David Corn: Mueller Reminds the Public: Trump Betrayed the United States

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/07/mueller-reminds-the-public-trump-betrayed-the-united-states/

3 mins ago
Mueller Reminds the Public: Trump Betrayed the United States
This is the narrative Trump and his GOP defenders have wanted to obstruct and smother.
David Corn
Washington, DC, Bureau ChiefBio | Follow


There’s an old saying in newsrooms: News is stuff that people have forgotten. Robert Mueller’s dramatic appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning was a striking reminder of this adage. The former special counsel did not drop any new revelations about the Trump-Russia affair. Yet in a simple but important manner, he reiterated the basics of this scandal—perhaps the most consequential political scandal in American history. These are the fundamentals that have often been subsumed by all the never-ending partisan squabbling and by the ongoing crusade mounted by Donald Trump and his defenders to distract from his perfidy. These are the facts that Trump has refused to acknowledge, and they are the facts that taint his presidency and undermine its legitimacy.

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Though Trump’s alleged obstruction was the focus of the morning’s hearing—with GOPers trying to distract by promoting their favorite conspiracy theories—Mueller’s appearance did call attention to the heart of the matter: the unprecedented attack on the United States, Trump’s effort to exploit it, and Trump’s refusal to recognize Moscow’s assault. Whether or not Trump engaged in active collusion with Vladimir Putin’s regime, he gained the presidency with covert foreign assistance and then abandoned his most fundamental duty: to protect the United States. Arguably, this is more significant than the obstruction issue, for Trump has permitted a foreign power to get away with perverting the foundation of American democracy.

Mueller finished his opening statement by remarking, “Over the course of my career, I’ve seen a number of challenges to our democracy. The Russian government’s effort to interfere in our election is among the most serious.” This could well be taken as criticism of Trump. After all, the president has never accepted this. Doing so would force Trump to acknowledge his own wrongdoing and affirm questions about the legitimacy of the election that landed him in the White House.

A US election was hijacked. Trump stood by as it happened and profited from it. And ever since he has attempted to cover up this original sin of his presidency. At the hearing, Mueller did not rail about Trump’s serious misconduct. But in the quiet way of an institutionalist who respects norms and rules, Mueller made it clear: Trump engaged in treachery. This is not news. But it remains a defining element of the Trump presidency that deserves constant attention.