Monday, July 24, 2017

Wall Street Journal Editors Advise Trump To Be Transparent

The normally conservative editorial page of the WSJ is concerned about how Trump has been responding to the Mueller investigation.  It believes that it is in his interest to be transparent in its dealings with the investigation. Its recommendation assumes that Trump has nothing to hide from the investigators.  This article explains why Trump will not heed the advice from the WSJ.  Trump has a lot things to hide.  For example, there are good reasons why Trump does not want the investigators to reveal any financial relationships that might provide leverage to a foreign power.  That would make the president a national security risk.  That risk is what sunk Michael Flynn.

In any case, it appears that Trump has started down a path of no return.  His team is doing what it can to discredit the investigation and its team of prosecutors.  They are especially concerned about a prosecutor with experience in the investigation of financial fraud.  The US Constitution will be put on trail by the unprecedented steps that the Trump team is prepared to take.  The wild card will be the Republican Congress.  They will face a choice between tearing up the Constitution or defending Trump as the fight between Trump and the investigation heats up.  Trump cares only about his own interests.  Will have to see whether Republicans believe that Trump's interests are consistent with the interests of the Republican Party and perhaps the US Constitution. This crisis was predicted by an insightful article in The Atlantic during Trump's rise to power.  We all play a role in deterring Trump's efforts to build an autocracy in the US.

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