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How does former F.B.I. Director James Comey sleep at night? If it wasn't for Comey, Hillary Clinton would likely be President of the United States today. If it wasn't for Comey, America would not be in such disarray because Donald Trump would probably not be sitting behind The Oval Office desk. If it wasn't for Comey...Jim Comey himself would perhaps still have his job as F.B.I. chief. So again I ask...how does James Comey sleep at night?
On October 28th, 2016, eleven days before the presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump...Comey submitted a letter to Congress that was the utmost "October surprise." In the shocking and devastating communication, Comey wrote..."In connection with an unrelated case, the F.B.I. has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation" in to the private email server that Mrs. Clinton had used while she was Secretary of State under President Barack Obama. That "unrelated case" involved former Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner's sexually explicit conversations with a minor. As part of that investigation, the F.B.I. discovered some of Hillary Clinton's emails on Weiner's laptop. Weiner's wife - Huma Abedin - was a close aide and personal friend of Mrs. Clinton. Abedin had backed up thousands of Secretary Clinton's emails on Weiner's computer. A number of F.B.I. agents thought Mrs. Clinton had hidden certain so-called "missing" messages from the Bureau and they wrongfully assumed that it was those emails that were the ones found on Weiner's laptop. Two days before the election, Comey announced that the emails were meaningless and that they added no new reflection whatsoever on any possible illegal activity by Secretary Clinton. But by that time, the damage had been done and Comey's correspondence to Congress had put doubts in the minds of some voters who otherwise would have cast their ballots for the Democratic nominee. Prior to Comey's letter, Secretary Clinton was ahead in the polls by 6 points. Some surveys had her beating Trump by an even bigger amount. However, after Comey's letter, Mrs. Clinton's lead was cut in half...and it was downhill from there. Many Americans stayed home on election day and didn't vote at all. Some decided to jump ship by supporting the opposition - the Republican nominee - Donald Trump.
I remind you that Trump was able to claim victory because of only three states in the Electoral College - Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - even though Mrs Clinton won the popular vote by about three-million people. Unfortunately, the old-fashioned Electoral College remains our system for electing a president. As a result, the 2016 election came down to a mere 77,744 votes out of 135,500,034 ballots cast. Trump won Michigan by 0.2 percentage points (10,704 votes)...Pennsylvania by 0.7 percentage points (44,292 votes)...and Wisconsin by 0.7 percentage points (22,748 votes). If Secretary Clinton had won all three of those states, the scoreboard would have shown Mrs. Clinton with 278 electoral votes and Trump with 260 electoral votes, which would have moved
Hillary Clinton - along with former President Bill Clinton - back in to The White House. A total of 270 electoral votes were needed to win the presidency.
Professional political strategists and pollsters have noted that since Secretary Clinton lost Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, each by less than one percentage point, Comey's letter to Congress likely affected the outcome of the presidential race as it helped Donald Trump to be elected. Therefore, the now infamous letter could have easily swayed 77,744 people to vote for Trump...or an Independent candidate...or it affected enough voters to be so angry with each of the candidates - not to mention our political system altogether - that they totally ignored the election.
So what was Comey's reason for writing his letter? Did he have an ulterior motive of any kind? Does Jim Comey feel guilty for writing the letter? Through my exhaustive research I have not been able to find any reference by Comey where he actually uses the word "guilt." Maybe he can't speak of guilt because he truly has none. Or perhaps he's riddled with guilt...and just can't admit it to anyone but himself. However, that being said, in a June 30th, 2018 interview with veteran journalist Katie Couric at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado...Couric asked Comey, "Do you feel responsible for the election of Donald Trump and the current state of the union?" Comey doesn't use the language that his conscience should be dictating. "I don't (feel responsible). But...it is a heavy burden. It leaves me feeling mildly nause(ated). I've devoted my whole life to institutions of justice that want nothing to do with elections. The most powerful norm I've lived under is you take no action in the run-up to election that might have an impact on the election. I believe in that, to my core. My problem was, I couldn't find a door labeled 'no action' on October 28th. I could see two actions, and they were both really bad. And so look, I feel sick to my stomach about it, but in an odd way, I don't feel responsible because I'm proud of the way we made the decisions." But Comey admitted to Katie Couric that when he gave his original public statement about Hillary Clinton's emails, "I screwed it up. 'Extremely careless' was a stupid term to use. I should have said, 'really sloppy.'" But between his announcement and explanation regarding Secretary Clinton's emails, and his letter to Congress...Comey told Couric..."I've succeeded in pissing off everyone." You got that right Jim.
As for the future...Comey told Katie Couric..."I hope to be forgotten. I hope that someone will establish that what I did had absolutely no impact." That's never going to happen Jim. Not anytime soon. Not ever.
