Trump's 10 Most Egregious Abuses of Power

1. 83

   My Esotericposted 3 years ago

   Some people want to put Trump behind us and just forget it ever happened - water under the bridge as it were.  Others think it needs to be not forgotten and studied and dealt with for at least two reasons: 1) to bring a since of Justice for the abuse, and some like myself would say, death at the hands of Donald Trump and 2) to learn how to prevent such an abomination from ever happening to America again.
   
   Exemplifying this are the following 10 abuses of power on CNN opinion writer put together.  Trump is being impeached for two of them (turned into one article) and was impeached for another.  He faces probably criminal charges for some others.  This is the writers list.  Readers may want to add and/or subtract from this list (I will at the end).
   
   From worst to almost the worst:
   
   1. Subverting the 2020 Election (of which the current impeachment is partly about)
   2. Inciting an Insurrection (part of the current impeachment article)
   3. Abusing the Bully Pulpit (you will have to read the article to see why this one)
   4. Politicizing the Justice Department
   5. Obstructing the Mueller Investigation (probably will be indicted for this)
   6. Abusing the Pardon Power
   7. The Ukraine Affair and Cover-up (impeached for this one)
   8. Loyalty Oaths and Personalizing the Government
   9. Firing Whistleblowers and Truth-Tellers
   10. Profiting off the Presidency.
   
   I am not sure 6, 8, and 10 would have made my list of the top ten.  I would have at least considered 1) Starting a Civil War (as #1) and 2) Politicizing the Intelligence Community.
   
   As Trump is fond of saying by way of projection - We can never let a Donald Trump happen again.

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   1. 87

      Sharlee01posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      number 10 --- Jan  25th --- U.S. Supreme Court ends anti-corruption lawsuits against Trump
      "(Reuters) - Five days after the end of Donald Trump’s presidency, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday halted lawsuits accusing him of violating the U.S. Constitution’s anti-corruption provisions by maintaining ownership of his business empire including a hotel near the White House while in office."
      https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- … SKBN29U1OE

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      1. 83

         My Esotericposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         Yep, once Trump was booted out of office, the cases became moot.  I wonder if the plaintiffs will approach the injury they sustained via the civil route.

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         1. 87

            Sharlee01posted 3 years agoin reply to this

            It would seem our SC protected Trump.  "The action means that after four years of litigation the top U.S. judicial body will not rule on the meaning and scope of the Constitution's so-called emoluments provisions, a largely untested area of constitutional law"
            
            Unwilling to rule on the scoop of the  Constitution.
            
            Will this happen if Trump is found guilty in his impeachment trial and takes his case to the SC?   Will the case be moot due to the word"president' being present in the constitution or just be found unconstitutional due to the word ...
            
            Although the impeachment is certainly a slap in the face for Trump, will it really stop him from running in 2024?  There is a big chance the SC will give him a win.

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            1. 83

               My Esotericposted 3 years agoin reply to this

               As  best as I can tell, there was no dissent on dropping the case.  I can understand it because the emoluments clause applies specifically to those currently in federal government.  Since he was no longer in government, there was no case left to try.
               
               45 Republicans put their cowardice on full display today be declaring, without real justification and against historical precedence. that trying Trump after he was impeached while in office is unconstitutional.   Their real motivation for doing such an uncalled for action is pure fear.

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               1. 76

                  Valeantposted 3 years agoin reply to this

                  Thought of your last paragraph when reading this:  https://www.yahoo.com/news/imposter-beh … 44994.html

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                  1. 83

                     My Esotericposted 3 years agoin reply to this

                     The Federalist Party, you know, the one whose members brought the United States into existence, took the wrong side of the War of 1812.  If you remember, it was during this war that the Capitol was last invaded.  As a result, it disappeared from American politics
                     
                     In 2021, we are seeing a repeat of history.  In this case, the Republican party is choosing the wrong side of history once more and is effectively supporting the latest innovation of he Capitol.  The difference, of course, is the invaders were incited by the sitting president of the United States, Donald John Trump.  And now we have 45 Republican Senators who have taken the side of the enemy and have decided to give Trump a free pass at insurrection, with the support of a large majority of what is remaining of the Republican Party.
                     
                     I am happy to see, however, that several of these former Americans will choose not to run for the office they have just disgraced.
                     
                     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_Party

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            2. 83

               My Esotericposted 3 years agoin reply to this

               I think Trump will finally flame out.  I suspect that even though Republicans will tell the world it is okay for a president to shoot somebody in the middle of 5th Avenue without repercussions, the DOJ will not.
               
               One hopes that the evidence that will presented at the impeachment trial will be used in a criminal trial for sedition of Trump.  Being a felon, he will not be able to hold office.
               
               Some might ask what evidence?  It will be a combination of Trump's exhortations over the last two months and testimony from those who followed his call to arms and invaded the Capitol and murdered and maimed the police.  They even have one now who has volunteered to testify against Trump.  For the rest, you have videos, emails, and social media posts that clearly show they understood Trump's words as an order to attack.

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      laugherposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Good job circling it down to ten.

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2. 76

   Valeantposted 3 years ago

   How I would rank my top-10...
   
   1.  Inciting an Insurrection (part of the current impeachment article)
   2.  Lying about a deadly virus, undermining basic preventions pertaining to Covid which made the US one of the worst countries on the planet in terms of response
   3.  Subverting the 2020 Election (of which the current impeachment is partly about, will be interested to see if Georgia also files state-level charges)
   4.  Obstructing the Mueller Investigation (probably will be indicted for this)
   5.  Fraud committed during the 2016 election (payoffs to McDougal and fraud reimbursing Cohen)
   6.  Money Laundering (Deutsche Bank)
   7.  The Ukraine Affair and Cover-up (impeached for this one)
   8.  Immigration policies that were violations of human rights
   9.  Profiting off the Presidency
   10.  Abusing the Pardon Power

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   1. 83

      My Esotericposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Bummer, I forgot about your #2.  Definitely at the top of the list.

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      1. 76

         Valeantposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         It's right on par with #1 - lying about fraud that got people killed.  His lying about the virus likely killed more than #1, but #1 was a direct attack on our democracy.

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