The political elite’s view of President’s Trump alleged
obstruction of justice in the Flynn investigation may be more complex than what
meets the public’s eye. As the existence of former FBI director James Comey’s
memo on a talk with President Trump on the Flynn investigation came to light,
the Republican elite began to buckle before it enforced party discipline. Yet
there is reason to suspect that the elite as a whole supported the president,
or would continue to do so, given the cascade of controversies spilling out of
the White House. Very subtly, in fact, the Republican elite in Washington
doubtless had little respect for the populist element of the president’s
political base; that “such people” could have their man in the White House may
have been a drag on the Trump presidency even with respect to his own party in
Congress. Yet “such people” are American people, and thus part of the popular
sovereign, so part of the tension may have been an eruption of what is normally
rather subdued—namely, the antipathy between a political elite and the People,
even in a democracy. In evaluating a political elite, I submit that a bit of
translucent light never hurts, especially when charges of obstruction of
justice are in the air.
The full essay is at "Obstruction of Justice."
James Comey, as director of the FBI, testifying before Congress before being fired by President Trump in part due to his handling of the Russian investigation. (Source: NYT)
James Comey, as director of the FBI, testifying before Congress before being fired by President Trump in part due to his handling of the Russian investigation. (Source: NYT)
