A City Of Two Tales …

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Law and justice, Political commentary

Saturday Surprise is on hiatus this week for mysterious, undisclosed reasons.  Mis disculpas.

Washington D.C. … so much goes on there these days that it sucks the air out of the rest of the nation.  Every day there are more and more stories of lies and corruption.  Today I bring you two tales from that city … one encouraging, one discouraging.

There are conscionable republicans?  Who knew?

In Thursday’s Snarky Snippets post, I mentioned an organization, Republicans for the Rule of Law (RRL) who are planning a 30-second ad calling for Trump’s impeachment (the ‘I’-word) that will be aired on none other than Fox and Friends, Trump’s favorite show, next week.  Curiosity piqued, for I had never heard of this group, I went in search of more information about RRL.

On the “About Us” section of the group’s website, they state …

“Republicans for the Rule of Law is a group of life-long Republicans dedicated to defending the institutions of our republic and upholding the rule of law. We are fighting to make sure that the laws apply equally to everyone, from the average citizen to the president of the United States. We believe in fidelity to the Constitution, transparency, and the independence of prosecutors from politics.”

On Thursday, RRL announced that it would hand-deliver a copy of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report to every lawmaker in the republican party.  In a letter to lawmakers, the group said …

“As Republicans and conservatives, we consider an uncompromising commitment to the rule of law in the best interests of both the Republican Party and the United States. With this pre-highlighted copy of the Mueller report in hand, all Republicans in Congress will have an easy defense against charges of not having read it.”

Along with the letter and highlighted report, Republicans for the Rule of Law released a video with three GOP-appointed federal prosecutors claiming Trump would have been indicted if he were not president.  These three men, all republicans, all having worked under republican administrations, make a clear and concise case that Donald Trump is, in fact, guilty of obstruction of justice.  Take a look …

Chris Traux, legal advisor and spokesman for Republicans for the Rule of Law, said …

“The rule of law has always been a nonnegotiable principle of the conservative movement and the Republican Party. These veterans of the Reagan and Bush Administrations are reminding us that the law applies the same to everyone — even the president. Republicans and all Americans need to listen.”

The 30-second ad to be aired on Fox and Friends is said to be a clip from the above video.

I find it encouraging that there are republicans who are willing to put country first, for it seems that with the lone exception of Representative Justin Amash, none of the republicans in Congress are willing to do so.  My hope is that this group and their actions can stir the consciences of at least a few of the republican members of Congress so that we might proceed with the impeachment of Donald Trump, for it is increasingly obvious that he is taking our nation down a path of destruction.

But … it’s a court order, for Pete’s sake!

In early May, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ordered that the Justice Department make public various materials related to the case against Michael Flynn, Trump’s first National Security advisor. The order included transcripts of any audio recordings of Flynn, such as his conversations with Russian officials, specifically Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, as well as unredacted version of portions of the Mueller report related to Flynn.

These requests by Judge Sullivan were not subpoenas from Congress but were a direct order by a court of law.  And guess what, folks?  The United States Department of Justice under Attorney General William Barr refused to comply with that court order.  Prosecutors Brandon L. Van Grack and Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Curtis of Washington provided little explanation as to why they were not turning over the transcripts but indicated that the judge had asked for material that was not relevant to Flynn’s eventual sentencing.

The Justice Department did provide one of the items the Judge ordered … a full transcript of a voice mail that John Dowd, a private attorney for Trump, left for Flynn lawyer Robert Kelner in November 2017.  But guess what?  It was fully quoted in Mueller’s report anyway.

So, let’s recap here.  The House of Representatives is conducting an investigation as is not only their right, but their constitutional duty, and as such, they are issuing requests and subpoenas for information, but the Trump, Barr, Mnuchin and others are flat out refusing to provide such information.  Michael Flynn, who served only 24 days as Trump’s national security advisor because it was proven he had lied to the FBI about the nature and content of his communications with Kislyak, has been tried, found guilty, and is awaiting sentencing.  The judge in the case asks for relevant information, but Trump’s hand-picked, corrupt Attorney General refuses the order.