Although James Comey didn't want to have an "impact" on the 2016 election...he did. Comey not only broke protocol...he defied it. As I wrote in my column from November 1st, 2016..."It was 2012 when the Attorney General Eric Holder formalized in a written memo that the Department of Justice must safeguard their 'neutrality and non-partisanship.' The F.B.I. director is an employee of the D.O.J. and he is supposed to abide by the practices and guidelines implemented by that department. But according to a Justice Department official who was interviewed by The New Yorker, '(Attorney General Loretta) Lynch asked Comey to follow Justice Department policies' and to, therefore, not write the letter to congressional leaders. The New Yorker says...'(Comey) said that he was obliged to break with them because he had promised to inform members of Congress if there were further developments in the case. He also felt that the impending election created a compelling need to inform the public, despite the tradition of acting with added discretion around elections.' Shame on you, Jim. You had no right to make such a decision on your own. Your actions - eleven days before the presidential election - were irresponsible. One former senior Justice Department official - who also spoke with The New Yorker, but asked the magazine not to identify him or her because of ongoing cases involving the D.O.J. - responded to Comey's letter by saying..."You don't do this. It impugns the integrity and reputation of the candidate, even though there's no finding by a court, or in this instance, even an indictment.' The bottom line is...Director Comey was wrong."
So in the dark of night, what is James Comey thinking about when the demons invade his mind and nightmares awaken him in the middle of a deep slumber? Does Comey's conscience haunt him? Does he ever shout in to his pillow and admit the following to himself? "This is all my fault." I suppose we'll not know the truth for many years, if ever. But perhaps the generally decent and honorable Jim Comey will come clean in thirty or forty years...before he finds himself ready to march off in to the sunset...and skyward to the heavens above.
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.
Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Photo credits: Today and NBC News (James Comey #1), United States Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation (James Comey's Letter to Congress), J. Richards-AFP/Getty Images (former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump), Getty Images and CNN (former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton), Craig Turpin/Aspen Daily News (Katie Couric and James Comey) and Alex Brandon/Associated Press (James Comey #2)
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If Donald Trump was not president of the United States he would have already been taken away in handcuffs by federal agents and be wearing an orange jumpsuit to match his hair. Federal prosecutors in New York have, in essence, stated that Trump illegally deceived American voters in 2016 by paying off two women so they would keep their mouths shut about alleged extramarital affairs with him. And by taking the presidency by fraud, Trump stole The White House from Hillary Clinton.
In my column of Friday, December 7th, 2018, titled SMOKE...FIRE...AND THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY IS JUST ABOUT READY TO BECOME AN INFERNO...I echoed a post I wrote for Facebook on Thursday, November 29th that "If I was Donald Trump, I'd be a nervous wreck, shaking in my boots, peeing in my pants, and scared to death." By now...I wouldn't be surprised if Trump is soiling himself non-stop.
Trump is trying hard to claim he is not frightened out of his wits, but his irrational behavior proves quite the contrary. And although thick black smoke is billowing throughout Trumpworld and a blaze of fire is burning down the Trump presidency... Trump wrote the following in an early morning tweet on Monday, December 10th.
"Democrats can't find a Smocking Gun (yes Trump misspelled smoking) tying the Trump campaign to Russia after James Comey's testimony. No Smocking Gun (yes he misspelled it a second time)...No Collusion. That's because there was NO COLLUSION. So now the Dems go to a simple private transaction, wrongly call it a campaign contribution...which it was not (but even if it was, it is only a CIVIL CASE, like Obama's - but it was done correctly by a lawyer and there would not even be a fine. Lawyer's liability if he made a mistake, not me). Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced. WITCH HUNT!"
But federal prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have basically indicated - in filings that were released on December 7th - that Donald Trump is in big trouble...politically and legally...as the feds have implicated Trump in two felonies. Prosecutors say Trump "directed" his former attorney and so-called "fixer," Michael Cohen to pay sums of illegal hush money - $130,000 - to porn star Stormy Daniels - whose real name is Stephanie Clifford - and $150,000 to former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal so that the women would keep their lips zipped about alleged sexual flings with "The Donald." The feds filing spells it out clearly. "With respect to both payments, he (Cohen) acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1." Individual-1 is Donald Trump. Prosecutors say the payments were illegal corporate donations to Trump's presidential campaign. But Trump denies it all and claims he did not direct Cohen to commit any violations of law. In fact, Trump tweeted the following after learning of prosecutors filing. "Totally clears the President. Thank you!" Trump is beyond delusional and is in tremendous denial because soon he will undoubtedly become an official target in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation as an unindicted co-conspirator. As I wrote in my column of Monday, December 3rd titled IS DONALD TRUMP A MORON? OR IS HE SMART ENOUGH TO RESIGN BEFORE HE GETS IN TO MORE TROUBLE?...Richard Nixon once uttered, "I am not a crook." But he was. And Mueller - plus prosecutors for the Southern District of New York - are proving more and more that Donald Trump is a crook too. Meanwhile, Cohen is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge on Wednesday, December 12th.
