November 29, 2021

By David Jay Morris

When is doing the right thing the wrong thing to do?

An ever-increasing number of polls now show that Donald Trump, by far the worst president in U.S. history, would beat Joe Biden if an electoral rematch was held today. They also show that more-and-more Republicans are falling under his spell and buying the Big Lie hook, line and sinker. 

Meanwhile, there is every indication that the Party of Trump (formerly known as the GOP) will win back the House and possibly the Senate in the 2022 midterms. 

Is your hair on fire yet?

Mine is.

Let’s face facts. Civil War 2.0 has begun and our side, you know – the one that still believes in democracy, is losing.

After all the damage done by the four-year-long assault on the American system of government that was the Trump presidency, President Biden came into office determined to bring decency back to the White House and to have his executive branch once more operate according to the set of norms that have served us so well over the years. He then focused on passing and implementing a broad series of practical initiatives aimed at overcoming the coronavirus pandemic and improving the lives of ordinary Americans.

Was this the right thing to do?

Absolutely.

Does it meet the danger we now face from the increasingly deranged yet ever more powerful Cult of Trump?

Absolutely not.

In announcing the indictment of Steve Bannon for his obstruction of Congress, Attorney General Merrick Garland stressed his commitment to a completely apolitical Department of Justice and to operating strictly according to the law and long-established precedent. 

Was this the right thing to do?

Absolutely.

Does it meet the danger posed to our society by a megalomaniacal wanna-be king who believes himself above the law and has, throughout his career, manipulated the rules and norms of our justice system for the sole purpose of the obstruction of justice?

Absolutely not.

It has often been said that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

Well, if the growing tsunami of autocracy we are now seeing in the U.S. doesn’t qualify as extraordinary, what does?

Are we not at the point when doing the right thing – attempting to bring back a sense of normalcy to the nation and operating strictly within the rules – is no longer the right thing to do?

An overwhelming counterattack is needed.

Now.

Donald Trump needs to be put onto his back foot and kept there for the rest of his life.

Trumpism as a viable political force needs to be obliterated.

But how, you ask…

How?

First, at the very highest levels (I’m looking at you Merrick and Joe) the depth of the problem and the need to address it much more aggressively needs to be recognized and accepted.

Then stop playing nice.

Do what Trump would do - break a few norms.

Not for everyone, but specifically for Donald and his cronies…and anyone else who launches a serious attack on the Constitution of the United States and the system of government it embodies.

Then, the DOJ needs to indict Trump now.

Publically.

For what?  With Trump, there’s a veritable cornucopia of questionable activities one could go after, starting with emoluments, tax evasion, election finance laws, other election law violations, insurance fraud and who knows what else – ask long-time Trump watcher David Cay Johnson to draw up a list.

It will be a long one.

But to get the ball rolling, how about the DOJ starts with the really low-hanging fruit, the obstruction of justice charges against Trump the Mueller Report so nicely wrapped up in a bow and delivered on its doorstep.

And to keep it fresh, tie it in with his current efforts to obstruct the congressional investigations into the January 6th attack on Democracy.

Hand-in-glove with this, a full-spectrum investigation into all of Donald’s potentially criminal and treasonous activities should be conducted and, breaking the norm of the DOJ’s code of silence about such things, we should hear about all of it.

Every day.

For his part, President Biden should start by issuing a new Presidential Proclamation.  It should state that the government no longer has an obligation to keep secret any previously withheld information about people or organizations whose activities pose a clear and present danger to the Constitution and governmental system of the United States.

He could then release everything the government holds related to Trump and his administration that wouldn’t pose a genuine security threat.  And not just to the DOJ or Congress.  It should be released publically, both online and directly to every major news organization in the country. 

This could include not just call logs and visitor rolls, but actually letters, directives, recordings, meeting and translators notes…anything not directly related to national security.

Heck, it might be a hard thing to defend, but I would even throw in 30 years of federal tax returns. 

Many would argue that the president probably doesn’t have the authority to do this and it would be too much of a violation of Trump’s right to privacy. 

But if such drastic action is necessary to save our democracy and way of life, who cares.

Just do it.

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