by Norman Halls, contributor
WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-15), the Ranking Member of the CIA Subcommittee of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement: “It’s not just about Russia’s 2016 election meddling, intervention in foreign countries, or past ties between them and President Trump’s Administration. It’s also about the future of our country, and making sure it is free from Russian interference. However, with President Trump in the White House, that will not be possible. It’s clear that he and his team have already been affected by their contact with Russia and have instated more pro-Russia policies than America has seen in decades.”
At the start of each new Congress, the House of Representatives and Senate members perform an “Oath of Office”, which reads; I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God. There leaves no room for misinterpretation to the “Oath” if one seriously does what it says. Some House of Representative(s) is supporting a person that he is investigating. President Trump has no idea what he is doing, even if he gets good advice. Now he has his daughter and son-in-law trying to assist him. If things go wrong, his daughter and son-in-law will be the first people thrown under the bus.
Influencing Trump has many players such as: Jeff Sessions, President Trump’s Attorney General, had two conversations with Ambassador Kislyak; Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former National Security Advisor, was asked to resign regarding his communications with Russian officials, specifically Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak; Rex Tillerson, President Trump’s Secretary of State, worked on energy projects in Russia. He has publicly described his “very close relationship” with President Putin; Jared Kushner is President Trump’s son-in-law and current Senior Advisor; Donald Trump, Jr, President Trump’s son, met with Fabien Baussart, a leader of a Syrian opposition group backed by the Russian government; Paul Manafort who has business connections to Russia and Ukraine, was hired as Trump’s campaign manager; Carter Page, hired as a foreign policy advisor to Trump’s 2016 campaign, was known to have deep ties to Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned gas company; Tevfik Arif: Arif, who founded Bayrock, a real estate group known to have many deals with Trump, had a 17-year career in the Soviet Ministry of Commerce and Trade; Roger Stone, a former advisor to Trump, had back channel conversations with Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks; Alex Shnaider: Born in Russia, Shnaider co-financed a real estate project with Trump; Shnaider’s father-in-law, Boris J. Birshtein, was a close business associate of Sergei Mikhaylov, the head of one of the largest branches of the Russian mob; JD Gordon: Gordon, a national security advisor for the Trump campaign met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July, who he told he would like to improve US – Russia relations. He advocated for a change to the GOP national platform to make their policies more pro-Russian and less pro-Ukraine, a change which Gordon said was directly supported by then-candidate Donald Trump.
Why are America’s leader and his team so close to Russia? This is either due to poor judgments or a deeper personal, financial, or political link between President Trump and Russia. It is not normal for the leader of our country to be so extensively tied to a foreign government that has sought to undermine democracies across the globe, and connections like these should be concerning to American citizens everywhere.
Trump’s supporters are speaking out according to Amanda Terkel reporting for The Huffington Post. The reporter included comments by Scott Ford “Did I make the biggest mistake in my life voting for Trump?” Now he is concerned about Trump’s Cabinet picks, including former Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) for attorney general.”
“I really thought this was going to be an election that was going to [create] change,” Scott Ford said. “That was Trump’s whole thing: ‘We’re going to clean up Washington, we’re going to drain the swamp.’ The swamp is full again. It’s actually fuller.”
“Trump stands alone. His need to have his ego stroked constantly will no longer be possible. He cannot represent all Americans; he is out of touch with the vast majority. Because Trump lacks the intellect and experience to be our president, he will likely incur health problems; stress will cause that; and there is no avoiding stress as the most powerful man in the world” according to James Turnage, editor for The Public Slate.
