*CNN (banned) – Page 8 – * Failed Pols

House Democrats have launched a sweeping probe into Donald Trump, related to alleged corruption, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power. Jerrold Nadler, House Judiciary Committee Chair, has requested documents from 81 sources, including the Trump family, the Trump Organization, Trump business associates, and current and former White House staff members. The Democrats’ probe could be an important step toward impeachment proceedings against Trump.

Nadler is head of the panel that would be responsible for any impeachment efforts against the president. Nadler cautioned, however, that now is not the time to consider impeachment. Instead, he said, Congress should focus on Trump’s abuses of power.

Among Trump’s actions that will be investigated for abuse of power are his attacks on federal judges and on the media, as well as his hints at offering pardons for people who might be witnesses against him. Some of the allegations against Trump, including campaign finance violations, are supported by the testimony of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer.

Nadler told ABC’s This Week that the Democrats’ probe into Trump is an effort to “lay out for the American people” the extent of Trump’s malfeasance. “We have sent these document requests in order to begin building the public record,” Nadler said.

He also pointed out that, though Robert Mueller has been investigating Trump, Mueller’s investigation is focused on the Trump’s purported collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign and does not address Trump’s other alleged offenses and gross abuses of power. “We have to focus much more broadly on abuses of power,” Nadler said.

Trump responded to news of the Democrats’ probe in his classic mode: “So now they go and morph into, let’s inspect every deal he’s ever done,” “These people are sick. They’re sick.” He went on to call House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) “Little Shifty Schiff.”

Trump went on: “You put the wrong people in a couple of positions…And they leave people for a long time that shouldn’t be there and all of a sudden they are trying to take you out with bullshit, okay?”

Even if the Democrats’ probe into Donald Trump uncovers and establishes a pattern of criminal behavior and power abuse, will it make a difference, or will it simply make Trump more of a victimized hero to his base?

Democrats announce a broad probe into President Trump | CNN [2019-03-04]

House Democrats expand corruption probe into President Trump |
Fox News [2019-03-04]

Was Donald Trump’s temporary “deal” to end the federal government shutdown a concession to Democrats, or was it a win for the GOP? That depends on how it’s spun. On Friday evening, January 25, Trump signed a bill to end the five-week government shutdown, and Trump himself appears to claim this action as a win, not a concession.

“This was in no way a concession,” Trump tweeted. “It was taking care of millions of people who were getting badly hurt by the Shutdown with the understanding that in 21 days, if no deal is done, it’s off to the races!”

Trump not only denies that he has made a concession, he appears to take on a position of concern about the well-being of the 800,000 federal workers who were impacted, implying that if not for the Democrats, the longest government shutdown in history would not have occurred, and federal workers would not have been furloughed or required to work without being paid.

Many Americans remember, however, that it was Trump who, on national television, proclaimed that he would “own a shutdown” if it occurred. When Trump and Democrats reached an impasse on funding for a wall on the U.S. – Mexico border, the shutdown went into effect the next day. It occurred because Trump had asked for $5.7 billion to be added to new legislation for federal spending, which would need to be passed before the previous spending legislation expired on December 21.

At the urging of Democrats, and after at least two paychecks were missed by the federal employees affected by the shutdown, Trump agreed to sign a bill to re-open the federal government for three weeks while House Democrats and Republicans attempt to work out a deal regarding U.S. border security.

As Shaun Hannity sees it, Trump “right now holds all the cards…He will secure the border one way or another.”

The spin continues, as Trump slithers around just what “border wall” means to him. The government was shut down as a result of Trump’s unyielding insistence on funding for the physical border wall he campaigned on, and Democrats’ refusal to support it. Now, however, Trump says this:

“We do not need 2000 miles of concrete wall from sea to shining sea. We never did. We never proposed that. We never wanted that, because we have barriers at the border where natural structures are as good as anything that we can build.”

Perhaps Trump thinks his by now well-known tactic of “I never said that, and if I did say that, it’s not what I meant” demonstrates that he is the only rational party in the wall discussion. Perhaps he’s hoping that as he ends the government shutdown, Americans will somehow have forgotten the definition of “win.”

Anderson Cooper: Trump tries to redefine victory to avoid losing | CNN
[2019-01-25]

Graham reacts to Trump’s announcement of deal to end shutdown |
Fox News [2019-01-25]

Category: *CNN (banned)

Democrats Probe into Trump Focuses on Abuse of Power

Trump’s End to the Federal Government Shutdown: Concession or Win?