By Michael Woyton
You saw the ad all of us taxpayers paid for that ran on commercial television including Fox News Sunday and Saturday Night Live this weekend?
You know, the ad that previous aired during the 2024 campaign touting a 34 times convicted felon running for a second term in the White House?
It was a black-and-white ad with then-former president donald j. felon* walking down a hallway railing against the “deep state” and “warmongers.”
FREE: Subscribe to On Second Thought now:
“That ad has returned this weekend,” the New York Times reported, “airing on television stations across the country, with one notable difference: As it ends, the words ‘Paid for by the U.S. Government‘ appear on the screen.”
The Times article has a subhead that describes the story as something “which ethics experts said could violate federal laws.”
Ya think?
The White House on Friday defended “the use of what it described as ‘public service announcements‘ and dismissed criticism of them as ‘deeply dishonest’,” PBS News said.
“The announcements are very clearly not campaign ads; President Trump is not on the ballot and there is no call to action,” the White House said in a statement. “Instead, the announcements are a reminder for Americans to love their country and know why it’s worth defending — at home, at the border, and abroad.”
They also likened the ad to airing a campaign announcing a Medicare law and one about COVID-19 vaccinations.
Right.
Former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter, who served under George W. Bush, told the Times that using federal funds could be an abuse of power and said it could be “an impeachable offense.”
Even Louisiana Republican Sen. John “Foghorn Leghorn” Kennedy admitted on the TV machine over the weekend that public money should not be spent on private ads for government officials, including the president.
“I think there ought to be a rule that you can’t — well, there probably is a rule — you can’t spend public money to promote yourself,” The Guardian quoted him as saying.
I’m pretty certain that the adjudicated rapist thinks this is all above board. He did after all have a few days recently when he wasn’t on the television 24/7.
What do we expect from a “president” who was told by the corrupt Supreme Court he had immunity for any official acts?
— — — — —
Speaking of impeachable offenses, Tennessee’s Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen filed 26 articles of impeachment Sept. 24 against the president.
Cohen, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, said the articles cited multiple abuses of power, violations of his oath of office, the corrupt use of the pardon and emoluments clause violations, among other misconduct and unlawful acts.
He said in a statement that he hopes this paves the way to accountability.
“Trump is clearly the most impeachable president our country has ever endured,” Cohen said. “His continued presence in office is a danger to our democracy. That the sycophantic Republican majority in Congress is derelict in its duty does not mean that I must abandon my responsibilities.
“When historians write about this period, and our constituents ask who stood up to President Trump’s lawlessness,” he said, “this resolution is the answer.”
I’ve often said that, while articles of impeachment are unlikely to be approved by this Congress, lawless acts by officials, especially this demented narcissistic individual, should be cataloged.
Using the excuse that “nothing will come of it” is completely the wrong thing to say.
Thank you, Congressman Cohen, for showing the way it should be done.
I have no doubt there will be additional articles for the most corrupt president ever to be elected.
Here is the stunning list of articles of impeachment:
Article I: Undermining democracy—sowing doubt in elections
Article II: Abuse of power—waging war on Iran without congressional approval
Article III: Abuse of power—extrajudicial killings in international waters of Venezuela
Article IV: Abuse of power—deploying military forces against United States cities
Article V: Violation of oath—the birthright citizenship executive order
Article VI: Abuse of power—canceling federal grants to punish states for their votes
Article VII: Abuse of power—imposing loyalty tests on the federal workforce
Article VIII: Disregard of courts—the alien enemies act and the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Article IX: Violation of oath—cruel and unusual punishment at CECOT
Article X: Violation of oath—unlawful withholding of appropriated funds and dismantling of congressionally established programs
Article XI: Abuse of power—obstructing the lawful appointment of United States attorneys
Article XII: Abuse of power—defying court orders in immigration enforcement
Article XIII: Abolishing a congressionally mandated agency—the Department of Education
Article XIV: Violation of oath—unlawful mass termination of inspectors general without statutory notice to congress
Article XV: Unlawfully and unilaterally taxing United States citizens through emergency powers tariffs
Article XVI: Abuse of power—political prosecutions of Comey, James and Schiff
Article XVII: Abuse of power—the IRS settlement and the corruption of the judgment fund
Article XVIII: Abuse of power—the corrupt use of the pardon power
Article XIX: Attacks on a free press—banishing reporters from the White House for disfavored coverage
Article XX: Attacks on a free press—coercing CBS and ABC to change editorial content
Article XXI: Violation of oath—free speech and retaliatory executive orders against law firms
Article XXII: Violation of oath—free speech and coercing universities through withheld federal funds
Article XXIII: Abuse of power—demolishing the White House East Wing without congressional approval
Article XXIV: Violation of oath—the illegal impoundment of appropriated funds
Article XXV: Abuse of power—self-aggrandizement through the renaming of public institutions, seizure of cultural and civic property and personal appropriation of national currency
Article XXVI: Emoluments violations—profiting personally and directly from the presidency
— — — — —
* I’m following what the wannabe king declared on social media that he will only refer to the Supreme Court in lowercase because he has a complete lack of respect for them after the illegal tariffs ruling.
Find and follow me on BlueSky through this link.
Lead art: screen grab from Trump television commercial.
