The country is headed towards another of those pivotal moments when we see that history is being made. The President is in the middle of what will likely become the overarching comment on his administration – his impending impeachment. His behavior as President, and the actions taken on his behalf are likely to leave a stain on his name and add an asterisk to his entry in the history books as the fourth President to be realistically faced with impeachment, possibly only the third to have been impeached and potentially the only one to ever have been removed.
It is obvious to all observers that the impeachment – the allegation of behavior which would warrant his removal from office – is a foregone conclusion at this point. That is of course the first step, followed by a trial in the Senate – which given the current nose count of Republicans, Democrats and Independents pretty much means it is dead on arrival.
Which means the bar for acceptable behavior has been lowered again.
Who do we get to thank all of this for?
Roy M. Cohn, former aide to Senator Joseph McCarthy and bad boy attorney extraordinaire.
Cohn was the only child of a judge and an overly doting mother who gave free rein to Cohn’s Ego, Id and unquenchable thirst for power and influence. He was the ultimate string puller according to the documentary “Where’s My Roy Cohn” currently playing at the Laemmle Monica.
The documentary is an illuminating examination of a corrupting influence and an excoriating example of malevolent strategy. Cohn is pretty much called out as the force behind the plot to sacrifice the Rosenbergs in the 50s as examples of Communist influence and stealth. The movie stops just shy of saying that Cohn set them up as sacrificial lambs, allowing us to infer on our own that it was a conspiracy between Cohn and the judge (both Jewish) to prove how objective they were.
Cohn carved out a career as an aggressive, hardnosed attorney who burnished his reputation with ever more abusive tactics. Then along came a young developer who shared his thirst for fame, glory and power, and also lacked the same sense of civility – one Donald J. Trump.
The pairing of Trump and Cohn was a match made in heaven (or hell) but in any case they were birds of a feather and Trump learned the lessons of Cohn’s ways to manipulate the media, attack his enemies and never give an inch. The documentary leaves much of the Trump training to the very end, which allows us to see exactly how corrupt Cohn was before he took on his, arguably, best and most famous client.
In a weird twist of humanity, Trump’s current top attack dog, Santa Monica native Steven Miller has a scarily similar look and attitude to Cohn. Both demonstrate a pugnaciousness that is exceeded only by their rather obvious self-hatred. Cohn for his internalized homophobia and anti-Semitism, and for Miller in my opinion he is still wrestling with inner demons, probably anti-Semitism and self-worth, but as I’m a divorce lawyer not a psychologist I can only opine from my arm chair.
Cohn’s life of infamy and abuse was repaid in the end with a horrible, lonely death as his “friends” abandoned him in droves and his death from AIDS at a time when that was extremely shameful. They say Karma is a B*7ch – he certainly proves that.
One only wonders what Mr. Miller will reap.
The movie “Where’s My Roy Cohn?” is an excellent documentary and I suggest that you see it if you have a chance. I’m not sure we could find a better looking glass than this as a window into the soul and psyche of the current President.
