I keep trying to remind people that Donald Trump is a private citizen, no different than you or me.  He is NOT president, does NOT have any role in government … his voice should be no louder than mine or yours.  And yet … the Texas Supreme Court has bowed down and paid fealty to Donald Trump, placing his desires ahead of the best interest of the people of Texas.

The case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the same one that got him impeached but not convicted by the Texas State Senate, last year.  It is brought by four former top deputies in 2020, alleging Paxton improperly fired them after they reported him to the FBI for allegedly abusing his office to help a wealthy friend and donor, Nate Paul.  Depositions were to have begun tomorrow, until … private citizen Trump weighed in, saying …

“Enough time and money has been wasted forcing [Paxton] to defend himself, instead of defending our broken Southern Border, which is under continual siege.”

The justices on the court caved and depositions have been postponed until the end of February, but unless I miss my guess, the court will never hear the case against Ken Paxton if Trump has his way.

And as Robert Hubbell reminds us in his latest newsletter …

Remember that time—during Trump’s presidency—when every proposed action by the US government was evaluated by a single criterion: Does the action advance Trump’s personal interests? Although Trump is not president, House Republicans are giving us a reminder of what it was like when Trump was president. The text of the proposed immigration bill has yet to be released, but House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly told his GOP colleagues on Tuesday that the bill is “dead on arrival” in the House. Why? Because Trump told him so—in order to advance Trump’s election prospects.

The situation is even more maddening than it appears at first blush. The House will likely vote on vague impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas. One of the grounds for impeachment is that Mayorkas has lost “operational control of the border”—a fact that is unassailably true because Texas is blocking federal access to portions of the border!

There are other stories that deserve attention, but immigration is the lead issue. We should know by Friday if Trump will kill an immigration compromise that has been months in the making and whether the House will impeach a Cabinet secretary for the first time in 150 years.

Good grief, people!!!  Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton combined have never once attempted to sway the government or stifle the courts since leaving office … peacefully leaving office, I might add!  Somebody needs to find a way to stifle this buffoon and sever the ties that bind every member of the Republican Party to him!  He is, perhaps, the biggest threat to our national security at this point in time.