Section: The Atlantic (USA)
The Ukrainification of American Government
Donald Trump’s obsession with Ukrainian corruption turned out to be genuine: He wanted it thoroughly investigated—for the sake of its emulation. The diplomats who testified in front in Adam Schiff’s committee explained and exposed the Ukrainian justice system. Their descriptions may have been intended as an indictment of kleptocracy,...
Madison’s Nightmare Has Come to America
The Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump is over, ending with all but one Republican voting to acquit. But the effort to make sense of its constitutional ramifications is only beginning.Almost a half century ago, President Richard Nixon’s resignation was thought to have proved that the constitutional system worked,...
Did Trump Lose His Big Gamble on Biden?
Joe Biden might not be out, but he’s way, way down. After consecutive poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, the onetime prohibitive front-runner is in deep trouble.It’s impossible to talk about this turn of events without talking about Donald Trump, and not only because he’s the man Biden hopes to succeed as president....
John Kelly Finally Lets Loose on Trump
MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Lieut. Col Alexander Vindman, the former National Security Council aide and impeachment witness President Donald Trump fired Friday, was just doing his job, former White House chief of staff John Kelly told students and guests at a Drew University event here Wednesday night.Over a 75-minute speech and question-and-answer...
Impeachment Will Never Be the Same Again
It took 230 years for a U.S. president to be impeached and tried by a divided Congress, with one party controlling the House and another the Senate. The country has now witnessed why that matters. Baseline cooperation between the chambers may not guarantee a particular outcome—but in every prior impeachment it has secured a reasonable amount of...
Trump, Unleashed
The Senate’s acquittal of Donald Trump elicited predictions that the president would now be “unleashed,” freed to do as he pleased. His actions over the past few days offer a first glimpse of what that might look like. With the threat of accountability gone, or at least diminished, Trump is bestowing favor on his loyal defenders, and...
The Oversight Wars Are Not Going Away
The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump has slouched to its preordained conclusion. But the confrontation between the president and the House of Representatives over the House’s oversight powers and the president’s authority to resist congressional demands for information and testimony is very much still ongoing.Over the next...
Requiem for an Impeachment
Well, it’s over.On February 6, 2020, the Senate acquitted Donald Trump on two articles of impeachment, bringing an end to a process the president has been hurtling toward since the moment of his inauguration. The case against him turned on the specifics of his efforts to pressure Ukraine to provide negative information on Democratic...
Poor Countries Are the Front Line Against Coronavirus
The 2019 novel coronavirus has caused a public-health emergency in China, a global economic superpower. Like many in my field, I worry that if and when the emergent virus takes root in poorer countries that are already tackling outbreaks of other pathogens, it could wreak havoc of an even larger magnitude.I am a physician who concentrates on...
Doing the Right Thing Was Vindman’s Only Crime
In 2018, Donald Trump waited to move against Attorney General Jeff Sessions until the day after the midterm election—but he didn’t wait a day longer than that. No sooner was the election over than Trump dismissed Sessions, who had upset the president by recusing himself from the Russia investigation. Sessions, Trump believed, was “supposed...
