In a speech on the Senate floor, Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona accused Donald of providing ‘aid and comfort’ to the enemy.
Furious Jeff Flake comes close to calling Trump a traitor: ‘He gave aid and comfort to an enemy of democracy’
Furious Jeff Flake comes close to calling Trump a traitor: ‘He gave aid and comfort to an enemy of democracy’ https://t.co/7l3yDYSKct
— Raw Story (@RawStory) July 19, 2018
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Flake’s words mirrored the U.S. Constitution’s definition of treason in Article 3, which says:
“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.â€
Flake is a very educated and intelligent man and there is no doubt that his choice of words was intentional. Â The retiring junior senator from Arizona has criticized Trump more than any other Republican in Congress.
In his floor speech, Flake said:
“By choosing to reject objective reality in Helsinki, the president let down the free world by giving aid and comfort to an enemy of democracy. In so doing he dimmed the light of freedom ever so slightly in our own country.â€
“The findings of our intelligence community regarding the Russian aggression are not matters of opinion, no matter how powerful and strong Putin’s denial. To reject these findings and to reject the excruciating specific indictment against the 12 named Russian operatives in deference to the word of a KGB apparatchik is an act of will on the part of the president and that choice leaves us contemplating the dark mystery, ‘Why did he do that? What would compel our president to do such a thing?’â€
Trump’s refusal this week to say whether he believes his own intelligence agencies more than Putin when it comes to whether Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election has caused members of his own party to join Democrats in condemning him.
Flake is also joining Senate Democrats in demanding the translator’s notes from the private Trump-Putin meeting.
“GOP senator breaks with party, backs Dem demand for interpreter notes from Trump-Putin meetingsâ€
GOP senator breaks with party, backs Dem demand for interpreter notes from Trump-Putin meetings https://t.co/HeilMkiet7 pic.twitter.com/m4qJHC4BYO
— The Hill (@thehill) July 20, 2018
Flake and Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware drafted a resolution to commend the Justice Department and call for hearings to examine what transpired in Helsinki.
The Flake resolution calls for access to any notes from Helsinki, as well as to individuals, after Trump and Putin held a two-hour meeting with only interpreters present.
Jeff Flake has had many harsh words for Donald Trump over the past several years, but this is the first time he has taken concrete action to confront the president, and it is most welcome, and coming at a very important time.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
