It could be the greatest con of all time. But we have to give Donald Trump credit. He’s managed to change the narrative to make it appear he’s the victim in the Russia investigation. And now Trump and a small chorus of bit players are helping pump this nefarious narrative. From Axios:
- At least 19 House Republicans backed yesterday’s announcement of a resolution calling for a second special counsel to investigate “misconduct at the highest levels” of the Justice Department and FBI “with regards to FISA Abuse, how and why the Hillary Clinton email probe ended, and how and why the Donald Trump-Russia probe began.”
Look how things have turned around on the Criminal Deep State. They go after Phony Collusion with Russia, a made up Scam, and end up getting caught in a major SPY scandal the likes of which this country may never have seen before! What goes around, comes around!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2018
1. There’s no “deep state,” only laws and those who uphold them.
2. You cooperated with Moscow’s attack & the collusion accusations against you are credible.
3. The FBI uses informants, not “spies,” in all investigations.
4. Yes, we’ve never seen a spy scandal like this before. https://t.co/FUueQs0IKL— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) May 23, 2018
Trump churns up the news himself then celebrates when it gets attention. From Politico:
‘Trump has grown increasingly vocal in recent days regarding the news reports that the FBI’s investigation into Russian efforts to interfere with the 2016 election utilized an informant who somehow contacted the Trump campaign. The president and his allies have characterized this as the Justice Department inserting a spy into the Trump campaign, a move that Trump has said could dwarf any past political scandal.”
Axios calls it a “sabotage strategy:”
- We suddenly see this concerted effort — orchestrated by Trump, and conducted outside of the White House — to smear Mueller, muddy the waters, and make the investigation a red vs. blue issue.
- We’re already seeing public opinion polarize and harden. And if that happens, Trump wins.
And because the flames are coming closer to the White House, the pushback is growing more intense, against Democrats, law enforcement, and his favorite target, the press. CBS correspondent Leslie Stahl, in an interview with Judy Woodruff, tells of a conversation with Trump about his anti-press agenda:
“I said, you know that is getting tired, why are you doing this — you’re doing it over and over and it’s boring,” Stahl said. “He said you know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all, so when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you.”
To quote David Ignatius of the Washington Post: “Trump is running a circus of distraction. But at the center of the ring remains Mueller, silent and unblinking.”