{"id":2606,"date":"2019-12-17T09:04:30","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T14:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=2606"},"modified":"2019-12-17T09:04:35","modified_gmt":"2019-12-17T14:04:35","slug":"the-specter-of-cover-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/","title":{"rendered":"The Specter of Cover-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mitch McConnell made an announcement this week. The Senate\u2019s trial of President Trump will last no more than two weeks, and include no witnesses. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer countered with a different proposal.\u00a0\u00a0The Democrats want to call four witnesses, and Republicans should call some too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who does Schumer want to appear before the Senate?  Four witnesses who did not speak to the House Intelligence Committee, because the President silenced them.  They all have direct knowledge, first-hand knowledge, of what the President actually intended in Ukraine.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic Proposal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first, White House \u201cActing\u201d Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, has already made clear public statements about what the President did.\u00a0\u00a0In a White House a press conference, he declared that the President asked for a \u201cquid pro quo\u201d. He said that they demand those in foreign policy all the time, and we should \u201cget over it”.\u00a0\u00a0Mulvaney was central to the scheme to pressure Ukraine. He, along with Rudy Giuliani, were the key communicators for the President. He has a lot to add to the narrative of the Ukraine saga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second, Mulvaney\u2019s advisor Robert Blair, was also privy to the \u201cbehind the scenes\u201d activity.\u00a0\u00a0Michael Duffy, a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget, is third. He was part the actual \u201chold\u201d was placed on Ukrainian aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the fourth witness Schumer demands is the most important.\u00a0\u00a0The Minority Leader is calling for former National Security Advisor John Bolton to testify to the Senate. \u00a0This is the same John Bolton who called the Giuliani strategy a \u201cdrug deal\u201d, and ordered his aide to immediately report to the National Security Council attorneys when the \u201cdeal\u201d came up in a meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bolton<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

John Bolton, is the icon of Republican \u201cneo-cons\u201d. He was brought into the White House to bring national security policy \u201cunder control\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0He is third to hold the title as the President\u2019s chief advisor after General Flynn and General McMasters. Bolton is the Advisor who did everything he could to keep the President from making the phone call to the Ukrainian President. He resigned or was fired just as the Ukraine scandal was about to break.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Bolton, probably more than anyone else, knows what the President did, and what he intended.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why won\u2019t Leader McConnell allow these witnesses to come before the Senate?\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s an obvious answer:\u00a0\u00a0what they say damages the President\u2019s case.\u00a0\u00a0But McConnell has a problem as well.\u00a0\u00a0While he doesn\u2019t want testimony, he also doesn\u2019t want the Senate Republicans to be even more vulnerable to the charge of cover-up then they already are.\u00a0\u00a0The political equation is simple:\u00a0\u00a0are witnesses or charges of cover-up, a bigger electoral liability in the fall? \u00a0McConnell isn\u2019t particularly worried about \u201cjustice\u201d, the Constitution, or even the President.\u00a0\u00a0He\u2019s worried about maintaining a Republican majority in the US Senate in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McConnell has one other worry though:  Bolton is writing a book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Book<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

McConnell\u2019s nightmare scenario is that after a perfunctory Senate hearing, followed by a predetermined party-line vote to absolve the President, the book comes out. What if Bolton says that the President committed all of those Constitutional crimes ?\u00a0\u00a0McConnell\u2019s afraid to campaign in the fall with the specter of a Senate cover-up, and Democrats beating Republicans over the head with Bolton\u2019s tome of Trumpian guilt.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a more personal note, he\u2019s afraid to go back to Kentucky with his 34% approval rating against 52% disapproval.  The Bolton book might be one more nail in his personal Senatorial coffin (Morning Consult<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why isn\u2019t Bolton speaking out?\u00a0\u00a0Every mention of his book, including in this essay, is exactly what he wants to promote sales.\u00a0\u00a0Bolton can write the book, make his profits, and still claim that he didn\u2019t try to \u201coust\u201d a Republican President.\u00a0\u00a0Bolton isn\u2019t running for office or worried about the Trumpian base of supporters.\u00a0\u00a0His concern is the \u201cbig money\u201d Republican donors, those who have supported his political PAC\u2019s in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bolton doesn\u2019t want to seem like a \u201ctraitor\u201d to them.  So, in this Constitutional crisis, Bolton is remaining silent.  He\u2019s has the first-hand \u201canswer\u201d to all of the charges asked in Article I of the Impeachment of Donald Trump.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he will tell the story in his book \u2013 you just have to buy it.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mitch McConnell made an announcement this week. The Senate\u2019s trial of President Trump will last no more than two weeks, and include no witnesses. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer countered with a different proposal.\u00a0\u00a0The Democrats want to call four witnesses, and Republicans should call some too. Who does Schumer want to appear before the Senate?  Four witnesses … Continue reading “The Specter of Cover-Up”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Specter of Cover-Up : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"McConnell wants no witnesses. Schumer wants four. But the question for Republicans is: are witnesses worse than a cover-up when they run for reelection?