Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Another Day, Another Trump Tantrum

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Before turning in early last night, I did one final check of headlines on the internet - not necessarily a wise practice when one is hoping to get to sleep - particularly in these challenging times.  These was one big emerging story, a notice that the Acting Attorney General of the United States, Sally Q. Yates, was instructing Justice Department lawyers not to defend Trump's executive order on immigration and refugees.  Yates was a holdover from the Obama administration who was keeping the seat warm for Trump's incoming Attorney General, which more than likely will be Senator Jefferson Beauregard "the South will rise again" Sessions, III.

I went to bed secure in the knowledge that Trump would annihilate and fire the Acting AG as soon as he could get logged into his Twitter account.  And before the sun rose over the Potomac, he had done just that - except that he fired the uppity woman with a letter instead of a tweet.   He went on to ravage her in a firestorm of vitriol.  Among other things the whiner-in chief charged was that Ms Yates was "weak on borders" and "very weak on illegal immigration."   A later White House statement also snarled that she had "betrayed" the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce Trump's order.

Sally, babe, you're fired!  And the fact that you're a woman - well, that's just gravy!  His (xenophobic, misogynistic, barely literate) Petulance has spoken!

Before the ink was even dry on the letter firing Ms. Yates, a video from 2015 was unearthed and posted on the internet which showed Senator Sessions grilling Sally Yates as to her fitness to be the Deputy Attorney General of the United States.  Ironically, Sessions wanted to know if Yates would have the cajones to go against the President if he wanted her to behave in a manner that was unconstitutional or illegal.  She assured him that she would always uphold the Constitution and the rule of law - and last night she proved it - though the President she defied was not the one Sessions had in mind.    Now someone needs to ask Jeff Sessions the same question and hold his feet to the fire until he gives an honest answer.

The other thing suddenly floating around the internet is a history lesson on Richard Nixon's infamous "Saturday Night Massacre," referencing the time way back in 1973 when President Nixon was being investigated by a Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox as a result of the Watergate scandal.  Nixon, peeved at Cox's subpoenaing of his clandestine White House tape recordings, instructed Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox.  Richardson had promised Congress when Cox was appointed to the post that he would not fire him except for cause, so he declined to do as instructed by the President - and resigned his office.  Nixon then called on Deputy Attorney General William Ruckleshaus to fire Cox, but he also declined and resigned.  Solicitor General Robert Bork was suddenly promoted to Acting Attorney General and given the same demand by the President - and  Bork caved and fired Archibald Cox.  All of that occurred on one Saturday night in October of 1973.  Nixon himself resigned from office less than a year later.

It took Richard Nixon nearly five years to go to dig a hole that deep.  Trump has been in office less than two weeks.  Just imagine how far down he could be like in five years!

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