The largest and most dangerous cover-up in history is happening right now...

[cynatnite]

It's not hyperbole. If what the anonymous OpEd said is true, many working directly for tRump and members of his cabinet are knowingly working for someone they know is not fit for the office. They know his amorality, they know his darkest impulses and they know his complete ineptitude. Not only that, many have actively subverted tRump's orders, including military leaders.

It's in essence a coup of sorts and tRump isn't running the country. We should find comfort in that he is being contained to a degree, but then again we should be alarmed.

People who were never elected or on any ballot for the position are making decisions that impact this country.

[FM123]

1. Yes, it is very dangerous.

We all can see trumpy's amorality, darkest impulses and complete ineptitude - but since they hide in the shadows, we really don't know about theirs.

[Pacifist Patriot]

2. I just posted this article.

Anonymous White House Writer Isn’t A Patriot. They’re Betraying The Constitution.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-new-york-times-anonymous-oped_us_5b90994ee4b0511db3dee5a7

You are absolutely correct. It is horrifying!!!

[exboyfil]

8. The Frum article from The Atlantic as well

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/this-is-a-constitutional-crisis/569443/

[SWBTATTReg]

32. The cabinet members that can invoke the 25th amendment as well as the repug-controlled ...

Congress are betraying the country and constitution. Remember this forever, that they allowed an incompetent, pathetic, senile loser of a man to continue running the executive branch of government (or claim he does) when he in fact, he can't and is unfit.

[Deb]

3. They know he is a traitor.

And that is all I need to understand.

[Zoonart]

4. Exactly Right.

I think many are missing the real danger here. The elected chief executive is NOT running the government. It is being run by a secret cabal. That is probably the definition of constitutional crisis.

We all want Trump gone and soon, but the fact that the decision making processes of the administration is being run by an ad-hoc cabal of unelected co-conspirators, in order to save us from the unindicted co-conspirator is truly crazy and scary

[FSogol]

5. Isn't that exactly what happened when Reagan has Alzheimer's or when Cheney was calling the shots

for W?

Par for the course for these Republican pukes.

[Zoonart]

6. Yes and Yes.

[SMoss]

16. Great quote.

Thomas Paine was an amazing guy, highly educated but self taught and a true believer in democracy.

[Zoonart]

22. Thanks, Moss.

Welcome to DU.

[cynatnite]

7. Yes, but I think this is a much worse situation...

There is much we don't know.

tRump could've had either an executive order for Medicare-for-all or orders to nuke Iran on his desk that were taken away.

It's insane.

[lagomorph777]

12. ...or Woodrow Wilson's stroke.

Technically he was a Dem, but not the enlightened sort of post-FDR Dem.

[FSogol]

38. But that was prior to the 25th admendment. There was no procedure to deal with it in Wilson's time.

[lagomorph777]

39. Yeah; 25th was written because of Wilson, if I recall correctly.

[appalachiablue]

50. JFK

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxv

[lagomorph777]

55. Oh wow, great educational stuff!

[Wawannabe]

43. My thoughts exactly!

I posted as much below before reading. But this is beginning to be a pattern with repub administrations!

[blueinredohio]

54. That's what I'm saying.

[llmart]

11. He wasn't elected.

That is the origin of the place we find ourselves in now.

[pangaia]

26. Russians are laughing their asses off.

[Zoonart]

28. Yep.

[smirkymonkey]

56. +1000

[exboyfil]

9. Anyone ready for a Parliamentary constitution?

[lagomorph777]

15. Not a safe time to mess with the Constitution. I have plenty of complaints about it too,

but just keep in mind that Russiapublicans hold almost all the cards right now. Delicate surgery is required; we can address structural issues after restoring some semblance of Constitutional democracy.

[watoos]

17. OMG

you just made me belly laugh. Can you imagine, just picture, Trump before parliament?

He is afraid to do press conferences let alone stand before parliament.

[Blue_playwright]

25. I love that visual!

I greatly dislike Theresa May, but she has the balls to do so. Trump would find an excuse and then to play golf.

[defacto7]

52. Yes.. but not now..

[Jarqui]

10. The Republicans are complicit in this

All his senior cabinet are Republicans who have to know.

