Medieval English kings were not nice people. Edward III (1312–1377), in particular, used his son the Black Prince to wage a form of warfare called chevauchée, which consisted of killing and burning everyone and everything that could be reached by fast-moving raiders.
The object was twofold. One was to destroy an opponent's logistics base and discourage supporters. The other was to bait the opponent into leaving a good defensive position and coming out into the open, where he could be attacked; a noble needed strong nerves and a stony heart to stay behind walls while his subjects were slaughtered and his lands destroyed.
As many have noted during the past week, Robert Mueller and his legal sell-swords must have been aware for nigh onto two years, at least, that the accusation that Trump's campaign colluded with the Russians had no evidentiary support. Nonetheless, per the attorney general's summary letter to Congress, the investigation spent tens of millions of dollars, employed 19 lawyers and 40 other professional staff, issued 2,800 subpoenas, executed 500 search warrants, obtained more than 230 orders for communications records, authorized almost 50 pen registers, made 13 document requests to foreign governments, and interviewed 500 witnesses.
Barr and Mueller seem to regard this recounting as cause for satisfaction, as evidence of great diligence by the Department of Justice. But each of these actions inflicted substantial expense and career damage on those unlucky enough to be caught up in it. Every one of those witnesses should have lawyered up, knowing the ruthlessness of prosecutors on the scent of a big-time case. The game is to find something on a lower-level person and threaten him with heavy penalties unless he gives the prosecutor a more tempting target. If no extortionary material can be found, the witness can be accused of lying to the FBI, with the proof consisting of notes taken by the interviewing FBI agents themselves, since the agency refuses to make recordings. Family members can be threatened.
Most of these witnesses have kept quiet about the experience, content to have escaped. Some are speaking out, such as Michael Caputo, who has written eloquently and repeatedly about the costs imposed on him and others.
Sundance, at Conservative Treehouse, concludes that none of this investigating was really directed at the collusion charge. It was all an effort to entrap Trump himself or at least some of his supporters into actions that could be branded as "obstruction of justice," with that term broadly interpreted to encompass almost any action he took.
When Trump said Michael Flynn was a "good guy," this was spun as "obstruction." When he wanted to release FISA memos, he was warned that this would be "obstruction." Any reaching out to witnesses would have been branded "obstruction." Any statement of sympathy for Paul Manafort or Roger Stone would have been obstruction gold.
In this view, which is persuasive, the collateral damage inflicted on those on the fringes of the investigation was not...
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1 comment:
Pig hunting season opens soon. They had best be kissing their families good bye when they go in to work.
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