The request by former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn
for immunity as a condition of testifying either before a Congressional
committee or to the FBI instantly transforms the ongoing flap about Russian
interference in the US elections into a full-blown crisis. Quite obviously, I do not have any new
information about this matter, nor do I even have any opinions that have not already
been expressed many times by newspaper, television, and internet
commentators. Nevertheless, I do run a
blog, so herewith my thoughts on the affair.
First, an historical comparison. As I have several times observed, Watergate
took twenty-four months from the bungled break-in to the resignation of Nixon. In the interim, Nixon was re-elected. Trump is just ten weeks into his presidency,
and revelations are coming so rapidly that “daily” fails to capture the pace of
the affair. Every reporter in New York
and Washington is poking about for information every waking moment, with dreams
of Pulitzers, not sugar plums, in their heads.
Whatever there is to be found will be found. That is now clear.
There are, I think, four distinct stories, interconnected
though they may be, and I find it useful to think about them separately. Let me sketch them, in ascending order of
importance.
First, and most trivial, is the bizarre and bush league
effort of the White House, in collaboration with Congressman Devin Nunes of
California, to dredge up and put out something, anything, to offer some confirmation,
however feeble, of Trump’s ill-considered tweet that Obama wiretapped him
during the campaign. This silly business
has been driven by Trump’s inability to retract, to apologize, or even to
simply let go of something once he has broadcast it. The most interesting element of this story is
the speed with which the NY TIMES was
able to get to the truth. On Monday of
this week, Nunes said he would never, ever reveal who it was in the White House
who gave him the information that he then made such a great show of taking back
to the White House. On Thursday, the TIMES published the names of the
relatively low level staffers who gave Nunes the dope. For those of us who cut our eye teeth on
Watergate, that is, as many commentators have said, light speed.
The second matter, about which there is now no dispute, is
Russian attempts to disrupt, influence, hack into, and otherwise muddy the
waters of the U. S. election. I am aware
that some readers of this blog view this as unimportant, or at least adopt the
pose that they do. But I am not one of
them. I view this as very serious. Why?
Well, let me put it this way. We
have been talking for months on this blog about the importance of generating
support nation-wide for progressive candidates whose election could begin to
move this country to the left. In
addition, all of us are outraged by the blatant voter-suppression efforts of
Republicans at the state level. Both foreign
interference and voter suppression work directly against these efforts. Therefore it is bad, and a cause for concern. I do not rate this higher on my list of
stories simply because thus far it does not appear that the Russian efforts
have been terribly successful.
The third matter is whether Trump and members of his
campaign colluded with, or tacitly encouraged, the Russian interference in the
election. This is of great importance
because if the answer is yes [and I think such evidence as we have makes it
clear that it is], the public demonstration of that collusion will dramatically
diminish Trump’s political power. Since
I think everything he is trying to do is just plain awful, I view with pleasure
any diminution of his political influence.
The final matter, and potentially the most explosive, is
whether Trump is in the tank financially with the Russians and as a consequence
under their control. This is impeachment
territory. As that great American
patriot, Dick Cheney, observed, this is the stuff of treason. [O.K.
I have learned from hard experience that no one in the cloud has a sense of humor, so let me assure everyone that my reference to Cheney as a
patriot was sarcastic.] Despite enormous
amounts of evidence that Trump is deeply in hock to Russian oligarchs close to
Putin, it is at this point entirely unclear whether anything rising to the
level of a quid pro quo has ever
occurred.
Which brings me back to Flynn. I am, Lord knows, not the first person to observe
that all these investigations gain traction by getting the goods on a low-level
co-conspirator and then turning him or her into a cooperative witness against
someone higher up. I have been waiting
with bated breath for news that some flunky has been turned. Well, Flynn is no flunky, and the only person
higher up than the National Security Advisor is the President.
Stay tuned.
1 comment:
My main concern about Flynn is that he could be taking the fall for Trump with regards to Russia. I want a full, independent investigation of Flynn, Trump, and all of Trump's associates.
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