New Article: The Mueller BuzzFeed Mess: Who Knew Suborning Perjury Would Be So Important?
David Shasha
The Mueller BuzzFeed Mess: Who Knew Suborning Perjury Would Be So Important?
I have previously made note of the very disappointing back and forth over the bombshell Trump Suborning Perjury article from BuzzFeed:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/Davidshasha/PCwNlxrgaq0
Here again is the original article that caused all the ruckus:
A day after the article was published, Mueller provided a very rare and very opaque response:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/18/politics/mueller-statement-BuzzFeed/index.html
Here is the complete statement, brief and vague as it is:
BuzzFeed's description of specific statements to the Special Counsel's Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen's Congressional testimony are not accurate.
In due time Mueller’s office disclosed the lame reason for its response:
We then learned that Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein intervened with Mueller to elicit the response:
If that was not corrupt enough, we then learned that the White House legal team also reached out to Mueller to respond to the article:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/21/politics/rudy-giuliani-robert-mueller-BuzzFeed/index.html
Mueller appears to be very “confused” over the import of his investigation and apparently is very naïve when it comes to politics – or, conversely, he is quite willing to intervene whenever the White House demands.
Like Comey before him, Mueller does not seem to be worried about providing advantage to Trump, when circumstances permit:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/james-comey/557981/
It remains unclear whether the FBI actually wanted Trump to win the election, as their pre-election moves torpedoed Mrs. Clinton’s chances of victory:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/comey-mccabe-fbi-clinton/558200/
It is therefore interesting to note how the Trump Shutdown is not only undermining the proper functioning of our government in general, but it is also specifically imperiling the FBI itself, our federal courts, and our national security:
https://nypost.com/2019/01/22/fbi-union-says-the-shutdown-is-harming-investigations/
I am not at all sure if the puerile Mueller response to the BuzzFeed article is fully believable given the high stakes of the Russia Probe, and the clear and present danger that this president presents to our country.
A cynical person might think that he is working here to help protect Trump, rather than protecting us citizens.
The publicly known facts of the Cohen matter – according to Mueller himself – speak to the usual Trump interference and malfeasance.
According to his sentencing memo for Cohen, the latter’s false Congressional testimony was “circulated” to White House members in advance:
According to the court filing:
The “circumstances” around how Cohen prepared and circulated his “response to the congressional inquiries.”
The Vox article extrapolates on the point:
This would seem to be about how he constructed that false story, and who else was involved in or in the loop about it.
So, we already know from Mueller’s own court filing that Cohen’s false testimony was “circulated” in the White House; meaning that it was reviewed by the Trump criminal cabal before he gave it to Congress. We also know that the perjury is one of the items he has pled guilty to.
The Mueller response to the BuzzFeed article curiously makes no mention of the validity of the Suborning Perjury charge in light of the details in the Cohen court filing.
Again, as I have previously insisted, the response was wholly unacceptable in its confusing opacity, and in its complete lack of respect for the integrity of the media.
And then of course there is Trumpwhackjob Rudy Giuliani who idiotically served to help confirm the BuzzFeed article:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/20/politics/rudy-giuliani-trump-cohen-cnntv/index.html
When confronted by CNN’s Jake Tapper on whether discussion on the Congressional testimony between Trump and Cohen was proper, Giuliani did what he usually does – go full whackjob:
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/01/20/giuliani-tapper-cohen-mueller-sot-sotu-vpx.cnn
So What?
Indeed.
What is a little witness tampering between friends?
Who needs the Rule of Law anyway?
There is no way of knowing whether Mueller watches TV, or whether he understands the full import of his statements – and non-statements.
We will recall that BuzzFeed – under a cloud of universal opprobrium – published the now mostly-confirmed Steele Dossier:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump%E2%80%93Russia_dossier#Publication_by_BuzzFeed
The website has since been vindicated in court:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/19/politics/buzzfeed-russia-dossier/index.html
As I have also said before, BuzzFeed has been one of the most consistently correct outlets on the Russia matter; its reporting having been consistently confirmed.
We also know that Bob Mueller believes he is outside the public sphere, unaccountable to us peons, as he conducts a highly secretive and quite imperious and arrogant investigation at a snail’s pace.
It is impossible to believe that Mueller is not aware of the high stakes of the investigation and its importance to our democratic system of governance.
In his inadequate response to the BuzzFeed article he has raised many questions about his commitment to our national security and civic welfare.
Whose side is he on?
As the White House and its lackeys continue to lie without consequence, we are suffering from Mueller’s hermetic obsessions, as the country continues to descend into Putin-induced chaos and anarchy.
It is truly a shameful situation.
David Shasha