Presidential Corruption

A Half Century Ago, The Nation Was Saved From Spiro Agnew!

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Exactly 50 years ago, the nation witnessed the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew on October 10, 1973, on charges of criminal conspiracy, bribery, extortion, and tax fraud, which led to a pleading of no contest to a single felony charge of tax evasion.

That moment, while maybe not reflected on then or since, in retrospect, was an absolute blessing for the nation, the Presidency, and American democracy!

Sprio Agnew was, arguably, the most dangerous and corrupt Vice President in American history, a man who worked to divide the nation and promote evil in a monstrous way, including attacks on news media, and being in general “an attack dog” for the corrupt intentions of President Richard Nixon.

Agnew employed racist language, reminiscent of later what Donald Trump would do, and forecast the right wing populism that would be used by Republicans in later decades.

Agnew attacked liberals and anti Vietnam War protestors, and was vicious in his rhetoric, reminding many of former Red Scare provocateur Senator Joseph McCarthy, and gained a reputation as “Nixon’s Nixon”!

Even now, a half century later, when this author and blogger gives lectures on Richard Nixon, and mentions Spiro Agnew’s name, it gets a negative reaction from audiences!

But what is often forgotten is IF Agnew had not been investigated and found to be corrupt, as well as his evil doings as Vice President, he would have succeeded Richard Nixon when he resigned 10 months later on August 9, 1974!

Instead, the nation was fortunate that there was a 25th Amendment, and that Gerald Ford became Vice President by nomination of Nixon and approval by both houses of Congress!

Gerald Ford proved to be a savior, being the right person at the time of the Watergate Scandal, to be the successor to a President seen as the most corrupt in American history, until the disgraced Presidency of Donald Trump surpassed Nixon in the level of venality! 🙁

Donald Trump The Most Corrupt President In American History By Far!

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Sadly, America has had Presidents whose time in office included scandals and corruption on a wide scale.

But no President has been as corrupt personally and politically as Donald Trump.

It is also telling that the Presidents whose administrations stand out for their corruption are all Republicans!

The list would include Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877); Warren G. Harding (1921-1923); Richard Nixon (1969-1974); Ronald Reagan (1981-1989); and George W. Bush (2001-2009).

But the closest in level is Nixon, and yet, if he were here today, he would be shocked at the level of corruption, most of it personal, of Donald Trump!

Trump out of office faces legal challenges in Florida, Georgia, Washington DC, and New York, and he is the only President to be impeached twice, and have some members of his own party vote to convict him of impeachment charges!

That is why Trump has already been rated by scholars as in the bottom three of all Presidents in history, only ahead of James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson, who battle each other for last place!

Presidents Day: A Day To Celebrate And A Day To Mourn, At The Same Time!

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Today is Presidents Day, a holiday to celebrate and commemorate America’s Presidents.

With 45 men having served as President, about one third stand out as accomplished and heroic in many ways.

Another third are clearly less outstanding but yet have virtues and accomplishments.

And the other third have some Presidents who are seen as mediocre, but others who are truly failures and disasters.

And then, there is Donald Trump, who besmirched the office of the Presidency, and for anyone to think that he will rise from the basement, absolute bottom of the list, requires a delusional mind and lack of ethics, morals, and decency!

Even James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson, the usual two Presidents who inhabit the basement of the Presidency, by comparison to Donald Trump, they look like wrong headed and weak leaders, but cannot be put in the same category as the 45th President,

who was impeached twice;

failed to win the popular vote in either election he participated in;

failed ever to have a 50 percent public opinion rating at any time in his Presidency;

presided over the greatest loss of life in one year of any President with the COVID-19 Pandemic;

had the most corrupt cabinet and other officials around him;

purposely declared war on democracy, humanity, decency, compassion, and empathy;

promoted racism, nativism, misogyny as a national policy;

stirred up right wing forces that are still a domestic terrorism threat into the long term future;

Stirred a mob to attack the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, threatening his own Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, all members of Congress, and harmed Capitol Hill Police, with a few deaths and over 100 severely injured in the Insurrection;

and has destroyed the party of such luminaries as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and many others who were governors or senators of a reputable party in past history!

Memo To American Jews Who Support Trump: You Are Overlooking History And Are Being Delusional!

