Cold-Blooded Blackmail

When Donald Trump engages in bad behavior, often it's to hide something much more sinister that he's done. After his vile Twitter tantrum on Thursday, many people wondered if it was an attempt to divert attention from something else.

Yesterday we got that answer. It was.

A number of media outlets yesterday reported the shocking story that Trump's staff members had earlier tried to extort apologies out of television personalities Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski for coverage the White House did not like (details here). The threat was blunt: go public with an apology or we'll sick The National Enquirer on you so that they publish an unflattering story about the TV hosts.

For many years, The National Enquirer has published highly flattering articles about Trump, likely because its publisher is a close friend of the President (details here).

Later yesterday, New York magazine broke further details about the erupting scandal (link here) with the revelation that Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, was the point man on the blackmail attempt, delivered by text message.

This sordid incident is telling for a variety of reasons. It once again demonstrates how Trump will stoop to Nixonian revenge tactics to bully people into doing what he wants.

It also demonstrates his extreme pettiness when he becomes consumed by score-settling and personal grudges. And it further illustrates how Trump wastes much of his day watching television instead of actually acting like a President.

The Washington Post's conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin -- a lawyer who graduated first in her class from one of the nation's top law schools -- also weighed in yesterday (link here) by asking "Does Robert Mueller need to pay Mika and Joe a visit?" She then lays out the case that Trump and his people may have violated criminal statutes that prohibit blackmail and extortion.

Yet again, Trump is proving to be his own worst enemy. He takes a bad situation and makes it worse for himself. By attempting to silence two TV personalities, some of Trump's staff may end up facing criminal charges, a much more serious problem than whatever Mika and Joe may have said on their program.

Trump seems determined to help the executioners build his own scaffold.