“In Mueller We Trust” has been the Democratic Party mantra over the last two years as the left struggled to grapple with the reality of a Trump presidency. Elected officials, media pundits, and internet memes all seemed to promise without speculation that President Donald Trump would soon be dressing in prison stripes, thanks to the tireless efforts of “America’s straightest arrow,” Robert S. Mueller III.
Now, however, faster than you can say “no collusion,” Democrats are turning on the FBI director-turned-special counsel. The moment it became clear that Mueller would not be pursuing any indictments against President Trump, he was dead to Democrats like Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who appeared on his favorite cable television network over the weekend promising to “subpoena Mueller” if he refused to “cooperate” with House Democrats conducting their own Russia probe.
From “In Mueller We Trust” to trust issues
“If necessary, we will call Bob Mueller or others before our committee,” Schiff, the head of the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “At the end of the day, the [Justice] Department is under a statutory obligation to provide our committee with any information regarding significant intelligence activities, including counterintelligence. It’s hard to imagine anything more significant than what Bob Mueller has been investigating.”
Until now, Mueller has always been isolated from the Department of Justice in Democratic conversations, considered independent from the government’s partisan institutions. After he failed to nail Trump to the wall, however, Mueller has been reduced to just another bureaucratic yes-man.
Walking on water
Indeed, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) told ABC’s This Week over the weekend that “everyone in town” was confident Robert Mueller’s investigation would lead to an indictment. In the eyes of Democrats, Jordan said Mueller is seen as “right next to Jesus, he can almost walk on water, this is the guy and — and he will have the definitive statement on that fundamental question.”
But can Democrats really be blamed for pinning their hopes on Mueller, when the prospects for a good old-fashioned political hit job seemed so lucrative two years ago?
Mueller had all of the ingredients for a partisan coup in place. He stacked his prosecution with high-powered Democratic donors, hired two former FBI employees who promised to “stop” Trump’s presidency, and could pick from a list of supposedly rock-solid criminal indictments.
And there is no denying Mueller’s credentials as an investigator. The only person to be appointed head of the FBI by two different presidents, of different parties, Mueller has been described by his biographer as “that rare voice-beyond-reproach that companies and organizations recruit to lead investigations when they need to tell shareholders or the public that they’ve hired the most seasoned and respected person they can find, someone who will pursue a case wherever it leads without fear or favor.”
Perhaps most importantly, Mueller enjoyed bipartisan support throughout his investigation. Both Republicans and Democrats believed on the balance that he should be allowed to conduct his probe without interference.
Turncoats
Now, 23 months later, with his investigation complete, Mueller only enjoys the respect of one party. MSNBC’s Chris Mathews couldn’t hide his disappointment Friday night when he said, “I can’t believe that Mueller let Trump off the hook.”
The trust is gone for Democrats, who plan to go it alone from here on out — regardless of where the evidence takes them.
Good luck with that.
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