TRUMP IINAUGURATION TODAY--2 CLOUDS OVER D.C.

As most people know, today is Inauguration Day for President-elect Trump.  Although I am a big critic of Trump (and most politicians), like many critics I think we need to give him a chance to prove that we were wrong about him.  His choices for his cabinet are disappointments, but they deserve a chance. However, the First Amendment marches on. Here's two new items about Trump.

1.  "A flurry of polls released this week show approval ratings hovering around 44 percent. That's lower than the share of the popular vote he collected on Election Day, which is unusual.

Ads by ZINC

3

At this point eight years ago, nearly eight in 10 Americans viewed Barack Obama favorably. Even George W. Bush, who took office after a recount that hinged on a few hundred ballots, entered under less of a cloud.  . .

This will be a president who called the election rigged and said he'd refuse to accept the outcome — unless he won. A president whose vulgarity shocked many — except for the millions who viewed him as exactly the unconventional, convention-defying leader needed to straighten out Washington."
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2017/01/19/eve-trump-presidency-rancor-trepidation-high-hopes

2.  WASHINGTON — "American law enforcement and intelligence agencies are examining intercepted communications and financial transactions as part of a broad investigation into possible links between Russian officials and associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump, including his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, current and former senior American officials said.

The continuing counterintelligence investigation means that Mr. Trump will take the oath of office on Friday with his associates under investigation and after the intelligence agencies concluded that the Russian government had worked to help elect him. As president, Mr. Trump will oversee those agencies and have the authority to redirect or stop at least some of these efforts." [If he has nothing to hide, Trump will probably not interfere.  If he does, it will only increase suspicions.  Let's have some transparency in Washington for a change.  There may not be anything incriminating there and we should extend the presumption of innocence.  Thank God we have a free press in this country that will be doing its own investigations]

"National Security Agency, the C.I.A. and the Treasury Department’s financial crimes unit. The investigators have accelerated their efforts in recent weeks but have found no conclusive evidence of wrongdoing, the officials said. One official said intelligence reports based on some of the wiretapped communications had been provided to the White House. . .

The decision to open the investigations was not based on a dossier of salacious, uncorroborated allegations that were compiled by a former British spy working for a Washington research firm.  . . TheF.B.I. is also examining the allegations in that dossier, and a summary of its contents was provided to Mr. Trump earlier this month. . . .The F.B.I. investigation into Mr. Manafort began last spring, and was an outgrowth of a criminal investigation into his work for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine and for the country’s former president, Viktor F. Yanukovych. In August, The Times reported that Mr. Manafort’s name had surfaced in a secret ledger that showed he had been paid millions in undisclosed cash payments. The Associated Press has reported that his work for Ukraine included a secret lobbying effort in Washington aimed at influencing American news organizations and government officials."

The F.B.I. investigation into Mr. Manafort [The Chair of Trump's presidential campaign organization] began last spring, and was an outgrowth of a criminal investigation into his work for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine and for the country’s former president, Viktor F. Yanukovych. In August, The Times reported that Mr. Manafort’s name had surfaced in a secret ledger that showed he had been paid millions in undisclosed cash payments. The Associated Press has reported that his work for Ukraine included a secret lobbying effort in Washington aimed at influencing American news organizations and government officials."

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/us/politics/trump-russia-associates-investigation.html?_r=0

 

Here's an interesting related item:

"A lot of people aren’t thrilled about the impending reality of Donald Trump’s presidency, but you know who’s totally here for it? Russian state television."

https://www.buzzfeed.com/susiearmitage/russian-state-television-is-totally-here-for-president-elect?utm_term=.oc9v7m6wY#.ikloJ2vkK

 

This whole thing may turn out to be much ado about nothings, but it should be investigated.  If there is a fire under this smoke, the consequences for Trump could be serious.  Impeachment perhaps.  Stay tuned.

.