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Specter of Cover-Up : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"McConnell wants no witnesses. Schumer wants four. But the question for Republicans is: are witnesses worse than a cover-up when they run for reelection?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-17T14:04:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-12-17T14:04:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marty Dahlman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@martydahlman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@martydahlman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marty Dahlman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/17\\\/the-specter-of-cover-up\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/17\\\/the-specter-of-cover-up\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Marty Dahlman\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c\"},\"headline\":\"The Specter of Cover-Up\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-17T14:04:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-17T14:04:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/17\\\/the-specter-of-cover-up\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":753,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/17\\\/the-specter-of-cover-up\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/17\\\/the-specter-of-cover-up\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/17\\\/the-specter-of-cover-up\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Specter of Cover-Up : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-17T14:04:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-17T14:04:35+00:00\",\"description\":\"McConnell wants no witnesses. Schumer wants four. But the question for Republicans is: are witnesses worse than a cover-up when they run for reelection?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/17\\\/the-specter-of-cover-up\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/17\\\/the-specter-of-cover-up\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/17\\\/the-specter-of-cover-up\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Specter of Cover-Up\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/\",\"name\":\"Trump World - Essays on Politics and the Trump Administration\",\"description\":\"Essays on Politics and Life in Our America\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c\",\"name\":\"Marty Dahlman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dahlman.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dahlman.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dahlman.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\",\"width\":480,\"height\":640,\"caption\":\"Marty Dahlman\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dahlman.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\"},\"description\":\"I'm Marty Dahlman. After forty years of teaching and coaching track and cross country, I've finally retired!!! I've also spent a lot of time in politics, working campaigns from local school elections to Presidential campaigns.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dahlman.online\",\"https:\\\/\\\/m.facebook.com\\\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/martydahlman\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Specter of Cover-Up : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life","description":"McConnell wants no witnesses. Schumer wants four. But the question for Republicans is: are witnesses worse than a cover-up when they run for reelection?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Specter of Cover-Up : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life","og_description":"McConnell wants no witnesses. Schumer wants four. But the question for Republicans is: are witnesses worse than a cover-up when they run for reelection?","og_url":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/","og_site_name":"Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life","article_publisher":"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/","article_author":"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/","article_published_time":"2019-12-17T14:04:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-12-17T14:04:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Marty Dahlman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@martydahlman","twitter_site":"@martydahlman","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marty Dahlman","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/"},"author":{"name":"Marty Dahlman","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c"},"headline":"The Specter of Cover-Up","datePublished":"2019-12-17T14:04:30+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-17T14:04:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/"},"wordCount":753,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/","url":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/","name":"The Specter of Cover-Up : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-12-17T14:04:30+00:00","dateModified":"2019-12-17T14:04:35+00:00","description":"McConnell wants no witnesses. Schumer wants four. But the question for Republicans is: are witnesses worse than a cover-up when they run for reelection?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/12\/17\/the-specter-of-cover-up\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Specter of Cover-Up"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/","name":"Trump World - Essays on Politics and the Trump Administration","description":"Essays on Politics and Life in Our America","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c","name":"Marty Dahlman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","width":480,"height":640,"caption":"Marty Dahlman"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1"},"description":"I'm Marty Dahlman. After forty years of teaching and coaching track and cross country, I've finally retired!!! I've also spent a lot of time in politics, working campaigns from local school elections to Presidential campaigns.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.dahlman.online","https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/","https:\/\/x.com\/martydahlman"]}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2606"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2609,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606\/revisions\/2609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}