AFTERMATH OF DELIVERY OF THE MUELLER REPORT
Trump hired Whitaker as acting AG after reading his article stating that a sitting President can’t be indicted. He hired Barr who wrote the same about obstruction of justice and nominated Kavanaugh who agrees with both of them. Are we sensing a pattern here? It would appear that Trump is obstructing justice in plain sight. Paradoxically, when he does it (among many other suspect acts, such as firing Comey and meeting with top Russians in the Oval Office the day after he did it) in plain sight people seem to conclude it must not be a crime, since crimes are usually concealed.
We’re seeing early fruit of Trump’s defensive strategy in Barr’s appointment. While the Mueller Report reportedly gives Trump a pass on conspiring with the Russians, Mueller presented a mixed bag on obstruction of justice — perhaps not enough to indict, but sufficient to meet the political standard for impeachment or censure. By not expressing an opinion on indictment for obstruction of justice, apparently Mueller intended to leave it to Congress to decide the issue. Unsurprisingly, given his previously stated opinion, Barr preempted Congress, concluding that no obstruction of justice has occurred.
Citing Barr’s opinion, Trump, Hannity and the Republicans went stark raving bonkers, conflating the Barr summary and opinion with the Mueller Report, shouting from the rooftops that Mueller had “totally exonerated/vindicated” the president. Trump took a victory lap at a massive rally in Michigan yesterday. Republicans immediately shifted gears, going on the warpath to hold the alleged malefactors “accountable,” whatever that means. One might reasonably conclude "accountability" will include a continuation of purges within government of any career officials who fail to demonstrate sufficient loyalty to the president. As an opening salvo, Trump and Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee called upon Democrat Adam Schiff to resign as chairman.
The Democrats are having none of it. Chairman Schiff delivered an excoriating rebuttal to his Republican colleagues, in what some have called an Aaron Sorkin moment, citing a long and damning list of actions by the president and his family and team that were “not OK” with him. Republicans squirmed uncomfortably in their seats and demanded time for rebuttal, adamantly refused by the chairman, since his was a rebuttal to their call to resign. Other prominent Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Jerry Nadler and Maxine Waters, chairpersons of the Judicial and Oversight Committees, respectively, have made it clear they want the full Mueller report as the next step in their continuing investigations into the president’s alleged misdeeds. Meanwhile, investigations continue into numerous issues by the DoJ's Southern District of New York and the N.Y. Attorney General's office, and various lawsuits proceed against Trump as president and private individual. It ain’t over ’till the fat lady sings.
La lucha continua.