Great American Betrayer

My aim with this post is to take individual cases of Trump's betrayal of America and break them down into clear points that readers can use in dialog with fellow citizens to express how Trump is unfit for office. I hope these conversations can be done in a non-partisan way. Even though people are dug in to their side, it may be helpful to remind people, as the crimes become more difficult to deny, that they do not need to switch parties to admit this President is unfit for office. They don't have to (read in Darth Vader voice) "come to the Blue side," if you will.

Case 1: Trump's Aides Proffer Russia Sanction Relief and a 50 Million Dollar Penthouse Bribe to Open Path to Financing for the Trump Tower Moscow. 

Summary

• It was a three decade dream of Trump's to build a Trump Tower Moscow.
• Michael Cohen and Felix Sater worked on the deal until summer of 2016, with plans for financing by Russian banks subject to US sanctions. 
• Financing with those banks would have been impossible while sanctions were in place.
• As part of the deal, the plan was to give Putin a 50 million dollar penthouse.
• Cohen kept Trump and family apprised of his efforts toward the deal.
• Trump repeatedly lied to the US public about business dealings with Russia, both during the campaign and after, keeping his Trump Tower Moscow deal negotiations secret.
• Before inauguration, Trump refuses to divest his businesses and Trump's incoming National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, has conversations with a Russian diplomat about Sanctions. 
• Days after Trump's inauguration, Trump's administration makes moves to drop US sanctions against Russia, despite the fact that the most recent sanctions were levied in response to Russias interference into our election.
• Cohen, Sater, and a Ukrainian lawyer Andrii Artemenko draw up a Russia-Ukraine peace plan that includes dropping US sanctions on Russia, and deliver it to Flynn.
• Trump was willing to eliminate sanctions, the only deterrance we have to try to keep Russia from meddling in our elections.
• Trump would have benefitted personally from Russian sanctions being dropped by opening the door to financing the Trump Tower Moscow deal, his decades long dream.
• In short, Trump was willing to give up our election security for Trump Tower Moscow. He knew it was wrong and so he lied about it. This is a betrayal of the citizens of the United States of America.

Facts

• 1987: In the Art of the Deal, Trump's memoir, Trump described his vision for “a large luxury hotel across the street from the Kremlin in partnership with the Soviet government.” (Source)
• 1996: Trump makes an exploratory trip to Russia and registers his trademark. (Source)
• 2007: In a court deposition Trump says, "We will be in Moscow at some point.” (Source)
• September 12, 2014: (Russian Bank) VTB Bank was sanctioned and US Persons were prohibited from transactions including loans of longer than 90 days. (Source)
• October 13, 2015: Felix Sater sends Cohen a copy of draft Letter of Intent for the Trump Tower Moscow deal. He includes a note, "Lets make this happen and build a Trump Moscow," it reads. “And possibly fix relations between the countries by showing everyone that commerce & business are much better and more practical than politics. That should be Putins message as well, and we will help him agree on that message. Help world peace and make a lot of money, I would say thats a great lifetime goal for us to go after.” (Source)
  
• October 28, 2015: Trump signs a letter of intent for the Trump Tower Moscow deal. A copy of the preliminary draft is available publicly. (Source)
• Around November, 2015: Felix Sater exchanged a series of emails with Michael Cohen, Trump's attorney promising to get the Trump Tower Moscow deal done and to get Putin's help in getting Trump elected. One of the quotes is "I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected." (Source)
• Around November, 2015: In the same series of emails Felix Sater confirms he had lined up financing with VTB Bank for Trump Tower Moscow. (Source)
• December 2015: Felix Sater emailed Michael Cohen, saying he had a former Russian Military Intelligence General, Evgeny Schmykov, on the phone and needed Cohen and Trump's passport information so VTB Bank could arrange for a passport. (Source)
• December 22, 2015: (Russian Bank) GenBank was added to the sanctioned list. (Source)
• December 31, 2015: Sater informs Cohen that financing will now be through GenBank and that meetings in Moscow will include Putin's Press Secretary, Dmitry Pescov. (Source)
• January 20, 2016: Cohen and Peskov's assistant speak on the phone about the deal includes giving a 50 million dollar penthouse to Putin. (Source)
• Late 2015 - Early 2016: Don Jr. and Ivanka are included in emails about the deal. Ivanaka recommends an architect. (Source)
• Summer, 2016: Cohen and Sater continue to work the Trump Tower Moscow deal. (Source)
• Up through June 2016: Cohen kept Trump apprised of the deal and Russia contacts. (Source)
• November 8, 2016: Trump is elected.
• December 28, 2016: New Russia sanctions are announced by the Obama administration for their involvement in the US election interference. (Source)
• December 29, 2016: Incoming National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, has phone conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, about Russia sanctions. (Source)
  
