Constitutional Crisis

Assuming the the primary purpose of the Mueller investigation is a slow-motion coup of Trump's presidency ... and the Rosenstein and Mueller blood lust seems to be going unsatisfied  ... and seeing that Trump seems to be winning the mud ball fight with this daring duo ... I can only conclude that a certain desperation is setting in over at the DOJ. A number of recent events I think telegraph this prosecuteral frustration:

- the unprecedented raids on Michael Cohen's home, office and hotel room

- the leaking of the 49 questions that Mueller wants to ask Trump

- Rod Rosenstein's fighting words that the DOJ will not be extorted

- Robert Mueller's recent suggestion that he is going to subpoena Trump in front of a grand jury

To me, these moves are specifically designed to annoy Trump enough to cause him to fire Rosenstein and/or Mueller ... and thus to lose the sympathy of the American public. ... and set things up for impeachment in the fall.

These tauntings seem very obviously designed to play to Trump's impulsiveness ... and, so far at least, have not triggered the desired result. Rosenstein and Mueller must hate Trump with a white-hot fury to be willing to fall on their swords to try to get this man out of office.

This, in and of itself, is a Constitutional crisis.

Headlines

'Bannonwas shot on the South Lawn and then run over by a tank'

Manufacturing accelerates to cap best year since '04 ...

North Korea appears to have bombed itself in botched missile test: Report

... Trump furious: Bannon not only lost his job, he lost his mind'

Bannon endorsement s now a sudden handicap for GOP candidates

Fire at Clinton Chappaqua home ...

Tesla falls far short of Model 3 deliveries, pushes back production targets

Trump dissolves Voter Fraud Commission despite 'substantial evidence'

Conservative media stands by Trump over Bannon

Manafort sues Mueller, Rosenstein, DOJ ... 'unlawfully exceeded authority' ...

China is developing giant $2.1 billion park, dedicated to developing AI

Witness: Mueller Grand Jury like something out of a Black Lives Matter rally

Coup d'Etat

I have blogged before about the slow-motion coup of Trump taking place ... orchestrated by the Deep State, the media, the establishment Republicans and Maxine Waters ... see: Drip, Drip, Drip and Slow-Motion Coup. Special Counsel Mueller has convened a grand jury and is apparently ranging far afield of the original Russian election collusion probe. The day after Trump warned Mueller that his family finances were not to be investigated, Mueller subpoenaed all of Trump's financial records. So there!

This slow-motion coup worked to up-end Nixon ... but failed against Bill Clinton ... primarily due to the solidarity within the Democrat party. This is something that may not be the case for the Republican swamp creatures when it is Trump's turn in the barrel. But, I will here predict that the longer this slow-motion coup is drawn out, the less likely it will succeed because of squishy Republicans being primaried out of office ... and Trump will achieved more of his promises. (Perhaps the reason why things are being slow-walked in Congress?)

However, there is another factor that the anti-Trumpers are dismissing and they shouldn't. And that is that the American people have seen this opera twice before (at least we over 60) and we have read the libretto. So many Trump supporters may, this time, not stand still for this slow-motion coup. How they will resist I cannot predict. But I am fairly certain they will resist ... and what the left now views as a cake-walk may end up being a tad more difficult. It may be the tipping point where the majority of Americans who deem themselves as conservatives say, "Not this time pinkos!"

Afterward: On this subject read Michael Savage.

50 Shades of Grey

Donald Trump lies, James Comey lies, Hillary Clinton lies, Kellyanne Conway lies, Chuck Schumer lies, Paul Ryan lies, Nancy Pelosi lies. It is safe to say that most, if not all politicians lie. But there are white lies. There are black lies ... and 50 shades of grey in between. The seriousness of these transgressions depends a lot on their motivation and consequences. James Comey's lie about the possible number of Clinton e-mails on Anthony Weiner's computer had a lot to do with her losing the election. Donald Trump's promise that Mexico will pay for the wall may turn out to be a stretch ... but many American people treat it as hyperbole. These lies are at opposite ends of the mendacity spectrum.

