Can A “Root Vegetable” Collude?

Granted, Bob Barr’s performance yesterday was PR, not a dispassionate description of the contents of the Mueller Report, but there are actually a number of reasons why I don’t believe Donald Trump colluded with Russia.

Although Russia obviously wanted Trump to win, and just as obviously interfered with the election in order to help him (as even Barr conceded), it is also abundantly clear that Trump is too stupid (and even more importantly, from Russia’s perspective, too unpredictable and unstable) to effectively collude with anyone.

My favorite recent evaluation of Trump’s intellectual deficit came from CNN’s Ana Navarro, in a tweet praising Mayor Pete:

Today, I saw a video clip of @PeteButtigieg playing classical piano. Another where he speaks in Spanish. And this one, where he tells Parisians he shares their pain -in French. Just imagine having a President whose intellect exceeds that of a root vegetable…for a change.

Not even Barr disputes that Trump was the intended beneficiary of Russia’s interference, in all likelihood because he is deeply indebted to the Russian oligarchs close to Putin who–according to both Donald Junior and Eric–stepped in to finance his projects after American banks no longer would do so. (Fleece me once, shame on you…) That indebtedness makes him oh so malleable, as we’ve seen.

There is another reason I never thought Trump actually colluded in Russia’s efforts: he neither wanted nor expected to win.

There is ample evidence that he undertook the campaign because he thought it would elevate his “brand,” and was shocked when the Electoral College handed him the victory. Since assuming office, he has clearly relished the Presidency’s ceremonial aspects and the added power to hurt people he dislikes, but that enjoyment came after the fact. (I have a sneaking suspicion that his campaign for a second term is an effort to run out the clock on  statutes of limitations for the various criminal matters being vigorously pursued by the Southern District of New York.)

What about obstruction of justice? There, I think Congress and the public need to understand exactly what Mueller had to say, and why.

As many observers have commented, Trump certainly acted like a man who was guilty and trying to derail the investigation that would prove it. How much of his improper behavior was simply the outgrowth of his raging insecurity, how much because he didn’t know what “collusion” entailed and was afraid he’d engaged in it, and how much because he was worried that the investigation would uncover his numerous other illegal activities, especially with Russia? We may never know.

The evidence for obstruction may fall short of the legal standard necessary for criminal prosecution, but Trump’s hysteria over the investigation played out publicly, allowing the whole country to see his behavior and draw conclusions from that behavior.

Bottom line, even if the unredacted Mueller report really exonerated him of a crime, even if the report’s documentation of “high crimes and misdemeanors” for Constitutional purposes won’t cause the GOP sycophants in the Senate to impeach him, every day brings ample evidence that Trump’s entire Presidency has been an unmitigated disaster.

A majority of Americans reacted to that disaster in the midterm elections, and voters need to send an even more emphatic message in 2020.

It is depressing that a significant percentage of America’s citizens will continue to support a root vegetable so long as he hates the same people they do. In 2020, we need to demonstrate convincingly that those people do not represent America.

31 Comments

  1. I agree with you wholeheartedly. I never thought that he had the ‘stuff ‘ to pull off a strategic relationship with the powers behind the Russian ‘games’.
    I do believe that he did plenty to try to cover up his and his family’s shenanigans with regard to whatever they were up to which was in all likelihood money matters.
    My favorite remark yesterday was that if someone made a movie about this presidency it would be ‘The Mob Meets the Three Stooges’. That’s about it!
    The intent of obstruction was there but not even he understood what he was trying to hide. It’s his lifelong behavior pattern of ‘shuck and jive’..
    I hope he gets exposed enough that the entire cast of family and friends can no longer be exonerated by the sycophants in the Senate and the innocent believers who support him.
    I just want justice and for him to be gone. Is that so much to ask?

  2. Don’t forget about the emails and documents posted on Wikileaks for perspective. Not only did Clinton/Podesta screw over Bernie with their media connections, but they also elevated Trump over the crowded GOP field. Remember all the free advertising??

    Remember all the DNC resignations?? DWS resigning in disgrace and then being hired by Clinton??

    As Les Moonves, CEO of CBS famously said, “Trump may be bad for America, but he’s good for CBS ratings.”

    Clinton/Podesta created a monster who eventually bit both of them…call it karma. Now the “root vegetable” is biting us all.

    According to The Intercept, the redacted Mueller report reads like a pathway for impeachment.

    Hopefully, Congress will act accordingly.

