The Founding Fathers were often prescient regarding possible dangers facing the newly founded republic. Alexander Hamilton wrote in The Federalist Papers, Number 68 that the “most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one quarter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?”
When initial connections between the Trump campaign and Russia started surfacing last summer, they were sufficiently circumstantial to be seen as potentially harmless. Trump’s apparent admiration of Vladimir Putin (among other “strong leaders”) albeit misplaced, might have been charitably interpreted as his acknowledgment of the Russian leader’s ability to bring a crumbling and desperate former empire back to a position of influence in global affairs. However, these three things—Trump’s pro-Russia sentiments; mounting evidence of ongoing Russian connections to his campaign, Cabinet and White House staff; and unknown Russian interest or influence in his business affairs—are painting a dangerous picture of our current chief magistrate. As Hamilton also forewarned, “(f)oreign influence is truly the Grecian Horse to a republic. We cannot be too careful to exclude its entrance.”
With regard to campaign, Cabinet and White House staff, a pattern is becoming all too familiar. Claim no contacts or associations, then claim loss of memory—regarding the meeting or the content of said meeting—and, ultimately, resign or recuse yourself.
The dossier compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer, created an early flashpoint. Interestingly, Senator Sessions conversation with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak was at the height of the initial dossier controversy, but again this could be just a coincidence. What is undeniable is that President Trump and his advisers have steadfastly denied the dossier’s validity, trying to cast it off as a political conspiracy fueled by the Democratic National Committee. President Trump’s response was: “It’s all fake news…it didn’t happen.” Instead, what has been revealed is that the FBI wanted to contract with Mr. Steele to continue his investigation regarding the ties between Trump and the Kremlin after the election was over. The FBI must have thought there was a trail worth following.
General Michael Flynn, President Trump’s initial National Security Advisor, claimed no connections to Russia. Later facts regarding phone conversations with Ambassador Kislyak, accompanied by photographs of General Flynn seated at the same table as President Putin, led to his resignation. This week it was also revealed that General Flynn was on contract as an agent of the Turkish government during the campaign, another involvement he failed to mention in his vetting as National Security Advisor.
During his confirmation hearings, Attorney General Jeff Sessions failed to tell the truth about his meeting with the Russian Ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. If the meeting could have been cast aside as a temporary memory lapse, Sessions’ escape hatch closed with his denial of a meeting in written testimony regarding the same issue. Last week, the Attorney General finally decided to recuse himself from his Department’s investigations of ties between the White House and the Russian Government.
The above account does not include the activities of Paul Manafort, former Trump Campaign Advisor, or Carter Page, Mr. Trump’s foreign policy advisor. The former of these two certainly had contacts with Russia and substantial business interests in Ukraine; the latter met with Russian officials during the campaign as well. Both of these men also met with Ambassador Kislyak at a convention during the campaign.
In an ode to the tangled web of Trump associates and potential collusion with the Russian Government, Alexandra Petri’s Washington Post article satirically summarized the situation as follows:
He has spoken to Senators. He has spoken to generals, both regular and soon-to-be-attorneys. But as soon as he speaks his words vanish, as if they had never been. No one can definitely state that they were in the room with him at any time…His name is Sergey Kislyak, and he is the Most Forgettable Man in the World.
The denials proved just the beginning, however. In an onslaught of tweets last Saturday morning, President Trump accused former President Obama of wiretapping his offices in Trump Tower. Such allegations are not an issue of political correctness. He is alleging felonious actions on the part of former President Obama. This is also a misguided tactic because these allegations will either quickly be proven false or they indicate that an arduous process was undertaken to place taps on a private citizen based on substantial evidence of criminal activity. From the outset these tweets were a lose-lose proposition. In the face of White House pressure, current Director of the FBI, James Comey, encouraged the Justice Department not to divert resources into investigating this matter. Further, former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper flatly denied allegations that wiretaps of either Trump or his campaign had been authorized by the former Administration.
The Trump campaign, Trump White House and Trump Cabinet appear to have colluded with a foreign power for short-term political gains and potentially long-term financial rewards. The hacking itself and release of materials garnered through hacking were the first signs.
President Trump himself claimed he didn’t know Vladimir Putin. However, the facts present a multi-year association between these two men. And after several specific denials by the President himself regarding any meetings with Russian officials, it has now been confirmed that he met with Ambassador Kislyak on April 27, 2016.
This issue goes to the heart of American security. The Trump-Putin connection is undeniable, by all except our Commander-in-Tweet. We need a full-scope, fully independent investigation of all these matters, not a whitewashing or diversion into another Presidential delusion.
“Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, (I conjure you to believe me fellow citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.” – George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
Abigail Adams