The No Collusion Myth: Chris Cuomo, Adam Schiff, and the Dems’ Prevent Defense

“The only thing the prevent defense prevents is winning.” — John Madden

🧠 I. The Illusion That Wouldn’t Die

As 2021 closed, the myth of “no collusion” had calcified into mainstream dogma. Barr’s deceptive summary of the Mueller Report was never corrected. Instead, it was entrenched—thanks to the savvy punditocracy and a Democratic leadership that ran the political equivalent of a prevent defense. If they’d watched football, they’d know: it only prevents victory.

🧠 II. Savvy Pundits and the Dossier Distraction

Pundits like Erik Wemple obsessed over the Steele Dossier’s imperfections, ignoring the broader truth. His fixation—whether driven by ego, tribalism, or pedantry—served only to reinforce the lie. If Wemple had written 100 posts on Russian interference instead of nitpicking the Dossier, we’d be in a better place.

🧠 III. MSM Failure and the Barr Effect

Margaret Sullivan warned the press not to get gamed by Barr’s summary. They did anyway. Ken Dilanian, Ari Melber, and others committed every error she flagged—and then some. The result? A media landscape where the GOP’s counternarrative became conventional wisdom.

🧠 IV. Schiff’s Blind Spot

Schiff’s memoir documents the sabotage. But what he fails to grasp is his own complicity. Pelosi, Schiff, and the institutionalist wing chose caution over confrontation in 2019. That choice helped cement the illusion that Mueller found nothing.

🧠 V. Nunes, Patel, and the London Fiasco

Back in 2018, Devin Nunes—nominally recused, but only in name—prematurely shut down the House Intel investigation. Kash Patel, his operative, bungled a covert trip to London to confront Steele. Schiff documents it all: the “London Calling” fiasco, the midnight runs, the weaponized subpoenas. Conaway was a figurehead. Nunes ran the show.

🧠 VI. Fox News Echoes, MSM Follows

Fox News amplified the counternarrative nightly. Nunes went from pariah to hero. The GOP echo chamber metastasized. But the real tragedy? The mainstream press followed suit. Just like with Whitewater and Emailgate, they bought the GOP’s frame. Erik Wemple became Exhibit A—writing more about Steele’s flaws than the entire press wrote about Russian interference.

🧠 VII. The Barr-Durham Irony

Even under Biden and Garland, the DOJ investigates the investigators—not the interference. Schiff laments this in his book, calling it Putin’s wildest dream. He’s right. But he misses how his own party helped build that dream.

🔥 VIII. Final Punch

The myth of “no collusion” didn’t survive because it was true. It survived because the institutions—media, political, and legal—needed it to be. And in their prevent defense, they let the truth slip through the cracks. The joke isn’t just on us. It’s on the idea of accountability itself.

Verse Two: The Reckoning That Wasn’t

“Reckoning. That’s a word that keeps coming up today.” — Tom Jones, March 25, 2019

🧠 I. The Club Rules: Drop the Russia Story

Very quickly, savvy opinion decided the Russia story was over. It was fine to chase the GOP counternarrative—Wemple proved that. But anyone who wanted to stay in the club had to drop the core story itself. Even when the MSM lambasted Barr for deception, they still accepted his framing. The lie held.

🧠 II. Tom Jones and the Dog’s Breakfast

To understand how badly the press botched Barr’s fake exoneration letter, consider Tom Jones’s response the very next day. It was typical—which is to say, completely awful.

“Now that it appears the Mueller Report, at least according to Attorney General William Barr’s summary, exonerates President Donald Trump… we turn our attention to what surely will be an onslaught of criticism directed at the media.”

Jones didn’t just echo Barr—he amplified him. Mueller didn’t say there was no collusion. He said there wasn’t enough to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. That nuance was too subtle for the Savvy—even for Ari Melber, allegedly a lawyer.

FN: For more on Melber’s post-Barr meltdown, see Chapter: Ari Melber.

🧠 III. Trump the Innocent? The Fantasy Takes Hold

Jones went further than most—claiming Mueller proved Trump wasn’t a crook. Absurd. Everyone knew Trump was a crook. The argument against Mueller was that you didn’t need an investigation to prove it. Just look at his tax records. Or the bribe to Pam Bondi.

Yet Jones declared Trump innocent. Not just of collusion—but of everything. That’s how thoroughly the pundits mangled the Mueller Report. And they did it based not on the Report itself, but on Barr’s disinformation summary.

🧠 IV. The Savvy Church and Its Rituals

Jones’s take wasn’t unusual. And that’s why he’s safe. That’s how Jay Rosen’s Savvy Church works: it’s okay to be outrageously wrong if the rest of the club is too. The only real sin is stepping out on a limb.

