The Trump Conspiracy
Trump and his political allies and supporters constantly talk about conspiracies against them and conservatives. The alleged conspiracies against Trump and those on the right of the political spectrum range from the Russia “hoax,” the deep state, to internet search engines and social media platforms suppressing conservative thought, and QAnon. These dubious claims are repeated ad nauseam.
In reality, U.S. intelligence agencies have thoroughly documented and affirmed that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump win the election. This fact was also documented in the Mueller Report. In 2020, the Republican-led (notice- Republican-led) Senate Intelligence Committee investigated and released a bi-partisan (note- bi-partisan) report that confirmed Russia’s 2016 election interference to help Trump win the election. Russia’s interference in our election did happen. And it will continue to occur without aggressive efforts by the federal and state governments to prevent it.
Conversely, there was no evidence of a deep state. Career federal employees often have differences of opinion with any current sitting president. And it’s their job to provide the president with various perspectives on any given issue. Further, if federal employees become aware of any unethical or criminal conduct of any federal employee, including the president, they have the responsibility to voice that concern. As such, federal employees expressing a valid concern or voicing different opinions does not constitute a deep state; such a claim is laughable. Federal employees are expected to maintain high ethical standards, just like any respected business.
Moreover, there is no evidence of conservative ideology being suppressed by online platforms.(1)(2) It’s just patently false. Typically, conservatives that argue that online platforms are biased against conservative ideology cite a few dubious anecdotes. At times, social media platforms will remove or flag various content that violates their policies. This content is typically injurious conspiracy theories, dangerous misinformation, and thoughts that could potentially spawn violence. Some conservatives complain that such content is removed or flagged. It makes one wonder if conservatives wish to have their political thought aligned with looney conspiracy theories, harmful misinformation, and violent overtones.
Perhaps the most absurd of all of these conspiratorial narratives is QAnon, a baseless and deranged conspiracy theory. Q, supposedly a high-ranking government official with security clearance, anonymously posts (thus the name QAnon) opaque clues claiming that Democratic “elites” and other government officials participate in a satanic and pedophilia network and are part of a “deep state” to destroy Trump. According to some versions of this conspiracy theory, Trump will one day triumph over his enemies like a superhero. Maybe Trump also has a secret decoder ring and wears a tee-shirt underneath his suit with a big “T” emblazoned on it that will empower him to arrest and triumph over his enemies. Yes, I am mocking this conspiracy theory because it’s meritless, dangerous and demonstrates a lack of basic information literacy on the part of those who indulge in it. And if “Q” was actually a real government official, why would she/he post “clues” that can be interpreted in many ways instead of providing real information or evidence on anything? It’s clear QAnon is a bogus game. It wouldn’t be surprising that QAnon is another Russian cyber operation meant to sow social discord and distrust of American institutions to weaken our democracy. Sadly, many American citizens appear to be willing participants in this scam. The FBI recently labeled QAnon as a potential domestic terrorist threat.(3) Ironically, adherents of QAnon claim the FBI is part of the conspiracy. Really, the looney QAnon conspiracy theory has no place in a country with an informed citizenry; perhaps, that’s the problem.
Yet, Trump and his allies conspired to repeatedly lie and withhold the truth from American citizens on numerous significant issues. This isn’t a conspiracy theory. It’s a fact. And it has played out publicly for all to see (as opposed to QAnon). Trump constantly lied about things both unimportant and significant; and his lies are provable.(4) Perhaps his most significant lie is his claim that Russia didn’t interfere in the 2016 presidential election. And Trump’s political allies are complicit in his lies.
During a Senate hearing in May 2019, Senator Kamala Harris asked U.S. Attorney General William Barr if he reviewed the underlying evidence of the Mueller Report before deciding not to charge President Trump with obstruction of justice.
Barr stated, “We accepted statements in the (Mueller) report as the factual record. We did not go underneath it to see whether or not they were accurate. We accepted it as accurate.”
Then, Harris asked Barr, “If in any U.S. attorney’s office around the country, the head of that office, when being asked to make a critical decision, about in this case, the person who is in the highest office in the land and whether or not that person committed a crime, in that case would you accept them recommending a charging decision to you if they had not reviewed the evidence?”
“That’s a question for Bob Mueller. He‘s the U.S. attorney, he’s the one who presents the report,” Barr responded.
