One can not help thinking about the other shoe and the other foot... With indictments and now the guilty plea on Friday by former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, if this were happening to a Democratic administration, the Republican-controlled Congress would be all over impeachment calls and criminal investigations. Remember that a Republican-controlled Congress spent more money on investigating the tragedy in Benghazi than on any other congressional investigation in the country's history. Sorry to say it, but many Republican politicians throughout this process have shown any principle. With that said, it's something that one should dwell on.
However, with Lt. General Michael Flynn pleading guilty on Friday for making false statements to the FBI - a minor charge comparatively to what he could have been charged with - the Trump Administration should be generally worried and certainly they are despite any outward appearances. And let's dispel of this little nugget right off the bat - an FBI sending an anti-Trump tweet and being dismissed for it in the summer doesn't change the fact in the slightest that Mr. Flynn pleaded guilty.
Looking at things objectively, there is evidence of obstruction, specifically from President Trump's tweet yesterday where he said that he fired Mr. Flynn because he lied to Vice President Mike Pence and because he lied to the FBI. Mr. Trump's lawyer said he sent that tweet and that's the only one that he's ever sent on behalf of the president. It's seriously doubtful that Mr. Trump's lawyer sent that statement (as we have to view Mr. Trump's twitter feed as official statements from the president), but even if a lawyer for the White House sent that, what was that person thinking? You just admitted that the president obstructed justice. Why hasn't that lawyer been fired for such a damning statement?
Senator Feinstein said that her 'enough is enough' moment came last month, but after so many of these moments, what finally set her off? Through the judiciary committee she must now know something, which she can not share, that has solidified some kind of impropriety on behalf of the president. What we do know is that Mr. Flynn did not act as a rogue agent and that members of the administration's inner circle knew what he was doing. Certainly, as confirmed, Jared Kushner knew what was going on as well as J.T. McFarland. (Interestingly, Ms. McFarland is now the ambassador to Singapore. They sure shipped her a long way away.) In a private email Ms. McFarland said the following:
“If there is a tit-for-tat escalation Trump will have difficulty
improving relations with Russia, which has just thrown U.S.A.
election to him,” she wrote.
Ouch!
Just a figure of speech? Not likely. If there was no collusion or quid pro quo then why write or say such a thing? As far as the inner circle during the transition is concerned, Mr. Pence was the head of the transition team so how does he not know what Mr. Flynn is doing. As the investigation progresses and more people are implicated, the shielding or walling off of Mr. Pence will come into clearer focus, most certainly.
Where we'll leave this is to answer the question of whether the president himself is under investigation and the answer is 'yes,' but not directly. By squeezing everyone else, the special counsel will find out what the president knew, and he knows quite a bit. For example, the meeting in Trump Tower with the Russians didn't escape Mr. Trump's attention. He knew about it. Let's face it, Donald Trump Jr. doesn't really strike anyone as some independent savvy thinker. And by extension, it's hard to believe that President Trump doesn't know everything that his son-in-law Jared Kushner knows.
Mr. Todd asked Senator Feinstein where we are in all this. Answer: With the guilty plea from Mr. Flynn on Friday morning, we're at the end of the beginning. There's a lot more to come out, for sure.
As for the tax legislation, Senator Collins said she voted for it because she got an "ironclad" promise that Medicare would not be touched. We'll see how long that lasts, but she also said that the tax cuts will pay for themselves with economic growth, which in reality is doubtful because the entire package relies on the theory of trickle down economics, which we know doesn't work. But with that said, the Republicans control Congress and through budget reconciliation, they passed their tax overhaul plan. By using this process they didn't need any Democrats in the Senate to vote for it. Fiscal constraint in terms of deficits and debt are lost on Republicans when they're in control, with the lone exception of Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), but lets see how the House members react and whether the Republican deficit hawks in the lower chamber vote against the Senate bill. Because of political expediency, it will pass. Republicans need a win that badly.
Panel: Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian; Danielle Pletka, American Enterprise Institute; Mike Murphy, Republican strategist; Eddie Glaude Jr., Princeton University
One more thing...
It's despicable that President Donald Trump would campaign for Roy Moore in the Alabama media market (via a rally in Pensacola, Fl - the Mobile media market). Hard stop.
And for Corey Lewandowski and Dave Bossie's book, Let Trump Be Trump... God help us, that's exactly what this country is trying to prevent.
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