Bugsy McGurk
President
Ever since Barr released his first hackjob letter about the Mueller report, Trump and his sycophants have contended that Barr (and Mueller) found “no collusion.” That’s nonsense, of course.
Here’s what Barr’s letter really says, quoting Mueller:
“As the report states: “[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”
Lots of important words in there. Let’s break them down...
1. Did the evidence “establish” a “conspiracy or coordination”? That’s not to say there was no such evidence. The quote merely states that the evidence did not “establish” such a finding.
2. Was any such conspiracy or coordination “with the Russian government”? Collusion efforts with Russians, such as the Trump Tower meeting, may or may not have been with “the Russian government.”
3. Did any such collusion involve the Russian government’s “election interference activities”? Taking the example of the Trump Tower meeting again, it’s possible that Mueller found that there was “collusion,” but that it was not connected to Russia’s “election interference activities.”
Needless to say, Barr’s hackjob letter does not address any of these questions. It cherry picks sentence fragments designed to mislead the public and mollify Dear Leader Trump. The words do not say there was “no collusion” - they are very carefully written and narrow. But, ever since Barr released his hackjob letter, that has been the narrative.
And now we will see what parts of the Mueller report Barr “allows” us to read. Will the above questions be answered? Will any questions be answered? All we know at this point is that the Special Counsel law was written to take political appointees out of the process of investigating a president, and we now have a president’s stooge making these decisions.
Just another day in the Orwellian Banana Republic of Trumplandia.
Here’s what Barr’s letter really says, quoting Mueller:
“As the report states: “[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”
Lots of important words in there. Let’s break them down...
1. Did the evidence “establish” a “conspiracy or coordination”? That’s not to say there was no such evidence. The quote merely states that the evidence did not “establish” such a finding.
2. Was any such conspiracy or coordination “with the Russian government”? Collusion efforts with Russians, such as the Trump Tower meeting, may or may not have been with “the Russian government.”
3. Did any such collusion involve the Russian government’s “election interference activities”? Taking the example of the Trump Tower meeting again, it’s possible that Mueller found that there was “collusion,” but that it was not connected to Russia’s “election interference activities.”
Needless to say, Barr’s hackjob letter does not address any of these questions. It cherry picks sentence fragments designed to mislead the public and mollify Dear Leader Trump. The words do not say there was “no collusion” - they are very carefully written and narrow. But, ever since Barr released his hackjob letter, that has been the narrative.
And now we will see what parts of the Mueller report Barr “allows” us to read. Will the above questions be answered? Will any questions be answered? All we know at this point is that the Special Counsel law was written to take political appointees out of the process of investigating a president, and we now have a president’s stooge making these decisions.
Just another day in the Orwellian Banana Republic of Trumplandia.