Before I begin, let me spell out my bias here:
Up until March of last year, I considered that Trump was serious about confronting the Deep State and the Left. I no longer believe that, but I have also been aware that the timeline that Trump had to actually be serious was still viable. This week is an indicator that my current belief may be wrong.
There has always been the possibility that Trump (and his power backers) were waiting for a second term to act; that is not the way that I would have handled things. So, leaving aside the possibility that Trump is acting on behalf of a different Deep State faction, let's look at some plausible reasons that Trump is waiting for a second term:
- A clear mandate via presidential re-election
- To clear out the "resistance", the entrenched burrocracy of the Deep State (corollary to this idea - Trump can't act against the Left until the Deep State has been rooted out)
- 4D chess - Allow the media to further discredit themselves
- 4D chess - Allow the democong to further discredit themselves
- 4D chess - Allow the GOPe to further discredit themselves
- Giving them more rope to hang themselves by entrapping Deep State actors in committing more crimes
- Identifying and removing Deep State actors
- Preparing the lawfare battlefield by adding judges
- Trump could not act due to the delaying actions of the Deep State (Special Counsel, impeachment)
All of these ideas can be mixed; for example, you could prepare the burrocracy battlefield by removing Deep State loyalists and adding Trump loyalists over time.
With all this in mind, let's look at this week's news!
Flynndication
This week and last saw the release of multiple records proving DOJ malfeasance in the prosecution of Gen. Flynn for "lying to the FBI"; these disclosures included:
- DOJ withheld documentation in Flynn plea bargain which showed that DOJ threatened to prosecute Flynn's son if Flynn did not plead guilty to perjury; this disclosure was legally required.
- Release of the fact that Flynn's original lawyers (a law firm which included former Obama AG Eric Holder) withheld some 1500 pages of exculpatory material from the judge
- Although the DOJ had been stonewalling the court on requested Brady material for over six months, this week saw more demand for that material: Flynn bombshells cast doubt on Mueller prosecutor Brandon Van Grack's compliance with court order
- Disclosure that the FBI approached the Flynn interview with the purpose of getting Flynn arrested or fired.
a handwritten note dated January 24, 2017,reportedly written byFBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Bill Preistap, explained that the FBI’sobjective was “to get him [Flynn] to lie, so we can prosecute or get him [Flynn] fired.
Rep. Jim Jordan, letter to FBI Director Wray
See MUST READ – Full Interview Transcript of AG Barr Discussing Dropping the Flynn Case…
Q: Does the new evidence show that the counterintelligence case against General Flynn was simply left open to lay a trap for lying?
BARR: Yes. Essentially.
All of this culminated in yesterday's DOJ decision to drop the charges against Flynn. See the GOVERNMENT’S MOTION TO DISMISS THE CRIMINAL INFORMATION AGAINST THE DEFENDANT MICHAEL T. FLYNN. Also see Sydney Powell's (Flynn's new attorney) reaction:
Release of House Intelligence hearing transcripts
This House committee has been sitting on these for two years; these transcripts were available to the Mueller Special team. Chaimna Schiff was panicked into releasing them this week, before the Acting DNI could do so.
James Clapper Publicly: The Watergate Scandal Pales By Comparison to Trump's Collusion.
James Clapper, Under Threat of Perjury: I Have Seen No Evidence of Collusion.
Release of second scope memo
Are the DOJ and FBI turning on each other, or is the DOJ trying to shield Obama administration officials from their actions?
Acting Attorney General Yates was “flabbergasted” and “dumbfounded,” and other senior DOJ officials “hit the roof” upon hearing of this development, given that “an interview of Flynn should have been coordinated with DOJ.”
GOVERNMENT’S MOTION TO DISMISS THE CRIMINAL INFORMATION AGAINST THE DEFENDANT MICHAEL T. FLYNN
Sundance at The Last Refuge:
This phase is the former Obama officials putting all of the blame upon former FBI officials for the origin of “Spygate” and the subsequent plot to target and remove the incoming administration.
The DOJ -vs- FBI Blame Game Begins – DOJ Release Documents to Support Dropping Flynn Case…
And it seems that AG Barr is in on this:
one thing people will see when they look at the documents is how Director Comey purposely went around the Justice Department and ignored Deputy Attorney General Yates.
MUST READ – Full Interview Transcript of AG Barr Discussing Dropping the Flynn Case…
Conclusion
The Flynn prosecution was the "crown jewel" of the Mueller Special Counsel. The repudiation of this prosecution is a second helping of the nothingburger that the Mueller Report was, but it goes further, as it highlights the lengths that the FBI and Mueller's team went to to frame Flynn.
You'll note that Barr's CBS interview was cut short by the network
At the end of the day, there is a central theme to the trancripts released by the House...
What is amazing about the 53 transcripts released by ODNI yesterday is how many former Obama officials were forced to admit privately under oath that what they claimed in their TV appearances about “collusion” was nonsense and had no basis in reality.
Sean Davis
i.e, they lied
Finally, despite all the finger pointing between DOJ and FBI, let's remeber that the whole Flynn frameup was initiated by Obama