Trump involved in his own Watergate

By Don Hiddleson, Salt Lake City, Utah

Friday, Feb. 17, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Donald Trump says his No. 1 job as president is to ensure our national security. His campaign promise was “I alone can fix it.” In the first weeks of his term, we see unbelievable turmoil and chaos.

He said glowing words about Vladimir Putin all through the campaign and continues to praise the man. Now, we find that some campaign staffers had contact with Russian intelligence agents during the campaign. We also know the Russians were hacking the Democratic National Committee computers.

It took Richard Nixon three and a half years to burglarize the DNC at Watergate, then he denied it. In three and a half weeks, Trump is into his own version of Watergate, courtesy of the Russian hacking and former national security adviser, Mike Flynn, who resigned after it was discovered that he had spoken with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. about sanctions back in December. Of course, Flynn will blame the messengers — those who brought the scandal to light. It is a classic sleight of hand by the con artist. Flynn was in the spotlight during campaign rallies, leading “Lock her up” chants. His previous dealings with the Russians and his military intelligence background make him a prime suspect for the questionable activities, which have now forced him out.

Not only do we have to listen to Trump’s divisive rhetoric, outright lies and fear mongering, we must watch him deny that he had any involvement in Flynn’s liaisons with the Russians. The Russians want to undermine the functioning of democratic governments. We have a White House staff in chaos, while Trump criticizes “fake news.”

I say the Flynn situation calls for a special independent investigation.