According to the Times, the FBI began "a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign's Russia links in July 2016," and we knew that they had also begun "investigating the president himself for obstruction of justice in May 2017."
However, this new reporting from the Times is far more alarming. The May 2017 investigation, they now report, was not just for obstruction but "whether the president himself" was either "working on behalf of Russia against American interests" or "had unwittingly fallen under Moscow's influence" in a way that put our national security at risk.
What is new here is "the first outright confirmation" that "the FBI explicitly began investigating Donald Trump's Russia ties -- including whether, as president, he was acting on Russia's behalf."
At first glance, this story borders on the "duh -- so what's new?" Isn't this what all the shouting has been about since Mueller began his work?
But, the Times authors suggest, "take a step back. It's rather incredible that the FBI officially opened an investigation into whether the president of the United States was compromised by Russia." As Natasha Bertrand, a writer for The Atlantic, says: "If no other reporting existed on Trump/Russia, [this fact] would be the biggest political story . . . ever."
The Times story continues:
"Now, this news is about an event that occurred a year and eight months ago, before Robert Mueller was even appointed special counsel -- so it gives us little insight into what the investigation has found since that point. . . .
"To understand how the information in the new Times report fits into what we knew about the probe, it's helpful to keep the timeline of the investigation in mind:
- "Back in July 2016, the FBI opened its counterintelligence investigation into whether various Trump campaign officials were linked to Russia. This probe would focus particularly on four campaign advisers: George Papadopoulos, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, and Carter Page.
- "In late 2016 and early 2017, the FBI was 'suspicious' of Trump's own Russia links . . . but they did not yet choose to explicitly name the president as a focus of their investigation . . . perhaps out of fear of political controversy.
- "In May 2017, after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, that changed. The bureau then quickly approved an investigation into not only whether Trump had criminally obstructed justice . . . but also into whether Trump had been acting on Russia's behalf. Shortly afterward, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel to take charge of the prove.
"Partly, it may have been because events that the FBI had long been aware of now appeared more suspicious. The Times says investigators were also influenced by two new developments: that Trump urged Rosenstein to mention the Russia investigation in his letter recommending Comey's firing, and that Trump publicly tied Comey's firing to the Russia probe in an interview with NBC's Lester Holt. . . .
"Additionally, Trump met with two top Russian officials in the Oval Office the day after he fired Comey. In that meeting, the president disclosed classified information. He also told the Russian officials that by firing the 'nut job' Comey, the 'great pressure' he'd faced about Russia had been 'taken off. . . ." [However, the FBI only learned of this comment later.]
The lead Times reporter, Adam Goldman, emphasized that the FBI must have felt the evidence to open this new phase of the investigation was quite strong and that they would have had to lay out their reasons in detail, in a classified document, for the FBI officials to approve it.
This new reporting raises new questions about what the "obstruction investigation into Trump has been about," according to the Vox article. After Comey was fired, Mueller was appointed to take over the Russia investigation in May 2017. About a month later, the Washington Post reported that Mueller was investigating Trump for obstruction of justice, "related to firing Comey and other matters."
"After that, the conventional wisdom in Washington quickly formed: The true interest of Mueller's probe, at least as it related to President Trump, was obstruction of justice -- not Russian collusion."
However, according to Lawfare's Benjamin Wittes, this new Times report "certainly appears to suggest that the obstruction probe of Trump was closely connected to interest in his Russia ties all along. . . . Observers of the Russia investigation have generally understood . . . Mueller's work as focusing on at least two separate tracks." But Wittes now believes those two tracks "are far more integrated with one another than I previously understood. . . . What if the obstruction was the collusion -- or at least part of it?" he writes.
Perhaps it was "part of an effort to obstruct justice to Russia's benefit." And Goldman concludes that this is a question Mueller is going to have to address in his report. "You don't need me to tell you that the American public expects an answer to: 'Is Trump working with Russia?' It's the sixty-four thousand-dollar question."
* * * * *
Yes. It's time to wake up from the malaise that saturation with Trump news has lulled us into. History once told us: All roads lead to Rome. In this investigation, all secret contacts, all lies from Trump associates seem to lead to Russia. Why? is a question that must be answered.
Ralph
No comments:
Post a Comment