Sunday, January 03, 2021

Donald Trump’s Open and Shameless Criminality



[Donald Trump] is openly and shamelessly a criminal, both at a federal and state level, and should be held accountable. And I’ll just say this: the best way to ensure that people abandon the Democratic party would be 'moving on' without consequences for what Trump has done and continues to do to this very day. Because clearly Republicans don’t care since they’re continuing to line up behind him to defend his every autocratic move, even going so far as to object to the election results and further perpetuate this authoritarian scheme, meaning that if Democrats fail to hold them accountable, all that does is send the GOP a message loud and clear that corruption and extortion and criminality will be tolerated. And next time when it’s not someone so ham-handed and sloppy as Donald Trump, they’ll get away with it. So ensuring this never happens again relies on a zero-tolerance response, a response so consequential that it leaves no doubt what will happen if anyone tries to undermine our democracy again. Because, as it stands, the GOP is embracing authoritarianism wholeheartedly, and the time to stop them is right now.

– Brian Tyler Cohen
Excerpted from “A Phone Call Just Got Leaked of Trump
Demanding Georgia’s Secretary of State Add Votes

January 3, 2020



NEXT: Insurrection at the United States Capitol



Related Off-site Links:
Trump Pressures Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to Overturn His Defeat in Extraordinary CallThe Washington Post (January 3, 2021).
In Recorded Call, Trump Pressures Georgia Official to “Find” Votes to Overturn Election – Andy Sullivan and Michael Martina (Reuters, January 3, 2021).
Trump Accused of “Criminal Extortion” After Asking Georgia Officials to “Find” 11,000 Votes for Him – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, January 3, 2021).
Carl Bernstein: This Is the Ultimate Smoking Gun Tape – CNN (January 3, 2021).
Trump Suing Secretary of State Raffensperger Over Recorded Call, Georgia RNC Chair Says – Christopher Buchanan (11Alive.com (January 3, 2021).
GOP Leaders Are Angrier About Trump Being Recorded Than His Demand That Votes Be “Found” So He Can Win – Sarah K. Burris (Raw Story, January 3, 2021).
Bernie Sanders and Other Critics Denounce GOP Senators’ “Pathetic” Attempt to Undermine Biden’s Election Victory – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, January 3, 2021).
AP Fact Check: Trump’s Made-Up Claims of Fake Georgia Votes – Hope Yen, Jeff Amy and Michael Balsamo (AP News, January 3, 2021).

UPDATES: Trump’s “Perfect Call” to Try and Change the Georgia Election Result Is a Crime Against Democracy – Matt Lewis (The Daily Beast, January 4, 2021).
The “Perfect” Phone Call – Heather Cox Richardson (BillMoyers.com, January 4, 2021).
Ten Former Pentagon Chiefs Warn Donald Trump Against Involving Military in Pursuing Election Fraud ClaimsABC News (January 4, 2021).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Trump’s Legacy
Republicans Don’t Care About American Democracy
Bye Bye
“The Republican Party Has Now Made It Official: They Are a Cult”
Progressive Perspectives on Corruption in U.S. Politics
Michael Sean Winters: “The Entire Republican Establishment Has Caved to Trumpism”
With Republicans at the Helm, It's the United States of Hypocrisy
A Profoundly Troubling and Tragic Indictment


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