Switching to the Russia probe, Trump has repeatedly denied that he had any dealings with Vladimir Putin and Russia. But in another filing on December 7th, prosecutors for Mueller's investigation in to Russia's interference in our 2016 presidential election...say Michael Cohen - in November 2015 - discussed with a self-identified "trusted" Russian with close ties to Putin's inner circle and who pledged "political synergy" and "synergy on a government level" to the Trump campaign. Furthermore, prosecutors confirm in their filing that Cohen lied about "the timeline... of the Moscow (Trump Tower) project" and that Cohen admitted to sharing information with White House officials and Trump's lawyers. Cohen committed perjury in October 2017 when he falsely stated in sworn testimony that the proposed Trump Tower project in Russia had come to an end in January 2016, prior to the Republican caucus in Iowa. But apparently Trump was engaged in a business relationship with the Russians throughout the 2016 campaign - well in to the summer of that year - when Trump insisted he was in no way linked to anybody in Putin's government or the country as a whole. Trump lied over and over again at a time when The Kremlin was interfering in American democracy by meddling in our election.
And in a separate filing on December 7th, Mueller pointed the finger at Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort for lying about his contacts with Russia and about his discussions with Trump administration officials after he, Manafort, made a deal that he would not speak to Trump or anyone connected to him after he, Manafort, had been indicted. It is obvious to me that Trump has promised to pardon Manafort for all his criminal charges and that the two are still very much in bed with each other...metaphorically speaking.
Since the day he took the oath of office, I am on the record for predicting that Donald Trump's presidency would not survive a full term and that he would resign long before the 2020 election. And now...numerous people with high legal stature and others with top political rankings are recommending for Trump to resign so that he...and our country...avoid an impeachment and criminal trial.
In another Facebook post on December 7th, I wrote..."We thank you for traveling today aboard Felony Airlines 'Flight For A Friday." For your safety and the safety of passengers around you, please keep your seat belts buckled and securely fastened until cockpit prosecutors have piloted the aircraft to a complete stop at the prison gates of Donald Trump's cronies, including - but not limited to - Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort. And please fly with us again soon as we may be featuring a layover outside the jail cell of Donald Trump himself. When that time comes, tickets will be on sale at HeIsLockedUpdotcom. And once again, thank you for joining us today on Felony Airlines "Flight For A Friday." For Captain Hillary Clinton, this is Gary B. Duglin.
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.
Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Photo credits: J. Richards-AFP/Getty Images (former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump), Chicago Tribune (Donald Trump) and Drew Angerer/Zach Gibson/Getty Images/Bloomberg (Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort)
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"If I was Donald Trump, I'd be a nervous wreck, shaking in my boots, peeing in my pants, and scared to death." I wrote those words for a post on Facebook at 3:24 P.M. on Thursday, November 29th, 2018. On that day, Trump's former attorney and so-called "fixer," Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty in a New York federal court for lying under oath to Congress about Trump's business dealings in Russia. Cohen admitted that he made false statements out of "loyalty" to Trump and, therefore, to protect his old boss about "The Donald's" knowledge of a planned Trump Tower real estate project in Moscow. In his plea deal, Cohen confessed that he "made these statements to be consistent with Individual-1's political messaging." Individual-1 is Donald Trump.
Cohen committed perjury in October 2017 when he falsely stated in sworn testimony that the proposed Trump Tower project in Russia had come to an end in January 2016...prior to the Republican caucus in Iowa. But Trump was engaged in a business relationship with the Russians throughout the 2016 presidential campaign - well in to the summer of that year - when he insisted he had no ties whatsoever to anybody in Vladimir Putin's government or the country as a whole. Trump lied over and over again at a time when The Kremlin was interfering in American democracy by meddling in our election.
I don't believe that Cohen would have pleaded guilty to lying about the Moscow deal unless Special Counsel Robert Mueller had absolute proof about Trump's knowledge of the project, which Mueller would have shared with Cohen. That being said...Trump has labeled Cohen a "weak person" and claims Cohen's testimony is just more lies so that his prison time can be reduced.
Cohen's cooperation with Mueller about Trump's business dealings with Russia will likely give him a lighter sentence - and rightfully so - along with undoubtedly providing Mueller with everything he needs to know about Trump's alleged order to pay hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal so that the two women - who Trump allegedly had extramarital affairs with - would keep their mouths shut before the election.
In another of my Facebook posts on November 29th - this one at 5:18 P.M. - I wrote..."Donald Trump can no longer claim 'no collusion.'" Michael Cohen's testimony shows that Trump was in bed - metaphorically speaking - with one of Putin's right-hand men. After Cohen pleaded guilty to parroting Pinocchio, Trump told reporters on The White House south lawn..."So he's lying about a project that everybody knew about." However...in July 2016...Trump was specifically asked about his financial dealings with Russia and he was definitive with his response. "I will tell you right now. Zero. I have nothing to do with Russia." But then...we know that Donald Trump is America's "liar-in-chief."
