During the past eight years we have been treated to numerous congressional show trials that emanated from manufactured media “stories.” There were silly investigations into trumped up stories about Operation Fast and Furious (which reinstituted an operation that began under George Bush), Solyndra, , non-existant IRS bias, every aspect of the Iran deal, Benghazi (umpty million times), and, most recently, a putative claim that Obama is actively conspiring to undermine Israel’s Netanyahu. You, of course, know all about this. GOP congressmen feigned outrage, posed and preened endlessly on cable television on the basis of their endless investigations into imaginary scandals.
However, in January a president will be inaugurated who has been implicated over and over in real scandals: business fraud, possible bribery, sexual assault and and conflict of interest. Donald Trump has indicated that his business interests and his Foundation will not be placed in a blind trust, but will be administered by his children, a decision which is unacceptable. His relationships with Russian interests need to be clarified as a matter of national security.
Beginning now we need to call for investigations of all Trump’s dealings that pose a potential to harm the United States and its reputation, or to enrich him and his family at the expense of taxpayers. Democrats are a minority in Congress, but they can keep up the pressure to expose the rot. President or not, Trump needs to be held accountable.
And no. We cannot allow the fox to guard the hen house. We have to call for a non-partisan special investigator, we need to demand FBI involvement in a way that will insure that findings are made public. Can Congressional Democrats hold shadow hearings that would serve to publicize the issue of Trump’s malfeasance even though they are in the minority?
Democrats are in a minority in Congress; they and we may not succeed in bringing President Trump to justice, but we can make his name synonymous with scandal if we keep up the drumbeat. We can do to Trump what Republicans did to Hillary Clinton — with one big difference. Her scandals were largely fictions, the fruit of the fevered brains of GOP partisans. Trump not only deserves to be exposed, but our security and well-being demands that we shine constant light on him and take him to task properly for his corruption. Otherwise, we too will likely end up victims of the biggest grifter in history.
I’m going to write a letter every week to all my Congressmen and women; they’re all largely useless, but if enough citizens make their demands for transparency and protection known, if we demand that Trump be held accountable, perhaps they’ll at least have to notice, and, if there’s enough noise, Trump’s may at least be restrained while he is in office.
I am interested in learning whether or not anyone else thinks this is a viable strategy for coping with the most dishonest and corrupt man to occupy the White House. I am also interested in hearing suggestions about how to promote calls for investigating Donald Trump and his scandals.