FN: Usually. Unless you’re Chris Cuomo—who we’ll discuss below—whose downfall came not from punditry but proximity to his brother.

Stelter and Friends can tsk-tsk Fox News all they want. But they ended up pushing the same dishonest narrative: Mueller proved NO COLLUSION, and the only real sin was the Steele Dossier.

🧠 V. The Reckoning That Wasn’t

The MSM decided Trump and his GOP co-conspirators were right: there needed to be a reckoning. And they gave Trump a wholly undeserved mea culpa. Contrast that with how they treated Hillary Clinton. She deserved an apology. Instead, they buried their own failures post–November 8, 2016. Any attempt to discuss it was dismissed as “making excuses for not going to Michigan and Wisconsin.”

🧠 VI. Back to Schiff: The Institutional Blind Spot

So how do Schiff and the Democratic leadership fit into this story?

FN: The story of Russia’s wildly successful disinformation campaign—so successful that its 2016 interference has been buried as too embarrassing to discuss.

Let’s return to 2017. The House Intel proceedings had become a joke. GOP members told Kushner, Don Jr., and Erik Prince they didn’t need to answer Democratic questions. Denials were treated as evidence. If there was collusion, they’d say so—right?

Nunes had fake-recused but was still giving orders. Including the Patel fiasco in London.

🧠 VII. The Shutdown of Accountability

“By the end of 2017, Nunes was no longer content to wage his counterinvestigations… he wanted the real investigation shut down.”

Conaway scheduled witness interviews at impossible times. Witnesses refused to answer. Erik Prince stonewalled. Steve Bannon showed up with a list of 25 questions—written by the White House—with one-word answers: “no.”

Even Gowdy was appalled. But Republicans did nothing.

🔥 VIII. Final Punch

The reckoning never came. Not for Trump. Not for the media. Not for the institutions that let the lie metastasize. The Savvy Church closed ranks. The Democrats ran a prevent defense. And the truth was buried—alongside the story of Russia’s interference, the Mueller Report’s actual findings, and the idea that facts still matter.

Verse Three: The Dog Caught the Car

“The joke is on us.”

🧠 I. The GOP’s Farce Becomes the Frame

The GOP’s handling of the House Intel investigation was comical—except the consequences weren’t. Most Republican members skipped the Russia interviews entirely. Schiff tried to convene a full committee review of the evidence. Conaway agreed. But the meeting never happened. Nunes wouldn’t allow it.

“Most of your members haven’t been coming to the interviews… It became obvious that such a meeting was never going to take place.”

The joke is on us because the GOP narrative—crafted by hacks who didn’t even show up—is the one the MSM adopted. Devlin Barrett, Erik Wemple, Ken Dilanian: they didn’t care about facts. They cared about savvy positioning. Pedantic quibbling over the Steele Dossier replaced concern for the spirit of the truth.

🧠 II. Bipartisanship as Surrender

Schiff reflects on the failure of bipartisanship. The only way the investigation could have been bipartisan was if Democrats abandoned the pursuit of truth and called it progress.

“If there was to be a real House investigation… we would have to occupy the majority ourselves.”

By spring 2018, that possibility was growing. The GOP’s vulgar transformation under Trump triggered a mass exodus. Even Speaker Paul Ryan—once the party’s future—announced his retirement.

🧠 III. The Highwater Mark of #Resistance

The Democrats won a historic landslide on November 6, 2018. Millions mobilized. But in retrospect, it was the highwater mark of the #Resistance.

Soon after, fatigue crept in. The energy remained, but the focus narrowed. Defeating Trump became the singular mission. Broader vigilance faded. Self-care replaced scrutiny. Coffee and donuts replaced counterintelligence.

🧠 IV. The Rise of the #UnityPolice

Criticism of Democratic leadership became taboo. The #UnityPolice emerged—ready to accuse anyone who questioned Pelosi or Schiff of wanting Trump to win.

“My criticism was tactical. But the #UnityPolice refused to note the distinction.”

After the 2021 red wave, it was clear: the early signs of retreat were real. The mission had been defined narrowly—defeat Trump—and once that was done, many felt the work was over.

🧠 V. Oversight Promises Fade

Even before the new Congress was sworn in, oversight promises began to fade. Nadler had vowed to investigate Comeygate and Kavanaugh. But post–November 6, those vows vanished. Schiff and Pelosi’s preferences prevailed.

FN: Rachel Bade’s reporting makes this even clearer.

🧠 VI. The Counterintel Mirage

In January 2019, Schiff said the right things. He emphasized the need for a counterintelligence investigation—one Mueller wasn’t pursuing. Schiff recognized that non-criminal activity could still pose grave national risks.

“If Mueller wasn’t pursuing that… our committee needed to do so or the country would be left at risk.”

