By Florida Bill Washington has become so tangled in its investigations that one has to wonder when, and if the "swamp" is ever going to get drained.
I have an idea that investigators are stepping on each other, arguing about subpoenas and witnesses and who will be called to appear before the grand juries in Washington or Virginia, and who is first in line to testify before the Congressional Intelligence committees of the U.S. House and Senate. Who gets lauded by the biased media, and who gets hammered for incompetence?
By most accounts Special Counsel Robert Mueller is considered the principal and most powerful investigator. If that is accurate, where does Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz fit into the detective work? Mueller's mission is to determine if President Trump and his team "colluded" with Russians in its effort to help defeat Hillary Clinton; and Horowitz is investigating to determine if Former FBI Chief James Comey, Mueller's close friend, conducted a sham investigation of Mrs. Clinton to prevent her candidacy from being derailed.
The first investigator out the door got started on January 12, 2017, when Horowitz announced in a news conference that he would investigate the techniques and possible "misconduct" and "leaking" of documents by then FBI Director Comey. The director had become the target of criticism and accusations from both Democrats and Republicans for a variety of alleged misdeeds in his (Comey's) investigation of Hillary Clinton and her mishandling of classified emails. If criminal misconduct by anyone is found, Horowitz assured newsmen, he will recommend prosecution, and also provide a full written report on his investigation.
Horowitz is one of 73 Inspector Generals appointed to monitor federal offices. Horowitz's area, since 2012, is the Department of Justice with its attorney general, thousands of lawyers and the FBI. His position is authorized by Congress and he has immense power and heads a large staff of lawyers, accountants, auditors, investigators and office personnel. He is a powerhouse, and his announced mission to evaluate the acts of an FBI chief is almost unprecedented, as he is questioning the revered FBI, an office with a world-wide reputation for efficiency, honesty and bipartisan objectivity.
On May 9, the new Republican president fired Comey as FBI chief for what he said was incompetence and misconduct. Republicans cheered, but Democrats who had been accusing Comey of dishonesty and of causing Clinton to lose the election, promptly reversed direction and charged that Trump was now "obstructing justice" by attempting to kill the FBI investigation into Russian "collusion."
Fiery objections came from Democrats and the fawning and biased media, and that drum beat led to the appointment of 72-year-old Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to investigate Trump's "collusion" with Russia and according to his contract, "anything else which might arise" in connection with it. It made Mueller into a loose cannon who can investigate anyone or anything he deems relevant.
Mueller, whose friendship with Comey is well known, has hired 17 other attorneys to assist him and you can bet his investigation will go on for "forever and a day," and will cost taxpayers many millions of dollars. President Trump says it is the biggest political "hoax and witch hunt" ever perpetrated on American citizens.
Mueller has plenty on his table to investigate, but then so does Horowitz. How they coordinate their gumshoe activities is any one's guess, but neither wants to be outshined by the other. The evidence that Comey fell down in his job of investigating Mrs. Clinton and her apparent mishandling of classified documents is strong. The best thing going for Comey is that he is a close friend of Mueller's.
Alongside Mueller and Horowitz are the intelligence committees of Congress. Senators and representatives on both bodies believe that Attorney General Loretta Lynch had told the FBI director Comey to go easy on Hillary in its investigation of her handling of emails, and and that the Comey investigation was a total sham. Comey has even confirmed under oath that Lynch told him to treat the FBI email criminal investigation as a ho-hum "matter," and that he acquiesced to her order.
Talking about investigations--we shouldn't overlook Judicial Watch, a dedicated bipartisan government watchdog organization. It has initiated 20 or more lawsuits aimed at Hillary Clinton and Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch for several matters including Lynch's sneak meeting with Clinton's husband, the former President, which was grossly improper.
Theoretically, the House of Representatives and the Senate can recommend prosecution of any miscreant to Attorney General Jeff Sessions with or without the consent of Mueller. Horowitz can do the same as can grand juries empaneled by Mueller. Reportedly, Mueller's men have raided the home of a former campaign director of President Trump's campaign and have seized documents.
Mueller has the ability and resources to chop into any related matter as he sees fit to do. No limits and he and his team get paid for every hour of work. Doubtlessly, he will seek payment at the rate of $1,000 an hour. So if each lawyer worked six hours in a day, the bill would be around $96,000. Mueller's salary would be on top of that. But it's taxpayer money, so who is counting. Horowitz gets no special bonus for his work---it's just part of his job.
Congressmen on the intelligence committees also are seeking answers from President Obama's security chiefs, Susan Rice, James Clapper and John Brennan concerning their "unmasking" and snooping into private telephone conversations involving Trump and his supporters. Rice and Clapper have told conflicting stories on this and President Trump has said that Gen. Clapper has lied to Congress in the past and that Rice, with her "unmasking" has broken the law. Mueller should have some interest in those matters.
President Trump would like to fire Mueller because he has assembled on his team a number of attorneys who have supported Hillary Clinton financially and cheered for her to win the election. That is a clear conflict of interest which would justify his termination as "special counsel." That question remains open, and has been recommended to the President by some advisers and lawyers.
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