The Patriot Post Digest 8-23-2018

[nChrist]

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The Patriot Post Digest 8-23-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Aug. 23, 2018 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/57828-mid-day-digest

THE FOUNDATION

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” —James Madison in Federalist No. 511 (1788)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/57827-founders-quote-daily

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Putting Trump’s legal troubles in perspective.
Using Cohen against Kavanaugh, Democrats are all about obstruction.
Profiles of Valor: Air Force Sgt. John Chapman receives Medal of Honor.
Immigration and our nation of laws — in name only.
Government is the problem, and Americans (sort of) know it.
The CIA lost an intel network on Obama’s watch.
Daily Features: Top Headlines, Memes, Cartoons, Columnists, and Short Cuts.

FEATURED ANALYSIS
Trump’s Troubles Put in Perspective2

Mark Alexander

Donald Trump’s3 troubles are the trouble with Donald Trump. He is a package deal, and part of the deal is ugly. This is not a revelation, but it certainly does provide plenty of obstructionist fodder for Democrat Party4 hacks and their Leftmedia conglomerate5.

More on that in a minute, but first…

Those of us who supported his election over Hillary Clinton6 had no illusion that Trump had the character of George Washington7 or Ronald Reagan8. But as Nate Jackson noted yesterday9, Trump’s considerable character issues were “baked into the 2016 election cake.” We knew what we were getting. It is unfortunate that Republicans have to defend a current president by comparing his failings10 to past Democrat presidents, but that is the degraded reality of contemporary politics11.

Frankly, I have been surprised at how effective Trump has been as, to put it mildly, an “unconventional president.” A review of his first year MAGA accomplishments12, and adding numerous legislative, judicial, regulatory, and economic accomplishments thus far in his second year, is remarkable. No conventional president has done more to turn the country back toward Liberty13 in his first 18 months in office than Donald Trump.

Writing recently about the epidemic of Trump Derangement Syndrome14 afflicting the Left, I noted the reason why: “The day Trump arrived in DC, he dropped a bomb on the status quo in Congress and its special interests. He dropped a bomb on the regulatory behemoths and their bureaucratic bottlenecks. He dropped a bomb on the trade and national security institutions and alliances that failed miserably over the previous eight years. And he dropped a bomb on all the pundits and mainstream media outlets.”

Trump’s “style” has caused more political consternation resulting in more uncivil discourse15 than any president in the last century. But as seasoned political observer Walter Williams notes16, sometimes men of high character make bad presidents, while sometimes men of low character make good presidents.

Enter the Russia collusion setup17 — orchestrated by former CIA Director John Brennan18, former FBI Director James Comey19 and, of course, Hillary Clinton’s campaign20.

Comey, by his own admission, released details of the fake Russian dossier21 (which became a Trump investigation centerpiece based on a questionable FISA memo22) in order to prompt the appointment of a special prosecutor23. That was a masterful play to keep Trump on the ropes through the 2018 midterms.

It was clear that the appointment of Robert Mueller24 and his team of Clintonistas25 would open up the proverbial “can of worms” in regard to all things Trump, and those connected to him, despite the fact there has been and likely will be no evidence of Russian collusion26. To date, Mueller has not indicated any investigation into the genuine 2016 election collusion between Team Clinton and the Russians27 to set Trump up for a takedown28.

And that brings us to this week, which featured the convictions of Trump associates Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen29. Nothing in those convictions and plea deals30 have anything to do with “Russian collusion,” but again, the worms are out, and in the case of Cohen, so much for “lawyer-client privilege.”

For starters, all the analysis from Right and Left notwithstanding, the biggest concern for Trump right now is not what Manafort and Cohen have been convicted of thus far. Manafort has an upcoming trial that pertains to his past dealings with Russian companies31. But a much greater threat to Trump is what Cohen has yet to tell prosecutors about Trump. As his former attorney, Cohen knows where, on Trump’s behalf, he hid corporate and personal legal skeletons.

As for the current charges against Cohen related to “hush money” paid to a couple of women with whom Trump had some salacious involvement long ago, the Left is trying to spin that into “high crimes and misdemeanors” for a faux impeachment proceeding.

Trump insists, of course, that he has broken no laws. “Michael Cohen plead guilty to two counts of campaign finance violations that are not a crime. … The only thing that I have done wrong is to win an election that was expected to be won by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats.”

