As the Trump Presidency hurtles out of control the Republicans are finally lining up to vote against him as a result of his outrageous actions on foreign policy. His sell out of the Kurds is a byproduct of his collaboration with the Russians as witnessed in the 2016 election and thereafter. His ludicrous rationalizations on his green lighting Erdogan's aggression resulted in Speaker Nancy Pelosi standing up in the WhiteHouse, responding to his taunts, with the devastating assessment, “All roads with you lead to Putin”. John Brennan, the former CIA Director, put the controversy in a historical context when he commented that when Trump was elected champagne corks popped in Russia where they forecasted that they now would have their way in Ukraine and Syria.
The Middle East policy disaster was just one of the explosive setbacks that struck The Donald Presidency in the third of October. What is finally pushing the GOP legislators to the brink is that their great country has been dishonored and is the laughing stock of the world. Thus far the GOP response has been limited to unprecedented criticism and motions of censure.
THE REPUBLICAN DILEMMA AS THE TRUMP SWAMP DEEPENS
The Republicans in their ongoing uncompromising and searing attacks on the President believe they are able to straddle the thin line between their increasing criticism of his foreign policy while not supporting his impeachment. Their problem is, as bad as the current situation is, that it is going to get worse. So sooner or later they have to remember their oath to the Constitution. The conventional wisdom is that the GOP legislators need the cover of the Republican base. However their responsibility is to lead and if they make the move it may just be the confirmation that their electorate are waiting for.
With regard to Trump’s abandonment of America’s word and trust, Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader did the unthinkable - he attacked the POTUS in an op - ed piece in the “fake news”, specifically in his arch enemy Jeff Bezos’s Washington Post, which newspaper history will show played a central roll in exposing his corrupt Presidency.
Adding to the President’s infamy in the third week of October was the damning corroboratory impeachment evidence leaked from the Congress hearings. Just in case there was any doubt as to Trump’s quid pro quo demand of President Zelensky for America’s military aid, his Chief of Staff, Nick Mulvaney, repeatedly confirmed that that was in fact what had happened. When pressed Mulvaney said that it was common practice to link political requests to diplomacy exhorting the incredulous press corp, “To get over it”.
Just in case the news was not bad enough Mulvaney announced that Trump was awarding a massive contract to his struggling Hotel Doral in Miami which would result in millions being poured into the Trump Inc. coffers. (The storm this created resulted in a late night tweet reversing the decision).
All this taking place while the impeachment enquiry was corroborating the WhistleBlower complaint.
TRUMP’S SELL OUT IN MIDDLE EAST CROSSES A LINE THE REPUBLICANS CANNOT STOMACH.
The betrayal of the Kurds and the abandonment of the US’s responsibility in the Middle East has stunned both sides of the aisle. This action which benefited rogue Russia, terrorist ISIS, and chemical murderer Syria’s Assad is a difficult pill to swallow even for enablers in chief Mitch McConnell and lap dog Lindsey Graham. In the process Trump has wiped out what he had not as yet mutilated of America’s integrity and reputation. The Republicans that still remain in the House of Representatives - the hardcore that haven’t already lost elections or retired - revolted with a one hundred and twenty - nine joining the Democrats in a three hundred and fifty - four vote to sixty censure which was a wholesale condemnation of the Trump sell out.
The scandal that shocked the nation to the core resulted in the POTUS’S firewall of Republican Senate legislators being deeply penetrated for the fist time including by its enablers in chief. Most importantly the guardian of the Trump bunker, Mitch McConnell, on whom Trump depended on refusing even to hold a hearing on the impeachment articles, announced that the Senate would sit for six full days a week to meet the constitutional requirements. McConnell like every GOP Senator who opened their mouths voiced his gratitude to the Kurds adding that he was “sorry”. He maintained that the Trump action would “embolden our enemies and weaken important alliances”.
A distraught Lindsey Graham who has to be exhausted from carrying Trump’s water howled, “He is not listening to his advisors and the military tell him that it is unfair and dishonorable… biggest mistake of his Presidency”. Graham, like everyone was concerned about the outcome of the “cease fire”. The South Carolinian Senator backed the commander of the opposition Syrian Democratic forces who reassured that he and his supporters would never agree to the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds. Graham pledged that Congress would stay very involved and was “extremely sympathetic to the plight of the Kurds”. This is in stark contrast to Trump’s characterization of the Kurds being “no angels” and who backed the “cleaning out” of the area where the Kurds have their home in Northern Syria. Trump reminded Graham that he was the “boss” while Graham countered that he would hold the President responsible.
The GOP Senator who represents the largest existential threat to the Trump Presidency, Mitt Romney, escalated the attack on the President. He claimed that Trump’s withdrawal was a “bloodstain on America”. The former Republican nominee for the Presidency challenged the POTUS”S leadership and queried his decision making. He called for a public hearing into the infamous phone call with the Turkish prime minister Erdogan. Romney claimed that Trump caved and set into motion Middle East chaos and a diminishing of American influence and power both in the region and in the world. Romney sneeringly asked, “Are we so weak and inept diplomatically that Turkey forced the hand of the United States of America. Turkey?”. In the light of the venal Trump Presidency becoming it is being openly suggested that Trumped rolled over because of his vast business interests in Turkey.
