Dear Mr. Trump:

You’re enthralled by the power to pardon. No one can stop you from pardoning anyone convicted, or who might yet be convicted, of a federal crime. You’ve used it to pardon people you like and people who support your anti-immigrant policies, regardless of what they’ve done. You’ve talked about pardoning people who felt, as you do, that they should turn their political power into personal or that they can cheat small investors with impunity.

So why not practice using those pardon powers a bit more before pardoning the people you really want to pardon, the people ready to testify how you colluded with the Russians?

Here are some ideas, Sir:

Pardon John Wilkes Booth: send another clear signal to your KKK and Tea Party friends and remind them of how great you feel America was under slavery.

Pardon Al Capone: another gangster.

Pardon Timothy McVeigh: he, too, tried to tear down the federal government.

Remember though, Sir, that no matter how many people you pardon for federal crimes, you can’t stop them from telling the whole story about you as they are prosecuted for state crimes.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger

Dear Mr. Trump:

You get such a kick out of appealing to your supporters’ most vile instincts.

To wit, after being criticized for saying that MS-13 immigrants were “animals,” you now relish in repeating the term, again and again, as an epithet for the all the refugee children now being separated from their parents by your Immigration police. Hurray brave Trump, who makes war on children! Hurray brave Trump, who sees children as threats to America!

By calling these children “animals,” you echo the words of your hero, Adolf Hitler, who said that Jews were vermin. It’s just another way of saying that people aren’t human beings, that they don’t have the right to live, and they don’t have the right to security. It’s just another way of telling your supporters that it’s okay for them to fear, to hate, to demean, and to kill. It’s just another way to encourage mob mentality, the goal of which is to snuff out life. When Jews were considered “vermin,” the next, easy step was the concentration camp, and from there only another small step to the gas chambers.

Now, Sir, where are these children that you’re taking from their parents? HHS holding cells. Waiting for you to give the next order.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger

Dear Mr. Trump,

I don’t know what good would have come of the summit with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, but your abrupt cancellation of the meeting strikes me as emotional, as opposed to rational, behavior.

If a world leader cancels a meeting because his counterpart in another country says something unwelcome or inappropriate, all world leaders would cancel their meetings with you immediately. You seem to think that you’re that only one who can be threatening or malicious in his speech – everyone has to grin and bear it – but if some other world leader says something you don’t like, then you pick up your football and go home. That’s about it, Sir; you seem never to have left the mentality of the playground and the children who fight in it.

By threatening Kim with our “massive and powerful” nuclear forces, you once again seem determined to provoke North Korea to attack us first. You’d love that, Sir, wouldn’t you? It would give you the excuse to play with the nuclear toys that you determined to use.

More generally, Sir, it’s quite clear that you have no coherent foreign policy. No world leader in his right mind would ever agree to anything with you, because you’ve disavowed our country’s prior agreements. You’ve made it clear that international agreements mean nothing to you. How could you ever hope to negotiate anything again on behalf of the United States when you’ve proven over and over that our promises, and agreements mean zilch?

There’s only one thing reasonable Americans can do: throw you and your supporters out of office at the ballot box.  If our country survives that long, that is …

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger

Dear Mr. Trump,

You’ll please forgive me for not writing to you during the past two weeks, as I dealt with a family death. The theme of death – saying goodbye to someone or someone we love — now impels me to write to you about the deaths that you are championing: the death of our democratic society, the death of the rule of law, the death of civility.

Our democracy, if it is not to be led to the gas chamber, requires a president who values democracy as his primary objective; it dies with a president who loves himself more than anything else, who values only power and wealth, who could care less for our historic, but fragile, institutions.

The rule of law, if it is not to be led to the gallows, requires a president who doesn’t denigrate judges who hand down decisions that don’t go his way, who doesn’t obstruct justice and try to curtail investigations about foreign interference in our elections. The rule of law dies with a president like you, Sir, who believes he is the law.

Civility, if it is not to be led to before the firing squad, requires a president who sets a good example of honorable behavior, not a narcissist who makes fun of people with physical handicaps and pushes other foreign leaders out of the way so he can get to the front of a line, not someone like you, Sir, who refers to refugees as “animals.”

The gas canisters are ready to be dropped in, the hangman’s trap door is ready to be sprung, the executioners’ rifles squad are loaded and aimed, and the only thing that will stop them is Americans who care about democracy, the rule of law, and civility rising up in great ranks to vote you and your apologists out of office.

So may it be God’s will.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger

Dear Mr. Trump:

Finally, we see how it worked, thanks to Stormy Daniels’s lawyer.

Mr. Putin, your puppet master, has his friends, the Russian oligarchs, send to your lawyer, Mr. Cohen, $500,000. Call it a “retainer” or “consulting services.” Yeah.

Mr. Cohen, with this slush fund, settles your tawdry “business” problems; in other words, he pays off Stormy Daniels and God-knows-how-many-others.

In “consultation,” Mr. Cohen gets the word of what Mr. Putin wants you to do and whispers it in your ear. Here are the instructions, today, Mr. President, I can hear him saying.

For sure, we all know that Mr. Cohen continued to have contacts with the White House.

The system provides you with the maximum deniability, Sir. Except that you’ve forgotten one thing: no attorney-client privilege exists when the conversation is in furtherance of a crime.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger

Dear Mr. Trump,

I’m sure you’re hearing all kinds of advice from your lawyers these days, as well as advice from your despicable supporters in Congress, about whether you should talk to Mr. Mueller.

