The Shearing of Hair Trompf (51)

They couldn’t prove it on him, or on his people.  But possibly he committed a crime.  But since the M Report did not exonerate T, “generally speaking,” the AG did.

I.   AG Barr has delivered his summary of the salient points of the M Report, to Congress.  There are two topics: (1)Russian Election Interference and(2) Obstruction of Justice. As I read it:

(1A) Russia did  conduct “disinformation and social media operations. . .designed to sow social discord, eventually with the aim of interfering with the election. . . .The Special Counsel did not find that any U. S. person or Trump campaign official or associate conspired or knowingly coordinated” in these operations.

(1B)  Russia did   “conduct computer hacking operations designed to gather and disseminate information to influence the election.”  But the S C did not find that the T campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with. . . .”

“The SC defined ‘coordination’ as an ‘agreement—tacit or express—between the T Campaign and the Russian government on election interference’.”

(2)  The SC looked at a number of actions by T that potentially raised obstruction-of-justice concerns. The SC “ultimately determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment.  The SC therefore did not draw a conclusion—one way or the other—as to whether the examined conductconstituted obstruction  [my bold].  Instead, for each of the relevant actions instigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the SC views as ‘difficult issues’ of law and fact concerning whether the President’s actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction.  The SC states that ‘while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him’.”  Thus the SC leaves it for the AG to determine. The AG has “concluded that the evidence developed during the SC’s investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.

“In making this determination, we noted that the Special Counsel recognized that ‘the evidence does not establish that the President was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference,’ and that, while not determinative, the absence of such evidence bears upon the President’s intent with respect to obstruction. Generally speaking,to obtain and sustain an obstruction conviction, the government would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person, acting with corrupt intent, engaged in obstructive conduct with a sufficient nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding [my bold]. In cataloguing the President’s actions, many of which took place in public view, the report identifies no actions that, in our judgment, constitute obstructive conduct, had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent, each of which, under the Department’s principles of federal prosecution guiding charging decisions, would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to establish an obstruction-of-justice offense.”

Herr Trompf, of course, tweeted “complete and total exoneration.”

So, we can leave it up to the Republican AG to tell us whether crimes have been committed, or we can insist on seeing the evidence, and hear what disinterested legal experts think.

However, we’ve known all along (and the Rs haven’t counted on it) that both conspiracy and obstruction of justice are difficult to prove in court—and all the more so when you don’t have in-person testimony, under oath, from the principal conspirator and/or obstructer.

Here’s a very informative article by Scott Shane and Mark Mazzett (NYT) on the Russian operation, and contacts with Russians by T’s people.  From it, I’m guessing that possibly, early on, the motivation of T and his people, in pursuing these 100+ contacts, was simply to make money, but later evolved into election cheating, and crime, with the help of an enemy foreign power.  That fits T’s corrupt pattern of using the presidency to enrich himself.

I’m thinking this is another case of a Republican pr*esident not being held accountable, and a white collar criminal not being brought to justice.  In a fascist Republican Executive branch, the head of that branch will not be prosecuted by the DOJ within that branch.

There are many more investigations going on, outside the Executive branch and outside the federal government.  But it’s looking as though, in the end, we’ll have to deselect Trompf, and his congressional ilk.

II.   Josh Marshall puts this well:  “On the broader question of the 2016 election, we need to see the report. Based on the publicly available information, the President betrayed his country and serially lied about his involvement with Russia and his knowledge about the Russian interference campaign. We know that despite all denials, throughout the campaign the President was trying to land a multi-hundred million dollar real estate deal that required the assistance of the President of Russia, one that required the end of sanctions. We know his campaign manager was handing over campaign data to a man the FBI judged was a Russian intelligence asset. We know his campaign had a back channel to Wikileaks and appears to have coordinated the timing of the leaks. We know that his top campaign officials had numerous contacts with Russian officials and intermediaries offering campaign assistance and welcomed the assistance. Finally, we know the transition worked with Russia to undermine the sanctions intended to punish the intereference campaign. . . . By any standard, simply these known facts are profoundly damning and constitute a massive national betrayal. . . . Presumably the report explains the details of these dealings and how they did not constitute either conspiracy or coordination. That is the information, the analysis we need to see. I’d suggest we know very little until we see this information, which is to say, until we see the report.”

[Note: T and his gang did not need conspiracy or collusion, because they were simply doing international business, their way, with connivance and collaboration.]

III.  Later, still mulling it over (somewhat repetitively): As I understand it, M played it straight (as many people said he would, in keeping with his personality, character, philosophy, experience).  He was charged with finding out (1) whether Russia attacked us, and (2) whether T and/or his people conspired to help Russia, thereby committing election fraud (since there was plentiful reason to suspect that they had).  Very early (firing Comey) and throughout (e.g. his egregious lying), T gave good reason to investigate (3) whether he was obstructing the due course of justice, which further gave reason to suspect him in (1) and (2).  It became clear that, in addition to the tower meeting about Hillary, T’s people had had 100+ contacts with Russian operatives (and some lied about it, e.g. T’s national security advisor), making T yet more suspect.  In addition, (4) of course M was required to deal appropriately with any other probable criminal activity that turned up; some did turn up, and M turned those over to other law enforcement agencies (e.g. SDNY), whose investigations are in process.

The attack by Russia, still ongoing, is a whopper, all by itself.  Pr*sident T should be making a big deal of exposing it, and stopping it.  But he isn’t.  Just the opposite, he romances Putin and espouses Russian interests in Europe, thereby putting our national interests and security in jeopardy.

There is a pervasive stench about it.  Where there is stench, there is likely to be something stinky. [Google: the five stages of decomposition of the flesh: fresh, bloat, active decay, advanced decay, and dry/remains, coupled with two stages of chemical decomposition: autolysis and putrefaction.]

So now M has duly submitted his report.  It is conclusive about Russian guilt, but inconclusive about Trompfian guilt.  But it is as much as M can do, as he sees it. There is some thought that his intended audience is Congress, where more can be done.  

The Trompf-appointed AG summarily declares that there is not enough evidence in M’s report for us to legally blame T for (1), (2), or (3).   Case closed. Which is to say, Barr is attempting a legal abortion.

Nevertheless, justice lives. Reality continues to be reality.  We must see the report and review the evidence for ourselves.  Now others, especially Congress, must complete the investigating, and thereby further exposing T as having failed in his Constitutional duties to the American people, and/or abused the power of his office, and/or committed crimes. And then?

All the while, we are breathing.