Donald V. Watkins
Copyrighted and Published on February 9, 20220
Within two days of his acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial, President Donald J. Trump continued his purge of complicit staffers and other administration officials who tried to remove him from the presidency by (a) launching the Russia probe and (b) participating in the House of Representatives' impeachment proceedings.
Gone are: (a) Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who worked in the White House on the National Security Council as an expert on Ukraine; (b) Yevgency Vindman, a National Security Council attorney and the brother of Col. Vindman; (c) Gordon Sondland, Trump's handpicked ambassador to the European Union; (d) Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine; and (e) Jennifer Williams, Vice President Mike Pence's special advisor on European and Russian affairs, who fled her job earlier than expected at the end of January.
For the moment, Trump has paused his purge, but more coup d'etat collaborators and participants are expected to be fired. Additionally, Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to announce criminal charges against some of the key participants, particularly those who used the Russia probe as a cover for their coup d'etat. These collaborators do not enjoy legislative immunity like the Congress members who lead the impeachment initiative.
Top Coup Leaders Still Free
Several leaders of the three-year-long coup d'etat against Donald Trump remain free for the moment and have not been charged, to date. They include: (a) Rod Rosenstein, former President Barack Obama's former Deputy Attorney General who oversaw the Russia investigation; (b) James Comey, Obama's FBI director and the person who breathed life into the Russia investigation by approving the Bureau's improper requests for FISA surveilance warrants; and (c) Robert Mueller, the political assassin/special prosecutor Rosenstein designated to take down Donald Trump. Mueller eventually lost his nerve and left Rosenstein and Comey twisting in Washington's deep, dark, political abyss.
President Trump criticized Mueller's criminal investigation, calling FBI agents "scum," labeling the federal prosecutors as "corrupt," and exposing the federal criminal justice system as "rigged." No DOJ official, U.S. court officer, or Republican member of Congress publicly disagreed with Trump's assessment of the "rigged" federal criminal justice system.
Another coup leader who remains free is Jeff Sessions, Trump's former Attorney General. Sessions, who was a U.S. Senator before taking the Attorney General's job, deserted the President in the midst of the coup d'etat while Trump and his children were taking a barrage of incoming fire from renegade DOJ officials who reported to Mueller.
According to confidential and reliable news sources, Jeff Sessions was a key participant in the small circle of cabinet members who discussed removing Donald Trump from his presidency by invoking the 25th Amendment. They talked about declaring Trump unstable and unfit for the Office of President, and eventually decided against this approach. This plan of action is described in a September 5, 2018 Op-Ed article published in the New York Times by "Anonymous."
In addition to Jeff Sessions, the cabal of coup d'etat members in Washington included: (a) one highly placed staffer in Vice President Mike Pence's office who served as a back-channel between Pence's office and the coup plotters; (b) at least three prominent White House staffers who interacted with Trump on a daily basis, one of whom had a direct tie to Sessions: and (c) at least four original cabinet members, including one who was a high ranking military officer. All of these coup d'etat co-conspirators departed their cabinet posts and White House jobs after news of the attempted coup was leaked to Trump. Pence's staffer left, as well.
Two low-level, secret coup participants are federal criminal justice system officials in Birmingham who advised Sessions in a clandestine role to evade detection. In return, Sessions vouched for one of these officials during the White House and DOJ vetting process. Both officials are still on the job.
Finally, we have learned the true identity of "Anonymous," who was a senior member in the Trump administration when his Op-Ed article was published in the New York Times.
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