - like Trump - want to ban Muslims. This is the United States of America. We don't ban people based on their religion, race or ethnic heritage. I said it in June 2015 when Trump announced his candidacy and promised to build a wall that America will NEVER build a wall on the U.S-Mexico border. It will NEVER, EVER HAPPEN.
As for North Korea, Kim Jong-un doesn't want a nuclear war any more than we do. As I wrote in an earlier column this year, a nuclear war is the end of the world. There will be no World War III. World War III would be World War Everyone Is Dead and there is no Earth.
Trump will NEVER be re-elected because he won't be running for president in 2020. He will have resigned long before that in the wake of impeachment proceedings.
A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll says 58 percent of Americans approve of Bob Mueller's Russia investigation. And 49 percent of Americans believe Donald Trump committed a crime.
I don't know how old you are, but I lived through Watergate and Richard Nixon. At the beginning, the vast majority of the country not only didn't care about Watergate...they hadn't even heard about it until well in to the investigation by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of The Washington Post. But people's minds changed quickly once everyone realized that Richard Nixon was indeed "a crook." Not that he had anything to do with the break-in, but because of the cover-up. Donald Trump may or may not have been directly connected to colluding with Russia (although I think he was), but he has most certainly been involved in the cover-up. And Mueller - along with Congressional investigations - will prove it.
Yes, like Nixon, Trump will be resigning his presidency. And it's going to happen sooner rather than later.
GBD
As predicted there is already violence occurring because of the Jerusalem move.
DeleteStop living in the past and wake up. This isn't the same environment as Nixon. Welcome to the age of the Internet where people aren't limited to the mass media fake news outlets of the past.
When the terrorist attack at home comes I'll be back here to remind you how naive you are.
Whoever you are...you are so out of touch with reality. Your mind is warped with thoughts that are mindless.
DeleteWhat Richard Nixon did was bad. Very bad. He covered up a crime that was not worth covering up. If Nixon had come forward...and appeared live from The Oval Office...the day after the Watergate break-in...and was honest with the American people that he had absolutely nothing to do with the burglars who broke in to the Democratic Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel...and if he promised the American people that he was going to do everything in his power as President of the United States to find out the answers to the who, what and why this all happened...Nixon would have been praised by Republicans...and by Democrats. Nixon would have been a hero. And his presidency would never have been destroyed in disgrace. Instead - as we all know - Nixon covered up the investigation and, therefore, he obstructed justice. And he was then forced to resign, as he knew that a House impeachment was inevitable. And he knew that a Senate trial would have ended up in a conviction and removal from office.
Although I'm confident that direct evidence... definitive proof...is coming...and coming soon...what Donald Trump has allegedly done...is still much, much worse than Richard Nixon. And I think that when all is said and done...at the end of the day, Bob Mueller and his investigation...the FBI...and both houses of Congress...are going to get exactly what is necessary to send Trump packing. There will either be dirt discovered that "The Donald" colluded with Russia...was connected in some way with other illegal activities with Russia...and/or conclusive evidence will be found that Trump knew about such criminal activity and, therefore, he has been involved with a cover-up.
For someone who has spent most of my nearly 45-year media career as a journalist - in both broadcasting and print - your statement about "fake news" is just as ludicrous as similar statements made by Donald Trump.
As for your prediction of a "terrorist attack at home"...I will say the same thing that I did shortly after September 11th, 2001. There will NEVER... EVER...be another assault on our country as serious...and as deadly...as "9/11." So you won't ever be reminding me of how "naive" I am, because I am not naive about this matter at all. The intelligence agencies and other law enforcement organizations throughout the United States - federal, state and local - will prevent such an attack...such a crisis...from ever striking the U.S. again with that magnitude of death. Is that to say that there won't be any smaller attacks...such as by lunatics in cars that use their vehicles as a weapon, not a mode of transportation? Unfortunately, there will be. Just as there will be bank robberies and other crimes that are committed by evil people. But those "vehicle killers" are generally going to proceed without notice and their action will likely be unavoidable unless somebody suspects the killer ahead of time. But I do not believe that any international radical force will be able to perform the type of criminal activity and destructive behavior that you are referring to in your comment above and, to do so, on our land. I think America is safe that way. And no, it's not because of anything Donald Trump does or doesn't do. It's all because of our men and women who wear or carry federal, state or local badges. The danger to America is not some foreign terrorist. The danger to America is the current President of the United States.
GBD