On April 11, Nunes got the unredacted copy of the Rosenstein memo.
On April 13, Trump pardons Scooter Libby
Next, Nunes and Trump apologists go after a FBI informant’s identity.
Trump the anti-patriot insults the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations by choosing to out an FBI informant because Trump campaign officials were kanoodling with Russians and bragging about it.
As a conservative lawyer, who at one point considered taking a job in the administration and still has close ties to it said to one of us last night:
“All this man [the source] wanted to do was to help our country. And this was a legitimate counterintelligence inquiry with more than an adequate foundation and a perfectly appropriate method. Trump and Nunes have defiled the oaths they took. It’s just obscene.”
While we were preparing to publish this piece, the president dug in further, tweeting:
Don’t underestimate this episode. It will have a long tail and big consequences—all of them terrible.
The first thing any new member of the Intelligence Committee learns is the critical importance of protecting sources and methods.
Publicly outing a source risks not only their life, but the lives of every American, because when sources are burned it makes it that much harder for every part of the intelligence community to gather intelligence on those who wish to do us harm.
It would be at best irresponsible, and at worst potentially illegal, for members of Congress to use their positions to learn the identity of an FBI source for the purpose of undermining the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in our election.
Anyone who is entrusted with our nation’s highest secrets should act with the gravity and seriousness of purpose that knowledge deserves.
That being said these are desperate times for 45* so these efforts are meant to sow confusion and discord even as the investigation continues.
Reading this Politico article on the FBI agents supporting the Mueller probe calmed me down. Trump is toast (still).
Having FBI agents on hand obviates the need for any prosecutor to testify about what was said, but in the current probe also serves a second purpose: providing someone who could testify even if Mueller’s whole prosecution team were removed and replaced.
Said one former federal prosecutor, who asked not to be named: “If anything happens to the special counsel, the bureau will still be there.”