When it comes to Trump, truth has a hang-up

Originating more than three centuries ago, a famous quote has, over time, been shortened to provide a punchier impact. Originated by major literary figure Jonathan Swift in 1710, it underscores, when it comes to critics of President Donald Trump, truth has a hang-up. What Swift took 74 words to suggest has been reduced to: “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

While it took time to verify the truth, we now know that a dossier – revealed just before Trump took office in 2017 – making all kinds of salacious allegations about his behavior and his supposed ties to Russia, also claiming Moscow had compromising information on him and conspired to help him win the 2016 presidential election – was a well-orchestrated series of lies.

The lies traveled the globe because the dossier was the work of retired British spy Christopher Steele who had a solid reputation within the intelligence community. But the truth finally caught up as Steele, pressed to present evidence in support of his claims, despite being offered millions of dollars to do so, could not. It was then discovered the dossier was originally commissioned by the Democratic National Committee and Trump’s presidential opponent Hillary Clinton – a fact that had not been disclosed upon its release that would have caused any intelligence agency to reconsider its obvious biased content.

Helping to promote the Trump/Russia collusion lies was Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic head of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, assisted by a liberal, anti-Trump media. It took two years for Biden’s Inspector General to find that all seven of the assertions supporting the accuracy of the dossier published in a memo the representative wrote were absolute lies.

Having plagued Trump’s entire presidency with the Russian collusion lies, his opponents, following his loss in the 2020 presidential election, knowing he could run for a second term later, sought to prevent him from doing so. An incident occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, giving them the opportunity to trigger yet more lies before the truth had its running shoes on.

Trump was addressing a crowd near the Capitol Building that day when some members broke away to march on the building after Trump encouraged them to do so “peacefully and patriotically.” The group failed to heed his advice, entering restricted areas, eventually forcing its way into the Capitol. Although the group was unarmed, an officer did shoot and kill a female protester, allegedly because he felt intimidated.

Biden’s FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) would commit themselves to spending the rest of Joe’s presidency identifying and prosecuting over 1,600 pro-Trump protesters. Democrats fed the lies this was an “insurrection” incited by Trump.

While a Jan. 6 congressional committee was established by then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., she carefully selected who would serve. While appointing two Republicans, Reps. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., she knew they shared a common trait with the seven Democrats selected: All were anti-Trumpers. Republican requests for a more balanced representation were rejected as Pelosi’s goal was clearly to find the former president guilty of insurrection, best achieved by ensuring committee members formed a “kangaroo court.”

An indictment was soon issued against Trump for working to overturn the election results. While he argued the FBI was involved in the incident, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified there were no agents working undercover who accompanied the pro-Trump group on Jan. 6. However, what he failed to disclose – and was only done recently by Biden’s own DOJ – was that 26 “confidential human sources” were working for the FBI within the group. And, despite the FBI’s arresting and prosecuting hundreds of those who participated in the “insurrection” for violating restricted areas, not a single confidential human source was similarly charged for breaking the same laws the pro-Trump group did.

It should be kept in mind that confidential human sources are usually people who, facing possible prosecution for a different offense, agree to so serve and thus are under FBI pressure to obtain evidence of criminal acts. It raises the issue of whether they, through their participation, encouraged those acts.

This is an important fact as any successful defense by the Jan. 6 protesters would first require evidence of government involvement be shown, possibly leading further to indications such sources incited the criminal activity. But such involvement was unknown by defendants until the DOJ report was published. Consequently, a steady stream of Jan. 6 convictions has flowed due to the FBI’s non-disclosure of government participation.

But the above is only the tip of the government accountability iceberg concerning the Jan. 6 investigation. It has come to light, based on never-before-seen text messages, that Cheney – who was serving as vice chair of the investigative committee – engaged in several unethical communications, both directly and indirectly, with witness Cassidy Hutchinson beginning in April of 2022 and without the knowledge of Hutchinson’s attorney.

Additionally, video was released in August 2024 in which Pelosi accepted accountability in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 incident that she now ignores. She voluntarily acknowledged her responsibility proclaiming, “We have totally failed. We have to take some responsibility for not holding the security accountable for what could have happened. … Oh my God, I cannot believe the stupidity of this. And I take the full responsibility.”

Furthermore, after years of Pelosi blaming Trump for failing to provide security that day by calling in the National Guard (evidence shows otherwise as Trump’s order to the Pentagon to “keep Jan. 6 safe” even if it meant calling in the National Guard was ignored), another video shows her taking responsibility for this.

Anti-Trump ESPN talking head Stephen Smith, who admits having voted for Kamala Harris, says he would have voted otherwise had he known what he does now. He acknowledges that both Democrats and the media lied about the Jan. 6 events.

The Trump/Russia collusion lies, the Jan. 6 “insurrection” lies, and the Democratic leaders’ lies about Biden’s mental fitness to serve in the Oval Office are most revealing about the party’s total disregard for truthfulness. This is a truth that needs to circle around the world.