Yes, the Russia Probe Began With Donald Trump

With everyone simmering over the news of the end to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, and the back and forth of what to expect next, no one is surprised that the social media chatter has been insane.

Frankly, I’m not surprised that federal authorities have not descended on Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate, where he is holding court for the weekend with all his most loyal and subservient clingers.

I was never completely convinced he was more than a dupe, although his every action since the investigations into his campaign have suggested he had something to hide.

What I would advise everyone now is to chill out and wait until the final report is made public. We have no idea what Mueller found or reported on. We only know there are no more indictments coming from his leg of the investigation.

Another point of interest involves the Southern District of New York. The multiple investigations going on there have nothing to do with Russia or Robert Mueller, although we know Mr. Mueller farmed out certain aspects to the SDNY for their consideration.

Oddly enough, President Trump has remained unusually quiet about the end of Mueller’s probe. For the past 22 months, he has railed against what he called a “witch hunt,” but now that it’s over, he has yet to make a peep.

That could mean any number of things, so don’t twist yourself up trying to decipher it.

Indeed, the various factions in this long running drama have spent the day either expressing disbelief or spiking the football.

In other words, nobody has really changed their mind.

Unless you’re Fox News’ Brit Hume. If you’re Brit Hume, you’ve managed to harness something akin to selective amnesia. It makes it easier to ride the fence.

Now, we know this new age of Trumpism is rife with clingers and opportunists, so nothing should be shocking to those of us who have been paying attention.

I bring this up and present it to you as more of a cautionary tale, regarding the long and unforgiving memory of social media. When you put things out there for the world’s consumption, you can’t really take it back. You never know when it may come back on you, or under what circumstances.

Let me set the scene: On Saturday afternoon, Hume took to Twitter to scoff at those who were pointing to the origins of Robert Mueller’s probe. Donald Trump sat with NBC News’ Lester Holt and confirmed that, in spite of what his attorney general (Jeff Sessions) and deputy attorney general (Rod Rosenstein) had said, that he’d already been thinking about firing FBI Director James Comey, because of the “Russia thing.”

I keep seeing this claim that he told Lester Holt he fired Comey because he was “looking into Russia’s role in the campaign.” I just rewatched the relevant part of the that interview. Maybe you can find his saying that. I couldn’t. Here it is: https://t.co/tlU4q9wZV1 https://t.co/gQRVGM6hBZ

— Brit Hume (@brithume) March 23, 2019

The video is readily available for anyone to locate and hear for themselves.

As is my inclination to do, I inserted myself into Hume’s Twitter feed, and informed him that, yes, Trump did say he fired James Comey to stop the Russia probe.

What followed was a brief back and forth, with Hume stonewalling, denying, and looking for very specific words as proof.

Unresponsive. Please show me where he said in the Holt interview he fired Comey because he was looking into the Russia matter.

— Brit Hume (@brithume) March 23, 2019

I showed him the video of the Holt interview. Others showed him the video.

He refused to accept it.

Please reread my original tweet. Then show me where he specifically said he fired Comey because Comey “was looking into Russia’s role in the campaign.”

— Brit Hume (@brithume) March 23, 2019

It was in the midst of this back and forth that a user by the name of Andy Richardson (@andy4ok) was good enough to jump into the way-back machine and travel the vast distance of 10 months ago, May 2018.

What do you think he found?

Hmmm pic.twitter.com/uP8OvqxKxZ

— Andy Richardson (@andy4ok) March 23, 2019

Well, that’s awkward.

I’m not putting Hume on blast just because I can. I’m calling him out because he carried on this conversation in bad faith. I don’t believe he forgot that in the not-so-distant past he, like those he was berating, also believed President Trump fired James Comey over the Russia probe. His decision to suddenly claim there was no impetus of Trump’s own making for the probe is the height of disingenuous posturing.

Do better, Mr. Hume, lest your hypocrisy and fence-straddling catch you, again.