Trump is officially crossing the line.
On MSNBC with
(video above), I called “time of death” on the rule of law in this country: Saturday, Sept. 20 at 6:44pm. That’s when the president effectively issued a wink-nod illegal order to the attorney general to investigate and jail his critics, specifically citing ex-FBI Director James Comey. It was worse than Watergate, in broad daylight.Now the Justice Department is apparently following the president’s marching orders. As MSNBC’s Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian reported, prosecutors are planning to charge ex-FBI Director James Comey with a to-be-announced crime, as soon as this week. This is a very dark development.
But I know Comey will do the one, most important thing he can do: defy this tinpot dictator. I talked about it the other night. Jen Psaki opened her segment (below) by referencing the piece I wrote here on TREASON. The essay was about “defiance,” which is the watchword for anyone fighting Trump’s abuses of power.
Comey has shown a willingness to stand up to Trump’s authoritarian abuses of power. And this will be his biggest test yet. He should not be left to do it alone.
Defiance isn’t just about raising your voice. It’s about refusing to be cowed by intimidation — and more than that, converting intimidation into organizing power. Trump’s method is to punish one person in public so a hundred more fall silent in private. That’s truly how autocrats consolidate control.
The antidote is solidarity. It’s line workers at Disney refusing to let Jimmy Kimmel disappear quietly. It’s students, faculty, and alumni at Harvard telling their administration not to cut deals with Trump’s DOJ. It’s citizens flooding the public square on No Kings Day (Oct. 18, mark your calendars) to show that Americans reject an indefinite presidency. It’s ordinary people telling their institutional leaders: we are willing to sacrifice stability in order to stand on principle.
And it’s all of us preparing to condemn — in no uncertain terms — the vindictive and wrongful prosecution of a former FBI director. We need to muster that kind of crowd-sourced courage, and we’ll be called upon to do it again … and again … and again in the years to come.
In the meantime, to Donald Trump’s enforcers, I have this message to share: on Saturday, Trump told you to do something unconstitutional. Some of you are on the cusp of doing it. He will keep telling you to carry out illegal acts. It’s not too late to resist. You can refuse. You can blow the whistle. But some of you apparently will not listen, and so…
If you comply with his lawless directives, know this: you will be held accountable when the rule of law is restored. Trump may cloak himself in presidential immunity on the way out the door. But like every mob boss, he won’t protect his lieutenants in the end. You will find yourselves exposed to enormous liability for violating the rights of your fellow Americans.
For now, though, the rule of law is moribund. We crossed the threshold this past Saturday evening, and charges against Comey will make it apparent to everyone. However, that isn’t the end of the story. The Constitution is not self-executing. It’s powered by people willing to defend it. That’s where we come in. Our defiance is what will breathe life back into American democracy.
We don’t get to choose whether this is hard, folks. We only get to choose whether to surrender… or resist. THIS is a time of choosing.
P.S. WHAT’S HAPPENING ON TREASON
A few things to put on your radar screen.
Recap: The Weekly Wednesday Coffee - For paid subscribers, you can watch the Weekly Wednesday Coffee from earlier today, with surprise guest appearance from former GOP Congressman
.Tomorrow / Thursday (12:30p ET) - The Ink with Anand Giridharadas - I’m really looking for to catching up with
, so tune in. We will discuss the Comey news.Friday (5pmET) - Sue Gordon is back! - Donald Trump’s former spy chief — Deputy Director of National Intelligence Sue Gordon — is back on Substack LIVE with me this Friday to speak out about Trump’s most recent abuses of power. You can join here.
