Tom’s Tidbits- The Mueller Report is finally here

Greetings,

A redacted version of the Mueller Report is finally here, and I’m slowly finding out with the rest of America what it actually says. Few have read the full 448 pages so far and many who have read it won’t understand it, so we should probably allow a while longer for thoughtful analysis. We all know the Mueller Report is the center of a political and media circus but it’s not ONLY that… it’s the result of a serious investigation into some of the most serious allegations ever brought against a representative of our government. The content of the report won’t matter for some people but for the vast majority of Americans I think it will. The Mueller Report isn’t the end of anything, but I think there are already lessons to be learned. And unfortunately, I think we’ll have opportunities to use them many more times in the Trump years…

Due Process

For two years the Mueller Probe has been the tightest of ships. No outsiders had any real information but that didn’t slow down the pundits. Now both sides are a little embarrassed… where ARE all those indictments, and how COULD “angry democrats” on a baseless witch-hunt come back without any? But beyond the partisan hyperbole, rational Americans could see the credibility of the allegations. Those same Americans knew we don’t ‘lock anyone up’ on an allegation. We’re obligated to grant even Trump the fair process he would deny to others which, despite his orange-tinted delusions, STARTS WITH AN INVESTIGATION! The allegations exist… how true are they? THAT’S what we’ve been waiting for Mueller to deliver.

Barr the Prostitute

One of the first lessons of the Mueller Report came before it actually dropped, when Trump called in William Barr to head the DOJ and receive the report. He was unusually qualified for a Trump appointee, but he primarily seemed qualified to lie and dissemble on legal issues… one of his ‘summaries’ of a legal opinion permitted America to abduct Manuel Noriega, but when the full opinion was released it turned out Barr’s summary was completely misleading. Oops. Don’t forget his pardoning of six people convicted in the Iran/Contra affair, his refusal to appoint independent an independent counsel in Iraqgate, or his legal opinions favorable to Trump before his appointment. Barr had two opportunities to ‘summarize’ Mueller, one in his 4-pager when Mueller handed in his report and one in the press conference preceding the report. Before Mueller, this history led some to question whether Barr could be an honest broker. Now the question is answered as both Barr’s summaries damn him in light of the actual material.

The Lingering Threat

Mueller covers some of the most serious Trump allegations, but some smaller crimes could be easier to identify and prosecute. Many of these are being handled by the people who’ve known Trump for years, the Southern District of New York. These prosecutors said about the crimes of Michael Cohen, “Taken alone, these are each serious crimes worthy of meaningful punishment. Taken together, these offenses reveal a man who knowingly sought to undermine core institutions of our democracy.” If they feel the same about the man accused of directing those crimes, Individual #1, they have significant tools to protect democracy that Mueller didn’t.

Some of the crimes under investigation are State offenses, meaning Trump’s Federal pardon power can’t be used to sway potential witnesses.
Where Mueller had a single issue to investigate, SDNY prosecutors have jurisdiction over pre-presidential, personal, and businesses interests.
None of these are protected by executive privilege, which only covers presidential activity.
Mueller felt bound not to indict a sitting president, but SDNY prosecutors might feel entirely differently.

For two years we’ve been subjected to a stream of rumor, and I know much of it has been BS. I want to know what the facts show, and now that they’re here we can find out. I’m somewhat relieved that Mueller found no direct, smoking gun evidence of a crime… I guess it would have been worse if he had. But this isn’t the end. REALITY MATTERS and I want to hear Mueller say Barr got it about right or if he refutes it all.

If our president was wrongly accused I want to know as an American. If he was correctly accused but there just isn’t enough evidence to secure a court conviction, I want to know that too. Details like that matter a lot to me, and I think to most of rational America. The Judge in a courtroom isn’t the only judge for Trump. If we have any pretense to be a functioning republic he stands for judgement before us all, and I for one want the facts to make a clear decision on one of the most important issues I will ever face as an American. ALL the facts.

Make a great day,

aaazTomSignature