Law.  Either we have one or we do not.  What do you think would happen if you were subpoenaed to court and didn’t show up?  What do you think would happen if a policeman pulled in behind you, lights flashing, and you kept going?  That’s right, folks … the law applies to us.  Obviously, at this point, it does not apply to the officials in the federal government.  Can there be any doubt that this is the most corrupt government in the 230+ year history of this nation?

Now go forth and have a lovely weekend!

30 thoughts on “A City Of Two Tales …”

  1. Jill, I have one comment before continuing on my wonderful weekend…..$50,000 a day fine and 30 days in lockup for each day of disobeying a court order. That’s all that is necessary to change some minds really quick. Now, I am returning to my iced tea, baseball, and mini Snickers bars.😁

    Liked by 2 people

  2. You know Jill, this is the most corrupt Government the US has ever had IMHO. But my jaw hit the floor today when on the BBC, Donald Trump, was breaking protocol and meddling in British Politics, saying that he favours Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt for Prime Minister. My husband suddenly said, “well at least Trump is truthful.”
    My incredulous reply,
    “To whom exactly, he is a menace! It might be Trump’s truth, but it isn’t anyone else’s…
    My husband though this was at least honest, calling other politicians” smarmy,” and” false.” I wonder if my husband heart’s Trump’s lies??? Probably not. Like Trump supporters, he turns deaf ears.
    If you think it’s bad living in Trump’ s America, you should try living in a politically split relationship. Every day, I find it harder to do, so I can only imagine how people on the margins and in Trump’s line of fire, must feel. Like living in a war zone. You just don’t know who your friends are any more.

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    • Oh dear, predictive text really messed that up… I wish that there was an edit facility! 🙄 Hopefully you can decipher my comment. The jibberish is getting worse… My brain is wearing out with too much indignation. 😬

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      • Colette, I am sorry your spouse is rationalizing what the US president does and says. If you have a minute, read my current post about “Stating the obvious.” There is a Note to Readers I just posted which is a good question for Trump supporters. In short, either Trump does not know how tariffs work or he is purposefully lying about their impact to the American people. These are the only two choices as he continues to state and be corrected about who pays the tariffs – the American consumer ends up paying most of them, unless importers do not pass them along – it is not China or Mexico. Keith

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    • I, too, was appalled at his blatant interfering with your situation, one which he doesn’t even begin to understand, and his support of both Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage. I was equally appalled by him calling Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, “nasty”. See my Sunday a.m. post for my take on that. Now as to your husband … I rather thought you had given him the boot already! My heart goes out to you, for I know your troubles have been ongoing for a long time, and it cannot be easy. Hang in, my friend. I hear there are something like 33,000 people planning to protest on Monday … you should join them!!! Maybe they would even let you help fly the big Baby Trump balloon!!!

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  3. It’s nice to see some republicans are waking up to Trump’s shenanigans, but it will take a lot more to make a dent in his godship. I watched news videos yesterday where common citizen’s praised him and his wall, his separating of familues at the border, and condemning the democratic witchhunt. This despite the fact they are making the lowest wages in their lives. They’ll make sacrifices as long as he is protecting America, or something like that…

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    • It’s amazing, isn’t it, that people can be so blind to what is right in front of their faces? He imposes tariffs that will hurt the U.S. consumer, hitting the poorest the hardest, and they applaud him! He locks children in cages and they applaud him! He wastes millions of dollars playing golf every weekend on our nickel, and they applaud him! Why? Because he is a racist and that plays into their narrative.

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  4. The rule of law means nothing to Trumpsters. I’ll say this Jill, Judge Sullivan is not a fan of Michael Flynn, as I’m sure you can tell. And why should he be? This guy betrayed his country. He was working on behalf of the Turkish government at one point and we know what a liar he was. All for what? $$$$$. I think Mueller recommended no jail time for Flynn based on his cooperation. I’m thinking this judge wants to throw the book at him. I hope he does. A guy with his stature and military experience who threw the country under the bus needs to pay….regardless of his cooperation. Lock him up!!!

