U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, one of the most outspoken members of the Democratic Party, took to the Senate floor to explain what he says is President Donald Trump “enacting a well thought out plan so he and his allies can rule forever.”
“We aren’t on the verge of an authoritarian takeover,” the Connecticut Democrat declared. “We are in the middle of it. But I worry people don’t see the whole scheme. They just pay attention to each new daily outrage.”
He detailed what he says is the Trump administration’s five-point plan.
Step one: “Turn the justice system into a political witch hunt operation that punishes critics for free speech and immunizes loyalists for actual criminality.”
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“We are seeing this at scale right now,” he said. “The indictment of James Comey, for no crime.” Murphy explained that no prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Virginia would sign the indictment.
“President Trump sent his personal lawyer to take over that office. Because only she would sign that indictment.”
Murphy explained that the goal is not to arrest everyone who opposes the President, but rather to “just put enough fear into the ranks of those who might speak truth to power,” so that they might “stay quiet.”
Step two: “Use government power to compel the media to tell only the regime’s narrative and to silence critics.”
He explained that that would include eliminating the free press and replacing it with state media.
“I don’t know that I’d go so far to say that we have state run media in the United States yet, but there is an attempt underway to try to use the vast regulatory powers of the administration to censor media.”
That includes threatening to pull TV station licenses, as well as the “consolidation of media into the hands of allies of the president.”
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“One family that has just taken control of a major media group that owns, amongst other properties, CBS, is looking to also take control of CNN, and may have an ownership stake and a control stake in TikTok,” Murphy said. “That family has shown a willingness to censor contents. Pulling Stephen Colbert off the air, and to put in place, essentially, Trump approved sensors for their future news content.”
Step three: “Use the military to perform political intimidation in places with high levels of opposition to the regime.”
He said sending the military to blue cities is “illegal.”
“But it is designed to once again quell dissent and protest. This isn’t about public safety, this is about political intimidation,” Murphy alleged. “And you’re just naive if you think that folks aren’t going to be a little less interested in showing up at a protest if they are worried about getting roughed up by law enforcement.”
Step 4: “Seize control of Congress’s spending and tax powers to use those powers to reward loyalists and punish opponents.”
He said he cannot understand why there is not “bipartisan agreement” among Democratic and Republican lawmakers to oppose Trump “seizing” Congress’s power to tax and spend.
Step 5: “Rig the rules and the information. Tilt the election playing field your way and destroy the idea of truth.”
This includes, Murphy said, Trump demanding red states redraw congressional districts to allow the GOP to add more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Totalitarian states can’t accept truth, so they try to destroy truth,” Murphy explained. “That’s what Donald Trump is doing.”
“I know this sounds extreme,” Murphy wrote. “It is.”
“I know I sound overly alarmist,” he continued. “I don’t think I am. Trump is enacting a well thought out plan so he and his allies can rule forever. But it’s not too late to stop them.”
“If you allow yourself to connect the dots. If you allow yourself to see the whole story — the totality of this story — you will see the grave danger that we are in.”
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