Even before becoming the 45th president of the United States, there was already a dark cloud looming over Trump about his possible questionable ties to Russia and his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Some Democrats even believe that Russia influenced the presidential election and helped Trump win. Now, with the recent resignation of Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security advisor, more red flags are raised about Trump and his administration’s connection with Russia.
According to an interview with MSNBC this past Tuesday, Louise Mensch, a former British member of parliament and founder of the website Heat Street , thinks that Flynn lied about those five calls to the Russian ambassador. She believes Flynn’s conversation with the Russian ambassador was about sanctions. Since no formal investigation has yet been conducted, no one will know for sure whether these calls were harmless or a threat to national security.
Whether you support Trump or his administration, we all know that in the United States, you must have tangible evidence to prove that the accused party is actually guilty of misconduct or of a crime. If no investigation is ever done that delves into Flynn’s questionable relationship with Russia, then possible misconduct can never be proven.
Democrats are interested in investigating Flynn to see if he had illegal ties to Russia during and after the 2016 presidential election. One of the first steps that they would have to take is to convince some Republicans who were not strong Trump supporters, such as Jason Chaffetz, Senator John McCain, and Lindsay Graham, to agree to launch a probe into Flynn’s alleged wrongdoing and convince them to persuade other Republicans to agree to an investigation as well. However, since the majority of Congress is Republican, the Democrats will find it very difficult to even begin to investigate Flynn for potential unethical behavior. Even if the Republicans decide to start their own investigation of Flynn, would it actually be a fair one? After all, each party tries to protect their own political interests.
When either political party tries to whitewash a scandal to remain in a position of power, this leads to corruption and debilitates our democracy. During the Watergate hearings, the true process of democracy took place. President Nixon was impeached based on substantial evidence and not on hearsay. When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Woodward and Bernstein wrote about the Watergate Scandal in their book, All The President’s Men , they taught us how a democracy truly works and what it really takes to find the truth.
Even if the Democrats do not enough power to investigate Flynn, the FBI does. If the FBI decides to investigate Flynn and finds substantial evidence that he actually did leak classified information to the Russians, he could face up to 10 years in prison, according to news reports.
Even before the Flynn scandal, there was already a petition circulating on the internet to impeach Trump. The petition is found on the site Impeach Trump Now. The petition questions Trump’s controversial policies, but these are not impeachable offenses. So far, 1 million Americans have signed this petition. According to a Los Angeles Times poll, 55 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s performance as president, while 40 percent think that he is doing a good job in the Oval Office.
Despite the recent scandal, there is no doubt that Flynn was in fact highly qualified when he served Trump as National Security Advisor. He received a master’s degree from the United States Army Command and General Staff College and Naval War College in Military Art and Science and National Security and Strategic Studies in addition to earning many other advanced credentials. In 1981, he was enlisted in the U.S. Army.
As the director of Joint Special Operations Commander for three years, he worked in Afghanistan and Iraq, where he was successful in defeating al-Qaeda systems. Due to his success in the military, he even ascended to become Lieutenant General during President Obama’s second term of office. He also worked for President Obama as the director of Defense Intelligence Agency. But even with all of his qualifications, Flynn’s unexpected departure continues to cast a shadow of doubt about his ethical standards.
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