The Republican Party, which has long presented itself as a force for “law and order” has, in a very short time, revealed itself all too willing to not only ignore the law but completely undermine the institutions dedicated to upholding it.
President Trump has repeatedly impugned and attacked the reputation of not only the FBI — which he fears due to the Russia investigation — but the entire intelligence community which he hates because they revealed that Russia actively worked to get him elected over Secretary Hillary Clinton.
The GOP has chosen to cravenly remain silent through all of this, tacitly giving Trump the encouragement to continue his corrupt smear campaign. Yesterday, he sent out of one of his most egregious tweets to date, in which he stated his intention to politicize the Department of Justice and weaponize it against his enemies.
I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes – and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018
Not surprisingly, the Trump propaganda outfit that is Fox News is marching in lockstep with the president. This morning, Maria Bartiromo and Judge Andrew Napolitano reinforced Trump’s lies by claiming that President Obama politicized every federal agency and directed them to go after Trump.
“President Obama, basically, it appears to me, politicized all of his agencies: the DOJ, the FBI, the IRS, the CIA. They were all involved in trying to take down Donald Trump,” Bartiromo said without a scrap of evidence to back up her claim.
The lie is absurd at face value, given the fact that the FBI’s decision to announce it was reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails just days before the election likely played a not insignificant role in getting Trump elected. If the FBI helped anyone, even accidentally, it was Donald Trump.
Napolitano also went after former CIA Director John Brennan for his “vicious” response to Trump’s tweet and claimed that Brennan is afraid he will be exposed for taking part in the imagined abuses of the intelligence community, another claim with no basis in evidence or reality.
Brennan was right to condemn Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) for failing to stand up to Trump. He sent the tweet because it’s simply true and both men must be held accountable, not because of some sinister ulterior motive.
Senator McConnell & Speaker Ryan: If Mr. Trump continues along this disastrous path, you will bear major responsibility for the harm done to our democracy. You do a great disservice to our Nation & the Republican Party if you continue to enable Mr. Trump’s self-serving actions. https://t.co/uAhgL6wfIC
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) May 20, 2018
Fox News is now nothing more than a conspiracy theory-peddling apparatus working to prop up a corrupt, mendacious president. Their behavior is not only shameful but actively damaging to our democratic institutions. Comments like those made by Bartiromo and Napolitano must be challenged and debunked at every turn.
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