OPINION:
On this, President Donald Trump is correct.
Thursday, Trump tweeted this: “They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice.”
It was the president’s response to reports that Robert Mueller — who was appointed as special counsel to investigate allegations of Trump-Russia collusion in the 2016 elections — is now seeking to interview several high-ranking executive officials to find out if they were asked by the White House to help end an FBI investigation into Team Trump.
Trump also tweeted this: “You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history — led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA.”
Again, Trump’s got a point.
What he’s right about is that try as the left might, the whole Russia-hacked-the-election line of thought has fallen flat — flat as a watered down IHOP pancake.
It’s high past time for the accusers to put up or shut up. This media-fueled, media-frenzied, day-in and day-out accusatory pitch is growing old. Show the proof, or let it go.
How about some context? Barack Obama, in his second term, was supposedly alerted to the fact that Russians were trying to influence America’s elections. That was in August of 2016, according to fired FBI Director James Comey, who recently testified before the Senate about the Russian-Trump collusion allegations. Yet Obama let that little bit of intel ride — until he learned that Hillary Clinton lost the election.
That’s when Obama kicked into high gear and started with the whole “We hate the Russians” mantra, chastising at every political opportunity Vladimir Putin for his dastardly deeds, booting Russia’s diplomats from American facilities, and suggesting — and here comes the skewed political part — that Russia worked hand-in-hand with Team Trump to essentially rip ballots from would-be Clinton voters and put them safety and soundly into the boxes marked “R.”
As if.
But Obama then proudly stood back and let the media take over, watching his spin and deceit bowl through truth from afar.
Lest we forget: It was the Democratic National Committee emails that were hacked — emails that painted Clinton and her own election team in a poor light. Trump didn’t write the emails. Neither did the Russians.
They are what they are.
But back to the media and its subsequent all-courts press to make it appear as if Obama, the good guy, was simply trying to get to the root of the truth and out the bad guys, Putin and Trump, and in so doing, save the day and the country and, by logical extension the world, from the evils of conservatism.
Or something like that.
So the weeks go by, the months go by, and lo and behold — no proof that Team Trump worked with Russia to steal the election from Clinton. So what’s a sad sack Democrat to do?
Why, turn back to the same media that helped spin that story in the first place and use Comey — a Trump hater if there ever was one — to plant more seeds of doubt in ye ol’ collusion story.
Well, yada yada yada, nothing came of that attempt, either. No proof, no magic bean, all conjecture and innuendo. So it’s back to the beanstalk with Jack — and out comes Mueller, now said to be questioning several top-ranking executive figures to find out what they know about the supposed Trump-Russia collusion.
Reportedly, not one of these new sources of media intrigue were actively involved in Trump’s campaign — but so what to that. Fact is, they now work for Trump, so they must know something.
According to The Washington Post, Daniel Coats, the director of national intelligence; Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency; and Richard Ledgett, a former deputy who served Rogers, are all set for interview by Mueller’s team.
And what exactly will they be asked?
Well, the questions won’t exactly focus on Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections. Rather, they’ll center on this: Did Trump ask you to help him convince Comey to stop investigating Michael Flynn, former national security adviser? Flynn, if you recall, was forced to resign after he failed to tell Vice President Mike Pence about a conversation he had with a Russian ambassador. And so that story ended — and should’ve stayed ended.
But Mueller’s giving it new legs, it seems. Yep. This is the new face of collusion — obstruction.
Comey already testified to the fact in early June that Trump asked him to “let Flynn go.” But he also declined to call that obstruction.
“I don’t think it’s for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct,” Comey said then.
Of course not. That’s the media’s job. The media’s, and the left’s, both of which are focused fully on bringing this administration to its knees and this president to impeachment. And here’s their latest attempt, wrapped in a red obstruction allegation bow. Expect this leg of the impeachment journey to last a good three, four weeks, at least.
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