Dear President Trump,

I’ve probably raised this issue with you in past letters (I don’t feel like checking), but it’s kind of like a sore, wobbly tooth that my tongue can’t leave alone so I’m returning to the question of how it is that your son, Donald Jr., could make such a clear attempt at colluding with people from Russia to get dirt on your opponent and not be charged with anything regardless of whether there was actual dirt. There is an email from him saying “if it’s what you say I love it!” and you all acknowledge that the meeting took place and that it wasn’t about adopting Russian children. I still don’t get why this didn’t blow you and your administration out of the water when it first came to light. What gives?

Surely even you can see why I’m confused about Don Jr. et al. getting a pass because Natalia Veselnitskaya didn’t come through with the promised dirt, right? In all the reporting of this sordid meeting there has never once been an indication that anyone from your camp said to themselves or anyone else something along the lines of “hey, wait a minute – this seems like it’s veering into ethically questionable territory, maybe we should pull back” or even “hey, wait a minute – I want dirt to prop the old man up as much as any of you, but we could get in a boatload of trouble if it ever comes to light how we got the information, maybe we should pull back.” Nope. There was neither an ethical/moral reckoning nor a rule-governed, this could get us in trouble, realization, so why in the world should the system go easy on Don Jr. or the rest of the clowns in that meeting (and really, ultimately on you as the candidate in charge and as the person who made up the adoption story)?

I do see the need to uncover the depth and breadth of your all’s involvement with Russia and Russia’s influence on the 2016 election, but why couldn’t we have first dealt with the implications of this one rotten meeting and gotten you out of office right away? Surely if something like this had come to light in the context of a Clinton win, she would have been completely hosed and out on her ass in under a minute. So is it that you and Vladimir have the GOP in your shared pocket? Did you pay people off? Really, what gives?

May we be safe from ruthless shysters.
May we be happy to efficiently call out treasonous behavior.
May we somehow establish a healthy democracy out of the ashes of this disaster.
May we not glide by or make peace with politicians who even attempt evil.

Sincerely,
Tracy Simpson