Trump is vindicated. The real substance of Russiagate is what it says about the media
Dragged out for two years of hate, denigration and abuse in the media, in the end the Muller inquiry found no collusion. How many journalists predicted this. How many even wrote as though it was possible? Credit to Matt Taibbi for the scathing WMD comparison.
Mueller report into collusion a stunning victory for Donald Trump, by Cameron Stewart, The Australian.
The summary of the Mueller report issued today by Attorney General William Barr clears the president and his aides of any collusion with Russia and says there is no legal case to support obstruction of justice charges against him. …
It is a devastating defeat for the Democrats and for much of the US media who had hoped, prayed and frankly expected that Mueller would somehow find a silver bullet to end or at least cripple Trump’s presidency.
Matt Taibbi on Russiagate: ‘Death Blow for the Reputation of the American News Media’
It’s official: Russiagate is this generation’s WMD
Nothing Trump is accused of from now on by the press will be believed by huge chunks of the population, a group that (perhaps thanks to this story) is now larger than his original base. As Baker notes, a full 50.3% of respondents in a poll conducted this month said they agree with Trump the Mueller probe is a “witch hunt.”
The Special Prosecutor literally became a religious figure during the last few years, with votive candles sold in his image and Saturday Night Live cast members singing “All I Want for Christmas is You” to him featuring the rhymey line: “Mueller please come through, because the only option is a coup.”
Stories have been coming out for some time now hinting Mueller’s final report might leave audiences “disappointed,” as if a President not being a foreign spy could somehow be bad news.
UPDATE: On the legal process, read Mark Steyn, Read it all. Read it twice.
Deep-State Dumpster Fire
It started in April 2016, when it became clear that Trump was going to win the Republican nomination. The Hillary campaign and the DNC gave millions of dollars to Marc Elias, a Clinton lawyer, who in turn hired Fusion GPS, who in turn hired former MI6 agent Christopher Steele. Why use Mr Elias as a cutout? Because Hillary and the DNC could then itemize the expense as “legal services” rather than list payments to Mr Steele, which would be in breach of federal law…
Steele’s dossier was passed along to the FBI. It seems a reasonable inference, to put it as blandly as possible, that the dossier was used to justify the opening of what the Feds call an “FI” (Full Investigation), which in turn was used to justify a FISA order permitting the FBI to put Trump’s associates under surveillance. Indeed, it seems a reasonable inference that the dossier was created and supplied to friendly forces within the bureau in order to provide a pretext for an FI, without which surveillance of the Trump campaign would not be possible.
But that’s all you need. The dossier is a remarkable thing. It self-regenerates and corroborates itself as it ricochets back and forth between corrupt bureaucrats, biddable hacks and rubber-stamp judges…
Fifteen lawyers in search of a crime:
They’ve already been on it for a year, and, if there were any “collusion”, it would have been leaked months ago: If Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, the “Russia investigation” is a nullity wrapped in an absence inside a void, now shimmering in the black hole of the billable hours of fifteen lawyers and the expense accounts of a hundred FBI agents.
But tally-ho! The Great MacNuffin Hunt goes on -..
We have witnessed an extraordinary sustained attempted coup in which senior officials of the “justice” department shoot the breeze about wearing a wire to get the goods on the elected chief executive. If there are no consequences to that, it will happen again.
Do read it. Send it to your friends. Steyn at his scathing best. (h/t Kevin L)
Peter Baker, New York Times, three days ago: it’s a reckoning coming for the media and the system
Moreover, the president and his allies have raised enough questions about the conduct of his investigators to convince many of his supporters that the real scandal is the “deep state” trying to thwart the will of the democratic system by dislodging him from office.
The sheer volume of allegations lodged against Mr. Trump and his circle defies historical parallel, possibly eclipsing, if they were all proved true, even Watergate, the nonpareil scandal of scandals.
But none of the investigations has carried the authority or import of Mr. Mueller’s.
Rudy Giuliani Calls for ‘Full and Complete Investigation’ into Originators of Collusion Claims
by Michelle Moons, Breitbart
“I say this is complete and absolute victory,” Giuliani told Fox News Sunday afternoon, calling the victory “way beyond anybody could have expected a year ago with all this crazy fake news that’s going on.”…
“Absolutely no collusion by anyone in the Trump campaign so you have to wonder why did this investigation start in the first place and why did we waste $40 billion,” he questioned. “Second, no obstruction.”… “President is absolutely correct to be very, very upset,” Giuliani said after the president’s statement to reporters. “It is absolutely definitive that he was being investigated for a crime that never happened. There was never any collusion. I can tell you that because I was on that campaign.”
Glenn Reynolds asks ...what other Republican candidate in 2016 could have withstood this sort of assault?
h/t David E, Pat, Scott of the Pacific.