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This author and blogger is proud of his Jewish heritage, and pleased that two out of three American Jews support the Democratic Party, which historically, since Franklin D. Roosevelt, stands for the basic values that all decent American Jews believe in: Tolerance, open mindedness, compassion, empathy, decency, social justice!

That does not mean that there have never been Republicans historically who one could find appealing, and even, at times, vote for and support.

But for any American Jew to support Donald Trump, who is a clear cut Fascist with strong tendencies toward Adolf Hitler, not just Benito Mussolini, is shocking beyond belief!

If one voted for Donald Trump as an “outsider” amid thoughts that a businessman with no government experience was worthy of being given a shot at leadership, and had unexplained hatred toward Hillary Clinton in 2016 to motivate you, that is one thing.

But after four years of Donald Trump, not as an outsider, but as the 45th President, and having witnessed what he has wrought, it is beyond understanding why any American Jew would vote for Trump again!

Some would say, oh the economy was going great under Trump, when the economy was already going great under Barack Obama, who took us from the Great Recession to the greatest economic recovery that we have seen in American history, including even Franklin D. Roosevelt before World War II came along!

All that Trump did is continue an economic recovery already in effect for a number of years. And that economic recovery was very uneven, with his push for a massive tax cut for the top one to two percent, which added to the national debt, and now threatens Social Security and Medicare! And 40 percent of the nation cannot afford an emergency $400 expense!

Some would say, oh Trump has done so much for Israel, in moving ahead to recognize Jerusalem as their capital; accept Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights from Syria; and promote diplomatic and other ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Israel and Bahrain, which only deepen the conflict over the future of Israel and the Palestinians. Realize that the leaders of those Arab nations are autocrats, corrupt to the core, and have no ethical basis at all toward their own population.

Any intelligent American Jew KNOWS that this is just a ploy for Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off accountability for his corruption, which has led to trial in Israel. It is also simply a way to manipulate that portion of American Jewry that Trump counts upon to help him win reelection, who think that whatever the Israeli government wants, should be supported by the United States.

But this ignores the fact that Barack Obama gave more aid and defense support to Israel through his promotion of the IRON DOME missile system, despite Netanyahu’s hostile attitude toward him, and his collaborating with Republicans on Capitol Hill, including Speaker of the House John Boehner against Obama!

But Donald Trump meanwhile consorts with antisemites and white supremacists, as at Charlottesville in 2017, but also other actions and utterances that incite violence against anyone who disagrees with his destruction of the US Constitution and rule of law! And remember that Richard Spencer, David Duke, and other extremist right wing antisemites love Donald Trump!

Donald Trump is a racist big time, if anyone looks at his history. He promoted racial discrimination in his Queens New York properties, and is infamous for his constant attack on “the Central Park Five”, five young minority men, accused of rape and assault, who he campaigned against, and has refused to admit he was wrong and apologize, when they were shown to be innocent and released after many years.

Donald Trump is a nativist, who has no issue with caging children at the border, a reminder of the early concentration camps which imprisoned Jews and other people, before the extermination concept was formulated in Nazi Germany!

He promotes anti immigrant hysteria, even though his mother was an immigrant, and two of his three wives were immigrants. And despite his close association with Muslim authoritarians, such as Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, he promotes Islamophobia, showing what a total demagogue and hypocrite he is, and his constant attacks on the few Muslim members of Congress!

Donald Trump is also a misogynist, who has abused dozens of women personally, and associates with others who have done the same, and has the gall to brag about it, but also has refused to provide evidence when charges are brought against him. He makes Bill Clinton look like a “choir boy” by comparison!

Donald Trump promotes hatred in his rallies, making people laugh as he ridicules opponents and makes fun of journalists who have been wounded by rubber bullets or tear gas, as he believes all media and all political opponents should be in prison! No other President has ever conducted himself in such a despicable manner! He is still pursuing his goal of putting Hillary Clinton, the Obamas, and Joe Biden in prison, all signs of an authoritarian demagogue!

Donald Trump rejects science, and is responsible for the mass loss of life in the COVID 19 Pandemic, and encourages his followers NOT to wear masks or practice social distancing, including at his rallies. At the same time, he thinks of his followers as “disgusting”, and calls veterans who have died in wars “suckers” and “losers”!

