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What does Donald Trump know about Lindsey Graham that everybody else doesn't? Throughout the short four years since Trump became a candidate for president, Graham has flip-flopped about his sentiments towards Trump like an Aunt Jemima pancake. In 2015, the South Carolina Republican labeled Trump "a bigot." But in 2018, Graham reversed course and insisted that Trump is not. It's difficult to believe that Graham would change his tune so drastically unless there was something sinister going on.
Now I'm not accusing Trump or anyone else of committing another crime, although about two-thirds of the country think Trump is certainly capable of acting in an illegal capacity. But the word "blackmail" does come to mind.
Snopes - the definitive fact-checking website and reference source - confirms that an online graphic accurately quoted Graham disparaging Trump as a "racist," but that three years later, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee made "an about-face" and stated that Trump is "not a racist." Snopes substantiates that the Internet image "correctly attributes" both remarks to Graham. Therefore, if anyone has doubts about the video and audio tapes that are blanketing the Internet, they have been verified as genuine.
It was December 8th, 2015 - while the two men competed against each other for the Republican nomination for president - when Graham, in an interview on CNN, vehemently uttered the following about Trump. "He's a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. He doesn't represent my party. He doesn't represent the values that the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for."
But Snopes also validates that Graham told reporters in August 2018 that Trump is "not, in my view, a racist by any stretch of the imagination. I have never heard him make a single racist statement. Not even close."
Graham's nauseating performance at the Wednesday, May 1st, 2019 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, which featured a U.S. attorney general who couldn't give an honest answer, was one more example of "Lindsey's lovefest" for "The Donald." In real time, I posted the following on Facebook that morning. The Senate hearing is a joke and an embarrassment to the United States. (Attorney General William) Barr and Graham are nothing but political hacks and bulwarks for Donald Trump. A bit later I posted that Barr and Graham are putting their own spin on The Mueller Report as if this was a game and they were a pair of Hanukkah dreidels. I also posted on Facebook that Barr called The Mueller Report his "baby" after Mueller gave it to him. Not true! It's not The Barr Report and it never will be.
Senator Graham has gone from being a total Trump-basher to being a devoted ass-kisser. On February 17th, 2016 on Fox News, Graham characterized Trump as "crazy" and a "kook" who is "not fit to be president." But on November 30th, 2017, Graham made a 180 and defended Trump during an interview on CNN. "You know what concerns me about the American press is this endless, endless attempt to label the guy as some kind of kook not fit to be president."
But the aforementioned remarks are only a couple of Lindsey Graham's turnaround moments about Donald Trump. There are plenty more times that Graham has changed his mind about Trump; so many that I'm shocked that Graham's not wearing a neck brace for whiplash.
Graham's attacks on Trump include:
"You don't have to run for president and be the world's biggest jackass." (CBS This Morning, July 21, 2015)
"You know how to make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell." (CNN, December 8, 2015)
"Donald Trump is the most unelectable Republican I've seen in my lifetime." (MSNBC, January 19, 2016)
"I don't believe he's a Republican. His policies are really bad for the country. Trump's foreign policy is a complete disaster." (CBS This Morning, April 8, 2016)
"The Republican Party has been conned here. I don't think he has the temperament or judgment to be commander-in-chief." (CNN, May 6, 2016)
But the verbal jabs became heartfelt hugs.
"I'm trying to help our president, Donald Trump, be as successful because number one I agree with him mostly." (South Carolina Town Hall, March 4, 2017)
"What (Donald) Trump has done is historic. (He) deserves the Nobel Peace Prize and then some." (Fox News, April 29, 2018)
"I like the president. I want to help him. I hope he's successful. If you don't like me working with Trump to make the world a better place, I don't give a sh*t." (CNN, June 15, 2018)
From butt-kicker to boot-licker, one has to be curious about an individual who believes in his heart and soul that another person is a dastardly demon, but then later raises that evil scoundrel on to an elevated pedestal and praises him with sweetness and applause.