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    • I agree … he can go to prison for life, for all I care, but Trump will likely pardon him if he receives a prison sentence. I understood Mueller’s request for leniency for Flynn, and I agreed with it at the time, but since apparently he didn’t provide the information we were hoping for, and I suspect has not told the whole truth, I’m with you … Lock ‘im up!

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  5. Jill, the existence of this group and what they are doing is highly commendable. On the flip side, today in The Guardian it is reported that Trump has an army of sycophants who will defend even the most inane conspiracy theories that the president tweets. And, it works as I heard a GOP candidate and Freedom Caucus Congressman call the Mueller investigation an attempted coup.

    Concerned Americans need to write and call Senators and share our concerns and ask them what they plan to do about it. Cite this group, the 700 plus former federal prosecutors, Judge Napolitano and Congressman Amash. Keith

    Liked by 2 people

    • All the letters and calls to Trump’s psychophants will not do a thing, they only hear what they are told to hear. I mean, try, yes, but don’t expect anything to change. They don’t care about You, the People. They only care about filling their very deep poclets!

      Liked by 1 person

      • Rawgod, that has been my experience. Talking to staff helps my sanity, while an email generates a subject matter form letter.

        But, I feel a need to champion some more Don Quixotes to battle the windmills (or in this case the oil derricks). Keith

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        • As I think I implied, do what makes you feel good. Anything is better than nothing. I just wish there were something that we could know would work for sure. The more I watch the American news, the sicker I get.
          But speaking of champions, the dems best find a champion soon, someone who siezes the day, and makes things happen. Reading the posts Jill is reblogging, none of the candidates so far shows the willingness to take control. Rather they are reacting, and that shows weakness. Obviously they are (hopefully) better humans than Trump, but he exudes decisiveness, no matter how detrimental those decisions are. People are attracted to that. You need a real “leader!”

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          • Rawgod, you did say that, but I needed a reason to break into my “man from Lancha” anecdote. I would alter your statement about Trump’s decisiveness. He often makes a poor decision; if it is bad enough, he gets push back and he waffles. Then, he may or may not revert to his earlier stance. When he sees the stock market tumble and his decision gets blamed, he has delayed changes. Companies want stability and that is one trait he is not very good at. The revised NAFTA was
            done in spite of him, with him causing a six month delay and now maybe waylaying it with tariffs on Mexico. Keith

            Liked by 1 person

      • You are probably right, but the alternative is to allow them to believe that it’s all fine, that we just don’t care, and that is not an acceptable alternative. At the very least, we annoy the hell out of them! 😉

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    • Thanks for directing my attention to that article in The Guardian … I found it and … was left speechless. Here I thought Gorka had faded into oblivioun, but obviously I was wrong. There seems to be no end to what Trump & Co will do to rig the 2020 election to get him re-elected. I wish the people of this nation would open their eyes! Sigh.

      You’re right … time to get back to letter writing … I wonder if I can sue Trump for the callouses on my fingertips? 😉

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    • I hope you and your son have a great weekend too! He does make Nixon look like a saint. I’m sorry I haven’t dropped by your blog this week … I will make up for it this weekend. I’ve just been so drained of energy and kept so busy with the news of the week that I haven’t been visiting blogs at all. Hugs to you and your son!

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        • Considering how badly he embarrassed us last year when he visited, and considering that he’s already making an ass of himself by praising Boris and Nigel, while calling Meghan, Duchess of Sussex “nasty”, I am definitely NOT looking forward to him visiting you guys! But, I hope the protestors make it perfectly clear that he is ‘persona non grata’ and hurt his itty bitty feelings! Maybe he won’t come back, then. Sigh.

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