Trump-Russia saga a plot stranger than fiction
Three decades ago I had lunch in San Francisco with Pulitzer Prizewinning author Allen Drury. I’d read his recent novels, mostly on Cold War relations with the USSR. The Hill of Summer was a favourite. After some invigorating conversation, I picked up the tab and we said our goodbyes.
An hour later, I left a secondhand bookshop with a parcel of his earlier writings, including the Pulitzer winner Advise and Consent. Also A Senate Journal, the result of his covering of that chamber in the mid-1940s. It turbo-charged my interest in American politics.
Over the lockdown, an event inspired me to ponder a work of fiction. I love a good political thriller, so why not write my own? Here's a precis:
“America’s first female Presidential candidate is a shoo-in. She is, however, beaten at the post by a complete outsider, a billionaire male of suspect morality. This results in the Washington ‘swamp dwellers’ setting in train plans to reverse the outcome by whatever means at their disposal, legitimate or otherwise.
“Two weeks prior to inauguration, an Oval Office meeting is attended by the outgoing President and heads of the FBI, CIA, NSA, DOJ, and the VP. What is set in motion disrupts the new administration with the goal of terminating it. The next day the President-elect is briefed by the FBI Director on salacious information pertaining to his behaviour. This triggers a prearranged leak to the media, which sets the course for the entire first term.
“What follows could only be fiction. The incoming National Security Advisor is targeted and ultimately charged with lying to the FBI. He eventually capitulates, pleads guilty and faces prison time. Sights are then set on the new Attorney General, who is subsequently fired by the President. The political-media alliance never lets up in its effort to take down this President. As each attempt fails, there is another in the making.”
But there is a small problem. This story is not mine, nor is it fiction. It is just scratching the surface; the full story is a deep dive. The conspiracy began during the campaign, but let’s pick it up where my “fictional” story got interesting.
During the 2016 election build-up, serious efforts were made to undermine the Trump campaign. Claims were made at the time of spying, wire-tapping, fake reports utilised for FISA court applications, all conducted via senior level personnel in the FBI and DOJ.
In early March 2017, conservative broadcaster Mark Levin mounted a case for the above, simply by assembling media reports mainly from the New York Times,
Washington Post and Guardian. It was a forceful argument but he was mocked and ridiculed mercilessly.
That Oval Office meeting took place on January 5. Present were President Obama, VP Joe Biden, Deputy AG Sally Yates, CIA Director John Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and FBI Director James Comey. The next day Comey presented Trump with the salacious tale from the unverified Steele dossier. Immediately after the meeting Comey messaged Clapper: “mission accomplished”. Clapper alerted CNN, who first ran the story. It was all prearranged.
Arguably the most egregious example of corruption is the persecution of General Mike Flynn, Trump’s short-lived National Security advisor. After being poorly advised by his original lawyers, his case was adopted by Sidney Powell, a woman of unquestionable courage. Her efforts were aided by the recent declassification of a large file of documents from the FBI and DOJ. This led to the dropping of charges against Flynn, charges based on corrupt practice by the agents, verified by their own paper trail. Two weeks ago, Obama criticised the dropped charges. The response from Powell via open letter was exceptional. It’s on her website.
Also revealed were details of the House Intelligence inquiry that Chairman Adam Schiff had secreted away. Their release — and he was forced into it — show he has lied continuously. And while Brennan, Clapper and others have been claiming publicly on CNN and MSNBC the magnitude of evidence for Russian collusion by Trump; behind closed doors and under oath, they admit to no evidence whatsoever. None, Zero, Nichego!
While we’re dealing with confessions, Crowdstrike, the private company hired to investigate the DNC hack, under sworn testimony, admitted they could not verify the Russians did it. But that has been the claim for years. It’s been a hoax from the get-go. This only scratches the surface. Levin, btw, got it right. More to come.