Word Play

   Legal types are fond of saying that ignorance of the law is no excuse. Now we have political types claiming that the president is not guilty of any wrongdoing by reason of incompetence, ignorance and stupidity.
   You're joking, right?

   Some folks defend Donald Trump for not knowing the repercussions of his talk or actions, and call for forgiveness of his lack of understanding.
   The man is 70 years old, a wealthy (by his claim) businessman, and a political newbie who finagled his way to the presidency of the United States.
   So 300 million Americans should accept everything he says and does, and never question his veracity solely because he is the current occupant of the Oval Office?
   There is such a thing as a learning curve, and most people in a new position adapt and learn quickly. Not this guy. 
   Most executives, business and political leaders refer to their staff as partners, associates or even employees. Trump calls them "my satellites," as if he is the center of the universe and everyone and everything else revolves around him.
   "We have a naive president," said Andy Card, former chief of staff to President George W. Bush. "Not Machiavellian," Card added, "but naive."
   Sen. Diane Feinstein, Democrat of California, said, "We won't have a situation where the president controls the Justice Department."

   When the boss says, "Would you do this for me, please?" staffers don't wonder whether that's a request, to be followed if and when the staffer chooses, later to figure out whether it was a suggestion or a command. That's the defense claim put up by Trumpians after the president asked then FBI Director James Comey to "let go" the inquiry into national security adviser Mike Flynn's alleged association with the Russian government.
   And when the president supposedly asked whether he himself was under investigation, a surprised Comey waffled, indicating that Trump himself was not the subject of an FBI probe. Not on that particular day, anyway. Which doesn't mean that an investigation of the Trump Organization or of anything else will not eventually lead to the top echelon and to Trump himself. If it hasn't already.
   Standard FBI practice for years has been never to discuss ongoing investigations. Traditionally, they don't even acknowledge that there is an investigation.
   But when your boss, the president of the United States, inquires about an investigation, with the clear implication that he wants it dropped, any law enforcement official with any ethics will sidestep the question.
   As the chief executive of the United States government, the president may well have the legal authority to stop or start any particular investigation. But should he, especially when the probe is about the president's own activities?
   Ethics.
   America has three separate and equal branches of government. When a president steps beyond the bounds of law and ethics, it becomes the responsibility and duty of Congress to pull him back onto a straight and narrow path.
   Either that, or fire him.