Respect The Troops

This is addressed to every veteran, active member of the armed forces, and every family member of those who served.

Respect the troops, they say.
Respect the troops, they say, while they use the troops as political pawns.
Respect the troops, they say, until the troops are homeless and begging for change.
Respect the troops, they say, until 17 troops commit suicide every day because they can't get mental health care.
Respect the troops, they say, until the troops come home from war, broken, and are forgotten by the country they served.
Respect the troops, they say, while they debase every value troops have fought, bled, and died for.

If you don't know, I proudly served in the Marine infantry. I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Everyone who has served in the military swore the same oath. A month after I came off of active duty, my unit deployed to Iraq again, and fought in the Battle of Ramadi, the bloodiest battle of the war. 34 Marines and 1 sailor died in that battle alone. 12 of them were personal friends of mine, and they were all my brothers; some of them I trained. They made the ultimate sacrifice because of the oath they swore. This is very personal for me, and as a veteran, active member of the military, or family of someone who served, it should be for you, too. I respect the sacrifices made by everyone who serves, and I believe it is important that we do everything we can to uphold the values for which we all sacrificed. This isn't about politics, it's about honoring the oath we took.

Donald Trump, a draft dodger, called parts of the Constitution, that we all swore to defend, "phony." Whether you agree with him politically or not, this is an affront to everything we're supposed to stand for. It's a violation of his oath of office, and in opposition to the oath we swore. Trump, a draft dodger, insulted POWs. Trump, a draft dodger, compared military service to dodging STIs in college. Trump, a draft dodger, repeatedly attacked Gold Star families, who have suffered the ultimate sacrifice. Trump, a draft dodger, abused a charity for veterans for his own personal gain. Trump, a draft dodger, continues to use the troops as political pawns while debasing the Constitution and the sacrifices we've all made.

Even if you agree with every single thing he's done politically, he should have lost your support the minute he called the Constitution phony, even if you can overlook everything else he's done. If he calls the Constitution phony, and you support him, you are in direct violation of the oath you swore; you're an oath breaker. This isn't about politics at all, it's about basic integrity. Donald Trump, a draft dodger who called the Constitution phony, is the most un-American president we've ever had, and every minute he's in office is an insult to my service, and all of yours. Donald Trump, a draft dodger, doesn't respect the troops, he uses them for his political gain and nothing else.

If you never served, and you support Donald Trump, a draft dodger who called the Constitution phony, miss me with your fake "respect the troops" bullshit.

http://battlerattle.marinecorpstimes.com/2014/03/07/2nd-battalion-4th-marines-to-commemorate-deadly-2004-battle-of-ramadi/ 

I'm Angry; the Question is, Why Aren't You?

I'm angry. I'm angry almost all of the time. I'm angry because we have a fascist liar in the White House systematically dismantling civil rights protections, dismantling environmental protections, enshrining increasing inequality into law, enacting tariffs that hurt Americans, increasing our defense budget while slashing social safety net programs, normalising and praising dictators and autocrats around the world, and abusing the power of the presidency to cheat in the next election, while undermining our national security and Constitution in the process. I'm angry that we have an entire party that has wholesale sold out their ethics and morality to protect the most criminally corrupt, dishonest president the country has ever had. I'm angry that there's a neo-Nazi writing policy for the president and there were only minimal demands to remove him. I'm angry that there isn't a single Republican left in the party who is willing to put country above party. I'm angry that the Democrats have yet to realize they need to be an opposition party, and are led by people more interested in protecting their own seats and maintaining the status quo than they are in fighting against Trump. I'm angry that Democratic leadership has fought harder against progressives and progressive policy than they have against a president trying to be a dictator and the party supporting him. I'm angry that the Democratic party is so afraid of a progressive winning the presidential election that they're willing to risk another 4 years of Trump to stop it. I'm angry that there are so many Americans willing to accept the lies and hateful rhetoric that go against every value we're supposed to stand for. I'm angry that so many friends that I previously had respect for are unwilling to even engage with me about their support for Trump, and have sacrificed their integrity to support him. I'm angry that there are so many Americans who don't accept the lies and hate but are unwilling to stand up against it. I'm angry and disappointed that we don't have mass protests on the scale of Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, and Chile.

