An organizational
chart of the executive branch of the federal government clearly
shows one person at the top, the president. Beneath him are cabinet
departments, including the department of justice. Within the DOJ, anotherorganizational chart demonstrates
that the attorney general is on top, with the deputy AG one step below. Beneath
both sits the FBI.
It seems logical that the culture,
priorities, and directives of the executive branch is set by whoever sits atop
the organizational chart, namely the president. This was clear during past administrations.
President Obama presided over a cabinet made up of Obama functionaries, whether
in Homeland Security, Justice, or the IRS. Without needing explicit guidance or
direction, cabinet and agency heads carried the flag of the commander in chief,
faithful and always loyal to their boss, for better or worse depending on your
political bent.
In
President Trump’s administration, this pattern appears to have broken. Granted Donald Trump came to the White House without the
political entourage that past presidents have carried into the Oval Office from
their days as a governor, senator, or vice-president. Trump entered only with
his Apprentice persona, and on several occasions told disloyal or disruptive
cabinet officials or other advisors, “You’re fired.”
Yet
recent events illustrate that one cabinet agency, namely the Department of
Justice, is not only outside the organizational chart, but instead is a fourth
branch of government, somehow overlooked by the US Constitution.
Roger
Stone’s recent arrest by an FBI SWAT team suggests that the DOJ is functioning
as a fourth branch of government, through the appointed special counsel, acting
as an additional check and balance on the executive branch. Going beyond the
special counsel’s mandate to
investigate, “Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016
presidential election”, it appears that the unstated goal is to nullify the
2016 presidential election.
Stone
is not a serial killer or a mafia don. He’s neither a drug kingpin nor a
terrorist. He is guilty of little more than knowing and associating with Donald
Trump. His indictment was for process crimes, misleading Congress or other
investigators. Something that Hillary Clinton, her aides, and top Obama
officials did routinely and brazenly without consequence.
If
Donald Trump were not president, Roger Stone would not be a household name;
instead he would be advising the next John McCain or Mitt Romney, haplessly
trying to win the White House against an unbeatable government/media machine.
Yet,
someone signed off on the Stone blitzkrieg, sending an assault team to Stone’s
home in the wee hours of the morning. Does Mueller have this authority?
According to statute,
“The special counsel shall exercise, within the scope of his or her
jurisdiction, the full power and independent authority to exercise all
investigative and prosecutorial functions of any United States Attorney.” Can a
US Attorney request an FBI raid without the approval of superiors in the DOJ?
When it comes to process crimes, beyond
the issue of “Russian interference”, the special counsel,
“Shall consult with the Attorney General, who will determine whether to include
the additional matters within the special counsel's jurisdiction or assign them
elsewhere.”
If the
accused is low risk, as is Roger Stone, he and his attorney would be notified,
and he would present himself to the court for arrest, processing, and bail. If
high risk or armed and dangerous, a raid might be ordered. Does Mueller have that
authority, or would that involve consultation with the Attorney General who
could then order the FBI to carry out such a raid?
Such
discussions would include Deputy AG Rosenstein, AG Whitaker, and FBI Director
Wray, all three working for the man atop the above organizational chart.
Director
Wray is, “About as angry as I've been in a long, long time.” Not about
the Stone
raid utilizing 29 FBI agents, more than the number of SEALS raiding
Osama bin Laden’s compound, but instead about the government
shutdown.
How can this happen? Is this how The Trump
Organization operated, with underlings carrying out their own agendas, against
the interests of the boss?
Then
there was the CNN producer, who based on a “hunch” just happened to be at Roger
Stone’s house, on the right day at the right time, with a camera ready to film
the assault and arrest. No other journalist had a similar “hunch”. Only CNN, an
organization whose “hunches”, from the recent Buzzfeed story to the Covington
student standoff with the brave “Viet Nam veteran,” are usually wrong,
reinforcing CNN’s reputation as “fake news.”
Interestingly,
one of CNN’s analysts, Josh Campbell, was
formerly an FBI agent and assistant to James Comey. Quite the coincidence. Was
the plan and timing of the raid leaked to CNN? From local law enforcement, the
FBI, or team Mueller? Will the DOJ investigate?
It
appears that Donald Trump is not in charge, or at least he is not acting like
he is. He may be getting advice that he will be impeached if he in any way
interferes with the Mueller investigation. So what? House Democrats will
impeach him, or at least try to, regardless of what he does or doesn’t do.
Yet
Trump’s appointees are supervising this investigation, Rosenstein, and his
current boss Whitaker. Is Mueller investigating “Russian interference” or is he
on a wild goose chase to squeeze anyone in Trump’s circle until someone cries
uncle and gives Mueller what he wants, a high crime or misdemeanor.
There
has been no evidence to date of Trump-Russia collusion. As Andrew
McCarthy observes,
“The indictment is just the latest blatant demonstration that Special Counsel
Robert Mueller’s office, the Department of Justice, and the FBI have known for
many months that there was no such conspiracy.”
Rather
than exonerating President Trump, the investigation, leaks, and media
speculation keeps the false narrative alive, dividing the country and hampering
Trump’s ability to govern and conduct foreign policy. The longer this goes on, the worse for President
Trump. We are told to “trust the plan” and that “pain is coming” yet there is
no evidence of either. Trump, while supposedly in charge of the executive
branch, seems anything but.
The true
malfeasance, an Obama administration conspiracy to undermine an election and a
duly elected president through the weaponization of government agencies,
working with friendly foreign governments, lying to FISA courts by passing off
political opposition research as verified intelligence, all goes uninvestigated
and unpunished. When and where is the reckoning for this? Is this America or East
Germany?
It
doesn’t help that Trump’s party, the Republicans, are largely silent. The media
is in lockstep with Mueller and the Democrats in their mission to destroy and
banish Trump from the White House. Democrats defended Bill Clinton when he was
under investigation. Few Republicans show similar loyalty to the leader of
their party.
What’s
the end game? The words of Joseph
Goebbels are the marching orders for the Democrats, the deep state,
and their media allies, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it,
people will eventually come to believe it.”
Only one man can stop this, the one sitting
atop that organizational chart. He is already loathed by his political enemies
who are hell-bent on impeaching him and removing him from office. The longer
this drags on, the more likely this scenario will come true. There may be
enough NeverTrump Republicans in the Senate – Cory Gardner, Mitt Romney, Lisa
Murkowski and a few others – to vote Trump out of office after the Democrat
House votes to impeach.
The man who said these
words is the only one who can make them ring true.
Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political
establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American People.
There is nothing the political establishment will not do, and no lie they will
not tell, to hold on to their prestige and power at your expense.
This is not simply another 4-year election. This is a
crossroads in the history of our civilization that will determine whether or
not We The People reclaim control over our government.
For them, it is a war – and for them, nothing is out of
bounds.
This is a struggle for the survival of our nation. This
election will determine whether we are a free nation, or whether we have only
the illusion of Democracy but are in fact controlled by a small handful of
global special interests rigging the system.
Our
Independence Day is at hand, and it arrives, finally, on November 8th. Join me
in taking back our country and creating a bright and glorious new dawn for our
people.
Time for the man at the top to show who
is really in charge. Before it’s too late.
Brian
C Joondeph, MD, MPS, a Denver based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.