The Children's Hour
Robert Mueller passed away on Saturday at the age of 81 from Parkinson’s Disease. He dedicated his life to serving America. Mueller fought in Viet Nam, where he earned a Bronze Star with Valor, a Purple Heart and other awards for bravery in war. He also served as FBI Director.
It is important to mention that upfront, so as to put Trump’s response to the passing of this American hero in perspective. It’s one of those rare tweets from Trump where it’s necessary to show, rather than just quote, since otherwise it might not be believed.
Obviously, there’s an encyclopedia of things I could write about my personal reaction in response, but not only is that absolutely unnecessary, I’m certain, since readers of these pages tend to be mature, thoughtful adults (and the few who aren’t -- you know who you are. But you’re, at least, still thoughtful adults…), but far better to let attorney Ty Cobb respond, since he was White House Special Counsel for Trump, managing the administration’s response to the Department of Justice’s investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 presidential election, that was led by Robert Mueller.
In an interview on MS NOW, Cobb said that Robert Mueller’s “character should never be questioned.” He went on -- “What the president said today, of course, is petty, shameful, despicable, and undignified. Sadly, that is the president we have. But fortunately, in American history, we’ve had people like Bob Mueller, and hopefully our better angels like Bob can get us beyond the fascism that we’re experiencing at this moment.”
After getting a question from the anchor, Cobb went on:
“So, that’s the type of person that President Trump is. He’s a demented narcissist. You know, seriously hates anybody who stands in opposition to him, has reworked the justice department into a revenge machine, and rules the country in a very authoritarian manner with the assistance of a cowardly cabinet and even more cowardly Republicans in Congress.”
“And that’s tragedy,” Cobb said. “That’s something we’re all having to deal with. But I think, you know, rather than focusing on the despicable response of a demented president, that we should really focus on the hero that we lost today and ideally, gain some inspiration and some strength that we can bring out on No Kings Day when we stand up again for our country.”
Who am I to contradict Mr. Cobb. He was Trump’s lawyer as president, after all, and worked closely with Robert Mueller and his team.
It's worth noting that the whole reason Robert Mueller investigated Trump was not because he went on a personal, independent vendetta attack, but rather because he was hired by Trump’s own Department of Justice to do a report on Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential campaign. In fact, even more to the point, Robert Mueller was hired by Trump’s own Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein! (Rosenstein was in the position because Attorney General Jeff Session had recused himself – which infuriated Trump so much he later fired him.)
Furthermore, although Trump viciously attacked Mueller in the immediacy of his death, the reality is that in the Mueller Report, Mueller didn’t accuse Trump of conspiracy or any other crime, and only referred his findings to Congress to act, if they chose to. (He did find that Trump “colluded” with Russia, though that is not a crime.) If there were lives that were “hurt,” they were the lives of people who were indicted by Trump’s own DOJ and literally found guilty by juries, or literally pled guilty. That's the opposite of "innocent."
Similarly, contrary to what Trump suggests, he himself isn’t someone who is “innocent” but has been convicted of 34 felonies, rape and fraud. None were related to Mueller’s investigation, though he is, nonetheless, a convicted felon, rapist and fraud. Also worth adding is that in his report, Robert Mueller explains that he couldn’t charge anyone with collusion -- not because he found that none existed – but because some evidence was encrypted, deleted, or not saved, and there was testimony given that was false, incomplete, or refused. In fact, the report did say that there was "collusion" with 140 contacts between the Russians and 18 members of Trump's team -- though the authors explained that "collusion" is not "a term of art in federal criminal law"). Even more to the point, as Trump tries to pain himself "innocent" before the report didn't charge him with a crime, Mueller said that "Under longstanding department policy, a present president can not be charged with a federal crime while he is in office. That is unconstitutional. Charging the president with a crime was therefore not an option." Even Trump's own Attorney General after the release of the report, William Barr, said, "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
My hope is that reporters should track down every MAGOP in Congress and ask for a reaction about Trump’s response. And for those who say they hadn’t read Trump's tweet and have no comment, reporters should have the tweet printed out so they can give them a copy.
I’m sure that while most will either say something soft like they have a different view, or find a way to scurry off so fast they leave their soul and self-respect behind without responding, there will be a few who support what Trump said, because that’s what those around him do. In fact, already there are several in the administration who – taking Trump’s lead, as always – have chosen to virulently slam the American hero.
One other thought came to mind when I read Trump’s response. For someone just a year younger than Robert Mueller -- and in poor health suffering from dementia which is degenerative -- Trump should have been aware before posting this that at some point people will be quoting him about himself.
The thing to keep in mind is that, as much as so many will likely be thinking it, most won't say it out loud in public. Because as deep and justified as their hatred of Trump is for trying to overthrow democracy and the country, and bringing fascism to his party, they have a sense of decency and humanity. And for all the others who do say it out loud and in public...none of them are president of the United States, where the responsibility is so much higher that it doesn't even register on the charts.
A friend wrote me on Saturday to he say didn't think anything Trump said anymore could shock him. That he was immunized by exposure to his sickness. Adding, "Clearly, I was wrong."
I fully understand the point. We think Trump can't go any lower. But when I read that Robert Mueller had died, my immediate thought was to start looking over the landscape to see if there were any new holes.
After all, Trump does have dementia, which is degenerative. And he is a malignant narcissist. So, ultimately, in whatever he does, there's nowhere for him to go but down.
Comments