Last July, immediately after Robert Mueller's feckless performance before Congress laid to rest his report two years in the making, Donald Trump declared to an audience of young people, "I can do anything I want as president of the United States". He set about employing that doctrine the very next day with the call to the Ukrainian president that led to his impeachment and went on to expand its scope. He ordered the White House to turn over not a single document to Congress in the
        Steve Linick                  Kristi Grimm                   Glenn Fine             Michael Atkinson

impeachment proceedings, disallowed anyone from his administration to testify (a few defied that order), and straight-armed all attempts by Congress to exercise its constitutional role of oversight of the executive branch.

Lately he has decided there should be no oversight within his administration, either. He has now fired the inspectors general of four departments, the latest — once again under cover of a Friday night, at odds with braggadocio about his power — being Steve Linick, the IG of the State Department. The first report said that Linick had been looking into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo using departmental staff to run personal errands — e.g., "walk his dog, pick up laundry, make dinner reservations for Pompeo and his wife", said NBC News. New York Democratic Representative Eliot Engle then spoke up to say, "[The IG's] offce was investigating — at my request — Trump's phony… Read More »

Donald Trump was confident that the booming economy for which he takes credit will bring him re-election in November. Then Covid-19 struck. Not only is the economy so suddenly devastated by lockdown, with the unemployed percentage

nearing that of the 1930s Great Depression, but he is undergoing severe criticism for his slow response and blame for the added deaths resulting.

He is pressing to "open" the country, held back only by his medical experts, with the risk that the pandemic could rage on,. Guidelines for a phased restoration have been announced. He seems to think enough economic health can be restored by November for voters to reward him a second term. But should that hope dim, there is increasing worry about what he might do to stay in office.

He has long expressed admiration of authoritarian heads of other governments able to run their countries free of constraints: Russia's Putin, China's Xi, Egypt's Sisi,… Read More »

You had best believe that many in China's leadership are quietly musing that the U.S. failure to stem the pandemic that has shattered its economy has delivered to Beijing so much simpler a weapon to bring

America to its knees than any military confrontation for which it has been preparing. China's businesses are opening, people are returning to their jobs, they are even exporting medical protective gear to the U.S. In contrast, with millions thrown out of work at companies that may never re-open, the U.S. may be looking at the second Great Depression.

China wants the world to look to them where it once looked to the United States. It hopes to make the case that its performance in the face of the pandemic compared to the weeks of bungled response by the United States is proof that its authoritarian model is more successful. While the U.S. struggles, China has embarked on a vast propaganda… Read More »