Letter to the Editor: Wyoming officials are stepping on their oath – silence is complicity

To the Editor,

Wyoming has always prided itself on independence, integrity and elected officials who honor their oath to the Constitution. Yet recent national developments make it clear that our state’s Republican leadership is not living up to those values. Their silence in the face of serious ethical concerns is not just failing their oath; they are stepping on the very Constitution they swore to defend.

One of the clearest examples came this week when Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, publicly stated that he would not be independent of Trump. That is stunning admission. Any attorney representing a president or former president must uphold the Constitution and serve the law – not pledge personal loyalty to one man. Blanche’s statement is a direct rejection of the principle that no leader is above the law. It exposes, in plain language, the corruption and loyalty tests that define this administration. And yet Wyoming’s elected officials say nothing.

Federal regulators recently approved a trust bank charter for World Liberty, a crypto-focused venture in which Donald Trump and his family hold major financial stakes. A Trump linked entity owns roughly 38 percent of the holding company, and Trump reported nearly $600 million in income from the venture last year. Critics, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have called this an unprecedented conflict of interest and proposed legislation to prevent presidents from owning federally chartered banks. Wyoming’s elected officials should be speaking out. Instead, they look away.

The same pattern appears in Trump’s late-night tirade over his blocked $400 million ballroom project. After courts halted construction, he attacked preservationists as “treasonists” and made false claims about national security. Wyoming leaders often talk about respecting the rule of law – yet they have nothing to say when their own party undermines it.

Six months into the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has declared that Trump must “accept the reality of defeat.” Only two vessels passed through the strait on Friday, compared to more than 130 per day before the war. Even Vice President JD Vance admitted that keeping gas prices low was the administration’s “goal number one,” a tacit acknowledgment that the war has failed. Wyoming families are paying those costs, but our leaders refuse to acknowledge the consequences.

It’s time for Wyoming’s elected officials to stop pretending they don’t see what’s happening. They must denounce loyalty pledges, demand investigations into conflicts of interest and reaffirm that their oath is to the Constitution alone. If they refuse to act, voters should remember that silence is a choice – and a violation of the oath they swore.

Vicente Garcia 

Lovell