Democrats Must Shut Down The Senate Until There is an Independent Prosecutor

The drumbeat is getting much louder now for the Department of Justice to appoint an independent prosecutor to pursue the investigation into Donald Trump’s campaign’s and administration’s collusion with the Russian attack on our democracy.

Democrats are leading this charge right now as they have been and while Republicans are mostly unified against this, cracks appear to be forming.

How can they not, after Trump fires the FBI Director who is investigating him? But as we’ve seen, Republicans will contort, squirm, evade and stonewall in any and every way to avoid holding Trump responsible for his actions, all they care about is retaining his right hand to sign their partisan legislation whatever the cost.

Trump has been on a crusade to destroy the parts of The Constitution that get in his way of acting as he wants to. He has and continues to attack the courts and the media, the only remaining entities outside of the collaborating Republican Congress that can act as a check on his power.

This is a Constitutional crisis. The President of the United States may have cooperated with Russia in sabotaging our presidential election. He may currently be beholden to Russia due to financial matters or blackmail. He has fired three key people investigating his potentially criminal behavior (US. Attorney Preet Bharara, Acting Attorney General Sally Yates and now FBI Director James Comey).

What was once thought as an impossible feat, for Trump to sabotage the checks and balances of the United States government to allow him to act as an Imperial President, now seems to be succeeding.

This is a real threat to the United States. This is not something to assume can’t happen and go about business as usual. This kind of gradual coup over our democratic system can’t just be criticized or pointed at. This is Defcon 1 and action is not desirable, it’s required.

Democrats in the Senate have learned today that their Republican colleagues are not currently willing to join them in putting country ahead of party, they are not coming together to demand an independent prosecutor so America can have confidence in the fairness and impartiality of our justice system. Republicans are willing to allow the subject of a criminal investigation into traitorous actions against the United States in collaboration with an enemy of the nation…to choose the person who he wants in charge of that investigation.

So Democrats need to take the drastic actions that are needed and available to them as a minority in Congress.

Democrats should commit themselves to blocking any and all business in either house until or unless an independent prosecutor is appointed to investigate the possible collusion of Trump’s campaign and administration with Russia. Even if it means a shutdown of government, Democrats need to treat this as an absolute. Our very democracy is at risk and with little other leverage available to Democrats, they need to use what they can as if the future of our democracy was at stake.

Because it is.