by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Yesterday in a completely "transparent" attempt to regain control of the discussion surrounding the extortion attempts that he tried to perpetrate on the government of Ukraine, Donald Trump said that he would soon release the transcript of an earlier call that he had with Ukraine's President Zelensky, a call that predated the now infamous July telephone call by at least a month. Apparently this new transcript needs some fine tuning before it will be perfect enough for the general public to understand as Trump thinks it should be understood.
Trump released the "transcript" of the July phone call without sanitizing it through his staff of stooges, people like Attorney General Bill Barr, and what he released made it look as though he had extorted the President of Ukraine with a threat of withholding financial aid that had already been approved by Congress unless Ukraine took measures to instigate an investigation of the Biden family and Hunter Biden's actions as a director of a Ukraine bank.
Even Trump's official version of the phone call with Zelensky made him look guilty. Now Trump will release a transcript of an earlier call with the same person - and this one will clarify the later call - and this one will also undoubtedly be cleared with Bill Barr before it gets to the press.
And as Trump announced this new stratagem, he roared: "I am the most transparent president ever!" And then he roared some more: "There's never been a president who's been so transparent."
Trump is telling the truth on one level, though quite unintentionally. He is transparent in the sense that most of the country sees right through him. He speaks, most of what he says are obvious lies, and most people know exactly what he is trying to accomplish through his lying.
But Donald Trump is trying to make a different case. He wants Americans to believe that his motives are pure and that what he says is what he means. That is nonsense.
A "transparent" president would not stop With House employees, former and present, from testifying before congressional committees. Trump is trying to hide facts and cloud issues. Transparency is the antithesis of what is actually going on - but his motives in keeping things hidden are quite transparent. His administration is lawless, and Donald Trump does not want that fact to be substantiated in the public record.
"Transparent" people do not go to extremes to hide their finances. Trump has ferociously fought the release of his tax returns and business records. What is known about Trump finances is that they have always been sketchy. Some suspect that a thorough examination of his tax returns and financial records would embarrass Trump by revealing that he is not an actual billionaire - and others think it more likely that he is desperate to keep his financial involvement with Russian oligarchs and the Russian mob secret.
From Trump's point of view, he is about as "transparent" as a wall packed with mud and manure, but the public is getting to the point where it can see through everything he does. His lips are moving, he's lying, and he's lying to protect himself or to make himself look better. That's who he is, and we can see right through him!
Trump is definitely transparent in that regard!
Citizen Journalist
Yesterday in a completely "transparent" attempt to regain control of the discussion surrounding the extortion attempts that he tried to perpetrate on the government of Ukraine, Donald Trump said that he would soon release the transcript of an earlier call that he had with Ukraine's President Zelensky, a call that predated the now infamous July telephone call by at least a month. Apparently this new transcript needs some fine tuning before it will be perfect enough for the general public to understand as Trump thinks it should be understood.
Trump released the "transcript" of the July phone call without sanitizing it through his staff of stooges, people like Attorney General Bill Barr, and what he released made it look as though he had extorted the President of Ukraine with a threat of withholding financial aid that had already been approved by Congress unless Ukraine took measures to instigate an investigation of the Biden family and Hunter Biden's actions as a director of a Ukraine bank.
Even Trump's official version of the phone call with Zelensky made him look guilty. Now Trump will release a transcript of an earlier call with the same person - and this one will clarify the later call - and this one will also undoubtedly be cleared with Bill Barr before it gets to the press.
And as Trump announced this new stratagem, he roared: "I am the most transparent president ever!" And then he roared some more: "There's never been a president who's been so transparent."
Trump is telling the truth on one level, though quite unintentionally. He is transparent in the sense that most of the country sees right through him. He speaks, most of what he says are obvious lies, and most people know exactly what he is trying to accomplish through his lying.
But Donald Trump is trying to make a different case. He wants Americans to believe that his motives are pure and that what he says is what he means. That is nonsense.
A "transparent" president would not stop With House employees, former and present, from testifying before congressional committees. Trump is trying to hide facts and cloud issues. Transparency is the antithesis of what is actually going on - but his motives in keeping things hidden are quite transparent. His administration is lawless, and Donald Trump does not want that fact to be substantiated in the public record.
"Transparent" people do not go to extremes to hide their finances. Trump has ferociously fought the release of his tax returns and business records. What is known about Trump finances is that they have always been sketchy. Some suspect that a thorough examination of his tax returns and financial records would embarrass Trump by revealing that he is not an actual billionaire - and others think it more likely that he is desperate to keep his financial involvement with Russian oligarchs and the Russian mob secret.
From Trump's point of view, he is about as "transparent" as a wall packed with mud and manure, but the public is getting to the point where it can see through everything he does. His lips are moving, he's lying, and he's lying to protect himself or to make himself look better. That's who he is, and we can see right through him!
Trump is definitely transparent in that regard!
1 comment:
To date the record does not support a charge of extortion against President Trump. Extortion means an offense that has as its elements the extraction of anything of value from another person by threatening or placing that person in fear of injury to any person or kidnapping of any person.
See, 18 USC § 3559(c)(2).
Arguably it was not Trump, but Putin, who put Ukrainians in fear and caused injury to Ukrainians. A link to Putin has not been established. If it were then the underlying statute 18 USC § 872 Extortion by Officers or Employees of the United States would apply.
Congress appropriated funds for military assistance to the Ukraine. Trump held up those funds and asked the Ukrainian President for information on the Bidens and information on an alleged computer server used in the 2016 elections. When President Zelensky asked about the military aid Trump said he wanted the information a quid pro quo was established. Quid pro quo means this for that. Every quid pro quo is not illegal. In this case Trump asked for a thing of value to be used in the 2020 political campaign for his reelection. See, 52 USC § 30121 (a)(2), Cf. 36 USC § 510 (c), and 11 CFR § 110.20 - Prohibition on contributions, donations, expenditures, independent expenditures, and disbursements by foreign nationals.
A strong case against Trump exists for the crime of bribery. 18 USC § 201 (c):
Whoever—
(1) otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty—
(A) directly or indirectly gives, offers, or promises anything of value to any public official, former public official, or person selected to be a public official, for or because of any official act performed or to be performed by such public official, former public official, or person selected to be a public official; or
(B) being a public official, former public official, or person selected to be a public official, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty, directly or indirectly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally for or because of any official act performed or to be performed by such official or person;…”
“The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
U.S. Constitution Article II § 4.
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