Congressman Hakeem Jeffries puts "treason" into Trumpzi context

Donald Trump is unworthy, unwise and unhinged when he inappropriately called "treasonous" the people who didn't applaud his failed and daunting State of the Union 2018 teleprompter speech.

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries Democrat of New York - an eloquent speech about the audacity of "treason"

Republicans must be wearing ear plugs and using political blinders over their eyes to pretend this leadership behavior is normal.  Rather, Donald Trump is into bullying, telling lies and creating incendiary rhetoric to antagonize our political divisions while doing absolutely nothing to improve our human condition.

Now, Trump has the disrespectful audacity to call those us "treasonous", for finding his terrible State of the Union speech to be a remedial reading exercise.  Here's what the eloquent Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York said in his perfectly toned rebuttal speech to Donald Trump:

Reported in The Washington Examiner and in The Hill

The Washington Examiner headlines:  

Hakeem Jeffries to Trump: 'How dare you lecture us about treason' ~ reported by Melissa Quinn

Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries slammed President Trump for suggesting it was treasonous for Democrats not to applaud during his State of the Union and questioned whether the president and his officials have themselves engaged in treasonous acts.

“Treason is not a laughing matter,” Jeffries, of New York, said during a speech on the House floor Tuesday. 

“(Treason)....It is a serious crime embedded in the Constitution, punishable by death. But since your commander in chief chose to raise it at a political rally, let’s have a discussion about treason.”

Jeffries then questioned whether it was treason for a presidential campaign to “meet with a hostile foreign power to sell out our democracy and rig the election.” 

Jeffries also asked whether it is considered treason for members of Trump’s presidential campaign to “meet with Russian spies who promise information that was negative about a political opponent, and then fail to report that meeting to law enforcement officials.”

The New York Democrat was referencing a meeting Donald Trump Jr., then-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner attended at Trump Tower in June 2016 with a Russian lawyer. Trump Jr. said he attended the meeting after being promised damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

Jeffries further questioned whether it was treason for Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, “to be a Russian asset sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. doing the bidding of Vladimir Putin.”

Flynn was fired in February 2017 for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with then-Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

“How dare you lecture us about treason,” Jeffries said of Trump. “This is not a dictatorship. It’s a democracy, and we do not have to stand for a reality show host masquerading as president of the United States of America.”

Trump said during a speech in Ohio on Monday that Democrats who didn’t clap during the State of the Union last week were “un-American” and “treasonous.”

"You're up there, and you have half the room going totally crazy wild. They loved everything; they want to do something great for our country," Trump said. "And you have the other side, even on positive news, really positive news like that, they were like death. And un-American, un-American."

"Somebody said treasonous. I mean, yeah, I guess why not,” he continued. “Can we call that treason? Why not. They certainly didn't seem to love our country very much."

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told NBC News on Tuesday (another case of the lies perpetrated by Trumpzi puppets) that the president’s remark was “tongue in cheek.”

And here is the headline in The Hill:

Dem lawmaker to Trump: 'How dare you lecture us about treason' ~ Reported by Rebecca Savransky

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday tore into President Trump after he accused Democrats on Monday of "treasonous" behavior during his State of the Union address.

Jeffries said Tuesday that treason is "not a laughing matter" but rather a "serious crime embedded in the Constitution, punishable by death."

"But since your commander in chief chose to raise it at a political rally, let's have a discussion about treason," he said.

"Is it treason for a presidential campaign to meet with a hostile foreign power to sell out our democracy and rig the election?"

Jeffries further questioned whether it was treason for a presidential campaign to "meet with Russian spies who promise information that was negative about a political opponent and then fail to report that meeting to law enforcement officials."

He appeared to be referring to a 2016 Trump Tower meeting that included Donald Trump Jr., White House adviser Jared Kushner, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a Russian attorney.

"How dare you lecture us about treason. This is not a dictatorship. It's a democracy," Jeffries said.

"And we do not have to stand for a reality show host masquerading as president of the United States."

In a speech Monday, Trump suggested that Democrats not clapping for his address were guilty of treason.
"They were like death and un-American. Un-American. Somebody said, 'treasonous,'" Trump said Monday.

"I mean, yeah, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean they certainly didn't seem to love our country very much."

Trump added the Democrats "would rather see Trump do badly than our country do well," saying that was "very selfish."

MaineWriter- Donald Trump is a selfish, childish idiot. He has done zero - nothing at all- to demonstrate competent leadership or to improve the human condition.  Name calling is the only tactic he knows how to use, to ignite division and thereby force getting his own way.  

Judicial - Third Independent Branch of Government Civics 101

Obviously, Donald Trump does not understand how there are three branches of government and each are independent of the other.  He can't fire people and make them obey because by interfering with the Justice Department he is violating the law----again!

