While We Were Distracted
The United States is buried in “Russiagate.” There no longer is a question that Russia attacked our election in 2016, and, according to a new study released by THE Ohio State University (yes, I live near Columbus) Russian actions on social media altered the election (WCMH – Channel 4.) This doesn’t include collusion, conspiracy, and actual attacks on the voting process – all still being investigated.
The Mueller investigation has grown quiet again: we are waiting for the “other shoe to drop.” However, if someone has direct knowledge of Paul Manafort, Trump finances, or other aspects of the investigation, they need to be wary of airports. The FBI is lurking, Mueller is looking for answers, and airports seem to be the place where potential witnesses/suspects are grabbed.
President Trump continues to distract America from the investigation. It seems strange that the President may prefer being sued by a porn star, rather than questions about the Russiagate investigation. By the way, a report just out states that the Trump Organization (Trump’s business) billed the Trump Campaign (the Presidential campaign) $129,999.72 a week after Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels (Inquisitr.) Odd coincidence: somebody owes Cohen $.28.
If the campaign paid hush money to Daniels, and didn’t report it, that’s illegal. If the Organization (or Cohen) made an “in kind” contribution to the campaign to keep Daniel’s quiet – that’s illegal. And since Trump now says he didn’t know about a contract with Daniels, then Cohen may lose his law license (for making a contract for Trump without Trump’s knowledge.) Even if you think Trump knew about the contract, it sure seems he’s willing to throw Cohen’s career under the bus. No wonder he can’t find lawyers.
In Syria, Assad, backed by Russia, continues to use chemical warfare against his own people. This weekend’s barrel bomb dropped on civilians is only the most recent example, and while the US may react to that in some way (maybe a missile attack on airport runways again) it doesn’t change the multiple times we’ve turned our back to the problem. Certainly President Trump’s statement in Cleveland last week that we were going to pull out of Syria may have given some license to Assad.
In Europe, Hungary elected a right-wing prime minister, Victor Orban, and gave him a super-majority in the Parliament. Nationalists throughout Europe are rejoicing, as anti-immigrant, anti-European Union and pro-Russian candidates become ascendant. How much help Russian social media intervention gave we aren’t sure: what is clear is that the vacuum created by the absence of a strong United States is being filled.
We have picked a trade war with China, but haven’t negotiated new trade deals with anyone else in Asia. The argument made for pulling out of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) was that we could negotiate better deals individually with countries rather than as a group; it now looks like we have abandoned Asia to the Chinese. The new “President for life” of China, Xi, is acting as if we have.
In the Middle East, in Europe, in Asia; the lack of American presence has opened doors to China and Russia. The relative peace created by the “Pax Americana” after the Cold War concluded is ending, because the US has pulled away from engagement.
And the Trump administration has made it clear that we now “side” with Russia. When Russians used chemical weapons to try to assassinate former spies in the United Kingdom, we joined most of Europe by expelling sixty Russian diplomats. However, we now hear that they sixty will be replaced by sixty more, more of a substitution than an expulsion.
Russian mercenaries (so-called – it’s hard to imagine they weren’t under the control of Putin) attacked US forces in Syria. The US forces defended themselves, suffering no casualties and leaving close to three hundred Russians dead. One would think that’s a reason for public comment, but not a word was spoken.
With no Secretary of State, National Security Advisor McMasters seemed to be the one moderating force in the White House keeping America involved. He departed on Friday; next up, John Bolton, who hasn’t met a war he didn’t like. No one on the Republican side of the Congress says a word – Bob Corker where are you?
Russiagate has silenced them. And Russiagate is consuming the American attention. But as we wait for the next Mueller move, or the next woman to sue the President, the world goes on. “Going to Hell in a hand-basket” is more like it.
