We don't need Biden to catch this white whale.
Here We Go Again: A Dem President makes what should be a basic common sense statement only to have it be weaponized as an attack against them in order to justify fears by skeptics and detractors.
Evidently some folks are in a huff because Biden said:
President-elect Joe Biden has privately told advisers that he doesn't want his presidency to be consumed by investigations of his predecessor, according to five people familiar with the discussions, despite pressure from some Democrats who want inquiries into President Donald Trump, his policies and members of his administration.
Never mind that we should know by now to take this kind of reporting with a grain of salt because Dems In Disarray is a staple of political media — anyone who is having a problem with that first sentence needs to ask themselves:
1. Just how much do they know about how their government works and
2. What kind of powers do they think the executive branch should have
Cause here’s the rub when it comes to Biden wanting to not conduct investigations into a political opponent — WE JUST SPENT FOUR YEARS WITH A MAN WHO DID JUST THAT.
Trump’s presidency is defined by using his office to wage political warfare against Democrats, going so far as to risk impeachment just to derail the candidacy against a rival.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that Biden has no intention of defining his presidency by the same actions. Nor should we want him to. Why?
Because it’s not his job. The President of the United States is supposed to represent the whole country and define a way forward for the nation with the help of his party.
You want Biden to go after Trump? Fine, then be prepared to accept the consequences of normalizing the Executive branch as just another weaponized branch of a political party.
We have three branches folks and part of correcting the incredible damage that has been done over the last four years is repairing the separation of powers.Works great in third world and autocratic countries, so let’s just finish what Trump started amirite?
This reminds me of the similar critics of Obama whose views alternated between ‘he was a ‘naive’ powerless executive’ and ‘he was a corporate shill who could have done X if he really wanted to’. Which is it? What kind of President do you want? The kind that uses the full force of their office at all times to execute a political agenda regardless of consequences or a President who tries to adhere to the separation of powers and limits set forth by the Constitution?
Cause you can’t have both. And we’ve just seen what happens when the former goes very, very wrong.
As for Trump ‘getting away’ with anything. This is just plain dumb and frankly it’s kind of embarrassing to think anyone really believes that will happen as it shows a remarkable lack of understanding of their own government.
Even the article about Biden’s statement says as much for anyone who actually bothers to read it!
Any decisions by Biden's Justice Department regarding Trump, his staff, his associates, his business or his policies wouldn't affect investigations by state officials, including Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who has fought to obtain Trump's tax returns.
Biden wants his Justice Department to function independently from the White House, aides said, and Biden isn't going to tell federal law enforcement officials whom or what to investigate or not to investigate.
"His overarching view is that we need to move the country forward," an adviser said. "But the most important thing on this is that he will not interfere with his Justice Department and not politicize his Justice Department."
Duh. The DOJ will do whatever it has to do, with or without Biden interfering. That’s the way it’s *supposed* to be. Especially if we want any findings to be considered legitimate. We want investigations to be as impartial as possible.
And if you think the CIA, NSA, the military and FBI are going to let Trump skate once Biden appoints new heads… hoo boy, you haven’t been paying attention. The risk to national security is too great for them NOT to investigate Trump.
Biden shouldn’t investigate Trump, because he doesn’t have to. That’s what these agencies will be doing, and probably for YEARS.
Trump is screwed. Period.
Finally, here’s a real clue to what is going on here:
But it will be difficult for Biden to avoid the issue altogether, given the expected calls for investigations into an array of issues involving Trump — from his administration's child separation policy to his taxes, possible conflicts of interest and potential violations of campaign finance law. The issue could set Biden on a collision course with some of his own supporters, who are eager for a wholesale examination of the Trump presidency.
This is what this reporting is about. Journalists licking their chops to set up a whole new line of Dem vs. Dem to feed social media which in turn feeds the reporting, then the cable news cycle, and back to social media. Round and round.
Here We Go Again, indeed.
Let’s not make it any easier for them.
