Trump Threatens Executive Order to Regulate Social Media

Free expression is a bedrock of American democracy. Testing the truth of official pronouncements is the highest exercise of that fundamental right. The ability to hold accountable the powerful, without fear of retribution, is the hallmark of true liberty.

President Trump's vilification of the media, branding it "the enemy of the people", is a trademark of autocrats throughout history. His verbal abuse of and disdainful response to journalists has become commonplace. To the extent that his assault on the media has gained traction with a significant bloc of the populace, and is echoed and amplified by a sycophantic element of cable news, it is increasingly dangerous.

Now, Mr. Trump threatens to issue an executive order to prevent such platforms of expression as Facebook and Twitter from alerting their readers to the presence of misinformation or blatant falsehoods published by posters who have no regard for truth or propriety, our president being a prime offender.

We must hope that better judgment by those having any sway with this president will prevail or, failing that, the courts will swiftly strike down this latest threat to a free society.

Trump Attacks Obama

President Trump has taken to attacking his predecessor for leaving him with a cupboard bare of pandemic related stores.
Never mind that the corona virus did not exist in January, 2017. Put aside that the Obama administration prepared for and schooled the incoming Trump administration about an elaborate “play book”  for dealing with a pandemic and had put in place a fully staffed pandemic response agency. The Trump administration ignored the plan and disbanded the agency.
If, as Mr. Trump claims, it was crucial to replenish supplies, why did he do nothing about it for three years despite repeated warnings from public health experts? Did he even open the cupboard?

Retired Judge Appointed In Flynn Case

In appointing former federal judge John Gleeson to present the facts and the law upholding the criminal conviction, by guilty plea, of Michael Flynn, Judge Emmet Sullivan acted judiciously and in the best interests of the rule of law. Attorney- General William Barr's unscrupulous abandonment of his duty to act as a fair-minded representative of the government's case made it necessary and appropriate for Judge Sullivan to appoint a public advocate. Now, Mr. Barr's corrupt and patently political intervention will be fully exposed and publicly aired.

Of course, this development has unhinged Sean Hannity, the chief media champion of Mr. Flynn and all things Trump. Mr. Hannity posted a large photograph of Judge Sullivan, who is black, as he attacked the Judge's action and motives, called him "idiotic", demanded that he recuse himself and declared him unfit to remain on the bench. This outrageously disrespectful and dangerous rant should be promptly condemned by Chief Justice John Roberts and by Mr. Hannity's employer, Fox News.

Department of Justice Moves to Drop Case Against Flynn

What we are witnessing is a complete perversion of the justice system in the United States. Attorney-General William Barr, in his continuing campaign to exculpate President Donald Trump and his cohorts of wrongdoing, has now engineered a motion by his Department of Justice to drop the charges against Gen. Michael Flynn who is awaiting sentence after twice pleading guilty to lying to the FBI.

This is but the latest manifestation of Mr. Barr's commitment to protecting Mr. Trump, a defense which began with his mischaracterization of the Mueller Report and his unwarranted pronouncement that there was no evidence that Mr. Trump had obstructed justice.

Judge Sullivan has the authority to reject this corrupt maneuver and, in doing so, he should examine and call out the underlying circumstances of this shockingly partisan misuse of legal authority. The judge should find that there is neither legal nor factual justification to vacate Mr. Flynn's guilty pleas or to dismiss the case against him. He should deny the motions of the Department of Justice and Mr. Flynn's defense attorney and proceed to impose an appropriate sentence.