One might say that Donald Trump has a Jewish son in law, Jared Kushner; a Jewish Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin; and a key Jewish adviser, Stephen Miller; along with others who work for him who are Jewish. But these Jews represent an extremely privileged class, who put their basic Jewish values aside for the gaining of power and obscene wealth!

Donald Trump has lied more than 20,000 times in office, and has had, by far, the most corrupt administration and number of corrupt appointees ever seen in any Presidency, so how can any respectable American Jew support this?

If Donald Trump is reelected, he will become ever more a threat to the basic Jewish values that matter, and any American Jew who contributes to that horror, will go down in history, condemned for their inaction when they could have taken steps to end the nightmare of an American version of Benito Mussolini at the least, and god forbid, Adolf Hitler at the most!

Donald Trump Commutation Of Roger Stone Prison Term The Final Nail In The Coffin!

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Donald Trump’s commutation of the Roger Stone prison term will be the final nail in the coffin of the Presidency of the 45th President, and will cause massive loss of seats in the House and Senate on November 3.

To give a commutation to a man totally obscene and crooked as Roger Stone is, only adds to the image of Donald Trump as the most corrupt President in American history, bar none!

Only Mitt Romney, among Republicans in Congress, has had the decency to condemn what Trump has done, giving a pass to a man who was convicted by a jury of seven felonies.

But polls show a complete collapse of Trump’s ratings, and this action only adds to the destruction of his chances to win a second term.

The Republican Party in the House and Senate has no principles other than their own political advancement, and their personal acquisition of wealth, and they will suffer an historic disaster, equivalent of 1964!

Corruption Levels Of Democratic And Republican Presidencies Since 1963

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Fifty six years have passed since Lyndon B. Johnson became President, and in that period, we have had six Republican Presidents and four Democratic Presidents.

Republicans have held the Presidency thirty plus years since 1969, and Democrats have been in the White House for 25 years in that half century plus.

The record shows that Democrats have had a total of three executive branch officials indicted, with one conviction and one prison sentence.

Meanwhile, Republicans have had a total of 120 executive branch officials indicted, with 89 criminal convictions and 33 prison sentences.

To be fair, Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush each had one indictment, one conviction, and one prison sentence each.

But Richard Nixon had 76 criminal indictments, 55 convictions, and 15 prison sentences, while Ronald Reagan had 26 criminal indictments, 16 convictions, and 8 prison sentences, and George W. Bush had 16 criminal indictments, 16 convictions, and 8 prison sentences.

Meanwhile, Bill Clinton had, after all the investigations and publicity by Republicans in Congress, a total of 2 criminal indictments, one conviction, and one prison sentence. Jimmy Carter had one indictment, and no convictions and no prison sentences, while Barack Obama had ZERO indictments, convictions, and prison sentences.

And then, there is Donald Trump, who already, in less than three years, has seen 6 major figures indicted and convicted and having prison sentences, including Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, George Papadopoulos, and now, Roger Stone, and many others Russian connected also facing criminal charges that may not lead to convictions because they are in Russia.

And this does not include the many past and present cabinet members and other significant figures who have been caught in corruption, and will, in many cases, face indictments, convictions, and prison sentences in the future, as this administration is likely to surpass all previous Republican Presidents in levels of criminality!

Donald Trump Self Destructing By His Maniacal Statements And Policies: Signs Of A Seriously Mentally Ill And Dangerous President

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Every day of his Presidency, Donald Trump has demonstrated signs of being a seriously mentally ill and dangerous President.

He is self destructing by his maniacal statements and policies, in a way that no past President has done so consistently.

Yes, Andrew Jackson made statements and took actions that he has been roundly condemned for in history.

Yes, Andrew Johnson was extremely nasty and confrontational and undermined his own Presidency, having long range effects on the office and worsening the racial situation long term in America.

Yes, Richard Nixon was a very dangerous and corrupt President, who abused power and brought upon himself the impeachment process, which led to his resignation.

But none of these three Presidents with major faults ever reached the pinnacle of instability and corruption of Donald Trump.

The difference is that there was a strong political opposition to Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, and Richard Nixon, that kept them under a semblance of control and accountability.

But there is no counter reaction by Donald Trump’s Republican Party to hold him in any sense of control, and every day his utterances and his actions endanger both domestic and foreign policy, and his behavior gets regularly worse by the week.

