Today’s big story is that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein installed George W. Bush-appointed ex-FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel Wednesday to oversee the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Rosenstein got to name the special counsel because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation earlier based on incredibly flimsy grounds. Rosenstein’s decision came after the Washington Post and the New York Times came out with breathless stories that a “Comey Memo” showed that President Trump had suggested in a private conversation that now-ex-FBI Director James Comey “go easy on Micheal Flynn” after Flynn was fired back in February. The media is using what amounts to hearsay evidence to try to make the case that Trump was guilty of obstruction of justice.
According to Rosenstein’s press release,“unique circumstances” led to his appointment of a special counsel was required:
My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. I have made no such determination. What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances, the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.Needless to say the Democrats, their media and some renegade Republicans are celebrating this big time. Their joy is likely turn to anguish, their worst nightmare and just in time for Nov. 2018 elections. Keeping this ‘scandal alive is one thing, but an actual special counsel? The ‘resistance’ may very well have overstepped itself, a euphemism for a quaint Brooklynism my father (Z”l) used to use.
Rosenstein may even have been told by Trump to appoint a special counsel. It puts this garbage on the back burner somewhat, and will hopefully shut it down. That’s because there’s nothing for Mueller to find on the president and no crime. But just look at Mueller’s actual brief! To supervise the investigation of:
“(i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and (ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and (iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. §600.4(a).”
Regulation 28 C.F.R. §600.4(a) is part of the federal regulations that authorize appointing a special counsel. It expands a special counsel’s jurisdiction to all crimes, such as perjury or obstruction of justice, that interfere with his original responsibility.To wit, (ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and (iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. §600.4(a).”
Think of the ground that could cover! It could definitely include investigating Seth Rich’s murder* and reopening the investigation of the Clinton Foundation that FBI Director Comey closed on Obama AG Loretta Lynch’s orders after she met will Bill Clinton on that plane. It could include compelling testimony from Loretta Lynch herself. It could expand to exploring President Obama’s surveillance of the Trump campaign by President Obama and the clear violations of FISA laws that took place. Imagine some of these juicy scandals coming to light just in time for the midterms…talk about a total reversal of fortune.
In any event, the supposed ‘Comey memo’ if it even exists amounts to hearsay evidence no judge would take seriously. And even if Trump suggested Comey ‘go easy on Flynn’ after he had been fired, that is not obstruction of justice. That crime involves actual overt actions like destroying evidence, perjury, inducing other people to commit perjury, you know, the sort of felonies the Clintons did routinely.
And recall that both ranking member Senators Feinstein (D-CA) and Richard Burr (R-NC),the chairman both said that Trump was not under investigation based on the classified briefing they were given.
Another thing to consider. Comey is a lawyer. As such, he is an officer of the court who is legally obligated to report a crime like obstruction of justice. Yet he did not…until now. That could be grounds for disbarment.
In a way, this entire mess is Trump’s own fault. As I pointed out before, Comey was seriously incompetent and deeply tied to the Clintons. Trump should have known better than to leave someone like that in a sensitive position and canned him on January 20th.
Although one thing that must be said is that the president at least fired Comey in exactly the right way.He knew Comey likely had a real treasure trove of confidential, classified intel, perhaps even personal dirt not just on people in the administration but on both sides of the political spectrum. So the president changed Comey’s passwords and all the locks and fired him when he was out of town. Any attacks on the administration or plans Comey may had had to use this stuff as leverage for his own personal gain are history. Think of Comey as this year’s Joe Wilson of Valerie Plame fame. He’ll get a few brief moments of media adulation and a chance to testify in congress perhaps, but then he’ll be flushed like used toilet paper.
Trump’s real problem is that the Democrats and a certain number of genuinely stupid Republicans like the swamp just fine and don’t want it drained. But I don’t see the GOP going along with impeachment…it would destroy them as a party and alienate their base forever. And I doubt most of them are that stupid, although John McCain…
At the end of the road, there is indeed a crime here. It is an attempted coup d’état that has been underway since November 9th. The 2016 presidential election has been rejected by the left, and every day they demonstrate their contempt for our democracy. They have said so repeatedly, with the Democrat’s demanding for ‘resistance’. They attempted to intimidate the electors immediately after the election – remember those death threats? They have attacked this president and his family mercilessly, and they have knowingly lied and slandered. The Democrats in congress have indulged in juvenile tantrums and obstruction at every turn in an attempt to sabotage the new administration, something unheard of before. They have co-opted for their own use what should be an independent,ethical press, thus destroying an essential part of a free republic.
These are heinous crimes committed against our country, and for the most part the worst punishment that can be meted out to those who have committed then is defeat.
I have confidence in the American people that ultimately, the perpetrators will fail utterly. But the damage that has been done will take a long time to repair.
* Seth Rich was a DNC staffer and a Bernie Sanders supporter. On Sunday, July 10, 2016, Rich was shot about a block from his home in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. He reportedly talked to several people about his disgust with the way the DNC had fixed the primaries for Hillary Clinton.
