True Confession
Thursday, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney hosted the first formal press conference in the White House since last March. The conference was specifically called to announce the location of next summer’s G7 Summit Meeting: the Trump owned Doral Hotel in Miami.
The President of the United States profiting from holding an international meeting at a property he owns had all sorts of issues. It directly violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution, and raised a number of questions about the President’s conduct. The idea was so toxic, even to Republicans, that somewhere in the middle of Saturday evening Trump tweeted that he was dropping the whole thing. They can go to Camp David as far he is concerned, his least favorite place. The announcement Thursday though, was really another famous Trump “distraction;” to change the subject from Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, and impeachment.
And it might have worked. But Mr. Mulvaney decided this was the time to answer all of the questions the media had for him. So he went ahead and explained exactly what the President did in his actions toward Ukraine.
The mainstream media was aghast: Mulvaney openly confessed that Ukrainian military aid funds were held hostage by the White House to force the investigation of Democratic “scandals” there. Specifically, he said, the funds were held so that the Ukrainian prosecutors would investigate the conspiratorial “CrowdStrike” issue. “CrowdStrike” is the name for a far-right theory that the US elections were hacked in 2016, not by the Russians, but by Ukrainian supporters of Hillary Clinton.
Quid Pro Quo
Let’s put aside for a moment, the craziness that the President and the White House put any credence in the “CrowdStrike” nonsense. It was already debunked in the first volume of the Mueller Report. Besides, it makes no sense: why would Ukraine even “fake” attacking Hillary Clinton’s campaign when it was clear she would be much more supportive of their goals than Donald Trump?
It is a violation of American law to ask foreign governments for aid in political campaigns. That’s exactly what the President did: even the White House released “condensed” transcript of the July 25th phone conversation with Ukraine’s President Zelensky shows that. Mr. Trump asked for help about “CrowdStrike” and also about “dirt” on Joe Biden and his son. It is also a violation of US law to use US funds for personal gain, the “quid pro quo” linking the funds to, “…I need a favor, though,” in the President’s conversation.
But, in true “Trumpian” style, Mulvaney announced that not only did they demand the Ukrainians investigate Democrats and CrowdStrike, but they were blackmailing them; by holding back the Congressional mandated defense funds. And Mulvaney said the United States does this all the time, and the media should, “…get over it.” What was he thinking?
Your Lying Eyes
Later in the evening, the White House put out a statement saying that Mulvaney didn’t say — wait for it — what he said. It was all “fake news” they said, don’t believe your lying eyes and ears.
But Mulvaney did say it. And he went out of his way to do so, this wasn’t a blurted out, accidental confession. This was a man proud of what his President did, and quite willing to put it out in front of the world.
The Unitary Executive
Richard Nixon once said, “…but when the President does it, that means that it’s not illegal” (Frost Interview.) The current Attorney General, William Barr, has made it clear that in “his” Justice Department the President cannot be indicted for criminal activity while in office. In addition, they now claim that the President cannot even be investigated (Washington Post.) Their “theory” of the Presidency, the “unitary executive;” places the President above the law. The only “check” on the power of the President is impeachment and removal.
So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Chief of Staff Mulvaney came out with an “affirmative defense” of the President, confessing to all of the acts that seem criminal. They believe that when the President does something, “…it means that it’s not illegal.” They also believe that impeachment is restricted to a strict criminal definition of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Put that together: the President cannot be impeached, because he cannot commit a crime.
So What
And that was Mulvaney’s plan. It’s the “so what” defense: so what if the President demanded a “quid pro quo” from Ukraine, so what if he was asking Ukraine for dirt on the Democrats and Biden. If the President does it, it’s not illegal.
And what about the White House issued the “walk back – don’t believe your lying eyes” statement later? It’s all about covering the base. The base got the message from Mulvaney the first time, this President “does what he wants.” Mulvaney’s Freedom Caucus buddies in Congress, Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows, Devin Nunes and the rest can run with that as well. And for the more established Republicans, they will take heart in the second message.
The Chief of Staff has lost his mind. We all know what’s going to happen. It’ll be in a tweet next week. Mick Mulvaney is going back to South Carolina, to spend more time with his wife and triplets, and if he has one, his dog.
A Higher Purpose
Mulvaney served his President. And he has served his ideology as well. Mulvaney, in an address to the Federalist Society, said that the balance of power between the Congress and the President is “…out of whack.” He further stated, “…it’s almost impossible for the executive to be the executive” (Washington Times.)
Mulvaney, Attorney General Barr, and others are doing their best to “fix” the balance, and protect this renegade President. It’s all done for a “higher purpose:”
Let the nation, the world and the Constitution be damned.
