Flynn vs. The FBI, More de Blasio Blunders, A Progressive Competition, Fighting Radical Islam
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| Gary Bauer |
Yesterday was a dark day for the FBI. Attorneys for Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn released notes from a top FBI official which strongly indicate that the Bureau had no case against Flynn and was looking to entrap him.
The notes were written by Bill Priestap, the former chief of counterintelligence at the FBI, following a meeting with then-Director James Comey and then-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Priestap wrote:
"What is our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired? . . . If we get him to admit to breaking the Logan Act, give facts to [Department of Justice and] have them decide. If we're seen as playing games, [White House] will be furious."
Clearly, the FBI was "playing games." As Sen. Lindsey Graham put it, the notes "reek of criminal misconduct." The president has every right to be furious, and the American people should be too!
Last night, Trump tweeted, "What happened to General Michael Flynn, a war hero, should never be allowed to happen to a citizen of the United States again!"
Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley described the notes as "a chilling blueprint into how top FBI officials not only sought to entrap [Flynn], but sought to do so on blatantly unconstitutional, manufactured grounds."
This wasn't just a few rogue agents. It went straight to the top.
You may recall that fired FBI Director James Comey bragged in an interview with Nicolle Wallace that he took advantage of the chaos in the early days of the Trump White House. Comey said there was usually a procedure that had to be followed involving the White House Counsel's office, and he knew the Trump White House wasn't up to speed yet.
The FBI agents told Flynn he didn't need a lawyer present at the interview, and later determined that he did not attempt to deliberately mislead them. Nevertheless, they prosecuted him.
So Comey succeeded in ruining Flynn's life. We may never fully know the psychological impact on his family. But wait. . . It gets worse.
It is hard to believe that current FBI Director Christopher Wray or others at the Bureau were unaware of these notes. Yet they didn't have the decency to expose them. Once again, it seems that the Bureau's top brass put the FBI's reputation ahead of the pursuit of justice. There is still a lot of swamp that needs draining.
Why The Focus On Flynn?
It's no secret that Obama loyalists hated Michael Flynn. He was an outspoken opponent of Obama's nuclear deal with Iran and his politically correct approach to radical Islam. The Deep State was determined to neutralize and punish him.
But I think it goes beyond Flynn. It is impossible to conclude that the reason for entrapping Flynn was anything other than an effort to cause the downfall of the new president. Let's connect the dots:
- The FBI framed Flynn for a perfectly legitimate conversation with the Russian ambassador.
- That fed into the false narrative that "Russia stole the election."
- When Trump rightly fired Comey, that led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and a two-year inquisition that produced nothing.
- But the left bitterly clung to its false narrative of foreign influence, and used a leaked phone call with Ukraine's president to launch another investigation, which culminated in this year's impeachment trial.
And while the coronavirus has dominated the headlines lately, we're still learning about what happened in 2016 (here and here), and the Durham investigation is still ongoing.
By the way, here's what Attorney General William Barr said about Durham's work during a recent interview:
"My own view is that the evidence shows that we're not dealing with just mistakes or sloppiness. There is something far more troubling here. . . what happened to [President Trump] was one of the greatest travesties in American history.
"Without any basis [the FBI] started this investigation of his campaign, and even more concerning, actually is what happened after the campaign . . . to sabotage the presidency."
De Blasio's Blunders
In recent days, there have been infuriating reports regarding conditions in New York City's subway system. During the coronavirus crisis, vagrants, drug addicts and petty criminals have essentially taken over the subway system. They are sleeping in cars, defecating on the platforms and urinating everywhere.
This would be horrific enough if no one was using the subway. But some people are still using the subway system: police officers, fire fighters, doctors and nurses going to their jobs, many working at hospitals to care for the sick and dying. They are dodging human excrement on the platforms and avoiding these vagrants as they try to go to work.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has had plenty of time to hold press conferences lashing out at President Trump. He attacked Hassidic Jews for attending a funeral, even though they were wearing face masks.
The mayor needs to shut his mouth unless he is announcing a plan to recapture the subway system from the vagrants who now occupy it so New Yorkers can safely use the subways they are paying for.
This is just another example of the left's perverse priorities. Progressives are telling us that it is a crime to go to church or to demonstrate outside of an abortion clinic during the pandemic. But I assume there are laws against indecent exposure even in New York City.
A Progressive Competition
Is it me or does there seem to be a competition between liberal Democrat governors over who can act more like communist China in how they oppress their citizens?
While most states are moving to relax quarantine orders, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently extended her stay-at-home order until mid-May. After getting pushback from the legislature, Gov. Whitmer defiantly declared, "I'm not going to engage in political negotiations with anybody."
She also shut down a drive-in movie theater, even though the owner had gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure safety by exceeding social distancing guidelines.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom apparently couldn't stand the idea of people catching a few rays on the state's beaches. He's issued an order closing all beaches and public parks.
The country is getting a good lesson in federalism right now. When it comes to public health emergencies, governors have more power than the president, especially when it comes to draconian "stay-at-home" mandates and the mass shuttering of businesses. And I don't think it is any coincidence that conservative governors are moving to reopen faster than their liberal counterparts.
Elections have consequences.
Fighting Radical Islam
For years, many European countries have tolerated radical Islamists operating freely within their borders. For example, while Hezbollah's military wing was banned, a number of European countries still allowed its political wing to raise money and recruit members.
I always thought that was a bizarre dichotomy. A political entity that has a military wing is obviously outside the norm of decent political activity.
In the better late than never category, Germany finally decided to ban the political wing of Hezbollah. When German officials publicly announced the decision, they raided several radical mosques associated with the Iranian-backed terror group.
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Gary Bauer (@GaryLBauer) is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families
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