It’s a very simple question, the inverse of rocket science: Should a president collude with a foreign nation to get campaign dirt on a domestic opponent?
Anybody with a functioning moral compass and a cursory grasp of federal law knows the answer is no. But a large swath of timorous Senate Republicans refuse to say so, fearful that Donald Trump will yank their leashes or trash them in tweets.
Case in point, Cory Gardner. What a profile in cowardice.
Gardner is up for re-election next year in Colorado, which is trending blue. Trump is under water in the state polls (he trails all the top Democratic contenders, by as much as 10 points), which suggests that Gardner has some wiggle room to speak the truth about Trump’s authoritarian abuse of power. But in Denver yesterday, when he was duly queried by a pair of reporters, he morphed into an ostrich.
Gardner was not asked whether Trump’s solicitations of dirt are illegal (they are), or whether they’re impeachable (they are). He was merely asked whether Trump’s solicitations are “appropriate.” That’s low-hanging fruit, but Gardner still wouldn’t pluck it. Let’s read his interaction with the press, shall we?
Question: “Do you believe it’s appropriate for a president of the United States to ask a foreign leader to investigate a political rival? Yes or no?”
Gardner: “Unfortunately what we’re seeing is a very political process taking over…That’s politics, that’s not what a serious investigation should be about.”
Q: “But is it appropriate – “
Gardner: “I’ve answered your question.”
Q: “No, you didn’t.”
Gardner turned to another reporter, hoping for a different question. No such luck.
Q (from the second reporter): “Is it a yes or no?”
Gardner: “Here’s what we’re seeing in the House of Representatives, a very partisan process taking place…It seems to be about politics and elections rather than the serious investigation that it is.”
Q: “But is it appropriate for a president – “
Gardner: “We’re going to have an investigation…a very serious investigation.”
Q (from the first reporter): “Would you be OK with it if it was a Democrat asking a foreign government – “
Gardner: “Look, here’s what we’re doing. What we saw immediately (in the House), was a jump to a very partisan, very partisan serious use of a tool in the Constitution…What we’ve seen from the House of Representatives and Nancy Pelosi is a very partisan partisanized effort…This is a very serious time, a serious investigation. Let’s have that investigation.”
Q: “But is it appropriate? You’re not answering the question.”
A: “This is about the politics of the moment and that’s why they’re trying to do this now.”
The question was teed up six times, and six times he buried his head. The same thing happened last week in Iowa, where Republican senatorial colleague senator Joni Ernst was asked precisely the same question. She replied: “We again, we don’t have the facts in front of us. And what we see pushed out through the media, we don’t know what is accurate at this point.” (It’s accurate that Trump solicited foreign dirt, according to his own phone summary, and according to what he said publicly on the White House lawn.)
The reporter refused to be conned: “I’m asking you if it’s appropriate for a president to ask a foreign power to investigate his domestic political rival. Yes or no?”
Ernst: “I don’t know if we have that information in front of us, and I’ll just stick with what I said all along.”
It’s clear that these abetters of authoritarianism are worried not just about ticking off Trump, but about stirring the wrath of his cultists. Ernst is up for re-election as well, and even though Trump is polling badly in Iowa, she needs the cultists in order to win a new term. Forget about the Republicans putting country over party; this is career over Constitution.
But their moment of truth is just beyond the horizon. If and when the House impeaches Trump, every Republican senator will be forced to decide his future. And, rest assured, when that day comes, they’ll know a heckuva lot more about Trump’s criminal regime than they claim not to know now.
Just yesterday, two of Rudy Giuliani’s dirt-digging confederates were arrested as they tried to flee the country, and were charged with illegally pumping foreign money into domestic politics. (Rudy himself is now under investigation.) And just yesterday, we learned that “at least four national security officials were so alarmed by the Trump administration’s attempts to pressure Ukraine for political purposes that they raised concerns with a White House lawyer both before and immediately after President Trump’s July 25 call with that country’s president” – which further confirms the whistleblower’s complaint.
The revelations will only get worse. Sooner rather than later, Senate Republicans may realize that burying their heads is no longer an option. And if they refuse to convict and remove, they’ll risk the wrath of the American majority next November.