There is no adequate way to capture my dismay. I look at the national media and then what I see here on BI and the whole pastiche is quite disturbing, the most frustrating thing being that it matters not what I think or write: those who support Trump will dismiss anything I write as partisan (and therefore not worth considering) though they whole heartedly buy into a tribal binary assessment of current events (we won) as given to them by their authorized sources that they do not seem to be able to stop listening to. Please stop listening to propaganda. Please.
In short, they have abdicated their own critical thinking, and refuse to see it. A post like this is either dismissed as Liberal tears ("get over it you lost") or through whataboutism ("you're just as partisan", Hillary/Obama/Liberal media...etc).
So even knowing this is a complete waste of time, I want to waste a few reactions to the last few days:
The Mueller Report has not been released, if you are taking victory laps, you are deferring to partisan sources who have an interest in telling you how to feel without all the information.
The Mueller Report has not been released, so if you are feeling vindicated then you have become so tribal that anything short of an arrest means your team won. Have you really set the bar that low? Do you really only see victory with all the crimes and malfeasance that has been uncovered? Do you really think Liberals lost because they were trying to protect the country and haven't been able to arrest the president? The president and his team were bracing for the report and had their PR ready to go, why would they be braced if they know there is nothing to uncover? It's astounding how the national discourse takes it as given that he is guilty and that the only thing to see is if they can prove it? Do you not see how this has been baked into his actions and the messaging? He admits his guilt daily.
This investigation is not over and it is into KNOWN election interference in our election that our president has stonewalled. Like OJ looking for the murderer, how do you ignore his lack of action and desire to shut everything down? This should be a nonpartisan concern for every American, how have you let a PROVEN national security threat become something to take sides on and celebrate?
It is sad to see posters who all but disappeared throughout the investigation as evidence came out, suddenly reappear to gloat the findings that they do not even know yet and to gloat for what reason? Did all the things that were revealed suddenly disappear? Just scan what we publicly know, in all but the most partisan times this president would already be impeached and every American would be deeply disturbed:
What we already knowAnd yet Conservative media and Trump supporters (again without the report being issued) are acting like not only is president proven innocent, but every crime, unethical behavior, and proven breaches to our security and system of law are now okay and somehow have disappeared POOF.
Even on a thread of educated and invested (and allegedly analytic) members of the Cal community, I see so many falsehoods (100% proven falsehoods) continue to be repeated. To clarify: the Steele Dossier did not start the Mueller investigation; this is NOT a partisan witch hunt it is a counter intelligence operation against KNOWN interference in our election; Liberals are not out to get the president because they are mad they lost the election; Russians had inordinate contact with this administration while the election was interfered with and had the intention of electing Trump; many pieces of evidence do seem to portray a quid pro arrangement with offers of intel going both ways and ongoing negotiation of sanctions, change of GOP platform, and a Trump Tower deal in Moscow.
Those are indisputable facts proven and filed in court or admitted to by members of the administration. And that is just a broad overview, there's much more. You have lost all bearings if you do not find that unAmerican and nothing to celebrate. If this were Obama or any president, I would want him out of office this minute. So why don't you?
If I would have shown you the information that is now proven in November of 2016, I do not believe you would have voted for him, and I am sure you would have said if information like this (just what we now know) is ever proven it should be cause for removal of office. You would have been shocked. It is only the slow release over 2 years and the partisan framing of tribal consideration that has kept you from your outrage and principles. You are moving the goal posts of what you will accept as criminal not Liberals in their ongoing pursuit of crime.
I do not know what the next few months will bring (and neither do you), so instead of accusation of witch hunts and partisan investigation, can we all just look at what is revealed and make real judgements about if these are the activities that a president should be authorizing or conducting? Stop the win/loss mentality and simply apply reason and the desire to keep America a democratic country where all men are held to account so that the rule of law and the Constitution persist? Let's agree that ANY Democrat or Republican who breaks the law gets held to account, okay?
Finally, here are some open considerations that may still greatly shape the course of events:
- There seem to still be several sealed indictments. While Mueller has said no new indictments, it doesn't mean that more indictments aren't coming elsewhere and it does not address those under seal. Those sealed indictments came from Grand Jury and must be being held for very strategic reasons and may absolutely deal with "collusion" and involve Trump and his family. We don't know but that is a pretty strong indication that there is still a process playing out despite what the mainstream narrative is trying to sell that this is "over." I believe Barr, RR, and Mueller are carefully navigating what they know is historic and perhaps existential considerations. There is no way that this is simple as "All done. Nothing to see here. Everyone go home. President is innocent." If you believe that, I don't know what to say.
