Discover more from Economics Matters by Laurence Kotlikoff
IF YOU STILL LOVE DONALD TRUMP, STOP!! DO NOT READ THIS. IT WILL UPSET YOU AND THAT’S NOT MY GOAL. THIS BLOG IS LONG ON QUESTIONS, LONG ON OPINION, AND SHORT ON FACTS. IT’S NOT ABOUT ECONOMICS. SO, PLEASE IGNORE IT IF YOU THINK TRUMP’S VIOLATIONS OF THE ESPIONAGE ACT ARE PART OF MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.
The big unanswered questions in Trump’s 37-count indictment for violating a host of U.S. national security laws are
a) Who looked inside those boxes?
b) Was any Russian or other foreign agent or accomplices of such agents on the Mar-a-Lago premises in the many months in which the top secret docs were essentially freely available for public viewing?
c) Did Trump hand picked particular boxes to hide and others to surrender to authorities?
d) Were surveillance cameras in rooms with the boxes on continuously or are there suspicious recording gaps?
e) Why wasn’t Trump charged for directly revealing state secrets on the two occasions mentioned in the indictment?
f) Were some of the boxes deliberately placed in rooms without surveillance cameras?
g) Was Trump aware of the contents of specific boxes?
h) Did Trump ever say, “Do X with box Y?”
i) In the White House, did Trump knowing pack or cause to be packed specific papers marked top secret or bearing other classified designations?
j) After leaving office, were there other meetings in which Trump discussed or showed the documents in his possession or simply, flat-out, revealed state secrets?
k) Did our security services view Trump as a security threat during his time in office?
For years, we’ve had to grapple with these fundamental Trump questions: Is Trump an evil genius? Or is Trump the village idiot? Or is Trump’s playing the village idiot to disguise his evil actions, specifically selling out our country? Doing so in broad daylight is pure genius.
I may be dead wrong, but I think Trump is an evil genius playing the village idiot. He’s clearly a traitor. I’ve thought this from the beginning of his Presidency. I believe I’m the first person to call Trump a traitor in print — for specific actions. (Forbes, over my objection, added economic in front of the word traitor in the title.)
The designation traitor was, of course, fully validated in Trump’s assault (still ongoing) on our nation’s Democracy, his orchestration of the January 6th insurrection, and his decision to stand back and stand by for hours while the mob beat police (several to their subsequent deaths) and tried to lynch Vice President Trump and other members of Congress. My guess is that Trump had popcorn at the ready to watch Pence and Pelosi strung up and remains disappointed it didn’t happen.
My theory? Trump’s a Russian agent. He certainly took every opportunity to kiss Putin’s ring while in office, to send love letters to Kim Jong Un, Russia’s puppet, and, now, to side with Russia over Ukraine.
John Bolton, Trump’s National Security Advisor, called Trump, “a Putin-Loving Moron.” Read this Vanity Fair recitation of Trump’s behavior toward Putin and Russia. It supports my theory to some degree, but not fully. If Trump didn’t know, as Bolton relates, that Finland was an independent country, not part of Russia, we have proof positive of an idiot. Or do we? Maybe he was pretending to get that wrong?
Republican Presidential Candidate, Chris Christie, says Trump’s just a baby. The implication is that in Docugate Trump was simply trying to hold onto his toys with no knowledge of their composition. Another Republic candidate, who I advise, Steve Laffey, told ABC News that Trump should suspend his campaign and spend years in jail if convicted. Steve thinks Trump’s narcissism largely drives his actions. But if you really love yourself, do you show off classified docs to the point of risking incarceration?
The ultimate question, then, is whether Trump understands Trump. If so, Trump’s pretend irrational actions are rational, which means he purposefully left those boxes for foreign eyes, which likely means he has a Russian or foreign handler.
Finally, why isn’t major media asking these questions? You just don’t leave top secret nuclear documents sitting around for months by accident with open access. The reason Trump kept those boxes and played cat and mouse with the FBI was precisely because he knew they contained state secrets. Otherwise, why care about some boxes full of valueless paper? If he’s just a baby grabbing stuff that’s not his, why didn’t he remove all the contents of the Oval Office, starting with the Resolute Desk? Sorry, too much of this points to just one thing — yet more treason.
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Lock Him Up!
I'm not into giving anyone a pass on corruption. If Biden is traced to brides, my column will be entitled "Lock him Up." But Koz, we are talking about top secret docs, for gosh sake. You ok with them out for public display? You ever work in the federal government? best, Larry
HI Doug, First, thanks for begin a customer. We need as many as we can get and keep. Second, you do realize I ran for President against Clinton and Trump in 2016. So, I've had a long interest in politics. But I thought and think Clinton (both of them) were terrible and I supported his impeachment. I know nothing about Hunter's escapades and whether Joe enriched himself indirectly. I think Joe is doing a very good job on Ukraine. Otherwise, it's same old same old Democratic, brainless policy. I'm supporting Steve Laffey, a Republican. Check out stevelaffey.com. I'm his economics adviser. I think Trump is a clear and present danger to the country as evidenced by January 6th. But no one should indict him based on politics or such concerns. He's being indicted for violating the Espionage Act. It's clear he's guilty from the visual evidence. If Biden left boxes with nuclear secrets around for public viewing, I'd be publicly calling for his indictment and ouster. If he ends up being indicted, that will likely be for excellent reasons. Don't get what you like about Trump except that he's not a Democrat. Check out Laffey. He's a real person, a real American, and a grown up. best, Larry