ArcaMax

Ignorance of the law is no excuse, according to an old legal principle. But could an exception be made for President Donald Trump?

That thought seemed to be percolating just beneath the surface of House Speaker Paul Ryan's backhanded defense of President Trump. As former FBI director James Comey accused the president of trying to shut down the FBI's investigation of Trump's former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, Ryan told reporters that the new president has, well, a lot to learn.

"The president's new at this," said the Wisconsin Republican in a news conference during Comey's testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee last week. "He's new to government, and so he probably wasn't steeped in the long-running protocols that establish the relationships between DOJ (Department of Justice), FBI and White Houses. He's just new to this."

Of course, he's new. That's was part of his appeal. For people who hate Washington without knowing much about it, Trump turned his ignorance of the place into an asset.

Remember, "ignorance" is not the same as stupidity. Ignorance is merely a lack of knowledge, capable of being remedied by information and education. Unfortunately, as Ryan hints, this new president's on-the-job training seems to have penetrated about as well as water off of an old duck's back.

One wonders, by the way, how Ryan and his fellow Grand Old Party leaders would be treating President Barack Obama if he had blundered into a position like Trump's. By now, I suspect they would be deep into drawing up impeachment papers. Trump, by contrast, receives the sort of special Washington-insider treatment that Trump used to campaign against.

Even so, cracks are beginning to appear in the GOP's iron wall of solitary behind their colorful president. Hints of discontent sometimes stand out in their remarks like eye-blinks in a hostage video.

"I'm not saying it's an acceptable excuse," Ryan said, after being reminded of the president's legal counsel and other information resources. "It's just my observation. He's new at government, and so therefore I think that he -- he is learning as he goes."

Indeed, "learning as he goes" is fine for a preschooler who is learning how to ride a bike. Presidencies don't come with training wheels.

Yet they do offer some assistance, as Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida reminded us with a new version of an old reliable legislative scandal buffer: When all else fails, blame your staff.

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