During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump made the infamous request for Russia to release Hillary Clinton’s missing e-mails. The same day, Russia began making attempts to break into servers used by Clinton’s personal office. Later in the campaign, Trump’s son and other associates met with Russian operatives in Trump Tower to get dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Trump was impeached for asking Ukraine for assistance in getting dirt on former Vice President, and potential Democratic rival Joe Biden. He was acquitted in a sham Senate trial during which zero witnesses were called to confirm or deny the accuracy of the “perfect phone call”. Even as the impeachment inquiry was ongoing, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani traveled to Ukraine to get the dirt promised in the “perfect call”.
Months after being impeached, Trump stated, in an ABC News interview, that he would certainly listen if a foreign government offered to provide dirt on a political opponent.
During the impeachment hearings, former national security advisor John Bolton hinted that there were far more troubling details that needed to be investigated, but Republicans refused to allow any witness testimony.
So, it should come as no surprise that in Bolton’s soon to be released book, it is revealed that Trump also asked Chinese President Xi for help winning the 2020 election. In fact, Bolton states, “I am hard pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my White House tenure that wasn’t driven by reelection calculations."
It also should come as no surprise that Trump’s so-called “Justice Department” has filed a lawsuit to prevent the book’s publication, citing “classified information” that may be contained in the memoir.
The book’s release date is June 23.
Should we be surprised by this latest revelation? I’m certainly not. Trump has a long history of violating the norms of past administrations. And why not? After the sham impeachment trial, Trump has operated with impunity as Republicans stick to the “let the voters decide” Trump’s guilt or innocence.
However, with suggestions of foreign interference, as Republicans seek to suppress votes, either through purging voter rolls, limiting mail-in or absentee ballots, making it more difficult for minorities to vote, as was seen in the recent Georgia primary, or outright intimidation at the polls, will voters get to decide?
While the specter of further foreign interference looms large, Republicans have chosen to focus instead on the origins of the Russia investigation, calling upon former Obama associates to testify, even though they denied this same right to Democrats who wanted Trump associates to come before Congress.
Will there indeed be a fair and impartial election come November 3?
Only if America is listening.