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On 7/27/17 12:31 AM, Ken Hiebert via Marxism wrote:
I have noted that there isn’t much discussion of the current crisis on this
list.
FT.com, July 26 2017
The deeper that special counsel Robert Mueller digs, the more the
president panics
Edward Luce
The guns of August are cocked and ready. Donald Trump is wondering aloud
whether to fire his attorney-general, Jefferson Sessions. Coming from
the top, such speculation can only end in Mr Sessions’ departure. The US
president is also musing about who will rid him of the troublesome
special counsel, Robert Mueller. That, too, must eventually end in Mr
Mueller’s exit. Both are a question of timing. My hunch is August. But
it could be months away. Or tomorrow.
The point is that Mr Trump will do what he must to block the
investigation. His latest escalation was triggered by Mr Mueller’s
decision to broaden his probe to include the Trump Organisation’s
financial dealings with Russia. Washington gossips have speculated that
Vladimir Putin possesses lurid tapes of Mr Trump. The idea of such
“kompromat” might ignite our prurience. But it always seemed
far-fetched. In contrast, there is ample cause to scrutinise Mr Trump’s
history of business dealings with Russian counterparts.
The further Mr Mueller progresses, the more Mr Trump panics. His
reactions betray his motives. No reasonable observer could conclude that
Mr Trump is willing to open his books. Having refused to release his tax
returns, he risks a constitutional crisis to stop US law enforcement
officers from looking into his business dealings. The two are obviously
connected. Sooner or later, serious investigators end up following the
money. Mr Mueller is nothing if not thorough. Mr Trump is nothing if not
ruthless.
It can only result in a collision. The question is whether the US
republic can walk away unscathed. Comparisons with Watergate are often
facile. But Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre” in October 1973 is
too pressing a parallel to ignore. Elliot Richardson, his
attorney-general, resigned after he had refused to dismiss the special
prosecutor, Archibald Cox. Then the deputy attorney-general, William
Ruckelshaus, stepped down for the same reason. Only on the third try
could Nixon find an official pliable enough to do his bidding. That man
was Robert Bork.
Mr Trump faces the same problem. Having recused himself from anything
related to the Russia investigations, Mr Sessions does not have the
authority to fire Mr Mueller. But his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, is
unlikely to do so either. It was he who appointed Mr Mueller after
having fired James Comey, the head of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, in May. Mr Trump is thus busy smearing both Mr Sessions
and Mr Rosenstein. He is preparing his base for the purge to come. Say
what you like about Mr Trump, but he is easier to read than a traffic light.
It is at this point a constitutional crisis would erupt. America’s
founding fathers created a system based on laws, not men. But it is down
to people to uphold the system. In theory, there is nothing stopping Mr
Trump from doing whatever he likes. Most constitutional lawyers say you
cannot indict a sitting president — even if he has repeatedly obstructed
justice. If Mr Mueller were sacked, in other words, no court would
reinstate him. The same applies to Mr Sessions, and as far down the
chain as Mr Trump cared to go.
The US republic’s ultimate safety net is public opinion. So far most
Americans are not inflamed by the Russia investigations. It is hard to
blame them. People in Washington are obsessed by the day-by-day dramatic
twists. But most ordinary Americans lack the time to absorb the endless
waves of detail. Who cares if Mr Sessions held undeclared meetings with
the Russian ambassador during the campaign? Politics is a dirty game and
the people who throw mud are usually covered in it themselves.
The other safety net is impeachment. Unless public opinion turns sharply
against Mr Trump, a Republican-controlled Congress is unlikely to act.
Nixon had no place to hide after it was revealed he had taped his Oval
Office conversations. The Saturday Night Massacre was his last-ditch
attempt to stop the tapes from falling into public hands. It was only
after they were released that a critical number of Republicans turned
against Nixon. That was during a far less partisan era than today.
Ironically, one thing protecting Mr Sessions is that he is more Trumpian
than Mr Trump. In the past few months he has been busy putting “America
First” into practice by stepping up deportations of illegal immigrants.
This has won him f
