It’s already being called “Terrible Tuesday” – August 21, 2018 – the day the Trump presidency was body slammed with the simultaneous guilty plea to 8 felony counts by Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer, and the jury finding Paul Manafort, the Trump campaign manager, guilty of 8 felony counts – and then the indictment of Representative Duncan Hunter – the second congressman to endorse Trump, on campaign crimes.
It was a bad day for Trump.
Yet, it was a good day for the country. The guilty plea and the verdict clearly demonstrate that the rule of law in America is being re-asserted. Despite all his bluster, threats, intimidations, rule via tweets and proclamations, Trump has not been able to bury the Constitution – yet. He still may try to do so.
Some time in the near future, we’ll look back at the day – at Terrible Tuesday – and view it as the day when truth was reclaimed, as truth is truth, despite Giuliani’s Orwellian assertion that truth is in the eye of the beholder. We’ll see it as one more day when the cracks in the armor enabling Trump got just that much wider, another day like the day of the Muslim ban, like Charlottesville, Helsinki, the day children were constrained to cages – although this day means there’s no turning back.
There is a particular special-ness to Terrible Tuesday. It was the day America was shown via the courtroom dramas that the president of the United States is now an un-indicted co-conspirator to felonious influencing the 2016 election. There is no more avoidance allowed. Officially, America is on notice. We have a criminal in the White House – not from speculation, nor partisan hyperbole – but from sworn testimony under oath by the president’s personal long-time lawyer and ‘Mr Fixer’. It was a John Dean type of day.
There is clearly more to come. Both Cohen and Manafort appear now to have the opportunity to sign cooperation agreements, come clean, fess up – and reduce their prison times. From their revelations – and from Mueller’s investigation – the country is bound to have more good days, as more from Trump’s inner circle will divulge the truth, and as good citizens across the political spectrum stand up and demand it.
We could still have some bad days, however. This national nightmare is fall from over. Some of Trump’s staffers now have concerns of what their boss will do if cornered. Will he try to pardon both Cohen and Manafort? Will he – like Duncan Hunter – refuse to give us his seat? Will he mobilize his army of followers to resist any formal efforts of removal?
All these questions abound, while Congressional Republicans continue in their spineless fear of Trump’s base – and acting close to their own obstructions of justice.
Here, closer to home, we locals had some more good news: Duncan Hunter, Jr. and his spouse were both indicted for campaign crimes also on Terrible Tuesday. As Doug Porter reported from San Diego Free Press:
Congressman Duncan Hunter is refusing to step down from his assignments on the Armed Services, Education, and the Workforce and Transportation committees, according to Politico.
Following the release of a 48-page indictment, House Majority Leader Paul Ryan urged the 50th District Congressman to resign his committee assignments until the matter was resolved.
Republicans in the House of Representatives are now planning to take action to remove Hunter in a steering committee meeting slated for September 4. The full GOP conference is expected to ratify this the following day, and shortly thereafter it will go to the House floor, where it will be made official.
But back to the national stage – Max Boot, the conservative columnist, in today’s Washington Post called Trump “an illegitimate president” whose election is tainted by fraud. We couldn’t agree more – of course, we’d go further. Like, Trump is a budding authoritarian white supremacist and wannbe-dictator who is preparing his base to resist the coming Armageddon – in the form of Bob Mueller, impeachment, resignation.
So, what is next?
We don’t know – but we wanted to express the good news for America from Terrible Tuesday.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
HOW DOES DUNCAN HUNTER SHOW HIS FACE IN SAN DIEEGO!!!!!!!!!!!???????????
He spent $250,000 of election money on HIMSELF!! He went on a trip to ITALY and to make the government pay for it he ttried to visit a NAVY SHIP while there. When the NAVY COULD NOT ACCOMMODATE HIS PERSONAL TIME DEMANDS, SCHEDULE he said, “tell the NAVY to go f*** themselves”. Kudos to our fabulous federal court here in San Diego, to our fabulous federal court judges who have held Immigration and the Trump administration to their duties: reunite the children with parents who have come here to escape violence that threatens their lives, just as so many of your own grandparents or parents (or my grandparents’ parents’) did. I’m no states’ rights advocate and the case against Duncan Hunter definitely reinforces that!
Duncan Hunter represents San Diego.
Vern, Hunter’s district covers parts of San Diego county but not the city of San Diego where we live.
Didn’t his crooked-a$$ dad get indicted too? Apples and trees… apples and trees.