Perhaps expecting the worse results possible from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russiagate and most likely attempts by Der Trumpenführer, conservative pundits and perennial windbag Newt Gingrich have launched a smear campaign against Mueller. The obvious goal is to discredit Mueller in advance in the eyes of the ignorance embracing core of Trump's supporters who whine about "wake news" and the news media even as they themselves fall for utterly fabricated and untrue stories. Of course, Trump isn't the only one with much to lose if Mueller confirms collusion with Russia by the Trump campaign and/or that Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice. Every Republican who has been an apologist for Trump or who has turned a blind eye to his illegal and unethical actions is likewise at risk of being held accountable. A piece in Talking Points Memo looks at the preemptive assault on Mueller. Here are highlights:
As the special counsel in charge of the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election assembled key staff, several prominent Trump supporters questioned his impartiality, and whether the appointment was necessary at all. Bloomberg first reported on June 1, citing two unnamed people, that Department of Justice fraud chief and former FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissman would join special counsel Robert Mueller’s so-called “murderer’s row” of prosecutors. And the National Law Journal reported Friday, citing unnamed people familiar with the arrangement, that Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben — who in 2016 argued his 100th case in front of the Supreme Court — would assist Mueller on a part-time basis.
Perhaps the biggest flip-flop among high-profile Trump supporters came from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who changed justifications multiple times for his new opposition to Mueller.
Gingrich said Mueller’s position had been compromised by fired FBI Director James Comey’s admission that he had authorized a friend to pass details of his meetings with Trump to the press in order to justify a special counsel. The next day, he said evidence that Mueller wouldn’t be fair could be found in his new hires’ political donations. Conservative provocateur Ann Coulter jumped on board Sunday, writing that Comey’s acknowledgement that he told Trump he wasn’t personally under investigation was grounds for dismissing Mueller altogether. Radio host and LifeZette Editor-in-Chief Laura Ingraham posted a column from the Washington Examiner’s Byron York to her 1.5 million Twitter followers early Monday. York asked five unnamed Washington lawyers if they thought Comey’s reported friendship with Mueller presented a conflict. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, acting in his capacity as the then-lead of the Russia investigation at the Justice Department, chose Mueller to lead the investigation. The Hill noted Monday that four members of Mueller’s investigative team, each seasoned criminal prosecutors with extensive experience at the Justice Deparment or Washington, D.C. law firms, had donated to Democrats, including Hillary Clinton.
Expect the efforts to discredit Mueller and his team to intensify. I suspect that the Trump apologists know or strongly suspect that Mueller will find offense committed by Trump and or his campaign. It's amazing how these supposed super patriots are now only too happy to close their eyes to possible treason and/or obstruction of justice. The GOP has fallen so far that it is almost unrecognizable.
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