The Nixon Pardon

I just heard an interview with Julian Castro from December in which one of the great guys from Pod Save America asked if he would have pardoned Richard Nixon.  This is because Castro has announced that he is running for president in 2020, and we all know that Trump in stripes is on all our minds.  Castro analyzed cautiously as Democrats are wont to do.  He started off saying that he "wouldn't be inclined to pardon Donald Trump," adding that "nobody is above the law."  Then he began the equivocation thing where he thought that some have thought that at the time Ford pardoned Nixon it may have been the right thing for the country to, you know, move on.

First of all, Nixon committed some egregious crimes.  That he was the President of the United States should make him more culpable rather than less.  That Ford would pardon him gave him privilege that those of us lacking money and power just don't have.  That set a pitiful example, reinforcing criminals with deep pockets and powerful attorneys and turning the slippery slope into an avalanche.  It was wrong.  The country was not better off for having let a criminal go free because he had been a criminal with power.

In 2009, President Obama made the same mistake with the criminals in the banking industry that led us to the brink of financial catastrophe.  For many, many of us, it wasn't just the brink.  People lost their homes and their jobs.  Small businesses went bankrupt.  And after the government bailed out the financial behemoths, they gave themselves raises, and went back to business as usual.  Not a single Wall Street criminal did time for those crimes.  And yet we teach our children that it is wrong to steal, and that they have to follow the law.

Within the Trump administration, we have had the good fortune of being able to see, under a magnifying glass, the incredible corruption that is corporate and political America.  Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan have been rewarded for descending to depths that we have not seen in our lifetimes in this country -- and in Congress that is not a high bar.  Trump's cabinet of deplorables has been a pageant of criminality; not only did he choose those with the same sleazy moral values as he, but once in the White House they also demonstrated the belief that they were more important than their positions, they were above the law and could rightfully plunder what had been the people's government.

On the other hand, Trump and his band of pirates had no compunction about attacking and accusing others in order to detract from their own ugly acts.  Flynn led the chant "lock her up" in 2016, and Trump (who rarely smiles) would break into his creepiest, smuggest grin whenever the crowd of misfits at a rally would bring it out.  Ah, they learned so well.  Add to that accusing President Obama and other leaders in that administration of ridiculous crimes, promising he would send Hillary to jail, challenging the FBI to investigate idiotic and paranoid charges; all serving the dual purpose of smearing those better than him and distracting the public via twitter rants with help from the media from his own horrendous actions.

The tweets accusing Obama of wiretapping his office and phones led to weeks of diversion, happily obsessive pondering by the media, hours of wasted dollars and time by the FBI, who I believe were frankly scared to just say, "that's ridiculous."  You know, you have to follow procedure whether what Trump says is crazy or not.  But apparently Trump has the First Amendment right to tell whatever damn lies he wants.  Except that when the president tells a lie, it really is tantamount to yelling "fire" in a crowded building, which is against the law.

Back to the pardoning of the criminal.  Donald Trump has committed crimes that Tricky Dick could only wish he had been able to get away with.  As a candidate -- and since -- he has colluded with foreign governments, making deals that jeopardize our sovereignty for the sole purpose of personal gain.  He has made comments which purpose is to fuel hatred and attacks toward pretty much anyone or any group that he envies or sees as a threat.  Hate crimes have increased dramatically against minorities.  Most recently, Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen has postponed testimony to Congress out of fear of threats he has received, directed not just to him but to his family.

The President of the United States as crime boss.

Should we impeach?  Just the fact that we keep hearing the media asking this question makes me shudder.  The process is there to be used if needed.  I can't think of any better reason than the criminal who now resides in the White House.  Should Donald Trump be indicted?

With Donald Trump's blessing, the weaselly former attorney general went after people who smoked marijuana and those who had lived peacefully in this country for decades.  When it came to people who were just trying to get by, Jefferson Sessions brooked no excuse.  Trump, modeling his administration after his hero, Richard Nixon, touted himself as the "law and order" president.

So why should the "law and order" president not have to do time for his crimes?  Damned if I know.

We have had too many years of bogus congressional committees and investigations.  Media morons like our own Chuck Todd will no doubt compare our efforts to seek justice to those of the Devin Nunes republican party.  That is like Donald Trump blaming "many sides" in Charlottesville.  It is that false equivalency that put Trump in the White House, with phony investigations on Benghazi and emails creating the appearance that Hillary was guilty of ... something.

Pursuing justice does not make us an unruly mob.  We should not be investigating Donald Trump and his cronies out of revenge, but in order to see justice done.  More important, we need to do all we can to stop the crimes that he is committing on a daily basis.  Whether it is private meetings with Vladimir Putin or business deals with Saudi Arabia and China in return for favors, or attempts to intimidate or influence witnesses in government investigations, Donald Trump needs to be held to account.

Donald Trump, as is true with all bullies, sees forgiveness as weakness.  When he gets away with something, he brags about it and goes on to commit crimes ever more flagrantly.  Donald Trump allowed to continue to break the law is Donald Trump creating more harm and chaos, with more manic rallies and bigger lies and attacks.  That is the way of the despot, and Trump has shown through words and deeds his willingness -- and delight -- to rule as a third world dictator.

This week Nancy Pelosi finally put a stop to a Trump tantrum that was damaging the country.  That is the example we need to follow in reigning in and putting an end to the abuses of this terrible administration and president.

Investigations and impeachment because that is the right thing to do.  And no pardon, because a hardened criminal should have to do his time.