Manafort and Cohen Guilty: Does Trump Go Down Now?

Yesterday's news produced two bombshells. First, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was convicted of eight counts of tax evasion, tax fraud and bank fraud. Minutes later, former Trump attorney and "fixer" (number one henchman responsible for making embarrassing things disappear) Michael Cohen pled guilty to eight counts of tax fraud, bank fraud and campaign finance fraud. Most important to the case against Trump in Cohen's plea was his disclosure that the campaign finance fraud was knowingly committed "at the direction of a candidate for federal office," in other words, Trump.

Personally, I feel there's plenty of evidence that proves Trump committed obstruction of justice numerous times, enough to justify impeachment and conviction. And as with yesterday, more shoes keep dropping all the time. But what happens from here depends on how the final Mueller report is written. If the report names Trump as a co-conspirator in obstruction with clear and simple evidence then he will be impeached and will go down. If it doesn't then he won't. 

Does Cohen have more recordings showing Trump conspiring with him to commit illegalities? Is there another witness to corroborate that Trump directed the illegal campaign hush money payments Cohen pled to? Does Mueller give the weight I do to Trump's lying cover stories about the Trump Tower meeting with the Russian agents, and does he have witnesses willing to testify to Trump's knowing fabrication of these lies? Does Trump's admission to NBC anchor Lester Holt on national TV that he fired James Comey because of "the Russia thing" signify the intent to quash an investigation getting too close to home to Mueller as it does to me? If the answers are yes then this venial mobster is on his way out. If the report is less damning then he may be able to ride this out and continue to thrive on the chaos for another couple of years. Remember, it's got to be decisive enough that at least 16 GOP senators are willing to vote to convict a president of their own party who is still popular with the party's base.

Trump Attempts to Stifle Criticism

This week President Trump revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan specifically because Brennan criticizes the President and presented evidence to him that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Brennan responded by writing a New York Times Op-Ed titled, “President Trump’s Claims of No Collusion Are Hogwash.”   As a result, more than a dozen former top U.S. intelligence officials issued a statement in solidarity with Brennan that denounced Trump’s “ill-considered and unprecedented remarks and actions.”   Retired Navy Admiral William H. McRaven, who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, joined the conversation, writing a letter to Trump defending Brennan in the Washington Post. “I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well,” wrote McRaven, “so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.”

Might Trump Be a Russian Controlled Asset?

Some are starting to wonder whether President Donald Trump might possibly be a controlled asset of the Russian Federation. Is that a preposterous supposition? Well, think about it. What would a Russian agent as president do? Here are some of the things Russian President Putin would want his stooge to accomplish: Sow dissension in NATO, start a trade war with the EU and China but not Russia, give assurances that aggression against certain allies might not engender a US response, attempt to discredit the reputations of the agencies that defend America from Russian espionage such as the FBI and State Department, refuse to recognize or order countermeasures against Russian threats to our social cohesion and our election system, praise authoritarian rulers everywhere in general and Russia's dictator in particular while finding fault with every freely elected leader, however friendly to America, insinuating that China's "president for life" constitution would be a good idea for the U.S.Yes, those are the kinds of things a Russian spy would do if one were ever to become president of the United States. I don't know whether Mr. Trump is a compromised tool of the Russian government. What I do know is that he is definitely acting like one.

Manage

Trump Creating Serious Damage to World Order

Here's an astute observation from my friend Micah Escobedo:

Until Trump leaves office, the United States will remain one of the biggest destabilizing forces to the post-WWII global order. 

He found the following summative quote, which I share with you, from Heather Hurlburt, a Senior Fellow in National Security at Human Rights First:

“Our European allies may keep coming to the summits, politely tolerating his abuse, and even upping their defense spending — but they are getting the message. So are leaders in Moscow, Beijing, and elsewhere. Much more than about NATO, it’s a message that the leader’s personal pique means a great deal — and years or even decades of commitments and partnership may mean very little. That monumental shift in how the U.S. is expected to conduct itself cannot be “cleaned up” — not by Cabinet “adults” or staff, not by a good meeting in London or Helsinki, and definitely not by tweets.”

Immigration "Policy"

What kind of person would take a crying toddler away from its mother and lock it up in a cage? This is morally bankrupt on so many levels. Such people cannot be permitted to lead this nation. Let's do something decisive about this in November.

Election Recommendations

Tomorrow, Tuesday June 5, is primary election day in California. Here are my choices for the ballot. Feel free to consider each position on candidates and propositions as an endorsement. Sometimes there have been more than one good candidate in a race, so don't construe my selections as being "against" any particular candidate. As usual, I will be glued to the election returns tomorrow night. I've already sent in my ballot by mail awhile back, so if you haven't, please vote! Take your ballot in to any polling place in California and it will be counted in your proper precinct.

STATE OFFICES

Governor: Gavin Newsom
Lieutenant Governor: Ed Hernandez
Secretary of State: Alex Padilla
Controller: Betty Yee
Treasurer: Fiona Ma
Attorney General: Xavier Becerra
Insurance Commissioner: Ricardo Lara
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tony Thurmond 
Board of Equalization, 4th District: David Dodson
Assembly, 77th District: Sunday Gover

FEDERAL OFFICES
U.S. Senator: Dianne Feinstein
U.S. Representative, 52nd District: Scott Peters

COUNTY AND LOCAL OFFICES
Superior Court Judge, Office No. 28: Herbert J. Exarhos
Superior Court Judge, Office No. 37: Matt Brower
County Board of Education, 5th District: Rick Shea
County Assessor/Recorder/Clerk: Matt Strabone
District Attorney: Genevieve Jones-Wright
Sheriff: Dave Myers
County Treasurer/Tax Collector: Dan McAllister

PROPOSITIONS
68: Yes
69: Yes
70: No
71: Yes
72: Yes

"I Will Speak Out Until Integrity Returns to the White House" by John Brennan

Former CIA Director John Brennan served and had direct personal contact with every president from George H. W. Bush to Barack Obama. He found that though they all had different policy approaches, strengths and weaknesses, they all shared two crucial traits: a basic human decency and a sincere desire to do what they felt was in the best interest of the American people, regardless of the politics involved. Never a partisan, Mr. Brennan was summoned to the White House "several hundred times" to bring intelligence, analysis and advice through many international crises and came to hold "respect, awe and admiration" for all of these men: George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

That makes Mr. Brennan's view of current President Donald Trump all the more important. In an editorial entitled, "I Will Speak Out Until Integrity Returns to the White House," Brennan finds in Trump a "demagogue" who presents a clear and present danger to the United States: a man given to "lying routinely to the American people without compunction," who formulates policy based on how it benefits himself rather than the country, who works to "intentionally fuel divisions in our country" and who attacks the Constitutional institutions established to preserve our democracy when they threaten to expose his misdeeds. Brennan finds these traits and motivations more in common with the "corrupt, incompetent and narcissistic foreign officials" he was often called upon to characterize to past American presidents than to any previous American leader. 

Read John Brennan's piece for yourself for a chilling view from a man of experience as to why this president is a danger to American security and freedom and a blot on an office he is unworthy to hold. 

"I Will Speak Out Until Integrity Returns to the White House" by John Brennan.