Republican members of Trump's cult 'are eager to crown him a monarch and we should be scared stiff': conservative columnist

In a piece published at the Washington Post this Wednesday, columnist Jennifer Rubin contends that Trump defense team member Alan Dershowitz's argument that Trump "can act corruptly in foreign policy if he thinks it is good for the country that he be reelected" is nothing less than an argument that makes Trump "an absolute monarch and reads the impeachment power out of the Constitution."

"It was a telling moment that summed up what is at stake here," Rubin writes. "Republicans are asked to buy into the proposition that abuse of power is acceptable, even to rig an election or to betray our national security interests. Republican members of the cult — including most Republican senators — are eager to crown Trump an absolute monarch; the rest of us should be scared stiff."

Rubin goes on to write that Trump's attempts to block John Bolton from testifying at his impeachment trial by declaring that his upcoming book contains classified information is "a transparent and heavy-handed attempt to smash Bolton’s First Amendment rights and to once again obstruct Congress."

"It is almost impossible to believe that a seasoned professional and respected lawyer such as Bolton would include such material in a book," writes Rubin. "He, of course, can choose to disregard this ham-handed attempt at prior restraint and show up anyway, as he said he would. This is merely the latest in what has been a desperate scramble to prevent evidence, which inevitably will come out through leaks or books or testimony (in the House, if need be) that would make Trump look even more guilty than he already does."

Read her full piece over at The Washington Post.