Over the last two years, I have - on more than one occasion - written columns where I argued - with no doubt in my mind - that Putin and his cronies have some sort of leverage over Trump. I - to this day - continue to pose the same question. What do Putin and the Russians have on Donald Trump?
During the campaign and all throughout his presidency, Trump has never uttered one bad word about Vladimir Putin. Trump should have disclosed his bromance with Putin long before the 2016 election. And now that Trump made it to a chair behind The Oval Office desk - thanks in part to the Russians - they now control Trump as he is one of Putin's puppets.
What else has Michael Cohen told Mueller? How far under the bus has he thrown Donald Trump? But spilling the beans about Trump is not just Cohen's doing, but presumably former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has provided Special Counsel Mueller with a plethora of damaging information that could soon contribute to burying the Trump presidency. The retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General was interviewed 19 times by Mueller's team and by Justice Department lawyers. Furthermore...because of both Cohen and Flynn's cooperation with Mueller...who else might be indicted for crimes that eventually may connect the dots to Donald Trump? Might we see one or more of Trump's three eldest children and/or his son-in-law be taken away in handcuffs by federal agents? And if any of them does wind up wearing orange jumpsuits, how will Trump react? What will he do? I have written many times that anything of that sort will result in Trump making a deal, which would force him to resign the office of president.
Later today, Friday, December 7th, 2018, Mueller is expected to release more information that could rile Trump in to a rage. But no matter what Trump supporters think... Trump's days in The White House are numbered.
Where there's smoke...doesn't necessarily mean there's fire. But usually there is. And in this case...with Donald Trump...the smoke is black and thick...the fire is a burning blaze... and the Trump presidency is just about ready to become an inferno.
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.
Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Photo credits: Getty Images (Donald Trump #1) and Reuters (Donald Trump #2)
Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
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Has Donald Trump had enough? Is he looking to bring his presidency to its death so his base can reward him with martyrdom? Or is Trump simply stupid? Why else would Trump deliberately tweet messages that legal experts and constitutional scholars say submerges him into a deep pool of obstruction of justice and witness tampering?
In a morning tweet on Monday, December 3rd, 2018, Trump wrote..."'I will never testify against Trump.' This statement was recently made by Roger Stone, essentially stating that he will not be forced by a rogue and out of control prosecutor to make up lies and stories about 'Trump.' Nice to know that some people still have 'guts'!"
Earlier on the same day, Trump sent a double-tweet slamming his former personal attorney and "fixer" that reads..."'Michael Cohen asks judge for no Prison Time.' You mean he can do all the TERRIBLE, unrelated to Trump, things having to do with fraud, big loans, Taxis, etc., and not serve a long prison term? He makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself, and get...his wife and and father-in-law (who has the money?) off Scott Free. He lied for this outcome and should, in my opinion, serve a full and complete sentence." (Yes, Trump misspelled "taxes.")
One need not be a Harvard lawyer to read between the lines and understand that Trump's words denote that he is prepared to pardon any defendant who doesn't cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but that if a person won't protect Trump by lying about knowledge they have regarding crimes allegedly committed by him then Trump will stand by and watch Mueller send those who stab "The Donald" in the back - metaphorically speaking - to prison.
Unless you've been living in an underground bunker and, therefore, unconnected to the world for nearly the last two years, then you know Trump is accused of conspiring to collude with Russia in an effort to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. You also are aware that Trump could face obstruction of justice charges because he fired James Comey as F.B.I. director in an attempt to put a stop to the Russia investigation. That's not an allegation because it's a fact by Trump himself when - on May 11th, 2017 - he told NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt..."And in fact when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won." So Trump admitted on national television that "this Russia thing" was on his mind when he terminated Comey.
But as the late night infomercial announcer would say..."But wait, there's more." On August 21st, 2018, Michael Cohen implicated Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator when, under oath, Cohen - in a plea deal - testified in a New York federal courthouse that he was "directed" to pay a combined hundreds of thousands of dollars in hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal in order to guarantee their silence before the election that Trump committed adultery by having extra-marital affairs with the two women. It's alleged that Trump used campaign funds to pay the big bucks and that he paid off the women to influence the election, which are violations of the campaign finance law. Cohen acknowledged that he knew at the outset that he was committing a felony by obeying an order from "Individual-1 (who) had become the president of the United States" in January 2017. Trump has labeled Cohen a "liar." In addition, on November 29th, 2018 Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in New York that he lied when he previously stated that a Trump Tower Moscow project had come to an end in January 2016, prior to the Republican caucus in Iowa. "I made these statements to be consistent with Individual-1's political messaging and out of loyalty to Individual-1." Cohen says he had conversations with Trump about the Russian government's willingness to assist in building the Trump real estate complex. Cohen also insists that in 2017 - while Trump was already president - he spoke with Trump's lawyers and members of The White House staff at a time when Cohen designed a falsehood to tell Congress. All of this was part of a cover-up about Trump's participation in the Moscow project and his involvement with Vladimir Putin's Russia.
