Or it could just be exactly what it looks like, and what Trump himself says it is - quote "a witch hunt" and quote "a Democratic hit job" unquote.
I think I'll be going with what the President, and all his supporters in the media and Congress that he meets with regularly, say it is. Not some wacko crackpot theory put out on twitter by the CIA that claims they're all liars, just to screw with my mind and reality.
Incidentally, did you see the FR article in the past day or two where a top Dem admits they don't have enough from Mueller to go after President Donald J. Trump?
Let us assume that Trump was (temporarily) caught off guard with the recusal and appointment. This would appear to be inconsistent with Trump's knowledge that he was being wire-tapped back in 2016 (h/t Rogers). OTOH, a grand, multi-level counter strategy involving Mueller, et al also appears highly unlikely.
However, the core issue is this: what does it matter whether Mueller was a deep state Trumpian 3D maneuver or a key part of a coordinated conspiracy to commit treason? What actually matters is what is occurring here & now, not an egotistical argument over who may or may not be (partially) right.
What I am suggesting is to evaluate the various movements taking place in a multitude of different theaters, and attempt to pull it all together into one cohesive view of the ongoing (cold) civil war. Now that the battle lines are firming up, it should be crystal clear to everyone that Trump is using/allowing the House committees to provide an **independent** path of inquiry based on IG and other evidence as discovered/presented.
Congress represents only one side of the pincer movement; the other is a SC yet to be named. Sessions can maintain his recusal (and image of WH independence) while allowing a Giuliani type to go medieval on the deep state asses. No matter where it is assigned - perhaps FBI/DOJ corruption would be the easiest starting point - it can anywhere & everywhere afterward: F1, CF, Pizza, Iran, etc, etc, etc. Armed with the recent EO, it will be an incredibly powerful weapon that will destroy our domestic enemies. So, the absolute key here is to get another SC - this is what Trump is shooting for.
Now, I've raised this point before: do you think Trump will win? If so, then why the bickering & constant looking back? Why not face forward and envision a world where the rule of law is restored? Without the yoke of oppression, and foreign savings repatriated for new capital investment, the US economy is going to take off like a rocket. Don't you want to be part of that?