407

We need a Democratic Congress reason #849.

One GOP canard-they’ve got a lot of canards-is after Mueller begun his investigation that the Congress would have to step back in its own investigation lest it step on Mueller’s toes. This was risibly fallacious as in Watergate you had the Watergate Select Committee alongside Leon Jaworski’s Special Counsel. But it was yet another misleading GOP argument-that preys on the ignorance of people.

Indeed, when you think about it, the structure of so many GOP arguments are the same. When Nunes and friends prematurely closed down the investigation in February, 2018 they asserted that ‘there’s no evidence of collusion.’ But, of course, they never even looked. They didn’t even interview George Papadopoulos-who”s loose lips about Russia’s incriminating emails on Clinton to Australia’s top diplomat started the Russia probe in the first place. Of course, Nunes and friends pushed yet another canard-that it was actually the Steele Dossier that begun the investigation.

This is the same way they argued for Kavanaugh’-‘There’s no corroboration of sexual assault’ which is actually totally false. But clearly they didn’t want corroboration-if they did they would have had actual witnesses in the hearings and not outrageously circumscribed the FBI’s investigation. Of course, if they really wanted to corroborate the charges the investigation would have occurred prior to the Senate hearing and the report would not have been hidden from the public.

And this is how they argue against climate change as well: there’s simply no evidence. 

In every case they employ this same bad criminal defense attorney argument in a totally ad hominem way that rules out at the outset actually attempting to analyze the existing evidence. Remember that most of these Congressional GOPers are lawyers so they know perfectly well these are bad arguments but they’re counting on the ignorance of the public and the media.

So the GOP has a lot of canards and Eric Swalwell’s new editorial makes clear that the GOP Mueller canard that Congress had to step back so as not to step on Mueller’s toes was totally specious. Logically it was already clearly a canard, but Swalwell now gives us clear evidence it was a canard. 

To write a piece criticizing a fellow Congressman in his own district is clearly unprecedented but clearly justified due to Nunes role as Trump’s Minister of Obstruction in the GOP House.

But what’s truly damning is that Nunes refused to allow Mueller to see relevant documents from the House investigation. 

Swalwell notes the numerous efforts by Nunes to prevent the truth being made public throughout the sham House Intel Committee investigation into Trump’s treason. Despite previous promises, Nunes refused to allow Special Counsel Robert Mueller to access information that could be used in his investigation. Just last week, Nunes again prevented the release of important, and potentially damning, testimony transcripts from the House Committee witnesses.

“Despite pleas from Democrats on the committee, Nunes did not allow transcripts to be submitted to Mueller’s team, all in an effort to protect witnesses who presumably committed perjury. In an effort to appease Republicans on the committee, while providing transparency to voters, Swalwell requested the release of transcripts after a ten day intelligence community review, but that was again halted by Nunes.”

This totally debunks the GOP canard that they had to pull back out of deference to Mueller as in fact they are refusing to cooperate with Mueller on what testimony they received.

Here is Swalwell in his own words:

“No one really expected President Donald Trump, who benefited from Russia’s 2016 election interference, to counter that hostile regime’s active measures: Russia wanted him to win, and when they hacked, he invited them to hack more.”

“But America should have been able to rely on a united Congress to ensure that our next elections aren’t just as vulnerable if not more so. Instead, due to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes’ persistent and pernicious obstruction, America has been spectacularly let down.”

“Just last week, hours before the Republican-led House recessed for six weeks, Nunes broke out his shovel yet again to bury even deeper the evidence of Russian interference, once again demonstrating there’s no distance he won’t go to protect this president.”

“Nunes and committee Republicans had promised that the American people would see our interview transcripts after the investigation was completed. When they abruptly ended the investigation without calling dozens of relevant witnesses, they voted to conceal the transcripts.”

By the way, another aspect of the GOP House’s abdication is that the hearings were all behind closed doors. I’ve argued that if they had been public Trump’s approval numbers would be closer to 20% than 40%. As they have done it behind closed doors they should have at least released the transcripts, yet they’ve reneged even on this.”

UPDATE: Although we’re now in June of the Dem Congress and we’ve had one public hearing in six months. Yet just recently Hakeem Jeffries was still reassuring pundits that ‘we won’t over investigate’. Maybe not but Trump-Bill Barr-Devin Nunes will.

“Suddenly, last month, Nunes agreed to release them. Perhaps he was worried about the burgeoning campaign of his Democratic opponent — a local prosecutor named Andrew Janz, whose argument to the voters includes powerful evidence of Nunes’ efforts to poison the Russia investigation.

UPDATE 2.0: Nunes-unlike his fellow California GOPers Darrell Issa and Dana Rohrbacher-was able to hold onto his seat but by a much more narrow margin than he’s used to-only six points.

End of UPDATE 2.0

“But predictably, at a hearing last week on releasing the transcripts, Nunes still wouldn’t allow real transparency.”

“Committee Democrats asked to immediately send the transcripts to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who hasn’t been allowed to see them under Nunes’ rules. There’s good reason to believe many witnesses committed perjury or offered information relevant to the special counsel’s work. But Nunes opposed it, and it was voted down.”

“Committee Democrats then moved to have the transcripts released to the public immediately — after a 10-day intelligence community review — to avoid any selective release or other political manipulation. Again, Nunes opposed this.”

“This is his modus operandi. Though incomplete due to Republican obstruction, our investigation did reveal worrisome contacts between the Russians and candidate Trump, his family, his businesses, and his campaign. Yet every time we sought to learn more, we were blocked.”

“We sought to test witnesses’ accounts by subpoenaing third-party records such as cell phone, bank and travel records. Republicans refused to allow it.”

It’s funny that the GOP claims Russia is a witch hunt as this was the process with witch burnings-if she drowns, she’s innocent. In the Russia probe it was if the witness states they’re innocent that proves they’re innocent. Wouldn’t all defendants like that standard where your innocent if you say you are? Where we will make no effort to actually corroborate wether you’re even telling the truth. Like the witch hunts, then, the GOP also uses a totally faulty standard of proof.

If any thing in view of the new draconian laws banning abortions in Red states in the South you wonder if the GOP would welcome real witch trial.

Swalwell also reveals that in the course of the investigation some troubling Russia connections between Rohrbacher and the Russians was uncovered but that-naturally-Nunes buried that as well.

“Reviewing his plans, we saw a glaring omission: the transcript of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher’s interview. I took part in that lengthy interview and I was disturbed by his contacts with Russia before and during the 2015-16 campaign. So Democrats at our hearing moved to release Rohrabacher’s transcript, plus several others; Nunes killed our effort. He’s burying that transcript to protect his friend — also in a tight re-election battle against Harley Rouda in Orange County — just as he has protected President Trump.”

For more on Rochrbacher’s interview and Nunes’ burying it see Chapter A.

The Nunes fix was in from the very start. Soon after 2016’s election, as we began to see the breadth of Russia’s interference, I had approached him with an idea: “Let’s have an independent commission look at what the Russians did,” just as we had after the Sept. 11 attacks.

“We can handle this on the committee,” Nunes insisted. I was doubtful, but I never expected that by “handle,” he meant “bury.”

“We’re not helpless. A new Congress consisting of people who put fair elections and the rule of law above party can restore our democracy.”

Exactly. It’s very simple regarding November 6: if you want to #MakeAmericaLegitimateAgain vote for a Democratic Congress. Otherwise Trump, Nunes, Kavanaugh, Lindsay Graham and friends will consolidate Trump’s illegitimate regime.

UPDATE: Yes but with love and respect Congressman Swalwell six months in your constituents are ready for you and your fellow Democrats to start cooking with gas.