You’d best not miss. It’s a classic line that I’d attributed to Shakespeare but actually comes from the classic TV series The Wire. The line has been running through my head for the past couple of days as the dust settles from the failed attempt to remove Donald Trump from office.
This ongoing saga commenced some seventeen hours into the Trump presidency in a series of conspiracy theories that made Alex Jones look like the voice of reason in a totally insane political environment flamed by wild speculative reporting that relied upon hearsay and unnamed sources to build a case of I’m not totally sure what against Donald Trump.
Long time readers of this site would realise that my interest in American politics dates back to the failed Sanders candidacy in 2016, the obvious shenanigans that were involved in foiling his candidacy and the reluctance of mainstream media to investigate any one of the multiple layers of enquiries that should have been rich pickings for a free and unbiased press.
While the MSM refused to investigate, many independent journalists, bloggers and commentators on both sides of the political spectrum picked up the ball and ran with it. What began to emerge was a picture of a totally corrupt political establishment class, shielded and protected by a completely conflicted media pack who had gotten much too close to the people that they were meant to investigate.
WikiLeaks became a vital source of information and was routinely and systematically smeared as a Russian agency that could not be trusted. Independent citizen journalists were defamed and painted as fake news. The narrative had to be controlled at all costs and the narrative promoted Donald Trump as the pied piper candidate that Hilary Clinton would beat comfortably. they never thought she would lose.
It won’t surprise anyone to know that when Donald Trump won the election against all odds, I found myself not necessarily cheering, but thinking that the DNC, its celebrity sycophants and toady media outlets got what they deserved. I thought that would end it and maybe the Trump administration would have time to investigate some of the obvious wrongs that happened in 2016.
The establishment went nuts. Media outlets behaved like Hitler himself had been elected. The economy was predicted to tank. Minority groups were warned of dark days ahead. World War Three would start any day. Life as we knew it was about to end.
Meanwhile the Trump administration behaved pretty much in the same way you would expect a conservative administration to behave. Trump himself appeared to be determined not to get into any more wars and by and large he seemed to make a better conservative alternative than the last two Republican incumbents. The economy didn’t shrink. It picked up pace. So much so that unemployment rates for blacks and Hispanics have never been lower. The media talking heads could not have been further wrong.
They were right about one thing. Political life as we know it will never be the same.
The complete fixation on Trump and utter distortion of the most trivial facts did not tear Trump down, rather it begin to lift the veil on the murky machinations of “news” reporting. “Bombshell” after “bombshell” was breathlessly reported and then quietly walked back as the media continuously were shown to be reliant upon sources that were either incompetent, lazy, scared or aggressively conspiring to bring the President down.
Very early on in the Trump presidency before his inauguration, Trump received a visit from NSA chief Admiral Rogers. Shortly after ( the very next day) Trump moved his operations away from Trump Tower. The holdover Obama administration then aggressively pursued Admiral Rogers wanting his removal from the NSA That was the first of many red flags that were raised in a constant “Russia, collusion, treason, quid quo pro” fever that lasted well over three years.
What was it that so enraged and terrified many of the Obama administrations key and bit players – Comey, Clapper, Brennan, McCabe, Strozk, Paige and the rest? Why would their fevered conspiracy theories be given so much air time ? Were they driven by noble ideals or were they trying to cover something up?
The mainstream media had no interest in even asking the question. This was a slam dunk, or so it seemed – the walls were closing in and Donald Trump would be removed in disgrace from the Whitehouse. Except, facts kept getting in the way of the narrative and these facts kept getting exposed by citizen journalists and the occasional maverick reporter like John Solomon. The narrative kept falling apart. The Mueller probe disintegrated into dust.
Plan B was quickly put into action and that has for all intents and purposes ended. The house is desperately cobbling together Plan C – which would involve John Bolton being subpoenaed to appear before the House. Somehow, I think Bolton may give them more than they bargained for and he may be a stone better left unturned, but the Democrats have lost all reason and are hell bent on pursuing this to the bitter end.
Many of us who follow this closely are aware that there is a vast body of evidence that points to a major scandal in the Obama administration – a scandal that their holdover appointees have been working desperately to cover up for the past three years. That scandal is a multi headed hydra that leads down all sorts of dark alleys. The barest of bones is outlined in this rather long piece here.
The Trump administration despite its portrayal as inept and chaotic has managed to survive a concerted attempt to overthrow it. They are well aware of the machinations that have motivated and fuelled the past three years of hysteria. They have taken all of the very best punches that have been thrown at them and all the while, they have been putting the pieces in place to strike back.
The recent Inspector General’s report exposed serious breaches of law by the FBI during the FISA application process and has laid much of the groundwork for potential future charges.
John Durham has been continually working away in the background investigating the origins of the Mueller probe. This is a criminal investigation.
Today the Senate got their hands on Hunter Biden’s banking records which, I suspect may lead down a number of new rabbit holes. Things are starting to get interesting.
All of this is good – let all of the cards fall where they may and only then can we judge what really happened in 2016 and what has been going on for the past four years. Transparency is the only way
Trump is pissed. He has a reputation for seeking retribution when somebody crosses him. He has the full weight of the NSA and American Military intelligence behind him as well as quietly re-configuring the administration of both the CIA and FBI to at least neutralise them.
He is about to take the gloves off. I suspect that the fallout will be biblical.
When you come at the king, you best not miss.
Thank you for reading. I'd appreciate it if you If you enjoyed this please share, like or comment as appropriate
You can grab a free sample of my story writing by subscribing to my story lover's list .
Interesting article …As you suggest Trump himself appeared to be determined not to get into any more wars like many previous republican leaders. The economy had recovered from the global down turn and was on the way up in the previous administration, but do not forget his economic contribution to increasing the debt…. Outsiders see a political system requiring and allowing huge donations, no compulsory voting and no preference voting (so only two major parties) and the process is influenced by mega media origination.. Also not all Presidents, Monarchies or Governor Generals in other countries have similar power.. Wish my American friends well. Do not stress to much .. politicians generally are on the nose 🙂