At the time, there was hope. But also misgivings. The Democrats had caught the car—and already, they were talking a less aggressive game.

🧠 VII. What Happened?

Three years later, the question remains: what happened to Schiff’s promised counterintel investigation?

FN: As discussed in Joe Should Have Fired Wray, Schiff inexplicably cheered Wray’s retention—even though Wray stopped sending HPSCI the counterintel on Russia.

🔥 Final Punch

The dog caught the car. And then let go. The Democrats won the House, but lost their nerve. The GOP’s farce became the frame. The MSM buried the truth. And the #Resistance, once vigilant, narrowed its mission to a single man—while the architecture of disinformation remained untouched.

🧠 I. The Red Line and the Rewrite

Schiff’s vow to subpoena Trump’s financial records was framed as partisan overreach. The New Yorker ran the headline: “Adam Schiff’s Plans to Obliterate Trump’s Red Line.” Trump responded in his State of the Union:

“The only things that can stop [the economic miracle] are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous, partisan investigations.”

Then came the tweet: “Zero Russian Collusion… Never happened before!”

The joke, once again, was on us. The media adopted Trump’s framing—not Mueller’s findings, but Barr’s summary. For two years, “NO COLLUSION” became gospel. The pundits didn’t push back. They’d been brainwashed too.

🧠 II. Russia Fatigue and the Savvy Shrug

By early 2019, the writing was on the wall. The Beltway press was tired of Russia. Kasey Hunt said it out loud: “People are tired of Russia.” It echoed the 2015 Emailgate cycle, where pundits declared Clinton untrustworthy—then cited polls they themselves shaped.

Ezra Klein nailed it: the media doesn’t just report the news—it creates it.

Was the country tired of Russia? No evidence. Just like there was no evidence of Clinton fatigue in 2015. Chuck Todd admitted: “I don’t know if the country has Clinton fatigue—but the press certainly does.”

Same playbook. Different target.

🧠 III. The Double Standard of Fatigue

The media never tired of Whitewater. Or Paula Jones. Or HER EMAILS. But they tired of Russian interference in record time. Erik Wemple still hasn’t tired of poking holes in the Steele Dossier. But the broader story? Buried.

Helpful stories emerged reminding us Barr didn’t have to release the report. Expectations were managed into the basement. The public was told to be grateful for whatever crumbs Barr chose to drop.

Why assist him in hiding the truth?

🧠 IV. Managing Expectations—Selective Edition

Compare this to Emailgate. No fatigue. No reminders that indictment was unlikely. Instead, the press amplified the fantasy that Clinton might be indicted. Even Chris Hayes asked her directly: “Do you worry about being indicted?”

Same with the Ken Starr Report. No fatigue there either.

But with Russian collusion? Fatigue set in fast. Just like with Iran Contra. There’s your liberal media.

🧠 V. The Preemptive Apology Demand

By late February, rumors swirled: Mueller was wrapping up. Trump and his allies declared victory. Giuliani tweeted:

“I trust [Schiff] is relieved there is no collusion… I hope he will apologize.”

The next morning, Stephanopoulos asked Schiff if he’d apologize. Schiff declined, citing the distinction between collusion and criminal conspiracy.

“The campaign could, and did, try to collude… Whether Mueller believed he could satisfy a jury was another matter.”

A factually sound answer. But facts didn’t matter. The press had its narrative: NO COLLUSION. And those who challenged it—Schiff, Maddow—were told to be contrite.

🧠 VI. The Savvy Response Was Already Scripted

Tom Jones later held up Maddow as excessive and unprofessional. But the tell came earlier. Stephanopoulos was already telegraphing the Savvy response: Schiff and Maddow needed to apologize.

FN: This is why the short answer to what happened to Schiff’s counterintel investigation is: Stephanopoulos and Chris Cuomo happened. We’ll get to Cuomo below.

🔥 Final Punch

The media didn’t just echo Trump’s “NO COLLUSION” mantra—they built scaffolding around it. They managed expectations down, buried the broader truth, and demanded contrition from those who dared to investigate. The narrative wasn’t just shaped—it was weaponized. And the press, once again, became the accomplice.

Verse Five: The Wind at Barr’s Back

“It’s not about facts. It’s about narrative. And once you’ve accepted a bad narrative, you’ve already lost.”

🧠 I. Barr’s Moment, the Media’s Surrender

By March 2019, Barr wasn’t just delivering a summary—he was riding a tailwind of media fatigue. Kasey Hunt and Friends had already decided: Russia was over. Just like Iran-Contra before it, the press had grown tired of the truth.

Schiff was parked outside Amoeba Music in Hollywood when the news hit. His daughter and her boyfriend headed inside. He never joined them. Instead, he sat alone in the car, heart racing, reading Barr’s letter.