My inquisitive mind has to wonder whether Lindsey Graham's best friend - who Donald Trump venomously and disgracefully used as a punching bag, the late Senator John McCain, Republican from Arizona - had cautioned Graham not to get in to bed, metaphorically speaking, with Trump. As American Founding
Father Benjamin Franklin noted, "He that lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas." Today's Oval Office mutt has caused a parasitic infestation in the brains of Senator Graham, Attorney General Barr and others too. Barr - at recent congressional hearings - lied through his teeth. His nose has grown so big that he's going to have sinus problems for the rest of his life. Worse than that,
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi - at a press conference on Thursday, May 2nd - didn't mince words when she branded Barr as a criminal. "What is deadly serious about it is the attorney general of the United States of America was not telling the truth to the Congress of the United States. That's a crime. He lied to Congress. He lied to Congress. If anybody else did that, it would be considered a crime. Nobody's above the law - not the president of the United States, not the attorney general."
Speaker Pelosi slammed Barr because of the sworn testimony he gave to the House Appropriations Committee on April 9th when he deceived Congress and the American people by denying that he was aware of concerns by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigative team over Barr's March 24th 4-page summary of The Mueller Report. It was March 27th when the special counsel himself issued a formal letter to Barr in which Mueller addressed that he was disturbed by Barr's summary because it had created "public confusion" and "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this Office's work and conclusions." Mueller's letter to Barr clearly described his dissatisfaction with the summary, which "threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department (of Justice) appointed the special counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations." Mueller explained that "the introductions and executive summaries of our two-volume report accurately summarize this Office's work and conclusions." But Barr stamped Mueller's letter as "a bit snitty" when he testified on May 1st before the House Judiciary Committee and he passed off the special counsel's correspondence as being "written by one of his staff people."
Bill Barr obviously doesn't care about his old friend of 30 years, Bob Mueller. Such an apparent attitude by Barr is as if he was saying, "I don't give a damn what Mueller wants. I'm here to protect Trump."
Barr purposely misled the American public because supposedly he feels it's more important for him to provide cover for Trump than to give any of us the truth. Americans deserve - and we have the right - to read the entire unredacted Mueller Report. We, the people of the United States, also deserve - and have the right - to know exactly what went on between Donald Trump, his campaign, and Vladimir Putin's Russia; not to mention every detail concerning allegations of obstruction of justice against Trump.
So why specifically are Democrats in Congress - and most of our country - pinpointing William Barr as a liar? At the aforesaid April 9th House Appropriations Committee hearing, Congressman Charlie Crist, Democrat from Florida, asked, "Reports have emerged recently, General, that members of the special counsel's team are frustrated at some level with the limited information included in your March 24th letter that it does not adequately or accurately, necessarily, portray the report's findings. Do you know what they're referencing with that?" Barr replied, "No, I don't. I think, I think, I suspect that they probably wanted, you know, more put out."
This is why there are allegations by Speaker Pelosi and others that Barr is undeniably guilty of lying to Congress; in other words, the crime of perjury. Robert Mueller's letter to Barr proves that the special counsel is tremendously troubled by the attorney general's decision to write his March 24th summary, which was unquestionably misleading. For Barr to then falsify facts - and to do it under oath - is criminal. Barr's partisan actions were to shield his corrupt commander. But he also thinks if Trump is being wrongly accused, he can put an end to an investigation in to his conduct and that it would not be considered obstruction of justice. Really? Seriously?
Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee, "If in fact a proceeding was not well-founded, if it was a groundless proceeding, if it was based on false allegations, the president does not have to sit there, constitutionally, and allow it to run its course. The president could terminate that proceeding, and it would not be a corrupt intent because he was being falsely accused, and he would be worried about the impact on his administration. That's important, because most of the obstruction claims that are being made here, or episodes, do involve the exercise of the president's constitutional authority. And we now know that he was being falsely accused."
