For those of you outside the United States the question is what is going on in the USA?
The original Robert Mueller investigation, motivated by the firing of FBI director James Comey, was at the direction of Mr Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general appointing Mr Mueller to look into:
- The Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the election
- Any links or co-ordination between Russia and Trump campaign-linked individuals
- Any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation
That last point gives him quite a broad authority to also determine if the president himself has committed any wrongdoing.
The president’s words and behavior towards Russia and Vladimir Putin since taking office have only heightened the suspicion that his election was tainted and he has committed treasonous acts. The Helsinki summit between Trump and Putin only exacerbates that suspicion.
Donald Trump’s extraordinary performance in Helsinki alongside Russian leader Vladimir Putin may have crossed a red line with his fellow Republicans.
Former Republican Representative David Jolly said Congress was at “an inflection point.”
“This will be one of those moments the long lens of history remembers,” Jolly, who represented a Florida district from 2014 to 2017, said in an interview. “We’ve never had reason to question a president’s patriotism. We question their competence, their judgment, their self-interest, their partisan motivations. Even with Richard Nixon we never had questions of patriotism like we are seeing today.”
Jolly said that for the first time he believes impeachment of Trump — or removal under the 25th Amendment by declaring him unfit — should be on the table. But, he said, “The fates of Republicans on the Hill are too tied to the president. I’m not optimistic that they will be independent.”
Coast Contact 