The Ghost of Nixon's Past: A Fallacious Defense
Is it possible to be shocked by anything after over 2 years of following Donald Trump and his unconventional/previously unfathomable rise to power? Shock and awe is scarce for political news enthusiast like myself, however this past week has left me in awe and wonder.
John Dowd, President Trump's personal lawyer claims that he wrote Trump's controversial tweet posted on December 2, 2017 that details the President's thinking when he fired Michael Flynn, and incidentally his thinking when he reportedly asked former FBI director James Comey to "let Flynn go". In the tweet, the President explains that he fired Michael Flynn because, “he lied to the Vice President and the FBI”. Previously, Trump’s claims mentioned nothing of Flynn misleading the FBI, so why would he find it important to give his Twitter followers that tidbit on December 2nd? Well, I assert with the greatest of confidence that this amendment to his original claim of reasoning to the firing of Michael Flynn was inspired by the events on December 1st, when Flynn plead guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russian operatives about U.S. sanctions.
You may ask, “why is this tweet so important? Trump tweets everyday!” This tweet is more significant than any other because it is representative of a first. This is the first stand alone tweet to self-incriminate a U.S. President. It suggest that the president knew his National Security Adviser had committed a felony and that he wanted the former-FBI Director to overlook his crimes. Furthermore it cast more darkness over the president’s request for Director Comey’s loyalty and how he fired Comey when his loyalty was refused. This is where John Dowd, the president’s lawyer comes into play as he has taken responsibility of Trump’s tweet to shield him from the legal jeopardy of obstruction of justice.
The idea that the president's personal lawyer would craft a tweet of such consequence and not be fired should inform you that Dowd likely did not craft the tweet as he claims and is being rewarded with his job for helping Trump cover his tracks. Realizing that his interception of responsibility was too frail to be believed, Dowd went on to proclaim that a sitting U.S. President can not obstruct justice, because he is the chief law enforcement officer. Mistaken. Bill Clinton was impeached on December 12, 1999 for obstruction of justice. Nixon resigned in 1974 before impeachment proceeding even began. Being the chief law officer does not mean that you are above the laws. The executive's role is to enforce the law, but Dowd seems to think that the executive’s actions are automatically lawful no matter what he says or does. In 1974, Nixon's "Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal" defense didn't save him and considering Flynn’s plea deal President Trump and his lawyers should be very concerned.
In Flynn’s guilty plea, he admitted to lying to the FBI, however recent reports suggest Flynn was much under higher scrutiny by Special Council Mueller. Reportedly, Michael Flynn and his son faced charges of conspiracy to commit assault, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and failure to register as a foreign agent. Robert Mueller must feel that whatever Flynn offers in return for his plea are crimes much more egregious than the crimes he neglected to file against him. Do those more egregious crimes lead to the president? I’m not sure. I suggest you keep an eye on the president’s social media, because the hotter this investigation gets, the more sweat drops into President Trump Twitter handle.
