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| credit: Steve Sack, Star Tribune BC Idonwanna sez: Keep scores secret or you red face! |
If the Donald is anything, he is a master of media manipulation. His latest gambit in the Russian Connection affair is attempting divert attention away from Robert Mueller's legal activities towards an intensifying dispute between the US Justice Department and his allies on the House Intelligence Committee. They have uncovered the existence of a spy, to put it bluntly, that reported on the activities of the Trump Campaign. Now they want to know the spy's identity, but Justice is stoutly refusing to provide the identity which may endanger individuals involved in the undercover operation. The standoff between Chairman Nunes, and Assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, overseeing the Mueller investigation, could escalate into a refusal to obey a presidential order to hand over the information, and Rosenstein's removal from office. That event may force congressional Repugnants to either side with their erstwhile chief executive, or the rule of law. The standoff has definitely given the hot-headed Hair Further more ammunition for his one-man twit crusade.
The Washington Post reported Friday that a university professor, and longtime FBI informant, had three meetings with members of the Trump campaign. As some point in 2016 he--his identity is known by the Post but not reported--began reporting information about Russian meddling in the election. Partisans are now claiming that the informant was illegally embedded by the Obama Administration. Whether this claim has any substance is largely besides the point. The story makes excellent counter-propaganda and provides a plausible basis for direct action against Justice personnel running the Russian Connection investigation, which has now entered its second year. The sooner Mr. Yuge derails the investigation, the better for him, as Mueller painstakingly follows the leads leading to the President's direct involvement with Russian operatives.