Trump’s Misuse of Power Continues

What did the Republicans expect after they blindly defended Donald Trump during his impeachment trial? Our President has a totally perverted view of the Judicial Branch of the government. He has no idea what it means for the Department of Justice to be independent of any Presidential interference or influence. What you may not realize is that Trump is setting the stage for his own possible pardon. What is so confusing about Trump is that while he thinks he’s a king and untouchable, he also has a persecution complex and he plans to be a martyr.

With the numerous pardons and clemencies that Donald Trump delivered this week, we can see that a get-out-of-jail-free card comes to those who have a relationship with the man. Perhaps he’s a donor and the quid-pro-quo is right there in the open. Perhaps he was a contestant on Trump’s reality TV show and is a “nice guy.” This President’s proclivity for giving white collar criminals a pass speaks to his view that people who are rich or powerful should be treated differently.

There are reports in the Washington Post today suggesting that the White House has, in effect, cut the Department of Justice out of the pardon process and is using Jared Kushner to vet the pardons. This might be weighing on Attorney General William Barr as much as the bothering tweets from Trump. Barr may have just figured out that the President is eating into his authority.

Jared’s father, Charles, is infamous for some sordid reasons. In 2005, he was convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering. He served 14 months in federal prison and an additional ten months in a halfway house. Like Roger Stone, Charles Kushner was convicted on these charges, with witness tampering being the one that garnered the longest jail time. But he did go to jail.

So, Trump puts Kushner in charge of these pardons and his mission to free all the bad guys who did what his father did? How can he not be conflicted on this issue? The President of the United States is using his power to disregard court orders and judges’ opinions, which are the foundation of our system of law and order. Without an independent judiciary, we are doomed as a democracy.

Imagine someone who worked hard their whole life to go to college and get a law degree. Then, saddled with tons of college debt, they become a prosecutor rather than working a more lucrative legal position in private practice. They are given a case from a grand jury and they can see the infractions, misdeeds and illegalities that occurred. They spend the taxpayers’ money to bring a case against a person. During that journey, they find out that the defendant has been threatening the witnesses in their case. They discover that not only jury was tampering involved, but the person being charged lied under oath. After all this work, a jury of the person’s peers finds the person guilty of all charges and then, minutes later, the President of the United States says that he’s more powerful and important than the jury, the Department of Justice or those prosecutors who swore an oath to uphold the law and protect the Constitution.

Rebuked by a Presidential tweet about the Roger Stone case, four career prosecutors resigned from the case and one from the Justice Department. Barr claims Trump didn’t interfere or ask him to get involved in the case, but that doesn’t work this time. It’s like the person who post-dates a check to show they were not delinquent. Barr is more than delinquent; he’s complicit in overriding the American justice system.

The first thing a new president should do is get rid of William Barr and ask Congress to introduce reasonable guidelines for presidential pardons. When Donald J. Trump is gone, we the people will have to pick up the pieces and write new laws to protect the country from a future president like him. Maybe we should modify the Constitution to impose a limit to the number of pardons a president can give, maybe five or so within a calendar year. Right now, the president could conceivably pardon everyone in jail. With the laws in some states letting ex-felons vote, this could be a giant quid-pro-quo to get votes.

Trump’s misuse of power continued this week with his pardons of people whom he feels were treated unfairly. The ultimate jury in this country are the voters themselves and the election will clearly be a case against Donald Trump and his malfeasance in office. If you think he’s good for your pocketbook, think about him deciding one day to take away all your guns, all your healthcare or Medicare to force his vision of America. Did Trump really offer Julian Assange a pardon if he would back up his lie that Russia didn’t attempt to interfere with the 2016 election in the USA? If he did, he should be removed from office immediately. Oh yeah, we already tried that.

This just in: Roger Stone sentenced to 40 months in prison and we are now on “PARDON WATCH” because it’s no surprise that President Trump wants to give him a way out of this mess without serving any jail time. Odds are that this will take place within seven to ten days. Surprise, Surprise!

In the days ahead we will see who Donald John Trump really is, a corrupt politician a la Tammany Hall, a New York City political organization that endured for nearly two centuries and for a time, was the bribe clearing house to get things done. Trump truly believes it’s okay to take money from people and then give them something for their loyalty. He believes that he’s all powerful. He disgraces the office of President and he’s a horrible human being. Where are all the anarchists when we need them?

New Book About America

The book that tells it like it is…

Gold, God, Guns & Goofballs shows how we’ve wasted our GOLD on bad wars and corruption. While GOD is there for many people as a spiritual enrichment and the provider of glowing feelings, the truth is just praying and believing will not change our major arc. We don’t determine who gets a GUN. We aren’t sure if we have paramilitary groups ready to storm the White House or a White Castle. There is no control of weapons. The GOOFBALLS with the power constantly try to manipulate us into spending more money on bombs and tanks and wars. When all of our institutions are infected with neglect and fall in disrepair, we will only have ourselves to blame. This book is not an antidote for the left or right, it’s an accelerant to move the middle off their collective asses to go do something positive for America.

Get the Kindle Version HERE. Or order your paperback edition HERE.