In Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part 1,” the Welsh rebel leader Owen Glendower boasts a magical power.
“I can call spirits from the vasty deep.”
To which Sir Henry “Hotspur” Percy replies, “Why, so can I, or so can any man. But will they come when you do call for them?”
Utah Sen. John Curtis has called upon his fellow senators to have a serious look at the apparently corrupt conduct of the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., in accepting an elaborate wedding reception from a Russian oligarch. He also wants the Senate Judiciary Committee to look into any improper foreign deals made by Hunter Biden.
“A toaster is a wedding gift,” Curtis said on social media. “A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else. Republicans nearly wore out the subpoena machine investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign relationships. We should not unplug it now.”
Trump Jr., we are told, has since repaid the tab for that celebration, though we have no idea what secrets may have been disclosed or compromising information developed.
Calling for an investigation by a committee of which Curtis is not a member may have as much practical effect as summoning demons from the oceans. It will take a lot more than a sternly worded letter to cause a largely supine Senate to finally take on its constitutional role of overseeing the executive branch.
Still, the fact that any Republican member of Congress has worked up the courage to challenge the administration is notable.
Curtis also found fault, rightly, with the administration’s recent move to import beef from other nations in an effort to lower supermarket prices in the U.S., even though it would hurt cattlemen in Utah and the rest of America.
And Curtis was joined by Utah Rep. Blake Moore in criticizing the president’s move to revoke the White House press credentials of CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
“I don’t think you’d see restricting the press in any handbooks on leading the free world,” KSL quoted Curtis as saying.
Moore and Curtis have not done enough to actually get the corrupt and secretive administration to change course in any way.
But one and a half cheers to each of them for having the fortitude to at least say something critical of the bunch in the White House — even as the rest of the state’s congressional delegation supports the president or lays low.
Curtis and Moore deserve to hear from their constituents that they appreciate what they have said so far, and that we expect them to say, and do, a lot more.
Editorials represent the opinions of The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, which operates independently from the newsroom.