The Trump Russia collusion narrative hovers like a huge storm cloud over the administration. Noted and respected journalists on both sides of the argument provide in-depth and compelling coverage. And then there is Robert Mueller… the career public servant whose credibility is heralded or derided depending on the position of the narrator.
One could reasonably assume that after two plus years of investigation there is insufficient evidence to support bringing a compelling case of collusion that should lead to impeachment of a president. And yet the investigation and its resulting furor go on and on. So in trying to makes sense of this, let us resort to the dreaded two by two matrix popular among consultants and thought leaders worldwide. There are two dimensions: the first dimension is collusion…it either happened or it didn’t; the second dimension is proof..there either is or isn’t proof
Scenario 1 is that there was collusion and Mueller has proof. In this scenario, failure to bring forward the information may well have led to the successful appointment of Justice Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court…and perhaps many more conservative justices based on holding/growing the Republican majority in the Senate. (Of course, with Chief Justice Roberts comments that there are no Obama or Trump judges, one has to wonder why there is such partisan contention on these appointments!) So failure to bring forward timely charges of malfeasance has allowed the administration to continue to implement its agenda which a sizable portion of the country does not support. I would also hope that given tangible proof, that many more Americans believe in fairness and would support impeachment… even if begrudgingly.
Scenario 2 is that there was no collusion. If there was no collusion, then clearly there would be no proof. In that scenario, one has to wonder why the Mueller investigation has gone on for so long allowing the cloud to linger over the administration and IMHO poison the atmosphere pulling the two political parties and Americans further apart.
Scenario 3 is that there was collusion, but Mueller and team just can’t find the proof. This is the likely scenario that drives considerable Democratic angst…”We know he did it, but we just can’t prove it….dammit!” In this scenario, I would hope that we would have seen indictments that clearly link the accused to the Russia collusion narrative. So far, it seems that Mueller has found wrongdoing with no direct linkage.
Scenario 4 is that there was NO collusion, but there IS proof. In this case, while beyond the pale, but not beyond imagination, someone is lying and/or fabricating evidence to implicate the administration. This is the “witch hunt” scenario. “I said you are guilty, therefore you are.” Sadly, the recent Kavanaugh hearing debacle smacked of this tawdry model of jurisprudence. In the Kavanaugh case, it appears that ‘innocent until proven guilty’ won out, but at what cost to Kavanaugh, his family, the Supreme Court and most importantly to real victims of sexual assault. In the Russia collusion storyline, this is the stuff of conspiracy theorists that most Americans find hard to fathom. This scenario is well chronicled by the ‘no collusion’ journalists, so it has been received much coverage, at least in conservative media. One question that I struggle with is why the investigation is so one sided, when the actions of the Hillary Clinton campaign would seem to warrant some in-depth inspection of its own. From the secret server to how the FBI handled its investigation.
There is general agreement on both sides that determining what role foreign governments had in trying to impact our election process should be investigated, be it Russia, China, etc. Although it shouldn’t really surprise or shock anyone since President Obama openly worked to prevent the reelection of Israeli President Netanyahu. Global politics is just as devious and nasty as our national politics.
But it is becoming clearer that Mueller is, in fact, controlling this weather pattern. The ever present cloudiness is impacting the mood of the country in a dark way (sorry if this sounds familiar Seattle). Every one of us can wake up, look out the window and see today’s weather. Mueller owes the American people more. He needs to give strong confidence as to whether we see a sunshine or storm pattern on the horizon. Sadly, either forecast will bring joy to some and woe to others, but such is life. Anything less from the Special Prosecutor tarnishes his image, his credibility and gives credence to a political agenda narrative that serves as a huge, metaphorical meteor hurtling straight towards America.
Toothless Commentary 