Abuse Of Power

A Wave Of Horrendous State Governors: A National Crisis!

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America is in the midst of a national crisis of horrendous state governors who are abusing power and pursuing corrupt, illegal ends!

The ones that stand out the most are:

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis
Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott
Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp
New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo

However, the list of abusive state governors is much longer, including:

Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey
Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds
Mississippi Republican Governor Tate Reeves
Missouri Republican Governor Mike Parson
Montana Republican Governor Greg Gianforte
Nebraska Republican Governor Pete Ricketts
Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt
South Carolina Republican Governor Henry McMaster
South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem
Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee

So we have 13 Republican Governors From the South and the West, who are, in different degrees, outrageously terrible as state governors, while only Andrew Cuomo is a Democrat who needs to be held accountable for his abuses of power!

Points To Ponder As Second Impeachment Trial Of Donald Trump Begins

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As the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins today, some points to ponder are worth considering.

Donald Trump lied incessantly over a fixed election when 60 court cases unanimously agreed the election in the various states being contested was totally fair, and lacking any corruption, as compared to 2016 and other earlier electionss.

Donald Trump was gleeful, enjoying the Capitol Insurrection, and unconcerned about the harm being done to the building, and the occupants, including many members of both houses of Congress, and Capitol Hill Police and staff members.

Donald Trump was inciting violence against his own Vice President, Mike Pence, and the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the two people in line of succession after himself, and had no concern about their welfare.

Donald Trump did not call in National Guard reinforcements promptly, forcing Mike Pence to assert himself finally after four years of being obsequious.

Donald Trump has never expressed any sense of sorrow over the loss of life of a Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, and the other four victims of the Capitol Insurrection.

Donald Trump incited the mob by his language, and cannot claim that what he said was not promoting violence and destruction.

Donald Trump is like any citizen, not above the law, accountable for his behavior and actions, and does not have the constitutional right to promote insurrection and sedition, which is not part of freedom of speech under the First Amendment.

Donald Trump should be convicted as a warning to future Presidents that such abuse of power and promotion of violence and destruction will not be tolerated, and that politics is not the issue, but the survival of American democracy, and the regulation of executive power in the Presidency!

Senator Josh Hawley A Threat To American Democracy And Civil Order, And Must Be Repudiated!

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The New Year of 2021 is upon us, and now we face a dire threat from a young US Senator, Josh Hawley of Missouri, at present the youngest Senator at age 41, who defeated Democrat Claire McCaskill in 2018.

Hawley has made a major blunder in joining the Trumpite extremists, mostly Southerners, in the House of Representatives, who are plotting to undermine the normally placid counting of the Electoral College votes in a joint session of Congress on January 6.

Vice President Mike Pence is responsible for operating a peaceful, ceremonial and routine counting of the electoral vote, as has been done constantly by the sitting Vice President at the end of every Presidential term.

Hawley is a highly ambitious young man, who is plotting a Presidential run in 2024, but he is ready and willing to be a threat to American democracy and civil order, by challenging the obvious victory of Joe Biden for the Presidency.

He is joining the true whackos who are a disgrace to the Republican Party, out to promote an outgoing President who is authoritarian oriented, and has no concern for the American people, only about aggrandizement of his own power.

Hawley is destroying his future, and is proving how reckless he is, despite criticism from fellow Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Mitt Romney of Utah, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania!

Hawley should be repudiated by all who believe in the Constitution and rule of law, and should be drummed out of the Senate for his abuse of power, as one can sense, in a fashion, he is a new Joseph McCarthy in relation to running rampant on an autocratic bent for his own advancement!

Donald Trump Botched His Last Attempt To Show Concern For The American People, In His Atrocious Reaction To Covid-19 Pandemic!

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Donald Trump, the extreme narcissist, and mentally very unstable, and more dangerous every day for the nation, botched his last attempt to show concern and empathy for the American people, by his atrocious reaction to the CoronaVirus Pandemic!

Any chance he had to redeem himself to the American people and his historic reputation is lost, as he has refused to promote contact tracing or testing, and is very willing to accept mass loss of life without any guilt or conscience!

All that matters to Donald Trump is to be reelected, with the thought that if somehow, through foreign collusion, voter suppression, or gerrymandering combination, he is reelected, the nightmare we are living through will become much worse!

This is not just about massive loss of life, but also the abuse of power by a reenergized President who will go further in destroying the Constitution and Bill of Rights, setting up a Fascist dictatorship that his Republican Party will abide by. This will be instead of promoting the principles enunciated by Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and other historic Republicans of principle and common decency over the 166 years of the party’s history!

Once we lose our basic civil liberties and civil rights, how can we ever regain them? How can we protect the vulnerable among us, including the disabled, the elderly, the young, and racial and ethnic minorities, which will suffer more than the general population?

That is why, as stated in my History News Network article of April 29, the Election of 2020 is the most significant one since 1940, in that our whole way of life is in danger, as it was in the four previous elections discussed in the article—1860, 1864, 1932, and 1940!

Alan Dershowitz Trashes Laurence Tribe, Fellow Harvard Law Professor, But Only Undermines His Own Credibility On Presidential Power

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Retired Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz went out of his way yesterday, in the first of two days of questioning of the prosecution and defense lawyers in the Donald Trump Impeachment Trial, to trash fellow Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe.

Dershowitz has come under fire for arguing that Trump has NOT committed an impeachable offense, and he went further yesterday to claim that anything a President does to help his political campaign, even using foreign nations’ assistance, is legal and not an abuse of power, a startling statement with zero merit!

