Broomstraw Philosophers and Scuppernong Wine

The damn dam has broke.

Usually, when Liz Cheney makes a statement, you can take it pretty seriously. Near the end of the Committee's last hearing, she made the comment about "the dam has broke"? What did she mean by that?

Now, we see people like Mulvaney and Pompeo, and others, agreeing to testify in front of the Committee. Why are they doing it?

Likely, because they would like to be on record before they are subpoenaed to be in front of a criminal grand jury? Somehow it would make them look more cooperative, with nothing to hide. They do not wish to be directly connected to the DOJ investigation to overthrow our government, by violent means. They prefer to put some distance between themselves and Donald Trump.

Questions the DOJ must ask the former VP ?

These are questions that cannot be answered by a former Chief of Staff or a representative of the former Vice-President. They can only be answered by Mike Pence.

Did you or any of your family ever feel threatened on January 6th? And why?

Why did you not come forward until now?

How much pressure did you feel to change the electoral votes on January 6th?

Did you, with the approval of General Milley, call out military assistance to clear the Capitol on January 6th?

Did you ever receive a phone call from Donald Trump during the siege of the Capitol?

Did you ever feel that our democracy was under threat?

Are we in a recession?

I think we are, but the indications are that it is a very light recession. We are now in negative growth for two successive quarters, which is the measure most economists use.

However, in the last quarter, the GDP grew at a negative rate of 1.7%. Not terrible but not great. The most recent numbers for this quarter show a negative rate of .9%, almost half of the last quarter. With gas prices declining, it is very possible we will be back in positive growth by the next quarter.

Naturally, the Republicans are already looking to make hay out of these numbers. They are calling it the "Biden recession".

So far, it is a very light recession but it is what it is.

Will the Georgia elector fraud case harm the federal investigation?

Will it slow down or obstruct the work that the DOJ is doing? Will it put some folks into "double jeopardy"?

Fani Willis is fearless. I am sure she will not hesitate to subpoena whomever she thinks will help her case, including Donald J Trump. I would not be surprised to see him named as a "target" in her investigation sometime soon. How could he not be?

What is at stake in the DOJ investigation?

If Donald Trump is not indicted for his crimes, there is no reason to believe he would not maintain control of the Republican Party and be their nominee for the White House in 2024.

And he could very well "win" the next election. Then, what would happen?

My brain and my gut tells me that the next Administration of Donald Trump would make the first one look like a picnic. It would be all-out fascist.

It would be criminal in every aspect. Criminals would be running our government for their own personal enrichment. Pardons would await anyone that was charged with a crime.

The cruelty and inhumane actions would be unimaginable at this time.

We would no longer be a democracy in any sense of the word.

If Trump is not prosecuted, or if the investigation is passed over to a Special Prosecutor, it would be the end of democracy in America.

In my opinion, that is what is at stake for Merrick Garland. That is what is at stake for all of us.

Does anyone else believe the situation is this dire?

Trump's first impulse seems to be to resort to threats of violence.

He speaks of "two sets of justice". In reality, that is usually correct.

However, for those that he wants to hear the code, it means something different. It means they might have to take "justice" into their own hands and clean up the mess that is intimidating him.

In yesterday's speech, he said the "Unselect Committee" was made up of "political hacks and thugs". He pushed for the death penalty for drug dealers. He praised Communist China's justice system.

He said that we are a "failing nation". He said, "Our country is now a cesspool of crime."

He thought the federal government should bypass Governors and send in the National Guard to places like Chicago. He thought they should build high quality tent cities on the outskirts of big urban centers to house the homeless and give them psychiatric help.

More info at this link:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/26/politics/trump-dc-speech/index.html

Has the DOJ talked with Mark Meadows?

Garland said it is the "most wide-ranging investigation in the history of the DOJ"..

It is huge. Trump corrupted everyone he came into contact with.

In four short years, he had corrupted the State Department, the Defense Department, Homeland Security, the US House, the US Senate, the Department of Justice, the Secret Service, every department within the US Government, and the Supreme Court.

He corrupted the minds of half the population of this country with his lies and propaganda, and literally, created a war from political Party labels. He divided the people with his rhetoric and lies.

So, Garland is right in saying that it is a "wide-ranging investigation". There are many, many people involved in the crimes and the cover-up of the crimes, including Republicans in the House and Senate. There is no way to convict all those that are guilty. He can only go after those that were pulling the strings.

The present battle between Trump and the GOP.

McConnell and the leaders in the GOP do not want Trump to announce his intentions to run for the White House before the next election in November. They believe he could threaten their chances to win the House and take back the Senate. They would prefer that he not make such an announcement.

However, Trump is feeling the heat from the House Committee and the DOJ investigations and he needs the political protection that he believes he would have as an announced candidate. A lot can happen in 3 or 4 months. It's a complicated situation.

Mike Pence is running point for the GOP because Trump cannot criticize him because he might spill the beans. The GOP would like very much to put Trump in their rear view mirror and return to their old Republican tricks.

But, Trump still holds the power in the Republican Party. If threatened too much by the GOP, he could announce that he is running as a Third Party (America First Party) and drag a third of the stars out of the sky in his descent. That would greatly harm GOP chances in the midterm elections.

It's a game of chicken and both are running scared.