What’s really going on here?
Let’s pretend for a moment that the “Mueller investigation” was a run of the mill investigation of a major criminal enterprise, albeit a complex criminal enterprise that includes ties to foreign mafia, money laundering and more. In this scenario, Mueller’s record of 37 indictments in two years would be impressive, and yesterday’s news related to the investigation would be evidence that the investigation is still humming along right on course.
We got a new indictment unsealed against Julian Assange for a charge not related to the Mueller investigation, an ex-Obama aide was indicted on a charge that is related to the Mueller investigation, and Donald Trump’s sister resigned her judgeship as a result of a tax fraud probe which directly resulted from a New York Times article that may have in turn been indirectly a result of the Mueller investigation.
If the Mueller investigation were a standard investigation of a criminal enterprise, today would be considered a productive day in an investigation that would appear to be right on track. So, how is it that the Mueller investigation has actually ended, and the entire top of the Department of Justice is actively making statements that minimize the investigation’s findings and question the validity of the original launch of the investigation?
We continue to get new evidence every week that suggests the investigations into the criminal enterprise that is and surrounds the Trump family are continuing at a steady pace, seemingly unabated. Robert Mueller is still technically employed as the Special Counsel, and Rod Rosenstein was surprisingly asked to stay on indefinitely by the Attorney General. All of this would suggest that the investigations are continuing on course.
Yet memos, statements to congress and statements to the press from the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General make it appear that the two top men in charge at the DOJ are actively trying to protect Donald Trump, which would include stopping the investigations and covering up the evidence. Is William Barr too incompetent to do any more to stop the investigations? Is he unwilling to stick his neck out far enough to meddle in the investigations, or did Mueller somehow effectively protect the investigations from obstruction by the Attorney General? What’s really going on here?
Cheryl Kelley lives in the DC area with her husband and young son. She is active in government and politics.