Reactions to the Mueller Report Did Not Surprise Anyone
Political reaction to Robert Mueller’s report concerning Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election is about what one would expect. Republicans have rightly declared that the report vindicates President Trump of treason because he did not collude with Russia to win the election. Leftist Democrats and progressive media pundits are now calling for Trump’s impeachment while accusing Attorney General William Barr of covering up the President’s obstruction of justice. However, did President Trump really obstruct justice, or are Democrats simply trying to deflect our attention away from the upcoming Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) report into FISA Court abuse?
The Steele Dossier Was a Scam from the Very Beginning
The Russian collusion saga began in earnest only after Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination. In the aftermath, the Hillary Clinton campaign, in partnership with the Democratic National Committee, contracted with Fusion GPS to conduct targeted opposition research concerning Trump’s ties to Russia. Fusion GPS then hired Christopher Steele, the former head of the Russia Desk for British Intelligence, as a subcontractor to complete what became known as the “Trump dossier.”
During his intelligence gathering, Steele made no effort to travel to Russia to obtain new information on Trump from clandestine sources. Instead, he used official sources he had already established within the Russian government, sources that are now widely seen as discredited. Therefore, it is highly likely that Steele was simply receiving party-line propaganda from his Russian contacts and using the dossier to feed that propaganda to the Clinton Campaign and DNC. That’s why even the New York Times now reports that the most sensational claims against Trump in the dossier appear to be false.
“Deep State” Operatives May Have Mis-Used the Steele Dossier
Media reports about the existence of the Steele dossier began to surface in January 2017. Court documents have revealed that Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele participated in a campaign to distribute copies of the dossier to media outlets, lawmakers and other government officials, presumably to undermine the Trump campaign. Washington is now waiting on the results of DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s year-long investigation into how the Steele dossier was used by officials at the FBI and DOJ to secure FISA warrants, thereby allowing them to spy on Trump operatives. Such abuse of the FISA Court by the FBI should surprise no one, for there was precedent. The Chief Judge of the FISA Court had already ruled that the FBI violated FISA Court minimization rules for intelligence gathering. These violations occurred over several years when the FBI gave private contractors access to personal information on American citizens collected by the National Security Agency (NSA), access they retained after their contract with the FBI ended. When NSA Director Admiral Michael Rogers learned of the violations in March 2016, he immediately reported them to the FISA Court and DOJ, and then began his own internal investigation concerning compliance with FISA Court rules.
With Trump Cleared of Treason, Democrats Need Something Else to Win in 2020
The Mueller Report has cleared President Trump of treason. However, Democrats have invested too much political capital in claims of Russian collusion to simply move on. For example, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) now claims the Mueller Report contains plenty of evidence to suggest possible obstruction of justice by President Trump. Therefore, says Nadler, he cannot rule out impeachment. Likewise, House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Elijah Cummings (D-MD) has stated that while he has not endorsed impeachment yet, he believes the Mueller Report provides a “roadmap” for proceeding with further Congressional investigation. Even Hillary Clinton has decided to jump onto the obstruction bandwagon by claiming “any other person who had engaged in those acts would certainly have been indicted.” With progressive Democrats driving their party sharply to the socialist left, establishment Democrats like Nadler and Cummings are seeking to appease their political base by keeping the Trump investigation alive. The Mueller Report provided them with the ammunition they needed. The Report identifies 10 instances when Trump’s actions might be considered an attempt to obstruct Mueller’s investigation.
The Firing of James Comey Was a Bi-Partisan Objective, Not Obstruction
According to the Mueller Report, there were five instances of possible obstruction related to Trump’s interaction with FBI Director James Comey, including his eventual firing in May 2017. Comey’s tenure at the FBI and his professional ethics were subject to bi-partisan condemnation up until his firing. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speak Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) both had already expressed a loss of confidence in Mr. Comey’s leadership, implying that he should be fired for his mishandling of the Hillary Clinton email scandal. Of course, their positions changed radically after Mr. Trump fired Comey. Up until that time, Comey repeatedly told Trump he was not the subject of the Russian investigation. Therefore, there was no reason to assume a conflict of interest existed concerning his firing. However, Democrats continue to try and tie Comey’s firing to what they say were Trump’s attempts to obstruct the Mueller investigation. But even after Comey was fired, the Mueller investigation went on unabated.
Mueller Could Not Find Sufficient Evidence of Obstruction
The Mueller Report identified five other instances where Trump publicly attacked the Russia investigation or attempted to exert control over it, thereby suggesting obstruction. However, to charge Trump with obstruction of justice requires that we understand the intent behind his actions. Mueller’s report states on page 7 of volume II that “the absence of that evidence [of obstruction] affects the analysis of the President’s intent and requires consideration of other possible motives for his conduct.” Other motives included Trump’s belief that Mueller’s investigation was a “witch-hunt” because he already knew his campaign did not collude with the Russians. Therefore, he was justified in pointing out that the investigation was politically motivated and an attempt by Democrats to undermine his Presidency.
The Real Russia Investigation Starts with the New Inspector General’s Report
According to William Barr, DOJ Inspector General (IG) Michael Horowitz’s investigation into FISA Court abuse is expected to be completed in the May-June 2019 timeframe. This IG report should shed light on several important questions that have yet to be fully answered, thereby leading Attorney General Barr to consider further investigation and possible indictments. These questions include: (1) who within the DOJ withheld information from the FISA Court about the Clinton Campaign/DNC funding of the Steele dossier; (2) what was their motivation for withholding this information; (3) what role did the CIA play in attempting to legitimize the Steele dossier; (4) what motivated those behind the dossier to create and promote it; and most importantly (5) how did the narrative concerning Trump’s collusion with Russia begin in the first place.
Can Democrats Impeach Trump for His Response to a Fake Dossier They Helped Create?
The findings of the Mueller Report will pale in comparison to what we learn when the IG Report on FISA Court abuse is finally released. This Report will not reflect well on the Obama Administration, the Clinton Campaign, or their deep state sympathizers at the FBI, DOJ and possibly the CIA. That’s the real reason Democrats in Congress are now engaged in the politics of distraction concerning the Mueller Report and its implications of obstruction by President Trump.
If I were a Democrat heading into the 2020 Presidential Race and my best case against Donald Trump was to assert weak accusations involving thought crimes that my own party enabled with a fake dossier, I would be very worried. For the rest of us, this whole episode will likely go down in history as one of the great examples of how the progressive Left will use the noble lie to achieve their political ends.
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Eric Beck
Editor-In-Chief
Free Nation Media LLC
Greenville, SC
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