Their answer: party first, country second or less

Unlike Trump, they do not have mental health issues as an excuse

[FakeNoose]

13. Yes, except it's not even "party first" any more

It's "ultra-rightwing ideology first" and everybody else can pound salt. Many middle of the road Republicans have been toasted by this group, not to mention all the Dems and minority groups.

[bdamomma]

44. or is it?

$$$$$ first, their allegiance to Russia and to hell with the Constitution and the American people.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

14. don't forget Kavanaugh

SCOTUS is a big reason GOPers have gone to such great lengths to normalize that thing in the White House.

To maintain power and the most favorable position at the trough, they need to make the laws, execute the laws, and interpret the laws. All three branches must be subverted. Pence doesn't carry the foaming-at-the-mouth portion of voters. They need their figurehead.

[watoos]

21. Kavanaugh on the SC is terrifying

He will be the farthest reich wing justice in our history.

[HipChick]

18. Trump was always going to outsource the Presidency anyway...

so end result in the same..

[hopeforchange2008]

19. It's not like he hired qualified people - and I don't mean that sarcastically

He’s hired incompetents! And they’re calling shots? It’s not reassuring!

[Harker]

29. And when things go terribly, catastrophically wrong

they can lay off the entirety of the blame on a despised, unpopular sock puppet.

Accountability, and the acceptance thereof, is a largely Democratic trait.

[gordianot]

20. The pendulum swings both ways, 2016 coup now a 2018 counter coup.

Bloodless so far, how will this end? End it must. Trump is obviously mentally ill, how many of his delusions does he believe?

[watoos]

23. I see no counter coup from the right.

[Blue_playwright]

27. You make a good point.

. The pendulum swings both ways, 2016 coup now a 2018 counter coup... that makes a lot of sense. What disturbs me is that these are his own boot licking sycophants- and even they recognize he’s a danger to our country!

[gordianot]

33. Trump is easily played, if I were him I would not trust Graham or Pence.

He feeds on approval and his so called ratings as do all Narcissistic Personalities. Right now he is desperate. This confrontation is truly epic as his paranoia is bound to escalate for good reason.

[The Liberal Lion]

24. I find no comfort in the thought that he is being contained

for the simple fact that people are running the country who were not elected, and they are doing so due to a person being illegally in the White House who was not elected and who was placed in our White House by a hostile foreign power. There is no palace coup currently, but rather the true will of the people has been thwarted and the truly elected represented representative of the people, Hilllary Clinton, was usurped. How can any American take comfort in this?

[flibbitygiblets]

30. Why did they write the OP ed?

They/he/ she knows trump knows about their scheme to control him now, which means controlling him will be significantly harder to do in the future.

So why inform the public?

[Texin]

31. It's not comforting...but, it's good that they recognize that the GOP are not doing their jobs.

All the elected GOP leaders are sitting on their hands with pained expressions on their slack-jawed faces. At least this 'cabal' can do their best to contain his worst impulses by circumventing his outlandish orders and edicts. It's not enough. Granted. And while I really wish the writer of this expose would come forward publicly, perhaps the fear and concern about who his replacement would be if he resigned has given him enough fear to remain anonymous.

Perhaps, this anonymous whistleblower has issued his warning now ahead of the mid-terms in an effort to warn the people what is happening behind closed doors, and what a terrible and truly frightening set of circumstances exist there. It's clear that this person recognizes that the GOP - members of his own party - are not doing their constitutional jobs. I don't know whether this person now believes that it would be better for the House to be turned upside down with people who've been mandated by the public to demand action and investigation on a constitutional basis. And it's very likely that the writer of this expose realizes that he will be publicly outed soon enough in a tRump inquisition. I don't think this is the act of a coward, but the craven act is not so much to save himself as to warn about what's happening and what's being done to forefend tRump's most dangerous and egregious behavior and let people know that there are adults supervising and curtailing total destruction, perhaps now in an attempt to warn that the voters need to get off their collective asses and vote to DO something about it. And it totally validates every tell-all piece about this misadministration that has been published in the last couple or more years.

[yuiyoshida]

34. Republican's don't give a damn

While in Power, they will do what ever it takes to stay in power.

