Tag: Trump acting like a mob boss

Trump delivers thinly-veiled threat to Mike Pence ahead of electoral vote count in Congress

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During his rally in Dalton, Ga., on Monday, Jan. 4, President Donald Trump delivered a thinly-veiled threat to Vice President Mike Pence ahead of Congress’ formal count of electoral votes.

Trump told his crowd of supporters that he hopes Pence “comes through” for themalthough the vice president’s role in overseeing the vote is procedural. The embattled president also insinuated that Pence would no longer be on his list of favorable people, according to The Daily Beast.

“I hope Mike Pence comes through for us,” Trump said to his crowd of supporters. “If he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him quite as much.” Continue reading.

With Mounting Demands For Probe Of Trump Call, U.S. Attorney In Georgia Abruptly Quits

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Byung Pak resigned abruptly on Monday, according to Talking Points Memo and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as the state finds itself at the center of fierce debates over the 2020 election.

It’s not uncommon for U.S. attorneys to resign near the end of an outgoing administration. But Pak, a Republican who was appointed to his position by President Donald Trump in 2017, has previously indicated “he would not leave until Inauguration Day,” Talking Points Memo reported. This apparently abrupt departure, then, is likely to draw scrutiny.

It’s especially noteworthy because Trump himself suddenly became the target of intense criticism when the Washington Post published a recording of his call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over the weekend. In the call, Trump insisted he won the state, relying on a series of debunked and fictitious claims about supposed fraud and misconduct in the election that he claimed tilted the result in Biden’s favor. Most egregiously, he told Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes, the number he believed he needed to flip the state and win its electoral votes. Trump even seemed to threaten Raffensperger when he suggested the secretary could face criminal penalties for his administration of the election. Continue reading.

Why Congress Should Impeach Trump Again

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And this time, he should be convicted. The country cannot risk his becoming president again.

The emergence of an audio recording of President Trump pressuring the Georgia secretary of state to overturn the results of the election is a harrowing moment in the history of our democracy. And though the number of his days in office is dwindling, the only appropriate response is to impeach Mr. Trump. Again.

Whether he acknowledges it or not, President Trump is leaving the White House on Jan. 20 — but right now, there is nothing stopping him from running in 2024. That is a terrifying prospect, because the way he has conducted himself over the past two months, wielding the power of the presidency to try to steal another term in office, has threatened one of our republic’s most essential traditions: the peaceful transfer of power.

Fortunately, our founders anticipated we would face a moment like this, which is one reason Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution entrusts Congress with the power not only to remove a president but also to prevent him or her from ever holding elected office again. Mr. Trump’s conduct over the past two months has left our legislators with no choice but to use it. That impeachment inquiry would take time, far more than Mr. Trump has left in office. But it would be well worth it. Continue reading.

With Attack On Scarborough, Trump Sends A ‘Mob Boss’ Message

President Donald Trump has taken time out in recent days from hyping false allegations about vague crimes purportedly committed by his predecessor, Barack Obama, to hype false allegations about a very specific crime purportedly committed by one of his critics in the media, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough.

In a series of vile, unhinged Twitter rants, Trump has repeatedly promoted the conspiracy theory that Scarborough murdered Lori Kaye Klausutis, his former staffer, calling for new investigations by law enforcement and by online “forensic geniuses.”

“Psycho Joe Scarborough is rattled, not only by his bad ratings but all of the things and facts that are coming out on the internet about opening a Cold Case,” the president wrote this morning. “He knows what is happening!” Continue reading.

 

Trump shakes up Justice Department, intelligence community

The Hill logoPresident Trump is challenging two institutions with crucial roles to play in the next election with a controversial appointment to the intelligence community and tweets directed at the Justice Department.

The intelligence appointment underscored Trump’s priority of loyalty over experience, according to critics, while the tweets complicated proceedings at the Justice Department while creating turmoil for Attorney General William Barr.

This has led to stringent criticisms that he is weakening the Justice Department and intelligence community, two institutions with crucial roles to play in the next election. Continue reading.