As the Watergate
Scandal was heating up, an increasingly desperate Richard Nixon went to the
country holding campaign-style rallies intending to shore up his fast-eroding
political support. These were the days
before such events were mere photo opportunities, days when the crowds were
attended not by carefully screened party faithful in housed events but in the
open streets by anyone caring to attend; days in which candidates and
politicians spoke to the congregation instead of singing only to the
choir. About every such gathering, worth
its salt, one would often find protesters; and Nixon had just fired Watergate
Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox fueling a storm of protest along with articles
of impeachment in the House of Representatives.
On the periphery of one such
Nixon event, late in the fall of 1973, was erected a long banner upon which was
printed in stark black and white:
“Impeach and Imprison”.
This
simple directive, in plain king’s English, quickly caught on becoming a staple
of protestors now camped out round-the-clock on Pennsylvania avenue, many
dressed in Nixon masks and prison stripes, holding placards reading “Honk If You Think He’s Guilty” creating
a din that kept the president awake nearly night and day. And, interspersed with this and other
messages, one would regularly find placards imploring the country to “Impeach and Imprison”.
Had we
done one or the other or, better yet, both, we would now be a far better
nation. Imagine if Nixon had been
impeached and convicted. Better yet
imagine had he been removed from office and then made subject of criminal
prosecution for obstruction and actually sent to prison. Would we have had Iran-Contra? Would Oliver North have been so cock sure
that acting in the name of the president put him above the law? Would we now have a ‘chief executive’
similarly so cock sure that he is likewise sovereign and above the law?
Times
have changed, but not entirely. Today,
Disgustus having fired FBI director James Comey who was investigating this
Russian mess, we find ourselves facing a similar crisis but, alas, Pennsylvania
Avenue since 9/11 has been closed to street traffic and pedestrians further insulating
our ‘leaders’ from the “cries of the damned”.
There
are many facets of this Russian Scandal that need close examination. From possible collusion with a foreign adversary
to win an election; collusion involving everything from the manipulation of
voter registration rolls and misinformation campaigns to the possible
undermining of U.S. foreign policy, our alliances, and the international
institutions that we have put in place as well as the lifting of sanctions
against Russia in
exchange for such assistance. There have
also surfaced questions about possible bank loans to tRUMP and associates,
money-laundering and racketeering. Some
of this has been bubbling to the surface raising questions that demand thorough
investigation.
Comey,
of course, had been alerted and put upon the scent of this trail over a year
ago by several foreign intelligence agencies and has told Congress that there
has been an open investigation into tRUMP and Associates since early summer of
2016. Why the Director felt compelled to
violate Bureau rules and guidelines and speak publicly of the investigation
into the Clinton email mess while not informing the nation that the other
party’s presumptive nominee was also under FBI investigation—on far more
insidious matters—is not, as of this writing, yet clear. But it had enraged the Democrats, as did his
behavior regarding the Clinton campaign last year giving tRUMP the misguided
belief that, since it could be said that Comey alone had handed Disgustus the
presidency, he could move on Comey at any time with relative if not absolute
impunity. It would at once, so Disgustus
thought, satisfy the Democrats and show the nation that Caesar would discipline
his own.
Comey,
upon his termination and the subsequent savaging of his service in several
Disgustus’ “tweet storms”, released a statement that he had taken notes of his
several meetings with Disgustus at the White House, notes written down
immediately after each event the contents of which were shared with several
high-ranking FBI officers so as to establish a contemporaneous record; for
Comey did not trust this president to tell the truth. This led tRUMP to respond—always via
anti-social network—that there may be tapes of such conversations, tapes
allegedly confirming the Disgustus version of reality. Of course, the White House eventually
confessed, there were no tapes for nothing coming from the White House is ever
accurate, nearly everything an exaggeration, fabrication or bold-face lie. Lies
intended to intimidate a possible witness, lies intending to call into question
the veracity of a witness, lies intended to obstruct justice.
The
‘tweet-exchange’ however, was enough for the Assistant Attorney General
(Attorney General Sessions had long since recused himself from the investigation
himself knee deep in the shit), to appoint an “Independent Counsel” to
investigate the affair and for Comey to appear before the Senate Intelligence
Committee to explain his side of the story.
It was a
telling performance. In over three hours
of public testimony Comey recalled his meetings with tRUMP and his phone
conversations. He spoke of the Disgustus
demanding his personal loyalty, and of asking the Director to call off the
Bureau’s investigation of Michael Flynn, tRUMP’s original National Security
Advisor who was forced to resign in a hailstorm of revelations about his
Russian connections and his being an undisclosed agent of a foreign government
(Turkey and, perhaps, Russia) during the campaign, the transition and as
National Security Advisor. On these
points Comey demurred.
After
several weeks in which Disgustus importuned the Director to call off his dogs
and upon learning that the FBI investigation was moving into the financial
dealings of tRUMP associates, including at least one principle “White House
figure”, Disgustus moved to terminate the Director. For Comey, an experienced investigator and
prosecutor, smelling the smoke was getting too near the fire.
At first
the White House said that it was over Comey’s “unprofessional” handling of the
Clinton email investigation, but this, as everything else emanating from this
White House, proved laughable and made no sense. For it was just such handling of the Clinton
affair coming as it did at crucial points in the campaign that gave tRUMP the
presidency. But, like everything else in
this White House, whatever the official line tRUMP would be seen either on
“twitter” or on television giving lie the administration’s story; in this case
openly admitting within 48 hours in a nationally televised interview that he
had intended to fire Comey regardless of Department of Justice recommendations
and then rambled on about how fake the Russian story was. Shortly thereafter, so as do drive ever
deeper the impression that he is in the Russian bag, he entertained the Russian
Ambassador and Russian press in the Oval Office itself telling the assembled
that he had fired Comey so as to put the Russian Scandal behind him. Here, in short, are at least two open
admissions of firing the FBI director so as to impede or end an
investigation. Here, in short, are
admissions of obstructing justice. Here
is our very own Caesar Disgustus openly admitting that he has committed an
impeachable offense.
Impeach and Imprison.
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