The Seemingly Never Ending Probe

For John, BLUF:  Leaking and smearing are as old as the Republic.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Barr tells Republicans Durham report won't be ready by election

From Axios, by Writer Alayna Treene, 9 October 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

Attorney General Bill Barr has begun telling top Republicans that the Justice Department’s sweeping review into the origins of the Russia investigation will not be released before the election, a senior White House official and a congressional aide briefed on the conversations tell Axios.

Why it matters:  Republicans had long hoped the report, led by U.S. Attorney John Durham, would be a bombshell containing revelations about what they allege were serious abuses by the Obama administration and intelligence community probing for connections between President Trump and Russia.

If it doesn't come out soon and President Trump loses in November, will it then ever come out?

This matters because we don't need forces behind the secene putting out false stories and suppressing information.  Today I read an article, " INSIDE JOB:  THE CHALLENGE OF FOREIGN ONLINE INFLUENCE IN U.S. ELECTIONS" (War on the Rocks).  The author did point out that in the last 75 years the United Sttes has interfered in more foreign elections that has the Russia/Soviet Union combnation.  This was not a shock to me, but it should help others put election interference into perspective.  It means it is on the nation holding an election to protect itself.  nAlthough it is fair to say that elements within the target ntion were looking for our help.

It was interesting that the article goes on to say that information purloined from campaigns should not be allowed.  Specifically, the article talked about information taken from the Democratic National Committee by with the Russians or Wikileaks.  Unmentioned was the possibility that it was an inside job.  That someone working for the DNC spirited the information away on their own.  The reason this is important is that it is possible it wasn't foreign intervention at all, but, rather, an inside job.

The article then goes on to condemn this leaking of information from a campaign and talks about how The Washington Post is looking to prevent that kind of thing in the future.  Which raises the question as to what kind of leaks are acceptable to the Press?  Did The New York Times go too far in disclosing President Trump's tax returns?  Did the press go too far in being a conduit for FBI Director James Comey's leaks regarding Russiagate?  What is the acceptable limit?

In answer to the earlier question about the Durham Report coming out if President Trump loses, the answer is no, unless someone leaks it, and even then it depends upon to whom they leak it.

Regards  —  Cliff