America Steps Closer to Banana Republic Status

In Putin's Russia or in the past Stalin's Russia, or China or North Korea one can be indicted for crimes that one never committed.  Ditto in the stereotypical banana republics of the 20th century.  All that's needed is that one have somehow crossed the glorious leader, something which can include doing something to upset the delicate and overweening ego of the despot, being a political opponent, or simply arguing for upholding the rule of law.  With the indictment of James Comey yesterday at the Felon's bidding and in the view of experienced U.S. attorney who was forced to resign without facts or evidence to support charges, America has entered a dangerous phase where criminal charges based on the Felon's hatred may become the norm.  Sadly, the Department of Justice under the Felon and his morally challenged henchwoman, Pam Bondi, long standing ethical and procedural standards have been discarded.  All of this is happening for two reasons: (i) the Felon's ego demands retribution against perceived enemies, and (ii) the Felon hopes to intimidate political opponents in an effort to aid the GOP in maintaining its slim control of both houses of Congress.   The Felon is cunning enough to know that should Democrats gain control of either the House or the Senate,  investigations into his corruption and self-enrichment schemes will ensue. Sadly, Republicans care nothing about the rule of law or morality and decency. All that matters to them is appeasing the Felon.  A piece in The Atlantic looks at the dangerous realm we have entered:

President Donald Trump [The Felon] recently ordered his attorney general to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey, and tonight, the Department of Justice delivered an indictment of Comey for lying to Congress. Comey, for his part, insists on his innocence. But the charges against Comey are not just about the president’s abuse of his power for personal retribution. They represent a test of the president’s plans for the future.

Since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Trump and his top aides have spoken of their plans to bring cases against people who give money to anti-Trump causes.  . . . In real life, there is no known evidence that any organization funded Kirk’s assassin. But there are donors to left-wing causes that Trump wants to defund. In the White House today, the president signed an order to investigate those donors. He cited the liberal donors Reid Hoffman and George Soros as potential targets. In April, Trump ordered an investigation of ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform.

Trump faces a very immediate problem. He and his family have already amassed an enormous fortune in the first nine months of his second term, in great part from gifts and deals with foreign powers. That behavior is likely to be investigated if Trump’s party loses control of either house of Congress in November 2026. Trump’s bad economic management has put that control at extreme risk. His overall approval numbers have dropped to the very low 40s; his economic management, to the mid-30s. Grocery prices are up, and electricity prices are rising even faster. If honest congressional elections were held today, the Republicans’ two-seat margin in the House of Representatives would vanish. The protective screens for Trump’s self-enrichment would vanish with it.

The president is driven by intense ego needs. He hates Comey for his role investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election—as he hates his own former national security adviser John Bolton for refusing to comply with his scheme to extort Ukraine in 2019.

But Trump is also a gifted survivor, with a keen instinct for the weaknesses of individuals and nations. The American justice system is only as good as the people who staff it. Led by Kash Patel and Pam Bondi, the system can be an abundant resource for a president who wants to use the law to frighten opponents away from the political process. Troops in the streets of Washington, D.C., have deterred residents from going to bars and restaurants in 2025. Those troops could be used to dissuade residents of blue cities in red states from standing in voting lines in 2026. Selective prosecution can be used to cut the flow of money to Democratic candidates.

Yes, Trump’s politicization of the Department of Justice is a backward-looking expression of hurt feelings. It’s also another step in a forward-looking plot to shred the rule of law in order to pervert the next election and protect his corruption from accountability.

James Comey’s rights and liberties are not the only ones at risk today. So is your own right to participate in free and fair elections in order to render a verdict on Trump’s invasion of those rights and liberties. Trump understands the stakes—and has been astoundingly transparent about his intentions. Will you listen and understand as clearly as he speaks and threatens?