“But he didn’t break any law.” Really?

Here’s an important AP article you won’t find* in this morning’s Wheeling Intelligencer:

Watchdog: White House violated law in freezing Ukraine aid

It begins:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine, an action at the center of President Donald Trump’s impeachment, a federal watchdog agency said Thursday.

The Government Accountability Office said in a report that the Office of Management and Budget broke the law in holding up the aid, which Congress passed less than a year ago, saying “the President is not vested with the power to ignore or amend any such duly enacted law.”

. . . . “Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law,” wrote the agency’s general counsel, Thomas Armstrong, in the report.

Note – Fox News reacted to the GAO's report with a new-but-predictable conspiracy theory -- that the non-partisan GAO is anti-Trump. (See here.)

Who’s afraid of Donald Trump?

Democrats?

From artist Mark Kaufman:

Getting tired of media constantly asking Dem candidates if they’re “strong enough” to stand up to Trump. It’s a flawed concept, no Dem is afraid of Trump. Only Republicans are afraid of Trump. Dems only need to expose him as the weak, sniveling coward he is. #DemDebate

— Mark Kaufman (@Drawmark) January 15, 2020

Republicans?

From CREW:

Reminder that the Republican political apparatus is not interested in holding President Trump accountable.

So much so that the RNC is literally holding their retreat at Trump's Doral resort next week, in the midst of Trump's impeachment. https://t.co/oQo6e8x1JG

— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) January 17, 2020

More classiness from the Trump family

Here’s @LaraLeaTrump at Trump event in Iowa mocking Biden for stuttering: "I feel kind of sad for Biden ... I'm supposed to want him to fail at every turn, but every time they turn to him I'm like, 'Joe can you get it out? Let's get the words out Joe.’” pic.twitter.com/0inN9wXYJF

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 17, 2020

Another Christian voice speaks out

Finally, while this will not get nearly as much coverage as the Christian Century editorial last month, it is still important:

A Christian group of Bonhoeffer scholars calls for the end of Trump’s presidency. Bonhoeffer was a German theologian executed for being part of a plot to assassinate Hitler, and his legacy has been claimed by evangelicals all along the political spectrum. https://t.co/IxChpG7uyC

— Ruth Graham (@publicroad) January 17, 2020

The Society's explanation, via an excellent article in Sojourners:

As grateful recipients, and now custodians, of the theological, ethical, and political legacy of the German pastor-theologian and Nazi resister Dietrich Bonhoeffer, we believe all persons of faith and conscience should prayerfully consider whether our democracy can endure a second term under the presidency of Donald Trump. We believe it cannot. In 2017, we issued a statement expressing our grave concerns about the rise in hateful rhetoric and violence, the rise in deep divisions and distrust in our country, and the weakening of respectful public discourse ushered in by the election of Donald Trump. We articulated the need for Christians to engage in honest and courageous theological reflection in the face of the threat posed by his leadership. Over the last three years, the need for such discernment has grown more urgent.

A hallmark of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s legacy is his insistence that we see the great events of world history from “the view from below” (1942). That is, he urges us to see from the perspective of those who suffer. The policies of the Trump administration both threaten and disempower the most vulnerable members of our society, including people of color, members of the LGBTQ communities, Muslims and other religious minorities, immigrants, refugees, the poor, the marginally employed, and the unemployed. Moreover, Donald Trump has now taken ill-advised military action that raises the specter of war. One of the greatest lessons learned from the history of the Christian churches during Germany’s Third Reich is that it is crucial to respond to threats to human life, integrity, and community when they first appear, and to continue to challenge them.

*In fairness to the Intelligencer, the GAO finding does get a one-sentence mention in another AP article on page 3.