    The DNC and their media hacks are fooling around in the primary once again wanting a Wall Street endorsed candidate to emerge victoriously. They didn’t learn anything in 2016. Mark my word, if they succeed, Trump will skate with another four years.

    Wall Street would rather have four more years of Trump than a Prez who wants universal healthcare. 😉

    Trump has been very kind to the Oligarchs at the expense of Middletown, USA.

  3. As with everything else in Trump’s life; he has others to do his dirty work for him as Vito Corleone in “The Godfather”…or as Gotti the actual Godfather did till he ended in prison.

    As for AG Barr; he was confirmed by the Republican party as Trump’s puppet; Barr, all members of the House and the Senate, as well as millions of American citizens, are aware of the fact that the Attorney General is the attorney for the United States of America, NOT one of Trumps dozens of personal attorneys. Special Counsel Mueller, as required, handed Barr the list of actions to be taken and named some of the targets; all information which should have been handed, in full and unredacted, to all members of Congress to proceed with their REQUIRED action as described in Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America to protect this country from a president such as Trump has proven himself to be.

    We will never know the full content of the Mueller Report any more than we will ever know all of the illegal and immoral actions taken by Trump, his family, his administration and HIS cohorts in Congress.

  4. I am sick of the republican mantra that the Mueller Report proves that he did nothing wrong AND the Russians were interfering during the 2014 election and Obama did nothing , etc. No matter what happened or what will happen in the future, the Republicans are prepared to defend Trump and deny any responsibility and certainly not apologize for what they have visited upon the American public. It’s time for them to go.

  5. Which Senators are up for election in 2020? Can ‘we’ flip 4 or more of the 33 seats to control the Senate and neuter Trump if he wins again? Re presidential debates: if Mayor Pete is Trump’s opponent, won’t it be delicious to hear the Mayor reply to Trump’s put-downs in Icelandic!

  6. I keep returning to remarks that Mayor Pete made last Sunday at his candidacy announcement. He spoke about this period of history being one of transition… an in-between time when the people will be forced to decide between the ways of before and new ways he represents for a better future.
    This totally corrupt period of our before society could have no better symbol than Donald Trump. That the Mueller Report outlines his corruption yet allows him to skate seals for all time the truth of this period of history. No sane person can look at the events of yesterday and not know that we have hit rock bottom.

  7. Keep in mind that the Mueller report does say that Trump attempted to obstruct justice on multiple occasions. The fact that he was only partially successful does not make him innocent of the charge. Mueller clearly deferred to Justice Department guidelines regarding indictments of a sitting President and left it to the Congress to do what was necessary. Therein lies the problem.

    If the Democrats begin impeachment proceedings, they can be assured of two things: 1) The Senate might never even take up the case if 45 is impeached and if they do, they won’t find him guilty. 2) They will have handed the Republicans a cudgel that their marketers will use successfully to beat Dems over the head during 2020. In a different time, there would be a different end to this story.

  8. “It is depressing that a significant percentage of America’s citizens will continue to support a root vegetable so long as he hates the same people they do. In 2020, we need to demonstrate convincingly that those people do not represent America.”

    Our Resident Rutabaga repeatedly reports the economy is in excellent condition and we watch Wall Street reports daily regarding the condition of the stock market. So; why are we seeing reports of so many business closings and watching businesses in our neighborhood shut down or cut back their hours and their employees? Have you noticed that the closures are the lower cost stores where minimum wage and low to middle income people shop for their needs at more affordable prices? “those people” many not represent America but they and their hatred are causing deep financial difficulties for the vast majority of Americans on a daily basis in their – our – daily ability to provide ourselves with simple basics of day-to-day life. Do they even notice that they are victims; they are unaware they are the cause of their own escalating cost-of-living and their own lack of COLA most years while remaining in low-paying jobs going nowhere?

    Mayor Pete spoke of this being a period of transition; he speaks the truth but this current transition period can be compared to the Trump “transition period” in the presidency which is still transitioning in the wrong direction. The only direction hatred can and will ever take us.

  9. No. Just no.

    Trump knew exactly what he was doing, and still does. He explicitly asked Russian hackers to “find” Hillary Clinton’s emails on live national television. He knew that Russian interests were funding his campaign, just like they’d been funding and propping up his real estate interests with money laundering for years. He picked out Paul Manafort to run his campaign knowing exactly who he was and who he worked for. Trump knew this then and he knows this now, as evidenced by his guilty groan when Mueller was appointed, and his frantic coverups and distractions now.

