Trump under siege
By Grace Vuoto
President Donald Trump’s longtime aide and personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is under intense scrutiny by law enforcement. This week, federal agents raided his home, office and hotel room, seizing documents and electronic devices. What are they looking for? What crime might he be prosecuted for?
The unnerving truth is that, right now, we do not know. Are the feds pursuing evidence of bank fraud, wire fraud, campaign finance law violations or salacious information regarding payments made to two women who claim to have had a sexual relationship with Trump and received “hush money” prior to his election? How grave or innocuous are Cohen’s crimes? What standard was used to obtain this warrant? Was a vigorous set of criteria used or a rubber stamp? Is this a flagrant violation of the attorney-client privilege or a justifiable pursuit of justice based on evidence of a criminal conspiracy? The facts have not yet been fully reported.
There is impartial information disseminated by the press. Nonetheless, the president is being advised very strongly by some supporters to start firing members of the Justice Department. Conservative talk radio host Mark Levin urges the firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Former campaign strategist Steve Bannon suggests ousting Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein who is in charge of the Russia investigation following the recusal of Sessions. And Fox Business television host Lou Dobbs thinks it is time for Special Counsel Robert Mueller to be given the boot.
Yet, even if Trump made an aggressive move against one or all three of these men, the results would be the same: his presidency is in jeopardy. None of these dismissals would change the fundamental dynamics of the situation.
The case against Cohen is proceeding through the southern district of New York and will continue along this track regardless of the president’s actions. In addition, if there is any linkage of criminal activity between Cohen and Trump, the president will be legally prohibited form ousting Mueller or urging any member of the Justice Department to do so. In other words, Trump has been boxed in.
Furthermore, there is a deep divide within the GOP between those who believe the Justice Department is out of control and those who swear by its integrity and are vowing to impeach the president if he stands in the way of the Special Counsel. Without the GOP solidly behind him, any ousting will not end the probes; there will only be more ammunition to pursue a case of obstruction of justice. Again, Trump is boxed in.
Worst of all, the president’s maverick chickens are coming home to roost: He campaigned as an anti-Republican while running on the Republican ticket. Now, Trump supporters revile the GOP for failing to buttress the president’s populist agenda and are not in the mood to support the party in the midterms. This means Trump is in danger of being left dangling on a political ledge: the titular head of the GOP with not enough party members elected in the House and Senate to avert the growing, malignant Democratic “blue wave” rising to impeach him.
At every turn, there is no way out of political paralysis and possibly impending calamity.
As children, we learn that sometimes the most difficult act is to be silent. As adults, we learn that sometimes the most difficult course is being patient, doing nothing at all.
Trump should do what so far he has proven incapable of doing: watch, wait, be quiet, write nothing, tweet nothing, do nothing. For, the truth has a very big mouth.
If he is innocent of all wrongdoing, as he said from the start, that fact will be the most powerful catalyst of his presidency: It alone can smash all the boxes he is in, no matter how evil and Machiavellian are the forces that engulf him.
–Grace Vuoto is the Communications Director of the Boston Broadside and a columnist.
these unethical people do not care about the truth, all they care is about bringing this man down at any cost. They have the press on their side, bought and paid for, the corrupt RINO’s and traitors! The corrupt deep state don’t care about truth Dr Vuoto! Christ told the truth and many others did the same, yet they murder and jailed them because of it! Too much money involve and they don’t want to lose control over that! that is all, money and big money! Sessions was planted as another insurance policy, that is why he recused himself and did not tell the president about any limitations he had! Sorry but that is what I see. Trump should have mitigated very early and his advisors sold him out. the attourney/client privilege is sacrosant, wholly in american constitutional process! Everything will be thrown out at the end but the damage for the 2018 congress election might be terminal plus the impeachment process after that. All for a president who as far as we know has not commit any ofenses while in office! What an unjust, unfair and corrupt process. How could anybody with an ounce of fairness agree with that! FIGHT TO THE END, DON’T TAKE BECAUSE IT WILL BURY YOU!!!
Dr. Grace you make some great points. I heard your conversation with Jeff on the radio. In a normal situation I’d agree with you. But, lets remember what they’ve (FBI) has done to Flynn (perjury trap), and Paul Manafort (2002 violation). Mueller is going to dig and dig until he gets something on President Trump. As Dershowitz points out, Mueller is using a Stalinist technique developed by Beria, Stalin’s infamous sidekick, who said, “Show me the man and I’ll find you the crime.”