Country needs investigation of Trump-Putin ties

Thanks in advance to the senators and representatives who can investigate the connection between the dangerous president, Donald Trump, and operatives of the Russian government. The Russians did what they could to rig the 2016 election, and now, evidence and fears are growing that they did so in collusion with Trump campaign officials and, possibly, with Trump himself.

I have never supported policies like those of Trump and conservative Republicans, but I put my faith in a common belief in the rule of law. I do not expect Trump to investigate himself, but, in the end, I trust members of the other branches, regardless of their politics.

My first job out of college was working for a professional association in downtown Washington, D.C., starting in 1972. I was there for all of Watergate, which was spellbinding. I remember early 1973 when, suddenly, all the Watergate burglars caved in and pleaded guilty. I refused to believe the cynical-sounding people at the office, who winked and said their government friends were telling them it was just the tip of the iceberg. Surely, I said, they weren’t suggesting that a president had bribed defendants to plead guilty. My candidate, Sen. George McGovern, D-S.D., had just been crushed in a landslide, and I despaired of “four more years,” but I wasn’t ready to believe that.

Soon, though, a new U.S. Senate Select Committee was chartered. In catching Richard Nixon, it proved me wrong. Nixon had indeed paid hush money, and that was indeed just a small part of the story. However, the committee restored my faith in the system at the same time.

Its chairman, Sen. Sam Ervin, D-N.C., was a Southern reactionary with whom I shared almost no common values, I thought; in today’s politics, he would probably be a Southern Republican. However, he knew the Constitution and believed in liberty and the rule of law. Soon, this old conservative threatened to have the Senate’s sergeantat-arms arrest Nixon officials if they refused to testify. His committee found the facts that brought Nixon to justice, including a major discovery of evidence — the secret tape recordings. I’m sorry I never had a chance to shake Sen. Ervin’s hand.

I don’t want to believe the worst signs any more than I did in 1973. However, Trump and his officials may have engaged, with the Russians, in treason, a heinous crime if committed by a private citizen and an impeachable offense, enumerated in the Constitution, if the offender is president of the United States.

The only way we will know is for Congress to conduct a bipartisan special investigation as suggested by Republican Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Please write your senators and representative and ask them, in this spirit, to support a Select Committee like Ervin’s. Like Ervin’s committee, they could save the Republic.

Tom Díaz is a former high-tech executive, school board member and public school history teacher. He moved from Massachusetts to Santa Fe in November 2015.