NWA LETTERS

Newspaper’s cartoonist an “Arkansas treasure”

Political cartoonist John Deering is an Arkansas treasure. His cartoon, “Putin on the Ritz,” on the editorial page of the Democrat-Gazette Saturday, April 14, is a real work of art.

We’re lucky to have him.

JOE BENNETT

Harrison

Work at White House not turning out so good

Early in 2018, much to your surprise, you were offered a job at the White House to fill a vacancy. You realized that you were not especially qualified for the position, but were not about to turn down the job. You could hardly wait to tell your friends of your good fortune.

After moving into your new office you were ready to get to work; however, as time passed you waited for instructions as to what your job consisted of. You finally were briefed on your duties and attended some meetings. It wasn’t long before you began to have some reservations because it became clear that you were to make statements to the public that were misleading and/or untrue. You were especially worried about some comments made by the president’s top advisers (with the president attending the meeting).

Also, on a number of occasions you received mixed signals from the White House as to the government’s position on policy issues, which made it difficult to know what you should do without it appearing that you were out of the loop. You realized that any complaints by you about this situation would not be well received.

Despite these misgivings you continued in your job for quite some time. In keeping up with the news you were aware of ongoing investigations that involved the Trump White House and witnesses were being subpoenaed to testify and you began to consider resigning. Your ideas as to operations were summarily denied by your superiors, and it seemed like your job was merely a rubber stamp and yet could cause you considerable trouble if called as a witness. This was not what you imagined when you took the job. You wanted to be loyal to your employer, but felt it was necessary to first protect yourself.

You were also concerned that you would might need to employ an attorney to advise you, and this could put you in a financial bind. The fact that many White House employees had elected to resign or were fired added to your concerns about staying on. It reminded you of rats leaving a sinking ship. When your immediate superior asked you to destroy various documents and erase e-mails, this convinced you it was now time to run for cover.

When you gave notice of your resignation you were told that you were expected to abide by the terms of your employment contract, wherein you promised loyalty to the president and that you would not grant interviews without permission from the White House. Of course, you never read the 50-page contract, but would do your best to comply with its terms.

Now that you have been subpoenaed to testify before an investigatory body, you are confronted with the dilemma of either answering questions truthfully, which would reflect badly on the president; commit perjury; or plead the Fifth Amendment. You are hoping that your attorney can guide you through this nightmare.

BASS TRUMBO

Fayetteville

[email protected]

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