Open Letter to Senator Susan Collins
Dear Senator Collins:
Donald Trump -- a white supremacist, misogynist, racist bigot -- has taken over the Republican party. The Republican party is no longer the party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Reagan. It is no longer the party to which you dedicated your career. Trump is a fascist demagogue who has used the Presidency to break the law, disregard the Constitution, and persecute minorities. He is a narcissist, a sociopath, and a pathological liar. He threatens our country, our democracy, and our republican form of government.
Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution reads: "...no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State." According to the Associated Press, this forbids Trump from receiving money from foreign diplomats when they stay at his hotels, or accepting payment from foreign governments when they lease office space in his buildings. Trump's real estate holdings are a key part of his income, and his decision to run his international businesses and act as President at the same time has created an unprecedented conflict of interest. Even if Trump divests from his businesses and places his assets in a blind trust -- which he has refused to do -- he has already broken the law by receiving foreign Emoluments. Given the immense scale of Trump's violations, they certainly qualify as a high crime. Every moment that Trump is President, he must choose between betraying the Constitution or undermining his family's income.
The First Amendment reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Likewise, the Fourteenth Amendment reads: "...Nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." On January 27, Trump issued an executive order banning all Muslims from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen from entering the United States. The order also permanently banned Syrian refugees from settling in the United States. (Ironically, Trump's order did not ban the entry of anyone whose countrymen had committed terrorist acts in the United States, presumably because Trump does business in those countries.) The order went on to favor immigrants of one religion over immigrants of another religion. This violated the First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom. The order went into effect immediately, and hundreds of innocent travelers were unexpectedly and unconstitutionally detained at airports because of their religion or nationality. This violated the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause. The people detained illegally for twenty to forty hours included a five-year-old child and a couple in their eighties. The child, an American citizen, was considered a "security risk" and handcuffed.
That week, Trump removed the National Intelligence Director and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the National Security Council and replaced them with Stephen Bannon, his chief political strategist. According to Slate Magazine, this is illegal. "According to Title 50 of the U.S. Code, Section 3021, which established the National Security Council, it 'shall be composed of' the president; the vice president; the secretaries of state, defense, and energy; and 'the secretaries and undersecretaries of other executive departments and of the military departments, when appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate...'" Bannon is neither a secretary nor an undersecretary, and has not been confirmed by the Senate. Trump broke the law by giving a political operative a seat on a council meant to be above partisan politics.
Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution reads: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort." Trump may have committed treason by conspiring with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to help him win the Presidency. It is established fact that Putin used cyber-attacks and propaganda warfare to influence the 2016 election.
When running for President, Trump, on live television, encouraged Russia to break American laws. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing... I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press." This was illegal -- a violation of the Logan Act. Moreover, Trump asked hackers beyond American jurisdiction to commit crimes on our soil. As those hackers were working (openly or secretly) for the Russian government, there is no way for American courts to bring them to justice. If Trump's contact with Russia went beyond those words in his press conference, he certainly gave our "enemies... aid and comfort."
According to the Washington Post, the CIA discovered that Russian hackers had stolen emails from both the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee. However: the hackers only leaked the Democrats' emails to the public. The CIA -- backed by other intelligence agencies -- concluded that Russia was deliberately helping Trump.
According to NBC News and ABC News, Vladimir Putin personally supervised Russian efforts to interfere with the American election. These hacks were typical of Putin's efforts to destabilize and disparage his enemies.
According to the declassified intelligence report produced by the National Intelligence Director: RT, the Russian government's propaganda machine, produced "news" videos falsely claiming Hillary Clinton was in poor health, had stolen all the money from her charity, and had financial ties to the Iraqi-Syrian terrorist group DAESH (the so-called "Islamic State.") RT posted these videos on the Internet to avoid the regulations that govern normal broadcast media. (It is illegal for a television or radio station to broadcast reports they know to be false.) RT's leaders admit that part of their mission is to undermine Americans' confidence in the democratic process.
Trump considered retired General Michael Flynn for the Vice Presidency in July 2016. Flynn soon joined the Trump campaign. According to the Washington Post, Flynn (working for Trump) and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak (working for Putin) were in contact throughout the 2016 election campaign. After Putin's efforts to interfere with the election became public knowledge, then-President Obama imposed further sanctions on December 28. The very next day, Flynn spoke to Kislyak, and apparently told him that Trump would lift those sanctions after he was sworn in. As Flynn held no government position at that time, he had no authority to negotiate with Russia, and thus violated the Logan Act. By providing "aid or comfort" to America's enemy, he may have committed treason as well. Trump later made Flynn his National Security Advisor, and it's unthinkable that Flynn spoke for Trump without his friend knowing about it.
