Republican lawmakers didn’t just allow Donald Trump to engage in his latest act of corruption – commuting Roger Stone’s prison sentence – but they appeared to be knowing participants in the scheme.
As MSNBC’s Joy Reid pointed out on Saturday, South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham apparently had advance knowledge that Trump was going to let his former campaign adviser skate.
Hours before the Stone announcement came, Graham was on Twitter making the case for why Trump should shield his ex-campaign adviser from jail time.
In my view it would be justified if President @realDonaldTrump decided to commute Roger Stone’s prison sentence.
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Mr. Stone is in his 70s and this was a non-violent, first-time offense.https://t.co/jbbGTucRpq
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 10, 2020
Reid said the tweet appeared to indicate that Graham “had inside knowledge” of what Trump planned to do regarding Stone.
“[Republicans] not only watched the crime happen or watched the corruption happen, appears to have gotten a heads up on it,” she said.
Video:
Lindsey Graham appeared to have “inside knowledge” that Trump was going to commute Roger Stone’s prison sentence. #ctl #p2 #amjoy pic.twitter.com/msSMOSuJgi
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) July 11, 2020
Reid said:
[Republicans] not only watched the crime happen or watched the corruption happen, appears to have gotten a heads up on it. Lindsey Graham, two hours before Donald Trump commutes the sentence, here is his little tweet: ‘In my view it would be justified if President Trump decided to commute Roger Stone’s prison sentence. Mr. Stone is in his 70s and this was a non-violent, first-time offense.’ He sounds a lot like somebody who had inside knowledge of that. So they’re participants, they’re not even just observing it silently and with great cowardice.
This Republican Party must be removed from power
Alone, Donald Trump has posed a threat to American democracy since the moment he announced his presidential bid in 2015. Even as a candidate, he was emboldening U.S. enemies and making America less credible on the world stage.
Since taking office, the threat level has increased exponentially as Republicans in Congress enable him, either by being active participants in his abuses of power or by looking the other way when he tramples over the rule of law or sells out the country.
In November, it’s not just Donald Trump who needs to be removed from power. Republicans who spent the last three and a half years maximizing Trump’s damage need to be voted out, too.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.