Since the Civil War there hasn't been a time more critical to take a stand against the corruption of our government, white supremacy, and fascism. We're at a critical moment, staring down an impending collapse of the rule of law, environmental disaster, and worldwide stability. You know I'm angry; why aren't you? If you're angry, why are you not in the streets protesting? Are you doing everything you can to stop us from going down the path we're currently on? The only way we do that is by standing strong together against the forces trying to destroy us from within. Take a stand before it's too late.

A Message for Veterans (and Everyone Else)

I’d like to discuss something very important, and while this is addressed to everyone in the country, I want to specifically address veterans. It's a little bit of a long read, but please bear with it as it's important.

Everyone gets so caught up in the politics of the impeachment that they lose sight of the big picture. I’d like to put politics aside and focus on that, so humor me and read until the end. Trump’s lawyers acknowledged that he did it, and Republican Senators Lamar Alexander and Marco Rubio both admitted that the Democrats proved their case; Alexander admitted that it was wrong, and Rubio even admitted it was worthy of impeachment, but neither would vote to remove. Trump did it, that’s not the issue, and not what I’m here to discuss, though impeachment is what prompted it.

For those who don’t know me, I served in the Marine infantry. I’m proud of my service, and value everything I learned from it. When I enlisted, I swore an oath, as does everyone who enlists in the US armed forces. "I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same..." That's the core of the oath I took when I enlisted in the Marine Corps. I take that oath every bit as seriously today as the day I took it. Once in the Marines, they ingrain in you the Marine Corps core values of honor, courage, and commitment. They also teach you fourteen leadership traits: Justice, Judgment, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Endurance, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty,& Enthusiasm. You are expected to conduct yourself at all times according to the core values and leadership traits; it is the code you live by. I’m going to discuss them below, and while your tendency might be to skim over it, don’t. Read it and give it thoughtful consideration. The definitions are copied and pasted from USMC training materials, they are not my words.

Honor. This is the bedrock of our character. It is the quality that empowers Marines to exemplify the ultimate in ethical and moral behavior: to never lie, cheat, or steal; to abide by an uncompromising code of integrity; to respect human dignity; and to have respect and concern for each other. It represents the maturity, dedication, trust, and dependability that commit Marines to act responsibly, be accountable for their actions, fulfill their obligations, and hold others accountable for their actions.

Courage. The heart of our Core Values, courage is the mental, moral, and physical strength ingrained in Marines that sees them through the challenges of combat and the mastery of fear, and to do what is right, to adhere to a higher standard of personal conduct, to lead by example, and to make tough decisions under stress and pressure. It is the inner strength that enables a Marine to take that extra step.

Commitment. This is the spirit of determination and dedication within members of a force of arms that leads to professionalism and mastery of the art of war. It promotes the highest order of discipline for unit and self and is the ingredient that instills dedication to Corps and country 24 hours a day, pride, concern for others, and an unrelenting determination to achieve a standard of excellence in every endeavor. Commitment is the value that establishes the Marine as the warrior and citizen others strive to emulate.

I don’t need to go in depth with all of the leadership traits, but there are a few I need to define (again, taken from USMC training materials):

Integrity means that you are honest and truthful in what you say or do. Having integrity means that you put honesty, sense of duty, and sound moral principles above all else. The quality of truthfulness and honesty. Unselfishness means avoidance of providing for one’s own comfort and personal advancement at the expense of others. Courage is a mental quality that recognizes fear of danger or criticism, but enables a Marine to proceed in the face of danger with calmness and firmness. Knowing and standing for what is right, even in the face of popular disfavor. Justice is giving reward and punishment according to the merits of the case in question. The ability to administer a system of rewards and punishments impartially and consistently. The quality of displaying fairness and impartiality is critical in order to gain the trust and respect of subordinates and maintains discipline and unit cohesion, particularly in the exercise of responsibility.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s circle back to the topic. Who are we as a country? Who do we want to be as a country? I think who we elect to lead us says a lot about that, so their character is important to discuss, and not just their politics. This is true at every level of the government, from the town you live in all the way to the president. This is one of the reasons it’s important that you be an informed, engaged citizen. WIth the values I listed above in mind, let’s take a look at some of our elected representatives and how they conduct themselves. I think something we should all agree upon is that our government should be expected to conduct itself in accordance with the highest moral and ethical standards.

Let’s look at Trump, since he’s so prominent in all of this, and is who we are holding up as a representative of who we are as a country. This is who the world sees when they look at us. He’s a draft dodger who has made demeaning comments about women, trans people, disabled people, insulted POWs, said dodging STIs in college was equivalent to military service, insulted Gold Star families, has made racist attacks against many people including judges, celebrities, politicians, and even entire countries. He has bragged about sexual assault, and is on record lying more than 16,000 times since he became president. He was friends with Jeffrey Epstein, and partied with him for years. Underage girls were trafficked out of Mar a Lago. He has been credibly accused of rape or sexual assault by more than 20 women, including someone who was 13 years old at the time. He’s the billionaire pedophile that so many people claim are secretly running the world. He has white supremacists working for him, he knows it, and refuses to fire them. He wouldn’t be able to maintain a job anywhere I have ever worked, and he certainly would never have cut it in the military. Being that fundamentally dishonest is in opposition to every value I hold, and you know that you wouldn’t allow anyone in your own life to behave that way. He’s been in office for almost 1200 days and has lied, on average, almost 15 times a day. He has lied to you almost 15 times a day every single day he’s been in office. You would not tolerate that from anyone in your own life, not your friends, not your family, not your coworkers, and not your boss. Why do you accept it from your president? How does that hold up against the values we’re supposed to live by? What does that say about us as a country?

Now, let’s look at the people who have been defending him through this process.

Devin Nunes, who led the House investigation as the ranking member for the Republicans, has been directly implicated in the scandal, and he did not recuse himself from the investigation, and there are definitely others who knew and said nothing.

Rudy Giuliani, a shameless, compulsive liar and conspiracy theorist, who even has Republicans like Lindsey Graham distancing themselves. He runs around the world peddling anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and making anti-Semitic remarks, was married to his cousin, and is the subject of at least three ongoing investigations, including criminal, counterintelligence, and financial. He has likely broken many federal laws, including FARA, while acting as Trump’s personal attorney.

Alan Dershowitz, and accused child rapist who admitted to getting a massage from an underage sex slave at Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion, but claims it was okay because he “kept his underwear on.” He made claims in Trump’s defense that were so outlandish that he even admitted only one person in history, in 1867, agrees with him. He argued that the Constitution says presidents are above the law, which is simply a lie, and you all know it. This country was formed to get away from monarchs who are above the law; that’s a foundational principle of the Constitution.

Pat Cippolone, the White House counsel, who is supposed to be representing the best interests of the country, not acting as Trump’s personal lawyer, blatantly and intentionally lied during the trial, something that would likely get him disbarred if that had been in any criminal court in the country. In addition, he’s implicated in the scandal, and still acting as counsel, which is against every ethical rule lawyers have.

Lindsey Graham, one of the Senators acting as a juror in the trial, has been implicated in the scandal, and said before the trial that he would not be impartial. He broke his oath of impartiality. He has been caught in more lies in defense of Trump than I care to get into here. During the 2016 election, he called Trump a “nutjob” and a loser,” as well as a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.” He predicted that if the GOP nominated him, “we will get destroyed … and we will deserve it.” He sacrificed his integrity and is now completely subservient to Trump, and has likely committed crimes in Trump’s defense.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader who predetermined the outcome of the trial, breaking not only his oath of impartiality, but getting the other Republicans to break theirs. He has been completely obstructionist for the sake of being obstructionist, even when the things he was blocking would have benefited the American people. He has been complicit in covering up Trump’s crimes and defending Trump’s lies more than anyone else. He is the one responsible for getting the Senate Republicans to hold the first impeachment trial in history with no witnesses or evidence. He is the one who is getting the Republicans to refuse to remove Trump, even when admitting that the Democrats are right. He is getting them to set the precedent that the president is above the law. It is unconstitutional, and a travesty of justice. A perfidy, as one person put it.

Jim Jordan, another one of the House Republicans who ran the opposition to the investigation. It shouldn’t be surprising, though, seeing as he previously covered for a serial sexual assaulter and pedophile during his tenure at Ohio State University, where he refused to cooperate in the investigation, despite multiple students who have said he knew what was happening, and a referee even came forward about it. He has told more blatant lies in Trump’s defense than most people.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Where do we go from here? The Marine Corps also teaches you leadership principles, and there are a couple that are very relevant. I think they mostly speak for themselves.

Know yourself and seek self-improvement. Make an honest evaluation of yourself to determine your strong and weak personal qualities. Seek the honest opinions of your friends or superiors. Learn by studying the causes for the success and failures of others. Develop a genuine interest in people.

Set the example. A leader who shows professional competence, courage and integrity sets high personal standards for himself before he can rightfully demand it from others.

Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions. Stand up for what you think is right. Have courage in your convictions. Own your actions.

Give all of this consideration. Nothing I have said here is incorrect; I give you my word as a Marine, and if you think I'm factually wrong about any of it, I'm happy to discuss it with you and provide proof. Think about the values you hold and how the people I’ve discussed align with those values. Is this who you want us to be as a country? Are you really comfortable with that? All political positions aside, I am not okay with it. They are antithetical to everything I believe about how a person should carry themselves through life. They lack integrity, they lack any commitment to a higher ideal, and they are all putting their own personal benefit over that of the country, and to the direct harm of the country. I’m not asking you to evaluate your politics, I’m asking you to evaluate your values, morals, and your integrity. How much of that are you willing to sacrifice just because someone’s “on your team?” If you know me, I have a very low opinion of most politicians; Democrats included. I think most people in our government are corrupt to some extent, whether that’s taking money from lobbyists to influence policy in ways that are good for the lobby but bad for the American people, or manipulating political organizations and rules to maintain power, or any number of other things. Trump is so profoundly morally bankrupt as a person that there’s still no comparison between the normal corruption in Washington and what Trump has done.

I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. That is what I am doing now, and if you swore the oath, I'm asking you to abide by that oath. The values the Corps instilled are values I still strive to live by. I have spent most of my life in public service, and it’s likely that I’ll spend most of the rest of my life doing the same. We don’t have to agree on things politically; we all want what’s best for the country, we just have different ideas about how to get there. What we should agree upon is that our leaders be held to the highest moral and ethical standards, and I want you to examine yourself and see if that’s really what you’re doing. Are you living by those values by supporting Trump and the GOP? Are you setting the example that you want others to follow? Know yourself and seek self-improvement; it is never too late to grow as a person. It is never too late to decide to take a different path. Make decisions that you can be proud of. Make decisions your descendants can be proud of. Make decisions that the country and the world can be proud of.

Thanks for reading,

Semper Fidelis

Looking at the Big Picture with Russia

I’d like to take a few minutes of your valuable time to hopefully try to put some perspective on all of the events surrounding Trump, Russia, Ukraine, and even Brexit and the UK election, because they’re all connected, and it’s important to understand how. We focus so much on the specifics of what happened with Trump and Russia/Ukraine that the bigger picture gets lost.

First we’ll start with some history.

In 2011, Putin decided to run in Russia’s presidential elections, essentially just swapping places with Medvedev for Prime Minister, continuing their grasp on power. There was a rigged election in Duma that sparked the massive Bolotnaya protests in Moscow, and drew criticism from Hillary Clinton, who was Secretary of State at the time. Putin was worried about revolution, and of course cracked down on dissent, detaining nearly 1000 people, formally charging more than 30, and crushed the protest movement. Shortly after this, a real revolution, known as the Revolution of Dignity, broke out in Ukraine, and resulted in the overthrow of the Ukrainian government and the ouster of the corrupt Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych is in exile in Russia and still wanted by Ukraine for high treason. The Revolution of Dignity could have been a role model for Russians unhappy with the status quo, so Putin quickly launched a campaign of political manipulation, ensuring negative coverage of Ukraine on Russian state media at all times.

Crimea, transferred by the Soviet leadership from Russia to Ukraine in 1954, is populated by Russian speaking citizens who were frightened by the possibility of coming under the rule of extreme nationalists. The Revolution of Dignity was a legitimate uprising against a corrupt government, but it also had an ultra-nationalist component which was prominent for all to see, and was exacerbated by the constant push of Putin’s media campaign. A whole floor in the revolutionary HQ was occupied by Right Sector ultra-nationalists, and flags and symbols associated with Ukrainian Nazi collaborators in the World War II were flown in Maidan square. All of this was seen as a threat by Crimeans and influenced them to turn their backs on the revolution in favor of Putin. Following the Revolution of Dignity, Putin launched the Russo-Ukrainan war where they annexed Crimea.

Putin sold the invasion and eventual annexation of Crimea, which was a clear violation of international law, as an act of salvation, and saved himself from the threat of revolution.

After Russia annexed Crimea, Obama placed sanctions on Russian individuals associated with the invasion, and pushed European leaders to take a firm stand against Putin. I’m sure Putin was not a fan of this, which leads to everything that has happened since.

With the United States and Europe in strong opposition to Putin’s advances in Ukraine, Russia would not be able to further extend its invasion. This was untenable for Putin, so he orchestrated a massive campaign to destabilize his enemies. He started with targeting the upcoming US elections (remember, the Mueller report detailed that the intelligence operation began in 2014). Since Clinton as Secretary of State had been so vocally opposed to Putin’s actions, the operation targeted her campaign with the intent to undermine it. Russia, using a wide variety of methods, including infiltrating the NRA using spies, and funneling money to conservative groups through the NRA, using intermediaries such as Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman to make campaign donations, oligarchs funneling money to conservative political causes, trading favors with Mitch McConnell, and much more.

Trump was already indebted to Russia for bailing out his various failed business efforts since the late 1980’s, and had been vocally supportive of them during his campaign. There’s even video of Maria Butina, the Russian spy, asking Trump questions about Russia during a rally. Russia couldn’t count on anyone else to be as friendly to their agenda as Trump, so they worked tirelessly to get him elected. We know what has happened from there, and I don’t think it’s necessary to review the Mueller and Ukraine investigations here.

Russia’s other effort, interfering in the Brexit referendum, also started in 2014. For those of you who have not been following Brexit closely, it’s a disastrous decision of the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union. It was sold to the citizens without explaining what the impacts would be, and was largely pushed on the same racist lies that Trump used to stir ultra-nationalism in his base (immigrants are the causes of all of society's ills, etc). Russian continued the interference all the way through the most recent election that saw Boris Johnson, the champion of Brexit, elected.

So, how is all of this connected? The Russian interference campaign has resulted in a weakened United States, a weakened Europe, weakened NATO, lifted Russian sanctions, decreased ability of Ukraine to defend itself and its independence, and an upswing in Putin’s popularity among Republicans in the US. Putin was a senior foreign intelligence officer in the KGB, and has masterfully manipulated the world stage to his advantage. It’s important to remember that as bad as Trump’s actions have been, they’re only a small part of Putin’s agenda. If Putin gets his way, he’s going to continue his expansion into Ukraine, which is incredibly dangerous for the rest of Europe, and the free world in general.

Many Republicans are complicit in this effort, or are complicit in covering it up. It’s critically important to hold Trump and his administration accountable for what he has done so that we, as a country, can take a strong stand against Russia, help protect our allies in Europe, and ensure that we can have free and fair elections, which gives us the ability to self-determine the future of our country.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

The GOP says Trump is an anti-corruption crusader. Let's check the receipts.

Since the GOP insist that Trump is an anti-corruption crusader, let's take a look at some of his record (receipts attached):

Paid $25 million because he defrauded college students trying to get an education by running a fraudulent university

Paid $2 million because he defrauded 8 different charities that he ran (including ones for veterans and one for kids with cancer). He and his family are now banned from operating charities in New York.

Named "Individual 1" in the case that sent his attorney Michael Cohen to prison for bank fraud and campaign finance violations, among other crimes, that he committed at the behest of Trump.

Committed 10 different counts of obstruction of justice as outlined in the Mueller report.
Is currently being sued for fraud for his involvement in multi-level marketing scams.
Was sued by the Department of Justice for racially based housing discrimination.


In addition to his former personal lawyer, the following associates of his have either pleaded guilty or been found guilty of crimes uncovered during the Mueller investigation:

Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign chairman, convicted of 18 felony counts, including five counts of filing false tax returns, two counts of bank fraud, and one count of failing to disclose a foreign bank account.

George Papadopoulos, Trump's campaign advisor, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during the Mueller investigation.

Roger Stone, Trump's long-time political advisor, who was found guilty of five counts of lying to Congress, one count of witness tampering and one count of obstruction of a proceeding.

Michael Flynn, Trump's national security advisor, who pleaded guilty to "willfully and knowingly" making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the FBI regarding conversations with Russia's ambassador.

His current personal lawyer is the subject of 3 ongoing criminal and counterintelligence investigations; a federal investigation for possible campaign-finance violations, as well as a failure to register as a foreign agent, and a criminal investigation and a counterintelligence investigation for his dealings in Ukraine.

If that’s not enough, let’s look at the people he’s appointed to positions of power:

Tom Price, who used taxpayer money to take private jets for multiple government business trips, even to fly distances often as short as from Washington to Philadelphia. The cost for the trips ran into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

David Shulkin improperly accepted Wimbledon tickets, and his chief of staff misled officials about Shulkin’s wife’s travel to Europe in 2017. That trip consisted of Shulkin, his wife, three VA staffers, and six members of the secretary’s security detail — involved “personal time for sightseeing and other unofficial activities” such as a visit to Westminster Abbey and not one, but two river cruises on the Thames and the Nyhavn Canal in Copenhagen. Shulkin justified the travel as in support of the VA’s mission. But the report documented only three and a half days of meetings and other official events during a nine-day trip that cost at least $122,334 in taxpayer money.

Wilbur Ross, who as commerce secretary failed to divest assets when he said he would - despite telling ethics officials he had done so, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, and profited to the tune of tens of millions of dollars because of it.

Steven Mnuchin was involved in too many scandals to list here, so I recommend reading the link.

Betsy DeVos was held in contempt of court and the Education Department must pay a $100,000 fine after a federal judge ruled it failed to stop collecting student loans on a now-defunct college. After the ruling, the director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending at Harvard University said, "Secretary DeVos has repeatedly and brazenly violated the law to collect for-profit college students' debts and deny their rights."

Brenda Fitzgerald purchased shares in a tobacco company one month after taking her position at the agency, and also had a history of tobacco investments prior to taking her post at CDC. She was forced to resign due to conflicts of interest.

Matthew Whittaker, who Trump appointed as acting Attorney General, sat on the board of a scam company that the FTC eventually forced into shutting down, and still has an ongoing criminal investigation into it. He was also appointed to interfere with the Mueller investigation.

Ryan Zinke was forced out of the administration amidst several scandals. The Justice Department is considering whether to pursue a criminal investigation against the former Montana congressman and Navy SEAL, who is facing several probes into whether he has used his office for personal gain.

Scott Pruitt resigned after many ethical breaches. Again, for the sake of space, I'll refer you to the article.

Ben Carson, in addition to the ethically questionable things he's done in his official duties, allowed his son, Ben Carson Jr., to help organize an agency “listening tour” in Baltimore last summer despite warnings it might run afoul of federal ethics rules since Carson Jr. and his wife “may be doing business with these entities or may be interested in doing business with [Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, Genesis Rehab Services co-chief operating officer Dan Hirschfield, and members of the Paterakis family, which owns a real estate development and bakery business in Baltimore].”

Mick Mulvaney, aside from his deep involvement in the Ukraine scandal, is riddled with ethical complaints and a legacy of undermining consumer protections as head of the agency that's supposed to fight for them.

Brock Long stepped down from his position of chief of FEMA for misuse of government resources and unauthorized travel expenses.

Alex Acosta, who got Jeffrey Epstein a sweetheart deal and shielded him from further investigation despite being the prosecutor in the case. And that was before Trump hired him as labor secretary.

No, this isn’t all of Trump’s scandals, nor is it all of his administration’s scandals, but if you think Trump is an anti-corruption crusader, as the GOP are trying to claim, I have a bridge to sell you.

Some Big Lies and Some Important Truth

I’d like to shed a little light on something the GOP has been doing that is directly detrimental to both Ukraine’s standing and the national security of the United States.

Let’s start with the conspiracy theory the GOP has been pushing; (from WikiPedia) A core part of the narrative is the long-debunked conspiracy theory that CrowdStrike, a publicly traded company headquartered in California, is actually owned by a wealthy Ukrainian oligarch, and that the company — which had investigated a hack of a Democratic National Committee (DNC) server — had planted evidence on the server to implicate Russia, while asserting the FBI had failed to take possession of the server to verify that claim. "The server" is in fact 140 servers, decommissioned and located in the United States (not Ukraine, as Trump has claimed). The theory additionally says FBI agents were not allowed to examine the server because such action would expose the DNC plot,although in fact—and as documented in the Mueller Report—images and traffic logs of the DNC servers were provided to the FBI. This conspiracy theory originated from a "GRU persona, 'Guccifer 2.0', created to cast doubt on Russia's culpability in the DNC [intrusion].

Now, let’s get to Fiona Hill’s testimony about the conspiracy theory that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 US election. For background, Fiona Hill was the White House’s top expert on Russia. Her official title was senior director for Europe and Russia on the National Security Council. She was the foremost expert on Russia in the Trump administration. She’s widely respected and knows better than anyone what Russia has been doing.

“Based on questions and statements I have heard, some of you on this committee appear to believe that Russia and its security services did not conduct a campaign against our country – and that perhaps, somehow, for some reason, Ukraine did. This is a fictional narrative that has been perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services themselves."

"The impact of the successful 2016 Russian campaign remains evident today. Our nation is being torn apart. Truth is questioned. Our highly professional and expert career Foreign Service is being undermined. I refuse to be part of an effort to legitimize an alternate narrative that the Ukrainian government is a U.S. adversary, and that Ukraine - not Russia - attacked us in 2016, these fictions are harmful even if they are deployed for purely domestic political purposes."

Now that we know the details of the conspiracy theory, and that it has been completely, thoroughly, and repeatedly debunked, let’s get to where it came from and why it matters.

The first documented evidence of the conspiracy theory being pushed was from Paul Manafort, who was at the time the Trump campaign chairman (and is now imprisoned for Conspiracy against the United States, among other things), who received that info from Konstantin Kilimnik, who is widely believed by both federal prosecutors and US intelligence agencies to be tied to Russian intelligence. Trump has also received the info directly from Putin on several occasions.

An argument could be made that they received false information and were only acting with the information that they had. Well, the President and Senators have been thoroughly briefed by the US intelligence community on the fact that it’s a completely baseless conspiracy theory being pushed by Russian intelligence, and they are still pushing that theory. Devin Nunes, who is the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence committee, and led the GOP during the impeachment hearings, received constant classified briefings during the Mueller investigation and from other sources because of his position, and has been knowingly pushing a false conspiracy theory. In recent days, it has also come to light that he allegedly worked with Lev Parnas, Giuliani’s now-indicted associate, to try to personally dig up dirt on the Bidens after he met with corrupt former Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin in Vienna, Austria, between November and December 2018, on a secret trip that cost taxpayers $57,000. Nunes was working with Parnas to set up a trip to Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian prosecutors who might have information beneficial to Trump’s 2020 campaign. Nunes’ staff realized that going to Ukraine themselves would mean alerting Schiff to their plans, so they instead asked Parnas to set up the meetings for them over phone and Skype, which he did.

So, why is all of this important? Glad you asked. Republican Senators, Trump, and the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee (along with others) are all pushing a conspiracy theory that they not only *know* to be false, but that they know advances the Russian agenda and undermines the national security of the United States and one of our most important allies in the fight against Russia, and they’re all doing it expressly to protect Trump. They are knowingly hurting the United States and helping Russia for partisan, domestic political reasons. Not only that, they have a compromised and directly implicated Republican leading the GOP response to impeachment in the House. This is blatant corruption at the top levels of the Government that directly damages our country in innumerable ways. It's important that we look beyond partisan politics and see the bigger picture.

Clearing the Air About Impeachment

When I enlisted in the Marines, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I take that oath seriously, and with that in mind, now that the House Intelligence Committee has completed the scheduled public impeachment inquiry, let's clear up a few things because it is critically important for all Americans to understand what is at stake here:

* This is not a coup, it is not unconstitutional, and it is not a witch hunt. Impeachment is a process put in the Constitution by the founding fathers as a remedy for an unethical president. It does not overturn an election, it allows us to hold the most powerful person in the country accountable if they don't adhere to the Constitution.

* There were no "secret" hearings. More than 100 members of Congress, including Republicans, had access. They were conducted in the same fashion as the public hearings with Democrats and Republicans having equal time to question the witnesses. The initial hearings were not public because it was an investigation, and private hearings are required to prevent witnesses from aligning testimony or influencing testimony.

* The inquiry had to mostly rely on witness testimony (which is not hearsay) because the Trump administration refused to release any documents and prevented key witnesses from testifying. Even with the stonewalling, the witness testimony and documents that were able to be obtained painted a very clear picture. Here's a link to everything they've stonewalled.

