I Remember 1968.This Ain't That!

I remember 1968 pretty well. The first thing I remember is that Russia, (back then the Soviet Union) wasn't our friend. Not even close. Of other note, we had a war in Vietnam. John McCain was shot down over Hanoi the year before. Martin Luther King was assassinated, we had a Democratic Convention and we had a nation profoundly divided. What we didn't have was a President under investigation, which for in all intents and purposes is treason. Nor did we have a political party that appears compromised and complicit from outward appearances. We also didn't have neo-Nazi fascists and white supremacists masquerading in Congress. Back then, we knew who all of them were. They were outspoken and obvious. George Wallace and Robert Byrd come to mind. There were more, but you get the idea.

So when I hear mainstream media say "We'll survive this, we survived the 1968 Democratic Convention", I think they're being a bit disingenuous. Declaring as fact, because we survived the 68 Democratic Convention, America will survive our current crisis leads me to ask "Where is your crystal ball? And to that I add, which America?

Yes, we had a huge convention crisis in 68, but let's not forget the nation also endured the disgrace of two impeachments since then, and yes we've survived those as well. But the crisis America faces today has no historical comparison and therefore no basis for such claims. True, America is resilient, but the "flagships" of our intelligence services, law enforcement and investigative services have made public their conclusions relative to the state of America's security. I'll paraphrase here: America's systems and processes of government have been infiltrated, compromised and continue to be manipulated and compromised by hostile foreign entities. Worse, there is evidence to suggest the very real possibility American citizens are complicit. The FBI/DOJ are currently involved in trying to get to the bottom of it. It's not looking good for the President, his administration, the line of succession and yes, some members of Congress. This may be America's worst nightmare. The take over of our government from hostile entities, with aid of US citizens. I'm pretty skeptical, so I'm calling that treason plain and simple.

There is much to rail about. We can rail against the media and the 4th estate. We can rail about the Internet and Social Media platforms. Let's also rail about the gullibility of America in general. Again, there is much to rail about. But when a President, his administration and certain Congressional members of his political party ignominiously tear down the principles and ideals on which this republic was based and work to compromise and interfere with the cornerstones of the highest intelligence and law enforcement investigative services of our nation's sworn oath and duty, there is great and just reason for alarm. So yes, I remember 1968, but this ain't that!

This won't be ended by a political party using local Police, to dole out thug like justice to convention protesters. No squires, this will be different. This will only end when a traitor, his supporters and co-conspirators, all of them, are brought to stand before a jury of their peers and attempt to defend the indefensible, treason.

Are We A Society Functioning Within Normal Limits?

In a society functioning within normal limits, contrition often follows acts of malice. A society in which the constraints of morality, truth and the belief in right and wrong are common denominators. We are not that society.

A visceral malevolence has crept upon us, spreading like a virus and has infected our society in general. We have become like rotted fruit, once healthy and good for life, now rotted and a danger to ourselves and each other. The product of political extremism based in hate, violence, the sacrosanctity of racial supremacy, and the delusion of thinking one can act like a dick with no consequences and those who oppose this radical political extremism.

Countering the FBI/DOJ Policy of a Sitting President's Amenability to Indictment and Criminal Prosecution

The FBI/DOJ have a long held policy that in a nutshell, shields a sitting president from indictment and prosecution for crimes. On its face, one could consider the stress of a presidential indictment would be too much for the country to bear. On the other hand, America’s resiliency has proven time and again that it can withstand stress of constitutional crisis as demonstrated by the impeachment hearings of Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton. All stressful and all leaving an indelible mark on our nation, yet we persist.

At issue is perhaps the constitutionally guaranteed right to a speedy trial, which has been made moot by the FBI/DOJ policy of refusing to indict a sitting president. The framers understood that law, order and justice must in all cases prevail. To this end, they included in the Constitution a remedy by which the country can continue to operate with the least level of impairment or incapacity when confronted by monumental crisis. It’s called the “Presidential Line of Succession”.

Impeachment by Congress and criminal indictment by Federal authorities are two separate and distinct operations of our nation’s laws and institutions. They are conducted separately and the Line of Succession, which acts as a "safety net" to ensure the continuity of operation of government through times of constitutional crisis, mitigates the risk or capacity to impact negatively the other’s process and mitigates the possibility of any incapacitation of government operations.

It is this distinction and by this separation of legal processes, that the conclusions reached by the FBI/DOJ relative to the amenability of a sitting president to be criminally indicted and prosecuted appear to have been reached in error and based on the defective reasoning as stipulated on the FBI/DOJ website that; "an indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions". The Presidential Line of Succession is the constitutional remedy that not only contradicts, but makes moot the Justice Department’s policy of shielding a sitting president from indictment and prosecution for crimes.

Consistent with the American ideal that no one is above the law and therefore no seat in government is immune from indictment and prosecution from Federal crimes, even the uber conservative Republican Judge Bork agreed and addressed the question in 1973, in connection with the grand jury investigation of then-Vice President Spiro Agnew. In response to a motion by Vice President Agnew to enjoin grand jury proceedings against him, then-Solicitor General Robert Bork filed a brief arguing that, consistent with the Constitution, the Vice President could be subject to indictment and criminal prosecution. What's good for the Vice President, is good for the President.

About the author:
George Legeros is a retired, disabled, veteran and Principal IT Architect, fire-puter-outer and Design Engineer, whose last assignment before retirement was NASA's Rocket Engine Test Facilities in Stennis, MS. Also listed in 2010 Guinness Book of World Records.