Anyone who has ever had an unpleasant meeting with their HR department knows that retaliation against those who complained about you will get you fired. But as we have seen, as the Senate has acquitted Trump of the charges contained in the two articles of impeachment, there is no effective constraint upon his mobster mentality of retaliation and revenge. The most obvious and attention getting was the removal from the National Security Council of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.
Lt. Col. Vindman, an active duty Army officer, was an expert on Ukraine assigned to the staff of the national Security Council (NSC), the body, headed by the National Security Advisor, that is supposed to advise the president on matters of national security. Vindman was one of the people who listened in on, and made notes of, the infamous call between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky. Vindman was concerned about the call and went to the White House Counsel to express his concerns. He was subpoenaed to testify during the House of Representatives Impeachment Inquiry, despite being ordered not to by Trump. His tenure at the NSC was slated to end in July 2020. Several days ago he was escorted out of the White House by security. I find it hard to believe that this is the normal way that military assignments are changed.
Lt. Col. Vindman has served in combat and received a Purple Heart. Unlike some of the commentary that I have seen, his service, no matter how brave or honorable, should not shield him from criticism. His valor and patriotism as a military officer, although it speaks to his character, is somewhat irrelevant regarding his qualifications for the position that he held. If he was incompetent in his duties, then he should have been dismissed, but there is no evidence that he was incompetent. He was accused by Trump of insubordination for obeying a legal summons to testify before a Congressional committee. While I don't believe military service immunizes someone from criticism and automatically elevates them to the stature of "patriotic hero", Trump and his Republican enablers evidently do...when they are Trump supporters. We have the recent example of a convicted murderer and an accused war criminal (the latter who engaged in many public acts of insubordination) being pardoned by Trump, and lauded by the right. Veterans aren't worthy of respect in Trumpworld if they don't bow down to Trump.
In addition to Vindman, his brother, an NSC lawyer of 20 years tenure was fired. Trump's own appointees, Sondland (EU Ambassador) and Taylor (Interim Ukraine Ambassador) were just canned. Mitt Romney, who Trump can't fire, has been the subject of continuous attacks since his vote to remove Trump last week. Attorney General Barr, as well as the Senate Judiciary Committee, are rumored to be opening investigations into "the origins of the Ukraine collusion hoax". (Hint: the origin was Trump attempting to extort Ukraine). New York State, which passed a law prohibiting the sharing of driver's license data with ICE, has been retaliated against as well. The TSA "Trusted Traveler" and "Global Entry" programs have been cancelled for all New Yorkers.
While it is theoretically possible for Trump to be impeached again, the probability of a Republican Senate ever voting to remove him is statistically zero. With the acquittal last week, any restraints, any possibility of restraint, is gone until election day. When President Clinton was impeached, he expressed remorse and apologized to the nation following his acquittal. He was well aware that his actions leading to the impeachment caused harm to the nation and to his own reputation, Trump has no similar self awareness. The timing of his "perfect" phone call reflects this: it was shortly after the Mueller Report's conclusions that there was no case for a conspiracy conviction, as well as the report's decision to avoid making a determination on obstruction. Instead of breathing a sigh of relief that he had dodged a bullet (as well as avoiding other deadly cliches) and changing his ways, he doubled down by soliciting the assistance of a foreign head of state in order to influence the next election. His reaction to his Senate acquittal is very similar. He was "warned" by Republican Senators not to fire Ambassador Sondland, since that would look like he was engaging in retaliation. He wanted it to be perceived that way.
There is absolutely nothing preventing Trump from further retaliation and revenge. He has demonstrated that he views presidential powers as unlimited, that he never has to defer to Congress and that his word is law. Republicans in Congress have demonstrated that they are perfectly willing to let him. The only thing that has constrained him in the past is the presence of subordinates who attempted to reason with him, who dragged their feet in carrying out orders, who appealed to logic and expert opinion. All of those people are gone.
It's going to be a scary 2020.
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