And, of course, the media can point out (repeatedly) some untruths while ignoring others ... which they too frequently do. And the media often lie also ... to me, an unforgivable sin. These indiscretions they see as their sacred duty and protected by the Constitution. Perhaps President Trump lies more than most (just watch Joe and Mika play and replay this theme every morning) ... however he is doing most of the things his voters want him to do. And so they tune out a lot of the media's drumbeat of criticism. And this causes them to increase the tempo and volume.

But Trump has appointed Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, rolled back countless crippling regulations, stopped the flood of illegal migrants, dumped the Paris climate accord, faced head-on the North Korean nuclear threat, refriended Israel, and is struggling mightily to fix healthcare, the tax code and our infrastructure. As a consequence, many Americans (including me) are willing to view Trump's lies to be the lighter shades of grey.

Hip Hip Horray

This is the best news I have heard in a long long while ... it seems that a grand jury may have been empaneled to weigh in on Hellary Clinton's possible felonious use of a private e-mail server while she was Secretary of State. It is also thought that the FBI has broadened this investigation to include political corruption involving her possible illegal activities related to the Clinton Foundation's dealings with the State Department ... see: Daily Caller Story ... and the FBI apparently has 150 to 200 agents working on these possibilities.

It is said that Joseph diGenova, the source of these notions and a former federal attorney for the District of Columbia, seems to have some idea of what may be going on inside the FBI and the Department of Justice. If this be the case, this is a very dramatic development and belies Hellery's fatuous claim that the FBI is just performing a "security review." Boy, I sure hope diGenova is right! The only rubs may be that these investigations may be only focused on Hellery's aides, Huma Abadin and Cheryl Mills. ... or that Attorney General Loretta Lynch may squelch things at the last minute. I daily pray that this evil woman, Hellery, gets her due in due time.

Where are my pompoms?

Thugs

The mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawling-Blake, and the state's attorney there, Marilyn J. Mosby, have taken sides ... and they are standing with the thugs. The mayor  told the police to stand down, and let the looters and arsonists have their head when Freddie Gray died under suspicious circumstances after a ride in a police van. The state's attorney has brought charges and achieved a grand jury indictment against six police officers, three black and three white, involved in this case. And both these city executives have made inflammatory political statement clearly indicating that they are not pro-police. The simple logic then dictates that they are on the side of the thugs in their bailiwick.

What is the consequence of this tilt to the dark side? Well of course Baltimore thugs believe that they can now "do their thing" ... and the cops see that they should, for the sake of their careers and lives,  relax their grip on street crime there.  The natural result is that the thugs are having a heyday ... producing the deadliest month there in sixteen years ... see: CBS Baltimore Coverage. In the yin and yang, back and forth of human existence, Baltimore is now experiencing a yin moment ... counterbalancing what was thought to be too much police yang.

Since they are elected officials, the bubble-headed mayor and state's attorney there are playing to whom they think are their constituents. This is clearly misguided. I suspect that they will learn the cold hard truth in the next elections. If they don't, then God help Baltimore.

Choke Hold

I have not followed the Eric Garner police “choke hold” death on Staten Island, New York as closely as I followed the Michael Brown shooting death in Ferguson, Missouri. Therefore, upon reading the Diplomad’s studied opinions on these same two grand jury decisions, they sound to me quite reasoned and reasonable. Consequently I think that the grand jury in New York may have erred and the one in Missouri was quite correct … see: The Diplomad's Thoughts . The grand jury in New York probably should have at least rendered a bill of aggravated assault.

But unfortunately what’s done is done.

Ferguson Observations

I was surprised last night at the grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri.  Here are a few of my thoughts on this issue:

- Even though it would have been the expedient thing to do ... the grand jury didn't even find for involuntary manslaughter. Felix Giuliani, a former prosecutor and once mayor of New York City, commented on TV that he and other federal prosecutors felt that this would be the outcome (as did I). However, given that it was unlikely that Officer Wilson would have been convicted of even this lesser charge, as a result, St. Louis and environs only had to suffer one spat of rioting rather than two.

