Donald Trump v the United States review: how democracy came under assault

[Nevilledog]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/30/donald-trump-v-the-united-states-review-michael-schmidt

Now disgraced, Jerry Falwell Jr once announced that Donald Trump was entitled to an extra two years on the job as “reparations” for a “failed coup”, meaning the Mueller investigation. Joe Biden has gone so far as to predict the president will try to steal the election.

Trump and his backers openly speak of four terms in office. “If you really want to drive them crazy, say 12 more years,” the president cackles, despite express constitutional strictures to the contrary.

Even as doubts surrounding its legitimacy grow, the election assumes ever greater significance. Michael Schmidt’s first book is aptly subtitled: “Inside the Struggle to Stop a President.”

The Pulitzer-winning New York Times reporter chronicles what he has seen from his “front-row seat”. It was Schmidt who broke news of Hillary Clinton’s use of personal email while secretary of state, and of James Comey authoring a memo that detailed the president ordering him to end the FBI investigation of Gen Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser.

*snip*

[abqtommy]

1. This is good as far as our immediate situation and recent history, but it can be truthfully said

that the assault on the U.S. as a Democratic Republic has been under assault ever since 1776. Even before that there were those political/religious leaders who were sure that they were right and our form
of governance was not. To paraphrase a quote from Benjamin Franklin: "We have a Republic, if we can
keep it." Can we keep it? Can we put it back on track? We have the same potential to achieve success
that we did in 1776...

[Mike 03]

2. Hmm. So it was Rosenstein who cut Mueller off at the knees:

Specifically, the special counsel’s report addressed conspiracy and obstruction of justice but did not discuss related counterintelligence issues. Schmidt reveals that we can blame that on Rod Rosenstein, then deputy attorney general.

According to Schmidt, in the hand-off of the FBI investigation to Mueller, in the aftermath of the firing of Comey, Rosenstein deliberately narrowed the special counsel’s remit. The deputy attorney general directed Mueller to concentrate on criminality. Whether Trump was a Russian agent was not on the special counsel’s plate.

According to Schmidt, Rosenstein “had foreclosed any deeper inquiry before investigation even began”.