June 7    Today former FBI director James Comey began giving testimony to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Comey’s firing in May was an escalation in the Trump/Pence Regime’s drive to consolidate fascism. It was an overt attack on the supposed “independence of the FBI”, and shredded norms that were instituted after the corrupt Nixon presidency. It sent a message about how far Trump would go to demand complete, unquestioning loyalty from every branch of government, eroding any checks and balances to his authority.

Some Democrats are hoping Comey’s testimony will help build a case for Trump’s impeachment. Many who hate what Trump represents are hoping for definitive proof of Russian interference in U.S. elections as a road to ending this presidency. But the chances of impeachment are low, especially without massive public outpourings, and impeachment itself will not force Trump out or dismantle the fascist cabal that has been assembled around him, including the equally dangerous Christian fascist, Mike Pence.

Here are some things we do know.

These hearings will not address the proven crimes committed by the Trump/Pence regime and their base. No one on this committee will ask about the thousands of civilian deaths from U.S. bombings in the Middle East. No one will ask about the murders of Richard Collins III, Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, Ricky John Best, or Anthony Johnson by rabid Trump supporters. No one will ask about the consequences of ignoring climate change and ramping up carbon emissions in the interest of corporate profits. No one will ask about the deaths of women when their access to abortion, birth control, and affordable healthcare is eliminated. No one will ask about the risk of nuclear annihilation in Trump’s escalating threats against North Korea and Iran. No one will ask about the effect of renewed mandatory minimum sentences on our already genocidal incarceration rate. No one will ask for more oversight of police as they continue their war on Black and brown youth. None of these politicians will be trying to uncover the truths that are in the real interests of billions of people around the world.

Comey’s testimony is significant. We should be listening for what it reveals about the abuses of power in the White House, and our site will have further articles analyzing it. But we already know enough to declare this regime illegitimate. We can’t wait for the outcome of these hearings to rise together, in our millions, to drive them out.