In addition to violating the Logan Act, Trump repeatedly violated campaign finance laws by soliciting contributions from foreigners. This misconduct was not an isolated incident. Trump's willingness to break campaign finance laws in order to become President set the stage for all his conduct since taking office.
Trump is a serial adulterer and cheated on all three of his wives -- and continued to pursue women, including married women, while married. Though this is not itself illegal, Trump bragged that he'd tried to force himself on women, including married women. Sexual battery is a felony in the jurisdictions where that took place. Seventeen women have accused him of harassment.
Senator, you and each of your colleagues swore an oath to uphold the Constitution upon taking office. Make no mistake: if there was even the remotest possibility that Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, or Barack Obama had conspired with Vladimir Putin to use a propaganda campaign and cyber-attacks to influence an election, Congress would investigate it for years. If the Clintons or Obama had broken the Emoluments clause, engaged in campaign finance violations, illegally appointed a political operative to the National Security Council, or had an advisor resign amid treason accusations, an impeachment trial would already be underway.
Senator, a year ago I believed it was unthinkable that a fascist demagogue could become President. I ask you to take the extraordinary step of leaving the Republican Party. I implore you to follow the example of your colleague, the late Senator Jeffords, and become an independent (or a Libertarian) and caucus with the Democrats. Many of your colleagues either agree with Trump, see his bigotry as an acceptable means to an end, or are too afraid to stand up to him. Congress must act as a check on Trump's power the way our founding fathers intended. The only solution is to create a coalition of Democrats, independents, and Libertarians who will work together to uphold the rule of law.
Ronald Reagan once said: "I didn’t leave the Democratic party, the Democratic Party left me." Only with a coalition of Democrats and moderate conservatives willing to check Trump's power -- instead of rubber-stamp his abuses -- can we hope to preserve our nation.
Yours Sincerely,
C. Colvin
February, 2017
Dear Senator McCain:
In 2008, you stood with the people of Georgia and warned the world to keep their eyes on Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and his ambitions in Ukraine.
Now Putin has taken over the Republican Party. There may be direct evidence that the Trump campaign collaborated with Putin and his spy agency to launch a propaganda war involving stolen emails, doctored emails, and fake news stories that would swing the 2016 election to Trump. The circumstantial evidence of this is overwhelming. Congressman Devin Nunes, chairman of the House committee in charge of investigating Trump-Putin ties, has effectively cancelled the investigation. Speaker Paul Ryan is covering for Nunes. Their conduct demonstrates that the Republican-controlled Congress cannot be trusted to investigate Trump.
Trump dropped the language condemning Putin's 2014 conquest of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula from the GOP platform. He insulted key allies Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Mexico. He placed Putin sympathizers Rex Tillerson, Wilbur Ross, and Ryan Zinke in charge of the State, Commerce, and Interior departments. Tillerson is now fourth in line for the Presidency.
Trump was a Democrat for many years and switched parties in 2008. Had that not happened -- had he been elected as a Democrat while breaking campaign finance laws and benefiting from a Russian propaganda campaign -- Congressional Republicans would have begun an investigation the morning of November 9, 2016. Trump has violated the Constitution's emoluments clause every day since assuming office. If Trump were still a Democrat, he would have already been impeached and removed.
Senator McCain, you, Senator Sasse, and Senator Collins must leave the Republican party and caucus with the Democrats. Trump must be investigated, impeached, and removed from office. If Mike Pence knew about Trump's Putin ties and Paul Ryan participated in a cover-up, they must also be impeached and removed from office. Our nation needs true patriots to stand up to Trump, and the only way to do it is to create a coalition of conservatives and Democrats brave enough to place country before party.
Yours Sincerely,
C. Colvin
March, 2017
cc: Senators Sasse and Collins
Dear Senator Corker, Senator Flake, Senator McCain, and Senator Sasse:
FBI Director James Comey was the only government official investigating the Trump campaign's ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin who hadn't worked for the Trump campaign. Now Trump has fired him. This is Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre all over again.
Senator McConnell has blocked the Senate from any meaningful investigation. It is time to put the good of the nation over the good of the Republican party. You and your colleagues must leave the Republican Party and caucus with the Democrats. People of integrity must stand up to McConnell and Trump. It is the only way our country will learn the truth.
Sincerely,
C. Colvin
May, 2017