In his recently-published memoir, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis writes positively about his relationship with former President Trump in multiple chapters. One of his main themes on that front is that he and Trump became political allies because Trump appreciated the vociferous arguments DeSantis mounted against the media's 'Russia-collusion' narrative, which the then-Congressman believed to be bogus. The Tampa Bay Times writes of the book, "DeSantis repeatedly slams the various investigations into Trump and Russian influence in the 2016 election — of which Trump has also been harshly critical." That's not quite right, though. The objection wasn't to any investigations into Russia's efforts to influence in the 2016 election, which ranged from targeted hacking to sowing discord and disinformation through social media bots.
The objection was to the baseless claim that Trump and his team colluded with the Kremlin to effectively steal the election. Massive difference. And no such collusion existed. The falsely-accused former president was understandably irate about the latter, totally unsubstantiated charge, which hung over most of his presidency like a fabricated dark cloud of suspicion and insinuated illegitimacy. Most of the news media was enthusiastically complicit in this. DeSantis recognized that dynamic early, and said so loudly and often. Trump appreciated that, thus forging a relationship that is only fraying lately because of the political threat DeSantis poses to Trump's future ambitions. That brewing fight is no more complicated nor substantive than that. Nevertheless, the Florida governor has been consistent on 'Russiagate,' and lashed out at the federal agencies who have been exposed as sloppy and myopic at best (partisan and corrupt at worst) in the freshly-released Durham report:
The Durham Report confirmed what we already knew: weaponized federal agencies manufactured a false conspiracy theory about Trump-Russia collusion. It reminds us of the need to clean house at these agencies, as they've never been held accountable for this egregious abuse of power.
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantisFL) May 15, 2023
I'd be interested to know what 'cleaning house' at the FBI and DOJ would look like in a hypothetical DeSantis administration. He's demonstrated a willingness to disregard or fire bureaucrats or officials he believes to be factually wrong or in violation of their oath. The FBI's curt response to Durham's revelations was, essentially, 'we've already taken care of the problem, so let's move on:'
Recommended
Statement on Report by Special Counsel John Durhamhttps://t.co/lcow0ea3mG pic.twitter.com/T4vXqoOMrp
— FBI (@FBI) May 15, 2023
That's not going to cut it for many Americans, nor should it. The Bureau's leadership needs to be grilled in detail over this report, and forced to explain why they believe their 'reforms' are sufficient, given the magnitude of this scandal. While I appreciate the sentiment of Sen. Mike Lee expressed on Fox earlier, I'm not sure I fully agree that his warning will resonate with its intended targets:
I think part of their calculation is that this could not happen to a Democrat because they would simply not allow it to happen — nor would the press. https://t.co/4rIXwX78AR
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 16, 2023
The media partially allowed Hillary Clinton's email malfeasance -- a bona fide scandal that I still maintain was criminal -- to become a damaging storyline for her prior to the 2016 election, and they ended up with the waking nightmare of a Trump presidency. Journalists then spent the next few years tearing down that presidency in every way imaginable (some criticisms were warranted, but the level and volume of hysteria was off the charts), especially through the Russia fixation. When a negative development about the Biden family threatened to help Trump in the waning days of the 2020 campaign, they collectively strangled that story to death, censoring it and aggressively attacking it as "disinformation" from...Russia, of course -- eagerly parroting a claim that was fabricated by the Biden campaign, with the help of dozens of former US intelligence figures. Many in the media are again running interference for the Bidens again, openly spinning new unhelpful details about a fragrant access-peddling enrichment scheme, and almost entirely ignoring a related scandal that would have triggered a full-blown feeding frenzy under a GOP administration. Nothing to see here?
A whistleblower at the Internal Revenue Service, which is investigating Hunter Biden for potential tax violations, told lawmakers Monday his entire team was removed from the probe, according to a letter from his lawyers obtained by USA TODAY. The letter said the IRS criminal supervisory special agent "was informed that he and his entire investigative team are being removed from the ongoing and sensitive investigation of the high-profile, controversial subject about which our client sought to make whistleblower disclosures to Congress." The Justice Department informed the whistleblower about the change. IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel had testified April 27 at the House Ways and Means Committee that no one at the agency would be retaliated against...“I can say without hesitation there will be no retaliation for anyone making an allegation or a call to a whistleblower hotline,” he said. Lawyers for the undisclosed whistleblower disagreed. “However, this move is clearly retaliatory and may also constitute obstruction of a congressional inquiry,” said the letter...
Nothing to see here, most journalists will chant in unison, as they also cease coverage of Durham's findings as serious news. Their initial reactions ranged from brow-furrowed concern to printing PR on behalf of those Durham has exposed. The next move is to just abandon the story almost entirely, quickly walking away from counter-evidence that blows up The Narrative they breathlessly repeated and pursued for years. To Lee's point, I realize is sounds profoundly cynical and even conspiratorial, but I don't think the feds would pull such dirty tricks against a powerful Democrat -- and even if they tried, I don't think they could get away with it. The media would mobilize to flip the script and uncover the plot. Against Trump, the 'scandal' was the entirely unproven, salacious, Democrat-leveled allegation against him. Under the same circumstances, but against a Democrat, the scandal would be the weaponization of federal agencies to undertake a dirty tricks campaign in furtherance of partisan ends.
If that's the view I've taken, as a relatively moderate institutionalist, tens of millions of Americans feel the same way -- if not angrier and more suspicious. The press and the Justice Department have badly maimed their institutions' credibility. I'll leave you with this:
Just incredible. pic.twitter.com/UecXlx0PFU
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) May 16, 2023
hard to argue with this, just as a matter of accountability, investment and credibility https://t.co/mYzepW4SWE
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 16, 2023
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