Former DOJ employees—Messrs. Engel, Rosen, and Donoghue—proved that two things could be true at once. The country owes them a debt for their adherence to the law. While at the same time, the praise being heaped upon them is misplaced because, as comic Chris Rock said, that’s what you’re “supposed to do.” Former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, Deputy AG Richard Donoghue, and DOJ official Steven Engel collectively sat through a blackmailing phone call to Ukraine president Zelenskyy; the choosing of Vladimir Putin over the United States intelligence, and calling for white supremacists to “stand back and stand by.” Throughout all this, they acted as the three blind barristers. Although they were instrumental in stopping the peaceful coup, they skipped the opportunity to speak up about it during Trump’s second impeachment for the violent second attempt.
Rosen, Donoghue, and Engel weighed the loss of prestige, money, and the keys to the executive washroom over the country for more than a year. I do not want to minimize their input in keeping our democracy safe, especially when names like Jeff Clark and Sidney Powell were bandied around to represent the country’s interests. Real heroes, like service members, police, and firefighters, earned respect for realizing their oath daily in the face of danger. Keeping one’s head down is not cowardice, but it is flinching.
Pundits ask the question: Does Donald Trump honestly believe he won over Joe Biden? That is the wrong question. What should be asked is how dangerous was a delusional president? One of the astounding statements in yesterday’s testimony was when Donald Trump said to the DOJ officials, “you guys may not be following the internet the way I do,” citing the internet as a source for his theory of fraud—Wikipedia and Facebook is not the FBI. That sort of decision-making quality in a president is frightening. What if he read the moon exploded? Would he invest America’s budget in bagels?
If the situation and America’s now fragile democracy were not on the line, it would be funny listening to ‘Andrew Dice’ Barr let loose with b.s. Bombs. Watching the likes of Jake Tapper and Nicolle Wallace repeat some of the seven words you cannot say on TV brings a smile. Then you listen to more testimony and find yourself using all seven of Carlin’s dirty words yourself. As the inside information starts to leak out from former Trump officials and family, you feel like you were in a near-hit plane flight. Save for a few honest men who navigated the fouled political air; disaster loomed on the horizon.
Although many experts have said a Trump second run is inevitable, I have doubts. Oh, I believe he will announce, raise a lot of money, and even hold a few rallies to feed his ego, but like most of his ventures, they will be beset with lies, delusions, and self-consuming hate, eventually leading to failure. Most people believe that the GOP has become a reflection of Trump, but the truth may be Trump is the ugly reflection the GOP always wanted. The party that still idolizes Reagan, fell to their knees over Sarah Palin and exalted Trump is careening toward failure with Mr. Trump as the hood ornament.
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