Donald Trump meets with his handler
On Friday, July 13, a massive indictment against twelve Russian intelligence officers was unveiled by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The indictment against the GRU members directly implicates the Russian government of a sustained, direct attack on the Democratic Party and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
At the press conference announcing the indictment, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein informed us that days before the indictment was announced, he briefed Donald Trump. What has Trump said since being briefed? He continues his statements and comments about a “witch hunt” and “hoax” and confirmed his one-on-one meeting with Vladimir Putin remains on schedule. The two will meet on Monday in Helsinki, Finland.
On Saturday, Trump was busy tweeting, blaming President Obama:“The stories you heard about the 12 Russians yesterday took place during the Obama Administration, not the Trump Administration. Why didn’t they do something about it, especially when it was reported that President Obama was informed by the FBI in September, before the Election?”
Trump has maintained he will ask Putin whether he hacked the election, but that is all he can do. The feckless Republican Party is doing nothing to check or question a President who refuses to denounce an enemy, a country that committed cyber war against us and continues to do so on a regular basis. (The indictment also mentions a Republican candidate for Congress successfully requesting information from the same hackers.)
This behavior is not usual, to move forward with a meeting with someone who committed a crime against the United States. It strongly suggests that Trump is meeting with his Russian handler, Putin, to update him and to work out how they move forward. We must hope that Mueller continues to render justice and that the truth comes out here and we learn how compromised and complicit Donald Trump, his close confidantes, and the GOP are.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.