It's worse than Watergate, but it has to be worse than Iran-Contra too

[Baked Potato]

From the Article linked below:

“All the makings of a scandal that could end a presidency

Like most sprawling international scandals, Iran-Contra is complicated. But the crux of it was this: The Reagan administration sold arms to Iran in exchange for the release of seven hostages and $30 million — only $12 million of which made it into US government coffers. Administration officials used the missing money to secretly fund the Contras, right-wing rebels attempting to overthrow the leftist government in Nicaragua.”

I remember these hearings vividly. The republicans paraded Ollie North out in his Marine uniform and made the Democrats look unpatriotic. A full, all hands on deck coverup and tactical mistakes tanked the investigation. Yes, Barr was involved in this one too.

Democrats and Republicans (who love their country) have one chance to get the King. The Politics and Tactics must be perfect. There are other great articles on this scandal but here’s a start:

https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/7/25/16020518/trump-iran-contra-reagan-parallels-impeachment

More:

“A few years after the Bush pardons, Walsh wrote a book about his investigations called Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-Up. In it he argued, “What set Iran-Contra apart from previous political scandals was the fact that a cover-up engineered in the White House of one president and completed by his successor prevented the rule of law from being applied to the perpetrators of criminal activity of constitutional dimension.” Those words are a description but also a warning: The executive can run roughshod over Congress, prosecutors, and even the rule of law itself, and escape without consequences. Those hoping to see justice meted out against a corrupt Trump administration should take note.”

I note this article was written after only 6 months of Trump! A lot has changed, it’s now much worse.

[klook]

1. It will be harder for the Republicans to spin a patriotic narrative for this one

-- at least one that convinces anybody other than the (R) base, who are already primed to believe any hogwash they're fed by the Administration and its media enablers.

As bad as Iran-Contra was, they were able to say they were doing this because the Democrats refused to fund the "freedom fighters" (Contras) in Nicaragua. That was bullshit, of course, but that, combined with North's hero theater, was enough to control the narrative.

I don't see that sort of outcome in this case. What is the patriotic cause? (Unless it's damaging Biden's chances in the election, which is seen as a patriotic cause only by the already-convinced.)

Given the current cesspool we find ourselves in, I do think it's quite possible that Trump and all the criminals associated with him will skate. But I think there is a better chance that this could become a damaging scandal. More will have to come out -- for example something from Dan Coates -- and at some point some respected Republican foreign policy old hands will need to speak up. The coming weeks will be interesting.

[Baked Potato]

2. Dan Coates would be best case for being the Whistleblower

He is well respected in both parties. If the Senate Republicans would come out of their hidey-holes and raise the alarm, Speaker Pelosi would move quickly, IMO. The one chance to get the King applies to them, too. Coming out against Trump is extremely politically risky. And it’s more than politically risky as we all know.

The patriotic cause could be his general ‘cult of personality’. He’s been laying the groundwork all along. “Democrats hate America, freedom, blah, blah, blah”.