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Long Knives Out for Trump |
| By
Stephen Lendman |
| He’s a longtime establishment figure. How else could he become super-rich,
able to be the GOP standard bearer, then president? Yet he’s portrayed as an outlier. Undemocratic Democrats and media scoundrels despise him for preventing Hillary from getting the nation’s top job. An unrelenting blitzkrieg persists to demonize, weaken and delegitimize him, a softening up process aimed at ousting him from office by forced resignation, impeachment or more sinister means. If dark forces want him removed, he’s likely powerless to stop them. It’s too early to definitively know, but things appear headed in the direction of ending his presidency - further testimony to America’s debauched system, fantasy democracy, not the real thing. The New York Times is his leading media antagonist, bashing him relentlessly since mid-2015, serving as Hillary’s press agent throughout the campaign season, disgracefully calling her “one of the most broadly and deeply qualified president candidates in modern history” - a shameless perversion of truth. During his tenure since January 20, The Times continued its torrent of anti-Trump bashing, seizing opportunities to attack him, hammering him for the wrong reasons, not the right ones. And now the latest broadside. “Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation,” The Times headlined, saying: He asked the FBI director “to shut down the federal investigation into Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, in an Oval Office meeting in February, according to a memo Mr. Comey wrote shortly after the meeting.” “ ‘I hope you can let this go,’ the president told Mr. Comey, according to the memo.” “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go” - according to the alleged memo, The Times admitted it hasn’t seen, nor anyone else outside the Justice Department if it exists, citing an unnamed FBI source. “The documentation of Mr. Trump’s request is the clearest evidence that the president has tried to directly influence the Justice Department and FBI investigation into links between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia,” The Times blustered. Trump said Flynn did nothing wrong. Comey agreed he’s “a good guy.” A White House statement denied what the former FBI director allegedly wrote in his memo, saying: “While the president has repeatedly expressed his view that General Flynn is a decent man who served and protected our country, the president has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn.” “The president has the utmost respect for our law enforcement agencies, and all investigations. This is not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the president and Mr. Comey.” Obstruction of justice involves an attempt to impede or interfere with the judicial system and due process of law, including a criminal proceeding or investigation. Guilt depends on having knowledge of an investigation and attempting to improperly influence it. Penalties range from fines to imprisonment up to 10 years, according to federal law. All that’s known so far are differing versions of what may or may not have happened, including what Comey may or may not have written. Most important is why witch-hunt investigations of Trump and others in his administration, or connected to his campaign, were initiated in the first place - solely for political reasons, not suspected wrongdoing. Justifiable reasons to challenge Trump’s governance aren’t pursued, notably high crimes of war and against humanity, threatening possible nuclear war on the Korean peninsula, letting Goldman Sachs make economic and financial policy, along with serving privilege exclusively, among many others. Attacking him and his associates over phony allegations of improper connections to Russia is part of a sinister plot to remove him from office. No evidence suggests he’s guilty of obstructing justice. In Senate testimony last week, acting FBI director Andrew McCabe said “(t)here has been no effort to impede our investigation to date” - referring to alleged Trump, his team, and/or campaign’s possible improper connections to Russia. Trump was right saying “this Russia thing (was) made up…” Unaddressed in media reports is why Comey and other Justice Department officials didn’t go after Hillary. Clear evidence proves she’s guilty of war crimes, racketeering and perjury, along with using her private unsecured server for sensitive State Department business. Deep state long knives want Trump ousted for the wrong reasons, not the right ones - the same unaccountable high crimes committed by his predecessors, notably Obama, Bush/Cheney and the Clinton co-presidency. The other issue is longstanding Russia bashing - because of its sovereign independence, opposition to America’s imperial agenda and Putin’s leadership. Trump’s presidency is shaky. Neocons infesting Washington want control over all nations, their resources and populations - risking eventual nuclear war to achieve their objectives. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |