General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Newsweek editorial floats the idea of Biden pardoning Trump and then announcing that he will not [View all]Caliman73
(11,760 posts)Several factors made it inevitable that we would find ourselves in this position as a country. The accumulation of power and wealth in to a small group of people, agreeing that money is speech, and pardoning or generally not holding people, even the President accountable.
Richard Nixon went behind Lyndon Johnson's back and scuttled the Paris Peace Talks to end the Vietnam War in 1968 so that he would maintain an advantage over Hubert Humphrey. Johnson found out about it but he failed to refer the matter to the DOJ because he thought it would tear the already fractured country apart. We got Nixon and at least 5 more years of bloodshed in Vietnam.
Ronald Reagan went behind Jimmy Carter's back and made a deal with the Iranian government, already classified as a state sponsor of terrorism to hold the hostages until after the 1980 election. The deal was that the US would sell weapons to Iran, who was engaged in the beginnings of war with Iraq. Reagan sold weapons illegally to Iran, then used the proceeds again, illegally, to give weapons to right wing death squads in Central America.
Neither were ever held accountable for their crimes.
Trump needs to be the example of how we do the hard thing and hold, even the most powerful people in our country accountable. Trump should be the poster boy for that process. He is EASILY the most corrupt person ever to hold that office. What Nixon and Reagan did was inexcusable, but Trump is corrupt to his core and will not stop until he is stopped.