With friends like Dershowitz, am I right?
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
Well, not that anybody should give a shit what Dershowitz has to say anyway, but he doesn’t actually know anything we don’t. The whole world knows enough already to realize that if the report should see the light of day (and I believe it will somehow) it’s going to make the Resident look very bad. But he already does look very bad.
I think Dersh is just trying to get some distance in hopes he’ll start getting party invitations again.
I don’t think this is a stab in the back to Trump; I think it’s part of a carefully prepared pre-response to lessen the impact of the report.
Ho-hum, we already knew that… the report is no big deal. That’s what I think their strategy is.
Trump has “friends!!!???”
I don’t even think his wife is his friend.
All he has is clients, subordinates and competitors/enemies. And maybe a few really high-level controllers.
We’ll see about that last thought if we live long enough.
Dershowitz?
A weak version of Roy Cohn.
AG
P.S. And while I’m at it…Giuliani?
Howdy Doody in an ill-fitting suit.
No mirrors in your house, then…
This mofo…
“I think the report is going to be devastating to the president and I know that the president’s team is already working on a response to the report,” Dershowitz said on “This Week” Sunday.
Oh, Alan, don’t be so shy. You are among the ones helping the President’s team craft their response. Here’s part of it:
“When I say devastating, I mean it’s going to paint a picture that’s going to be politically very devastating. I still don’t think it’s going to make a criminal case,” Dershowitz said.
So, you’re outrageously lying right out of the gate, are you now? The Mueller investigation has already made a criminal case. The team has filed dozens of indictments and gained guilty please from about a half-dozen people, a number of whom are providing evidence and testimony to the investigators. Promoting the idea that there are no more indictments coming down is pretty ludicrous.
Dershowitz is our friend like our community’s Ron Paul evangelist is our friend. That is to say, he’s our vicious enemy.
I think he’s trying to imply that there’s no criminal case against the Resident. Presumably any witnesses who have talked to the defense team have said they testified that he’s too stupid to have known what was going on, whether that’s what they really said or not. But again, Dershowitz doesn’t really know anything we don’t, he’s just blowing smoke.
By setting forth the vague idea that he knows that there will be no criminal charges against the President, Dershowitz is teeing up his future moral and “legal” outrage if State or Federal courts do file charges against Trump, either directly or an an unindicted co-conspirator.
Dershowitz is being sent to the teevee shows to do this, all while the producers and hosts of these shows allow him to act like he’s not part of Trump’s response planning team. Major laundering of horseshit happening here.
If Dersch is correct about no criminal case, the Republicans will claim vindication. “You see, not even Mueller could find any evidence of criminal conduct after 2 years of investigating.”
The Mueller worshipping may be harming us irreparably and needs to end. Misplaced faith in Mueller was a function of dems being without any power. Mueller is all that people had to cling to. Many people took this faith waaaay too far, assigning a mythic status to Mueller, which is extremely unhelpful. We really don’t even know what he is investigating. For all we know, Mueller’s target is Roger Stone and he has not seriously been investigating Trump at all (see Fitzgerald, Patrick; Libby, Scooter).
The danger of placing all this faith in an investigation shrouded in complete mystery is that the Republicans will be able to convincingly argue, irrespective of the scope and subject of Mueller’s actual investigation, that any finding not involving Trump clears him. Dems having embraced Mueller as an omnipotent and all-seeing man-god will make it very difficult to fight that spin.
With their takeover of the House, Dems have no reason to continue to wait for Mueller and Dem leadership should have been paving the way to our new reality rather waiting with bated breath on Mueller for all these months. Nancy saying that impeachment must be bipartisan was also tone deaf and counterproductive.
Now Dems need to begin their own investigations and leave the Mueller investigation running in the background. The corruption and criminal conduct is in the open. No need to await Mueller’s findings to start taking action and building a record for impeachment independent of whatever Mueller does or doesn’t find.
Impeachment cannnot be contingent on Mueller. I’m talking to you, Nancy.
Impeachment, by the way, is an end in itself independent of conviction (which, I believe is possible in light of the number of Rep Senate seats in play next election and what will be overwhelming evidence of criminality) because it would prevent Trump from pardoning himself and henchmen on the way out of office. (Read the PARDON CLAUSE of the US Constitution). For this reason, Pence should also be impeached.
Keep your shirt on. I hope the House and the special prosecutor coordinate their efforts, because it will not be good if they get in each other’s way.
You write as if the Mueller investigation is just a waste of time. Actually, the prosecutorial power is playing an essential role in controlling the spectacular potential for corruption and the downfall of democracy — because whatever happens to Trump, his henchmen (and that could mean the whole GOP) are, and should be, scared shitless by Mueller. Otherwise, whether Trump is impeached or not, this garbage will continue ad infinitum as long as there is a Republican Party. And such a party, along with Fox News, will continue to prosper on their ill-gotten gains.
I do agree that Trump has more to fear from the House than from Mueller, because they have powers that Mueller doesn’t. But for maximum effect Mueller and the House should be in sync, not getting in each other’s way. I think they both realize this.
Whatever happens, it’s not clear at this point that Trump CAN be impeached. The only way impeachment can succeed is if what is found is so horrendous that not even the Republicans can defend it. As long as they can maintain advantage by portraying an impeachment effort as a Democratic vendetta, impeachment is not possible.
On the other hand, if the investigations are done properly, Trump will be “the incredible shrinking president.” (Which is already happening.) Impeachment itself will not be the main thing, and besides, do you really like the sound of “President Pence”? The main thing is to make sure Trump is a one-term president and that his successor is a Democrat. And that is certainly achievable.
The results of the midterms are probably as good as could be expected, but this country remains in perilous condition, and it will take a unified effort to get us to safe harbor.
Please re-read my post. My biggest concern is Trump pardoning himself or Pence pardoning him. Both should be impeached. Please do a little research and review the pardon and impeachment clauses of the Constitution. Impeachment by the House and conviction/removal by the Senate are two related but separate procedures. Clinton was impeached and Trump can certainly now be impeached. The critical issue is that impeachemt is the only limitation on the pardon power.
I don’t have much faith in Mueller, true, but I’m not contending that the House should interfere with his investigation. But they certainly shouldn’t delay action until Mueller makes a move. Mueller is hamstrung now and is no longer truly independent with the illegal AG stand-in in power. I find it hard to believe there is no connection between Whitaker’s rise and the problems Mueller is currently running in to.
Thanks for the explanation. I take your point about impeachment, and of course I was referring to going all the way with conviction/removal. Yes, the House can impeach Trump.
What problems is Mueller currently running into?
Whitaker isn’t rising very far, that I can see.
Is Mueller the one who is currently running into problems?