In what world would any head of state not be able to speak directly and privately with any other head of state?
A world where the president is an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal conspiracy to violate federal election laws. Because that same country he conspired with is actively seeking to influence the next election and the president refuses to do anything about it, simply because the interference is likely to benefit him. That is unprecedented and should make your blood boil.
Please, if you only respond to one thing, but beg you to answer this question :
Why are you always excusing this stuff? You are a former military officer who defends a four time draft dodger that openly ridicules those who have made such great sacrifices? I'm no fan of the military but I certainly understand respect for those who served. And you are a lawyer who constantly defends a president who doesn't just openly defy the constitution, he can't even sit still long enough for someone to read it to him? I just don't get it.
That aside, you and I both know that relations between these two countries must be managed through a system of diplomacy. These systems have been in place for hundreds of years for a reason. Just like the Chief Technical Officer at my work can't just go on and update the website with any old code he wants. He would wreck a complicated system and pose a serious threat to the security of the company. It doesn't matter that he's CTO.
Also, there has been multiple direct lines since JFK. All they were doing was updating the tech.
You and I must be talking about different attempts to set up secret communication with Russia, because this is criminal behaviour, not "up dating tech"
"Kushner and Flynn secretly met with Kislyak in Trump Tower on December 1, 2016. Last spring the Washington Post reported that Kushner proposed using Russian diplomatic facilities in the U.S. to establish a back channel for communication between the Trump transition and the Russian government. U.S. intelligence intercepted Kislyak describing the request to his superiors."
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/03/the-push-for-a-trump-russia-back-channel-what-we-know.html
Considering that Flynn has plead guilty already to lying to the FBI about this, you can be sure this was not an innocent conversation they wanted to have.
I'm a bit disappointed by your argument that just because he's president, he can do anything he likes without any dissent because "respect for the office". That's plain silly, speaking out and disagreeing with those in power is what makes America great. I'm a bit surprised that I have to tell a lawyer that. That's the reason why I was proudly marching at the front of the line during last summer's protest march.
That's argument is even funnier when you hear Republicans saying it, especially to anyone paying attention during the Obama Presidency. The difference is that the criticism of Obama was mostly based on silly conspiracy theories (he's a Muslim born in Kenya) rather than the legitimate matters of today (most of the people around him have plead guilty to multiple felonies and he's violated the constitution in many ways.
