Protecting the Status Quo

For John, BLUF:  I hope the reporters from CNN, and their editors, do not see this described activity as virtue.  It is not.  Rather, it is long term bureaucrats resisting the will of the People.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The frantic scramble before Mueller got the job

From CNN, by CNN Reporters Pamela Brown and Jeremy Herb, 7 December 2018.

Here is the lede plus two:

In the hectic eight days after President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and top FBI officials viewed Trump as a leader who needed to be reined in, according to two sources describing the sentiment at the time.

They discussed a range of options, including the idea of Rosenstein wearing a wire while speaking with Trump, which Rosenstein later denied.  Ultimately, then-acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe took the extraordinary step of opening an obstruction of justice investigation even before special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed, the sources said.  The obstruction probe was an idea the FBI had previously considered, but it didn't start until after Comey was fired.  The justification went beyond Trump's firing of Comey, according to the sources, and also included the President's conversation with Comey in the Oval Office asking him to drop the investigation into his former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The new details about the genesis of the obstruction case into Trump that became a key element of the Mueller probe shed light on the chaotic week following Comey's firing and the scramble to decide how best to respond.  They also help to explain the origins of the Mueller investigation that has stretched across 19 months, consumed Trump's presidency and is building toward a dramatic day of courtroom filings on Friday.

In a way this reads like a rogue operation at the Department of Justice.  The only thing missing is the origin of the FISA Warrants.

In my mind it is not a lock for Mr Mueller to come back and find President Trump guilty of all sorts of things.  It is still an open question as to if he will recommend a second Special Counsel, one charged with looking into DOJ, and in particular, the FBI.

One thing I find particularly interesting is the use of the phrase "a leader who needed to be reined in."  I can see "finding criminal activity" but "reining in" seems to not be the business of DOJ or the FBI.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff