‘If Trump Had an Iota of Decency, He Would Resign’

The United States of America is facing a constitutional crisis following Michael Cohen’s guilty pleas in federal court yesterday, Washington Post columnist Max Boot argued on Wednesday.

“For the first time since Watergate, the president is now an alleged co-conspirator in the commission of a federal crime,” Boot said.

Boot noted that Cohen’s attorney, Lanny Davis, has argued that Cohen’s guilty plea shows Trump committed crimes.

Today he stood up and testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime by making payments to two women for the principal purpose of influencing an election. If those payments were a crime for Michael Cohen, then why wouldn’t they be a crime for Donald Trump?

— Lanny Davis (@LannyDavis) August 21, 2018

“And Cohen may only have begun implicating the president,” Boot noted. “Davis said on MSNBC that Cohen would be happy to share other incriminating information with the special counsel, including ‘knowledge about the computer crime of hacking and whether or not Mr. Trump knew ahead of time about that crime and even cheered it on.’ This would seem to vindicate an earlier leak that Cohen may be able provide the ‘smoking gun’ evidence showing that Trump himself gave the go-ahead to collusion with the Kremlin.”

“In short, there is growing evidence that the president is, to use the word favored by Richard Nixon, ‘a crook.’ Even buying the silence of his reputed playmates could by itself have been enough to swing an exceedingly close election decided by fewer than 80,000 votes in three states,” he continued.

“Even more than Nixon, Trump is now an illegitimate president whose election is tainted by fraud,” Boot concluded.

“If Trump had an iota of decency, he would resign — but he doesn’t, and prevailing Justice Department guidelines hold that a president can’t be indicted while in office,” he noted. “So the onus is on Congress to act.”

“A responsible Congress would have by now already convened an impeachment inquiry. But that is not the Congress we have,” he noted. “We have a Congress dominated by political hacks and moral invertebrates who are determined to act as the president’s enablers and legitimizers at all costs.”

Image by US Naval War College via Flickr and a CC license

Fox News viewers Monday morning were subjected to a rare event: a politician speaking truth to power. The hosts on “Fox & Friends First,” Fox News’ early morning show, introduced Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat running for Congress who opposes the Abolish ICE movement.

“Good Morning. I’m actually here to speak directly to Donald Trump,” the Fox guest said, to the surprised co-hosts, Jillian Mele and Rob Schmitt. They became even more surprised as she continued.

“I feel that what’s happening at the border is wrong. I’m a mother of four and I believe that separating kids from their parents is illegal and inhumane.”

Then their guest reveals who she is.

“I’m actually Barbara L’Italien, I’m actually a state senator representing a large immigrant community, I’m running for Congress in Massachusetts,” L’Italien – who clearly is not Ann Kirkpatrick, told the Fox News hosts and viewers.

“We have to stop abducting children and ripping them from their parents’ arms, stop putting kids in cages –”

The Fox hosts tried to interrupt her, but she was not going to let this opportunity go without a fight.

“And stop making three-year olds defend themselves in court.”

“That, that, that practice has stopped at this point, Miss Kirkpatrick, right” one Fox host claimed, falsely. It has not stopped. He also clearly was not aware that was not Ann Kirkpatrick.

The other host falsely suggested the problem of separating children from their parents had been resolved.

“Kids have been reunited with their family,” she insisted.

“Again, my name is Barbara L’Italien and I refuse to believe our only option is open borders –”

“Who is this?” the host asked, as L’Italien’s screen just went blank.

“OK.”

“OK,” both Fox hosts concluded.

“That didn’t go as planned.”

“Time for a break?”

“Yeah.”

Watch:

This is incredible. @FoxFriendsFirst thought they booked pro-ICE Dem Ann Kirkpatrick on show, but accidentally booked Barbara L'Italien
(@teambarbara) instead.

L'Italien delivers personal message to Trump saying "we must stop abducting children… stop putting kids in cages." pic.twitter.com/OnVAdBVjJB

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 23, 2018