[dlk]

35. Thank You GOP

It appears the George W. Bush presidency was the trial balloon for non-elected officials running the country. Trump and the GOP coup is the main event.

[ffr]

36. This smells distinctly of a McConnell proxy presidency.

Dirty tricks, backroom deals, corruption, all for his RW agenda.

[PatrickforO]

37. I just called both my US Senators and my US Representative.

I have to agree with both David Frum (Atlantic) and Stephen Pike (HuffPo guest writer) on this one. By the way, if you want links a post above has them. This is in fact a constitutional crisis and Congress must exercise its powers under the Constitution to either remove Trump or set Trump's house in order. No unelected people, who are not accountable to us, should be even indirectly fulfilling the office of president.

We cannot move forward when we have this group of unelected people covering up for a simpering incompetent raging inept unintelligent amoral corrupt mess who is not qualified for the office and yet holds the title of POTUS; not when they are not elected by the people. Yet they are deciding what Trump should and should not see, stealing documents and otherwise sabotaging (or preventing) his most destructive tendencies.

You see what's wrong here? Forget Kavanaugh - we should not even consider voting to confirm or deny him until we get THIS mess fixed. In fact, everything should be on hold until we get this mess fixed. We have Amendment 25 and we have the rules of impeachment and trial. Either of those could remedy this situation, because this situation cannot go on as is. We need to impose the rule of law here.

[Farmer-Rick]

40. Who cares if they were NOT elected on a rigged and corrupted system?

The executive of the US is NOT guaranteed a free an easy ride as he destroys the rule of law, overturns moral and ethical standards and makes huge bucks over blackmailing foreign countries over trade.

No where in the constitution does it say a president can blissfully betray America to a Russian mobster. Do you think we have any state secrets that have NOT been turned over to the KGB, errr whatever little Putin calls his new spy agency?

The real traitors to the constitution are House members who refuse to impeach, Senators who refuse to convict and cabinet members who refuse to remove a mentally ill and sick president.

And I ask why? Why are all the remedies in the constitution for an out of control executive being ignored? Why are our supposedly elected officials abdicating their responsibility?

[Nitram]

41. Yes.

This is absolutely what has happened. And the intent was to rapidly pack the courts and implement a far right agenda before trump is impeached or resigns.

[Wawannabe]

42. Reagan

RE this statement:
“people who were never elected or on any ballot for the position are making decisions that impact this country.”

This happened when Reagan was President. He developed alzheimers before he left office. Nancy and other unelected people ran this country. How Iran Contra was allowed to happen???

Who knows? Maybe the repubs have been trying to repeat since and finally found Don the Con.

[Kablooie]

45. Dangerous, yes, but letting the elected official make the decisions would be even more dangerous.

It's screwed up no matter how you look at it.

(Unless you are a Republican politician. Then it's all just fine and dandy because they can cut more taxes.)

[Scurrilous]

46. K&R

[Nitram]

47. It is much more than a cover up. It is a coup. A coterie of unelected right wingers is running the

Executive Branch with the purpose of packing the courts and implementing a far right agenda.

[dalton99a]

49. +1

[Perseus]

48. There we go again "If what the anonymous OpEd said is true"

The only thing to doubt about the OpEd is the decision to not come forward and expose everything in day light, because as many people have expressed, it is a cowardly action, show your face, expose the corruption from all in the administration because this is not only the manchild in question, it is the republican congress an republican senate as well.

It drives me nuts when people write articles and they feel the have to protect themselves by not committing to what is plain clear in front of our eyes, the incompetency, the pettiness, corruption, etc. so they have to insert the "if" in their opening line...There must be a "Testicle Bank" somewhere out in the USA that caters to politicians and journalists.

[Garrett78]

51. Everything in the op-ed has been reported previously, for the most part.

There can be little doubt that it's accurate (minus the portions claiming that what this administration has done is positive).

Absent a diagnosis (and sometimes even with a diagnosis), mental health is somewhat ambiguous or subjective. But, as the LA Times points out, Trump is not remotely fit according to the Army's field manual on leadership.

And Trump is, by definition, a narcissist with an antisocial personality disorder.

Alas, Republicans fully support nearly all of the Trump agenda. And they are the majority, because they cheat.

[Demovictory9]

53. k&r