Quote of the Day: James Comey: “This is not some tin-pot dictatorship where the leader of the country gets to say, ‘The people I don’t like go to jail’”

Comey fights back against Trump’s insults and slurs; Trump even accused Comey and others of committing “many crimes”– just what exactly he means is not clear, since Comey is not under investigation– while Trump is the “subject” of a special prosecutor’s investigation.  The coordinated propaganda campaign against Comey was evident on Fox News, where the newsreaders constantly belittled Comey and accused him of multiple malfeasances too numerous for me to mention.   Fox was covering Comey continuously and has been since the advance stories about Comey’s new book (due out today) started showing up on the regular networks.  Even the titles of the stories on Fox are slanted against Comey, insulting him without cause before the reader even gets to the text of the story.  How can Fox claim to be “fair and balanced” when even the title of the supposedly “hard” news story is “Comey is a gossipy little girl” or “Comey lies”– shouldn’t the title of a supposedly objective news story be something like “Comey attacks Trump in new book” or something simple like that, instead of “Comey lies in new book” or “Clinton World says ‘Comey is now lying'”…

The extent, the viciousness, and the wall-to-wall negative reporting on Fox News is truly remarkable.  It is as if the site has been given instructions to make sure that everyone who watches is indoctrinated that Comey is lying.  In fact, there is no evidence that Comey is lying, nor that he has committed any crimes.  He has “leaked” information to the press, most famously when he revealed (by handing his post-meeting memo on Trump to one of his friends and telling him to call the news media about it) that Trump had demanded “loyalty” from him and had tried to get him to drop the investigation of Mike Flynn (who has now pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.)

There is clear evidence from Trump’s own loose lips that Comey was fired to obstruct the FBI investigation of Trump’s ties to Russia.  Journalists have looked into Trump’s business dealings and have discovered that since Trump’s disastrous casino developments, he has been persona non grata to conventional banks.  This would have made his further career as a “real estate developer” rather problematic, but the Russians– even before the dissolution of the USSR– saw him as a “useful idiot” who could be a front for money laundering on a scale heretofore unrealized.  since the early 1990’s Trump has been supported by Russian gangsters, who use his hotel “developments” as vehicles for money-laundering even as the hotels themselves are not built, never completed, or are almost immediately declared bankrupt once they are finished.

Investigations have revealed that nearly every development with which Trump has been associated has been problematic– sited in the wrong place, bogged down in the planning stage by legal restrictions, having difficulties in the building process, or inadequately subscribed after completion with few buyers.  The buyers of completed suites have been Russian mobsters, who tend not to actually live in them (partially because they are in hiding) and Trump properties that have been successfully built up have been plagued by management deficiencies.  One of the latest is the Trump tower in Panama, which has been riven by a revolt among the owners of apartments who actually live in them.  The Panamanian government has stripped Trump of management responsibility because of complaints by people who live in it, replacing Trump’s employees with those of another management firm selected by the residents.

Trump has been closely associated with Russian mobsters like the “boss of bosses” Simion Mogilevich, the ubiquitous Felix Sater (a US intelligence asset who has exploited his get out of jail free card), and Tevfik Arif– since the late 1980’s he has been a subject of Russian intelligence interest.  Trump has been an ideal Russian asset because he presents a front as a successful real estate developer but has conveniently been unable to discern the actual motivations of people who come to him with money that they want him to “invest” in property development (that is, launder the money.)

It is propaganda, pure and simple, that allowed Trump to run for and win the Republican nomination for president.  Once he was the official Republican candidate, despite all the truly awful information about him that circulated, the other candidates felt they had no choice but to back him.  Even Mitt Romney, now that he has returned from retirement to run for Senate from Utah, has begun to show that he is a team member by muting his criticism of Trump.  Romney had previously made damning statements about Trump that you would think can’t be walked back; he called Trump “a fraud”, for example.  How do you reverse course and back such a person?  Doesn’t it offend your sense of truthfulness and personal honor to support a man that you called a serial liar and a cheat?  Even Mitt Romney has gritted his teeth and released positive statements now that he needs Trump’s support (and the Republican money machine.)

The Republican party and its politicians appear to be set on an irreversible course of support for Donald Trump and many of them seem to be aware that they are going down in the November mid-term elections.  The House is likely to become majority Democratic, making it possible to initiate impeachment proceedings against Trump.  These proceedings, may I suggest, should be drawn out through the next presidential election because even if the Senate turns Democratic, the Republican minority may not be convinced to vote for Trump’s conviction on the impeachment charges.  It would be better if the impeachment does not go to the Senate– rather, the publicity of impeachment hearings and the airing of the truth about Trump should be drawn out to serve as propaganda for the Democrats in the 2020 presidential elections.  This would be the best-case scenario, since even a completed impeachment of Trump is likely to leave Mike Pence as President, which is not going to be a good situation– despite the toned-down rhetoric, Pence being an evangelical Christian with medieval views on sex, he is likely to cause great difficulties just through his executive actions even without passing any legislation.  Better to have the bad publicity for Republicans rub off on the Republican candidate for president in 2020, especially if Trump insists on running for re-election.  Pre-impeachment proceedings can be drawn out for a year or more– President Nixon’s House hearings lasted from shortly after the election in 1973 until his resignation (after the House finally decided to impeach him but before the resolution was actually passed) in the fall of 1974.

I remember those impeachment hearings– they lasted throughout the summer of 1974, creating enormous negative publicity for the Republicans, even though they cooperated with the hearings and would have voted for impeachment.  Now things are different– the Republicans are unanimous in their opposition to any investigation of Trump, much less impeachment.  The Republican-controlled House Committee charged with investigating the Trump-Russia connection has already concluded its hearings with a finding of “NO COLLUSION” (as Trump would have it; all the Republicans have fallen into line behind this obvious lie.)

(photo courtesy of pixabay.com and aitoff)