Yes, but I believe that one of his main missions was to discredit the administration with lies and misdirection, leading to accusations of criminal persecution. It remains to be seen whether Joe and Valerie will be hung upside down in the public square like Mussolini and his mistress (minus the predicate executions, of course). However, we can hope that the tide is turning against these sorry people.
Re#4 Yep. Of course it was. That said, I don't know if the handlers figured in the Jefferson factor. Interesting, to say the least...