The bottom line is that now we - the American people - as well as Special Counsel Mueller...have proof that Donald Trump has lied all along when he claimed to have no business dealings with Russia during a campaign in which The Kremlin helped Trump by meddling in our election. Michael Cohen's sworn admission might not only give Trump legal migraines, but his three eldest children and one son-in-law - Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump Kushner, Eric Trump and Jared Kushner - could also be facing a whole heap of trouble with the law.
From a Moscow Trump Tower that never got built...to Trump Tower in Manhattan, which was the site of that infamous June 9th, 2016 meeting with Trump Jr., Kushner and then Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort...there are bound to be more lies that Mueller can prove about that get together with the Russians. On June 3rd, Trump Jr. received the following as part of a string of emails from British publicist and Trump family friend, Rob Goldstone. "The Crown prosecutor of Russia offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government support for Mr. Trump." Seventeen minutes later, Trump Jr. replied to Goldstone. "...if it's what you say I love it especially in the summer."
It is against the law - the campaign finance law - to receive any "thing of value" from a "foreign national" in order to influence an election. It doesn't have to be money. Getting "dirt" on Donald Trump's Democratic opponent - former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - is considered a "thing of value." Meeting with an enemy of the United States - especially one that was attacking our democracy - is inexcusable and unforgivable.
So is Donald Trump looking to get out before his life - as he knows it - and the lives of his family and his company are destroyed with him? Is he fed up with the politics, the people, and the U.S. Constitution that does not allow him to rule our country as he did when he was the day-to-day boss at The Trump Organization? Remember that on June 15th, 2018, Trump - with a serious tone - told Fox News that he wants Americans to treat him as North Koreans do Kim Jong-un. "He's the head of a country, and I mean, he's the strong head. Don't let anyone think different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same." Republicans wanted to spin it that Trump was joking. It's not at all funny for the president of the United States to jest that he wants to be dictator.
After Michael Cohen's testimony and plea deal, sources say Robert Mueller has reportedly elevated Donald Trump in to a central figure of his investigation, if not yet an official target of that probe. But soon... "Individual-1" - as Trump is described in court documents in the Cohen case - is likely to become "Defendant-1." There is much controversy and debate whether a sitting U.S. president can be indicted. But the president of our nation is not above the law. Impeachment and removal from office is not all that Trump could face. There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that would save Donald Trump from being indicted.
So with the handwriting on the wall looking more and more legible, will Trump continue to fight because his narcissism won't let him give in to the "witch hunt" and "hoax" that Trump wrongly believes this to be...or will he throw in the towel and tell Special Counsel Mueller...all Democrats...the "fake news media" (as Trump calls us)...and anybody else who doesn't support him...to go f--- themselves? No matter what Trump says or does may soon be irrelevant because I believe - at some point - Trump isn't going to have a choice...as he will be forced to resign the presidency.
Hey Donald...can you make the following declaration? "I am not a crook." Richard Nixon once uttered those five words...and he was a crook. And Robert Mueller is going to prove...that you are too.
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.
Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Photo credits: Chicago Tribune (Donald Trump)
Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
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Donald Trump and the Republicans are treating a caravan of migrants as if they were hardened criminals by attacking them with tear gas. But these men, women, children and babies are fleeing violence, poverty and persecution in their Central American homelands and want a safe haven in the United States. According to official figures - released by Mexico's Interior Ministry - more than seven-thousand migrants have arrived at the U.S./Mexico border after traveling by foot for some 2,500 miles in order to escape from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. They are seeking asylum, and U.S. law allows such individuals to cross in to America for protection...and each one deserves to be heard before being told they cannot stay. But Donald Trump thinks he's dictator of the United States, and he wants to change the law on his own by merely a racist and xenophobic stroke of his pen. The migrants - for the time being - are living in temporary shelters in the border cities of Tijuana and Mexicali. And yes, that's a
crying tear streaming down the sad face of The Statue Of Liberty. The Emma Lazarus poem that is engraved on Lady Liberty's pedestal famously reads, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
It is a matter of life and death for these migrants. For Trump to not permit them to have their cases considered by a judge is against the law, and Democrats in Congress need to stop Trump and put an end to his illegal action. Furthermore, Trump's order to U.S. Border Patrol officers to use force against these migrants is also illegal. The Posse Comitatus Act - which was enacted in 1878 - prohibits the federal government from using U.S. armed forces as a posse comitatus for law enforcement, except in certain cases, which do not apply in this instance, according to legal and constitutional scholars. The law states..."Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both."
One barefoot migrant toddler girl - wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a diaper - cries as she is helped at the U.S./Mexico border by a woman who pulled the child out of danger when U.S. agents fired tear gas. And Republicans can still support Donald Trump? Really? Seriously?
Earlier this year, Donald Trump locked up babies and other children in cages...and now he has fired tear gas at them. Can Trump be any worse than that? He is mentally and morally unbalanced and should not be president of the United States. What's next? Will Trump order soldiers to shoot bullets at these kids and their parents? Oh wait a second. He already did that and then somebody obviously convinced him to change his mind. But that doesn't mean he won't give that order again.
