Path: ...!Xl.tags.giganews.com!local-1.nntp.ord.giganews.com!news.giganews.com.POSTED!not-for-mail NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2024 17:51:51 +0000 Subject: Re: Donald Trump: The worst traitor in American history From: Phil3487@yahoo-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (The_LA_Flash) Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit User-Agent: newsSync 664052358 References: Message-ID: Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2024 17:51:51 +0000 Lines: 223 X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com X-Trace: sv3-sRcqfRjNhVp3MBPUV9GKm5wvVKRSP50MVeYdX3GldTgtuojKehdGX9RSlIv9+YNlNqNcKTFapyqGnua!D1gHcIdCJKnLd4hV9fw+Fh/YYr6uqGlTTH35Vq3uEKreJzDZH7rmgxXImY71v7awEx7pEEzQbgFB!yQ== X-Complaints-To: abuse@giganews.com X-DMCA-Notifications: http://www.giganews.com/info/dmca.html X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.3.40 Bytes: 8854 X-Original-Lines: 1 > Paul Szypula wrote: > How do Trump's extraordinary betrayals stand up against history? He could > be the worst. > Putting Trump in context is the best way to highlight and understand his > betrayals. History is the highest court, and its verdict can't be appealed. > David Rothkopf > Opinion columnist > > It is not a small thing to call the president of the United States a > traitor. But it is an even greater offense to fail to call him one if he > has betrayed his country as often and as egregiously as Donald Trump has > done. > > As the depth of Trumps active collaboration with Russia became clear in > 2016 and 2017, as he was revealed to be surrounded by men who were > compromised by their ties to Russia, as he orchestrated a cover-up of his > wrongdoing, fired and impeded those who would investigate it and serially > rewarded Russia for its efforts on his behalf, it was not uncommon to hear > critics apply strong labels to what the president had done. Trump himself > has applied the word "treason" almost casually to his political enemies. > > But treason is very narrowly defined by the Constitution. Article III > specifies, Treason against the United States, shall consist only in > levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid > and comfort. While it is undoubtedly true that Trump has adhered to a > foreign adversary, Russia, and has given it much aid and comfort, the > courts have determined that an enemy can only be a country against which we > have declared war. That is an antiquated idea in a time during which > undeclared wars are far more common and cyber conflict, for example, may be > an almost permanent feature of an international relationship. But it is > binding. > Trump has repeatedly betrayed US > > That said, the dictionary definition of a traitor is a person who betrays > a friend, country or principle. There is no doubt that Trump has betrayed > the country time and time again. It is a matter of public record that he > encouraged our Russian adversaries to become involved in the 2016 election. > When the intelligence community provided evidence of the threat posed by > Russia, we saw Trump dismiss it, ignore it, fail in his duty to preserve, > protect and defend. > > We have seen him use the power of his office to reward and celebrate the > Russians and to condemn Americans in the CIA and the FBI and elsewhere who > would seek to impede the Russian attacks on our democracy. We have watched > him undermine the rule of law in the United States and alter U.S. policy in > ways that empowered the Russians and, specifically, enabled them to > interfere yet again in our elections. > > Relentless adversary:Russia never stopped trying to sway elections and sow > mistrust. Best thing to do is vote. > > The Russia betrayal is the original sin of the Trump presidency. And since > Russian President Vladimir Putin helped Trump win office, not a week has > gone by that we have not been confronted by its consequences attacks on > our allies, classified information handed over in the Oval Office, hacks > put atop the intelligence community to suppress warnings about Russia, > messages from the president validating Putin propaganda over the findings > of U.S. national security professionals, embracing Russian positions on > issues like Ukraine, giving Russia a free hand in Syria, pulling out of the > Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in a way to give Russia more > freedom to develop its defenses. > > Investigations into this betrayal have been quashed. But the facts close > ties between Trump and his team with Russians and (in the case of people > like Paul Manafort and Rudy Giuliani) direct interaction with known Russian > intelligence operatives have been established. > Cover of 'Traitor: A History of American Betrayal From Benedict Arnold to > Donald Trump,' by David Rothkopf, published Oct. 27, 2020. > > There have been other betrayals, of course: Rewarding foreign despots who > might benefit Trump businesses. Every corrupt act of placing self-interest > ahead of the national interest. Seeking to pressure Ukrainians into helping > defeat a potential political adversary, the act that led to Trumps > impeachment. Placing personal political fortunes ahead of the lives and > well-being of hundreds of thousands of Americans, now victims of the COVID- > 19 catastrophe. > > Trump has betrayed the country again and again. And there has been a > massive effort by him and his political allies to quash this truth, to > cloud perceptions with disinformation, to claim critical elements of it > were a hoax. To defend the country, to ensure the survival of our democracy > and to ultimately undo the damage Trump and Putin and their enablers and > cronies have done, it was essential that the facts be brought to light. > > But how could that be done in a way that would stand up to scrutiny and > stand out amidst the daily outrages of the Trump presidency? As a > historian and a student of the presidency and of power, I know that history > is the highest court, that its jurisdiction knows no boundaries and that > its final verdict cannot be appealed. Further, I understood that it was > essential not to allow Trumps serial betrayals to become somehow > normalized or devalued in the acid back and forth of our daily political > debate. > Trump in historical context > > The best way to convey the extraordinary nature of Trumps abuses and the > damage he has done is to let the facts speak for themselves against the > backdrop of history. It is essential to objectively ask, how do his acts > compare with those who have come before him? Where does he stand alongside > Benedict Arnold, Aaron Burr, Jefferson Davis, John Brown, the Rosenbergs, > Aldrich Ames, Robert Hanssen? > > Each of their stories is different (Brown, convicted and hanged for > treason, was a mistreated hero; Arnold was an American war hero before he > became our most notorious traitor). But by placing Trump among ========== REMAINDER OF ARTICLE TRUNCATED ==========