    Trump may be a very deeply stupid man in many ways, but that does not remove the taint of being a crook, a thief, a liar, and a traitor who has chosen to put his own interests and those of his “sponsors” above the Constitution and the interests of the United States that he swore to uphold. Being stupid or ignorant does not absolve guilt for criminal and evil actions. If it did, there are lots of mentally-challenged and poorly educated felons who should be released from prison forthwith. “Duh, judge, I stupid, lemme go.”

    Too dangerous, you say? Exactly my point. If if’s too dangerous to let a mugger or a rapist or a killer go scot-free because he’s allegedly too stupid to understand his crimes (or pretends to be), what about a criminal on a massive scale who threatens to overturn the whole Constitutional structure of the nation, and continues to do so even after being called out on it and informed of the error of his ways repeatedly?

    Nor is it an excuse that he outsourced dirty work to others. Tyrants and crimebosses have often used patsies, thugs and cut-outs to order dirty work done and evade responsibility for it. No dice. The crimeboss is just as responsible for the actions he demands from his underlings as the consiglieris, bagmen, and hitmen who carry them out.

    No matter how stupid he is.

    If Trump and his cronies in crime escape justice, it will be because purely political maneuvers, in the worst sense of the word “political”, have prevented the rule of law from having effect. Not because there is any “justice” in it, or because Trump is somehow innocent of the crimes that he has openly committed and pushed others to commit.

  10. I wrote elsewhere yesterday that as a lawyer I understood robustly defending a client who is charged with wrongdoing, but noted that Trump is not Barr’s client, nor can he be so long as he is the AG. I further noted that the AG’s “client” is the United States and its people, and that since Barr’s real “clients” are adversely affected by his PR stunt(s) on behalf of a non-client he could (in theory) be called up before his bar association for a disbarment hearing.

    I note here that ignorance of the law is no excuse, not even for a vegetable. For instance, let’s say I am an ignorant English tourist in Indiana, rent a car, drive on the wrong side of the road (as defined by American law), have a headon and kill five people and then show up in court with a Barr lawyer who says his client did not know you drove on the right side of the road here. Do we look at the misunderstanding as a legal defense or do we look at the harm done? Such a defense may be helpful in mitigation of sentence but has no place in determining guilt.

    Thus Barr can say the president was “frustrated” and that that somehow should forgive him of his many attempts to obstruct justice. Millions of us are a bit frustrated by the conduct of this carrot top in office, too, but that doesn’t forgive us a charge of assault and battery on our Trump-loving neighbor. Thus neither ignorance nor frustration play any role as a defense to either criminal or non-criminal misbehavior, and to hold otherwise elevates such as Trump above the law, an intolerable result.

    Whether to seek Trump’s impeachment now for his hundreds of attempts to obstruct justice or to wait for further developments since the McConnell-led Senate is unlikely to convict – that is the question. Few want him impeached and removed from office more than I, but I think we are best advised to keep it on the table but wait until congressional committees have uncovered the void in the Mueller report, to wit: his financial shenanigans, including but not limited to Russian money laundered through DeutscheBank, his tax returns (which are likely fraudulent in order to cover up his laundering and other fraudulent activities), uncovering of the activities of his shell corporations, and whatever other criminal activities further congressional investigations may unmask, and if it is proven that he is a crook on several fronts, then (I assume), as the tapes did Nixon in, such revelations will stoke such public outrage that the Senate is forced to convict after House impeachment – but Nostradamus I am not – so my advice is for Congress to keep on digging and amassing evidence for the big show later on. This show has just begun.

    To my fellow contributors – sorry for the length but I’m on a roll fueled by coffee and the Mueller report and various treatment of its findings.

  11. Trump is doing what Trump has always done. This particular root vegetable has not changed one thing about who or what he is and how he operates. In terms of collusion my bet is on those around him. As unfortunate and sometimes scary as it is just having this man in power gives many nightmares, but those around him such as Stephen Miller and the like have the power of the office to bring us down and they are not letting up. This Mueller report will change nothing in terms of the Congressional division or the Trump base. Our only hopes are: the election and the SNY determinations. Mueller put a lot of thought into the investigation and down the road we will be amazed at the scope of that investigation. The results of it are going to take longer to take shape and of course instant gratification won’t happen for those of us suffering this mess. Hold tight people and keep the faith.