🧠 II. The False Exoneration

Barr’s framing was surgical disinformation. Mueller said “did not establish”—meaning not enough to meet the 90% threshold of criminal conspiracy. Barr twisted it into “did not find”—implying zero evidence.

The difference? Monumental. But the savvy press didn’t care. “No collusion” became gospel. Facts were irrelevant. The narrative was set.

🧠 III. Obstruction, Rewritten

Mueller declined to conclude on obstruction. Barr stepped in, claimed the right to decide, and declared Trump innocent. Rosenstein co-signed. The damage was instant.

Schiff was pummeled on conservative media. But the real betrayal came from the mainstream press, which echoed the same frame—just as they had with Whitewater, and later, Emailgate.

🧠 IV. The Savvy Consensus

Leadership Democrats like Schiff never grasp this. They believe facts can combat lies. But once you’ve accepted the frame, you’ve forfeited the game.

The savvy Democrat move? Accept the narrative, then try to correct it with facts. But that’s like showing up to a rigged football game thinking you might win.

🧠 V. The Hayes Paradox

Chris Hayes once expressed surprise that 60% of Americans thought Hillary should be indicted. But when he had her on his show, his final question was: “Do you worry about being indicted?”

That’s the paradox. The press shapes the narrative, then acts shocked when the public believes it.

🔥 Final Punch

Barr didn’t just rewrite Mueller—he rewrote the story. And the press let him. The savvy consensus was already in place. Russia fatigue had set in. And the Democrats, ever sensitive to savvy logic, tried to fight lies with facts inside a frame built to erase them. The result? A forfeited truth. A buried investigation. And a public gaslit into believing the lie.

Verse Six: Truth Isn’t True—Unless It’s Savvy

“Truth is true. But it’s not enough.”

🧠 I. The Todd-Giuliani Moment: Meme Meets Mirror

Chuck Todd’s interview with Giuliani—“Truth isn’t truth”—became a meme. Todd was incredulous. But what he failed to grasp is that truth isn’t truth for him and his savvy peers either—at least when it conflicts with the narrative.

Yuri Bezmenov warned us: the goal of propaganda is to demoralize the public so thoroughly that facts no longer matter. That’s not just Russia’s playbook—it’s the Beltway’s default.

🧠 II. The Maddow Rule and the Liberal Media Illusion

Apply the Maddow Rule: how does the media treat scandals depending on the party involved?

• Democratic scandals (Whitewater, Emailgate): treated credulously
• Republican scandals (Iran-Contra, Russian Collusion): met with skepticism, fatigue, and premature burial

The idea of a “liberal media” is a canard. Democrats fall for it because they believe the pundits are secretly on their side. Clinton believed it. Schiff believes it. It’s the Rush Limbaugh illusion—internalized by the very people Limbaugh targeted.

🧠 III. The Dangerous Presumption of Good Faith

Democrats assume Beltway journalists are motivated by truth. But the record shows they’re motivated by:

• Savvy logic
• Pack safety
• Narrative preservation

It’s okay to be wrong—wildly wrong—as long as everyone else is wrong too.

🧠 IV. The GOP’s Media Instincts vs. the Dems’ Deference

Republicans understand the media instinctively. When they dislike a narrative, they launch a counteroffensive. Democrats? They try to correct it with facts—inside a frame built to erase them.

Schiff’s initial response to Barr’s summary was factually sound:

“Mueller did not find sufficient evidence to establish conspiracy… Mueller spent two years investigating obstruction… Barr took two days to set aside that evidence.”

But again—facts weren’t enough. The media had already decided: Barr didn’t have to release the report. If he did, it was a courtesy. The narrative was locked.

🧠 V. The Horowitz Parallel

Michael Horowitz released a Barr-style summary on FBI leaks—and never released the full report.

FN: See Chapter Horowitz for the full breakdown.

The press accepted this too. They’d already decided: NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION, TOTAL EXONERATION. Ken Dilanian’s tweet was the final take—facts be damned.

🧠 VI. Fatigue Is Selective

Kasey Hunt said people were tired of Russia. But they weren’t tired of GOP counternarratives. Erik Wemple wrote 100+ articles on the Steele Dossier—and shows no signs of fatigue.

“Barr’s summary was the first draft of history… a deliberate and monstrous deception.”

But it only worked because the MSM helped. Without their tacit consent, the disinformation wouldn’t have spread.

FN: Courtesy of both Putin and Bill Barr.

🧠 VII. The New Normal: Investigate the Investigators

We now live in a world where “serious” journalists don’t investigate Russian interference—but they do investigate the investigators. Wemple made a second career out of it. That doesn’t tire him.

🧠 VIII. The Personal Assault on Schiff

Schiff became the target. Hannity, Carlson, Conway—all painted him as a conspiracist. Conway declared:

“Adam Schiff should resign… He has no right… Somebody should have put him under oath.”

