Abuse of Power and Extortion
The practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats is the simple definition of Extortion. When a President withholds funds from universities until they comply with his demands, that is clearly extortion and an abuse of power.
When the president directs the Department of Justice to investigate former government employees because he doesn't like what they said about the 2020 election, that is an abuse of power. You can believe elections are fair only when you win, but it's a false belief!
Senators stood on the Senate floor and said, "Donald Trump lost the election, and he was responsible for the attack on the Capitol on January 6. Later, the same Senators told us not to believe our lying eyes." How is that even possible in the name of all that is holy?
When a president threatens law firms with lawsuits unless they give him millions in free legal services, that is an abuse of power and extortion.
When a president threatens news outlets with lawsuits unless they refuse to write anything negative about him, that is an abuse of power.
The freedom of the press, protected by the First Amendment, is critical to a democracy in which the government is accountable to the people. A free media functions as a watchdog that can investigate and report on government wrongdoing. When a president calls the media the enemy of the people, he forgets to read the First Amendment.
When the government can deport anyone without due process, we are all at risk. No one wants criminals running around the streets of America. The American people understand and agree with deporting criminals. However, even criminals are entitled to A Writ of Habeas Corpus and due process before being deported. That is America!
Pastor Martin Niemller said, "First they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and no one was left to speak out for me."
The men and women in Congress who were complicit in supporting President Trump's abuse of power and the men and women who remained silent while President Trump told the most damaging lie ever told by a president (that he won the 2020 election) need to go home. It is time for some of our elected leaders to go home and contemplate how and why they sold their souls in support of an abusive president with his petty attacks on those he doesn't like and vengeance against all those who didn't bend the knee to him.
Many Trump voters had legitimate concerns about the cost of living and the struggle to find an opportunity for a good job. Many Trump voters believed President Trump was going to make America affordable again but the first thing he did (while prices on everything went up) was insist on a tax cut for the wealthy and cuts to social programs that help the neediest among us.
The American citizen has the power to stop the abuse of power. It takes speaking-up and speaking-out for fairness and respect for the rule of law. It is time for the American people to demand from their government honesty, ethics and a sincere effort to do what is right for all the American people.
Fred Flanagan
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