  12. I look forward to the day when dignity and intelligence is restored to the presidency. Bigly.

  13. Our ability to bring change in 2020 has not been altered by the Mueller Report. Take a deep breathe and get back to work. Let Sheila continue to bring cogent and articulated focus to our reasoning and let all of us continue to work hard in our communities to put good solid people in congress.
    Let congress continue to force 45 to heel about his taxes. Get off his cycle and on to ours!! This is the time to shout at the things he is doing to destroy our environment, health care, and moral standing, otherwise pick up a poster and stand a watch.
    Write postcards, call voters, go live in a place that needs volunteers. Get out the vote.
    Maywin A. Jackson and Gerald Stinson need to be heard.
    #2020.

  14. I just read where 70% of Wall Street executives think Trump will be re-elected and that they are good with that. They also like Joe Biden over all the Democratic candidates. This information sort of confirms some of what Todd suggests about the state of our political party leadership.

    Since the Republicans and their sold-out constituents want to get even closer to the criminal enterprise in the White House, the short term fix is to run all the hearings in Congress, have the SDNY execute their criminal indictments and warrants such that Trump’s cabal of cronies end of in jail leaving Trump as the un-indicted conspirator alone in his big, white house. Sadly, Mueller failed to realize that his intent for Congress to impeach this bastard would never work because of the utter mindlessness of the RNC and all the Republicans in the Senate. Because those constituents are so absolutely committed to the Trump criminality (He is them, they are him.), we are stuck with Trump until 1/20/21. Pelosi is right. We will never be able to impeach him – certainly not while Mitch McConnell presides over the Senate.

    Our only hope is that Trump is SO discredited that the vast majority of independents who voted for Trump will abandon his politics completely and he will be voted out. No doubt, U.S. Marshalls will have to drag Trump out of the Oval Office as he continues to scream: “The election was rigged!”

    Actually, I think Trump is PRECISELY what Putin wanted. He knew that his fellow criminal would divide the country, upset the legal system by ignoring the law – as he’s always done – and favor Putin’s attempts to take over the old Soviet satellites in the hopes of getting another of his idiotic hotels (and probably a golf course) in Russia. Read Rick Reilly’s new book, “The Commander in Cheat” to understand what sort of “successful” businessman Trump really is. We couldn’t have “elected” a more disgraceful, corrupt and criminal wretch than Trump. The fact that the Republicans all suck up to him reflects what they are too.

  15. First and most important point : During the debates Trump pointed his finger at Jeb , and Marvin Bush and that family’s connection with 9/11. And then he pointed his finger at Crooked Hillary .
    Both families are also tight with the Obama’s. Get one you get them all.
    The collusion is with them, and their supporters in Washington , and else where.
    That faction is just P.O.’d that a white male won – fair and square.

    As Will Sonnet would say ,” No brag , just fact.”

  16. I share with you this article by Ravi Zacharias on this Good Friday:

    The Mueller Report and Good Friday
    “Our culture is in chaos because we have forgotten the first line that was ever put to print in America: ‘In Adam’s fall, we sinned all,'” Ravi reflects on Good Friday.

    People often ask me as I travel what I think of the political scene in America. I am tempted to reply with a quote attributed to G.K. Chesterton when someone asked him what he thought of civilization: “I think it’s a great idea; why doesn’t somebody start one?”

    The truth is that the political scene globally is chaotic. I was in one country where there were seventy-seven different political parties represented at the ballot box. In another country, a bellman said to me, “We don’t have political parties, Sir. We have cartels.” From Brexit in the UK to the horrors of Venezuela to the impossibility of governing in the United States, one wonders where we are headed as a species. If anyone ever thought the Mueller report would bring an end to this constant turmoil in Washington, they were the ultimate optimists, defying reality. There was no way with the toxicity present that any report would have brought peace. Each side walks away with what their own prejudices dictate. But so it is. This is not to say that there aren’t any sane voices. There are. I have met some of them personally and see the anguish in their faces when they talk about the morass that has become the ground on which our debates are now conducted. But these thoughtful voices just get drowned out by the noise makers whose goal is to take down whatever the status quo is, never mind if their own suggestions are bereft of historical understanding or common sense. It is sad to see such destructive forces at work. Whenever destruction is at the forefront of a person’s motives, nothing will change until there is a reconstruction within their own hearts.

    I am reminded of a conversation I had with the famed Joe Gibbs after he moved from the NFL to NASCAR. I asked him, “How on earth did you make such a switch from football to car racing?” He said, “It was easy. They both have one thing in common—the depravity of man.” It was an answer I was not expecting, but applauded.

