Seven Days in January

Seven Days in January

In a few days we may get a look at the much ballyhooed memo written by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, led by Devin Nunes, regarding alleged FISA abuse leading to spying on the Trump campaign and the role of the Steele Dossier in justifying that spying on a presidential candidate.

Very soon we may also see a report by DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz into the DOJ/FBI handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

What I expect those reports to show is a deep politicization of the highest levels of both DOJ and FBI.

The signs are already there as to the effort to exonerate Hillary.

The Strzok-Page texts already made public show political hatred of Trump, and strongly suggest that such hatred influenced the Hillary investigation, which was a charade. I covered the unfolding disclosed facts in my prior post, Loretta Lynch – Bill Clinton tarmac meeting now makes sense, it was the end not the beginning.

As to the Steele dossier, the House Intel memo may or may not delve into whether it was a Russian intelligence set-up. It certainly would be consistent with Russian disinformation practices according to a former CIA officer in an Op-ed in The Wall Street Journal,
The Steele Dossier Fits the Kremlin Playbook:

When the “Steele dossier” was first published a year ago, it looked like a bombshell. The document, drawn up by the British ex-spy Christopher Steele, contained salacious allegations against President Trump and suggested that Russia had helped him win the 2016 election. No one has been able to corroborate its charges, but Democrats continue to see the dossier as a road map for impeaching Mr. Trump. Republicans, on the other hand, point out that it was created as opposition research, leading them to see it as an elaborate partisan ploy.

There is a third possibility, namely that the dossier was part of a Russian espionage disinformation plot targeting both parties and America’s political process. This is what seems most likely to me, having spent much of my 30-year government career, including with the CIA, observing Soviet and then Russian intelligence operations. If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that Vladimir Putin continues in the Soviet tradition of using disinformation and espionage as foreign-policy tools….

The pattern of such Russian operations is to sprinkle false information, designed to degrade the enemy’s social and political infrastructure, among true statements that enhance the veracity of the overall report….

If this turns out to be the case, and I believe it will, that means that for the past 18 months the American people have been manipulated by useful idiots for the Russian intelligence operation — the media, Democrats and #NeverTrump Republicans who have relentlessly spread the allegations of the Steele dossier, and used it to justify an attack on the most basic foundations of our Republic.

The people screaming the loudest about Russia collusion were in fact doing the Russians bidding in sowing chaos.

The dossier and gossip generated by it was the foundation of the Russia collusion conspiracy theories that led to attempts to intimidate Electors into changing their Electoral College votes. As I’ve said many times before, that was a defining moment for me that confirmed that #TheResistance was dangerous beyond our normal and sometimes vitriolic politics. I wrote about it in our last anniversary post, Legal Insurrection is 9 years old, and filled with dread:

Last year I noted that while it was a difficult year personally, I was optimistic. That’s been one of my roles over the years, keeping hope alive. But there’s no pep talk this year. Just dread.

The attempts to unwind the 2016 presidential election have changed everything.

I’ve written before how the attempts to intimidate the Electoral College electors into changing their votes was a game changer for me. That went beyond politics into attempted coup territory. It wasn’t just a matter of opposing Trump or Trump policies, which is legitimate, but an attempt to nullify an election. Criticize Trump all you want, I certainly did during the primaries, but respect the vote. If you don’t respect the vote, then you are not just political opposition, you are a danger to our system.

There has been a slow motion coup underway, an attempt to so delegitimize the election outcome and elected-president as to undermine our electoral system. It may have been done by the Russians, but not in the way portrayed in the media.

If the House Intel Memo and Inspector General reports reveal what I expect them to reveal, then there needs to be a house cleaning at the upper levels of DOJ/FBI, and the media-Democrat-#NeverTrump Republican useful idiots need to be exposed as such.

[Featured Image: Trailer, Seven Days in May]

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