Today, Michael Horowitz, the Inspector General of the Justice Department, issued his long-awaited report on the FBI’s 2016 investigation into Russia’s blatant interference in our 2016 presidential election (https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/09/politics/takeaways-doj-ig-report/index.html).
This, after Donald Trump repeatedly vilified the FBI.
And the entire Intelligence Community.
Because he doesn't trust anybody except a few misguided people in his family, and his numerous sycophants.
The Office of Inspector General has several hundred employees, and the Inspector General is a presidential appointee, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Inspector General Horowitz was nominated by President Obama, and has served faithfully in that office since 2012.
Because FBI Director James Comey wouldn’t promisie complete subservience and loyalty to his every whim, Trump fired Comey because Comey wouldn’t go easy on Trump’s first National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn, who is awaiting sentencing. His sentencing has been postponed, and Trump, according to associate solitary reporter Johanna Jones, will pardon Flynn shortly after Trump is nominated by the GOP next year, so he can boast about his pardon of a seasoned general.
Trump also bitterly lambasted his first Attorney General, Jeff Sessions of Alabama becasue he wouldn’t unrecuse himself from the Russia investigation.
Sessions was Trump’s first supporter in the Senate, and now he wants his job back representing the Heart of Dixie State, only Trump ain’t too happy about that. Ditto McConnell.
Never cross the Man Who Would Be King.
In no uncertain words, Inspector General Horowitz, in his four hundred page report, released today, said there was no political conspiracy to undermine Trump’s 2016 campaign. He also criticized some mistakes which were made, as cogently explained today on NPR by Comey.
Trump’s personal attorney, Attorney General William Barr, wasn’t any too pleased with Horowitz’ report, so Barr’s waiting for Trump's United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, John Durham, to figure out how to make things better for Trump.
Our chief investigative reporter, associate solitary reporter Susanna Sherman, visited Barr today in his office on Pennsylvania Avenue, and asked him point blank what he plans to do about Horowitz.
“Don’t ask me dumb questions like that, Sherman. Get the hell out of here.”
At the White House, Trump was incensed when Zozibini Tunzi, of South Africa, was crowned Miss Universe.
In her acceptance speech, Tunzi spoke with great animation about the changing views of beauty in the world (https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/12/09/786312377/miss-universe-2019-is-young-gifted-and-an-outspoken-believer-in-black-girl-magic).
But Trump told Daughter-in-Law-in-Chief Ivanka that when he owned the Miss Universe Competition, Tunzi would never have been considered.
Trump’s eagerly preparing for his meeting tomorrow with Vladimir Putin’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov.
When Trump and Lavrov (a key architect of Putin’s continuing war against Ukraine) first met, Trump openly bragged about how he had fired Comey, a clear impediment to his goal of becoming Commander in Chief for Life, just like Xi Jinping (https://www.npr.org/2019/12/09/786530149/trump-to-meet-russias-lavrov-at-white-house-tuesday).
Oh, how could we forget? Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney just told Barr and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that as soon as there is a vacancy on our Supreme Court, he’ll nominate Jonathan Turley, the constitutional law professor called by House Judiciary Rankling Member Doug Collins (R-Georgia),
Collins was one of the many GOP Congressmen who badgered Judiciary Committee Counsel Daniel Goldman today, at the urging of Badger State Congressman James Sensenbrenner. Sensenbrenner, a Republican, has represented Wisconsin’s 5th Congressional District since 1979. His District is 86% white.
Collins also got a lot of help from Congressman Jim Jordan, who represents Ohio’s 4th Congressional District, which is known as the Duck District because of its obviously gerrymandered shape.