Mohammad Javad Zarif and John Kerry – Caricatures by DonkeyHotey, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0/Original
I’m old enough to remember when the media lost their minds over some GOP Senators releasing a public letter reminding Iran that any nuclear deal must be approved by the Senate.
Countless “did Republicans break the law?” articles flooded mainstream outlets after that episode and there was plenty of gnashing of teeth on CNN’s panels. That was back when the Logan Act was in vogue though. It’s now out of favor and totally crazy-pants to bring up because it’s Democrats who are brazenly flaunting it. To this point, the main issue has been John Kerry, who’s perverse relationship with Iran has led him to meet with them multiple times, encouraging the Islamic regime to essentially wait out Donald Trump. Why an American would be so invested in an Islamic dictatorship not relenting to sanctions is a bit of a mystery but we aren’t allowed to speculate because again, he’s a Democrat.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein apparently wants in on the action and David Harsanyi rightly wonders how this isn’t “collusion” with a foreign enemy.
Imagine, for a moment, what the political reaction would be if a leading Republican senator met with an antagonistic foreign power, say Russia, in the midst of high-tension standoff between President Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin?
Such a scenario seems nearly inconceivable. Yet, it’s exactly the situation Sen. Dianne Feinstein created when hosting Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif for dinner a few weeks ago.
Politico reported on the meeting, noting that it was “a bit unusual” for a former chair of the Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate minority to dine out with the acting foreign minister of an adversary of the United States. And by “unusual,” Politico meant completely unprecedented.
Javad Zarif is of course the “moderate” the Obama administration elevated that’s actually not moderate at all and is simply doing the Mullah’s bidding. But he goes on CNN and wears a suit, so it’s all good. Feinstein has been supporting the Iranian position on the nuclear issue throughout the recent tensions, opposing Trump’s escalations of sanctions to try to force their hand and stop their terrorist activity.
Feinstein isn’t merely just any senator, either. She is one of the leading proponents of reinstituting the Obama administration’s failed Iran deal. Only recently the California senator blamed the Trump administration, rather than Iranian mullahs who’ve spent years taking Americans hostages and threatening our friends, of “increasing the chances of an unnecessary military conflict with Iran.”
Yet, she’s meeting with the Iranians and telling them what, exactly? We can pretty much guess at that. Just like Kerry, she almost certainly advised them to wait until 2021 in hopes that a President Joe Biden will be back in the saddle to re-give away the farm. Despite the insidious nature of that, nothing will happen to Feinstein. Undermining of Donald Trump is basically a sport at this point and the same people who freaked out about such things during the Obama years cheer it on now.
All along the way, the mainstream media will remain silent, because that’s what they do when a Democrat is involved.
The political media, which act as if every contact the Trump administration has ever had with a Russian-speaking person is potential act of sedition, doesn’t seem particularly concerned about the unusual Zarif meeting.
Perhaps when there’s a chance, though, someone with access can ask Feinstein what she told the Iranians. Did she share specifics about her faction’s efforts to undermine the executive branch? Did she tell the Iranians to wait out the Trump administration for a Democratic president who will once again kowtow to them? Did she tell Zarif that Democrats would possess more flexibility once the next election was over?
Anyone think any media outlet is going to even bother asking her those questions? Now imagine we were talking about Ted Cruz meeting with the Iranians during Obama’s negotiations. Anyone think that might be a national scandal? Again, we don’t even have to speculate. GOP Senators simply sending a letter triggered weeks of cloths tearing coverage.
Dianne Feinstein meeting with the Iranians at a secret dinner though? That’s not worth mentioning at all. For example, CNN has not reported on the meeting as of this writing. The same applies to most other mainstream outlets. These are the same people who go insane over any innocuous contact between a Russian and a Trump associate, shouting collusion from the rooftops. Iran is objectively an enemy of the United States and Feinstein’s meeting doesn’t even register.
The double standard that exists when it comes to Presidents and foreign policy is stark. Democrat Presidents are given complete autonomy and if you question it, you are accused of violating the Logan Act. When a Republican President is in office, whether it be Reagan, Bush, or Trump, it becomes open season for the opposing party to shadow negotiate with our enemies. All the while a compliant liberal media makes sure the proper narratives are pushed.
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