Trump Rages While Mueller, House, And New York Investigations Loom
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Nov. 2, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Something is bothering President Donald Trump. Over the past few days, President Trump has targeted everyone from tech companies to White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway’s husband George. But with one target, he is showcasing his complete lack of shame and virtue. President Trump continued his attacks on the late Senator John McCain (R-AZ) for giving the Christopher Steele dossier to the FBI while ignoring the fact that the Bureau already had it. It appears Trump sees McCain as responsible for starting Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, even though it was sparked by former Trump Campaign Adviser George Papadopoulos telling an Australian diplomat Russia had dirt on Clinton.
Today, President Trump again said he’s never been “a fan” of McCain and complained that he wasn’t thanked for approving McCain’s funeral. Just this week, President Trump cozied up to Brazil’s bigoted nationalist President Jair Bolsonaro. Last month, President Trump held a failed, yet praise-filled, summit with North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-un. The fact Trump treats those men with more respect than an American hero paints these attacks in an even more damning light.
Trump, unprompted at tank factory in Ohio, attacks the late McCain over
— Mideast wars
— health care vote
— dossier
— veterans issues (“didn’t get the job done”)
— McCain funeral (which he said he approved and never was thanked)McCain, “is not my kind of guy,” Trump says pic.twitter.com/aOCkMmGIjP
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 20, 2019
These attacks on McCain were preceded by a weekend of wild tweets. After the New Zealand terrorist attack on Friday, President Trump was asked if he sees white nationalism as a growing global threat. In spite of all of the evidence indicating otherwise, President Trump said he does not see it as a threat. After one tweet offering condolences, President Trump embarked on a tweet spree starting with attacks on Special Counsel Robert Mueller. President Trump then proposed that the FEC or FCC look into Saturday Night Live and Late Night Shows and, without evidence, accused them of colluding with Democrats and Russia (which he is accused of doing). President Trump went on to demand that Fox News bring Judge Jeanine Pirro’s show back on the air after her Islamophobic comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Over the course of this presidency, it’s been safe to assume when President Trump reaches a heightened level of unhinged behavior, something big is on the way. In the past, it’s been Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and incoming indictments that have been the primary source of Trump’s anxiety. In his renewed attacks on the Special Counsel, Trump has signaled Mueller’s incoming report is weighing down on him. In spite of President Trump’s statements to the contrary, there is evidence of coordination between the Trump Campaign and Russia’s operation to interfere in the 2016 election as well as obstruction of justice. With the news of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein remaining in his post, for the time being, it appears things are about to get interesting.
Meanwhile, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) has already received tens of thousands of documents from the 81 individuals and entities his committee requested information from. This is part of this wide-ranging probe into corruption, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power on the part of President Trump and his associates. The White House, on the other hand, is refusing to cooperate, setting the stage for a battle over executive privilege. Furthermore, House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) has been scaling up his revamped Russia investigation.
On top of all this, there are the corruption investigations in New York that are out of President Trump’s obstructive reach. New York Attorney General Letitia James recently subpoenaed records from Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank related to loans the Trump Organization may have received by inflating assets. This came after the New York State Department of Financial Services subpoenaed a Trump Organization insurance broker probing similar fraud. The Manhattan District Attorney filed the first state charges against a member of the Trump Campaign by indicting Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort. There is also the Southern District of New York’s investigation which has already yielded a guilty plea from Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen which implicated President Trump (Individual 1) in two campaign finance felonies.
It’s unclear exactly what’s about to happen next. Although many are speculating that Mueller’s report is imminent, don’t be surprised if it’s something else entirely. Needless to say, stay tuned.
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