U.S. Prepares to Sanction Russian Group as Terrorists

Nathan Sales, the State Department's counter terrorism coordinator, has designated a Russian nationalist group as a terrorist organization (4/6, A24). In typical Trumpian fashion, Mr. Sales touted his action as "unprecedented", and, tellingly, said "this is the first time the United States has ever designated white supremacists as terrorists..."

With the number of white supremacist groups growing ominously in the US during the Trump presidency, the administration had to look abroad to condemn this threat to our democracy? How about those "very fine people"  who violently demonstrated their hatred and racism in Charlottesville? If the Trump administration feels an imperative to label Russians as terrorists, why doesn't it begin by branding Mr. Putin who has been and continues to be hard at work undermining free elections and democratic societies around the world?

Biden Strains to be Heard

The greatest failure of President Trump's leadership during the CoVid-19 pandemic is his refusal to utilize the National Defense Production Act to direct companies to manufacture ventilators and deliver them to areas of greatest need. His knee jerk excuse, that he doesn't want to "nationalize" private industry, defies common sense and ignores an overwhelming need.
While Gov. Andrew Cuomo has identified this failing and urged the president to act, his state is too dependent upon federal assistance to allow him to condemn the president's inaction in the strongest terms.
The presumed Democratic nominee for president, Joseph Biden, has no such restraint and should have no compunction in assailing, on a daily basis, Mr. Trump's irrational rejection of desperately needed federal intervention. Mr. Biden's quest to stay relevant and offer useful input at this critical stage of our national ordeal, can best be met by a full-throated and persistent call for the federal government to act.

Doctors Plead for Equipment

It would seem to be incomprehensible, except that Donald Trump continuously demonstrates his utter lack of humanity and maniacal self-obsession, but we must conclude that the failure of the federal government to ramp up production and distribution of life-saving ventilators is politically driven. Because the greatest loss of life is occurring in big, blue cities, Mr. Trump declines to be a "shipping clerk" of desperately needed medical equipment and fails to give awaited direction to the industries poised to convert to the wartime production of these grossly inadequate supplies.

Call me a tin hat conspiracist, but the only reason Trump procrastinates, even as he postures, is to appeal to his base (no relief for the socialist mobs) and to punish his perceived enemies (those likely to vote against him should they survive).

Trump Assails Supreme Court Justices

President Trump’s interference in cases affecting his interest and those he favors has reached a new low and constitutes the gravest threat to the rule of law in American history.
He has sank from tweeting directives to an obeisant Attorney-General, to expressing his views on outcomes and sentences, attacking trial judges, prosecutors, witnesses and jurors. Now he has turned his venom on individual members of the Supreme Court.
Mr. Trump’s assault on the bedrock principles of democracy has evoked pushback from former federal prosecutors and some judges. However, a much stronger and broader response is required if we are to salvage public trust in the fairness and impartiality of our judicial system.
National, state and municipal bar associations must condemn these invidious attacks on all elements of the judicial system. Even more compelling and urgent, Chief Justice Roberts must speak out in defense of the maligned justices and the integrity of the judicial process.

Barr's Irritation Mounts

So Attorney-General William Barr professes irritation at President Trump's tweets and his public attacks on prosecutors, judges and jurors. (Front page, 2/19) Many regard his protestations as a transparent effort to screen the fact that Mr. Barr has been waging a campaign to undercut those very prosecutors, judges and jurors by questioning their motives, altering their work product or initiating investigations calculated to cower or punish them. If Mr. Barr does resign, it will not be because he is displeased with Mr. Trump. Rather, he may leave because of the growing condemnation by thousands of former prosecutors and expected pushback by federal judges of his unprecedented intrusion into and distortion of the justice system and because of a loss of his control over a Justice Department confounded by his relinquishment of its traditional independence.

Monument To Trump

Given that President Trump has proclaimed, on multiple occasions, his place as, perhaps, the greatest president in American history, it is time we scouted space on Mount Rushmore. Mr. Trump has acknowledged that Abraham Lincoln is worthy, and almost comparable in standing to his own, hallowed place, so Lincoln's monument should not be disturbed. The solution may lie in altering the countenance of TR; remove the 'stache, get rid of the specs and lighten the hair and voila, the face of our Very Stable Genius can forever glower over the wilds of South Dakota.

Trump's Rule of Lawlessness

Our sacred adherence to the rule of law cannot be sustained simply by reliance on the courage and dedication of career civil servants, as today's NYTimes editorial suggests. This administration's assault on the fairness and nonpolitical nature of our justice system is too virulent and deep to be deterred by tired bromides. At this moment of extreme threat to our democracy, every national, state and municipal bar association must condemn in the strongest terms the corrupt actions of the president and his attorney-general, to bend the system to serve their own ends. Lawyers and, yes, judges must rally outside courthouses across the nation to signal their concern and sound the alarm. The fate of our democracy depends on it.