It is indeed an extraordinary statement. And IF, as IMO may be reasonably assumed, it is true, it's also quite amazing that the degree of concern among those hired/appointed by Trump about his fitness as POTUS is so high that they would take such extraordinary actions. It's not a surprise to those of us who would never have voted for him or worked for him, but we're talking, apparently, about lots and lots of people who Trump himself hired making this call that he's unstable and untrustworthy.HooDat wrote:There are so many very real and dangerous problems with the op-ed I am not sure where to begin.
If it is real (let's not forget that the NYT has won Pulitzer's for completely fabricated stories) the writer is neither a hero nor a patriot.
If it is real, the writer has broken ranks - for what purpose? An immature need for self-congratulations?
If the writer is real, why would you be going to all that effort and then out yourself for no reason? What do you accomplish?
The part that is in fact treasonous is this:it all but calls for the assassination of the president of the US.So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until — one way or another — it’s over.
IF the writer has taken a "vow" - well, they just broke it....If the writer were a) intelligent, and b) a true patriot seeking what is best for the country, they would resign their position and go public with everything they have seen. They now have no remaining ability to continue to influence the president (if it existed in the first place) nor do any of the fellow conspirators. And the American people are left with nothing but empty innuendo and accusations.That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office.
I don't care what side of the aisle you are on, this op-ed should really concern any rational person. In fact it should terrify any supporter of our representative government.
But hyperbole like 'coup'd'etat' and 'assassination' and treason are not helpful to understanding what's been happening to date.
For the record, "The constitution of the United States, art. 3, s. 3, defines treason against the United States to consist only in levying war (q.v.) against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid or comfort."
This ain't "treason" under the legal definition. It's also clear that the 'treachery', if one was to call it such, is not against the United States or the Constitution which presumably Anonymous has sworn to uphold, but is rather to protect the same against the actions of the occupant of the Oval Office in a deranged state.
Anonymous most certainly was not calling for "assassination", but he/she is clearly predicting that the Trump era will come to an end. There are at least 4 possibilities. The first and most normal would be for the election in 2020 in which Trump lost, the second would be that he resigns for whatever personal reasons or pressures as he may decide justify resignation, the third is impeachment and the fourth is an Article 25 action. None of those are "assassinations" or "coup d'etats".
That all said, I tend to agree with the many commentators, on all sides of the political spectrum, who think that Anonymous and the rest of the crew involved would do the most good for the country if they were to stand up and be counted in the open.
But I do understand why they may be worried that their replacements will not protect the country as they believe they are doing...essentially concerned that the putsch would result in far greater damage.
But we'll eventually find out...