Rod Rosenstein's Abdication

The Washington Post has just broken the story that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, for fear of losing his job, assured President Trump that Mr. Rosenstein was on the president's team, that he would "land the plane"  (ie. the Mueller investigation) and that the president was not the target of the probe. That disclosure explains why Mr. Rosenstein abetted Attorney General William Barr in "exonerating" Mr. Trump despite overwhelming evidence of obstruction and why he is now attacking the media and the Obama administration.

It is now imperative that Congress find out whether and how often Mr. Rosenstein met with Special Counsel Mueller, what was discussed and whether Rosenstein gave him any directions or imposed any limitations on the investigation. It is high time we heard from Mr. Mueller himself.

Risk of Impeachment

A careful reading of the Mueller Report establishes that President Trump and members of his campaign engaged in serious misconduct, Attorney-General Barr's woeful spin notwithstanding. Whether criminal charges could or should have followed may be open to debate but there can be little doubt that the behavior documented in the Report is wholly unacceptable, unpresidential and threatening to the rule of law. 

In a normal political world that misconduct would warrant and result in impeachment. Today's Republican senators, fearful of retaliation from Trump and his base, will not vote for conviction, however compelling the evidence, and a failed effort will only increase the prospect of Trump's reelection. Democrats must convene and conduct extensive and probing hearings which surely will reinforce and fill out the detail of Mueller's findings. Such hearings will also more fully inform the American public of the immensity of the President's wrongdoing and distain for truth.

Perhaps then, Republicans will be moved to put country before self-interest and vote to impeach for obstruction of justice, lying and abuse of power. Short of that, perhaps they will muster the courage to protect the national interest by, at least, voting to censure. Anything less will be taken as acceptance and approval of the notion that the president is above the law

If Prisons Aren't the Answer, What Is?

The title of Emily Bazelon’s thought-provoking Op-Ed in the Sunday Review (April 7), poses an intriguing question. Unfortunately, her article fails even to attempt an answer. The points Ms. Bazelon makes are all valid: poverty should not be prosecuted; offenders can be rehabilitated and released; there is a need for more drug addiction treatment, better and increased therapy for the mentally ill and job training and affordable housing to give released prisoners an improved ability to cope and avoid rearrest.
But what is an acceptable alternative to incarceration for persons who violate society’s strictures yet pose minimal risk to public safety? I suggest a program akin to the Civilian Conservation Corp and the Works Progress Administration which, in the depth of the Great Depression of the 1930’s, provided employment that ranged from manual labor to artistic creation. These programs gave structure, training and self-respect to millions of unemployed Americans, qualities essential to reformation of antisocial behavior, even as they provided much needed repair and rebuilding of the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure.