McCain, Comey, and Mueller

                                         

Last weekend the Wall Street Journal featured a long article, adapted from a forthcoming book, by Senator John McCain on his role in the Russian collusion controversy. I won’t go into the details but would just like to point out one statement that illustrates the myopia of modern politicians.

At the very beginning of the article the Senator related that the so-called Trump “dossier” somehow came into his hands. After reading its inflammatory and potentially harmful accusations against candidate Trump, the Senator realized that the charges were unverified.

He then claims that he did what any other American would have done. He contacted James Comey, the Director of the FBI, and asked him to investigate the “dossier.” I know that the Senator is old and past his prime but can he really believe that any other American would have acted as he did?

In the first place, can an ordinary American pick up the phone and call the FBI director? Can an ordinary American even get James Comey’s phone number, or email address?  Moreover, what if I had found a scandalous article in some supermarket tabloid that claimed that Hillary Clinton’s top aide was an agent of the Iranian government? What would have happened if I had contacted my local FBI office?

Of course, Senator McCain is no ordinary American. Usually, when a Senator with a national reputation makes a request he can be sure that even the FBI Director will snap to attention.  However, it is interesting that when a committee of the House of Representatives tried to get information from the FBI on the Russian collusion issue, it eventually had to use subpoenas.

Former FBI director James Comey has also written a memoir that apparently deals not only with his tenure at the FBI, but also with his role in the events surrounded the 2016 campaign and its aftermath. I haven’t read the book but given his actions in the past two years, I find it hard to believe that he is telling the whole story. For example, I just discovered that in an interview with Bret Baier, a Fox News anchor, Comey seemed to be the only person in the country who was unaware that the Clinton/Democrat campaign was behind the infamous Trump “dossier.”

Finally, I think it is time for President Trump to wrap up the Mueller investigation. I suggest that the President give Mueller until June 30 to present him with a report of his findings. The special prosecutor’s investigation of Russian collusion in the election has not produced any evidence of collusion so far. It has been going on for almost a year and a half and an army of Trump hating lawyers has spent millions of dollars looking for someone to indict.  It is estimated that in its first six months alone, the Mueller probe cost over $6.5 Million.

If President Trump dismisses Mueller on July 1, there will be a predictable furor but it will subside over the summer. I would even suggest that the President Trump put an end to any investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails and even go so far as to promise her a pardon if she is ever convicted.

It’s time to move on and leave the election of 2016 in the past. There are so many more important issues facing the nation.

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