Donald Trump thinks he is above the law, that our laws do not apply to him and that he does not have to obey them. Our laws are made for the rest of us fools to obey.
I venture he has committed one of the most egregious acts of his presidency when he recently announced a “deal’’ to purchase $4 billion of diesel fuel from Russia.
That’s right… he is paying Russia $4 billion from the American treasury.
According to reports a tanker left a Russian port filled with diesel a couple of weeks ago and will dock shortly in South Carolina.
Most of our spineless Congress has been silent, but a small bipartisan group of senators have said that Trump’s deal violates federal law. They are backed in their opinion by legal experts.
Under Chapter 27 of the Harmonized Tariff Act, a 2022 law enacted by Congress, importing Russian energy products, including diesel, is absolutely illegal.
The law provides that the ban can only be lifted if the president submits to Congress a formal certification that Russian forces have withdrawn from Ukraine, and that Russia has agreed to peace.
That of course has not happened. Trump has ignored Congress and it’s OK with Congress for him to do that.
The war with Ukraine rages. And, this president could care less if he violates a federal law.
Once again, thank you, Chief Justice John Roberts for the Frankenstein monster you created with the court’s ruling in Trump v. US, granting the president immunity from unlawful acts while carrying out U.S. policy.
Nor is it enough that Trump would violate our laws so he could try to throw a diesel bone to his supporters to keep their vote.
What he has really done, and I believe on purpose, is to have driven a shiv deep into the back of Ukraine by funding Russia to the tune of $4 billion.
He has done this out of spite because Ukrainian Prsident Vladimir Zelenskyy has not agreed to give up territory to Russia to stop this war as Trump wants.
And, it wasn’t enough merely to stab Ukraine in the back, so Trump twisted that knife hard by telling Ukraine to rid itself of Zelenskyy.
This president does not care that Ukraine is a democracy, Russia is a dictatorship, and that Russia invade Ukraine starting this war.
To punish Zelenskyy further, this garbage pile that walks like a man is withholding Intel from Ukraine that is desperately needed.
This Intel is directly connected to Elon Musk’s Starlink system. Musk says that the White House has told him to cut off the feed to Ukraine.
European allies have no substitute to provide, and what Trump has done is to deprive Ukraine of advanced warning of Russian missile attacks. Trump is killing people in Ukraine.
The man wants Ukraine to lose to Russia. Simply incredible, but maybe not so much from a man who has no soul.
Is it spite, or is it intentional assistance to Russia? Maybe both.
And finally, do not forget that Trump started a war with Iran, that US personnel have died and billions of dollars of US equipment have been destroyed.
Russia is supporting Iran with intelligence, military equipment, and humanitarian aid. Russia is our enemy; the US president is funding our enemy with our tax dollars.
He is a traitor, and this is treason.
The money Trump pays to Russia will be used to undercut and possibly kill American troops in Iran.
What will Trump get out of this unholy deal? If we had a real Congress, and likely we will shortly, it could provide an answer. This president might go down in history as worse than Benedict Arnold.
He needs to be removed from office.
Make America great? Sure. This president is beyond reprehensible.
Jim Astrachan is lawyer who represents clients in intellectual property law and litigation, mediation, and business, regulatory, and transactional matters. He’s a Life Fellow of the Baltimore City Bar Foundation, the Maryland Bar Foundation, and the American Bar Foundation.