The idea took hold: Schiff and Maddow hadn’t just been wrong—they’d been dangerous. Maybe even criminal.

And this wasn’t just Fox News. It was the Beltway. The notion that serious allegations against the president require an oath—that truth must be credentialed to be valid—became mainstream.

🔥 Final Punch

Truth isn’t truth—not in the Beltway, not in the pundit class, not in the world Barr built with the media’s help. Schiff told the truth. Maddow told the truth. But the narrative had already decided they were wrong. And once the narrative is locked, facts become irrelevant. That’s not just propaganda—it’s institutionalized gaslighting. And it’s still happening.

Verse Seven: The Crime of Being Wrong While Democratic

“So when are the trials of all the pundits who predicted Hillary was going to be indicted?”

🧠 I. The Maddow Paradox

Tom Jones suggests Maddow misled viewers by implying Trump might be impeached. But Trump was impeached—twice. So how bad was the take?

Even Stelter asked: “Do Maddow’s viewers feel misled right about now?” But let’s be clear: making a prediction that doesn’t come true isn’t a crime. Unless, apparently, you’re a Democrat.

FN: Maddow rarely makes predictions. Her reporting is forensic, not speculative. Jones’s characterization is suspect—but you’d have to check the tapes.

🧠 II. The Hillary Standard

If bad predictions are indictable, we’ve got a backlog. The number of pundits who suggested Hillary was going to jail could fill a stadium. But they were attacking a Democrat—so it was, as Ruth Marcus would say, fair game.

No calls for mea culpas. No trials. No Horowitz investigation. No Barr-style summary. Just silence.

🧠 III. The Liberal Media Illusion, Again

If you’re a Democrat and you make a provocative prediction—or even a bad take—you should lose your job. Maybe go to prison. That’s the Savvy standard.

But if you’re Anderson Cooper laughing at De Blasio? That’s just good fun. Turns out the Beltway does have a sense of humor—as long as the punchline is a Democrat.

🧠 IV. Schiff as Target, Again

Back to Schiff. Trump, meeting with Netanyahu, suggested those who investigated him were guilty of treason. Days later, he tweeted:

“Congressman Adam Schiff… should be forced to resign from Congress!”

The leap is staggering: from falsely claiming Mueller showed no collusion to declaring anyone who said otherwise a traitor.

🧠 V. The Kerik Standard

Compare this to January 6. Bernard Kerik argues the Select Committee can’t accuse Trump of insurrection until they first prove his claims were false.

So:

• False claims about a stolen election? Must be disproven before any accountability.
• Accurate claims about Trump-Russia collusion? Not proven beyond 90% certainty? Fire the messenger. Maybe indict them.

FN: See Chapter Wayne Barrett for Kerik’s deeper entanglements—and Horowitz’s silence.

🧠 VI. The Cuomo Putsch

Chris Cuomo was fired from CNN—not for his own actions, but because his brother was Andrew Cuomo. Guilt by association. Once Andrew was in the crosshairs, the Savvy Gods demanded a sacrifice.

Mike Tracey called it a putsch. He wasn’t wrong. The Beltway needed to prove its seriousness—its commitment to “avoiding even the appearance of…” And Chris was the pound of flesh.

🔥 Final Punch

In the Savvy Church, the only unforgivable sin is being wrong while Democratic. Predict Hillary’s indictment? You’re a serious journalist. Suggest Trump might be impeached? You’re reckless, misleading, maybe criminal. The narrative isn’t just biased—it’s weaponized. And the punishment isn’t proportional—it’s political.

Verse Eight: The Sword of Savvy Justice

“Live by the sword, die by the sword. Especially if it’s the Savvy sword.”

🧠 I. The Savvy Sacrifice Ritual

In Savvy logic, when a Democrat—or anyone associated with one—is accused of impropriety, the rule is simple: throw them overboard. No investigation. No nuance. Just swift sacrifice to prove impartiality to Republicans.

Chris Cuomo was collateral damage. Railroading over specious optics. Guilt by association. The Savvy Gods demanded a pound of flesh.

🧠 II. The Cuomo Conundrum

Andrew Cuomo’s case was complex. Some allegations deeply concerning. Others—like someone sitting on his lap—dubious. But the speed of his political execution was headspinning.

FN: If Cuomo were a Republican, even more serious allegations wouldn’t have triggered this velocity. See: Trump, Gaetz, Roy Moore.

Letitia James’s optics were brutal—investigator turned gubernatorial candidate. Even Mike Tracey had a point. But Cuomo also reaped what he sowed. He wielded Savvy logic against others. When the blade turned, few rushed to defend him.

UPDATE: Cuomo’s defense of Trump’s espionage sealed it. A comeback as a Democrat? Unlikely. A comeback as a cautionary tale? Already underway.

