Naked and Afraid

        A former colleague and long-time friend, an attorney and university law professor, messaged me via FB to ask what my thoughts were regarding the possibility of a Trump firing of the special prosecutor. I will, in a few sentences, post her query and my response to her and then, in a second essay/blog post, go on at considerable length on a related topic. 

        The concept of special prosecutor in the US actually originated in the states, and it wasn’t until after the Civil War that the first federal special prosecutor was appointed. While this was a Presidential appointment made by Grant directly, all subsequent such appointments have been made via the Attorney General’s office. It is important to remember that the Attorney General’s office is now the presumptive (for 150 years) hire/fire nexus for special prosecutors.

         The first, John B. Henderson, was appointed by Ulysses Grant in 1875 to investigate the Whiskey Ring scandal. After attempting to stifle Henderson's investigation of the president's personal secretary (who was almost certainly “dirty” and involved), Grant fired Henderson on the basis that Henderson's statements to a grand jury regarding Grant were “impertinent.” (yes, really – impertinence!) I must admit that if “impertinence" was still a firing offense; my own CV would be significantly different. The real issue was a thinly veiled allegation that Grant had lied in a deposition to protect his secretary, a former general serving under him in the war. Following public criticism for the blatant protection, bordering on perjury,  of his secretary, Grant appointed a new special prosecutor to continue the investigation.

Here’s the original post from my friend:

“Mike Dorman, Tim Langham and any other history buff- your thoughts please on Justice Department lawyers potentially making some kind of public protest in advance of Trump working to fire the Special Counsel. Hearing that something like that happened when Nixon was President. I can google this, but I'd like your take in relation to the modern day.”

My response:

“Cindy: Nixon did order Archibald Cox fired after he subpoenaed the White House tapes, and, after AG Elliott Richardson and his second in command refused to do so, the third man in line, one Robert Bork, (later failed USSC nominee and all-around dick) was more than willing and Cox was fired. This whole fiasco has been styled "The Saturday Night Massacre". 

       Nixon then declare the special prosecutor gone (mandate dissolved), but the hue and cry was such that Leon Jaworski was appointed by Bork as Cox's replacement. As we know, Jaworski doggedly insisted on getting the tapes and they were so damning that, in the light of the tapes and the testimony of Alexander Butterfield, John (“Cancer on the Presidency”) Dean and Jeb Magruder, Nixon resigned, facing almost certain impeachment otherwise.

        Now...are we even considering that Jeff Sessions has Elliott Richardson's backbone or character? Not a chance. I have a better chance of playing center for the Magic. Sadder yet, is that there are those among our citizenry who believe every word uttered by the bigot in chief. For them, the quest for truth is not about all the things Trump, his reprehensible spawn and co-conspirators/spawns-in-law have (collusion with Russia/campaign fraud) done or haven't (tax releases/divesting of interests) done. As In Living Color sang, “it's the cult of personality.” The emperor is naked and afraid and no one gives a shit among his sycophant base. All those things he tells them are threats aren't...he is.”

        After writing this, I resumed the inner search to try to, at some level, understand why Trump’s supporters still support such a venal and corrupt man. While most of their reasoning, such as it might be, eludes me, there is one factor which is so contradictory as to make my head hurt. 81% of Evangelical Christians voted for Trump, and most of those because, after urging Marla Maples to consider aborting his first child (Tiffany, the daughter we rarely hear about) he became, coincidentally right around election time, pro-life. More about that mystery next blog post.