Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Get the plumber!
Yesterday was Jan’s birthday, so it was a day to celebrate just for that alone. We did go to dinner with good friends and she got calls throughout the day with birthday wishes. She got her piece of carrot cake from Bristol’s and was quite happy with her day.
Meantime, the news was exploding with what happened at Mar-a-lago. There were no celebrations there, only the resolute goal of the FBI to find and take cartons of documents that were illegally removed from the White House when 45 left office. There were some bits of information about the number of documents to be found, some of which were highly classified and should never have left the vault in DC. Actually, all of them should have been left in DC.
This was unprecedented business. I watched, spellbound, as my MSNBC peeps – mainly Rachel Maddow- tried to spell out the implications of what was possibly still happening in Palm Beach. This was not a move made lightly. It required the signature of a Federal judge (who was appointed, ironically, by 45), and the signature of the Attorney General, (who appears deadly serious whenever I see him, regardless of the issue.).
I turned to Fox News to hear what was being said by the MAGA peeps. Newt Gingrich was on a rant about how the AG and the FBI were way out of line by pursuing a former president, no less! I listened, waiting for the news about the violation of the Presidential Records Act, mandating the preservation of all presidential records. Of course that never came up. So back to earth I went.
Through all of the seriousness of the events I suddenly found myself laughing out loud when there was a report of plumbing being clogged by reams of documents flushed down toilets both in the White House and in 45’s bizarre, rococo palace by the sea. I couldn’t help it. The plumbers might be the most practical witnesses of all. I wonder if the January 6 committee has interviewed any of them. And, to add to that, I swear I heard a snippet about an aide who chewed and swallowed a document. And, Rachel reminded us that a White House official had burned documents in one of the fireplaces. If all of this isn’t one grand attempt to cover up malfeasance, I don’t know what is.
Only 45 and his minions know how many documents have already been destroyed in the time since he left office. I give Merrick Garland credit for knowing full well that 45 would never return the records willingly. So he took the step of getting permission to go in and take them. Perhaps he was thinking about how quickly the Secret Service and Pentagon text messages from 01/06/2021 were wiped from existence. In any case, he was not playing around. He did his job.
The threats have already started against AG Garland, the judge who signed the order, and who knows who else. Kevin McCarthy said when the republicans take over the House of Representatives this Fall, AG Garland better save his documents and clear his calendar. This is only the beginning of a political firestorm that may well make the news for days. Better call the plumbers!