Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) bluntly stated that Trump had caused a constitutional crisis and his possible ties to Russia and the Russian election interference was an act of treason.
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Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) told host Roland Martin on News One’s News One Now, “We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis the likes of which have not been seen in this country since the days of Richard Nixon and Watergate. The President of the United States made a decision to fire the FBI director who was in the midst of investigating his own campaign for possible ties to Russia and their interference with our election which in effect would constitute itself an act of treason. He fired acting attorney general Sally Yates. He fired U.S. attorney Preet Bharara from the 7th district of New York shortly after it was publicly revealed that Barara’s office was investigating close allies of the Trump administration. And then of course he’s now fired Comey and all but admitted it had to do with Russia. And what was problematic there, is that it appears Jeff Sessions – who supposedly has recused himself from all things Russia in terms of the Department of Justice – was the one who recommended to Trump in part, or was involved in the decision to fire James Comey. No one at the White House, no one at the Department of Justice can be trusted.â€
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When a member of Congress is going on television and discussing the possibility that the President Of The United States committed treason the country moves from discussing the potential of a constitutional crisis to being in the middle of a constitutional crisis.
Jefferies was correct. The decision to fire the FBI Director while he was investigating the White House is a criminal act. Many in the media have been afraid to speak of Trump’s behavior as being a constitutional crisis, but it is time for the press to stop dancing around the truth.
If the President fired the FBI Director because he had uncovered something about the President’s ties to a hostile foreign power or collusion by the President’s campaign with the same hostile power to win a presidential election, that is a constitutional crisis.
Treason is a charge that would have to be determined in a court of law, but it is time for the press to stop dancing around this crisis by taking Trump’s behavior on a case by case basis.
It is time for Democrats and members of the media to call out Trump’s behavior for what it really is. The President Of The United States may have committed an act of treason against his country.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
