Robert Haslag
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
The howling about Michael Cohens’ lies would be laughably hypocritical, if not for the serious nature of the issue. Every Republican on the House Oversight Committee made Cohen’s credibility their only argument based on his conviction of lying to Congress, a charge I neither deny or minimize. This is a perfect case of “the pot calling the kettle black.” Interestingly, Cohen’s credibility or lack thereof was the only issue Republican House members attacked. It would seem that the substance of his allegations would have required more attention than it received.
The concentration on Cohen’s “lies” is truly mystifying considering this president’s clear propensity to lie. By any measure, this president’s lies/misstatements are coming in at unparalleled numbers, and Republicans are unanimously silent. How can they ignore the 8,158 lies FactChecker has confirmed? The same source identified 18 lies President Barack Obama told during his eight years as president. Even Snopes could only identify 50 during Obama’s term. In President George W. Bush’s two terms the issue was not the number so much as their immensity. Iraq’s involvement in 9/11 and weapons of mass destruction were only two but their cost was a $1 trillion war and 4,000 plus young American lives.
Simply, Trump’s lies place him in a geometric other world. It started in the campaign and he still lies to us daily. The size of his inauguration crowd, Muslims cheering in New Jersey as the towers fell, the claim Obama’s grandmother was at Obama’s birth in Kenya immediately come to mind. But you don’t get to 8,000 plus without really trying. His most recent that Democrats hate Jews is a characterization that has no substance behind it. Applying that logic here, then Trump hates England, France, Germany, Japan and most of our allies. The only ones repeatedly enjoying his affection are Turkey’s Erdogan, Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, the Philippine’s Duterte and of course his favorite, Russia’s Putin. The man lies to us, including his supporters, every day. Mexico never indicated they would pay for the “wall,” but he insisted to supporters in rally after rally and they believed him. Why would anyone believe anything this man says with this record? The true irrationality is his total lack of comprehension of video which frequently proves his lies i.e. the Tim Apple denial.
Michael Cohen does not even compete at Trump’s level.