We've been hearing from various figures on Team Trump that they expect the Mueller investigation to wrap up very soon. Even the departing Ty Cobb reassured Trump that he thought the investigation would be over by Christmas of last year.
When that deadline came and went, Jay Sekulow went to talk to the Mueller team and then leaked a set of questions that allegedly were provided to him from the team so that the Trump enablers could run out and spin it as proof that Trump himself was not a target of the probe. A questionable legal tactic that would have been a scandal in another administration but barely got a blip in TrumpWorld.
Rudy Giuliani then barged his way onto the scene--and every cable news outlet studio--and made big promises that he was going to go talk to Robert Mueller to negotiate the end of the investigation (because that's how things work, right???).
Of course, the implicit message is that it's time for Mueller to stop goofing around on the taxpayer's dime because there's no there there.
But finally...finally, someone in the mainstream media points out the obvious--this investigation is showing results. And it was from Matthew Dowd, late of the GWB administration, of all people, on Sunday's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Wonders never cease.
George, one thing I want to go back to what something Rudy Giuliani said and many of the people that support Donald Trump, including Donald Trump has said. Basically, he's saying there's nothing here. We ought to get this over with. It ought to be done in this.
Benghazi was a four year investigation. There were zero indictments, right. Clinton email scandal was a two year investigation. There were zero indictments. This has been a 14 month investigation, there's been 23 indictments.
So, if you're going to make an argument that something hasn't existed, this is way far above and beyond what's happened in this.
Whoa, historical perspective and truthfulness. It's so unusual on the Sunday shows.
Let me also add that the standard bearer of special investigations of a president, what we refer to now as "Whitewater" but which had morphed from an obscure real estate deal in which the Clintons lost money to an impeachment trial over a lie to cover an extramarital affair lasted EIGHT YEARS, cost the taxpayers more than $80 million and only succeeded in indicting Bill Clinton for lying to Congress (a quaint notion in the Age of Trump). There were 3,000 subpoenas issued over the course of the investigation. Hillary Clinton testified at least six times and was never indicted. In fact, prosecutors on the team were quoted after Republican talking heads claimed that Clinton was thisclose to being indicted that it was never a consideration.
"Fast and Furious" was investigated several times over the course of three years. Zero indictments, though one lower level ATF supervisor did resign.
ACORN was investigated by the GAO for six months and found to have no evidence of wrongdoing. However, the doctored Project Veritas videos and demogoguing by the Republican congress and Fox News proved to be too much to withstand, and ACORN was shut down.
What's the common thread? Republicans have little fear of fiscal responsibility when it comes to creating scandals to hurt Democrats and love to stretch out investigations for years and years, even if there's no substance behind it.
But an actual investigation into a hostile foreign entity actually interfering with our democracy that is already netting results? Nah, that's gotta wrap up.
