It should not be surprising that the President held up aid to the Ukraine in exchange for an investigation of his political rival. Trump has repeatedly told us he is a great deal maker. Making trades is how he operates. However, when combined with his lack of moral fiber and disregard for the Constitution, his wheeling and dealing creates a perfect storm for the abuse of power we have been witnessing for the past three years.
The Ukrainian Quid Pro Quo
The Ukrainian quid pro quo debacle is distinctly different from Trump’s previous scandals and appears to mark an ominous change in behavior. Trump is no longer saying he didn’t do it but rather he did and we all should accept it. That is, he gets to determine what is right and what is wrong, not the law or our Constitution.
The most damning evidence regarding the Ukrainian quid pro quo has come from Trump and the White House voluntarily. First came the release of the summary of the call between Trump and President Zelensky of the Ukraine by the White House. According to the call summary, Mr. Trump told Zelensky,
“There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that. So whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it…It sounds horrible to me.” (The full memo text can be found at Ukraine-Call ).
Earlier in the call, Trump mentioned that aid that was being held up and how good the US has been to the Ukraine. Given the summary is not a verbatim transcript, one would think they could have spun it so it did not so blatantly sound like he was asking a foreign government to investigate his political rival as a condition for getting US aid.
The call summary set off a fire storm. This was fueled further by comments Rudy Giuliani, the President’s lawyer, made during an interview on CNN. In the interview, Chris Cuommo said, “So you did ask Ukraine to look into Joe Biden?” Guilaini responded ” Of course I did.” This exchange further confirmed that during the call the President was purposefully asking the Ukraine to investigate Biden’s son.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/19/politics/rudy-giuliani-joe-biden-ukraine-cnntv/index.html
A Morphing Defense
The next line of defense was two pronged. First, the President denied there was any quid pro quo. Second, GOP defenders also denied there was a clear quid pro quo and suggested that asking a foreign government to investigate your political opponent did not rise to the level of an impeachable offense. Thumbing his nose at the idea that it is wrong to involve foreign powers in US elections, Trump asked China to investigate the Bidens during an interview. The traditional Trump defense of “they are out to get me” appears to be morphing to, “I did it, so what”.
The most incriminating evidence of a clear quid pro quo came from Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. He said such quid pro quos were common place and we should all “Get over it” suggesting it is not inappropriate. He later walked these statements back but it is on tape.
The most recent action intended to defy critics, is the President’s decision to hold next year’s G-7 conference at his own hotel. He will be awarding a large contract to his own business. This is clearly intended to poke in the eye those who have questioned his staying involved in his businesses while President. It is one more step down the “I did it, get over it” path. The campaign, in an act of very bad taste, is now selling “Get over it” t-shirts. The one I attached to this post seems to be a throwback to the 1950s with its use of the term “girls”.
“Get Over It”, an Assault on the Rule of Law
The new mantra of “I did it, get over it” is a direct attack on the checks and balances of our system. It opens the door to all types of nefarious abuses of power from corruption, to election interference, to using the power of the government to go after one’s rivals. We are entering a new and very dangerous phase of the Trump presidency.