Other Republican Senators are lining up to join the bandwagon including Marco Rubio, Lisa Murkowski, Roy Blunt, Joni Ernst and Jim Inhofe. There is also a bipartisan censorship motion pending in the Senate which also sanctions Turkey.
Finally, Trump and Pence’s pathetic effort at putting the genie back in the bottle while, thousands die, Americans bomb their own facilities to avoid them landing in the enemies hands, nuclear weapons lodge uneasily in Turkey and ISIS prisoners escape, is not being taken seriously. The cease fire deal is said to have afforded Erdogan all that he demanded.
IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS
In the third week of October witnesses continued to confirm the WhistleBlower’s narrative while Trump himself withheld documents emanating from his immediate circle. Also notable was the continued defiance of Trump’s injunction not to give evidence by a stream of public servants.
The irony of the week was that the ostensible driver of Trump’s removal, the impeachment proceedings, never made the headlines other than on day one. Those revelations produced shockwaves that are destined to produce aftershocks in the weeks to come. On Monday,Trump’s retired advisor on Russia, Fiona Hill, unleashed a rocket when she detailed that John Bolton, the retired/fired National Security Advisor, registered opposition at the bizarre corrupt dealings with Ukraine which he labelled as a “drug deal”. Bolton instructed Dr. Hill to inform the WhiteHouse lawyers as to the illegal activity. The former security advisor was particularly critical of Trump’s lawyer Rudi Giuliani who had been designated the point man to conduct this bogus “foreign policy” with Ukraine.
Hill labelled Trump’s EU Ambassador, Gordon Sondland “a national security risk”. The latter is one of the “three amigos” appointed by Trump to liase with Giuliani on wringing dirt out from Ukraine on his political opponents. Another of the trio, Energy Secretary, Rick Perry, defied a subpoena to produce documents while announcing his resignation. The third “amigo” Ukrainian envoy Volker who gave damning corroboratory evidence last week, also has resigned from the State Department.
The centerpiece of the impeachment week was scheduled to be Trump’s EU Ambassador, Gordon Sondland, whom Trump had given another assignment - Ukraine. In a publicly released text message that the Ambassador had sent to the Charge D’ Affairs Bill Taylor he had reassured the latter that there was no quid pro quo in the Administration’s demands to President Zelensky. Trump had repeatedly quoted Sondland’s text as independent evidence of his innocence. Sondland mercilessly threw the President under the bus stating that Trump was his source for the no quid pro quo assessment. Sondland criticized the whole Ukrainian misadventure being most critical of the President and his personal lawyer cum unofficial lead negotiator with Ukraine. By the time Sondland testified Chief of Staff Mulvaney had already spilled the beans relegating his testimony to the fourth lead in the media.
Next week sees Charge D’ Affairs Taylor who will give his reasoning as to why he saw Trump’s quid pro quo diplomacy ending in a “nightmare”.
The proceedings have produced more than enough to impeach Trump but after the investigative efforts the Democrats aim to produce public testimony to increase the support for impeachment from the current bare majority to an overwhelming number.
CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OF GIULIANI AND IMPEACHMENT
Parallel to the investigation of Trump more and more criminal activity has been associated with the President’s lawyer who has publicly argued that everything he does is on instruction of his client, the President of the United States of America. Two of his associates are under indictment for funneling foreign money into American elections. The former New York Mayor is the subject of a counter - intelligence investigation by the Southern New York Attorney General. A counter intelligence probe implies that there may have been support of actions taken against America by a foreign agent. Giuliani has attempted to obtain a visa for the corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor who was forced out by the international community and whom he was relying on to get the goods on the Bidens.
AT THE END OF THE DAY
It is getting closer and closer to crunch time for the Republican legislators who up till now have enabled Trump. But the week that was, ending with Trump’s shameless naked self dealing, has to be too much. (His hurried withdrawal of Hotel Duval as the venue for the G7 meeting is too little too late).
The difference between Nixon and Trump is that the former humiliated and disgraced himself and the GOP while the latter has humiliated and disgraced himself, the GOP and America.
The shame Trump has inflicted on the once proud nation which till very recently strived, albeit imperfectly, to be the upholder of international morality and freedom, will not be ameliorated by op ed pieces by McConnell and fine speeches by Romney. They have to prove to the world and America that they have cut this cancer out. The time for grand standing is over. In case they missed Pelosi’s WhiteHouse moment, “All Roads lead to Putin”.
Trump is decompensating at a rapid rate and will strike out destructively while wallowing in self pity and claiming that the Democrats, the dark state and even the Republicans victimize him. The Republicans need to go into damage control mode.
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