Letters to the Editor: Obama isn’t enough. All former leaders need to campaign against Trump

To the editor: We are well past that point at which it’s enough for an ex-president like Barack Obama to speak out against President Trump. Many more former leaders of our country should issue a joint statement to the world -- more like an apology -- for letting our very stable genius flourish. (“Welcome back, Barack. What took you so long?” column, May 13)

I propose that a letter by the following leaders from both parties be issued: all living ex-presidents and ex-vice presidents, former leaders in the House and Senate, retired judges, former military and intelligence agency leaders, ex-Cabinet secretaries and people who served in federal agencies and on commissions.

They should tell the world that this is not who we are, and the American people that this is not business as usual.

Marc Scott, Pacific Palisades

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To the editor: We see yet another instance of the Trump administration making up conspiracy theories and lying to the American public to distract attention from its failure to prepare for a pandemic.

Now, the cries are “Obamagate” and “unmasking.” Surely, some of the Trump cultists will believe what is being spread while failing to understand “unmasking” is common.

As former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell noted, “unmasking is common -- literally hundreds of times a year across multiple administrations.” And, as journalist Andrea Mitchell tweeted, “10 thousand unmasking last year, 17 thousand in 2018. Necessary and routine. Can people please stop trying to gaslight us?”

We should not allow ourselves to be played by the Trump administration’s lies and propaganda.

Scott Plante, Los Angeles

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To the editor: I understand that lying to the FBI, to which former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has pleaded guilty, is not legal.

With that said, how were Flynn’s actions any different than those of retire Marine Gen. James Cartwright, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during a leak investigation but was given a full pardon by Obama in 2017?

Bob Curran, Hollywood