The Height of Stupidity.

I have oftentimes written about how perplexing it is to watch Republicans repeatedly bring knives to gunfights with Democrats.  To their credit as a political party, the Democrats can unify and form a united front so much more effectively than the Republicans.  In fact, there are times when the political savvy of the Republicans seems so inept that it almost laughable.  We are looking straight down the barrel of one of those times.

The appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller by Deputy Attorney General Jay Rosenstein, made possible by the curious recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is an inexplicable effort by the Trump Administration to somehow snatch defeat from the jaws of victory; to mess up a good thing; to fix something that is clearly not broken; and to seek turmoil and trouble where none exists.  Although the “Trump Campaign Russian Collusion” investigation has been written about extensively, no one has done a better job than Andrew C. McCarthy of summarizing the situation.  Read his excellent piece here @ https://amgreatness.com/2017/06/21/muellers-empire-legions-lawyers-bottomless-budget-limitless-jurisdiction/. 

Now when all is said and done (that may perhaps be in this lifetime), some person associated with the Donald Trump Campaign organization might be found to have colluded with the Russians to win the 2016 Presidential Election; but do not bet the farm on it.  The known facts are that for over a year (much of which actually transpired prior to the election),   every stone has been turned over by troves of investigators attempting to find some semblance of evidence or proof that this collusion did, in fact, occur.  Nothing has been discovered.  Does any rational person think that if some scrap of hard proof had been discovered, it would not be public by now?  Every person in a position of authority has repeatedly denied that any such proof or connection exists.  Respected Democrats in positions of authority and leadership within their party have themselves stated that no evidence exists to support these collusion allegations.  Ex-Director of the FBI James Comey himself acknowledged informing President Trump on three separate occasions that he was not under investigation.  And in spite of this sea of reason indicating the absence of any such collusion, elected Democrats in WDC and their media accomplices have constantly chirped away in breathless fashion about this supposed conspiracy and how it has undermined the very foundations of our nation.  In my time of observing politics as an unconnected bystander, I have never seen more noise and attention given to a matter of lesser substance.  The Department of Justice, the office of the Attorney General, and several Committees in both Houses of Congress are officially vested with the authority to investigate matters of this persuasion; but for some inexplicable reason, those resources seem inadequate to solve this mystery without a plot.  We now have an Abomination of Justice under the guise of the Special Counsel; an appointment that history has taught us is fraught with rancor, poisonous partisanship, and most of all, a colossal and inexcusable waste of taxpayer dollars.  It is nothing less than an all-star team of legal wizards in search of a tournament in which to compete.

And at whose doorstep should we lay the blame for bringing this glorified fishing expedition upon our government?  As irresponsible and unprofessional as they have been, the media cannot be blamed for this Special Counsel (whom they have so warmly embraced since his inception).   The Democrats in WDC do not hold majority status in either house of Congress and they do not possess the White House; they cannot be held responsible for Mr. Mueller and his merry band of lawyers.  There are many Obama-holdovers in various Departments that have made it a religious quest to resist all things Trump since the new President took office; but they can only feed the beast that rips and claws at the Administration’s heels on a daily basis.  They leak, they obstruct, they plot and devise internal strategies that help to make our government ineffective and inefficient; but they have no authority to set up a Special Counsel with all the fixings.  Attorney General Sessions voluntarily removed himself from the decision-making process in this whole episode under what many believe to be questionable grounds.  Citing the “public interest”, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein then created the Special Counsel, with carte blanche resources and authorities, because he found it uncomfortable to do his job and conduct the inquiry himself.  All of this was done under the jurisdiction and authority of President Donald Trump.  He hired Sessions.  He acceded to Rosenstein’s appointment.  He has the clear authority to terminate the employment of both men and that clear authority extends to Special Counsel Mueller as well.  The President is the Top Dog in the Executive branch of government and all…ALL…of these people serve at his pleasure.

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I do not advocate that Sessions should be fired; although it is disappointing that he has come into a WDC cesspool of corruption like a wistful breeze and his first action of note was his recusal in this matter.  I thought that we might see a bit more assertiveness from Mr. Sessions.  Rosenstein was put in an impossible situation; but it is a situation that is covered by his job description and he is paid extremely well for addressing this type of proceeding.  I really find no reason why Mr. Rosenstein should not be relieved of his Deputy Attorney General duties and liberated to find a job that he might find less taxing or demanding.  As for Mr. Mueller, it is an extremely difficult call as to whether or not he should be terminated.  His appointment is clearly a sham and is nothing more than (in an oft used phrase) “an investigation in search of a crime”; but now that he exists, it is decidedly more difficult to eliminate him.  Many, many respected political leaders from both parties have stated that Mueller is a man of integrity and fairness; that he is well qualified to serve in the office to which he has been appointed.  But as Andy McCarthy states so very well…How can any reasonable person stand by, observe the team Mueller is assembling, and come away with anything but doubt about how objective this inquiry will turn out to be?   A strong, practical, and legal argument can be made for President Trump to fire Mueller tomorrow.  Such an action would be vehemently challenged and the howls and cries from the media and Democrats would make one believe the apocalypse is upon us.  But that would eventually pass.  On the other hand, if the President allows Mueller to form this army of Democratic partisans, gives them unfettered access to the private and personal lives of his Administration members, and permits them to operate under their current non-supervisory status with an unlimited budget; well then…he has only himself to blame for the unholy consequences that will likely ensue.

There should be proper Congressional oversight and the checks and balances between the three branches of our government must exist; but not in the extraordinary creation of a mythical and freelancing Special Counsel.  History has shown us the exercise of the Special Counsel option under both Democratic and Republican Administrations has repeatedly, and reliably, resulted in mission creep, decades of residual partisan rancor, a massive and pathetic waste of federal tax dollars, and the lessening of our governmental integrity that occurs every time elected or appointed officials refuse to step up and perform the job that they were either elected or hired to perform.  In my humble opinion, it is would be the height of stupidity for President Trump to allow Robert Mueller to continue as Special Counsel.  Mueller’s office and assembled hoard should be terminated post haste and their illegitimate genesis should become a footnote in the early chapters of the Trump Presidency.  If there is wrongdoing to be found in the area of Trump’s campaign with Russia, let the Department of Justice…or the House oversight committees…or the Senate oversight committees find it.   If Trump is ever going to become a strong leader, he best make the hard choice in this matter and get on with the real business of running this government.