President Trump has announced he won't enforce the sanctions that Congress passed (with a veto-proof majority) and now he's creating a problem here in two ways: one he's not enforcing the law, and two, he's giving ammunition to his enemies on the entire Russia narrative.
If you want people to think Russia doesn't have anything on you then why wouldn't you be harsher on them? Trump has been so soft on Russia that it makes it easy to draw the conclusion that Putin owns him. Why is Trump refusing to enforce sanctions and follow the law that he signed?
Trump's actions reveal that he has no regard for the rule of law. If he's innocent of collusion with Russia then why fire Comey? Why try to fire Mueller? Why purge the FBI? Those just aren't the actions of an innocent man. You prove your critics right when you refuse to enforce sanctions on Russia because it makes it look like they have serious dirt on you.
No matter what you think about his crude behavior and other things, this is the first serious test of the rule of law. Is Congress going to insist he follow the law or will they let him do what he wants? Is democracy as an ideology dead or will our system prove more important than any one individual? I guess we'll find out.
R.J. Mitchell
Chattanooga
* * *
The United States of America is a republic, governed by laws. How many bills and laws have been passed that have never been enforced?
One good example is gun legislation. Plenty of laws, many not enforced. ICE guidelines for local police departments. Guidelines put in place but compliance in sanctuary cities denied. The list goes on and on.
Trump had the congressional authority to fire Comey. Trump did not commit the latest firing at the FBI. Trump spoke about firing Mueller but did not, and has since stated over and over openly that he will not fire Mueller. Recent documents coming to light have shown that there is a problem at the top of the FBI. More on this later.
It's been a year since the Mueller investigation began and no hard evidence about a Trump/Russian collusion has been verified. The collusion actually appears to have been in the Democratic machine. Documents pending. Surveys have indicated that the American people are sick of the Russian collusion narrative and ready to move on. We are equally sick of hearing about why Hilary lost the election. It's time to address other national concerns and move forward to resolve issues that have plagued our country for decades. International interference in our affairs has always existed and will continue. Count on it.
My question is why has nothing been done regarding the incursion of Russia into the Ukraine? That is a real story and has been going on since 2014. In addition, we have not been informed yet exactly who is criminally responsible for bringing down the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) in 2014. Two-hundred and ninety-eight passengers and crew perished in the crash. A Russian Surface to air missile system was used in the shoot down. Evidence has been presented that the missile system was transported in from Russia, used, and then taken back to Russia.
Russia, China and a host of other players have worked hard at using the internet to disrupt anything they could within the United States.
Barack Obama himself stated in an interview that it was ridiculous to think that given the diversity and separation of voting mechanisms that our elections could have been altered to any degree. You will find much more evidence of dirty gerrymandering [supposedly there is legislation in the works to curb this practice], voting by dead persons,voting by individuals transported across state lines, etc., etc.
Looking at the big picture, does anyone seriously think that Trump is "owned" by anyone? If I had to guess, I would say that Melania probably leads him around more often than not.
Teddy Ladd
Ooltewah