Wednesday from the Senate floor, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) called on his Republican colleagues to speak out against President Donald Trump’s threats to “democratic institutions,” adding, “if we say nothing then we’ve become accomplices with the destruction of these democratic norms.” Partial transcript as follows: In the annals of the presidents say the darnedest things, last week’s Twitter outbursts will stand out, at least for me. Because the president attacked the attorney general of the United States for simply doing the job that he swore an oath to do. Of course it wasn’t the first time the president has so diminished himself. But this particular slander was leveled at the attorney general for having the temerity to prosecute public corruption by members of Congress who also happen to belong in the president’s political party. That’s right, the president attacked Mr. Sessions by name for refusing to cover up allegations of Republican misconduct. The president’s concern was not for justice, but for the political fortunes of the accused, because their congressional seats might now be at risk of falling to Democrats. In doing this, the president is projecting a vision onto the system of American justice that is both bizarre and,