🧠 III. The Cuomo-Schiff Interview: Narrative Over Evidence

Back to Schiff. On CNN, Chris Cuomo asked:

“You think the AG would hide any material findings of Bob Mueller? It would be pretty foolish to do so.”

But that’s exactly what Barr did. And Cuomo, like the rest of the MSM, had already accepted the narrative. The report hadn’t been released. Mueller hadn’t spoken. But the Savvy consensus was locked.

🧠 IV. The Preemptive Narrative

Even before Barr’s memo, Stephanopoulos pressed Schiff to apologize. The facts hadn’t arrived. But the narrative had. The Savvy class had decided: NO COLLUSION. Anything else was denialism.

FN: Ironically, Chris Cuomo later complained to Scaramucci about this exact mindset—“It’s impossible they would lie…”

🧠 V. Fatigue Is a Weapon

Kasey Hunt let it slip: “People are tired of Russia.” Translation: “We’re tired of Russia.”

Just like Iran-Contra. But not Whitewater. Not HER EMAILS. Not the Steele Dossier, which Wemple still autopsies weekly.

The truth never had a chance. NO COLLUSION was baked into the Mueller cake before it was served.

🧠 VI. The Celebration of Disinformation

Savvy pundits celebrated. Giuliani gloated—“You should be happy our President didn’t collude.” But Schiff suspected Giuliani had inside info. The timing was too perfect. The confidence too rehearsed.

FN: Another begged question: Did Barr share his memo with GOP co-conspirators? Rudy, Stone, Corsi, Nunes, Prince—many knew about Huma’s emails before Comey. Why not Barr’s letter too?

🔥 Final Punch

Savvy justice isn’t about truth. It’s about optics. Cuomo fell to the same sword he once swung. Schiff was asked to apologize before the facts arrived. Maddow was accused of misleading viewers for suggesting Trump might be impeached—he was. The narrative was locked. The facts were irrelevant. And the Savvy class, once again, became the accomplice to disinformation.

Verse Nine: The Final Word Was a Lie

“I could see how powerless I would be to defend myself.” — Adam Schiff

🧠 I. The Narrative Was Set Before the Facts Arrived

Cuomo, Stephanopoulos, Kasey Hunt, Katy Kay—they didn’t wait for the Mueller Report. They didn’t need to. Barr’s memo was the final word. The very idea that Barr could lie was, as you put it, unpossible.

Even when Mueller’s team leaked that Barr had mischaracterized their findings, Katy Kay wagged her finger—not at Barr, but at Democrats. The leak came from Mueller’s lawyers, not the DNC. But nuance was too much for the Savvy.

🧠 II. The Lie That Became Law

In the weeks that followed, evidence mounted that Barr had lied. The press acknowledged it—briefly. Then they moved on. The dishonesty was noted. But the narrative remained: NO COLLUSION.

“Barr may have misled the public,” they said. “But the gist was still true.”

That’s how disinformation wins. Not by brute force—but by institutional consent.

🧠 III. Cuomo’s Fall and the Sword He Sharpened

Chris Cuomo was taken down by guilt-by-association optics. He could only keep his job if he publicly disowned his brother. But he’d lived by the Savvy sword—and when it turned on him, he had no defense.

“Given the same fact pattern, Chris Cuomo would have no sympathy for someone else in his shoes.”

He helped build the NO COLLUSION lie. He helped bury the Mueller truth. And when the blade turned, it cut clean.

🧠 IV. The Counterintel Collapse

Schiff’s line—“I could see how powerless I would be to defend myself”—is the answer to the question: what happened to the promised counterintelligence investigation?

Pelosi and Schiff saw the media was dug in. Barr’s memo was gospel. Any further pursuit would be framed as sour grapes. Just like Gore in 2000—Florida law called for a recount, but the narrative said he was a sore loser. So the law didn’t matter.

🧠 V. The Impeachment That Wasn’t

Maddow was attacked for suggesting Mueller might lead to impeachment. Six months later, Trump was impeached. But Pelosi took pains to separate Ukraine from Russia—as if extorting Zelensky the day after Mueller testified wasn’t a direct sequel.

FN: Trump literally called Zelensky the day after Mueller’s testimony.

The Savvy said Mueller fatigue had set in. So the Democrats obeyed. The Savvy knows all—at least according to Democratic leadership.

🧠 VI. The Deference That Doomed the Truth

Democrats gave Chris Cuomo, Katy Kay, Kasey Hunt, Ken Dilanian more respect than they deserved. They deferred to the Savvy consensus. They accepted that pursuing Russia would be politically disastrous. So they dropped it.

Schiff notes the base wanted more. They wanted impeachment based on Mueller. But the leadership cut and ran.

