File this under, "Boy, didn't see that coming." Trey Gowdy, the man who spent eleven hours grilling Hillary Clinton on Benghazi, only to be made a fool of by her, just shot down Donald Trump's wild assertion that the FBI spied on his campaign.
In an interview on Trump's own political network, e.g., Fox News, Gowdy said "the FBI acted appropriately when it used an informant to gather information about Donald Trump campaign advisers who allegedly had suspicious contacts linked to Russia prior to the 2016 election."
"I am even more convinced that the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do when they got the information they got, and that it has nothing to do with Donald Trump."That thump you heard Tuesday morning, which was when the interview aired, was the entire viewing audience of Fox News hitting the floor in unison. I understand that the University of Southern California measured the quake at 5.0 on the Richter Scale. Another half a point and we would've had a real situation on our hands. Next time, Gowdy should prep his audience better. Maybe he could say something like, "You might want sit down before I speak because I'm about to go off script."
Seriously, what Gowdy did cannot be overstated enough. He not only contradicted his president, which given the current state of the GOP, amounts to an act of treason, he gave other members of his party the cover to do the same. One of those members is one Marco Rubio, who is to profiles in courage what Trump is to dignity and class. During an interview on ABC, Rubio also stuck a fork in this president's baseless claim.
"As far as what I have seen to date, it appears that there was an investigation not of the campaign, but of certain individuals who have a history that we should be suspicious of, that predate the presidential campaign of 2015, 2016. And when individuals like that are in the orbit of a major political campaign in America, the FBI, who is in charge of counterintelligence investigations, should look at people like that."Luckily for us most Trump supporters don't watch ABC or we would've had two seismic events, not just one, to contend with. Can you imagine two prominent Republicans - or at least what passes for prominent these days - standing up to this compulsive liar? Gowdy you can understand. He's not running for reelection this year so, like Jeff Flake and Bob Corker, he's free to speak what's left of his mind. But Rubio, I suppose, intends to run again for president at some point. Apparently he doesn't know - or care - that elephants have long memories. This act of betrayal will not be forgotten, I can assure you.
Perhaps what we are witnessing is the genesis of a rebellion in the ranks by some of the more lucid Republicans who have decided that whatever short-term pain it might bring them, pales in comparison to the long-term consequences this presidency will have on their party's future. Of course, I could be reaching here. Rubio has had similar moments in his relatively brief political career when he appeared to have a spine, only to collapse like a bowl of jello when push came to shove. Remember the immigration reform bill that he co-sponsered? He ran away from that one like a bat out of hell once he announced his intention to run for president. Given he's being attacked by the likes of Mark Levin, don't be surprised if he has "a moment of clarity" on this issue by the end of the week.
What both these episodes, however, underscore is that Rod Rosenstein was correct when he agreed to a briefing with House Republicans concerning the FBI probe. True it was unprecedented for the Justice Department to share classified intelligence during an active investigation, but by doing so, Rosenstein did more to "unmask" this president for the vacuous fraud he is than he would've by refusing. Had he resigned, which was what some wanted him to do, Trump would've simply appointed a replacement, who by now would've likely stopped or seriously curtailed the whole Russia investigation.
Now that the truth is out, people will finally get the chance to see for themselves that there is no deep state looking to destroy Trump. If anything, Trump IS the deep state looking to destroy the government. It is only the resiliency of the very institutions that he is maligning on a daily basis that have thus far saved us from becoming the banana republic he wants to establish.
And that's all the more reason why Rosenstein must allow Robert Mueller to issue one or more indictments against this president. To hell with DOJ protocol. The evidence is clear. If anybody else besides Trump engaged in this kind of conduct or behavior, he or she would be arrested, tried and convicted. End of story. Period!
This isn't Watergate; it's Watergate on steroids. And the Republic is hanging in the balance.
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