Wow! And there are Americans who actually believe Barr's load of crap. Not only is Donald Trump out of control, but so is Barr. The attorney general expects the country to take for granted whatever he says because he's the nation's chief law enforcement officer. Presumably, Barr wants the American people to accept that Trump had every right to dismiss James Comey as F.B.I. director, in the manner he did and for the reason he did, but that also he had the same right to order the firing of Special Counsel Mueller - or anybody for that matter - who might point a finger at Trump for possible criminal activity, even if Trump is, in fact, a subject in their investigation. Any sane person - even one who is as young as a 5-year old child - who knows the difference between right and wrong, would acknowledge that Barr's philosophy is not only flawed, but completely ludicrous and totally absurd.
There's another point that needs to be focused on regarding Trump's attempt to fire Mueller. At the May 1st Senate hearing, Barr misrepresented the facts when he gave a cock and bull story that Trump only asked to have Mueller "removed" as special counsel, not "fired." Does Barr think Members of Congress - along with the rest of the American public - are stupid? If you "remove" a person from a job (and Mueller did use the word "removed" in his report) without promoting the individual to another position, then you have fired him. The bottom line is that The Mueller Report has under oath testimony from former White House Counsel Don McGahn that Trump directed him to get rid of Mueller. As the special counsel's
report spells out, McGahn advised then-White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus that Trump had instructed him to "do crazy shit." In the long-run, McGahn refused to obey Trump's order.
Senator Mazie Hirono, Democrat from Hawaii, chastised Barr to his face at the May 1st hearing as
being dishonorable. "Now we know more about your deep involvement in trying to cover up for Donald Trump. Being attorney general of the United States is a sacred trust. You have betrayed that trust. America deserves better. You should resign."
The House Intelligence Committee chairman,
Congressman Adam Schiff, Democrat from California, adamantly maintains also that Barr needs to take a hike. "Attorney General William Barr must resign. (His) conduct is inexcusable. There is no sugarcoating this. He should resign."
At her May 2nd press conference, Speaker Pelosi was asked if Barr belongs behind bars for lying to Congress. Mrs. Pelosi gave it some thought for a few seconds before answering the reporter's question. "There's a process involved here. The committee will act upon how we will proceed." To me, that sounds like the Speaker of the House is not ruling out throwing the U.S. attorney general in jail.
But a petition to Congress - issued by Daily Kos - is suggesting a different path for Barr. The organization - described by Wikipedia as "a group blog and Internet forum focused on the Democratic Party and liberal American politics" - is on target with their introduction. "Barr only cares about protecting Donald Trump, even if that means lying under oath and hiding evidence." The petition itself reads as follows. "Bill Barr has turned himself in to Donald Trump's personal attorney and disgraced the office of attorney general. Respect for the rule of law is paramount in any democracy, but Barr has proven he has none. The American people need better. Impeach Bill Barr."
Meanwhile, it's time to hold Attorney General Barr in contempt of Congress for declining to testify under oath before the House Judiciary Committee and their counsel, which he was expected to do on May 2nd. The committee's chairman, Congressman Jerry Nadler, Democrat from New York, is threatening such action against Barr, which would also include Barr's defiance to comply with a congressional subpoena to provide Congress with an unredacted version of The Mueller Report. On Friday, May 3rd, Nadler sent a final counteroffer to Barr with an ultimatum. Give us the unredacted report or else. In his demands, Nadler wrote, "The Committee is prepared to make every realistic effort to reach an accommodation with the Department (of Justice). But if the Department persists in its baseless refusal to comply with a validly issued subpoena, the Committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse." And after Barr didn't show up for his appearance before the committee, Nadler issued a stern warning that if Barr "does not provide this committee with the information it demands, and the respect it deserves, Mr. Barr's moment of accountability will come soon enough." Nadler's subpoena for an unredacted Mueller Report, including all underlying evidence, was served to Barr on April 19th. Nadler has set zero hour for the attorney general to give up the goods as 9 o'clock Monday morning, May 6th. The original deadline was May 1st.