The thought of a second term of President Donald Trump threatens American democracy and international peace, and must be prevented!

Working For White House A Dead End For Future Prospects Beyond That Service

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It used to be that someone going to work for the White House under any President was an honor and a privilege, advancing the interests of the nation, as well as the particular President.

Now that vision of government service for a President has lost its allure, lost its glamour, and it has become a dead end for future prospects for any individual for that service.

The revolving door at the White House, the constant turnover of personnel, either being fired, or deciding to resign, has become the most tumultuous such situation of any President of the United States in American history.

And the number of people working for President Trump who have become involved in aspects of the most corrupt early term of any President, is leading to the likelihood that many people working for Trump will end up in legal trouble, and may be charged with various offenses and possible prison time, as a result of their decision to work for President Trump.

So the future lives of many people have been damaged, if not destroyed, by the low ethical and moral basis of the Trump Presidency.

It took much longer for the scandals of the Presidencies of Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, and Richard Nixon to emerge, and one has to wonder what it will be like in the remaining years of this term if, by some miracle, Donald Trump survives in office until the end.

Donald Trump: Psychopath And Sociopath

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Here we are nine months since the inauguration of Donald Trump.

It is as if a baby was conceived, and now, after nine months. the baby is born.

And who is this baby?

A literal MONSTER, dangerous to the civil liberties of the American people, and a menace to world peace and order.

We have a person in the Oval Office today who sees no reason not to use nuclear weapons and destroy a nation of 25 million people, because its leader is unstable and reckless, exactly what Donald Trump has demonstrated is his behavior.

We have a person who exaggerates everything,

lies all of the time,

refuses to ever admit a mistake and admit he is wrong and apologize,

attacks everyone imaginable in a concerted campaign to assassinate every critic’s character,

displays ignorance of facts and reality,

attacks freedom of speech and press,

displays totally narcissistic behavior,

has presided over the worst personal and administration corruption of any President since Richard Nixon, and greater in detail than Ulysses S. Grant and Warren G. Harding,

is actively working to create total chaos and anarchy as he splits with the party that put him into office,

promotes a policy of painting himself in a corner and burning his bridges behind himself,

and is clearly delusional and mentally deranged.

So who is Donald Trump?

Clearly, he is a psychopath and sociopath, who is a danger to the nation and the world, who must be removed promptly from office.

He has lost all moral and ethical authority.

He has become more like a Mafia leader, such as John Gotti or Al Capone, rather than a President, and is much more dangerous than any Mafia leader could ever be.

He and his family have already become the most corrupt Presidential family in American history.

It seems that Robert Mueller, Special Counsel, is rapidly gathering a strong case against Donald Trump, not soon enough for his critics, but a case that should be solid on why Trump must be forced out of office over the next few months, hopefully before he takes actions that totally destroy the world order, and gets America immersed in multiple wars and crises, and the total destruction of the accomplishments of Democratic and Republican Presidents since Theodore Roosevelt onward.

This is a bigger constitutional crisis than Richard Nixon presented, something hard to accept, but the truth!

Trump Presidency Rapidly Becoming More Corrupt Administration Than Nixon, Grant, Harding!

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After only eight months in office, the Trump Presidency is rapidly becoming more corrupt than the Presidencies of Richard Nixon, Ulysses S. Grant, and Warren G. Harding.

Sic cabinet members, at the least, have engaged in corrupt acts–Tom Price, Health and Human Services Secretary, who has resigned, but also Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury; Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke; Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt; Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin; and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, who is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

A dozen Trump appointees have been fired or resigned, among them the most prominent being Michael Flynn, Stephen Bannon, Sean Spicer, Reince Priebus, Sebastian Gorka, Anthony Scaramucci, and James Comey. And Trump has hinted at firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Robert Mueller over the investigation being conducted by Mueller over Russian collusion in the Presidential Election of 2016. Many others are on tenterhooks as to their survival in the Trump Administration, and some are expected to resign, due to the temper tantrums and tensions that exist in the White House under Donald Trump.

Many of the above list are on the way to indictment or at least engagement in corruption, and more of the cabinet members will be forced out, including others not yet publicly demonstrated to have engaged in corruption in office. Everyone is lawyering up, which is a sign of future trials and convictions coming.