Fifth Avenue in New York City just south of Central Park has some of the most expensive stores in the world. Armani, Dior, DeBeers, Omega, Gucci, Tiffany: they all are lined up just two blocks south of the Park and north of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In the middle of all that opulence with gold tinted windows is Trump Tower, the headquarters of the Trump Organization, and home of the President of the United States.
So when Donald Trump said, “…I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters,” he knew exactly where he would be standing: right outside Trump Tower, aiming down the street towards St. Patrick’s.
No Consequences
Trump believes that if he did shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, he is protected from legal consequences. What we didn’t know is that this would be Trump’s overarching philosophy: as long as he acted in full public view, his core backers would stay with him and he was safe. And it’s not just his supporters; he depends on the Attorney General, Bill Barr, to protect him from Federal investigation, and even intervene in state and local matters.
So on Thursday, on the White House lawn, in full view of the world, God, and MSNBC; Donald Trump asked China to investigate his potential opponent in 2020, Joe Biden. He called for a foreign nation to intervene in the US elections, in direct violation of US campaign laws.
Trump can be unpredictable on many issues, but when he’s in trouble he always follows the same pattern. It’s “double-down,” time. It’s as if he was saying, “if you think that was bad, watch this.” He then proceeds to accuse someone else of doing exactly what Trump himself has done. “Corruption, I know they’re corrupt, and you do too.”
In His Own Words
We know that President Trump linked desperately needed military aid to Ukraine to the Ukrainian government’s willingness to investigate Joe Biden and his son. That’s in plain sight, in the summary transcript of his phone conversation with President Zelensky. It’s backed up by the text messages from Ambassador Volker.
Trump was always doing this. “Russia, if you’re listening, find Hillary Clinton’s thirty-thousand emails,” wasn’t a joke, it was asking “for a favor.” The Russians attempted to do exactly that, within hours of Trump’s request.
And when the President told George Stephanopoulos of ABC that he would accept foreign information in aid of his election campaign, in his own mind he was simply stating the facts. That it would violate Federal Election law didn’t seem to be a problem. He could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and do that.
When the President Does It
This isn’t a unique situation in American history. We’ve had Presidents willing to break the law before. Richard Nixon made the famous statement to interviewer David Frost, “Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal”.
Nixon acted on this, setting up a squad in the basement of the White House who broke into homes and offices, sabotaged political enemies, and organized disinformation campaigns. One of the victims of Nixon’s “Plumbers” was the leading Democratic candidate for President in 1972, Senator Edmund Muskie. As “Deep Throat” said in All the President’s Men:
“…they were frightened of Muskie and look who got destroyed–they wanted to run against McGovern, and look who they’re running against. They bugged, they followed people, false press leaks, fake letters, they canceled Democratic campaign rallies, they investigated Democratic private lives, they planted spies, stole documents, on and on…”
Nixon’s actions echo through today’s news. The Trump team is trashing the man they see as their strongest opponent. Whether Joe Biden wins the Democratic nomination or not, his candidacy is damaged by Trump’s false allegations. Trump has calculated that making Biden look dirty is worth the risk of his own impeachment. As poker players say, “he’s all in.”
Nixon ultimately left office in disgrace, caught by his own voice orchestrating the cover-up of the Watergate burglary. But not every President committing crimes has suffered Nixon’s fate.
Plausible Deniability
Ronald Reagan committed much grander violations of law. In what we now call the Iran-Contra Affair, He decided to ignore Congress by selling weapons to Iran in violation of US sanctions. He then used the sales profits to support insurgents in Nicaragua, also breaking the law.
Reagan insulated himself from the legal ramifications, making the term “plausible deniability” famous. He wasn’t accused, but eleven of his subordinates were charged with various crimes. His National Security Advisor, John Poindexter, was convicted.
Many of those convicted were pardoned by Reagan’s successor, George HW Bush. And here’s another echo in our present conflict, the Attorney General then who recommended those pardons is back today, Attorney General Bill Barr.
Constitutional Duty
The US Constitution states that the President can be impeached and removed from office for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Most Americans think that “high crimes” are legal felonies, and they can be. But the Founding Fathers had a very different definition in mind.
A “high crime” is a crime that impacts the state, the government, and the Constitution. It could be a legal felony, but it could be a less legally defined action as well. Abuse of power for personal gain might be difficult to prove under the US Criminal Code (though there is a statute addressing that action, 5 CFR § 2635.702) but it clearly is an action that threatens the government. And this President has openly admitting to doing so.
The current President of the United States has used his power for personal gain. He is using government money, our taxpayer money, to promote his personal campaign. The proof is in his words, and buttressed by growing evidence. Just like a shooting on Fifth Avenue, it’s in plain sight.
The House of Representatives will do their job, and bring the President up on charges. Will the Republican controlled Senate act, or will they hide their eyes to what is plainly in view?
Would we really let him shoot a man on Fifth Avenue? That is America’s question.
