DONALD TRUMP CAN'T HAVE A "GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD"

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     The manipulative and conniving Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to fire special counsel Robert Mueller...and by terminating attorney general Jeff Sessions and replacing him with a Trump lapdog cannot be considered constitutional.  The appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general is a threat to American democracy.  In fact, George T. Conway III - who just happens to be married to Trump counselor, Kellyanne Conway - wrote with Neal K. Katyal...an op-ed in The New York Times where these two attorneys explain it this way.  "Mr. Trump's installation of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general of the United States after forcing the resignation of Jeff Sessions is unconstitutional. It's illegal.  And it means that anything Mr. Whitaker does, or tries to do, in that position is invalid."

     Sessions was given the boot on November 7th, 2018, the day after the midterm elections. Although The White House had described Sessions' departure as a resignation, Sessions' letter to Trump paints a completely different picture.  "At your request, I am submitting my resignation."  "At your request" makes it quite clear.  Sessions was fired as attorney general. And now...with Trump allowing Whitaker - a political appointee who has never been confirmed by the U.S. Senate for any recent government position - to take charge of the Department of Justice...to serve as the nation's chief law enforcement officer... and to oversee special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation...moves America to the brink of a full-blown constitutional crisis as Trump abuses the power of the presidency.

     Katyal and Conway note "the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2.  Under that provision, so-called principal officers of the United States must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate under its 'Advice and Consent' powers."  These two learned lawyers further explain..."We cannot tolerate such an evasion of the Constitution's very explicit, textually precise design.  Senate confirmation exists for a simple, and good, reason.  Constitutionally, Matthew Whitaker is a nobody.  His job as Mr. Sessions' chief of staff did not require Senate confirmation.  (Yes, he was confirmed as a federal prosecutor in Iowa, in 2004, but Mr. Trump can't cut and paste that old, lapsed confirmation to today.) For the president to install Mr. Whitaker as our chief law enforcement officer is to betray the entire structure of our charter document." 

     It was Sessions who had recused himself in the Russia probe because he had campaigned for candidate Trump in 2016.  According to law, Sessions could not take command of an investigation when the president of the United States is a subject.

     Whitaker is widely known for publicly badmouthing the Russia investigation and has, in the past, expressed a desire to see it shut down.  Whitaker has been a Trump parrot as he has repeatedly mimicked Trump with the claim of "no collusion." Therefore, Whitaker should recuse himself from any association with the Russia probe.  But The Washington Post reports that Whitaker has no intention of recusing himself.  That being said, if Whitaker tries to derail Mueller's work and, therefore, put an end to his efforts as special counsel, it will be at that moment when Democrats begin impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.  In the meantime, Democrats on Capitol Hill - with the help of some Republicans hopefully - need to somehow come up with a way to protect Mueller and his investigation. 

     Even if Mueller is not kicked out on his ear by Whitaker, but the new acting A.G. ties the special counsel's hands and blocks requests such as subpoenas for Mueller to properly continue his investigation, then the new Democratic-controlled House Intelligence Committee (come January 3rd, 2019) will act on their own.  That committee will be chaired by Representative Adam Schiff of California and he will conduct hearings to get to the truth.  Congress cannot lock up people behind prison bars, but they can expose facts...the honest truth...to the American public.

     There are certainly other individuals - including Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein - who could have easily stepped in as Acting Attorney General.  But Donald Trump wants someone in that position who can personally protect him from Robert Mueller and the criminal investigation that has already seen senior members of the Trump campaign and/or the Trump administration be convicted in court or plead guilty to felonies.  Safeguarding the president from becoming a target in the Mueller probe is not the job of the attorney general.  The A.G. cannot be Trump's "get out of jail free card."

    

     Conway and Katyal also write in their November 8th op-ed piece..."In times of crisis, interim appointments need to be made. Cabinet officials die, and wars and other tragic events occur.  It is very difficult to see how the current situation comports with those situations.  And even if it did, there are officials readily at hand, including the deputy attorney general and the solicitor general, who were nominated by Mr. Trump and confirmed by the Senate.  Either could step in as acting attorney general, both constitutionally and statutorily."  

     It should be noted that both Katyal and Conway are respected legal scholars, and Katyal also served as acting solicitor general of the United States under President Barack Obama.

     The special counsel - by law - can only be dismissed from his post for "just cause."  There is no justification whatsoever to remove Robert Mueller or to put the brakes on the Russia investigation.  But Donald Trump is undoubtedly nervous and fearful that Mueller has enough evidence to not only bury the Trump presidency, but that members of the Trump family may also find themselves in legal hassles that could conceivably destroy Trump's business and his legacy.  

     Day after day, Trump is realizing that the handwriting is on the wall.  He can shout "no collusion" all day long, but if Mueller is indeed getting close to nailing the coffin, as I believe he is, then when that happens - as I have written in the past - Republicans may be shocked to discover that Trump's son (Donald Trump, Jr.)...son-in-law (Jared Kushner)...and perhaps even Trump's daughter (Ivanka Trump Kushner)...are likely to be participants in a widespread conspiracy and/or a cover-up that I - and others - allege has been led by Donald Trump himself.  Lies have been told under oath and I'm betting that the Mueller menu will soon feature obstruction of justice as the "soup of the day" and that there'll be multiple bowls served in Trumpworld.  

     One should never allow the fox to guard the hen house.  Undoubtedly, the question on the minds of any of us who don't trust Donald Trump is..."Is there a quid pro quo between Trump and Whitaker?"  If Trump appointed Whitaker - perhaps with a personal financial incentive - just to close down the Mueller investigation...that's one more avenue of crime that Mueller would need to prove.  And if not him...then Congress.  Trump claims, though, that he had no conversation with Whitaker about the Russia probe before the acting attorney general was appointed. But after more than 6,400 lies since taking the presidential oath of office - according to The Washington Post's Fact Checker - then Trump lying about talking with Whitaker about Mueller is a given.

     Donald Trump thinks he is above the law.  He believes he is untouchable.  But he is mistaken.  Trump is not now...nor will he ever be...above the law.

     Another American president tried to fire his way out of trouble. Remember the so-called "Saturday Night Massacre" back on October 20th, 1973 during the Watergate scandal?  Well, Richard Nixon discovered the hard way that he was not above the law either... and he ended up resigning the presidency in disgrace.  The same thing is inevitably going to happen to Donald Trump.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

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

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Photo credits: Getty Images (Donald Trump and Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker), Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images (former Attorney General Jeff Sessions), CNN Screenshot (Congressman Adam Schiff), Chip Somodevilla/ Getty Images (Attorney George Conway), Twitter (former Acting Solicitor General of the United States Neal Katyal), Alliance-Associated Press/S. Walsh/J. Scott Applewhite (Donald Trump and Special Counsel Robert Mueller) and Steve Northup/The Life Images Collection/Getty Images and Mark Wilson/Getty Images (Richard Nixon and Donald Trump)

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