* Republicans initiated the Steele dossier prior to the 2016 election cycle. The DNC picked up the funding at a later point. Whether you agree with the use of it or not, it was initiated by Republicans.

* All of the witness testimony, documents, and public statements by Trump, Mulvaney (Trump's Chief of Staff), and Giuliani all confirmed the intent and target of the investigations.

* It was well understood in the involved diplomatic circles that the meeting and aid were contingent on the investigations. While withholding aid happens as part of foreign policy, subverting foreign policy for personal gain is a huge abuse of power, and puts our national security and credibility at risk. Marie Yovanovitch is a well-respected anti-corruption expert, and was removed when she got in the way of corruption.

* This was not normal foreign policy; both the illegitimate manner in which it was conducted and the goal of it put the national security of both Ukraine and the United States at risk.

* Trump obstructed both the Mueller investigation and impeachment inquiry. Whether you agree with the Mueller investigation and the impeachment inquiry is irrelevant, obstruction is illegal. For a comparison, during the 33 hearings about Benghazi, the Obama administration provided complete transparency. Hillary Clinton sat for 11 hours of deposition, for example.

* Whether the aid was released or not is irrelevant. Whether the investigations happened or not is irrelevant. The demand of a quid pro quo is enough on its own. An attempted but unsuccessful crime is still a crime.

* Ukraine did not meddle in our election. Russia conducted as massive interference operation, and that was confirmed by the Mueller investigation, all 17 intelligence agencies, and a bipartisan Senate investigation.

* The testimony from Hill and Holmes, the respected, nonpartisan, career professionals who were brought in as fact witnesses, was crystal clear and unequivocal.

* People in Trump's circle who have either pleaded guilty or been found guilty of crimes since investigations started:
Those convicted

• Roger Stone: Convicted of obstruction, giving false statements to a House committee and witness tampering. He also lied to Congress about his efforts to learn more about when WikiLeaks would publish damaging emails about 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
• Former Trump 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort: Sentenced to 7.5 years in prison this March for bank and tax fraud and crimes related to his work as a political consultant in Ukraine.
• Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen: Received a three-year prison sentence in Dec. 2018 for tax evasion, bank fraud, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations.
• Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos: Convicted of lying to investigators about about Russian contacts. He served 12 days in prison and in October, filed to run for former Rep. Katie Hill's California seat.

Pleaded guilty

• Ex-Trump campaign deputy chairman Rick Gates: Pleaded guilty in Feb. 2018 to conspiracy and lying to the FBI. His sentencing was delayed several times as he cooperated with ongoing investigations such as Stone's. His sentencing date is scheduled for Dec. 17, NBC News reports.
• Former national security adviser Michael Flynn: The retired three-star general pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in Dec. 2017, and he is still awaiting sentencing.

* Devin Nunes keeps referring to the investigations he's conducted as evidence. It's worth noting that he was working with Lev Parnas, the Giuliani associate and member of Trump's legal team who is now indicted and has ties to Russian organized crime.

* This was a clear abuse of power for personal gain, and Trump is a danger to the rule of law because he thinks he's above it. His lawyers actually claimed (unsupported by anything) in court that he could murder someone in the street and he's immune to any scrutiny while he's in office. Here's an article discussing their immunity claim.

* Republicans stopped trying to contest any of the basic facts (other than the legality) that I listed above. Their entire defense is that everything was acceptable because Trump, who is on record lying more than 12,000 times since he took office, said so. Because the GOP could not defend Trump on the facts, they tried to smear decorated members of the military and dedicated career officials.

* This is way beyond party politics, and I would hope everyone would be on the same page about it. This is about the rule of law and how the rest of the world regards us. We're either a democracy whether everyone is accountable under the Constitution, or the Constitution is meaningless. Trump actually referred to part of the Constitution as "phony."

Do you believe in upholding the Constitution, or do you believe the president is above the rule of law? This sets a precedent for all future presidents. This is bigger than politics, and is the most significant threat to the Constitution that this country has ever seen. Treat it as such.

This is Adam Schiff’s closing remark from the Hill/Holmes testimony. Every single person should watch it in its entirety. It’s 20 minutes, and I cannot overstate its importance.