Dueling Memo Follow-Up
My plea for total transparency by releasing the FISA applications and transcripts of the hearings was not an easy call. It has the potential to encourage political interference in what should be independent judicial reviews. But life is a negotiation with trade-offs, and the scales are tipped in favor of doing what might be needed to halt the critical deterioration of public trust in our institutions. The fact that nothing has happened on that front could either mean that wise men are debating it very carefully or something else entirely.
My plea for total transparency by releasing the FISA applications and transcripts of the hearings was not an easy call. It has the potential to encourage political interference in what should be independent judicial reviews. But life is a negotiation with trade-offs, and the scales are tipped in favor of doing what might be needed to halt the critical deterioration of public trust in our institutions. The fact that nothing has happened on that front could either mean that wise men are debating it very carefully or something else entirely.
I think that folks might be looking for a way out of this mess — which goes back to the Hillary Clinton email matter — without completely trashing the FBI/Department of Justice, without setting precedents that could endanger the independence of the FISA Court, and, most impotently, without dragging Barack Obama into the mix. The only party that seems to be considering all of the issues that impact those objectives is the inspector general (IG), whose portfolio ranges from Hillary emails to the FBI conduct in the dueling memos to perhaps parts of the Robert Mueller probe. The IG is well respected, and his report might provide independent closure. Perhaps everyone is kicking the can down the road until it’s out.
It would not be shocking if the IG report found that some FBI folks used poor judgment but did not deliberately engage in any conduct deemed criminal. The anti-Donald Trump texts were certainly inappropriate, but there is no evidence that it affected the job performance of the agents involved. Those investigating the Hillary email case did what they believed was appropriate to get to the bottom of it, even though some of the actions were unusual and questionable.
In the Hillary email case, the head of the FBI was handed an impossible task with intense political scrutiny, made worse by the attorney general’s tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton while the case was still active. But what are you supposed to do when a former president asks to see you? The FBI head did what he thought was best after the hot potato was dropped in his lap. There were no right answers, and his conclusions may be debated in good faith. But there is no evidence that his conduct or motives should be.
Those involved in the FISA matter provided what they believed was sufficient information to the court. There was a ton of information about Carter Page that gave the court a detailed picture, and it is unknowable whether additional information about Christopher Steele and the source of dossier funding would have mattered. Perhaps the judge should have probed further, but everyone believed the informants and the FBI. Moreover, history was on their side, and the probing was consistent with other applications. Maybe not 100 percent, but there is no evidence of deliberate cooking of the books by anyone.
As to Mueller, he has been at it for a long time in an exemplary straight-shooter fashion. His staff has been comprised of professional investigators with impeccable backgrounds. And even though they are mostly staunch Democrats who supported Trump’s opponent, they have shown no biases in their work. Mueller has turned over every stone and has several notches on his belt involving Trump associates for crimes unrelated to Trump, multiple Russians who tried to meddle with our electoral processes (but didn’t impact the election), and even a lawyer from one of the most prestigious law firms in the world — which happens to be related to a major Russian oligarch — for crimes unrelated to Trump.
He has not been reluctant to go anywhere the evidence takes him and he has taken on anyone possibly involved, including powerful Russians. He has found no evidence of collusion between Russians and Trump and/or members of his campaign/staff.
It may be time to discipline those at the FBI/Justice not already called to account for poor judgment and inadequate job performance, but not criminal activity. Mueller may also want to begin to bring his work to a close. The books should be closed, victory declared, and life should go on. When it is in the interests of everyone involved not to go there, “there” is rarely reached. Perhaps it’s unfortunate, but it’s also perhaps for the best.
