By Tom H. Hastings
     His karma is headed over the cliff.
They are finding the witches, eh? Michael Cohen, his fixer lawyer, pleads out, flipping off Trump. His Campaign Chair, Paul Manafort, is convicted on a cluster of eight fiscal felonies and was in bed with Putin for years, mostly in his capacity as highly paid consultant to Putinâs man in Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, a kleptocrat ruling impoverished subjects. His erstwhile National Security Advisor and bona fide traitor, Michael Flynn, is awaiting sentencing, which probably wonât be much, since he flipped. One of his campaign officials, Rick Gates, also flipped him off. George Papadopoluos, another campaign aide, lied repeatedly to the FBI about his campaign activities, which included many contacts with Russians, and heâll be sentenced soon. The can of worms is not finished emptying.
The web of Trump lies, cheating, and conspiring with Russians to steal the biggest prize of allâthe White House, is quite wide and deep, and Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III is just getting his second wind, even as other prosecutors in various federal and state districts are filing suits and more charges, including now one just filed by the Attorney General of New York documenting the sleazy abuse of the tax-free foundation laws by the Trump Foundation with some $2.8 million illegally spent on Trump himself.
Many comparisons have been made to Nixonâs ignominious Watergate burglary scandal, but that was peanuts by comparison. That was one US political party leadership acting like thugs to steal an election for themselves. This one essentially shows us with a âleaderâ beholden to Russia, to Vladimir Putin, a far more nefarious plot, giving a great advantage to a murderous strongman from a foreign adversary.
Of course, most Republicans and pretty much all of Trumpâs base are burying their heads, opening eyes and ears only when Fox âNewsâ is blaring their lies and demonstrably wacky theories. Global warming? What a hoax. Trump campaign colludes with Russia? Witch hunt. White nationalism is a bad thing? Naw, not to them.
The Proud Deplorables are apparently pretty much fine with lies, treason, racism, sexism, environmental destruction, and thieving, all hot button hallmarks of the Trump campaign, the Trump regime, the Trump brand.
So here we are, with the whole world watching in disbelief at American credulousness and willingness to abandon democracy in favor of autocracy. While I support dialog with folks with whom I disagree, what is there to say in the face of this tsunami of evidence? Please wake up? Can you face the truth, or will you choose to continue to slide to new depths along with a fake leader who has betrayed his country?
Nixon stepped down rather than face imminent impeachment. Trump will need the full treatment, however, as he is congenitally incapable of admitting his malfeasance, his errors, and his illegal actions. Will Congress grow a backbone in time to fix this?
