Posted on 02/19/2020 5:07:50 AM PST by Kaslin
Attorney General William Barr is looking into the murky origins of the politically charged Justice Department investigations that have roiled American public life for the last three years.
Just how did the FBI's "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation into the 2016 Trump presidential campaign get started? What led the FBI to look into whether President Trump was working on behalf of Russia? Why did the Justice Department use an ancient, never-enforced law as a pretext to interrogate then-national security adviser Michael Flynn, leading to one of the most troubled court cases in recent years? And more.
Each investigation involved highly publicized leaks that led to many headlines and endless discussion on cable TV. Anti-Trump voices stood firmly in support of more, and more detailed, probes of the president and his allies.
But now, as Barr looks into how it all started, some voices that were part of that frenzy are changing their tune about the value of investigations. They now express concern about investigations, and concern that Barr is politicizing the Justice Department to go after perceived political enemies.
"The power to investigate is the power to destroy," a former U.S. attorney, Gregory Brower, told The Washington Post recently. "The ability to simply point to a pending investigation against a person can have devastating effects on that person and can have a potential political benefit to the person orchestrating the investigation."
"President Trump appears to be now using [his] power, with an assist from the Justice Department, to exact revenge on some perceived political enemies," said NBC's Chuck Todd.
The president is "weaponizing the Department of Justice against perceived enemies," said CNN's Anderson Cooper.
Not to be too blunt about it, but where were these voices the last three years?
Where were they when the Steele dossier burst onto the scene in January 2017, with its extremely damaging and unsupported allegations, leaked to undermine the president right as he took office?
Where were they when the public learned that the FBI, using false information, wiretapped a low-level former Trump foreign policy adviser, Carter Page, giving it entree into some of the campaign's communications?
Where were they when the Justice Department cooked up the idea that Flynn had violated the Logan Act, the 1799 law under which no one has ever been convicted, as a reason to question him? And where were they when officials bragged about going outside channels to grab a chat with a busy, distracted Flynn, and later used that as the basis for a false statements charge even though investigators did not believe Flynn actually lied?
Somebody was using the Justice Department to go after perceived political enemies. And when they did, the investigations stretched into months, and then years, expanding as time passed.
As Brower said, the probes had devastating effects on the people investigated -- just ask Flynn or Page or another former low-level Trump campaign aide, George Papadopoulos. They have paid a big price, in both money and reputation, for running afoul of the investigative apparatus.
Also, as Brower said, the investigations were a potential political benefit for the people orchestrating them. Just ask virtually any Democrat on Capitol Hill.
But none of that was much of a concern to the combination of opposition politicians, resistance and NeverTrump activists, and a go-along press that fed the investigation machine since before Trump took office. The targets were figures unpopular with Democrats and many in the media.
But now, as Barr seeks to shine a light on how the investigation machine revved up, we suddenly hear concerns about the costs of such probes.
Former FBI No. 2 and current CNN commentator Andrew McCabe played a role in the excesses we now associate with the Trump-Russia investigation. Now, though, he is complaining about the Justice Department's internal probe into whether he lied under oath to agents seeking the source of a high-level leak. The source was McCabe himself, but he denied it multiple times. The Justice Department, facing an uphill battle trying a case before a deeply anti-Trump District of Columbia jury, recently decided against charging McCabe. And now McCabe is indignant about the treatment meted out to investigative targets.
He is particularly angry that the investigation took a long time. "It's just an absolute disgrace that they let this thing drag on as long as they did," McCabe said on CNN, "and put my family through what we've gone through over the last two years ... I'm just disgusted at the way the whole thing has been handled."
An investigation lasting seemingly forever and putting one's family through hell? Imagine that! Coming from McCabe, the lack of self-awareness is so pronounced that it would be darkly funny, were not the events of the last three years so serious.
More complaints are sure to come as Barr, and Barr's appointees, investigate the questionable acts of the investigators. Yes, it will be painful for some. But the public deserves to know what happened.
The Democrats are obstructing investigations
In a nation with no justice there is still karma. It would appear right now the coup conspirators still wield enough power to “get away with it” but to what end when their “getting away with it” is the final straw that breaks the camel’s back?
And I would certainly caution freepers against concluding that because Trump is still in office the coup has failed. The coup fails when the conspirators are safely in prison and can do no further harm.
By their own standard they are trying to obstruct justice. They are trying to get the investigator removed. They are trying to intimidate the prosecutor. They’ve already held him in contempt.
The Democrats are afraid of exposure of the Deep State because they know it’s treason.
I am guessing there are a lot more RINOs, dim ops, throughout government than anyone can imagine.
trump is trying to investigate what happened and chucky nodd is saying he is extracting revenge...
please bring the boom faster...
a former U.S. attorney, Gregory Brower, told The Washington Post recently. “The ability to simply point to a pending investigation against a person can have devastating effects on that person and can have a potential political benefit to the person orchestrating the investigation.”
Delusional or calculating or both?
IF THESE EVIL PEOPLE DO NOT SUFFER IN THE COURT OF LAW, BECAUSE DC IS SO CORRUPT, THEY WILL SUFFER AT THE BALLOT BOX.
GUARANTEED!!!!!
Does he mean the Republicans or the Democrats? I suspect that this guy is pointing fingers at Republicans, but as the platitude says, ‘when you point your finger at anyone, there are three fingers pointing back at you’. Democrats are hypocrites at every turn.
Lock her up.
A simple question with respect to Flynn and the interview:
Was Flynn given the Miranda warnings at the start of the interview?
Miranda warnings are only relevant if you are a 30 year old illegal who has just raped a ten year old girl. If you work for Trump it doesn’t matter.
Democraps wouldn’t know a real investigation if it hit them in the face. The Schiff is about to hit the fan. When the pigs squeal...
Why the hell not be blunt about it? Any conservative guest of Chuck Todd's or Anderson Cooper should scream this with a pointed finger in their faces and tell them, on the air, to get screwed. Get their attention! Get freakin' mad! So much so that they can't help but lead the evening news with the story asking viewers to remove small children from the room before airing the graphic footage. I want to see Anderson Cooper with his eyes swollen shut, gauze stuffed up his nostrils, sporting a Jerry Rivers nose bandage. I want to see Chuck Todd dazed, mouth bloodied and spitting chiclets.
They took their mask and gloves off a long time ago. The referees willingly turned their backs while the jackass leftists Pearl Harbored the dingbat elephants with a ringside folding metal chair!... AGAIN!
All the while, the dopes on the right are still playing tea time with all their little stuffed animals sitting around the table blankly staring into a vast emptiness.
Decorum my ass...
No confidence in anything federal gubmint.
Not one obvious criminal has spent a moment in jail.
Clintons, obammy, holder,all the fbi & cia scum.
And I would certainly caution freepers against concluding that because Trump is still in office the coup has failed. The coup fails when the conspirators are safely in prison and can do no further harm.
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