I know, I know, you have most likely had your fill of Russia, Russia, Russia, but I have some observations I want to share with you.
With no solid evidence of collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia, the mainstream media struggled to keep it in the news, but Congressional committees cooled off and failed to bring Trump team members in to testify even though several agreed to do so months ago.
But hysteria returned to “the swamp” this week with word of Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian lawyer. Bloomberg News reported that it was not the Russians, but a Russian (who) was trying to peddle info to Trump Tower …” The president’s son altered his story and eventually released the e-mail chain covering the meeting. Personally, I saw someone naïve to politics; like his father.
“Politics ain’t bean-bag,” writer Finley Peter Dunne penned back in 1895. Well, you might say, politics ain’t real estate either.
One of my favorite columnist’s, Peggy Noonan, disagreed with the elder Trump, who viewed that his son had simply agreed to the meeting in an effort to gather possible negative information on Hillary Clinton. She quoted a friend, who said, “Who wouldn’t take that meeting? Anyone with a brain and a gut.”
Well that may be for those life-long politicians mired in the Washington swamp, Peggy, but not a business man unaccustomed to the dirty game of politics. “Don Jr. may be only half a rube for not being more sensitive to the Russian connection,” commented Wall Street Journal columnist Holman Jenkins, Jr.
“Most U.S. reporters know they are overplaying the Trump-Russian connection, even as they revel in the Don Jr. gotcha moment, even as they play up the circus of legal and political jeopardy the administration has created for itself,” writes Jenkins.
Two Democrat members of the House have filed impeachment papers, while others are shamelessly floating the words “traitor” and “treason” in describing the president’s actions.
Meanwhile, two high-profile attorneys – both Democrat – have commented on the charges against the Trump administration.
Jonathan Turley (foxnews.com)
“… As you know, I’ve said all along that I actually don’t view some of these various crimes we’re talking about as very compelling. People are saying, you know, this could be treason, which is facially absurd.” – Jonathan Turley, George Washington University professor of law.
“ … there’s really no difference under the First Amendment between a campaigner using information he obtained from somebody who obtained it illegally and a newspaper doing it. So, I think this is conduct that would be covered by the First Amendment. It is also not prohibited by law.
Alan Dershowitz (nytimes.com)
There’s been so much overwrought claim. There are people talking about treason. I can’t believe The New York Times had an op-ed yesterday in which treason was mentioned.” – Alan Dershowitz, Harvard University law professor
However, don’t expect the likes of John Harwood at CNBC and the hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joke to stop milking the Russia story or any other in their blatant attempt to bring down the Trump presidency.
Remember when former President Obama snarkily mocked GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney over his concern about Russia as a geo-political threat during a 2012 debate with this statement:
“The 1980’s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back, because, you know, the Cold War has been over for 20 years.”
You can bet that Rachel Maddow and Chris Mathews had a good laugh over that quote, but don’t expect them to remind you of it.
