First, so far as I can tell at the moment, the first use of the term “collusion” came on “Meet the Press,” on 18 December 2016. The person who used the term was John Podesta, a major figure in Hillary Clinton’s shambolic presidential campaign. Did Podesta not want to use the term “conspiracy”? Later that week, Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada)—who may have been watching “Meet the Press”—also used the term “collusion.”[1] From there it entered the lexicon of both Democrats and the media. Then, apparently, it became the term of choice for the President and his supporters when asserting his innocence. Then it became a term roundly denounced by Democrats and the media as meaningless and an obfuscation.
Second, firing James Comey as “obstruction of justice.” On 14 February 2017, Trump reportedly told FBI Director James Comey that “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go.” After all, “he’s a good guy.” On 4 December 2018, a sentencing memorandum from Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller said Flynn “deserves credit for accepting responsibility in a timely fashion and substantially assisting the government.” As a result, Flynn should receive little or no jail time. What’s the diff?
Third, the Mueller Report “did not identify evidence that any U.S. persons knowingly or intentionally coordinated with the IRA’s interference operation.” More emphatically, “the Special Counsel’s report did not find any evidence that members of the Trump campaign or anyone associated with the campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its hacking operations.”
Fourth, “as the Special Counsel’s report acknowledges, there is substantial evidence to show that the President was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks.”[2] His actions should be seen in this light.
Watching the “analysis” following Attorney General William Barr’s press conference this morning, I couldn’t help but be reminded of President Obama’s remark that he had to hold on “until the fever breaks.”[3] Many people seem to have behaved badly in this mess.[4] What to do?
I’m “concerned” (i.e. worried, frightened, angry) that Republicans will NOT let it go. We don’t need a “reckoning” or a bloodbath or a counter-vailing “witch hunt.” All of us—liberals, conservatives, and independents–would be lucky if the perpetrators of the “witch-hunt” calmly reflected on what went wrong. The New York Times did so admirably after the Jayson Blair[5] and Judith Miller[6] events.
Calm reflection is difficult when the hounds are baying at your heels. So, hounds, lay off. Much as “they” need to be on the next thing smoking to Guantanamo, just lay off. America’s democracy is at stake.
[1] See: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/02/opinion/collusion-meaning-trump-.html
[2] Quotes from https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/18/transcript-barr-press-conference-1280949
[3] See his equally shrewd statements that “the Cambridge police were stupid”; that ISIS is “just the JV team”; and that “Russia is only a regional power.”
[4] See: “Ace in the Hole” (1951), “Absence of Malice” (1981); “Network” (1986); “Shattered Glass” (2003). These are among the real origins of the belief in “fake news.”
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