Somebody Needs to Remind Trump That He's the Head of a Democratic Country

By Dan Rather, Dan Rather's Facebook Page

19 July 17

r. Putin is not the head of a democracy. But Mr. Trump certainly is. Somebody better remind him of that and fast, and the rest of his family as well.

Secret meetings with the Russians? Forgotten meetings with the Russians? What the heck is going on?

The cloud of suspicion is thicker than my late-grandmother's Texas chili. We grant a presumption of innocence in our court system, but a prosecutor with a case is allowed to pursue it. And we have a case here. We have a special council looking into it, but we also have a press, the Congress and all the others who need to be keeping this in check.

Presidents should be able to have backchannel communications. It is not the public's right to know everything. But this is a direct communication with an adversary who has tried to undermine our democracy. This is a foreign power that has many suspicious ties to the President, his family and his closest aides.

What is President Trump talking to Mr. Putin about? What secret deals or promises were made? What are he and his closest confidents trying to hide?

It's high time we started getting some satisfactory answers. This is not about politics. It's about the sanctity of our democratic institutions.

The Presidency of the United States is a great responsibility. But in that responsibility is a need for accountability. Putin does not have a transparent government. We do, or at least are supposed to have one.