🧠 VII. The Performance That Worked

Barr’s memo was dishonest. But it was effective. It was a masterclass in disinformation dissemination. And once the Savvy class declared it the final word, most Democrats headed for the hills.

“Be glad, Democrats—our President didn’t collude with Russia.”

Any further pursuit would be framed as bitterness. As denialism. As being sore losers.

Schiff held out longer than most. He showed defiance. But even he ultimately agreed: it was over.

🔥 Final Punch

The final word was a lie. But the Savvy class made it law. Barr’s memo didn’t just mislead—it rewrote history. And the Democrats, ever deferential to the pundit gods, obeyed. The counterintel investigation died not because the truth was absent—but because the narrative was already written. And in the Savvy Church, truth is never enough.

Verse Ten: The Swan Song of Collusion

“I could feel the heartbreak inside… but I could feel something else rising within me. I could feel the anger.” — Adam Schiff

🧠 I. The Ambush

Schiff entered the hearing room early. Republicans were already huddled. Democrats were late. Unease set in. If the gavel dropped, Schiff could be outvoted. He waited. He scribbled notes. He braced for impact.

Then came the ambush.

Conaway read a letter—signed by every GOP member—accusing Schiff of false allegations, leaking classified info, and demanding his resignation. The Barr memo was their weapon. The Mueller Report hadn’t been released. But the narrative was already law.

🧠 II. The Stunned Reaction

Schiff was blindsided. Not by Trump—but by his peers. The heartbreak was real. But so was the anger.

“Years of effort developing bipartisan relationships had come to naught.”

And yet, President Joe still preaches bipartisanship. As you note in Chapter Deep State is Republican, many Democrats have disengaged. You haven’t—you’re writing the anthem. But the Charlie Brown routine continues. Schiff reacts with shock. Again.

🧠 III. The Speech That Should Have Been the Opening Salvo

Then came the oratory. Schiff’s “You might think it’s okay…” speech was righteous, forensic, and galvanizing.

“I don’t think it’s okay. I think it’s immoral. I think it’s unethical. I think it’s unpatriotic. And, yes, I think it’s corrupt and evidence of collusion.”

It struck a nerve. It resonated. It gave voice to millions who felt gaslit by the degradation of truth. But it wasn’t the beginning—it was the end. The swan song of the Russia counterintel investigation that never came.

🧠 IV. The Pivot to Healthcare

After the speech, the pivot began. Not to action—but to talking. Healthcare became the new placeholder. Not legislation. Not oversight. Just talk.

FN: As you note, the 2019–2020 Democrats preferred talking about healthcare to investigating Trump. And even after gaining unified control, they passed little. Talk is cheap. Millions remain vulnerable.

Pelosi was more comfortable discussing what she couldn’t do than doing what she could. Investigations were within her power. But she didn’t want to do them.

🧠 V. The Barr Press Conference: Final Act of Deception

On April 18, 2019, Barr released the redacted Mueller Report. But the spin had already won. Americans had locked in their views. Barr held a press conference, flanked by Rosenstein and O’Callaghan, painting Trump as a victim.

Schiff had seen witnesses refuse to answer questions. He knew Barr was lying. But it was the least of his deceits.

🧠 VI. The Resonance That Wasn’t Enough

Schiff’s speech resonated. Americans felt seen. Democratic colleagues joked that Republicans should call for his resignation more often. But the moment passed. The fire wasn’t harnessed. The investigation didn’t launch. The truth didn’t rise.

🔥 Final Punch

The speech was righteous. The moment was real. But the momentum was squandered. Schiff’s anger was justified. The country was ready. But the leadership pivoted to talking points. The counterintel investigation died not with a bang—but with a press conference. And the Savvy consensus, once again, buried the truth beneath bipartisan theater and healthcare platitudes.

Verse Eleven: The Lie That Became the Law

“It’s a report he did for me as attorney general.” — Bill Barr

🧠 I. The Press Conference That Cemented the Lie

Barr stood flanked by Rosenstein and O’Callaghan, spinning Mueller’s findings into a sympathetic portrait of a besieged president. He claimed Mueller found no collusion. He claimed there was insufficient evidence of obstruction. Both were false.

But Barr wasn’t counting on truth. He was counting on narrative inertia—on the public taking his word, not reading the report.

🧠 II. The Beltway’s Own Lie

A reporter asked if Barr was spinning the report. But the question was hollow. The Beltway had already adopted Barr’s framing. Chris Cuomo insisted Barr couldn’t have lied. The media’s narrative was indistinguishable from Barr’s memo.

How could they call out the lie when it was their own?

🧠 III. The Democratic Leadership’s Last Task

Pelosi saw the release of the report as the end, not the beginning. Steny Hoyer declared—within 50 minutes—that nothing in the 444 pages rose to the level of impeachable offenses. A world-class speed reader, apparently.

