How Trump Dominated Mueller and Tricked Democrats
By Daniel Ashman
Consider the central puzzle to Trump's presidency: why did his own people give NeverTrumps a special counsel?
The most common explanation is that Trump is a bumbling fool. First, he colluded with Russia. Then he appointed Sessions, not knowing that Sessions would recuse himself. Finally, he appointed Rosenstein and was blindsided by the initiation of Mueller's probe.
The problem with this idea is that Trump has been a successful person for decades, building an empire in the cutthroat world of New York real estate. Maybe it's possible to argue that Trump isn't a Harvard bookworm, but there is an enormous gulf between not being the second coming of Henry David Thoreau and being what Trump's opponents say he is. His record simply does not countenance a serious conclusion in accord with his haters. At worst, he is merely competent, smart, and wily.
One of Trump's favorite quotes is "A leader has the right to be beaten, but never the right to be surprised." The idea that two independent Trump nominations to the most important parts of his administration immediately acted in tandem to undermine his presidency is not believable.
Some Trump-supporters have a different theory: that Mueller is actually on Trump's side, a "converted spy," as Imperator_Rex would write. Mueller is a Marine veteran who wants to support the American people but was forced into being Obama and Hillary's agent. Trump knows that Mueller will do what is right when given the chance. The investigation will boomerang back against Democrats.
Though this is a thought-provoking theory that accepts the premise that Trump is fundamentally a competent actor, it also fails. Mueller's character was definitively established when, as FBI director, he oversaw the Anthrax Letters investigation to find out who mailed anthrax, weeks after 9/11, to prominent political American figures with letters saying, "Death to America, Death to Israel, Allah is great."
Mueller's FBI quickly exonerated al-Qaeda, stating there was no direct evidence of guilt. The FBI then persecuted two different American scientists, who had worked for the Army, without any direct evidence. FBI tactics against their "people of interest" included spying; wiretapping; house raids; leaking identities in public ways with the help of Mueller's colleagues in the Department of Justice; bribing family members; and " bumper-locking," a delightful tactic where the FBI trailed their American suspect so closely that they ran over his foot.
In the swamp, Mueller is one of the King Alligators. There is no path from his known conduct in the FBI to a point where he follows the Trump investigation wherever it may take him, even if that means taking Democrats down.
Fortunately, though the two most common theories fail, there is an alternate theory that is consistent with all known facts. Mueller is bent on harming Trump for unstated crimes of which there is no evidence. And Trump wants Mueller doing exactly that.
Trump is facing the Salem witch trials. Democrats are a runaway mob and want his blood.
Many Trump supporters are desperate for Trump to get in front of this mob and explain how he is innocent, that he is a nationalist who is strengthening the military, modernizing the nuclear forces, protecting America against an EMP attack, selling weapons to Ukraine, and increasing oil production, so quite clearly, he is not Putin's agent, and they should all please stop their nonsensical protesting and turn around.
But Trump never made a serious effort to logically reason this out with his enemies. It isn't his style.
Trump has a fondness for Sun Tzu. Here is a quote is I am sure he approves of: "Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him." This is the hidden strategy.
Not only did Trump not stop Democrats' attack on him, but he actually forced them to prosecute it. He gathered Democrat swamp monsters into a single group, under his control, pointed them in a direction, and off they went. From this perspective, the more anti-Trump the investigators are, the better.
The Democrats are well into their attack, ranting, chasing, running through the mountain pass. But they are looking at a mirage. Trump isn't there. They still haven't noticed that Trump is president; Trump and his team are on top of the overlooks on either side.
The ambush against Democrats is well underway. The truth about Mueller's investigation is coming out, and it his highly damaging, be it about Mueller team members Peter Strzok and Lisa Page exchanging texts calling Trump a " loathsome human," Andrew McCabe testifying about a meeting in his office where FBI agents said they " can't take that risk" of Trump becoming president, or Mueller obtaining thousands of Trump transition team emails in an improper manner.
Democrats are not prepared for these developments. The mainstream media are forced to black it out. Eric Holder and James Comey post juvenile tweets.
This is how Trump wants it. Remember: during the campaign, Trump emphasized how he wouldn't tell America's enemies what his plans were. Sun Tzu says, "These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand." Part of the reason the situation is confusing is that Trump wants it to be confusing.
After the ambush comes the counterattack. Trump's troops have been positioned. The preparations are being completed. The enemy is placed in a vulnerable spot.
The Justice Department's inspector general report will come out soon, ostensibly with highly damaging information on Democrat operatives. Congressmen are getting increasingly fed up with prevarication by Deep State bureaucrats. Congress is practically begging Trump to pursue Democrat corruption more aggressively.
Simple explanations are always best. It must be admitted: the idea that Trump is pulling a sophisticated and long-term caper can be hard to believe. However, there is no other explanation that is simpler and makes sense. Thus, we must accept the simplest explanation consistent with facts, which, in this case, is not all that simple.
Trump will probably never bother to explain this (though a tell-all autobiography would be the best book ever). Bottom line, it's impossible to know for sure what is going on in the murky swamp waters, but it appears that Trump is well in control of the situation. |