What’s clear is that there’s no way you can talk yourself out of trouble. You can only bring more trouble on yourself by opening your mouth to the investigators. You are bound to lie, because that’s your personality and character and you don’t know any other way to speak. You’re also bound to tie knots around yourself, tightening the handcuffs, so to speak, because you don’t understand what obstruction of justice means, nor do you understand what is meant by cooperating with the Russians to interfere with our free elections. There are concepts that are meaningless to you, as someone who has always flouted the law.

You have nothing to gain, Sir, by forcing Mr. Mueller to subpoena you and then fighting the subpoena. First, you’ll lose, because the precedent is clear. Presidents are not above the law and can be subpoenaed. Second, you’ll needlessly prolong Mr. Mueller’s investigation. He has the goods on you already. So many of your colleagues and advisors have already pled guilty. It’s better for the country to let Mr. Mueller proceed now.

Therefore, Sir, with all respect, I urge you to announce immediately that you will refusing to testify, in reliance upon your Fifth Amendment rights. Exercise your constitutional right not to incriminate yourself. Tell Mr. Mueller that’s your final position, Sir.

Oh. Those 49 questions? There’s no way Mr. Mueller’s team released them. Why would they? The leak had to be a calculated move by your own legal team, whose intent was to make you so angry you’d clam up. They want you to plead the Fifth, too.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger

Dear Mr. Trump,

I read with amazement and hilarity that you claimed an A+ rating for your presidency. If I were grading you, F would still be too generous. But since F is the lowest grade I’m aware of, I’ll stick with F.

Sir, you deserve F:

F for failure in service to humanity.

F for failure in service to diversity.

F for failure in service to the English language.

F for failure in service to preserving livable conditions on Earth.

F for failure in service to honesty.

F for failure in service to leadership.

F for failure in service to government.

F for failure in service to the middle class.

Now, please call Fox News and give them a more accurate self-assessment.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger

Dear Mr. Trump,

You couldn’t resist telling James Comey that you had been advised by Vladimir Putin that Russia has “the most beautiful hookers in the world”?

Here’s what we have learned, based upon this revelations.

1. That Putin anticipated that you had a keen interested in hookers. If not, why would such an important foreign leader have made that comment to you?

2. That Putin was prepared to show you what he’d promised. If not, again, why would he have made such a comment?

3. That you were proud of the fact that Putin singled you out – in your mind – for a “discussion” of “beautiful hookers.”

4. Your pride in what Putin said to you confirms the validity of Putin’s estimation of your personality and character.

So what was in that private letter that Putin sent to you? Copies of videos, not only of hookers, but of you?

Would you please disclose the contents of that letter to the American public? Or is that “under audit” too, like your tax returns?

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger

Dear Mr. Trump,

I see you’re getting pretty liberal – sorry, but that’s the correct word – with handing out those pardons. Now you’ve pardoned Scooter Libby. All he did was get convicted for obstructing justice. Apparently, you don’t think obstructing justice is a big deal, not even a crime, if it’s done by a Republican. Before, you pardoned the racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Apparently, you don’t think violating federal court orders is a big deal, not if it’s done by one of your pals in service of your candidacy.

If you let off these Republican crooks, what’s going to stop you from letting off all the Republicans who have decided to cooperate with the independent investigation of Russia’s sabotage of our election system? It’s clear what message you’re trying to send, but I advise you strongly, Sir, not to pardon any of them.

Here’s why: Your pardoning of people like Gen. Flynn will only cause the wrath of impeachment proceedings to fall upon your head sooner rather than later. His testimony is in the can already, as is the testimony of the others who aided you in collusion with Russia. I mean that these Republicans who’ve cooperated with the special counsel cannot “un-cooperate.” If they do, they’ll be lying to the FBI again and lying to future grand juries, putting themselves immediately under greater criminal jeopardy, lengthening the prison sentences that they would otherwise serve. You cannot pardon your way out of your troubles. You cannot pardon these individuals for crimes they will commit in the future.

Perhaps you should beg pardon, Sir, not give it. Beg pardon from the women you’ve assaulted and called liars. Beg pardon from the Syrian children you’ve denied a haven in this country. Beg pardon from the victims of the Holocaust, whom you insult every day by virtue of your fondness for American Nazis. Beg pardon from the environment, which you are aiming to destroy. Beg pardon from the tens of thousands of Americans you are going to put out of work by starting foolish trade wars.

Beg pardon, Sir, as you are the one who needs it more than anyone.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger

Dear Mr. Trump:

One of your favorite disparaging remarks is “witch hunt.” According to you, any investigation of your campaign’s collusion with the Russian government and your pal, Putin, is a “witch hunt.” According to you, any investigation of your attorney Michael Cohen’s possible violation of United States election law, on your behalf, is a “witch hunt.”

Frankly, Sir, you are overusing the term, possibly because of your limited vocabulary. It’s understandable. With all the golf you need to play, with all the people you need to fire, with all the television you need to watch, with all the women you need to pay off for their silence, with all the Nazis you need to praise, how could possibly have time to learn a few new ways of saying the same thing?

Here are some new ways for you to describe what’s going on:

The Mueller investigation of your collusion with Russia: “A non-partisan review, led by a stalwart and greatly-respected Republican, of the criminal acts of your closest confidants, who cheated our system of free elections, laundered money, lied to the FBI, among other things, leading directly to you, Sir.”

The investigation of Cohen:  “A search warrant properly obtained by the United States Attorney of the Southern District of New York (your appointee), and approved by a federal district court judge, relating to allegations that Cohen may have committed bank and tax fraud.” (Since when is it a witch hunt to investigate bank and tax fraud?)

You see, Sir, just a few more words and you can greatly expand your vocabulary. And, also, speak the truth for a change.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger