President Donald Trump yesterday applauded his son’s “transparency.”
That sole statement issued by the president sums up the noxious situation Trump, his son and the nation find themselves in: The Trump Administration is sinking into a quagmire of lies, treason, malfeasance and obfuscation — and they’re dragging the country down with them.
After learning that his son, his son-in-law and his former campaign manager gleefully sought out a Russian lawyer last summer in hopes of scoring Kremlin intelligence they hoped would be damaging to Hillary Clinton, Trump said only that his son is a “high quality” person, and he should be lauded for being so forthright.
“High quality person.” Who talks like that? Who says something like that about their child, especially one who now faces serious allegations like treason, conspiracy and collusion?
Like so much of what Trump and his administration say, the specious remarks are at best delusional, and more likely just more lies and deceit.
In reality — and despite what this administration and its supporters say, there is still reality and it is indisputable — a months-long investigation by the New York Times revealed that Trump campaign officials had been lying about never having met with Russians about Clinton intelligence, nor even knowing anything about it. For the past few days, as the Times investigation closed in on Trump Junior and the story of how he pursued a Russian lawyer after being given a tip, the president’s son kept revising his story. Finally, on Tuesday, he suddenly released damning emails on Twitter, just before the Times was about to publish them.
The whole world knows this was not an act of transparency, but one of desperation. Clearly, Trump Junior and his father hope that Americans will think that there is nothing to hide nor be ashamed of in the emails, and that the move to release them was one of righteousness.
The stunt was subterfuge. The emails are wholly damning.
Republican defenders of Trump — who are thinning in ranks every day — have said this and the entire investigation are overblown.
This is the quote that belies that hogwash. Trump Junior, in his own emails, where he anxiously anticipates getting a load of dirt on Clinton from the Russian government, says to his sources: “If it’s what you say, I love it especially later in the summer.”
He loved the idea that an enemy government had collected intelligence on a former U.S. secretary of state. He loved that American adversaries would offer to hand the secrets over in hopes of throwing the election in favor of Donald Trump. And for months now, Trump Junior, son-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign manager Paul Manafort, have sat on all of this while continuing to lie and say they never did what they’re accused of doing.
Trump Junior is transparent alright. He tried, and possibly later succeeded, in conspiring with the Russians to get damning intelligence on Clinton in hopes of helping his father win the presidency.
Such a high quality person.
In the meantime, Trump inexplicably and relentlessly denies that the Russians meddled in the last election. Just days ago, after the G-20 summit, Trump suggested that the U.S. and Russia collaborate on preventing the very cyber security theft the Russians committed against the United States and used against Trump’s political opponent.
The truth here is shocking. Whether all this is a manifestation of the Trumps’ stunning malfeasance or whether it’s just part of the unfolding drama of treachery, it’s just as breathtaking that some Congressional leaders are so cavalier about it.
Anxious to move their agenda at any and all costs, they, too, should be lauded for their transparency.
Follow @EditorDavePerry on Twitter and Facebook or reach him at 303-750-7555 or dperry@aurorasentinel.com