I’ve been meditating on this story over the weekend:
House Judiciary Committee Republicans on Thursday called for a new special counsel — to investigate Hillary Clinton, James Comey and Loretta Lynch.
In a letter addressed to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Republicans said they were writing to “request assistance in restoring public confidence in our nation’s justice system and its investigators, specifically the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).”
The lawmakers said they presumed investigation of potential Russian influence on the U.S. presidential election was covered by special counsel Robert Mueller, but that they “are not confident that other matters related to the 2016 election and aftermath are similarly under investigation” by the former FBI director. [CNBC]
While this doesn’t appear to be about Benghazi, it’s worth noting that Clinton has been investigated by many Congressional committees over the tragic loss of the American ambassador to Libya and other Americans to an assassination plot. None of them found a thing, and the last one, run by Trey Gowdy (R) and called the House Select Committee on Benghazi, not only found nothing, but in the climactic hearing with its chief target, had its own ass handed to it on a plate, by all reports.
Still, it’s a little difficult for someone such as myself, far from the center of the maelstrom, to know if there’s anything to these charges. My suspicion is there’s not. Which then opens the question:
Why?
What’s motivating this letter, if no evidence of malfeasance is otherwise forthcoming?
What has slowly impressed itself on my brain is that the GOP, for all its decisiveness at the election box, is a collection of power-mongers and third-raters, desperately insecure and getting worse as their supposedly unstoppable position in Congress and the White House has turned out to be a mirage.
But this they know – the truth does not matter. It’s all about perception and messaging.
So if the GOP is going to be tarred with incompetence and even corruption, there’s only one thing to do:
Tar the Democrats with the same brush.
Now, nevermind that Comey’s a Republican, because he was investigating the GOP’s public leader, if I may be so bold, for corruption, and therefore he can no longer be a Party member; such are the rules of Party membership.
But if you’re going to be dirtied, it’s best to make sure your sworn enemies are dirtied, too. It distracts from the charges tossed at you.
Because, based on what we’ve seen so far from the GOP members of this Congress, they have nothing else to offer.
[EDIT Fixed a typo 11/5/2017]
