Some Comments on the Mueller Probe

On this point it must be admitted that Donald Trump is right. The Mueller probe has destroyed lives. It is a case of McCarthyism reborn, a trend which seems to be popular these days. We're also seeing it (in a different form) with the #MeToo movement.

Under this type of investigation there's no assumption of innocence, there's no due process, the verdict all but precedes the investigation. The prosecutor is also the judge (in many cases) and guilt does not have to be based on evidence, but largely rests on association.

There are times of course when circumstantial evidence can become overwhelming but it is also well known that circumstantial evidence can be manufactured and manipulated if preconceived notions drive the inquiry.

To reiterate a point I (and others) have made before, the Mueller probe also reminds one of the Starr investigation of Bill Clinton in the 1990's. Largely aimless and wandering it seeks to stir up dust and strife. It's a shakedown, an inquisition meant to break people and get them to start fingering others. It's based on a hope that if you stir the pot... something will come to the surface.

And yet a lot of people's lives are destroyed as a result. In the case of the Trump associates, it's hard to feel too sorry for them. Sleazy and dishonest these are not people of integrity. Trump is a criminal and there are literally dozens of ethical violations, conflicts of interest and instances of corruption that his enemies could utilise. This is in addition to the myriad constitutional violations and other instances of law breaking that his administration has already engaged in.

But that's not what the Mueller probe is about, nor is it the tactic of the DNC. Perhaps it was once hoped by the Establishment that they could 'take him down' and remove him from office. I think at this point they want to compromise him, mire him in a gridlock of controversy and discredit his presidency. The probe has always contained another key element. The narrative promotes and even mandates the anti-Russia policy so desired by the American Establishment.

Though Trump has been no friend to Moscow and in fact relations with Putin have (despite the media driven public perception) largely deteriorated and worsened under his administration, his stance is deemed 'too soft'.

The Mueller probe will reveal a lot of smoke, a lot of dirty business dealings, a lot of corruption but in the end no evidence of actual Russian collusion. But it doesn't matter, the narrative is in place and those who accept it will reiterate its claims for years to come. The narrative was fallacious from the beginning and the lies have not stopped. Trump too is a liar and has much to hide... but as I've suggested elsewhere, his crimes strike at the heart of the Establishment system and risk bringing down much more than a few corrupt lawyers and lobbyists.

But what is perhaps the greatest irony in Trump's denunciations of the 'witch hunt' is that he's the protégé of Roy Cohn. Even after McCarthy's fall Cohn remained a player, a big-time lawyer in New York City, navigating the murky swamp of politics and organised crime. He became a mentor of the young Donald Trump in the 1970's, helping him to navigate the rough and tumble world of Manhattan business and real estate and connecting him to the right people in order to put together the deals which made him rich and famous.

During the post-WWII Red Scare, Cohn was a rising star, working with McCarthy, going after the Rosenbergs and leading the charge to hunt down and root out America's communists. And like Trump he was a hypocrite with a secret life and many lies. His life ended in shambles as he was disbarred and dying of AIDS.

The Mueller probe is a disgrace and a lie and yet Donald Trump is about the last person who has the right to make such accusations. His practice has always been intimidation, threats and a desire to dismantle and destroy anyone who would oppose him. In that sense he all but emulates and embodies the spirit of McCarthyism.

The media loves to juxtapose Mueller and Trump. The shady deceiver is place alongside the shining knight, the altruistic and supremely moral public servant. Mueller has been upheld as a man of integrity, everything Trump is not. Even the UK's Guardian is on board as they recently ran a puff piece of Mueller showering him with honour and accolade.

It's all lies. Constitutionally speaking, Mueller is without exception the worst FBI director since J Edgar Hoover. Few would still praise the late and blatantly corrupt and largely lawless FBI director who died in 1972. His corruption and power were such that he was able to run the organisation for nearly fifty years. He was untouchable and it is unlikely we will see such an episode again. It was a different era but one in which the media protected the FBI and the other institutions of power. Hoover was allowed to continue in his criminality. It was only during the window of the 1970's (and in the wake of his death) that the scope of his corruption and lawlessness was finally revealed... and that only in part.

Mueller came into office in 2001 and oversaw the implementation of the new regime introduced by Bush-Cheney and their cohorts. Mueller famously stood up to Bush on a couple of occasions but for the most part was a 'team player' and showed little regard for the Constitution. It was under Mueller's tenure that the Bill of Rights was dismantled once more. The ghost of Hoover had returned to the FBI albeit in weaker form. Besides 'Black Bag' jobs weren't really needed in the 21^st century. The FBI has other tools and other means to violate the Constitution and bypass its restrictions and Mueller was keen to use them.

Like Hoover, Mueller can pretend to be a humble civil servant and a citizen par excellence in his concern to uphold the integrity of the American System.

But it is a bankrupt system and Mueller has played no small part in aiding its dark turn in the days following 9/11.  In some respects the FBI remains something of a check and balance vis-à-vis the CIA and some of the darker elements of the Deep State. But it too is woven into the Deep State apparatus. Not every agent is engaged in the dark deeds and dirty work but many are and certainly many of the top figures not only know where the bodies are buried, they helped to bury them and keep the secrets.

Trump may be vile but Mueller is just a polished up and more tasteful version of the same. Like Trump he's a swindler, arrogant, corrupt and in the end a sinister hypocrite that has helped to give a veneer of integrity to an era of criminality, deceit and downgrade.

He can look at himself in the mirror because he honestly believes he's serving America and its interests. But Mueller's America is that of the ruling class and for them the Constitution, rule of law and the Bill of Rights are as one Bush official said with regard to the Geneva Conventions, 'quaint' and yet effectively viewed as outmoded window dressing.

The probe's conclusion are going to prove weak and disappointing and thus to give them weight, Mueller's character has to be elevated versus the denigration of Trump. Trump, fool that he is, continues to play right into their hands and yet for all that, he still maintains a lot of support and thus far they haven't been able to shake him.