    The Bible makes it clear that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. If you want to end any media interview quickly, just use the word “sin.” That’s all that is needed to be heard to make the popular mind consider you a vestige from bygone beliefs, a kind of intellectually bankrupt ideologue. Yet, anyone who denies the reality of sin actually proves the truth of it.

    I had a classmate who stormed out of a conversation breathing threatenings and slaughter. I asked him, “What happened?”

    He said, “I cannot believe my friends! I simply cannot believe what they just said to me!”

    “What did they say?” I asked.

    “They just told me that I cannot take any criticism! Can you believe that?” I just stared at him till he quieted down. The rest was easy.

    We are so blinded by the very thing that we deny. We are comfortable calling our malady anything but sin. But as Muggeridge powerfully said, “The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable fact at the same time that it is the most intellectually resisted.”

    The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable fact at the same time that it is the most intellectually resisted.
    Malcolm Muggeridge
    Paul referred to himself as the chief of sinners. David prayed, “Against you and you alone have I sinned and done evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:4). The prodigal returned to his home and said to his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you” (Luke 15:18).

    How profound! Sin is always against God and shows itself against our fellow human beings. Jesus clearly taught that sin is the central feature at the heart of human self-destruction. The fact is that sin and transgression are not the private characteristic of a few but of us all. The problem is that we like to throw stones at others when we should be on our faces before God. The healing starts there. Today if Jesus asked our sophisticated cultural elites for the one that is without sin to cast the first stone, the “accused” would be buried under a hail of rocks. We love to exonerate ourselves from that for which we stone others.

    The problem is that we like to throw stones at others when we should be on our faces before God.
    Our culture is in chaos because we have forgotten the first line that was ever put to print in America: “In Adam’s fall, we sinned all.” Today I’m afraid we believe in none of those categories: We don’t believe there was ever such a one as Adam. We do not believe in the fall, and we do not believe we are sinners. The symptoms of that unbelief are the basis of the headlines in our news these days. It’s not just in politics; it is in every human heart.

    On this Good Friday, we need to remember there is only one who is perfectly good. That one died on the cross for our good. The only goodness we can ever gain is his righteousness, which he imparts to us by his grace. When we recognize we are sinners, we see the splendor of the cross as our only means of cleansing.

    What would ever happen in Washington if our politicians were all in church this Good Friday seeking forgiveness from God and each other? What would happen if every one of our judges and those judged did the same thing? They could then show the way to the rest of the nation. That is when America can be truly great. I pray for the day when we see such a miracle, not just in America but across our world.

    I have a painting in my office of a little girl holding the scarred hands of Jesus and asking him, “What happened to your hands?”

    I wish we would all ask that question and receive his answer. Only then can the Mueller report or any report bring closure. The report that really matters is what God thinks of us and why He sent his Son. In this world, sin always bounces back. We sin towards somebody; they wish to sin back against us. At the cross, sin did not bounce back. Sin stopped—when Jesus said from the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

    May this Good Friday see us all saying before God, “I have sinned,” as we then receive the loving forgiveness of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. As the hymn writer expressed,

    I sometimes think about the cross,

    and shut my eyes, and try to see

    the cruel nails and crown of thorns,

    and Jesus crucified for me.

    But even could I see Him die,

    I could but see a little part

    of that great love which, like a fire,

    is always burning in His heart.

    Hoping you have a really “good” Good Friday.

    Ravi Zacharias

    On behalf of the RZIM team

  17. Ms. Kennedy! You say:

    “What about obstruction of justice? There, I think Congress and the public need to understand exactly what Mueller had to say, and why.”… And further:

    “The evidence for obstruction may fall short of the legal standard necessary for criminal prosecution…”

    What Muller exactly said (page 1&2 of the introduction Volume ll) is not that Trump’s conduct “may fall short of the legal standard necessary for criminal prosecution”

    He said he accepted the Office of Legal Counsel “opinion” that a sitting president could not be indicted and he was preserving the evidence.

    Consequently, that he wasn’t even going to apply the Justice Manual to “an approach that could potentially result in a judgement that the President committed crimes.”