Christmas is coming and Special Counsel Robert "Santa Claus" Mueller is "making his list and checking it twice" and he will soon use the Monday, November 26th, 2018 tear gas assault as one more offense by Donald Trump to prove that he has been criminally "naughty." Removing Trump from office is long overdue and Mueller needs to reveal his royal flush hand and not bluff about any evidence he has in order to force Trump's resignation.
Meanwhile, it's time for Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives to prepare for the start of impeachment proceedings. The U.S. Constitution spells it out mathematically. Trump - or any sitting president, for that matter - can be impeached with a majority of the House agreeing to do so. The magic number is 218 of the 435 Members. Come January 3rd, 2019 - with 234 Democrats - the left side of the aisle will hold that majority to impeach Trump. Then it's up to the U.S. Senate.
The Senate - in the new year - may be divided by 52 Republicans to 48 Democrats (if the Democratic Party candidate wins the Mississippi runoff election on Tuesday, November 27th). Otherwise, the Senate makeup will be 53 "red" to 47 "blue." However, let's - for the sake of this scenario - think the Democrats will win in "The Magnolia State." The Constitution requires two-thirds of the Senate - or 67 senators - to remove the president. Therefore, it would take all 48 Democrats and 19 brave Republicans to agree, and Donald Trump can wave goodbye as he leaves Washington, DC on his way back to Trump Tower or Mar-a-Lago...never to return to The White House.
Only 19 courageous Republican senators - that's 19 Americans out of some 325-million citizens - have the power to decide it all. Just 19 Republican senators who need to grow a spine and stand up tall to save America from the insanity that is destroying our country. Major League Baseball's Tony Gwynn and the National Football League's Johnny Unitas each wore the number 19 on their team uniforms. But that 19th Republican senator who votes to rid the United States from the Donald Trump presidency will become the most famous person to represent that number. The question now is...will there be 18 others who will join him...or her?
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.
Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Photo credits: New York Post (New York Post front page), Change.org (The Statue Of Liberty crying), Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters (Migrant girl crying), Twitter (Special Counsel Robert Mueller as Santa Claus) and Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images (Donald Trump)
Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
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Donald Trump is scared to death of Hillary Clinton. Although I have no formal psychiatric or psychological training, it is merely a logical conclusion that Trump has berated, belittled and bashed Mrs. Clinton...throughout two years passed the 2016 election...so that his base - and perhaps as many Independents as he can convince - will forever be soured by even the sound of the name Hillary Clinton and, therefore, along with her...all Democrats...and that means Joe Biden too. And while Trump is as jittery as a June bug in a hen house, the former secretary of state and the former vice president are - I believe - laughing up a storm, as both are confident that either one could beat Trump in 2020.
Let's begin, though, with Secretary Clinton. Trump - along with Republicans nationwide - are politically afraid of the 2016 Democratic nominee. That's why Trump hasn't stopped his attacks on Mrs. Clinton. No American president in history has ever spent his term verbally thrashing his election opponent out of revenge because of past campaign rhetoric. I believe Trump is as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs that Mrs. Clinton might surprise us and announce her 2020 candidacy for president. Oh I know that Secretary Clinton has stated over and over that she's done...that she will never run for president again...but I don't buy it. It's obviously possible that the former First Lady will not toss her hat in to the ring, but let's remember that when Mrs. Clinton lost the Democratic nomination to then-Senator Barack Obama in 2008, she insisted that she would not be a candidate in 2016. Anyone who knows anything about politics is certain that you never say never.
For the record, despite my 2008 support for Hillary Clinton, I'm a Democrat - a self-proclaimed ultra-liberal progressive one - who believes in the Democratic Party and that it's the Democratic Party which is best for the United States of America. Unlike many Bernie Sanders supporters who wrongly decided to stay home and not vote for Secretary Clinton in 2016 - especially residents of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - which cost Mrs. Clinton the presidency...my Democratic allegiance in 2008 shifted full-speed ahead to Mr. Obama when he won the nomination over then-Senator Clinton. I soon became a huge fan of the Illinois senator. And in 2012, I was 100 percent gung-ho in doing what I could...to help re-elect President Obama for a second term. As I felt in 2000 with President Bill Clinton...after President Obama's eight years in The White House, I had wished there were no term limits as I would have voted for him again.
All of the above being said about Mr. Obama, I was and will always be a staunch supporter of the Clintons. I happily voted twice for Bill Clinton and vigorously campaigned for Hillary Clinton in 2008 and 2016. I truly hope that Secretary Clinton will run for president in 2020...and I think if she does...she would wipe the floor with Donald Trump's hair. But does Mrs. Clinton feel - as I do - that she can defeat Trump in a second head-to-head match? Does she have the energy - or even the desire - to seek the Democratic nomination, especially if Vice President Biden decides to run? We will know the answer to all these questions within the next six months or so, as I expect official announcements - yay or nay - between now and May 2019. If Hillary Clinton still wants to be the one to "shatter that highest and hardest glass ceiling"...with her as America's first female president...then nothing will stop her from running...and I don't think anybody - at this point - could beat her. However, if Secretary Clinton has had enough...and that putting her name on a ballot is a thing of the past and not in any way will it be a thing of the future...then Vice President Biden is Democrats' best choice to send the 2020 Republican nominee - whomever that may be - back to their hometown.
