ON TARGET

4/26/19       By Dave Gunn

The Worm Begins to Turn

     I have seen the Mueller Report, and I must say that it is a boring read. Of course, that is expected in legal documents. More important are the conclusions drawn after 22 months of investigation.

     The Mueller Report was divided into two volumes. Volume I, running 199 pages, considered the question of Russian attempts to influence our election and the question of Trump campaign cooperation in that effort. Volume II, 182 pages in length, took up the question of whether or not the President committed obstruction of justice during the investigation. There are also three appendices. Appendices A and B are process accounts, while Appendix C is a listing of written questions submitted to President Trump with his answers.

     Did the Russian government attempt to influence the election? Of this there is no question. The report documents how the Russians went to great lengths to disrupt and discredit our electoral process. However, there is no evidence that they were successful in changing a single vote.

     Did Donald Trump or any member of his campaign staff assist the Russians? Now remember that, even though he is a registered Republican, Robert Mueller is no friend of Donald Trump. Furthermore, all of his top lieutenants in the investigation were Democrat operative lawyers, highly motivated to take down the President.

     The conclusion of the report was that neither Donald Trump, nor any member of his campaign, conspired or coordinated with the Russians in their efforts. It was reported that on numerous occasions the Russians sought cooperation from the Trump Campaign, but were at all times rebuffed. This we knew two years ago.

     Did President Trump commit obstruction of justice? Here the Mueller Report is legally conclusive without being politically conclusive. The conclusion, given word for work on both pages 8 and 182 reads thus:

          Because we determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment, we did not

     draw ultimate conclusions about the President’s conduct. The evidence we obtained

     about the President’s actions and intent present difficult issues that would need to be

     resolved if we were making a traditional prosecutorial judgment. At the same time, if

     we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President did not

     commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable

     legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment. Accordingly, while the report

     does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

     This is indeed a bizarre statement coming from a person with Mueller’s legal background and status. At no time was Mueller charged with exonerating anyone. He was to state whether or not crimes were committed, and if so, by whom. To state that “the report does not conclude that the President committed a crime” is to state that no evidence was discovered conclusive enough for a guilty finding. In other words, the President is not guilty.

     So why did Mueller want to throw this monkey wrench into the works? It doesn’t take a genius to figure this one out. Throughout the process Trump berated Mueller and the investigation, repeatedly calling it a “witch hunt” and some other terms we will not repeat here. Mueller wanted desperately to get Trump, but knew he had no evidence that would stand up in any legal sense. So he listed a number of incidents where he alleges that the President may have committed obstruction of justice and leaves the conclusion to others.

     Democrats in Congress have seized on these incidents to demand further investigation of possible obstruction of justice with the goal of impeachment. However, in each case we have a “he said – he said” situation, an exercise of constitutional presidential prerogatives, or a First Amendment protected statement of opinion.

     In the meantime, Republicans in Congress and conservative organizations like Judicial Watch are investigating: [1] the Russian origins of the discredited Steele dossier, and why the Clinton Campaign paid for it, [2] why the Steele dossier was used to get a FISA warrant allowing the Obama Administration to spy on Donald Trump during the presidential campaign, [3] why Justice Department officials and high ranking FBI officials covered up the obstruction of justice committed by Hilary Clinton, who deleted over 30,000 subpoenaed e-mails, and [4] whether the effort to bring down Donald Trump was an attempted coup?

     I believe the answer to that last question is “Yes.” Our nation just passed through a very dangerous time, and those responsible for putting our republic in danger must be ferreted out and punished, so that this does not happen again.

[Dave Gunn is the nom de plume of Dr. David E. Gonnella, pastor of the Magnolia Springs Baptist Church in Theodore, Alabama. The opinions expressed are his own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the church or its membership.]