As the old saying goes… consider the source. In this case
the source for an extensive debunking of the Mueller investigation into Trump
campaign Russian collusion is… The Nation. Yes, indeed, a pillar of the
progressive left, The Nation has never bought into the Russian collusion
narrative. Among its contributors, noted Russia expert Stephen Cohen has never
believed that there was any there there.
Thus, we are not surprised to read an extensive
analysis of the Mueller investigation in the Nation. And we are not surprised to read its opening paragraph:
In just over one year, special counsel
Robert Mueller’s investigation of the Trump campaign and Russia has generated
five guilty pleas, 20 indictments, and more than 100 charges. None of these
have anything to do with Mueller’s chief focus: the Russian government’s
alleged meddling in the 2016 election and the Trump campaign’s suspected
involvement. While it’s certainly possible that Mueller will make new
indictments that go to the core of his case, what’s been revealed so far does
not make a compelling brief for collusion.
And we are not totally surprised to read its conclusion:
The
January 2017 intelligence report begat an endless cycle of innuendo and
unverified claims, inculcating the public with fears of a massive Russian
interference operation and suspicions of the Trump campaign’s complicity. The
evidence to date casts doubt on the merits of this national preoccupation, and
with it, the judgment of the intelligence, political, and media figures who
have elevated it to such prominence.
Credit where credit is due. Unfortunately, too few media
outlets are following The Nation on this score. But, in some quarters integrity
has not gone completely out of fashion. In others, on the left and on the right, it is still alive and well.
I heartily recommend that you read the whole thing.
"While it’s certainly possible that Mueller will make new indictments that go to the core of his case, what’s been revealed so far does not make a compelling brief for collusion."
ReplyDeleteThat's a huge predicament. The thing about Trump is he's dishonest, but in a transparent way, so collusion of Trump himself doesn't really make sense. The only sensible story is that Russia's goal was to sow chaos into American politics, and mission accomplished. Therefore the only good Mueller can do is what he's doing - cleaning up all the shading characters around Trump. Still, you'd think "The fixer" might help bring to light something criminal about Trump that has nothing to do with Russia, but more than porn star payoffs, and what should we do with that, ignore it? I know, if it was Hillary, we'd have to ignore it.
"The thing about Trump is he's dishonest, but in a transparent way."
ReplyDeleteHaha!! That's a great way to put it! We all know when he's using hyperbole!
He fudges the truth, but in a way that doesn't hurt anything. There's a difference between saying, " There were this many at my rallies" and saying, "If you like your healthcare/doctor you can keep your healthcare/doctor."
I wish more people would understand this.
Terrific piece, Stuart, thanks for linking to it.
ReplyDeleteThe Nation, being generally farther left than other liberal publications, is used to being an outlier and not in step with the CW. They have thicker skin. Also, they don't have to prove their progressiveness. It gives them a certain freedom.
ReplyDeleteThe Nation remains a serious publication. The rest of the “news” outlets imitate ESPN SportsCenter.
ReplyDeleteLeftist blogger James Howard Kunstler has been steady on skepticism about collusion narrative with Trump. On Friday he wrote about the sanitized DOJ report on the FBI as well as Mueller.
ReplyDeletehttp://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/washed-bleached-rinsed They may easily find misdeeds in Donald Trump’s lifetime of sketchy real estate finaglings, especially with mob interests that rule the New York City construction scene, and they have means to shift all that to the US attorney there, but after two years, the Russia collusion story itself looks like a figment.