At precisely 11 AM EDT on May 29th, 2019, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller finally spoke publically about his investigation of Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election, Russian contacts with the Trump Campaign, and Donald Trump’s efforts to hamper that investigation, more than two years after it began. It was Mueller’s first public statement on the matter, and it fell into the body politic with a resounding boom.
“I’m responsible for your silliness because I did the same thing that you’re doing now for 10 years. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years. The more people that follow Mr. Trump as I did blindly are going to suffer the same consequences that I’m suffering.”
That was Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen warning GOP congressmen at his public testimony for the Oversight Committee in the House of Representatives on February 27th that their continued support of the President would lead to disaster. Of course the plea fell on the deafest of ears, but it’s significant that none of the Republican legislators questioning Cohen even bothered to defend Trump, merely attempting to discredit Cohen instead.
Jussie Smollett is a biracial actor and singer, who came to national attention in the hit Fox drama “Empire”, where he portrays a gay black man caught up in the backstage machinations of the music industry. Smollett is himself gay, and very publically so, coming out on Ellen DeGeneres’ show in 2015. He began his acting career as a child, in such films as “The Mighty Ducks” and “North”, before moving into commercials and guest spots, then returning to a lead role in 2015 with “Empire”. Smollett’s portrayal has received international acclaim as “groundbreaking” for gays of color.
On January 29, 2019, Smollett filed a report with the Chicago Police Department alleging he had been attacked and brutalized by two white men in the street, who hurled fists and both racial and sexual epithets at him, including putting a rope around his neck. According to Smollett, the attackers yelled “This is MAGA country!” as they assaulted him, an apparent reference to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign theme. Smollett claims he fought them off, and was released from the hospital the next morning with only superficial injuries.
On Saturday, 25 August 2018, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) succumbed to his battle with brain cancer, at his home outside Phoenix, Arizona, just four days before his 82nd birthday. The six-term senator, a former Republican nominee for president, had garnered a reputation as a maverick nonpartisan, a truthful, principled political actor who chastised his fellow Party members as freely as the opposition.
If Donald Trump maintains his grasp on the US presidency for the duration of his upcoming solar year, then he will likely complete his first term in office. He may even win reelection. But looking ahead at the year on tap, that’s a huge “if”. This appears to be the pivotal year for Trump, the one that decides how the remainder of his life unfolds.
There are two principal sources to which Trump Resisters look for relief from the malaise, corruption and chaos which is the current administration: Special Counsel Robert Mueller, leading the FBI investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential campaign; and lawyer Michael Avenatti, representing adult film star Stormy Daniels, with two civil lawsuits against the president. The two men could not be more different, but both present significant dangers to the completion of the Trump presidency.
