Dear President Trump,

The line “Oh! what a tangled web we weave \ When first we practise to deceive!” just popped into my head. It’s from a poem by Sir Walter Scott named “Marmion” (a fictious English Lord) and it’s about adultery and efforts to cover it up. One of Marmion’s mistresses was to be punished by being sealed in a wall in the dungeon and apparently Marmion has a twinge of regret about betraying the woman, but does nothing to stop her horrible execution even as he’s already ogling someone else’s wife.

I think you know something of tangled webs made out of strands of deceit. You’ve shown us every day of your presidency that you have a very tenuous relationship with the truth. Until today I thought you were just a pathological liar, but I’m beginning to wonder if it isn’t more than that. I’m wondering whether you’ve been engaging in this over-the-top lying to inure your base to it (as in “I don’t care if he’s lying) and to keep things confusing and confused (as in you and your mouth pieces claiming alternative facts and that mainstream journalists are “enemies of the people”) so that when the shoe dropped on Russia and your involvement, you would still be able to count on your base standing behind you. Spelled out super basically the plan would have been – lie, lie, lie, lie (etc.) so that when the time comes and you need to LIE, LIE, LIE, LIE (ETC.), part of your base wouldn’t care that you are telling more lies and the other part would just go along with you and believe you over the enemies of the people.

This all would have taken serious forethought so I may be off, but you seem insanely well positioned to ride out the Karen McDougal tape and Michael Cohen’s statement that he directly witnessed you approving the Hillary-Dirt-Gathering meeting with Natalia V. Hopefully Mr. Mueller has enough additional information to take you down, but we need it to come out quickly. You have two aces shoved up your sleeve in your President-Protector of a Supreme Court nominee and your rabid Republican base. We need all your lies and machinations revealed before it’s too late and you’ve made your defenses impenetrable with Kavanaugh on the bench and/or the GOP still in power in Congress.

May we be safe from scheming liars in Oval Offices.
May we be happy to work our butts off to shift the balance of power in Congress.
May we stay strong and keep calling out the lies.
May you not resort to starting a war to slither out of the mess you’ve made.

Sincerely,
Tracy Simpson