In regard to these latest Trump troubles uncovered by Mueller, my money is on the most cogent analysis from Democrat Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz.

On the hush money, Dershowitz concluded:

If Mr. Trump the candidate contributed several hundred thousand dollars to his own campaign to pay hush money to women who were either truthfully or falsely alleging against him, that is not a crime. The candidate can contribute as much as he wants. … The election laws are a morass of misdemeanors, felonies, crimes, non-crimes, with exceptions, so you have to get over the legal barrier first. Then you have to get over the credibility barrier. The only evidence that the president did anything that might be unlawful even arguably comes from a man who has admitted to be a liar, had a lawyer-client privilege with the president. There are a lot of barriers to what Cohen said … in court. Remember, there has been no indictment, grand jury, only a statement, an elocution, by a man who has admitted to criminal conduct. So we are far away from impeachable offense or a criminal offense against the president.

On Trump’s asking Cohen to make the payments:

Cohen would be acting for Trump as Trump’s representative, and the campaign contribution would be lawful as long as [the candidate] paid for it. … So the prosecutor is in a “catch-22.” If he believes Cohen, that the president directed him to do it, then it’s not a crime at all. If he doesn’t believe Cohen, then Cohen has committed the crime. The legal pundits who are saying that if Cohen admits a crime, that makes Trump and “un-indicted co-conspirator,” they are just wrong as a matter of basic criminal law.

[nChrist]

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The Patriot Post Digest 8-23-2018
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Asked by Bret Baier why Cohen would plead guilty to this campaign finance violation:

This was an add-on. They had him dead to rights on the medallions, on the taxes — they threw this in … in order to give him an opportunity to say something negative about Donald Trump. Look, they’re not interested in Cohen, they’re interested in Trump. Judge Ellis said that in the Manafort case. So they threw in the campaign contribution law in order to find a connection to Trump. Medallions have no connection to Trump. Taxes have no connection to Trump. This is the only alleged crime that has a connection to Trump.

Regarding absurd comparisons to Watergate, Dershowitz declared:

It’s not even a close question. That is so over the top. It’s just not a crime to contribute to your own campaign. … I challenge any of those saying it’s a crime to find anything in criminal law that would make it a crime for a [candidate] to pay someone [to benefit] his own election. It’s not against the law. … The Rule of Law32 requires that when you say something is a crime, show me the statute. There is no statute that would make that a crime. It might be a misdemeanor for the campaign to fail to report that payment, but that would be the campaign, not the candidate.“

And on the Left’s political impeachment rhetoric:

If you are talking about high crimes and misdemeanors, that’s absurd. That’s not the kind of thing the Framers had in mind. … You need a high crime and misdemeanor. Every campaign has violated some technical election law. The Democrats are going to run on "Give us the House and we’ll impeach the president.” … They’re not going to get close on an impeachment track. They are not going to find the crime. … The candidate is entitled to contribute a million dollars to his own campaign.

Predictably the Democrats are using the latest Trump troubles to insist a delay in the confirmation hearings for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh33, an outstanding choice to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Moving on, we will see what else Cohen has to say.

https://patriotpost.us/alexander/57826-trumps-troubles-put-in-perspective

IN BRIEF
Dems Use Cohen to Try Obstructing Kavanaugh Hearings34

Thomas Gallatin

In their latest obstructionist play, Senate Democrats have called for postponing confirmation hearings for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh33. In a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) contended that the recent plea deal9 made by Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is an indictment against the president. Based solely on Cohen’s allegation, Schumer argued that Trump is “an unindicted co-conspirator of a federal crime” and thus he should not get to make “a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court” because the Court “may someday soon determine the extent of the president’s legal jeopardy.” Conveniently for Democrats, Schumer declared, “The Senate Judiciary Committee should immediately pause the consideration of the Kavanaugh nomination.”

Democrats are clearly seeking to exploit this as a political tool for the coming midterms. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) echoed Schumer’s talking points, insisting that Kavanaugh’s nomination was “tainted with illegality.” And the always hyperbolic Democrat senator from New Jersey, Cory Booker, demanded that Kavanaugh’s confirmation process be halted until Robert Mueller’s investigation is concluded because of “the matter of the president being credibly implicated, or alleged to be a criminal co-conspirator” in crimes related to campaign-finance law. Booker, after all, would like to make his own appointment after 2020.

