Last week President Trump joked about this year’s White House turkeys, Bread & Butter, being subpoenaed by Adam Schiff’s Intelligence Committee after the president pardoned them in an annual White House tradition.

Yet as much as the president wants to change the subject, some serious questions were raised.

To wit, was there a quid pro quo between the president and the turkeys? Perhaps the turkeys gave the names of other turkeys that are tastier in exchange for their commutation.

President Trump tried to joke away yet another scandal that while the majority of American people may not spot, the Democrats certainly will

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And was any of the grain that the turkeys ate imported from Russia, which would show yet another interference into American politics by Vladimir Putin?

Maybe the president wanted to gain some good publicity as he goes into his re-election campaign. Did the turkeys, through their pardons, provide value to his campaign that exceeded federal campaign limits?

And what was the gender of the turkeys? We know Trump has a soft spot for females? Did that affect his decision?

Also, little is spoken of the farm the turkeys came from. Did the president have a financial interest, direct or indirect, in the farm? A foreign farm could bring up issues with the emoluments clause of the constitution.

Most importantly, has Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, had a turkey sandwich he didn’t like within the past year? Such could show an undue influence by Giuliani on the administration’s policies.

As Chairman Schiff has quoted Ben Franklin, we “have a republic if [we] can keep it,” we should never forget that the republic cannot be preserved if  pardons of turkeys are made by self-interested presidents, whether Republican or Democrat.

Depending upon how this scandal unfolds, Mr. Trump may be able to show that Bread & Butter are not the only turkeys in Washington, D.C.

-I.M. Windee