Russiagate. It's proving to be one of the greatest political scandals of the century, at least so far. It was a conspiracy that ran as broad as it was deep, and it was dedicated to one goal: Disrupting and discrediting the administration of a duly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, and in so doing, not only disregard but actually to overturn the political decision of the American people.
And Devin Nunes, then a Republican Congressman from California and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, saw through it straight away. On Saturday, he sat down with Fox News' Lara Trump to give some history on this scandal.
Some highlights:Lara Trump: You were the first person to raise a lot of these red flags about the Russia collusion hoax. You said all of these things, and what was the reaction?
Devin Nunes: They started to target President Trump and his campaign in early 2016, and then, after the election, President Trump wins, we were briefed by the FBI and intelligence agencies after the election on election interference, and do you know what the answer was? There was none. The presidential daily brief said exactly what Congress had been told a couple of weeks before, and they went on this escapade this intelligence assessment that led to the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax that mired President Trump's first administration, that led to the Mueller investigation witch hunt that went on, same people involved in the fake whistleblower issue that still is out there, and it goes all the way to the raid at Mar-a-Lago.
Mr. Nunes went on to describe his suspicions about the information, how he began to speak out about what appeared to be leaks from somewhere in Congress.
Here's the onion:
Lara Trump: You must feel vindicated in so much of what has finally come out.
Devin Nunes: The poster child for this is Carter Page. Because here was a guy who actually worked for the CIA on their behalf. He was afraid when he came in to talk to the committee to actually say what he was doing, because he thought he could be breaking some rules. And he thought that the CIA and the FBI were there to protect him. In reality, they were using him as a pawn. They go to the FISA court, use him illegally, and effectively, they're spying on the Trump campaign throughout the fall and winter of 2016, and then, that gets reauthorized over and over again for most of 2017. All by the same people. So yes, am I vindicated? No. Because vindication is impossible for this, because you're never going to help the people who all got hurt. The only thing that President Trump and this administration can do is make sure that whoever can be held accountable are held accountable, and that this doesn't happen again.
That would appear to be happening right now. Security clearances are being yanked with abandon, and a grand jury is seated; it remains to be seen how high the rot will go, and who all will be called on the carpet, but it's looking like all the old deep state bets are off.
If this doesn't fall under the definition of "high crimes and misdemeanors" by the accused perpetrators of this hoax, then I have no idea what might. Think about this, as well: President Trump, in both his terms, yes, had a bull-in-the-china-shop effect on Washington. Even during his campaign, he cast a bright light in a lot of dark corners, sometimes deliberately, sometimes accidentally. The deep state wanted the Trump phenomenon to end, so they could go back to doing things the way they always had.
But it's too late for that now. Those chickens are coming home to roost now, and (if you'll forgive me for the mixed metaphor) the cockroaches are scurrying away from the light.
Read More: Clapper, Brennan Defend Themselves in NY Times Op-Ed, and It's Laughably Bad
The one good thing to come out of this hoax is that President Trump, in his second term, harbors no misapprehensions about how deep the deep state really is. He's not relying on the Washington establishment for staff and cabinet officials. He's bringing in his own people, and if we thought that bright light was hitting some dark corners before, it's hitting a lot more of them now.
It's belaboring the obvious to note that this kind of thing should never happen again. The American people deserve better.
As for Devin Nunes, he now serves President Trump as Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, a role for which he has shown himself to be well-suited. He's the real hero of Russiagate.
Editor's Note: The Trump administration is exposing Barack Obama and his administration's Russian Collusion Hoax.
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