It’s almost comical how predictable the Democrats are in so quickly jumping off their Trump/Russia collusion conspiracy just as soon as the opportunity to use another completely unrelated crime presented itself. It’s their “get Trump at all costs” policy. And yet in this instance, Schumer’s argument finds no support in historic precedent. Back in 1998, while the House was proceeding with impeachment hearings against Bill Clinton, the Senate had no qualms about confirming his nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Like we mentioned earlier, Democrats’ rhetoric is merely intended as a means of pandering to their political base for the midterm elections, as Democrats know full well they won’t be able to stop the confirmation hearings.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57822-dems-use-cohen-to-try-obstructing-kavanaugh-hearings

GOOD NEWS
Profiles of Valor: Air Force Sgt. John Chapman35

It was a long time coming, but President Donald Trump awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor to Air Force Sgt. John Chapman, who sacrificed himself on a mountainside in Afghanistan in 2002 to save more than 20 of his fellow service members. Chapman’s widow received the award on her late husband’s behalf, and he is now the first Airman to receive the Medal since the Vietnam War.

His citation reads36:

Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism as an Air Force Special Tactics Combat Controller, attached to a Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Team conducting reconnaissance operations in Takur Ghar, Afghanistan, on March 4, 2002. During insertion, the team’s helicopter was ambushed causing a teammate to fall into an entrenched group of enemy combatants below. Sergeant Chapman and the team voluntarily reinserted onto the snow-capped mountain, into the heart of a known enemy stronghold to rescue one of their own. Without regard for his own safety, Sergeant Chapman immediately engaged, moving in the direction of the closest enemy position despite coming under heavy fire from multiple directions. He fearlessly charged an enemy bunker, up a steep incline in thigh-deep snow and into hostile fire, directly engaging the enemy. Upon reaching the bunker, Sergeant Chapman assaulted and cleared the position, killing all enemy occupants. With complete disregard for his own life, Sergeant Chapman deliberately moved from cover only 12 meters from the enemy, and exposed himself once again to attack a second bunker, from which an emplaced machine gun was firing on his team. During this assault from an exposed position directly in the line of intense fire, Sergeant Chapman was struck and injured by enemy fire. Despite severe, mortal wounds, he continued to fight relentlessly, sustaining a violent engagement with multiple enemy personnel before making the ultimate sacrifice. By his heroic actions and extraordinary valor, sacrificing his life for the lives of his teammates, Technical Sergeant Chapman upheld the highest traditions of military service and reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

[nChrist]

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The Patriot Post Digest 8-23-2018
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Military.com elaborates37, “In all, Chapman sustained nine wounds, seven of which were nonfatal, according to his autopsy report. A medical examiner concluded he lived and fought through gunshot wounds to his thigh, heel, calf and torso, which pierced his liver. He had a broken nose and other facial wounds, suggesting he engaged in hand-to-hand combat in close quarters. The final fatal shots likely came from a PKM machine gun, officials said.”

In May, we relayed the story38 of Navy SEAL Britt Slabinski, who received the Medal for actions in the same battle. Actions during that battle were the subject of some controversy because Chapman was presumed dead and left behind only to revive and continue fighting. We believe each American Patriot involved in this battle acted with honor and bravery given the circumstances, and we’re pleased to see both Slabinski and Chapman awarded with our nation’s highest honor.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57821-profiles-of-valor-air-force-sgt-john-chapman

Top Headlines39

Mollie Tibbetts’ illegal immigrant killer40 used a stolen identification card (Townhall41)
Judge gives no jail time to Dem IT guy42 Imran Awan (The Daily Caller43)
“Project Spartacus” aims to save electric grid from nuclear, solar attack (Washington Examiner44)
Welcome to the longest bull market in Wall Street history (MarketWatch45)
Military experts say Iran’s new fighter jet is actually a U.S. plane from the 1970s (CNBC46)
Trump: “I’d rather have fake news like CNN … than have anybody stopped and censored” (CNS News47)
Fake news alert: Snopes falsely claims Chelsea Clinton never said aborting 60 million babies was good for the economy (Life News48)
Appeals court holds Alabama’s second-trimester abortion ban unconstitutional (National Review49)
Man yelling “For all the little kids” beats innocent Catholic priest (The Daily Wire50)
Humor: Horrified progressive suddenly realizes Mike Pence next in line for presidency (The Babylon Bee51)
Policy: The myth of Trump’s “soft” Russia policy (Washington Examiner52)
Policy: 3,453 days and counting: The bull that wouldn’t die (Investor’s Business Daily53)
For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report54.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57824-thursday-top-headlines

MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST

A Nation of Laws — In Name Only59 — Leftists defend illegal-alien murderers because the Narrative trumps everything.
Government IS the Problem60 — Voters view government as the number one problem because government is so big.
The CIA Lost This Intel Network on Obama’s Watch61 — At least a dozen American assets in China were captured and executed.
Video: Has America Ever Been Great? Millennials React62 — Gov. Andrew Cuomo came under fire after saying America has “never been that great.”

OPINION IN BRIEF

Jeff Jacoby: “Has abortion made America more prosperous? Chelsea Clinton seems to think so. …‘American women entering the labor force from 1973 to 2009 added three and a half trillion dollars to our economy,’ Clinton said. ‘The net, new entrance of women — that is not disconnected from the fact that Roe became the law of the land in January of 1973.’ … Since the Supreme Court’s decision in 1973, there have been 60 million abortions in the United States, the overwhelming majority of them for nonmedical reasons. What would it have meant to the American economy if those tens of millions of babies had been born? Of course, there would have been costs. With more children to educate, feed, and clothe, the US economy would necessarily have faced a much higher price tag for childrearing. But those tens of millions of additional babies would have grown into tens of millions of additional productive adults. They would have generated an immensity of new value — more goods, more services, more innovations, more art, more entertainment, more businesses. They would have created more capital, both financial and social. Their taxes alone would have flooded government coffers with trillions of dollars (the average US adult pays $10,000 in taxes per year). Whatever the US economy may have gained as a result of the post-Roe abortion culture, it plainly lost far more. What makes Clinton’s argument truly deplorable, though, isn’t history or economics, but morality. Her approach is chillingly utilitarian, treating the destruction of life in the womb as, ultimately, a question of dollars and cents.”

SHORT CUTS

It begins: “It’s a game changer. Should be. A president, identified as an unindicted co-conspirator of a federal crime … is on the verge of making a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court — a court that may someday soon determine the extent of the president’s legal jeopardy. In my view, the Senate Judiciary Committee should immediately pause the consideration of the Kavanaugh nomination.” —Sen. Chuck Schumer

“We should be pushing to postpone the Kavanaugh hearing. This nomination is now tainted with illegality, because the president who’s nominated Brett Kavanaugh has been implicated in a criminal conspiracy, not just any criminal conspiracy, but one that impacted the outcome of the election.” —Sen. Richard Blumenthal

Braying Jackass: “I know that Mr. Cohen would never accept a pardon from a man that he considers to be both corrupt and a dangerous person in the oval office.” —Clinton Crime Syndicate lawyer Lanny Davis

Non sequitur: “I’m so sorry for the [Mollie Tibbetts40] family here, and I know this is hard, not only for the family but for the people in her community, the people throughout Iowa. But one of the things we have to remember is we need an immigration system that is effective. That focuses on where real problems are. Last month, I went down to the border, and I saw where children had been taken away from their mothers. … And there was no plan for how they’d be reunified with their children.” —Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Non Compos Mentis: “Mollie Tibbetts was murdered b/c she told a man to leave her alone while she was jogging. Her murderer happens to be undocumented. This isn’t about border security. This is about toxic masculinity. Mollie Tibbetts lost her life b/c a man couldn’t take her saying no. Full stop.” —CNN’s Symone D. Sanders

And last… “No, Mollie’s death isn’t about her killer’s immigration status. Conservatives only caring when they hear ‘illegal immigrant’ is just as evil as liberals ceasing to care when they hear it. But the reason it’s worth noting is because it wouldn’t have happened if he weren’t here.” —Allie Stuckey

https://patriotpost.us/articles/57820-thursday-short-cuts

Join our editors and staff in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. We also humbly ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the spirit of Liberty in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis

Nate Jackson, Managing Editor
Mark Alexander, Publisher