I am not claiming he has been proven guilty in a court of law but these are a few of the allegations that have arisen concerning the president’s actions and values over the last several years. If it’s true that where there’s smoke there’s fire, then there’s an awful lot of smoke around the president’s person and the goings-on in and out of the Oval Office.
Off the top of my head, I can think of 10-12 areas in which the president appears to be less than forthcoming or dishonest, areas where he may have transgressed both ethical and legal boundaries. His penchant for fabricating falsehoods complicates (but does not prevent) the national search for truth.
As a New York real estate mogul there is no telling what he might have gotten away with in times past but if he thought he could run wild and do the same as president, he is now in for a rude surprise. If he did not know the much higher degree of scrutiny he would receive, I almost feel sorry for the man. It must be terrible to be good at pulling fast ones and end up in the one job where every deceit, fraud, and lie in his bag of tricks is going to be carefully examined by people with the requisite expertise and who know chicanery when they see it.
- Possible violations of the emoluments clause:
- Business ties with Russia and other foreign powers;
- Business with Deutsche Bank of Germany which in turn does business with Russian oligarchs with ties to organized crime, suggesting possible money laundering schemes.
- Refusal to release his tax returns, claiming he can’t because he is under audit although he offers no evidence of an IRS audit or an IRS rule to that effect. His refusal is generating plenty of suspicion that he is covering up unethical behavior to avoid accompanying legal jeopardy.
- Hush money payments as a normal modus operandi for the president complete with cover-my-tracks non-disclosure agreements signed by the party or parties receiving pay-me-off money from Trump. (Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal come to mind).
- Knowledge of catch-and-kill practices of tabloid newspapers like The National Enquirer aimed at silencing stories unflattering to the president.
- Accusations of sexual assault, rape, and defamation of character; twenty-five women have made allegations against Trump of sexual misconduct.
- Per Michael Cohen’s sworn statements (under oath): unethical inflating and deflating of properties and his overall worth in order to cheat on his taxes with the IRS.[1]
- Dishonest practices and schemes unbecoming the president:
- Violations of campaign finance laws (inauguration money misused, etc.)
- Misuse of money raised from one of Trump’s charities (see news item, Nov. 7, 2019)
- Trump University as a sham endeavor. The man who never settles decided to settle for $25,000,000 (twenty-five million dollars) to pay off students outraged over rip-off.
- Use of GOP or other people’s money to settle lawsuits.
- Campaign contribution of $25,000 to Florida Attorney General (considered suspicious in that she then decides not to join a wider lawsuit led by state attorney-generals against Trump).
- Engaging in nepotism by placing family members in high positions for which they are plainly inexperienced and unqualified.
- Profiting from his position as president:
- Not truly divesting from all his businesses per his pledge as candidate.
- Allowing family members to profit from their position and status through access to him.
- Inviting leaders of other nations to stay at his hotel.
- Having American military airplanes land at a small airport in Scotland that happens to be near another one of his business ventures.
- Paying off people to do his bidding.
- Non-compliance with traditional protocol and ethical behavior for the presidency.
In sum, a nearly constant abuse of authority and violation of his oath of office by putting his business interests first and by attempting to place himself above Congress and the Constitution.
I am not claiming this list is exhaustive; obviously, there is room to add so much more. However, even this brief summary must give us pause when we consider the serious nature of each and every one of these allegations against the president, of which the above is merely the tip of the iceberg.
A moral individual, a righteous man, an honest president does not pile up one serious accusation after another of such wholly unethical and unconscionable conduct.
His Narcissism and his Greed, his insufferable Ego and his reckless Bullying make him unfit to serve as president of these United States. It is time for him to go.
Regarding
his possible impeachment, I would gladly vote “Aye!”
[1] General example of what is being discussed: suppose a person wants to sell a piece of property so they value it at $10,000,000 (ten million dollars) as they advertise it for sale. For tax purposes, however, they value it at only $1,000,000 (one million dollars) in order to cheat on their taxes. There is some wriggle room here, according to financial experts; there would need to be a consistent and deliberate pattern to catch the IRS’ attention that something is truly amiss. In other words, for wealthy people like Trump with lots of real estate holdings (and lawyers) it’s a relatively simple con to pull off–just so long as one doesn’t get so super-greedy that the hidden pattern emerges. uthsC��8� B
