Wednesday, September 19, 2018

While on the subject of politics and corruption . . .


. . . why, precisely, would four politicians be trying to persuade the Justice Department to defy a direct Presidential order and not release full, unredacted evidence that might convict - or exonerate - President Trump of the various and sundry misdeed they allege he's committed?

Legislative branch members: Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff and Mark Warner write a letter today to Director  of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, demanding the executive branch cabinet members withhold information from the White House.

Perhaps more stunningly, and extra-constitutionally (meaning outside the framework of constitutional separation of power), within the jaw-dropping letter the four Democrats outline previous verbal conversations and current agreements with Coats, Rosenstein and Wray where the Cabinet officers agreed to keep information away from the White House Chief Executive, the President.

. . .

This letter reeks of corruption, manipulative intent, and between-the-lines admissions of gross intelligence abuses.  Additionally, the appearance of a visible alignment between corrupt executive branch officials (Wray, Rosenstein, possibly Coats) and corrupt intelligence oversight officials (Schiff, Warner, Pelosi, Schumer) is jaw-droppingly obvious.

There's more at the link, including the full text of the letter.  Go read it for yourselves.

Talk about chutzpah!  It's like the man who murdered his parents, who then pleaded for clemency at his trial because he was an orphan.

If anyone is prepared to trust these four politicians on anything, ever again, they deserve all they get from them - because all they'll get is the same dishonesty, dissembling, and disregard for the rule of law.  Moreover, I don't say that because they're Democrats.  There are more than a few Republican politicians who are guilty of the same sort of thing.  I say it because we can't afford to have scum like this - from either party - in positions of power.  It damages our entire Republic.

Peter

11 comments:

C. S. P. Schofield said...

We have had scum like this in positions of power almost from the first. That is the nature of politics. Representative government has two advantages over the Aristocratic forms; the scum do not hold positions for life (necessarily) and the process of governance of so slow and inefficient that it is usually possible for people the elephant of the State is about to step on to scramble out of the way.

I'm not saying we shouldn't do our best to get these particular scum out of office, but this isn't new or even particularly rare on a historical level.

And, after all, the Democrats ARE the party of the Confederacy, the KKK, and Tammany Hall. This is their SOP.

Aesop said...

That's an actual coup, not a "soft" one, not an "attempt", but the genuine article.

You have seven high ranking government officials conspiring to refuse to obey federal law, in support of supplanting and undermining the Chief Executive of the United States.

The only answer to that, is round-ups and trials for conspiracy, and five years in federal prison, or else open warfare, along partisan lines, with actual guns and bullets.

There is no third option.

Best wishes to you all.

I'm deadly serious.

Feather Blade said...

within the jaw-dropping letter the four Democrats outline previous verbal conversations and current agreements

So... in demanding that these people withhold information from the President, they admit to having a prior and ongoing conspiracy to withhold information from the president.

And they put this in writing.

Wow.

Is this what it looks like when a conspiracy falls apart?

Please let this be the cherry on the top of the indictment sundae...

Beans said...

Aesop. Agree about the actual coup attempt. It's either 5 years for conspiracy or it's the Danny Deever for the actual attempt. Me? I am to the point of seeing someone play politician piñata. Slow rope, please, not the long drop.

Feather Blade. Yeah. How stupid do you have... no, never mind. We're talking about some of the dumbest and corrupt individuals ever to hold office. Huey Long is saluting them and their surpassing his corruption, from his warm spot in Heck.

As to everything else, I've been wondering since pretty much the start if this was the long game that President Trump was playing. It seemed that he and his close circle have been letting the afflicted (stupidity and corruption are transmittable diseases, right?) steal, borrow and grab as much rope as possible. Now to see how many are caught.

Will said...

I think it is past time to see some (lots of) Democrats stretching a rope.

nono said...

I think that maybe someone should send these people a copy of EO 13526:

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2010-title3-vol1/pdf/CFR-2010-title3-vol1-eo13526.pdf

This is what it has to say about declassification:

Sec. 1.7. Classification Prohibitions and Limitations. (a) In no case shall information be classified, continue to be maintained as classified, or fail to be declassified in order to:
(1) conceal violations of law, inefficiency, or administrative error;
(2) prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency;

(3) restrain competition; or
(4) prevent or delay the release of information that does not require protection in the interest of the national security.
(b) Basic scientific research information not clearly related to the na
tional security shall not be classified.
(c) Information may not be reclassified after declassification and release....

Oh and here is the author of the EO:

EO 13526
Title 3—The President
Executive Order 13526 of December 29, 2009
Classified National Security Information

This order prescribes a uniform system for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information, including information relating to defense against transnational terrorism. Our democratic principles require that the American people be informed of the activities of their Government. Also, our Nation’s progress depends on the free flow of information both within the Government and to the American people. Nevertheless, throughout our history, the national defense has required that certain information be maintained in confidence in order to protect our citizens, our democratic institutions, our homeland security, and our interactions with foreign nations. Protecting information critical to our Nation’s security and demonstrating our commitment to open Government through accurate
and accountable application of classification standards and routine, secure, and effective declassification are equally important priorities.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Unknown said...

This is a clear cut case of Sedition, in fact this meets the test of Seditious Conspiracy and these people need to be immediately arrested and held pending prosecution.

Borepatch said...

... why, precisely, would four politicians be trying to persuade the Justice Department to defy a direct Presidential order ...

I presume that your question was rhetorical. ;-)

Billll said...

The Chicago Rules are in full effect, If you own the cop (FBI) you won't be arrested, and if you own the judge (DOJ) you won't be convicted. Now to such an extent that the cops and judges are part of the criminal enterprise and there seems to be no such thing as an honest cop or judge in D.C.

Will said...

"...that the cops and judges are part of the criminal enterprise and there seems to be no such thing as an honest cop or judge in D.C."

Can Trump fire them all at once? And then send the case to some place in the heartland?

deb harvey said...

i know so many intelligent people who watch the news and believe it.
there is a pall of enforced ignorance over this nation.