When the commander-in-chief describes the crimes committed by his friends as "hoax ..." When he spreads false fears about electoral fraud ... When he lies on something as trivial as golf ... When his deception on the way of a hurricane triggers a GI probe ... When a single WH declaration contains 12 lies and lies ...
Well, then we are clearly in the middle of a truth emergency.
My monologue on Sunday's CNN show contained four minutes of examples, and it could have been twice as long. Here's another sign: when a former member of the President's inner circle is prevented from writing a book ...
Michael Cohen's sudden return to prison is under surveillance because his lawyers say the dispute centered on "administrative restrictions aimed at preventing him from finishing a book on the president."
"No standard probation form understands the language of media contact," report David Shortell and Mark Morales of CNN. But the form presented to Cohen seemed to be specially designed for him. CNN obtained a copy. It sounds like an attempt to stifle Cohen's right to speak freely about his work for President Trump.
It's all the more remarkable that another Trump developer, through President Mary's niece, comes out on Tuesday. And it's a doozy. Ted Boutrous, who represents Mary in court, raises the alarm about Cohen's situation:
"It's deeply, deeply disturbing," Boutrous tweeted, "from the perspective of the First Amendment and from the perspective of the rule of law, especially since Roger Stone is free and Michael Flynn is on the point".
Are Michael Cohen's First Amendment rights violated?
Obviously, you don't have to love Cohen - many people don't - to defend his right to speak. Ryan Goodman of Just Security contacted many of the top American experts in First Amendment law for their reactions to the Cohen case, and they were "almost uniform in denouncing the condition imposed on Cohen by the Bureau of Prisons, an agency from William Barr's Department of Justice. "The word" unconstitutional "has been used half a dozen times. Continue reading ...
Now back to the other book ...Will Mary Trump be allowed to speak?
His book "Too Much and Never Enough" has now surpassed "The Room Where It Happened" to be the # 1 fiction seller of the year on Amazon's list.
But at the moment, he is prohibited from giving interviews or speaking in public, as the restraining order requested by President Trump's brother Robert is still in effect. The case judge is expected to issue a decision next Monday. She may be able to speak on the day of publication.
Back to the urgency of the truth now ...
In Mary Trump's story, "truth" is a concept to conquer. She writes that Donald "easily sacrificed" the truth, "especially if a lie made the story better." Later, writing the coronavirus crisis, she says he feared the reality of the virus, but "his failure to face the truth inevitably led to massive failure anyway ..."
→ On Sunday, "Reliable Sources", I spoke with Tony Schwartz about what Mary's book adds to the dialogue on Trump's cognition ...
