McCabe’s book reveals that the “Deep State” includes the GOP congressional leadership
by digby
I wrote about Former Acting FBI director Andrew McCabe’s new book called “Threat” last week when CBS first teased their big interview which aired last Sunday. At the time it seemed as if the big news coming from the book was a rehash of the story that broke last fall about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein suggesting that he wear a wire into the Oval Office and talk among members of the Department of Justice about the process involved in evoking the 25th Amendment to declare the President unable to fulfill his duties. When asked about it by CBS News’ Scott Pelley in the interview, McCabe confirmed that it happened which made the president have a nuclear twitter meltdown and caused the right wing media to start screeching about “Deep State coups” and suggesting that McCabe should immediately be arrested and he and Former FBI Director Comey should be waterboarded to spill everything they know. By CIA director Gina Haspel and Former Vice President Dick Cheney. Because that’s their specialty.
As it turns out that wasn’t in McCabe’s book at all. He answered the question when asked but told Anderson Cooper on CNN Tuesday night that he didn’t put it in the book because that episode hadn’t been revealed when he wrote it and he thought it would be a huge distraction if he did. He was right. An anecdote that wasn’t in his book has received far more attention it should.
The big revelation in the book is that after Trump fired former FBI Director Comey, which they knew was because of the Russia investigation, McCabe opened a counter-intelligence investigation and an obstruction of justice investigation into the president of the United States due to his suspicious behavior during the campaign and in the White House. And — surprise — it turns out he and Rosenstein briefed the Gang of Eight, which includes the leadership of both parties in congress and the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. They were Mitch McConnell R-Ky, Chuck Schumer D-Ny, Richard Burr, R-NC, Mark Warner, D-Va, Paul Ryan, R-Wi, Nancy Pelosi, D-Ca, Devin Nunes, R-Ca, and Adam Schiff, D-Ca.
McCabe notes that Nunes had “stepped back” from his role by this time after having been revealed to have conspired with the White House and lied to the media in his silly “midnight ride” and was not expected to be there. But he showed up anyway and neither Rosenstein nor McCabe had the authority to ask him to leave so he heard the whole thing. When asked by Anderson Cooper if he believed that Nunes would rush to tell the White House everything, McCabe told him that he always assumed that someone would tell the White House about the investigations.
McCabe writes:
After reminding the committee of how this investigation began, I told them of additional steps we had taken. No one interrupted. No one pushed back. The mood in the room was sober. Schumer had bee nodding his head and looking at me very directly throughout the bried, On McConnell’s side of the table, I sensed a great deal of resignation.
Rod Rosenstein then took over the meeting and told the assembled officials that he was appointing Robert Mueller as Special Counsel.
What this means is that these members of congress have known from the beginning that the DOJ and the FBI had opened these two investigations because of the president’s suspicious behavior and that they formed the basis for the Special Counsel’s investigation. And if McCabe is right, and one of the little birdies in the meeting whispered in the president’s ear, he knew it too.
According to McCabe, Rosenstein was enlisted by the White House counsel to write the memo laying out the reason for firing Comey and told him that Trump had repeatedly asked him to “include Russia” (which he refused to do.) The specific meaning of that request isn’t spelled out but we know that the original letter firing Comey was cooked up during a long rainy weekend at Bedminster golf club with Senior Adviser Stephen Miller and Ivanka and Jared Kushner. The letter they produced was so inflammatory that then White House Counsel Don McGahn nixed it. We don’t know how much of that original memo (described by those who read it as a “screed”) was focused on Russia but Robert Mueller does. He has a copy of it.
What we do know is that in the letter Trump wrote firing Comey, he clumsily “included Russia” saying:
“While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau.”
And then came this, just one month after the Comey firing and the appointment of Robert Mueller:
I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 16, 2017
As you can see, that was yet another lie. He had planned to fire Comey. He even admitted it on TV. And we know that his crack team of political advisers, led by Jared Kushner had assured him that it would be a big political winner.
Later he would repeatedly insist that he wasn’t under investigation at all, despite the fact that it was obvious.
Looking back on that meeting which laid out all the predicates for what turned into the Mueller investigation shines a very different light on how this scandal has unfolded. And this explosive New York Times piece from Tuesday called Intimidation, Pressure and Humiliation: Inside Trump’s Two-Year War on the Investigations Encircling Him shows that not only did Trump know very well that he was personally being investigated, he has been methodically trying to sabotage his own Justice Department for the better part of the last two years. His most recent intrusion was trying to get his temporary DOJ factotum, Matt Whitaker, to order the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to “unrecuse” from all those investigations into Trumpworld, a concept that never even existed until Donald Trump came along.
He just can’t stop obstructing justice. But then why would he? His new Attorney General, William Barr, concurs with that Republican icon of corruption Richard Nixon that” if the president does it, it’s not illegal.” He’s told him that he is perfectly free to interfere with investigations, orde them up, protect his friends and punish his enemies. So I wouldn’t expect any of it to stop unless the congress steps up to do its duty.
The country is probably dizzy by now trying to keep up with the cascading news stories about the various investigations and suspicions about Trump’s behavior. It’s overwhelming. But it always comes back to one simple, common-sense observation: no innocent person could possibly act this guilty.
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