- While Mueller investigation is shutting down, it doesn't mean the investigation is shutting down. And no that doesn't mean it's only continuing out of partisan pettiness or desperate attempts to dig something up. Mueller has most likely farmed out his investigation to other districts and agencies from the beginning so that it couldn't be shut down. I don't buy the narrative that Mueller has found no collusion. That is just my opinion, but there is ample evidence and I find it unbelievable that he would ignore. It makes sense that he may have distributed the case for conspiracy and other crimes to the DOJ, that it doesn't end with his report or just become non-collusion investigation now. Everyone is acting like if Mueller does not issue an indictment for collusion along with the report that no indictment for "collusion" is coming. That is speculation and not necessarily true. My speculation is that Trump's twitter silence may be an indication that negotiations are under way or soon to be underway because there IS evidence of collusion and the counter intelligence and national security investigation is continuing elsewhere. It has to be, we have not solved how the Russians did it and how to stop it in the future. That is not something Mueller and the rest will just be done with.
- Quit acting like obstruction isn't important. While it is true that obstruction can be prosecuted without the underlying crime being proven, it doesn't mean that the underlying crime didn't happen. It may just make legal sense to pursue the obstruction. And does anyone stop to ask why the president would obstruct if there was no underlying crime. There is not a single rational explanation for why the most powerful man in the world would start breaking crimes and obstructing and discrediting and not assisting at every turn (which he has) if there wasn't something he doesn't want us to know. Ignoring that tacit admission of guilt is mind boggling.
- There are unnamed Americans in the court filings who conspired with Russians. You really think the investigation is just going to end without naming or charging those Americans?
- Flynn and Gates have cooperated for months with Mueller. You really think all that plea dealing was for nothing? That they had nothing of real interest to share and Mueller just made deals for no reason? We have yet to see charges stemming from their testimony. It makes no sense that someone up the food chain is not sullied as a result of those interviews and pleas.
- The investigations into financials/campaign/org/etc by SDNY and Congress are not fishing expeditions or nuisance sour grapes harassment. Those are ALSO investigations into real impeachable crimes--why do we diminish or ignore those because collusion may or may not be proven? When do we ever say that we can't prove murder, so his drug dealing and robbery and kidnapping don't matter, or that we only learned about them because of the murder so who cares? These are not "process crimes," they are part of an overall pattern of mafia-type disregard for law, cover up, and profiteering grift. But most importantly, THEY ARE PART OF THE COLLUSION INVESTIGATION. Trump's finances are not some disconnected piece of Liberal meddling. All the crimes he has committed, especially financial, are the compromising information that may have been his motivation for (debt relief) or the blackmail material for collusion. His finances are CENTRAL to the collusion question and how he may or may not have been compromised.
- The continued investigation by Congress is not partisan. It is the obligation of Congress to oversee the executive, especially with national security on the line. Are they really supposed to just ignore everything we have seen? That would be criminal negligence. Furthermore, it is entirely possible that this was the plan all along. Perhaps Mueller didn't want to be judge and jury. And didn't want to play into Trump's narrative. He is a high integrity person and may have seen his role from the beginning, and the only way for this to NOT be partisan, to fact gather and then report to Congress for them to decide what to do with the information. Them now acting on the information or receiving the handoff is not partisan or continuing a closed investigation, it is taking the facts to the American public for action. How about seeing where the running back goes, instead of cheering for victory at the handoff?
I just find the willful ignorance of known illegal and unethical behavior so disheartening, and the lack of curiosity and desire to protect the country such a fundamental betrayal that I am astounded that this is the same country I grew up in. Nobody has won anything. Nobody will win. What has already happened was a failure and loss for us all. There is nothing to cheer about, only things to admit to and fix. If we excuse what has happened, it will only happen again and be worse. We all need to take a stand, not against each other, but for the country we all loved before this anomaly made us turn on lawfulness and the other. That said, I don't recognize half of you anymore, and it's not me who has changed. I'd love to welcome you back.
"The Bear will not quilt, the Bear will not dye!"
