Recent reports from mainstream media outlets like the New York Times and the Washington Post happily tamped down expectations about the upcoming report from Inspector General Michael Horowitz, suggesting that it will downplay the effects of political bias in the investigation into whether President Donald Trump colluded with Russia during his campaign.
We don’t know yet what will be in the long-awaited IG report, but even if Horowitz whitewashes the actions of top government officials and assumes they didn’t act out of political bias, we can look forward to the results from yet another rapidly-expanding investigation: that of Special Prosecutor John Durham. Just don’t expect the mainstream media or the Washington establishment to be as excited.
R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr., founder of the American Spectator, had this to say in a column for Town Hall:
For over two years, I have been predicting the Justice Department would find evidence of FBI and CIA agents working together to spy on Trump operatives. The Durham investigation will bear this out. The media, of course, will try to pit Horowitz against Durham. Do not fall for it.
Durham’s investigation, which is probing the origins of the Mueller probe at the direction of Attorney General William Barr, first required additional office and storage space, and then became a criminal probe as it expanded. There’s no timeline on the investigation, and Durham is not likely to allow political events like elections to affect how he does his job.
Durham an unknown
A prosecutor for more than 30 years, Durham is a virtual unknown in the press because he doesn’t believe in inserting himself by making statements that could prejudice the public’s perceptions about his work.
It’s a contrast from impeachment leader Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and his constant statements to the press about how guilty Trump is and how damning the testimony against him has been. Durham prefers — no, insists — on letting the proceedings speak for themselves.
This is why Durham has a squeaky clean reputation, while Schiff is constantly being attacked and encouraged to resign. The difference is not lost on the American public, and Republicans hope that Durham will be able to show definitively whether there was anything fishy about how Trump was spied on and investigated.
So far, polls show the impeachment inquiry hasn’t swayed Trump’s supporters, and a big part of that is driven by the perception that Democrats are out to get Trump — and were since the inauguration, long before the Ukraine scandal became a thing. Most voters have already made up their minds about impeachment, according to polls, and it will take a lot more evidence one way or the other to get them to change their minds.
The irony of impeachment
The irony of the current grounds for impeachment is not lost on the American people. As Tyrrell pointed out, if it’s a “grave” abuse of power to try to get Ukraine to spy on Trump’s political rival, then plenty of Democrats appear to have abused their power in exactly the same way.
Durham may be able to shed light on exactly how the spying got started and who was involved. If laws were broken, and if it went all the way up to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, then Democrats’ best hope is to be able to make Trump look as bad as they actually were.
The size of Durham’s investigation suggests that some new facts will come to light when it is complete. What those facts are, we can only guess for right now.
But it’s clear Democrats are not looking forward to the outcome.
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