I am seeing it time and time again-various officials from the Trump Administration go before Congress and either refuse to answer direct questions, lie about those questions, blather on about stuff totally unrelated to the questions, or not even show up at all. Anger, ridicule, and astonishment follow from the questioner(s), and then…nothing.
No followup.
No fine.
No jailtime.
I just want to scream sometimes at everyone that posts about “The Next Major Flub That Is Sure To Be The Last Straw”. Trump has show them (and us) that there is no “Last Straw”.
What say you?
Of course not, Congress is controlled by Republicans. Of course no GOP official is going to see any repercussions from anything the say to Congress when it’s the Republican majority that would have to instigate those repercussions.
Not that the Democrats have shown themselves particularly keen on holding witnesses accountable. But I think things have gotten bad enough that if they were to regain control in the mid terms they would be more serious about it (though I think part of the problem is the courts have not backed them up when they have tried in the past)
It’s shameful posing that fools nobody. I firmly believe that the future of the country lies in the upcoming midterms (assuming Trump isn’t able to derail them). At this point, Trump officials could probably get away with not showing up when summoned. I don’t know what it takes for Congress to find someone in contempt, but if it takes a majority, then officials could certainly get away with it. As it is, for the most part they either duck and dodge the questions, give vague answers or none at all, and there is no fallout from it other than that the small minority of Americans who pay any attention to these proceedings see what a horror show the administration is.
I have a similar feeling when I hear someone say stuff like “where are all the Republicans who cared so much about the constitution and congressional oversight in the Obama era? What if Obama had done this?!?”
That sounds to me this to me…
They don’t care about the constitution or congressional oversight or fighting tyranny or any of that crap AND NEVER DID. It was just a schtick they don’t need to do any more.
One problem is that congress has no enforcement arm. A person accused of contempt of congress can be dealt with only by the “Justice” dept. Lot’s of luck with that.
The more time they spend standing in front of Congress spewing lies, the less time they have to do damage. That’s about the best we can expect from them or Congress right now.
During Trump’s first term, he was fairly vociferous about how politicians should never, ever threaten a government shutdown to attain their political goals. During Biden’s first term, Trump was fairly vociferous with his advice to Republicans to shut down the government to attain their political goals. When a reporter asked Trump why he reversed his position, he replied, “I’m not the president now.”
You’re right. They don’t care about the Constitution, oversight, or the rule of law. They expect laws and custom to bind their opponents while leaving them unhindered. They expect their followers to ignore what they see in favor of what they’re told.
I don’t know why Trump officials bothering going before Congress at all. They lie with impunity and nobody does anything about it. It doesn’t seem to be hurting the GOP with their constituents.
That’s because they love it. It pisses off the liberals and that is all that matters anymore. That overrides any need to actually have a working government. That’s why the best way to deal with these assholes is not to get angry but to laugh at them, mock them. I wish Congress would do that. Make them angry and wipe those smug looks off their faces.
It fools the MAGAs, and that’s all they care about. Actually showing up in Congress is part of their pantomime show about being “The most transparent administration in history!” The MAGAs see people like Bondi, Homan and Patel “Testifying” in front of Congress, and that convinces them that they’re being open and honest about everything, because they don’t bother to actually listen to anything that is said. They see a ten second clip of some mild blathering, and all is right with their world.
