ON THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS

So many new scandals emanate from Trump World every day that we can be forgiven if we can't recall the details of yesterday's stink. On the release of John Durham's final report on his investigation it's worth while to take a look back, see it all in context, and tot up the score card.

WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT

Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election. They hacked the DNC, stole their emails, and leaked some juicy bits. They also had their Internet Research Agency (a Russian troll-farm branch of the FSB) create thousands of fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms, where they disseminated all kinds of fake news designed to divide America. There were dozens of meetings between Russian operatives and people working on behalf of the Trump campaign. Rodger Stone was a central figure, with a back channel to someone named @goosifer 2.0, the source that leaked emails embarrassing to Hillary and the DNC. When it looked like FBI Director James Comey was going to start an investigation Trump fired him. When it looked like Comey's successor, Andrew McCabe was going to investigate, Trump had him fired too. (Christopher Wray then became FBI director. Andrew McCabe has since been exonerated and received back pay.) Deputy Attorney General Rob Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to lead an investigation.

THE MUELLER REPORT

When Mueller's investigation was finally completed, he issued a lengthy report. Trump's Attorney General, Bill Barr sat on it for weeks, only releasing his own very stilted, white-wash synopsis. Nevertheless, the full report did finally come out, and it did not reflect well on Trump.

While Mueller could not prove that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to tilt the 2016 campaign, neither could he rule it out. (Key players like Roger Stone and Paul Manafort could not be flipped. They lied to investigators, went to trial, were convicted, and then got pardoned by Trump.)

And Mueller cited ten instances where Trump himself obstructed justice. But Mueller was prevented from prosecuting Trump by a Justice Department policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Mueller did take some scalps. In the end, his team indicted, convicted, or obtained guilty pleas from 34 people and three companies, including top advisers to President Trump, Russian spies and hackers with ties to the Kremlin.

TRUMP WEAPONIZED THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AGAINST ITSELF

Of course Trump claimed total exoneration, but there was still a bad smell hanging in the air. So he repeated his claim that the whole investigation had been a "witch hunt," and he pressured Bill Barr to investigate the investigators.

ENTER JOHN DURHAM

Special Prosecutor John Durham spent 4 years and 6.5 million dollars investigating the Mueller team investigators. The final product: one guilty plea on a low-level offense and N0 convictions at trial.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The Durham investigation exonerated the Mueller investigation!

EPILOGUE

Republican Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio has taken a page out of Trump's playbook. He has weaponized the investigative power of the the House Judiciary Select Sub-Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government () to attack anyone who would hold Trump legally accountable for his many, many crimes. Happily, Jordan is getting nowhere and making himself look like an idiot. Jordan's latest calumny: he's refusing to let the the Democrats on the Committee see the transcripts of depositions taken from three ex-FBI employees who had their security clearances revoked. Interestingly, we learn that these disgruntled former employees have, since leaving the FBI, received money payments from Trump advisor Kash Patel! While Jordan creates fictitious rules to keep the truth from emerging, he spins the testimony into handfuls of rotten red meat to feed the mean, mealy, MAGAts in our midst.

[time.com]

[abcnews.go.com]

[nbcnews.com]

[yahoo.com]