Schiff acknowledged the base wanted impeachment. But the leadership deferred—not to voters, but to pundits.

🧠 IV. The Asymmetry of Fear

The GOP fears its base. The Democrats fear the pundit class. Katy Kay said it was over. Kasie Hunt was fatigued. Ken Dilanian celebrated that “our President didn’t collude.” The Democratic base never had a chance.

FN: As shown in Chapter The Real Deep State, Biden’s polling drop came from Democrats—not independents.

🧠 V. The Canard of Conviction

Schiff and Pelosi argued Trump committed impeachable offenses—but shouldn’t be impeached unless conviction was guaranteed. This gave the GOP Senate veto power over accountability.

But the Ken Starr Republicans didn’t care about conviction odds in 1998. They impeached Clinton anyway. The asymmetry was—and remains—staggering.

🧠 VI. The Myth of Political Suicide

Old guard Democrats believed impeachment was political suicide. But the GOP regrouped quickly. By 2001, they controlled all three branches—with a little help from the Supreme Court.

Gore’s refusal to campaign with Clinton—believing him too tarnished—may have cost him the election. The Clinton brand was damaged. But the GOP paid no long-term price.

FN: The media needed to believe impeachment was evil—to justify their own Whitewater coverage.

🧠 VII. The Base vs. the Beltway

At the California Democratic Convention, Schiff was greeted with chants of “Impeach Forty-five!” But he declined to endorse it. The base was ready. The leadership wasn’t.

The Democrats didn’t follow their voters. They followed Chuck Todd.

🔥 Final Punch

Barr’s lie became the Beltway’s truth. The media didn’t just echo it—they sanctified it. Democratic leadership, ever deferential to the Savvy class, declared the fight over before it began. The base wanted accountability. The facts supported it. But the narrative had already won. And in the asymmetrical war of truth vs. power, the Democrats surrendered to optics.

Verse Twelve: The Prevent Defense of Truth

“The only thing the prevent defense prevents is winning.” — John Madden

🧠 I. The Asymmetry That Defines the Era

In 1998, the GOP impeached Clinton knowing conviction was unlikely. They lost five seats—but never doubted the long-term payoff. By 2001, they controlled all three branches.

In 2019, Democrats feared impeachment would backfire. Schiff warned it would “play into GOP hands.” Pelosi demanded 80% public support. The bar was set so high, it made impeachment impossible.

The GOP fears its base. The Democrats fear Chuck Todd.

🧠 II. The Bitecofer Doctrine: Turnout Over Persuasion

Rachel Bitecofer’s analysis is clear: persuasion is shrinking. Turnout is king. But Democratic leadership never read the memo. They clung to outdated models of swing voters and mythical independents.

FN: Politico called her theory “deeply unsettling.” Salon called it a “10-alarm fire.”

The base wanted impeachment. The leadership wanted civility. The result? Strategic paralysis.

🧠 III. The Nullification Canard

Schiff’s op-ed argued impeachment must be seen as bipartisan duty—not election nullification. But the founders rejected that logic. The real nullification was letting disinformation win.

FN: See Applebaum for the constitutional rebuttal. Here some of the argument should be added

🧠 IV. The Political Case That Was Never Made

If turnout is the metric, the case for impeachment was strong. The base was energized. The GOP would have pushed forward. The MSM would have eventually followed. But the Democrats surrendered to the Savvy consensus.

They didn’t just lose the narrative. They accepted it.

🧠 V. The Victory of Disinformation

Today, the only mainstream coverage of Russian Collusion is mockery. Mueller’s findings are misrepresented. The Steele Dossier is scapegoated. The truth is buried.

It’s a major victory for Vladimir Putin.

🧠 VI. The Blame Shared and Uneven

Yes, the GOP is sociopathic. Yes, the MSM is addicted to Savvy narratives. But Democratic leadership bears responsibility too—for accepting bad takes, for fact-checking within flawed frames, for playing prevent defense.

Afghanistan was a freakout because Democrats agreed with the bad take. Their first mistake was failing to point out that Biden was only implementing Trump’s bad-DOHA-withdrawal. If President Joe deserved criticism it was in implementing Trump’s bad deal that was very similar to how he’s handling the current “peace talks”-in reality they should be called the “appeasement talks”-just like he’s doing to Ukraine he sidelined the Afghani provisional government negotiating solely with the Taliban. 

🔥 Final Punch

Six and a half years of Trump. A mountain of evidence. A base ready to fight. And still, the conventional wisdom class couldn’t learn. The Democrats played prevent defense. The media sanctified the lie. And the truth—buried beneath civility, optics, and fatigue—never had a chance. The anthem was written. But the chorus was silenced.