On Sunday, June 11, 2017, Dana Milbank of The Washington Post submitted a column to the Post commenting on the testimony of former FBI Director, James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee. In the column, Milbank, a long time observer of the Washington scene, said that for him the most “chilling” part of Comey’s testimony was his explanation of why he wrote lengthy, descriptive notes immediately after his private conversations with President Donald Trump. It was in Comey’s words “the nature of the person, I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting and so I thought it really important to document.” Milbank later quotes Trump’s spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, to the effect that “the President is not a liar. I think it is frankly insulting that that question would be asked.” Milbank sums up his column by disagreeing with Sanders: “No, what’s insulting – to America- is that the question (whether the President is a liar) didn’t need to be asked. Comey, until last month the nations top lawman, confirmed what we already knew.
What to make of this? Milbank claims that the Founders of our country did not anticipate such a situation “that the President is at his core a dishonest and untrustworthy man.” That what we have is “a defect not just of private misconduct (which we have seen before) but of public character.” But is this true, that our Founders in framing our Constitution did not anticipate such a development?
“The essence of the Government is power: and power lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse. – James Madison, 1829
“The whole art of Government consists in the art of being honest.” – Thomas Jefferson, July 1774
Nothing is more essential to the Establishment of Manners in a State than that all Persons employed in places of Power and Trust be Men of unexceptional Characters, the Publick cannot be too Curious concerning the Characters of public Men.” – Samuel Adams, November 1775
“Enlightened statesman will not always be at the helm.” – James Madison, Federalist #10, November 1787
“if ever the Time shall come when vain & aspiring men shall possess the highest Seats in Government, our Country will stand in Need of its Patriots to prevent Ruin. ” – Samuel Adams November 1780
“The aim of every political constitution, is, or ought to be, first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their pubic trust.” – James Madison, Federalist #57, February 1788
In making his argument that the Founders hadn’t see today’s dilemma Dana Milbank said, “the moral certainty that the Enlightenment broke down with the election of something more medieval.” But do the above comments appear morally uncertain? They had seen all that we see, in their times and in previous centuries. Our Founders knew vain & aspiring men when they saw them. They knew what was right and would say that what America has in 2017 is not right. Perhaps Thomas Jefferson said it best, “the whole art of governing consists in the art of being honest.”
- John Jay