And There Was Great Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth

And There Was Great Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth

By Ronald G. Pittenger

Now that the Mueller Report has been turned in, we should see what shakes out of it over the next few days. If, as it now seems likely, there’s nothing of substance to be added to what we already know, we ought to give serious thought to why and how this happened, how to prevent it from happening again in the future, and how to redress the wrongs that have been done for what appear to be simple partisan advantage. The objective is to make this disaster for the American public too expensive in money and/or jail time for anyone or any party to repeat in the future.

1. The current investigation by the DOJ Inspector General should be given every resource to get to the bottom of what happened, and at whose orders, during and immediately after the Hillary Clinton email server fiasco. Any person found to be in violation of the law should be hung out to dry very publicly. If anyone is found to have been inappropriately immunized from prosecution, that immunity should be revoked. Persons not charged by reason of political pressure or questionable Prosecutorial discretion should have that discretion re-examined in light of possible obstruction of justice. Merely being voted out, fired from, or resigning from a high-paying position doesn’t count as punishment; if they broke laws, prosecute them. This ESPECIALLY includes members of any present or former Administration found to have broken laws.

2. Serious thought should be given to having a Special Prosecutor tasked to look into whether or not partisan political actions were taken to impede the orderly transition of authority from one administration to the next. The Special Prosecutor must be chosen for a reputation for fairness, and the persons he or she chooses to assist that investigation should also be known for being fair-minded persons, none of whom might have an ax to grind in the matter before them. (The President and “his” Justice Department would obviously be conflicted by self-interest and therefore not credible to most Americans.)

3. The Special Prosecutor’s team should examine the Mueller investigation and the circumstances leading up to its start, beginning with the decision by the DNC to hire Fusion for opposition research, and every moment thereafter until today. If a corrupt process is found, it should be referred for possible prosecution. Any person found to have leaked confidential materials, especially unverified materials, to anyone not authorized to have or possess such should be referred for prosecution (this includes sitting or former members of the Administration, Congresspersons, and their staffs).

4. If, as now appears likely, the entire Mueller investigation turns out to be based on nothing more than the partisan Steele Dossier paid for and pushed by an interested party, then a serious injustice has been done to every person unfairly impacted by that investigation. Any USA person who was arrested, indicted, found guilty of, or pleaded guilty to any charge as a result of an investigation that should never have taken place should be pardoned and made financially whole. Any USA person merely inconvenienced should be made financially whole, but they should also have the right to bring suit privately for damages to their character and any additional financial costs.

5. Any such recipient of a pardon should be allowed to sue for damages those persons, entities, and media organizations who pressed for their prosecution, including Congresspersons (current or former) and/or Administration officials (current or former).

Will any of this happen? Of course not. But, it sure was fun thinking about it.