• January 11, 2017: Trump announces that he won't divest his assets and will instead pass control to his two eldest sons. (Source)
• January 20, 2017: Trump is inaugurated. 
• Days After Inauguration: Trump administration makes moves to drop sanctions in exchange for nothing (Source)
• Late January, 2017: Cohen and Sater, meet with Ukrainian lawyer Andrii Artemenko to draw up a peace plan for Russia and Ukraine that included lifting sanctions and kompromat on the current Ukrainian President (Source)
• Early February, 2017: Cohen goes to the White House and leaves the peace plan in Michael Flynn's office. (Source)
• July 2016 - May 2017: Trump, his campaign, and his aids continually and repeatedly denied contact with, or business dealings with Russia, despite at least 92 contacts and ongoing deal negotiations. (Source)

Case 2: Trump’s Cover-up of Putin’s Crime of Election Influence Campaign: Via Denial or Gaslighting

Summary

• Trump knows the cyberattacks happened.   
• Trump knows Putin ordered the crimes against America.   
• Trump lies to the American people about it.   
• Trump is covering up Russia’s crimes against America.   
• Trump is betraying America.  

Facts

• Two weeks before Trump took office he was shown highly classified intelligence indicating unequivocally that Putin personally ordered the cyberattacks to sway the 2016 elections. (Source) 
• Since Trump took office, the intelligence community has repeatedly publicly asserted Russia is behind the cyberattacks. (Source) 
• Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly called the election cyberattacks a hoax and fake news. (Source)   
• He occasionally admits it happened and blames others. He rarely admits it was Russia. But then he goes right back to denying it. This can be seen as gaslighting, which is psychological manipulation and in this case the victim is the American public. (Source)  
• Sometimes Trump cites Putin’s denials of the attacks, in his denials. (Source)

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Now that we have reviewed the cases, what should we do about it?

The Constitution defines the requirement for impeachment in Article II, Section 4. as:

The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Treason is further defined in Article III, Section 3, as:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.

One of Clinton's Articles of Impeachment included charges of Perjury (Lying to Congress) so 'High Crimes and Misdemeanors' is pretty loose. However, I'm not just considering the requirements for impeachment here. Most citizens are not lawyers and frankly we don't need to be concerned with if Trump meets the legal requirements for impeachment. That is the job of Congress.

Our job, as citizens, is to determine if he has met our moral definition of traitor or betrayer, violated his oath of office, or if he has not upheld his duties to the Constitution.

Webster's definition of 'betray' includes:

• lead astray;
• deliver to an enemy by treachery;
• fail or desert in time of need; and,
• to prove false.

The oath of office is:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

The preamble to the constitution is:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

If we feel he has betrayed us, the people, or our country, based on our moral definition of betrayal, violated his oath of office, or failed to uphold the constitution, then our duty is to call for his impeachment and removal. 

We the People put him in office.
We the People are responsible for taking him out of office. 

When we elect a President, we give him the reins of the most powerful country on earth. It is our duty to choose wisely. Should we make an error, it is further our duty to push as hard as possible to remove him from office. That is the responsibility of citizens of a democracy. The same power we are gifted with to determine our Presidents, must then be used to remove them from office. We must exert the Will of the People.

Since impeachment is a political process, and Congress is a political body, it's wisely hesitant to impeach a president who is supported by the Will of the People. Congress should not wish to unduly deprive us, the people, of a president we, the people, put into power via our democratic vote. Congress will want to know that the Will of the People is behind impeachment. So, at the point where we, the people, find Trump has met our moral definition of traitor or betrayer, we must start calling for impeachment. We must loudly express our will to impeach him. 

Only when both the Will of the People demands impeachment, and Congress finds that Trump has met the legal requirements for impeachment, will impeachment be likely to occur. 

Given this, I have not limiting my cases of betrayal to those that meet the legal definition of traitor or requirements for impeachment. This post is aimed at citizens, not lawyers or Congress. Indeed, I have no legal expertise, so I can't speak to the legal requirements beyond the references I've provided. Further, the information that most of us has, is information in the public space, through the free press and public documents. We aren't on a grand jury and we aren't part of the special counsel, but we do have our role to play. It is perhaps the most important role of all. Our role is to articulate the Will of the People.

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I hope this post was helpful! I'll update it soon with cases for the following, as more information becomes publicly available:

• Trump’s Cover-up of Putin’s Crime of Election Influence Campaign
• Trump Acceptance of Foreign Aid to Influence Election: Via Funneling Russia Money through NRA

Warm regards,

Lisanne Lombardo

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