PRESS RELEASE
‘Muellergate’ Building; DoJ’s Inspector General Probe Seen as Potential ‘Landmine’ for Mueller
Dec. 27, 2017 (EIRNS)—Attacks on Special Counsel Robert Mueller continue to grow, coming from conservative Republicans who call for Mueller to step down, given the obviously political nature of his investigation and the corruption of the FBI agents and Department of Justice personnel who are part of it. Panicked voices, meanwhile, shriek that Trump is planning to fire Mueller, and warn that, should he do so, hundreds of thousands of people around the country will pour out onto the streets to protest.
USAToday has a long analysis piece by Kevin Johnson today pointing out that the investigation of the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal being carried out by DoJ’s Inspector General Michael Horowitz, could be a "potential landmine" for Mueller. It was Horowitz who unearthed the scandalous anti-Trump texts between FBI agent Peter Strzok and his lover, FBI lawyer Lisa Page. When the IG’s final report is issued, Johnson argues, it will provide fresh evidence of wrongdoing, that will create real problems for Mueller.
From Texas, Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert warns that Mueller is not the "upstanding, fair guy that people have painted him as being...he’s bad news." In an opinion piece in USAToday, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona demands that the witch hunt be stopped and that Mueller resign.
"His investigation is clearly careening far beyond the scope of his original charge.... We should be deeply concerned with Mueller’s unlimited reach and unvetted hires."
The growing chorus of attacks on Mueller has worried his defenders. Huffington Post today quotes former President George W. Bush’s ethics chief, Richard Painter, who warns FBI Director Christopher Wray to get his act together—tell Trump to back off and stop targeting the FBI, or else resign. He whines that Wray "is allowing himself and the FBI to be humiliated by Trump and by political hacks in Congress."
USAToday also leaps to Mueller’s defense in its main editorial,
"Smearing Robert Mueller," howling about "contemptible efforts to discredit Mueller’s investigation.... There is zero evidence that Mueller has done anything wrong and every indication he is making headway into the vital issue of foreign intrusion into American elections."
Former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks is trotted out by Newsweek to warn that Trump’s attacks on the FBI are tantamount to obstruction of justice, as they are essentially threats against potential witnesses. Trump’s attacks on FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe could be seen as "witness intimidation," Wine-Banks intones darkly. And, in statements to the liberal, Trump-hating MSNBC, neocon Bill Kristol spouted a similar line, wailing that Trump is trying to "systemically discredit" the FBI and charging that he is trying to shut down Mueller’s investigation and might even fire Mueller.
