Just say the election was corrupt

Thought for the day

During Thursday's Jan. 6 hearing, the nation learned from former Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, a Republican and Donald Trump appointee no less, that the commander-in-chief wanted the Department of Justice to announce in late December the 2020 election was corrupt, and that DOJ should leave it to the president and GOP members of Congress to investigate the rigged outcome.  

On the face of it, that statement is damaging enough; however, if you dig deeper, here's the real rub.  How could the Republican lawmakers Trump referred to make a fair evaluation of the facts since they all were on the same ballot as the defeated president? 

If, as Trump repeatedly has said, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of ballots were fake, then how could down-ballot candidates who were re-elected to Congress be legitimate winners in 2020?  It's one of the most important questions GOP lawmakers like Matt Gaetz, Mo Brooks, Louie Gohmert, and Scott Perry -- who we now know sought pardons for their roles leading up to last year’s attack on the Capitol -- have refused to answer. 

If you ask me, Donald Trump's statement to DOJ officials is going to have a shelf life of 50 years or more, just like when embattled President Richard Nixon told the nation, "I'm not a crook."  Trump may or may not be a crook, but time and again he has proven himself to be corrupt.  He must never be allowed to run for president again.

-DF