Donald Trump is despearate to claim his own dictatorship in the White House but he hasn't a clue how to do it and get away with tweeting his way to success.  In fact,Trump doesn't have a golf course to hide on these days, so he's signing executive orders with a the pen, probably pretending it's a golf tee. Meanwhile, the Congress and his White House Staff are picking up Trump "dung" like they're all circuls clowns following the elephants around the big top.

Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Assistant Attorney General Sally Yates have created a wake of distrust for Donald Trump with their courage and ability to stand "truth to power". Any new "boss" at the Justice Department will have two tough leadership acts to follow.

On Monday night, in a fit of anger at the Assistant Attorney General, because she wouldn't follow his "Achtung!" directions about his immigration Muslim Ban, he fired Sally Yates like she was an ingenue on The Apprentice, a reality television show.

Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who served under President Obama, responded:

Loretta Lynch praises Sally Yates for 'courageous leadership'
By Rebecca Savransky for The Hill

Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Tuesday praised former acting Attorney General Sally Yates for her "courageous leadership." 

"With her decision not to defend the executive order regarding immigration, Sally Yates displayed the fierce intellect, unshakeable integrity, and deep commitment to the rule of law that have characterized her 27 years of distinguished service to the Department of Justice under both Democratic and Republican administrations," Lynch said in a statement.

Former Assistant Attorney General Sally Yates

"Her courageous leadership embodies the highest traditions of the Department of Justice, whose first duty is always to the American people, and to the Constitution that protects our rights and safeguards our liberties."

Loretta Lynch statement on Sally Yates: "Her courageous leadership embodies the highest traditions of the Department of Justice..."

On Monday night, Trump fired Yates just hours after she ordered that the Justice Department not defend the president's controversial executive order on immigration.

The order bars people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia from entering the country for 90 days; suspends the country's refugee resettlement program for 120 days; and indefinitely suspends resettlement of refugees from Syria.

The White House on Monday issued a statement saying Yates, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, had "betrayed the U.S. government." (This is hypocrisy- it's the Trump administration who is betraying the desperate refugees and making innocent people feel like criminals without cause and stripping them all of due process!)

In the statement, the statement said Yates was "weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration." (But, it was Sally Yates who prosecuted and convicted the evil Atlanta bomber Eric Rudolph, the man who attacked the 1996 Summer Olympic Games)

"It is time to get serious about protecting our country," the statement said.

Trump selected Dana Boente, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to replace Yates until his attorney general nominee, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), is confirmed by the Senate.

Obama nominated Yates for deputy attorney general in December 2014. She was confirmed by the Senate in May 2015, making her the Justice Department's No. 2 under Lynch.

Dana Boente will collect tax payer $alary for taking the position Yates has vacated; but morale at the Justice Department will not be quickly repaired, especially when the former Attorney General Lynch and the Assistant Attorney General Yates created a wake of distrust and left behind a path of fearful employees.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has violated his leadership responsibility to support the Constitution- there are three branches of government and Trump can't influence the Justice Department!. 

Hillary Clinton endorsements - a meteor shower of support

"...Mr Trump would be a terrible president.."- The Economist

Media are savvy about their political endorsements. These "on the historic record" documents of support or opposition to candidates and issues remains for generations of historians to review. Therefore, it's certainly impressive to realize how the overwhelming preponderance of print media support is being showered on Secretary Hillary Clinton for the 2016 election. I believe The Economist endorsement is among the most elite on the record to be added to her growing support list.

November 03, 2016, The Economist endorses Clinton
By Rebecca Savransky

Business magazine The Economist on Thursday endorsed Hillary Clinton, calling her "America's best hope."

"The choice is not hard. The campaign has provided daily evidence that Mr Trump would be a terrible president," the magazine's editorial board wrote.

"He has exploited America’s simmering racial tensions. ... His experience, temperament and character make him horribly unsuited to being the head of state of the nation that the rest of the democratic world looks to for leadership, the commander-in-chief of the world’s most powerful armed forces and the person who controls America’s nuclear deterrent."

The Economist also slammed Donald Trump on his economic, environmental and immigration policies.

"Our vote, then, goes to Hillary Clinton. 

Those who reject her simply because she is a Clinton, and because they detest the Clinton machine, are not paying attention to the turpitude of the alternative," the editorial said.

"Although, by itself, that is not much of an endorsement, we go further. Mrs Clinton is a better candidate than she seems and better suited to cope with the awful, broken state of Washington politics than her critics will admit. She also deserves to prevail on her own merits."

Meteor shower of impressive endorsements includes 

The Economist

The Economist noted it is not in support of all of Clinton's policies, calling her tax plan "fiddly."

"The scale of these defects, though, is measured in tiny increments compared with what Mr Trump proposes."

The editorial board concluded that it is backing Clinton "partly because she is not Mr Trump, but also in the hope she can show that ordinary politics works for ordinary people — the sort of renewal that American democracy requires."

With the endorsement of the prestigious publication The Economist, the impressive, and growing support for Secretary Hillary Clinton contributes to a meteor shower of thoughtful consideration and confidence in her leadership.