As the mid-term elections draw closer and closer, and predictions for a Democrat takeover of the House grow louder and louder from the left, their leadership is already plotting their get-Trump strategy, which includes impeachment, reportedly launching investigations into companies and colleges that have cooperated with Trump, and even summoning President Trump himself to testify.
On MS NOW's The Weeknight on Tuesday, these plans were celebrated, with co-host and former RNC Chairman Michael Steele excited at the idea of having Congress arrest those who do not respond to subpoenas.
Sarah Thomas, former Trump Deputy Press Secretary who quit after January 6th and is now a Spokesperson for the anti-Trump group Home of the Brave, weighed in on reports that White House attorneys are prepping staff on how to handle what might lie ahead, and she was chock full of vintage talking points.
THOMAS: I think that they see the writing on the wall.... Voters feel a lot of buyer's remorse. They feel like they've been bamboozled by this administration. Everything that Trump said he was going to do on the campaign trail, whether that was bring down prices or be the peace candidate. In fact, he's done the complete opposite of it now, starting this war of choice with Iran, which has just caused the already existing affordability crisis to just be exacerbated.
And that means trouble for the Trump Administration, because they are going to now face accountability for the first time, which obviously we have not seen them face with Republicans in Congress....And so I think that they're worried, and not just because they think, oh, the Democrats are going to go after us, but there might be something that they're trying to hide, whether that whether that be the alleged corruption that's been going on, we've seen from this administration with all the deals and contracts that have been awarded to Trump family members, or you look at the handling of the Epstein files, or the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pritti.... And so it makes sense that the White House lawyers are talking to these folks and trying to prepare them for this.
It was Kurt Bardella, another ex-Republican, who broached the idea of using the rarely used Inherent Contempt Authority if necessary.
BARDELLA: Congress needs to take a look at actually increasing their ability to enforce their subpoenas, enforce their ability to get accountability. Right now, we have a dynamic, and this is the flaw in our checks and balance system, where the Executive branch can say, I'm not going to cooperate with you. Congress will hold you in contempt. Guess who enforces contempt? The Justice Department, who's probably not going to prosecute their current administration.
So you need to look at other avenues, whether it's increasing your ability to levy fines for every day that you don't cooperate with the subpoena, whether it's invoking the centuries old inherent contempt, instructing the Sergeant of Arms to say, go arrest that person, bring them before us.
Steele then weighed in and he was downright giddy over what he had just heard.
STEELE: I agree with all of that. And I particularly like the part where you arrest people. I love that part because I've always said from day one that Congress has the power....That's the legitimate power of Congress to send U.S. Marshals out to pick your ass up and bring you in. That's it. And all you need is one. You do it one time. One time, and you send the message, oh, you thought we were playing. You thought that we were just going to come in here, and you're just going to sit there down on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and act stupid, and we're not going to respond. Oh hell no, that's not how this is gonna go. That's the attitude they are gonna have to bring.
Even though this is MS NOW, watching Trump Derangement Syndrome in action is always a tough thing to do.
