Corey, the DNI and a Culture of Lying
Former Trump body-man/adviser/enforcer Corey Lewandowski spent or wasted hours of the taxpayers and Congressional Democrats time and money yesterday, auditioning as the opening act for the Donald Trump troubadours. When he was not being openly disdainful for the process of American government, tossing out one-liners or admitting that lying is not an important factor in his character, he was generally disagreeable, disinteresting and dishonest. Under withering questioning from Democratic counsel Barry Burke of the law firm of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, Lewandowski faltered. When asked whether his recruitment by Donald Trump, to obstruct justice and interfere with former A.G. Jeff Sessions conflicted with his prior public statement about the Russia investigation, Lewandowski sarcastically asserted, “Oh I’m sorry, nobody in front of Congress has ever lied to the public.”
Like most things Trump, the distraction is always the key to his idea of success. Mr. Trump quickly tweeted out, “Such a beautiful Opening Statement by Corey Lewandowski! Thank you Corey!” within hours of Lewandowski’s vaudeville tryout. Covered up like the scratching of your dog in the backyard, Mr. Trump is directing your attention away from a potentially serious mess. The new Director of National Intelligence heretofore a non-partisan position is withholding documents from the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that either prove or disprove the claims of a Whistleblower. Unfortunately, Congress has no idea of the whistleblower’s complaints, thereby disrupting public confidence, although they are described as a “serious or flagrant problem, abuse, violation of the law, or deficiency within the responsibility or authority of the Director of National Intelligence.”
“The Inspector-General of the Intelligence Community found that complaint not only credible, but urgent. More than ten days since the Director was obligated to transmit the complaint to the intelligence committees, the Committee has still not received the disclosure from the Director, in violation of the law,” stated Chairman Adam Schiff’s press release in conjunction with a subpoena issued to Acting Director Joseph Maguire. Trying to censor the public’s right to know is the first real step to fascism. We no longer have press briefings; we get shouting matches exchanged between the press and the President over the whirring of helicopter blades. The next way is lie-filled campaign rallies with no opposition to the words or statements of Mr. Trump.
The teeth grinding and degrading loss of the overused word, ‘norms’ is hurting us all, badly. I grew up in an America that took a while for me to trust what my government told me. I am black and was born in the late 1950s. So, legally sanctioned segregation, Jim Crow, mistrust, and mistreatment by law enforcement both local and federal were commonplace to my culture. Making book covers out of the local grocer’s brown paper bags were a ritual when school started, along with trying to be the first to grab a book that had both front and back covers attached. Hoping that you could lift the lid on your desk or that heat would be provided when winter hit was a part of everyday life for underfunded schools.
I am watching the institutions I spent years learning to trust being reversed, ridiculed or reduced by a man [Trump] whose idea of honesty is debating if the FBI should be told if a foreign power with information that could sway an America election, contacts him. The time is fast approaching to Restore American Ideals Again. This culture is lying is not us (at least I hope not).
Vote in 2020 for Change.
