We can clearly see the wall Trump wanted to build and it looks nothing like what he said he was going to do along the U.S. border with Mexico. Trump and his minions are building a wall around the president himself without moats, snakes or alligators, just a wall built on outlandish claims of immunity for a sitting president. The idea is to tell the courts that the president can’t be subjected to any criminal investigation, except as part of an impeachment inquiry. Trump is claiming that he cannot be investigated, he cannot be indicted and he cannot be impeached. GOP supporters like Trey Gowdy joined Trump declaring that the White House wouldn’t obey subpoenas to testify about the Ukraine phone call because the hearings would be heard by a “Kangaroo court.” Ambassador Gordon Sondland was prevented from testifying before Congress. The White House wrote a scathing letter to Congress stating that the inquiry is “unconstitutional.” Trump repeatedly calls the actions by Congress a “witch-hunt,” but in a recent NBC News poll 55% of Americans agree that there is enough evidence to proceed with an impeachment inquiry.
From the time the Mueller report was released the administration has gone on the offensive, claiming that the Democrats and the media have engaged in a conspiracy to change the results of the 2016 election. It was clear from the beginning that Attorney General William Barr was instrumental in beginning to build the protective wall around the president. His interpretation of the Mueller Report, alleging that it exonerated the president, allowed Trump’s defenders to undermine the credibility of the findings that could have led to impeachment hearings. The impact of the report was further diluted when Nancy Pelosi explained that she was reluctant to proceed with impeachment. Since then, there has been a systematic attempt to depict any inquiry into the actions of Donald Trump as the result of a “Deep state” conspiracy. But Trump, through his actions, with his open contempt for the normal operations of the government inspires the opposition who challenge his assumptions that he is above the law.
There is a certain element of fatigue with Trump’s constant attacks and supposed immunity from prosecution. He has managed to control the 24 hour news cycle with well placed cryptic announcements about foreign policy or economic sanctions. But his ability to surprise us has been greatly diminished because we know he is going to side with Putin, describe the media as purveyors of fake news, and misrepresent the impact of his tariff sanctions against China. There is no deep state plotting against him. The protective wall around him is crumbling because it is built on lies, exaggerations and insults to undermine the credibility of the opposition. But now we have whistle-blowers and detractors from inside the White House helping the opposition. If Trump seems unhinged it is because he can sense that the end is near. Impeachment is not unconstitutional, it is the only legal tool available to Congress, and it is imminent.
Editorial