“But you made the charging decision, sir,” Harris stated.
Based on his own statements, it’s clear that Barr had no interest in reviewing the Mueller Report and its evidence in any objective, meaningful manner. Before releasing a redacted version of the Mueller Report in April 2019, Barr held a press conference in a blatant attempt to control the public narrative of the Report and mitigate the legal and political fallout for Trump. Barr also sent a four-page summary of Mueller’s Report to Congress, which was released to the public. Robert Mueller, the author of the Report, wrote an official letter to Barr stating that his (Barr’s) summary “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this Office’s work and conclusions.”
During the same Senate hearing, Senator Kamala Harris also asked Attorney General William Barr,
“Has the president or anyone at the White House asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone?” Barr responded, “I’m trying to grapple with the word ‘suggest. I mean there have been discussions of matters out there that they’ve not asked me to open an investigation.” Senator Harris continued, “Perhaps they’ve suggested?” Barr hesitated. Senator Harris followed up, “Hinted?” “Inferred?” Barr refused to answer the question by ending his statement with, “I… don’t know.”
So, William Barr, with a J.D. from George Washington University Law School can’t understand what the word “suggest” means? Any objective observer would conclude that Barr was not being honest. As the chief law enforcement officer in the U.S., Barr’s actions and verbal subterfuge were a blatant disregard for the truth, the law, and a violation of his oath of office. Obviously, Barr conspired to withhold information and refused to equally apply the law to Trump and his allies. You can view the Harris and Barr exchange in the Senate hearing here.
Further, Trump and his allies conspired to win the 2020 presidential election regardless of the methods employed to accomplish this goal and it’s ramifications on our country. At a rally in Wisconsin, Trump told supporters, “The only way we’re gonna lose this election is if the election is rigged.”
Wow! What a fantastic claim. So, even if Trump loses, he really didn’t lose because it was rigged. It is clear Trump didn’t want to accept losing the election. Perhaps the real reason Trump won’t accept losing the election (besides his ego) is that he may be prosecuted. Trump is currently referenced as an unindicted co-conspirator for violating campaign finance laws in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). New York State is also investigating Trump for fraud.(5) If Trump had won the 2020 election, the statute of limitations could have potentially shielded him from prosecution from some or all the crimes he has allegedly committed because U.S. Attorney General William Barr (appointed by Trump) refused to indict a sitting president.
In July 2020, Trump tweeted, “With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
Studies as well as the rather extensive experience of the States that provide mail-in voting, make it clear that voter fraud is extremely rare and that mail-in voting works well. It seems as if Trump was concerned that if the voting process was easy and more citizens participate in the voting process, he would lose the election. Trump also made it clear he didn’t want to fund the United States Postal Service to limit mail-in voting, as reported, ironically, by Fox News.(6) Further, Trump didn’t have the authority to delay a federal election. Obviously, Trump wanted to delay the election until he felt his prospects for reelection would be better. This kind of suggestion is right out of a dictator’s playbook.
Any first-year law student can tell you that the States have the constitutional responsibility for the voting processes in federal and state elections. Generally, the only exceptions on voting processes dictated by the U.S. government are federal laws that prohibit discrimination (e.g., race, gender). Even in those circumstances, it’s Congress, not the executive branch (i.e., the presidency) that dictate election laws and processes. Yet, the Trump campaign launched numerous lawsuits in a sick attempt to prevent States from exercising their constitutional right to determine their own election processes in establishing mail-in voting.
In a transparent attempt to suppress voting at polling places, Trump told Sean Hannity in August 2020,
“We’re going to have everything. We’re going to have sheriffs, and we’re going to have law enforcement, and we’re going to have, hopefully, U.S. attorneys, and we’re going to have everybody, and attorney generals.”
Although Trump had no authority to station federal or local law enforcement at polling stations, such a statement has echoes of voter intimidation efforts of the past.
Trump and democracy don’t mix well. Trump has always been about schemes, lies, manipulation and personal interests (see article Trump, Power and the Presidency: An Informed Opinion). He never demonstrated his commitment to democracy or decency. Trump was a danger to the United States. Even as Trump conspired to discredit the federal government with the deep state conspiracy and create doubt surrounding the 2020 presidential election, one of the most fundamental components of American democracy, Trump supporters unwittingly supported the candidate who could potentially destroy the country they claim to love.
Article Updated December 28, 2020
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