June 5, 2019
The release last week of the full transcript of the recording of a voicemail left by President Trump’s then lawyer John Dowd to Robert Kelner, a lawyer representing Trump’s former national security advisor Michael Flynn further confirms that the Mueller Report was not written by neutral arbiters of the law
The November 22, 2017 call by Dowd to Kelner was prompted by Flynn’s withdrawal from a joint defense agreement with Trump precipitated by Flynn’s plea agreement with the Special Counsel lead by Robert Mueller.
The Special Counsel Report included an excerpt of this voicemail in the section of the Report which addresses alleged obstruction of the Russia probe by President Trump. Most believe that the prosecutors who wrote the Report, did so with the intent that it would be used by Congress to impeach the President.
It’s bad enough that the Report is a 448 page presentation of one-sided supposed facts, which neither Trump nor his lawyers were given an opportunity too rebut; it’s even worse when it appears that the “facts” are being shaped to further an agenda.
When comparing the full transcript of the message to the abbreviated version presented in the Report, it would appear that it was selectively edited to give the impression that Dowd’s call to Flynn’s attorney was an attempt to influence or obstruct Flynn’s cooperation with the probe.
The Special Counsel version
“I understand your situation, but let me see if I can’t state it in Starker terms…It wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve gone on to make a deal with…the government…If…there’s information that implicates the President , then we’ve got a national security issue,…so, you know… we need some kind of heads up. Um, just for the sake of protecting all our interests if we can…Remember what we’ve always said about the President and his feelings toward Flynn and, that still remains…
The unedited version
“Hey Rob, uhm, this is John again. Uh maybe, I-I-I’m sympathetic. I understand your situation, but let me see if I can’t..state it in…starker terms. If you have..and it wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve gone on to make a deal with, and, uh, work with the government, uh…I understand that you can’t join the joint defense; so thats one thing. If, on the other hand, we have, there’s information that…implicates the President then we’ve got a national security issue. I don’t know…some issue, we got to -we got to deal with, not only for the President, but for the country. So…uh…you know, then -then ,you know we need some kind of heads up. Um, just for the sake of…protecting all our interests, if we can, without you having to give up any…confidential information. So, uhh, and if it’s the former, then, you know, remember what we’ve always said about the President and his feelings towards Flynn and, that still remains, but-well, in any event, uhm, let me know and, uh I appreciate your listening and taking time. Thanks, Pal.
The release of the full voicemail adds crucial context.
In the full version of the recording Dowd expresses sympathy with Flynn’s need to make a deal with the government, and to no longer work with Trump’s legal team. Shamefully, these sentences were removed from the transcript of the recording and presented in the Report in the section on obstruction. Without these sentences the tone of the message sounds significantly more adversarial.
Dowd also expressed the desire to have a “heads up” if Flynn had information that implicated the president. Omitted from Mueller’s report is the followup in which Dowd clarified that he didn’t expect to be given confidential information. This edit is the most egregious. Leaving this out, but leaving in the sentence in which Dowd seemingly reminded Kelner of Trump’s positive feelings towards Flynn, gives the impression that Dowd is making an inappropriate request in exchange for staying on the positive side of President Trump.
The Report was 448 pages long. Clearly, the prosecutors who wrote this Report were not concerned with length. So why did they alter a message left by Trump’s lawyer to the attorney of a man who could possibly implicate the president? Why not include the entirety of the message? Perhaps it’s because with the crucial context it didn’t fit with the obstruction narrative the prosecutors were attempting to spin.
Alan Dershowitz, appearing on Fox News Sean Hannity’s show last week agreed that the distortion of Dowd’s quote was a deliberate misrepresentation of what Dowd conveyed to Flynn’s attorney . Dershowitz went on to say that not only were Dowd’s actions “absolutely proper…but obligatory for a counsel when you have a joint defense agreement to find out exactly what’s likely to be used against your client.”
Dowd also appearing on Hannity’s show last week, expressed outraged at the way in which his message was edited. He was particularly incensed because he claimed that the voicemail was never mentioned by Mueller, or Mueller’s top deputy, whom Dowd met with throughout the investigation. He also stated that he believed that “…we’re going to find more of these things.” And that “..this entire report by Mueller is a fraud.”
It’s undeniable that the objective of Mueller’s team, was not to discern IF nefarious actions took place during the 2016 presidential election by the Trump campaign, but to PROVE that Trump and those working with him committed wrongdoings. When it became apparent that there was no criminal conspiracy, between Trump and Russia, which was the objective of the probe, the Special Counsel defaulted to shaping a narrative around obstruction.
Mueller should be subpoenaed to appear before Congress and asked when he and his team knew that there was no criminal conspiracy between Trump and Russia. If they knew early on in the probe, as suspected by many, that would provide further proof that those investigating the president were not doing so in good faith.