According to a new report from Fox News, it was Seth Rich who supplied 44,000 DNC emails to WikiLeaks.
According to Fox News, via an anonymous FBI source, Rich made contact with WikiLeaks through Gavin MacFadyen, an American investigative reporter and director of WikiLeaks who was living in London at the time. According to Fox News sources, federal law enforcement investigators found 44,053 emails and 17,761 attachments sent between DNC leaders from January 2015 to May 2016 that Rich shared with WikiLeaks before he was gunned down on July 10, 2016.
On July 22, just 12 days after Rich was murdered, WikiLeaks published internal DNC emails that showed how top party officials conspired to stop Bernie Sanders from becoming the party’s presidential nominee.
According to Rod Wheeler, a former DC homicide detective hired by Rich’s family to investigate the murder, there’s a number of things quite suspicious about the whole affair:
“My investigation up to this point shows there was some degree of email exchange between Seth Rich and WikiLeaks,” Wheeler told Fox News. “I do believe that the answers to who murdered Seth Rich sits on his computer on a shelf at the DC police or FBI headquarters.”
“My investigation shows someone within the D.C. government, Democratic National Committee or Clinton team is blocking the murder investigation from going forward,” Wheeler told Fox News. “That is unfortunate. Seth Rich’s murder is unsolved as a result of that.”
The botched robbery theory, which police have stuck with for nearly a year, isn’t panning out, Wheeler said. Two assailants caught on a grainy video tape from a camera posted outside a grocery mart, shot Rich twice in his back, but did not take his wallet, cell phone, keys, watch or necklace worth about $2,000.
Julian Assange of Wikileaks has offered a $130,000 reward for information of Seth Rich’s killer.
The usual suspects have been doing their best to bury this and debunk this as a conspiracy theory in the rare instances they even mention it. And the DNC went into action, getting one of their spokesmen Democrat crisis PR consultant Brad Bauman from the Pastorus Group to to ‘represent the family’ and help quash this.
Definitely something a special counsel might look into
Well, that didn't take long. Say hello to at least one obstruction of justice charge. Say hello to President Pence.
ReplyDeleteLiterally every sentence of your 'analysis' was wrong. It's hilarious that you don't take these posts down after you get egg on your face. Great work, Rob!
http://tinyurl.com/ltwbp63
If you think this diarrhea from Pravda-on-the-Hudson constitutes 'obstruction of justice' you obviously have absolutely no understanding of what that means or what it consists of.
ReplyDeleteBut I realize that the angry Left hasn't had much to celebrate lately, so enjoy this for the brief time you can. Even a number of Democrat congressional leaders realize what BS this all is and are trying to tamp down the fever swamp 'impeachment' talk.
When the Trump/Russia fairy tale collapses, try not to hurt yourself too much. Especially when this investigation goes places sure to make you and your fellow tantrum prone Lefties very uncomfortable, right before the 2018 midterms.
Rob,
ReplyDeleteI've always lkked your site because of the very good information you provide and your optimism. I like your optimistic take on how this is going to work out. Unfortunately I have a hard time sharing it.
I think there is at least a 50/50 chance the drmocrats are going to get some "scalps" possibly even the president himself. This is so obviously a kangaroo court/witch hunt that it is ridiculous. Unfortunately, if it comes to criminal convictions, team Trump would not be the first and likely not the last to be convicted by such things. A few questions for you that I'd like your opinion on. 1.) In the event of such a perversion of justice as criminal convictions against POTUS or members of his team would be, what do you think the effect will be on American society? 2.) You seem to indicate that some democrats are suggesting we should back away from impeachment attempts. Which ones?
Forbes has Vladimir Putin of Russia pegged as the world's most powerful person. I believe Forbes is correct and US and world leaders need to act accordingly. For one wishing to advance, making an enemy of the most powerful person in an organization generally ends poorly. In their inability to come to terms with the fact that they lost or to try and understand why, the democrats have foolishly chosen to make Russia and Vladimr Putin into a "foregin devil."
The various contacts and connections between Trump officials and powerful Russians are part of a diplomatic effort aimed at negotiating an end to Cold War 2, a war we cannot afford, lack the resources to prosecute, and even if we did we don't need it. This diplomatic effort was painstakkngly done and it literally took years to put together. In one fail swoop, the democrats have recklessly undermined this by choosing to make Russia a foreign devil for no good reason other than the fact that they are petty and seem perfectly willing to destroy the country if they don't get their way.
If the kangaroo court/witch hunt is disbanded or Trump and his team members are cleared, there may still be a chance to salvage diplomacy and negotiate an end to Cold War 2. Otherwise we are stuck with a war we can't afford, don't have the resources to effectively prosecute, and we don't need which leads to the final question. 3.) If the kangaroo court results in "scalps" up to and including POTUS how do you think Vladimir Putin and the Russians are going to take this and will there be any possibility of resuming fruitful negotiations to end Cold War 2?