- The civil unrest in Ferguson and around the country, I believe, would have occurred under almost any of the grand jury outcomes ... even possibly a indictment for first-degree murder. This civil mayhem was almost preordained, given the intense media coverage that was present. In fact, this level of media coverage likely contributed to the rioting. Perhaps there should be some retrospection of how, in the future, the media coverage might be less instigating.

- Robert McCulloch, the Ferguson prosecutor's lengthy explanation of the grand jury process was somewhat soothing in that he explained how many "witnesses" testimony had been found wanting ... and how much conflicting testimony still resulted from the more credible onlookers. However, there still were questions that I didn't hear answered ... to wit ... why twelve shots and six wounds? and why was the body left on the street for four hours? To me, I believe that Officer Wilson's juices were flowing as a result of being punched by Brown and that this was part of the problem.

- Being that schools in the area were closed anyway, I don't understand why the grand jury's decision was not announced at, say, 10 AM on today ... or even Thanksgiving day. Surely this might have mitigated the degree of rioting that occurred under the cover of darkness.

- I thought that President Obama said all the right words after the grand jury's decision was announced. However, his presentation was again very matter-of-fact. I constantly wonder why his speaking style never varies during emotional times. I believe it would be the same at the start of World War III as it would be announcing that he has a hang nail.

Insurrection

The Justice for Mike Brown facebook activist group has just published a list of sixty-seven targets not to be looted, rioted at, or somehow violated if the verdict of the grand jury in the Ferguson, Missouri shooting case disappoints … follow this link for the specific targets: The Gateway Pundit Story. This list is comprised of landmarks, prominent St. Louis companies, restaurants, law firms, civic buildings, individuals, markets, banks, hospitals, churches, etc. … many of which seem to have no relation or relevance to the original shooting incident.

The result of the grand jury investigation is expected to be announced sometime soon and this list is obviously meant to concentrate the efforts of the expected “demonstrators” on targets of disrespect and opportunity. And why this list is not an incitement to an insurrection is beyond my limited legal understanding … even though such a purpose is cagily denied. But if and when such locations are trashed or looted or even worse if the grand jury decision in police officer Darren Wilson’s case is not of these rebels liking, I would imaging that this social-media listing comprises a major tort … and should be dealt within the justice system just as this system should deal with Officer Wilson’s possible indictment and trial.

Of course, race or political persuasion seems to be the determining factor driving opinions in this case and, although we, the public, do not have the benefit of all the grand jury testimony, from what I have read, I personally believe Officer Wilson was partly justified in doing what he did. But I do think he will be indicted for at least involuntary manslaughter. The most damaging factors in this whole sorry incident was that the "gentle giant" Michael Brown was shot six times and was left lying in the street for at least four hours before his body was recovered. These assumed facts clearly have caused most of the unrest in the population of this St. Louis suburb … and will be the reasons I expect that Officer Wilson will eventually face a jury of his peers.

However, an insurrections solves nothing as was learned in the Los Angeles “Rodney King” riots of 1965. I do hope that this very dangerous circumstance is avoided or thwarted. But I'm not holding my breath.

The Template

How much longer is the knee-jerk, irresponsible, race-baiting template of the left going to endure?  The Trayvon Martin tragedy has brought out the usual manic actors ... Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, Geraldo Rivera, the New Black Panther Party (see: Dead or Alive Poster), Al Sharpton, and even (you'd think he would have learned his lesson from his Cambridge-police faux pas) President Obama.  I'm not sure what all the facts are in this sorrowful shooting incident, but I'm reasonably certain that none of these aforementioned rabble rousers do either.  As Bill Clinton's posse was wont to say when he was (repeatedly) in hot water ... "Let's all take a deep breath and wait for the facts" (or, in his case, "spin.")

Even Conservative legal pundits seem willing to charge George Zimmerman with at least manslaughter (see: Powerline Comments ... and read the Responses too) before a grand jury has sifted through all the evidence.  I, for one ... possibly the only one ... am willing to wait until this highly-charged emotional fog lifts and the facts are verifed by responsible parties before I deem anyone guilty or innocent.