    I would also respectfully submit that there was no Mueller finding on “collusion” (Trump vernacular)

  18. Buttigieg’s type of racism is much more acceptable than Trump’s. It’s very subtle unless one keeps track of his gentrification efforts and how he handles racism within LE agencies under his control. I wonder why Buttigieg doesn’t like black America?He appeals to veritable anglophiles. Buttigieg will bring elegance of racism as expressed by Aaron Sorkin Democrats.

    Buttigieg must lose. Biden must not run. Otherwise Trump gets 4 more years.

  19. Mark: If Hillary had lost the election (popular vote, not EC) to a conservative candidate who understood governance and democracy, liberals would be upset at the loss, but I doubt that a more thoughtful and better prepared president would have dragged the US into the second tier of democratic countries. Look at what Trump and his cabinet are creating: third-world social network; 4th class education, with a religious overlay – like the Taliban, Iran and ISIS; deteriorating environment and habitat in the interest of money for the few, including potentially unsafe drinking water and unhealthy air; the American Oligarchy – special interests and their money buy the influence of “democratically elected” “representatives” for any idea that makes money regardless of the environmental or social consequences; attacking the free press – like Iran, China, Russia; bowing to the gun lobby even in the face of the crisis that has developed and continues to grow unchecked daily with no end in sight – every parent has to worry that some armed intruder may decide to attack their child’s school. How much more do you need to see?

  20. I’m still not buying the mantra: it’s all Obama’s fault. He should have stopped me from being an idiot! “Stop me before I sin again.”

  21. JoAnn: Love the “resident rutabaga”. Perfect!

    The rutabaga has such a penchant for the vile, the smarmy, and the base (and even HIS base), that we have figured that the veggie has become his own epithet. He may consider himself “f****d” but we have been “t*****d”. No “s**t”!!!

  22. we havent heard roger stone…wikileaks,and his collusion with russian hacks and julian. was there a deliberate time line to make public podestas and clinton e mails public ,one month before elections,yes, and it was a cordinated action by trumps campaign.now if theres no laws broke,how far can someone go? and,,,, if this is what is availble to any canidate,we need a serious rewrite of these laws,before we only have lawyers running for president…,
    id rather see the state of new york,and the feds find trump guilty of extortion, tax fraud,money laundering,and have his pockets emptied after all this…(yes im serious,reread james henry,and the BBC interview on you tube,about trumps money laundering,and you decide,mueller didnt look far enough)
    im headed to maine for a lobster binge,with friends. im expecting indiana drivers to be nice this weekend,,,on my way through…on your ,raise the toll only on trucks,toll road!
    best wishes…

  23. If I were the Russians, I would have done exactly the same thing. A war is out of the question, we would be Nuclear Ashes within an hour and those that survived would be dead within a month.

    The Russians saw an America hopelessly divided, racially, by economic class and ethnically, pitted against each other. Add in the extremes of NRA types, Bible Thumping Evangelicals, and Neo-Confederates and you have numerous opportunities to divide, stir the pot and poison wells.

    Candidate Agent Orange and Pastor Pence were perfect, to keep American divided. Pacs, Super Pacs played their parts deluging voters with non stop attack ads.

    The biggest mistake the Democrats at this point can make IMHO is to divert more and more energy and resources into non-stop hearings into all things President Agent Orange and ignoring the issues. MSDNC and CNN are devoting as usual all their air time trying to dissect the Mueller Report, its all about ratings – what a bonanza.

  24. I think it was Ezra Klein who said something to the effect that, when the American electoral system was under attack by a foreign power, a candidate for President behaved as though it were just a personal favor to him. Instead of a full-throated defense of American interests, he went after the people who were investigating the attack.

  25. The Democrats must spend the next two years focused on two things. First, a thorough and penetrating examination of the Mueller Report with all the witnesses and testimony along with follow through. Second, a thorough and penetrating series of investigation to determine how our intelligence agencies came to one conclusion and the President to another conclusion. This would include all the financial and other arrangements between Russia, its oligarchs on the one hand and the President and his family on the other.

    After 18 months of such hearings, the voters can vote to impeach.

  26. There were many factors that led to run. Some of which are those you cited. BUT, I disagree that he did not want to win. He decided to run after experiencing the same humiliation at WH press corps dinner followed by the successful mission a afftont.personal.against Bin Laden was a matter of personal affront in the extreme to Trump. He wanted.revenge. He did court Russian help… publicly and privately. His staff and Russian agents worked Trump’s campaign operatives.. His two outs are lack of
    Indent due to ignorance of the law .And plausible deniability. He have doubted his prospect s. But he wanted to win..

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