This is in response to letter writer Marty Ansley’s last three Trump/MAGA beatdowns, which are long on verbosity but short on facts.
We have too many problems to be distracted by shiny objects and mischaracterizations.
“Inject bleach.” Really? Only COVID-19 and Jan. 6 were concerns? That explains everything. It’s a distraction attempt from the real problems, like our shapeshifting Democratic presidential nominee, the border, inflation, housing costs, defunding police, election interference, free speech, disinformation campaigns and no defense of our representative’s abstained vote on warrantless searches. Case closed.
The rest is a response to his May/June letters.
Only Ashley Babbit died on Jan. 6. Heart attacks, suicides and overdoses are not related to JAN. 6. Trump said, “peacefully and patriotically go down to the Capitol and let your voices be heard.”
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser refused an offer of 10,000 troops. Over her objections, Trump ordered a Quick-Reaction-Force (QRF) be on call and placed under her control. Anthony Ornato, deputy chief-of-staff, testified under oath Trump ordered both QRF and the National Guard anyway.
The ACLU sued Obama and Panetta for ordering three Americans killed in Yemen. Obama argued the executive branch should have unreviewable, unilateral authority to kill Americans it designates a threat.
Judge Pan tried to set up Trump’s lawyer with the Seal Team 6 question (Trump orders them to kill an American) during oral arguments. Trump’s lawyer correctly responded, “it’s the responsibility of the Legislative Branch to impeach a President who did such a thing.”
Trump never advocated killing Americans, only for presidential immunity, which Obama was given.
President Biden had 27 top secret documents going back 50 years in unauthorized places. Removing documents from a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility is covered by 18 U.S. Code § 1924 and carries a five-year sentence for each document. Trump’s case fell apart because a hand-picked lawyer screwed up the chain-of-custody trying to make Trump appear worse with a photo op.
Astute people ignore the noise and judge others by actions not words. Did Trump call soldiers “suckers and losers?” Maybe. But he did a lot for the military. John Kelly didn’t disclose his board positions with defense contractor Spectrum Group or lobbying group DC Partners on his application to Homeland Security, a clear ethics violation. Was there a monetary interest in what happened inside the White House? I don’t know.
John Bolton, no Trump fan, along with 30 others all said Trump never made the statement.
As to praising dictators, it was Obama, not Trump, who was caught on a hot mic cozying up and telling Putin he would have more flexibility after the election. Biden has bribed Iran with $71 billion, some estimates are twice that to get Hamas to negotiate a ceasefire. Trump had a full-throated economic stranglehold on Iran: over 1,500 sanctions during his presidency. Biden shows weakness, and world leaders know it. Strength earns respect.
Reagan said it best, “the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they’re ignorant; it’s that they know so much that isn’t true.”
Ray Anderson
Ethel