If Donald Trump's presidency survives Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation...if Trump himself is able to physically and mentally cope with...and then successfully make it through a possible impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives and a possible conviction by the U.S. Senate - should Congress proceed down that pathway come next year - and then, if Trump does, in fact, seek the Republican nomination again in 2020...(he could change his mind)...I think he will fear both Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden if either is nominated to be the GOP's Democratic challenger.
It was reported by Axios on July 25th, 2018 that Trump advisers assert that Mr. Biden is who Trump worries about most for 2020, even though he told CBS Evening News anchor Jeff Glor on July 19th..."I dream about Biden. That's a dream. I'd love to have it be Biden." Yeah sure, Donald. Sure.
Once the calendar crosses the border in to 2019...and Trump realizes we are getting closer to Secretary Clinton and/or Vice President Biden announcing that one or both might be candidates for president in 2020...Trump will hit the road and his Twitter feed...and the words "Crooked Hillary" - along with an equally offensive nickname for Joe Biden - will be spoken and written by Trump.
But I don't think the people of the United States - as a whole - are going to accept Trump's trash-talk through another campaign. It didn't help him keep the House of Representatives Republican "red" after the 2018 midterms. It was a "blue" wave that won control for the Democrats. But Donald Trump isn't going to change. And for Democrats and left-leaning Independents - plus anyone else who is anti-Trump - that's probably good news for us...and for our country.
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.
Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Photo credits: Associated Press/Evan Vucci (former Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton), Getty Images (Donald Trump), Associated Press/Steve Helber (former President Barack Obama), Reuters (former President Bill Clinton) and Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/The Slate Group (Special Counsel Robert Mueller)
Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
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Donald Trump wants The White House to be run exactly like The Trump Organization...where nobody has any power but Donald Trump. He wants only lapdogs and lackeys on The White House staff who will "yes" him and do everything the Trump way...the Donald Trump way.
In less than 22 months of occupying The Oval Office, 56 people who were "notable" members of the Trump "administration and orbit" have either been fired (or pushed out)...or have resigned...since Trump moved in to The White House on January 20th, 2017. The Trump White House has had more turnover of senior advisers and aides than any other presidential administration in modern U.S. history. This is a fact. The unprecedented, record-breaking list numbering 56 individuals... and the names associated with it...is compiled by CNN Politics at https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/08/politics/trump-admin-departures-trnd/.
Moments before publishing this column on Wednesday night, November 14th, 2018, another of the Trump dominoes fell in The White House when Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that Deputy National Security Adviser Mira Ricardel is being reassigned to another position within the Trump administration. Where Ricardel will be working was not specified, but it will not be at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Losing her job at The White House was inevitable for Ricardel since she apparently butted heads with Melania Trump who on Tuesday, November 13th had publicly called for her husband to terminate Ricardel. A statement was released by Mrs. Trump's press secretary and communications director, Stephanie Grisham, that was to the point. "It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she (Ricardel) no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House." The question is...why did Melania Trump all of a sudden want to become so visible and so public about a White House aide? She could have easily shared her complaints with Trump and left it at that. But as I have written in the past...is Trump playing games with his wife? Is Trump hanging something over Mrs. Trump's head (whatever that may be)...and could it have anything to do with their marriage...money...and their son? It does make one ponder the possibilities and wonder.
One does not need to hold credentials of a medical doctor of psychiatry or of a clinical psychologist to conclude that Donald Trump is the perfect example...the epitome...of someone whose mental imbalance has caused him to dismiss people from his inner circle who he originally believed would walk the walk of Donald Trump and talk the talk of Donald Trump. As for those high-ranking persons who have quit of their own accord, they have had the insight to act like Snagglepuss and "exit stage right" (or perhaps in some cases, "stage left"), so to not fall in to the Trump termination trap at a later date.
Democrats made a valiant attempt to take full control of Congress in the 2018 midterm elections on November 6th. The chamber of the House of Representatives will be painted blue (metaphorically speaking) come January 3rd, 2019, while the Senate chamber will remain red. But Trump's approval rating has plummeted to 38 percent, according to a recent Gallup poll. He has bounced between 35 and 45 percent over the last nearly two years like the ball in an Andre Agassi/Jimmy Connors tennis match.
