January 2018
Due to the divisive nature of the past presidential campaign, vociferous opposition when Donald Trump won wasn’t that surprising. Even calls for impeachment prior to Trump’s inauguration, although eye -rolling, weren’t surprising. However, the revelations regarding those entrusted to conduct a fair and impartial investigation of possible Trump and Russia collusion are chilling.
Knowing that a significant percentage of the country abhors Trump, why did “straight shooter” Robert Mueller, special counsel in the Russia probe, not vet potential team members to ensure that they were not among the “resistance” faction? Absolutely, a political opinion is expected, but vehement hatred towards the man you are tasked with conducting an impartial investigation is not, nor is it acceptable.
For starters, not only have the majority of the 16 prosecutors working with Mueller on the Russia investigation donated to Obama and Clinton, Zero donated to Trump. However, the most shocking revelations involve thousands of text messages, between Peter Strzok, who served as Mueller’s lead investigator in the Russia probe, before being demoted and removed from Mueller’s team in August, and another colleague, Lisa Page, with whom he had an intimate relationship, who was also working on the counterintelligence investigation at the time.
These texts are stunning in their display of vitriol towards not only Donald Trump, but also those that voted for him, and his family. The messages sent during the 2016 campaign display vehement anti- Trump sentiments, along with support for Clinton. While they are both in agreement that they will vote for Clinton, Trump is referred to as a “loathsome human”, “an idiot”, “awful”. Strzok referred to both Trump and his family as do*chebags. In reference to Trump voters Strzok wrote that he could “smell the Trump support” while at a Walmart in Virginia.
In another exchange Lisa Page texted “maybe you’re meant to stay where you are because you’re meant to protect the country from that menace.” Strzok responded that he could “protect our country at many levels”. In the most disturbing of the messages publically released Strzok wrote, “I want to believe the path you threw out 4 consideration in Andy’s (deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe) office that there’s no way he gets elected – but I’m afraid we cant take that risk. Its like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die be4 you’re 40…”.
It is a stunning revelation to learn that the man, who was not only pivotal in the Russia investigation, but also had a lead role in Clinton’s email server investigation, believed it was his mission to “protect our country” from a Trump presidency, with an “insurance policy”. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Strzock was referring to the Russia investigation as the “insurance policy”. Although no longer part of Mueller’s team, for a full year Strzok was among those at the helm of the investigation. Did he have a political agenda from the start of the probe? Was he on a mission to find dirt on Trump to derail his presidency? Not incidentally, Strzok was the agent that altered former FBI Director James Comey’s language in the statement exonerating Clinton from “grossly negligent”, which would have been criminal, to “extremely careless”. Were these changes made to protect Clinton?
Andrew Weissmann, a top prosecutor working for Mueller in the Russia probe has also displayed disdain for Trump when he heaped praise on former acting Attorney General, Sally Yates in an e-mail, in which he stated “ I am so proud”, “ and in awe”, in response to her defiant refusal to do her job and defend Trump’s “travel ban”. Which incidentally has since had a favorable ruling by the Supreme Court 7-2. Weissmann also shockingly attended Clinton’s election night “victory” party.
A senior Department of Justice official, Bruce G. Ohr, has also been demoted and removed from Mueller’s team. Ohr secretly met with Christopher Steele, the author of the Kremlin-sourced Trump dossier, during the 2016 campaign. Glenn Simpson the co- founder of fusion GPS, the firm hired by the law firm paid by the DNC and the Clinton campaign to produce the still unverified Trump report, has disclosed to the House Intelligence committee that he also met with Ohr, after the election, at Ohr’s request, to discuss Fusion GPS’s findings regarding Russia and Trump.
Incredibly Ohr’s relationship with the producers of the dossier doesn’t end there. During the 2016 election Ohr’s wife worked for Fusion GPS to help investigate then candidate Donald Trump for the infamous dossier. Was Ohr, the then associate deputy attorney general, who was part of the team investigating Trump and Russia’s role in the past election, using an opposition research firm financed by Trump’s political opponent as a source of information? If true, this would be a massive blow to the integrity of the investigation and the DOJ.
Jeannie Rhee, another lawyer hand-picked by Mueller to serve on the Russia probe also appears to have possible bias. In 2012 Rhee represented Ben Rhodes, Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor during the Benghazi investigation. In 2015 she provided representation for the Clinton Foundation in a lawsuit brought by Freedom Watch, a conservative group. She also represented Hillary Clinton, then Secretary of State, in a lawsuit seeking access to her emails. Since 2008, Rhee has donated $16,000 to democrats, zero to Republicans. Is anyone to believe that Rhee is not a strident partisan Democrat?
Another key member of the Mueller Russia investigation, often referred to as Mueller’s “right-hand man”, is Aaron Zebley. Incredibly Zebley was chosen for this role in spite of his representation of Justin Cooper, the IT staffer who set up Hillary Clinton’s unsecure email server in her home. Cooper is also the aide that destroyed Clinton’s Blackberries with a hammer. How was the same attorney that worked to defend a Clinton aide, in a high- profile matter involving Clinton, chosen by Mueller to investigate Trump, Clinton’s political opponent?
Unfortunately, in spite of separate testimonies in front of congressional panels by the FBI Director- Christophe Wray, the Deputy Director of the FBI- Andrew McCabe, and the Deputy Attorney General- Rod Rosenstein, there are still so many unanswered questions surrounding, in the words of James Comey, the “salacious and unverified” Russian report on Trump, and the investigation. What was the impetus for starting the investigation? Is it a coincidence that just weeks after the FBI obtained the report in July 2016, they commenced the Trump/Russia probe? How pivotal was this opposition research report, financed by Trump’s political rival, in guiding this investigation? As suspected, but not confirmed, was the dossier used to obtain the FISA warrant to spy on Trump associate, Carter Page? Did the FBI pay Christopher Steele to continue his research after the election?
A significant faction of our country is suspicious that our top law enforcement agencies have been weaponized to achieve a political outcome. For the preservation of the integrity and credibility of our intelligence agencies adequate answers are needed. For the sake of the unity of our country hopefully they will be forthcoming.
