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The Badger Herald

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The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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Ryan, Johnson’s response to Manafort indictment gutless, but expected

Continued Republican silence when faced with situations of accountability speaks volumes about integrity of party
Ryan%2C+Johnsons+response+to+Manafort+indictment+gutless%2C+but+expected
Flickr user Gage Skidmore

As anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock has most likely heard, President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was indicted last Monday by a grand jury as part of Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential election. Also indicted was Rick Gates, another member of Trump’s campaign.

That same day, it was reported that a member of Trump’s campaign, George Papadopoulos, had plead guilty to lying to FBI agents about a series of meetings he took and planned while he was a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign.

This is the first bombshell to drop from Mueller’s investigation, and people everywhere were talking about it. That is, except for the Republican Party.

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Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and de facto face of the GOP, was asked about the indictment Monday on Jerry Bader’s Radio Show. His response? “Nothing is going derail what we’re trying to do in Congress, because we’re working on solving people’s problems.”

https://badgerherald.com/opinion/2017/09/07/republican-silence-speaks-volumes/

Paul Ryan is too focused on a tax cut plan destined to fail — check out what happened in Kansas when they gave out widespread tax breaks — to comment on whether a presidential race was influenced by a foreign country.

This is only the latest round of Ryan refusing to comment on anything negative about Trump. He is firmly committed to keeping his head in the sand while his country is falling apart around him. What a patriot.

Unfortunately for Wisconsin, Ryan’s response was not the worst among Wisconsin Congressman. That award would go to Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, who still believes the Mueller investigation should be halted, citing an apparent conflict of interest because “Mr. Mueller is simply too close to James Comey and the FBI.”

Keep in mind, he said this even after Mueller had come up with a guilty plea from a Trump advisor. Never mind that Mueller is almost universally respected across both sides of the aisle.

https://badgerherald.com/opinion/2016/09/05/print-reg-ryan-is-face-of-conservatism-in-wisconsin-not-trump/

He can’t be trusted according to Johnson.

Yet Johnson wants us to trust a Republican-led investigation into the sitting Republican president.

Law and order must prevail in this country. It does not matter if you are the sitting president, being investigated for obstruction of justice, or an average citizen facing a speeding ticket.

There are repercussions for your actions.

Republicans clearly do not want to face the consequences of supporting Trump, and will change the conversation to anything else, or in the case of Johnson, try and stop justice altogether.

Eric Hilkert ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in finance.

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