Donald Trump's plethora of paranoia is an unstable demonstration of abnormal behavior...especially for the president of the United States. He is overly suspicious that Democrats are seeking revenge against him because of the 2016 election and Trump's Electoral College victory over Hillary Clinton. A formal diagnosis by a qualified professional is necessary to medically prove Trump's narcissistic psychosis. But further displays of tweeting tirades that more often than not paint a picture of a ranting, raving lunatic will be the incentive that House Democrats will rely on when they proceed on a pathway to impeach Trump in 2019. The course of congressional action might not be dependent on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's criminal investigation, but a matter by Congress to determine that Trump is psychologically unfit to fulfill the duties for which he is sworn to undertake.
Should Mike Pence not be a participant in any cover-up...or complicit in any Trump led criminal corruption scheme - which currently there is no evidence that the vice president is involved with any such operation - then one has to wonder if Pence wants to go down with the ship if and when the S.S. Titanic Trump capsizes and sinks in to oblivion.
Pence presumably will run for president once Trump's reign of terror has ended. Trump appears to trust Pence - and at his November 7th, 2018 press conference... after a reporter made the inquiry about a Trump/Pence ticket in 2020 - Trump publicly asked Pence to be his running mate again for the next election. But Trump could drop Pence as he has others who boarded his bizarre bandwagon. All Trump needs is a scintilla of suspicion that Pence is not loyal, and Pence will quickly become a faded memory in the minds of Republicans - who for whatever reason - support Donald Trump. Therefore, as Trump's approval rating continues to spiral downward... and subsequently the handwriting on the wall then starts to show a more likely collapse of Trump's presidency...it would behoove Pence to act aggressively and to not wait until the ax falls.
It is a foregone conclusion that House Democrats would vote to rid America from Donald Trump's wrath under any circumstance. If Mike Pence and any eight of the fifteen Cabinet officers believe that Trump is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office," Section 4 of the United States Constitution's 25th Amendment states they can merely spell that out in a written letter and deliver that message to the speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate. Immediately, upon that action, Mike Pence would become "acting president," and he would take charge as our nation's leader. It would be up to Trump to dispute the decision by Pence and more than one-half of the Cabinet. Presumably, Trump's ego would not accept being thrown out without a fight unless, of course - at that point - it was becoming apparent that Special Counsel Mueller was moving forward with indictments of Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr....son-in-law, Jared Kushner...and even Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump Kushner...or if Mueller had all the evidence he needed to legally force Trump to resign.
But let's, for this scenario, leave Mueller out of the mix. Trump would indeed become combative. It would then be up to both Houses of Congress to settle what Pence and the Cabinet had started. A two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate is required to permanently remove Trump as president and keep Pence in power. If Congress does not meet the threshold, as described above, Trump would return to sit behind The Oval Office desk. But Mike Pence is popular among Republicans in Congress and I'm confident if he and enough members of the Cabinet were to invoke the 25th Amendment, two-thirds of both congressional Houses - Democrats and Republicans alike - would agree to remove Trump from the presidency.
What is on the mind of Mike Pence? That September 5th, 2018 op-ed, which was published by The New York Times, was chock-full of criticism for Donald Trump. The op-ed bashed Trump. Its mysterious author claimed there were conversations, in the past, among Cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment, in an effort to bring down the Trump presidency. The unnamed "senior official in the Trump administration" wrote..."Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within
the Cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process
for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional
crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right
direction until - one way or another - it's over." The official continued in the piece by writing..."The root of the problem is the president's amorality. I work for the president, but
like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his
worst inclinations. We believe our first duty is to this country, and the
president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our
republic."
Mike Pence has unequivocally denied taking part in any discussion that would give Trump the boot. But I've got to believe...based on Trump's history with others on his team...that he would stab his number two in the back - figuratively speaking - if he felt...in his sick mind...that he had good reason to do so. That said...one has to give at least some credit to Pence that in the two years since they were elected, he's figured out Trump's modus operandi, just as millions of others have...and, therefore, I would bet that Pence realizes now that if it means going behind Trump's back to protect his own, then so be it.
Rumors are reportedly running rampant that Trump is planning a White House shake-up, which could rock our nation's capital like an eruption of Mount St. Helens. After Trump fired Jeff Sessions as attorney general on November 7th...there is much scuttlebutt throughout Washington, DC that Trump may soon toss several more senior aides out the front door...possibly including Chief of Staff John Kelly...Defense Secretary James Mattis...Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen...Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross...and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
This has been a White House in turmoil since day one of Donald Trump's administration. The former reality television star of The Apprentice has branched out in to making his presidency more like an episode of The Jerry Springer Show...only that The West Wing battles - along with confrontations between Trump and the press - have not yet developed in to barroom brawls as they did on Springer's TV program. But in Trumpworld, anything can happen. To quote Scarlett O'Hara in author Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind..."After all...tomorrow is another day."
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.
Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Photo credits: Getty Images (Melania Trump and former Deputy National Security Adviser Mira Ricardel), Reuters (Donald Trump #1), Reuters (Donald Trump #2), Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/The Slate Group (Special Counsel Robert Mueller), Getty Images (Mike Pence) and CNN/Associated Press/Getty Images (Donald Trump and Jerry Springer)
Copyright 2018 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
