DOJ Mishandles President's Tweet

When the comedians do an impression of former President Richard Nixon, they always use Nixon’s famous “I am not a crook” line during the Watergate time. It works even better when a comedian can not only make a facial expression that looked like Nixon but mimic his voice in such a manner, that if you closed your eyes, you might think that it was actually Nixon doing the talking. Well, move over Dicky. Someone else has taken your place in history that comedians will forever use in their acts to show us just how some politicians can miss the boat when it comes to knowing what they are talking about. Enter Maine’s Republican Senator, Susan Collins. Collins will be mentioned forever in political folklore for saying that she hoped that President Trump “had learned his lesson” following his acquittal in the Senate during his impeachment “trial”. The evidence clearly shows that President Trump has not learned anything, except that he really can do whatever he wants as long as he is President. Unless checked, Trump will test the limits of his presidential powers without looking at the Constitution because, as President, he controls the Executive Branch of the Constitution. An example of the President pushing the envelope came recently when he expressed his displeasure to the 7-9 years that federal prosecutors recommended that long-time Trump ally Roger Stone, serve in prison for his role in the 2016 Russian probe. The President tweeted for all to see that the sentencing was “bias”, literally saying that the Justice Department needed to look into the case. Guess what? In a matter of hours, DOJ suddenly “had a change of heart” in how long Stone’s sentence should be, causing the four prosecutors who had secured the conviction to resign from having anything else to do with the case. Imagine if that had been something that President Obama had done.

The Attorney General had to have been caught off guard by the President’s tweet because he, as head of DOJ had to do damage control, saying that plans for sentencing recommendations were being formulated before they were announced. In other words, in order to cover the President as to whether the tweets caused them to “align” with the President’s preference was “unfounded”. Though DOJ is a part of the Executive Branch, it is supposed to be INDEPENDENT when it comes to judicial matters such as criminal cases and investigations. There are some things that DOJ is not allowed to do, such as what Rudy Giuliani did in the Ukraine scandal. Giuliani is an attorney, but he is not a DOJ employee. Trump used him as Barr couldn’t authorize him to conduct an illegal operation under DOJ guidelines.

By putting out a tweet hinting that he wanted a lesser sentence for Stone, the President appears to tell the world that all of the power lies in his hands. All he has to do is snap his fingers, and even those that he should seek consult from before exercising a presidential act, seem powerless to exert any kind of restraint on the President. The President’s tweet sets off a dangerous precedent as to how much influence he can wield over a justice department that is supposed to be impartial. It is (some may say), not a part of the process. The President is campaigning hard for reelection, as he continues to hold onto his base, trying to convince them and other voters who may be straddling the fence, that he is the nation’s only hope. The Attorney General has to show more independence from what the President tweets. That may/may not happen. The AG knows that he is out of the door if he doesn’t toe the line. Ask Jeff Sessions. Ask those people(Sondland, Vindman) that worked in the State Department. Ask Susan Collins. She may not be a Senator come November. Has the President learned any lessons? We will see in November. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.