Barely 40 days into the office as the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump seems to be on the verge of incapacity as both Democrats and those who are opposing him have been relentless in showing his true colors to the American people and the world.
There have been leaked reports of Donald Trump’s association with Russia during the election campaign last year and sooner or later, an evidence or two might just show up to bolster the allegation.
In a report by the Washington Post, the White House, having failed to get the FBI director and deputy director to publicly rebut reports about contacts between Trump associates and Russian intelligence operatives before the 2016 election, then enlisted Congress and the intelligence community to knock down stories about the alleged connections.
And the goon squad attempting to limit the president’s PR damage reportedly includes the man Trump picked to lead the CIA and the chairmen of the House and Senate intelligence committees, who were Trump transition advisers and now are the two men most responsible for investigating Trump’s Russia ties, details the USA Today.
The greatest scandal in US history
The two are Rep. Devin Nunes and Senator Richard Burr, who have been derelict in their duties as they should have started the investigation in August before the election and showed no interest in doing so.
Instead of investigating what could be the greatest scandal in US history, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are focusing on the leaks that led Trump to ask Michael Flynn to step down as national security adviser.
Critics actually consider it as Watergate with a Congress even more interested than the President in covering up potential high crimes and misdemeanors. It can be recalled that it was because of the Watergate scandal that forced former US President Richard Nixon to resign before he was impeached.
Political analysts believe that it is about time for the Democrats to start talking impeachment, even if it less likely to happen under the current Congress.
House minority leader Nancy Pelosi has said Democrats should not use the ‘I’ word in reference to Trump until when and if he breaks the law.
It does not only misunderstands the Founders’ design of the ultimate check and balance, it also ignores that besides his foreign entanglements Trump may already be in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.
Most importantly, Pelosi’s abeyance all but absolves Republicans of any responsibility to dig into potential wrongdoings of Trump.
Incapacitated now and during the campaign
Observers say that Trump’s constant lying, featuring 80 false claims during his first 30 days in office, and twitchy tweeting indicate that he’s at least no more incapacitated than he was during the campaign.
Perhaps Trump’s possible coordination with Russian President Vladimir Putin reflected in softened language on Russia in the GOP platform and his campaign’s odd associations with pro-Russian forces, merely indicate he’s a huge fan of murderous thugs who compliment him.
But the question of whether Trump is engaged in schemes of self-gain at the expense of actual taxpayers demands a thorough investigation, at the very least. Instead, House Republicans are acting as his defense lawyers, refusing to ask for his tax returns and burying investigations into his conflicts.
Ignoring the party’s transgressions is standard politics, but the GOP has made a fine art of it. When Republicans are out of power they conjure scandals, like #Benghazi, a tragedy in search of a crime. Now that they are back in charge at the White House, they are trying to set records for how deeply they can push their heads into the sand.
Ethics watchdogs have already filed dozens of complaints against Trump. If Democrats don’t move swiftly, they may find themselves trailing both their base and public opinion, again.