Adding to the thread of unprecedented and suspicious behaviors demonstrated by President Trump, FBI director James Comey was abruptly fired last Tuesday.
Comey was the top official leading a criminal investigation surrounding Trump’s ties with Russia during the election process. Comey, along with other officials, have confirmed Russia’s interference in the election. Trump’s firing of Comey is one of many attempts to cover up his skewed politics and avoid impeachment.
It’s unfathomable that the most powerful person in our country is publicly threatening a private citizen. We’ve reached a point where a new major scandal is emerging every week, and for any other politician the repercussions would be career-ending. Democratic representative Maxine Waters suggested on Thursday that Trump “can be looked at and perhaps even charged with obstruction of justice,” Waters said on MSNBC. “I’ve said all along that he would lead us to impeachment and he’s doing just that.”
Trump claims he made the decision to fire Comey independently, contradicting the White House’s claim that he was highly influenced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. On Friday, Trump threatened to get rid of White House press briefings all together “for the sake of accuracy.” He has repeatedly negated statements made by his spokespeople, further leading to skepticism about internal affairs.
Trump’s ethics are already in question which puts more emphasis on the firing of Comey and other officials Trump has abruptly fired in the past few months. He is unable to speak out publicly about the reasoning of his actions because there truly is not reasoning other than to save himself from prosecution. Making claims that the FBI has investigated his ties with Russia and have found no evidence contradicts his decision to fire Comey.
If he is innocent, why is he so desperately trying to cover up the investigation? The conspiracy has been coined Trumpgate, since it bears striking resemblance to the Nixon era Watergate scandal that shocked the nation and brought awareness to the mass corruption within the system.
On Friday morning, Trump posted a cryptic tweet where he threatened to release “tapes” of conversations between himself and Comey. “[He] better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” Trump wrote.
The tapes are being used as a sort of blackmail against Comey, who Trump says “could be reflected badly if they were to be released.” What sort of information do these alleged tapes contain? Are they even real? Why would they be recorded in the first place? The parallel to Watergate continues to to rise as the American people are left with no explanation.
Reporters bombarded Sean Spicer with questions at a press briefing on Friday concerning whether Trump had installed recording devices within the White House. Spicer dismissed every question reiterating that “the president has nothing further to add on that.” Under federal law, conversations held in person or over the phone can be recorded as long as at least one of the parties involved has given their consent, according to Bustle.
If the “tapes” Trump alluded to actually exist, he is essentially “daring investigators to subpoena them,” The Atlantic pointed out. The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff is demanding the release of any tapes. “For a President who baselessly accused his predecessor of illegally wiretapping him, that Mr. Trump would suggest that he, himself, may have engaged in such conduct is staggering,” said Schiff.
Unless we are graced with another government informant like Deep Throat during the Watergate scandal, we could be perpetually stuck in the cycle of Trump’s totalitarian rule.