Trump was not exonerated!

By Dr. E. Faye Williams
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler conducted a very fair, disciplined and level hearing with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. It’s no surprise that the first point made was Donald Trump was not exonerated in the Special Counsel’s report. Despite what we’re hearing from some, Democrats got what they needed to begin impeachment hearings by the end of the hearings of both committees.

Democrats sought facts and were never rude. Republicans were rude and sought to discredit Mr. Mueller and his team. I’m pleased with the courteous way the Democrats sought answers. I’m not so pleased with the way the Republicans hounded Mr. Mueller.

The hearing established that we have a non-convicted felon in the White House and but for the OLC policy that a sitting President cannot be indicted Mr. Mueller gave us what we needed to know. Trump committed multiple acts of obstruction! All of the elements were met.

Intel Committee Chair Adam Schiff established that the Trump team knew about Russian meddling and endorsed it. They invited it and made full use of it. There may not be a provable crime on Trump’s part, but the Trump team certainly gave the Russians a boost.

Trump wanted a Trump Tower in the middle of Moscow. It’s clear he would do anything, including going against the laws and spirit of our country, to make the Tower happen. That meant more to him than any loyalty to our country. The Trump team welcomed Russian dirt on Secretary Hillary Clinton. Trump called on Russia to find Clinton’s emails.

Flynn, Manafort, Gates, Cohen and others have been convicted of lying. It’s clear there was no witch hunt. Russian interference was not a hoax. When Trump said he had no business dealings with Russia, he was lying. Trump’s team did not inform the FBI of the contacts. Messaging for Trump’s campaign was built around the stolen information. Mr. Mueller said the Russians interfered in our election and they’re still doing it! That’s highly concerning, and should be to every American citizen. How Trump’s supporters can cheer his gross behavior is also highly concerning.

Without a doubt, Trump ran for President to make money and nothing was going to stop him. There was definitely a quid pro quo. Putin wanted sanctions lifted on Russia. It’s obvious that greed corrupts. No disruption of our elections or doing damage to our country would stop Trump from getting what he wanted – to insure whether or not he had the votes, he would get credit for the win and he would make money.

Trump has continued to say the investigation was a witch hunt and a hoax. Mueller firmly denies that is a lie. What’s clear is Trump’s concern was his billion-dollar deal to build that Tower in Russia. Mr. “Make America Great Again” couldn’t resist that! There was an attack on our democracy, and Trump and his team were all tied up in it, welcoming Russia’s help. It was confirmed that the interference was intended to benefit Trump.

It’s clear that Wiki Leaks is a hostile intelligence service; yet, Trump loves Wiki Leaks. He didn’t care who was hurt or whether the information was true or false. He didn’t care if he was helping Russia get what Russia wanted – that is lifting sanctions. Trump’s behavior hampered the investigation. Mr. Mueller wanted to interview Trump in person, but was never allowed to do so. Does this sound like an innocent person? Mr. Mueller was obviously constrained by DOJ, but we could extract the answer if he were able to discuss everything he investigated. It’s my prayer that impeachment would begin soon without regard to whether the Senate would do the right thing.

This article originally published in the August 5, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.