The truth, the hole truth…

What do we know so far?  

Last week, James Comey testified before Congress and called POTUS a liar, and by implication, a sneaky, conniving SOB.

No surprise there — at least for two-thirds of the country, anyway.

Hmmm. I accept his congratulatory comment, congratulatory because of the source, right?We also heard from Eric Trump that Democrats are not “…people.”

This week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify, under oath.  

Well, we know that Sessions 1) recused himself from the Russia investigation, and 2) has claimed that certain meetings with Russian officials did not happen.

Sessions has reportedly offered his resignation to the Trumpster. He also was, by POTUS’ description, involved in the firing of the head of the Russia investigation — Comey.

We also know that the NSA tracks and records meetings and phone calls between Americans and officials that represent countries hostile to the best interests of the United States.

So, in Jeff Sessions, we find a man embroiled in the shitstorm that is the current White House, one of the many suffering under a cloud of inconsistency, turmoil, and pressure to remain loyal at the expense of the truth or reality.

We have a man who aspires to be the main occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

And now he will be under oath, in the unenviable position of, perhaps, being caught between the truth and the defenses put forth by his spokesmen.

What should we expect?

Full survival mode, methinks.

What choice does he have? Stay on the Titanic, or get off and keep his hopes for the future alive?

Big Brother has been watching and listening, and there are certainly NSA videos and tapes. Trump has eroded any loyalty that this man once had. Remember, Sessions was the first United States senator to jump on the Trump bandwagon — firmly and loudly.

However, Trump thinks he needed nobody but himself to get where he is and is always in “What have you done for/to me lately?” mode.

I believe two scenarios are likely.

The first, and most likely, is that he throws Trump under the bus, follows in Comey’s footsteps, and confirms that he participated in Comey’s firing under pressure after even after recusing himself, and that he met with Russian representatives with the full knowledge of POTUS.

The benefit of this would be survival, living to fight another day, and keep his aspirations alive.

The second scenario would be to use his 5th Amendment rights to refuse to answer some of the questions, and perhaps to claim confidentiality and/or executive privilege as well.

Decisions, decisions.

Well, it depends.

If he still hopes to be president, he goes one way, and the Trump bandwagon takes another hit.

On the other hand, if Sessions realizes he is slightly-burned toast, he punts. He protects Trump as much as he can while maintaining his credibility and stays as Attorney General until Trump nominates him to a Federal judgeship. He can still count on his former Senate colleagues to confirm him as a judge.

He cannot, however, afford to wait for a SCOTUS vacancy, and that particular battle would be bitter under any circumstances anyway — and he probably would not get through it successfully.

I would guess that Trump has been lobbying him already, probably more than once. Sessions is no dummy, and he truly embodies many of the positions that Trump has put forth. On the other hand, he is working for a president who has only a one-third approval rating from the American public, and perhaps even less from the rest of the world.

Consequently, I predict that he will be satisfied with a federal judgeship, with hopes of being elevated later on to a position where he can chip away at what he views as the liberal evil in the world, and the erosion of Mom, of apple pie, and of the domination of the white man in this country.

Amerika. Given the choice, he will not turn his back on Comrade Trump.

The Hill Has Eyes- and Ears!

The GOP elected and appointed officials in the White House are running for the hills. Even Vice-President Mike Pence has now retained a criminal lawyer to represent him over the ongoing probes into the connections between the Trumpsters and the Russians.

POTUS has confirmed via Twitter that he is under investigation.

Talk shows are rife with discussions about whether or not POTUS will be firing the Special Counsel, or even Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Unconfirmed, anonymous reports are stating that the staff is vehemently opposed to firing anybody right now, because, coming on top of James Comey’s firing, the guilt-appearance will be a tidal wave.

The Administration is now relying on that philandering slimeball, Newt Gingrich, to anchor the defense, to defent the president.  “The POTUS cannot, by definition, obstruct justice”.

Wrong.

The articles of impeachment against both Nixon and Clinton- and of course, Gingrich was there in support of Clinton’s impeachment- included Obstruction of Justice.

This week, as we noted the anniversary of the Watergate break-in, the comparisons between Nixon and Trump are bubbling to the surface, like old bones in the La Brea tar pits.

How come?  Well, MAYBE it’s because POTUS tweeted that Comey better hope there are no tapes of their meetings together? 

They have secret tapes in common, perhaps?  Well, they certainly have paranoia and insecurity in common.

On the other hand, there is no record that Richard Nixon ever convened a meeting for the express purpose of having his cabinet kiss his ring and tell him how great he was doing- disgusting, pathetic, but mostly sad.

Look, he’s out of control, and he’s picking on himself.  2/3 of the people in this country see that clearly, and are simply pointing it out.

They can run for the hills, but they can’t hide.  We know that the national security people have been recording contacts with foreign governments for quite some time now.

Unfortunately for them but fortunately for us, the hills have eyes- and ears.  

No guilt can or should be apportioned to the retention of an attorney.  That’s not the way our system works.  All of us have a right to an attorney, sometimes despite law enforcement’s desires to the contrary.  Dangling the carrot out there is a favorite technique, and one I have used myself during my ¼ century as a fire investigator.  However, I did so always with the thinking of myself as an officer of the courts, and sincerely offered a carrot simply to get to the truth.

Those of my liberal friends who are being smug, who are saying “I told you so!” are wrong.  Flat wrong.

This is nothing to gloat over, nothing to celebrate, nothing to take satisfaction from being prescient.

This is quite simply a tragedy.

We put a man in the White House with no political experience, with no experience at putting together a cohesive team, with no experience at delegating his authority to people more experienced, more knowledgeable.

We know he really only trusts himself, and anybody who does not dance to his tune becomes the enemy- or at least becomes expendable.

Our allies are either afraid, uncertain- or they are laughing hysterically.

Trump has alienated or offended our closest allies- Trudeau, Macron, Merkel, individually, and the French as a group.  He has engaged in a running battle with Mexico, literally pushed tiny Montenegro aside, and ignored the world, climate science, and most of the business giants in his own country by casting aside the climate accord.

He knows best.  He’s a legend in his own mind, and the numerous divorces, bankruptcies, and lawsuits that he has lost have not noticeably altered perhaps the “greatest” ego to ever reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC, 20500.

As I write today, we are celebrating the ratification of the second greatest document in recorded history, after the Magna Carta- the United States Constitution, in 1788.

Certainly, the country will survive this, but we need some changes.  We need to get back to talking, to compromising, to getting some of the things we want, and letting the other guys get some of their needs met, too.

We have never been so polarized, so far apart, so pigeon-holed.

And, now- and likely to be the subject of my next column- is the devastating Trumpcare bill.  Making the rich richer, voiding many campaign “promises”, and ruining the healthcare net for so many Americans, many in states that supported Trumpelstiltskin.

Sad.  Pathetic.  Despicable.