“Vacate, you Russian traitor”
We’re only just beginning to understand how deep the Trump team’s ties to Russia may have been before the 2016 Election. But Michael Moore says we’ve already seen enough and it’s time for President Trump to resign, or face impeachment.
Moore’s first missive came shortly after it was announced that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had abruptly resigned after it was confirmed that he’d lied to Vice President Mike Pence and other Trump officials about his communications with Russian intelligence officials during the transition period between the election and Trump’s inauguration: “Let's be VERY clear: Flynn DID NOT make that Russian call on his own. He was INSTRUCTED to do so. He was TOLD to reassure them. Arrest Trump,” Moore tweeted to his four million followers.
What followed was an increasingly determined Moore demanding that Trump, whom he called a “Russian traitor” immediately “vacate” the White House or face impeachment from Congress:
Moore continued to tweet and re-tweet various news reports throughout the day, such as reminders that Trump still has a nominee for the Supreme Court who appears increasingly likely to be confirmed and that reports continue to spill out, like this bombshell from The New York Times, that “multiple” Trump team members were in “constant” constant contact with their Russian counterparts.
Moore then posted a lengthy missive to Facebook where he outlined the process for impeaching Trump, while taking a few shots at Democrats along the way. His process, in order, entails:
-Having the “weak” and “spineless” Democrats in Congress “bring all business to a hault” until impeachment papers are filed against Trump.
-Requiring newly Attorney General Jeff Sessions to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate “these potentially treasonous acts.”
-Calling on Trump to resign immediately.
-Finding a legal way to deny Mike Pence the chance to become president if Trump resigns or is impeached.
It’s been a busy few months for Moore, who has seen his influence skyrocket since he first predicted that Trump stood a good chance of winning the election against Hillary Clinton because he was tapping into a sense of anger and resentment from white, blue collar workers that the Clinton team didn’t recognize. After Trump’s victory, Moore then outlined a plan for resistance that immediately went viral. But he’s also been highly critical of Democrats, threatening to run candidates against those who do not block the Supreme Court nomination of Neil Gorsuch. It’s a wild and unexpected ascendency for the Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker who has always been popular and influential but is arguably more relevant than ever in the early days of the Trump presidency.