When the discussion all week via conservative media outlets and more liberal media outlets is about the president's credibility, you know there is a problem, and in this case a big one. As Danielle Pletka from the American Enterprise Institute put it, we should be worried because it's a matter of leadership or the lack thereof.
There's little dispute that President Trump lies to the American people on an unprecedented scale and frequency. The president and his stupid new lead attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, have made enough conflicting statements about the $130,000 payment to Stephanie Clifford that they have both lost all credibility on the matter, and until the matter actually comes up in court, Ms. Clifford's attorney, Michael Avenatti is going to try this case in the press. (The case they have against Michael Cohen has been delayed due to Mr. Cohen's criminal legal troubles.) What Ms. Clifford and Mr. Avenatti are fighting for is the right to tell her complete story without legal repercussions that of course would cause great personal embarrassment to President Trump. What it will cost President Trump is not only embarrassment, but also what he covets the most, money. If the alleged affair officially moves from that status to being confirmed, surely Mrs. Trump will file for divorce, which will come with a heavy price tag. Additionally, the president's political fortunes will also turn, especially if he loses evangelical support amongst his base. Why evangelicals still support Mr. Trump is beyond reason, but that's a longer discussion for another time.
All these conflicting explanations on the part of his president and his attorney have compromised the president's ability to be taken seriously and to do what is best for the country and the American people. As The Boston Herald's Kimberly Atkins stated, the facts have become irrelevant. If the president can not level with the American people on the small stuff, how are we to believe him when a real crisis hits, or to do the right thing to protect our democracy, which he is definitely not doing therefore breaking his oath as president to uphold the Constitution and protect the American people.
And here we're talking about Russian meddling in the 2016 election. As The Washington Post's Robert Costa noted, the administration seems to be operating separately from the president himself. The Administration, Mr. Costa explained, are continuing to carry out many policies of the Obama Administration, but when it comes to Russian election meddling, it's the president sets the agenda, the response, the preventative measures.
Why hasn't President Trump taken action? It's clear that in some way, shape or form that President Trump is compromised by the Kremlin.
Whether it's something more intimate stemming from the Steele dossier or it's the president's finances or both, the president is not taking the initiative to stop the Kremlin from meddling in U.S. elections, and the danger is if Mr. Putin decides to move from disinformation to straight up hacking to do permanent damage to our democracy, the president will once again lie about it and use it for his own authoritarian inclinations.
Former ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul outlined a number of reasons behind Mr. Putin's motivations for 'taking the gloves' off when it comes to going on the offense against the United States, which were:
Hillary Clinton's statements as Secretary of State, saying that Mr. Putin's election wasn't legitimate;
the national embarrassment over the Olympic doping scandal;
the release of the Panama papers, which exposed the wealth of Mr. Putin and other Russia oligarchs;
and the last straw, Mr. Putin blaming the CIA for the ousting Viktor Yanukovych as president of Ukraine.
Speaking of Ukraine, with all due respect to Alan Dershowitz and the judge in Virginia both saying that the Mueller investigation is going outside its scope in bringing money-lauding charges against former Trump Campaign chairman Paul Manafort, it's hypocritical. The parameters have been set by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and include any criminal activity stemming from the investigation. The reason it's hypocritical is that President Bill Clinton was investigation by Specical Counsel Kenneth Starr for the Whitewater land deal, but then the Monica Lewinsky affair came to his attention and he went after President Clinton for that. How did that affair have anything to do with real estate? Nothing.
President Trump for his part has been forced to admit that there was Russian meddling in the U.S. election, but since he's done nothing about it. And why? Because President Trump, it surely seems, has been compromised. There's no other explanation.
For additional reading on Russia protests of Mr. Putin's fourth term inauguration, see this article from yesterday's Washington Post: Russian Police Detain 1,600 Protesters
Panel: Kimberly Atkins, The Boston Herald; Danielle Pletka, American Enterprise Institute; Robert Costa, The Washington Post; Jon Meacham, historian
One more thing...
Though this column has not always agreed with his positions, and over the years he has made some questionable decisions (haven't we all), Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is a true American patriot and hero. America needs more leaders like him who stand up for their principles though you don't always agree with them.
That needed to be written into this blog's record because President Trump dishonoring Senator McCain has been among his most despicable statements.
Best to the Senator and his family in a most difficult time.
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