Let’s hold Trump to his own standards.

Photo from Pinterest, not copyrighted.

Sine Nomine Patri is a U.S. citizen who believes in law and order.

 

Since the Democrats formally launched an impeachment inquiry, tweet-head Donald Trump, who is as of this writing still the Electoral College-appointed U.S. President, tweeted Sept. 29: “I want [Democratic Rep. Adam] Schiff questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason.....” At 5:12 a.m. the following day the sleep-deprived commando-in-chief tweeted this regarding the Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Intelligence Committee’s: “Arrest for Treason?

 

On Sept. 27, at a private breakfast at the Intercontinental Hotel in Manhattan - where Trump was due to annual U.N. General Assembly meetings - the enraged president squealed about the alleged squealer: “I want to know who’s the person, who’s the person who gave the whistleblower the information? Because that’s close to a spy. You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”

 

Trump - who has often issued threats of and encouraged violence, most recently about “Civil War” - was obviously referring to execution. After all, his longtime lawyer Roy Cohn was a prosecutor during the 1951 trial of the so-called “atomic spies” Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the only American civilians electrocuted during the Cold War.

 

“Arrest,” “treason,” “spies” and the death penalty? We must hold Trump to the same standards he’s pushing for Congressmen, White House aides and officials, security agents, whistleblowers - and presumably anyone who publically disagrees with this increasingly desperate would-be dictator. After all, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

 

Trump should not only be impeached, but he must be arrested and expeditiously tried for treason and espionage against the U.S. and Constitution he swore to uphold and enforce. His endless apparent crimes against Americans - and indeed, humanity - are too numerous to list here, but let me count some of the ways, starting with the latest (as of this piece’s publication date): The Ukrainian scandal.

 

There’s something even more damning than Trump’s transparent attempt to twist Pres. Zelensky’s arm to provide him with dirt on his political opponent, Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice Pres. Biden (call it a “quid pro Joe”), in exchange for arms to resist Russian invasion, including weapons funding already approved by Congress but suspended by Trump. In 1994, Ukraine agreed to eliminate its nuclear arsenal in exchange for U.S. security assurances but Trump’s politicking with a besieged Ukraine not only sets back Kiev’s quest for independence, but the global movement against nuclear proliferation.

 

Trump must also be tried for: Washington’s withdrawal from the Paris Accord as climate change intensifies. Reversing environmental regulations in the face of global warming. Bizarrely tossing paper towels to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Ricans. Reneging on the Iran nuclear deal, which greatly increased instability in an already troubled region. Vetoing a Republican-backed resolution approved by the House and Senate to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Coddling neo-Nazis and promoting white supremacy. Persecuting refugees. Nonpayment of taxes. Self-dealing and profiteering off the presidency. Inciting violence against Rep. Ilhan Omar and non-white female members of the Congressional “Squad.” Obstruction of justice and Congress. Witness intimidation. Attacking the free press. 12,000-plus documented lies.

 

And so on. With Trump the list is infinite and by the time you read this, the Ukraine accusations may already be outdated. Who knows what other outrages besides the Trump-Zelensky phone call transcript are hidden on the White House’s secret server, which could become Trump’s equivalent of Nixon’s tapes?

 

One of the biggest mistakes to emerge out of the Watergate scandal that unseated Pres. Nixon was his pardoning by Tricky Dick’s successor, Pres. Gerald Ford. The message was clear: A president could break the law with impunity and get away with his high crimes and misdemeanors, without serving a single day behind bars.

 

This same misjudgment must never be made again. If Trump is found guilty, the reality TV star known for the tagline “You’re fired!” must face the firing squad. If his conviction is not reversed on appeal Trump must be expeditiously executed. After all, we’d only be holding him to the same standards Trump himself has advocated for his opponents.

 

To paraphrase The Donald: “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The kings and tyrants, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.” You know, like in America in 1776, France in 1789 and Russia in 1917…

 

By facing the death penalty, the courts will prove, once and for all, that in America no one - not even the president - is above the law. And execution of “The Apprentice” star, the prez who holds a Screen Actors Guild card, must be televised on live TV as a deterrent to all aspiring despots. Capital punishment for Trump will finally end our long national nightmare and prove America remains a nation of laws, not of men. That high level lawbreakers and wannabe tyrants will be held to account and face the consequences of their misdeeds. That the rule of law is mightier than Trump’s trampling of the Constitution is took an oath to defend from all enemies, foreign and domestic.

 

Executing Trump for treason, espionage, betraying the Constitution and Americans, et al, will have another great benefit: His death will restore our democracy, as well as the honor and dignity of the majority of people living in America who never voted for Trump and the millions who despise him. Executing Trump will reverse our national humiliation and rehabilitate our standing in the world as a land of the free and home of the brave.