Mike Pence Is Just As Complicit In The Coverup As Trump

Mike Pence went to Capitol Hill yesterday and lied his ass off. He continued to insist that the idea to fire James Comey came from Deputy Attorney General Ron Rosenstein. By yesterday afternoon, even the White House was tacitly admitting that story was, as Ron Ziegler used to say in the Nixon days, "no longer operative".

Pence is reported to have been one of the ones pushing hardest for firing Comey and was in the meeting where Trump decided to do just that. Pence knew full well that Trump had ordered Sessions and Rosenstein to come up with a rationale for firing Comey and also knew full well that Trump was firing Comey solely because of the expanding Russian investigation.

Remember, too, that Pence was head of the transition and was probably well aware of the problems with Flynn. At this point, it is hard to believe that Pence was not aware of Yates' warning about Flynn's contacts with Russians and was open to blackmail by the Russians. And he did nothing about it for 18 days. Yes, there may have been a point when Flynn did lie to Pence, but that was not the real reason that Flynn was fired. It was the revelation of the Yates' warning in the press. For most of that interim period, Pence is just as guilty as Trump in putting our national security at risk by having the nation's top national security office remain in place when compromised.

I admit have a visceral disgust for Pence. His phony serious frown and his condescending tone make my stomach turn. But he is willfully abetting Trump's cover-up and obstruction of justice, along with Spicer, Sanders, and Sessions. And, if and when, Trump either leaves office willingly or not, we should not forget that Pence is equally tainted.