Donald Trump vows that he will fight every subpoena. If prosecuted and convicted, there are stiff penalties, according to the Congressional Research Service, therefore, Barr could find himself in a prison cell for up to one year, along with a fine of up to $100,000. The problem is that charges would need to be funneled through a U.S. attorney. But to get such a federal prosecutor to indict the attorney general is unlikely. After all, those lawyers work for the Department of
Justice, and their boss is the head of the D.O.J., William Barr. The only other option is for the House of Representatives or the Senate to file a lawsuit against Barr in federal court for ignoring a congressional subpoena. But Trump could be a fly in the ointment and put the case in a delay mode until after the 2020 election. And America calls this justice? If Trump has nothing to hide, why avoid the truth? I
smell a cover-up! That's what did in Richard Nixon, his presidency, and some of his cronies, and sunk them into a pool of obstruction in 1974.
After the May 1st hearing, Senator Graham told reporters on Capitol Hill that the Russia probe and any investigations in to Donald Trump and his 2016 campaign are "over." But Graham is wrong. Nothing is over. Democrats in Congress - and nationwide - need to think "outside the box" and we will prevail. The day of reckoning for Trump, Barr, Graham, and all their henchmen is coming. Democrats will overcome. The president of the United States and others in the federal government cannot commit crimes - be it conspiracy, obstruction of justice, lying to Congress, tampering with witnesses, violating the campaign finance law, or any other statute - and then walk away free. America doesn't allow for such depravity and villainy.
Donald Trump has tried through efforts of secrecy - and who knows what else - to insulate himself from the so-called "smoking gun." But there are no real secrets among humans. As Benjamin Franklin wrote, "Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead." Somebody in the Trump orbit is going to come forward with the bullet from that smoking gun and somebody's "fingerprints" (so to speak) will be all over it. That'll be the defining evidence necessary to put the Trump presidency to sleep forever, and for us to finally awaken from the nightmare of 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.
Please express your personal opinions by following the instructions printed at the top of this column. And thank you for reading The Controversy.
Photo credits: CBS News Screenshot (Senator Lindsey Graham #1), CNN Screenshot (Senator Lindsey Graham #2), MSNBC Screenshot (Senator Lindsey Graham and Attorney General William Barr), Fox News (Senator Lindsey Graham #3), J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press (Former Senator John McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham), Joseph-Siffred Duplessis (Benjamin Franklin), CBS News Screenshot (Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi), Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty Images (Attorney General William Barr #1), Saul Loeb/Getty Images (Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump), NBC News Screenshot (Attorney General William Barr and Representative Charlie Crist), Douglas Christian/Zuma Wire (Attorney General William Barr #2), Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images (Attorney General William Barr #3), Win McNamee/Getty Images (Former F.B.I. Director James Comey and Special Counsel Robert Mueller), Getty Images (Donald Trump and Former White House Counsel Don McGahn), Mary Altaffer/The Associated Press (Former White House Counsel Don McGahn and Former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus), CNN Screenshot (Attorney General William Barr and Senator Mazie Hirono), CNN Screenshot (Representative Adam Schiff), NBC News Screenshot (Representative Jerry Nadler), Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images (Donald Trump #1), Richard Nixon Foundation/Getty Images (Former President Richard Nixon), ABC News Screenshot (Senator Lindsey Graham #4) and Greg Allen/Invision/The Associated Press (Donald Trump #2)
Copyright 2019 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
Father Benjamin Franklin noted, "He that lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas." Today's Oval Office mutt has caused a parasitic infestation in the brains of Senator Graham, Attorney General Barr and others too. Barr - at recent congressional hearings - lied through his teeth. His nose has grown so big that he's going to have sinus problems for the rest of his life. Worse than that, 
