Trump Refuses to Testify, Taking the Fifth Like ‘The Mob’
September 26, 2022

President Trump’s refusal to testify in the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election has drawn some comparisons to mob boss behavior, and he doesn’t care who knows it.
Mr. Trump has taken to ratting out his associates by ratting on them instead of turning state’s evidence himself. Some say that this new tactic is simply a new strategy from an embattled president,
while others wonder how long he can get away with it before Congress begins to suspect him of criminal activity.
Democrats Want to Question President About Infamous Meeting
President Trump refused on Wednesday to answer Democrats’ questions about his infamous June 2016 meeting with Russians at Trump Tower in New York City.
When asked what he knew about this meeting and whether it was appropriate for his son, Donald Trump Jr., to have met with a Russian lawyer who had close ties with Russia’s government and Kremlin, President Trump took the fifth like the mob.
Democrats on Wednesday also questioned Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh about whether he ever discussed Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in US elections with anyone at the law firm where he worked before his nomination.
Kavanaugh refused to answer any questions from lawmakers by citing executive privilege.
House Judiciary Committee Votes on Contempt of Congress Against Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Former FBI Director James Comey
On Wednesday, May 9th, President Trump and his inner circle began taking a page out of The Godfather’s playbook as House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler led a move to cite Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former FBI Director James Comey
for contempt of Congress. Today’s vote passed with 18 Democrats and 3 Republicans voting yes, meaning that both individuals are currently in contempt of Congress until they agree to testify in front of Congress.
Trump refused to testify for an open hearing in 2020 claiming he didn’t have enough time; a much different response than his previous tweet claiming he was subjected to what could be termed as a political ambush.
A Look at the 3 Great Presidential Impeachments in US History
Three notable impeachment processes in American history are those of Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, as well as that of President Andrew Johnson.
The most recent two had their fate decided by the Senate (the legislative branch) while Johnson’s case was considered a failure because it did not make it past the House (the legislative branch). Presidential impeachments were rare before
Nixon’s impeachment in 1974 when Richard Nixon obstructed justice by tampering with evidence during the investigation of a break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters. If you want your job done right, do it yourself.
This is why Congress has only started twice since Nixon removed presidents from office: Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson.
Richard Nixon’s Article of Impeachment by U.S. House Judiciary Committee
Obstruction of Justice includes any conduct Testifying act or omission that would impede Congress in carrying out its constitutional functions. This includes any false or misleading testimony given under oath or affirmation.
- The President endeavored to obtain from the Internal Revenue Service, in violation of IRS regulations, tax returns, and other confidential information about a former Presidential candidate’s finances.
- The President instructed his private attorney to arrange for the payment of hush money before the Presidential election on behalf of one individual who had been identified as having a sexual encounter with a female, not Mrs. Trump, his wife at that time.
- The President directed White House Counsel Donald McGahn to stop Attorney General Jeff Sessions from recusing himself from this matter; and Mr.
Bill Clinton’s Article of Impeachment by U.S. House Judiciary Committee
In his 1998 State of the Union Address, Clinton gave a long list of resolutions for improving America. Near the end of this speech he said:
I would ask that we work together over these next two years so that when I leave this office in January 2001 our nation will be more united and prosperous than it is today. Together we can do that.
A Look at Independent Counsel Ken Starr’s Investigation into Bill Clinton
Ken Starr found that he had been lied to and obstructed by President Clinton. He Testifies notified Congress in his Starr Report of findings, including:
– Monica Lewinsky’s affair with Clinton was initiated when she approached him at a White House event
– Clinton believed falsely that denying the relationship on television would not be perjury because he never had sex with her or asked anyone else to have sex with her.
The president also denied ever having sexual relations with former White-House intern Paula Jones and testified under oath about it in a civil deposition before suing for sexual harassment. Despite Clinton’s denials, Starr considered this charge substantially true
– In his grand jury testimony, Clinton had difficulty remembering whether he had engaged in specific sexual activities with Ms. Lewinsky as precisely as she remembered them
– The president acknowledged that he might have told Ms. Lewinsky their relationship was solely between consenting adults but claimed that these statements were made only as an accommodation or political strategy so as not to alarm or embarrass either Ms. Lewinsky or Mrs.
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