Dershowitz has undermined his own credibility as an expert on the subject of impeachment, with his complete reversal from the time of the Bill Clinton impeachment trial, and with almost all law professors and historians taking the completely opposite view.

According to the view of Dershowitz, Presidential power is unlimited, and if that is the trend of the future, then the Constitution is in shreds, and the idea of a republic is destroyed!

To trash a respected professor such as Tribe is a terrible tactic, and shows the lack of ethics and common sense of Alan Dershowitz!

Time For Chief Justice John Roberts To Step In And Give Permission For Witnesses And Testimony In Donald Trump Impeachment Trial

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The moment of reckoning is coming this week.

Chief Justice John Roberts, with his 65th birthday being celebrated today, has the opportunity to make history, and do the right thing.

The Chief Justice, with the new evidence coming out against President Donald Trump, can approve witnesses and testimony in the Impeachment Trial, including John Bolton, Mick Mulvaney, and others.

The revelation of John Bolton in his new book, revealed over the weekend, is a bombshell that requires further investigation and testimony by the former National Security Adviser.

Roberts has the authority to do so, and only a two thirds majority opposing it can stop this action.

It will make John Roberts controversial, but put him on the right side of history, which he is very conscious of.

John Roberts knows, in his heart of hearts, that Donald Trump is guilty of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and while he cannot make the US Senate convict and remove Donald Trump, he can influence the trial in the record of history.

In so doing, the US Senate and the Republican Party will be on trial in the court of history.

This is a turning point of history on which the reputation of Roberts will hang, so let’s hope he intervenes, appropriately, to allow an extended trial.

Two Impeachment Articles: Abuse Of Power And Obstruction Of Congress

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The House Judiciary Committee has decided, with the backing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to bring two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump: Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress.

While this author and blogger felt there should be more than two articles, he can agree that making the case for impeachment is easier with two succinct articles, focused on what is most evident about Donald Trump’s behavior in office.

And, ironically, or is it so, on the same day as this occurred, Trump met with the Soviet Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the White House, giving further evidence of his collusion with Russia, and his making life difficult for a nation, Ukraine, which has had its territory violated by Russia five years ago, and has led to this impeachment action.

But the Republican Party in Congress is in lockstep behind Donald Trump, having become pro Russian, which would cause a total shock to past Republicans, including Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, and even infamous Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin!

Bribery, Abuse Of Power, Obstruction Of Justice, Defiance Of Congress All Impeachment Appropriate Charges Against Donald Trump, Along With Violation Of Emoluments Clause In The Constitution

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The view of this author and blogger, especially after watching the four constitutional law professors today in the House Judiciary Committee hearing, is that Donald Trump should be brought up on impeachment charges on five counts.

Bribery or Attempted Bribery involving the President of Ukraine to do Trump’s bidding, and interfere in the Presidential campaign of 2020.

Abuse of Power, shown in innumerable circumstances and cases.

Obstruction of Justice, regularly utilized.

Defiance of Congress, including refusal to allow testimony by executive branch officials.

Violation since Day One of Trump’s Presidency of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, barring any profit while serving as President.

So there should be five counts, with only one needed as enough to impeach, but with all justification, the case against Donald Trump is many times stronger than that against Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, and at least triple what it was against Richard Nixon,

Republican Party Totally Unprincipled On Trump Impeachment, While Going After Bill Clinton On Flimsier Grounds Twenty Years Ago

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The Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush has gone totally bonkers, as the 2019 Republican party has demonstrated it is totally unprincipled on the growing evidence of the clear cut obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and other crimes that call for President Donald Trump to be impeached.

By comparison, Bill Clinton was a choir boy, with the worst action he took being engaging in sex in the Oval Office, and lying about it, for which the late 1990s Republican Party impeached him on far flimsier grounds.

Now, we see those engaged in going after Bill Clinton, including Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Newt Gingrich, and a multitude of other hypocrites, willing to overlook every misdeed by Donald Trump, and sacrifice their reputations to defend a President who deserves no defense.

It is as if a religious cult has emerged, and as if Donald Trump is a God like figure. Republicans are willing to sacrifice their reputation in history, as they will not stand up well in the future for their willingness to bow down to Trump, when he is always willing to throw them under the bus, having no loyalties to anyone, and only concerned about his own selfish, greedy desires to grab more power and destroy the US Constitution.

Will the Republican Party ever come out of its fog and unreal state of consciousness?

Finally, The Impeachment Of Donald Trump Is Moving Toward Action, With Likelihood Of Four Articles Of Impeachment

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Finally, the House of Representatives is ready to begin a formal move toward impeachment of President Donald Trump, with the vote to come tomorrow, Thursday.

There are so many crimes and abuses under Donald Trump, but having too many impeachment articles would be counterproductive. Easily, Trump is much more a long list of outrages in office, than a combination of Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton combined.

It seems clear that four counts would make the best sense:

Obstruction of Justice

Abuse of Power

Contempt of Congress

Violation of the Emoluments Clause

It is likely that the articles of impeachment will occur either before Thanksgiving or in early December, with the Senate trial taking place in January 2020, hopefully resolved before the Iowa Caucuses, the New Hampshire Primary, the South Carolina Primary. and the Nevada Caucuses.

Certainly, by the time of Super Tuesday on March 3, 2020, when 14 states vote, the issue should be resolved, with little chance of gaining a two thirds vote to convict and remove Trump, but it should not be regarded as a long shot. There will be some Republican Senators voting to remove, and with more evidence coming out, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that more Republicans than a few could vote to convict, although to accomplish 20 or more Republicans out of the 53 in the Senate seems unlikely.