Subscribe to the IHARE Blog

Flying Monkeys

Dorothy’s Hunt for the Wicked Witch of the West Wing: An Update

February 16, 2023
by Peter Feinman
Will the wings of Trump's minions be clipped?

Dorothy’s hunt for the Wicked Witch of the West Wing continues. Today was not a decisive day one way or another that many anticipated or hoped for. No knockout punch was delivered. No knock downs occurred. The bucket of water has not been thrown. The time for singing “Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead” has not arrived. The waiting continues.

Regardless of any legal principles involved, there is great skepticism that a wealthy white male can ever can be brought to justice anyway. In this particular case, there also is great skepticism about this individual ever even being charged with a crime given the numerous times before there has been a feeding frenzy about his imminent indictment that never seems to happen.

What can be said given the events of the last few days?

GEORGIA ON MY MIND

Although no names were mentioned in the report released today, it is still several conclusions still can be reached.

1. There are named people in the portions not released.
2. Some if not all of them are going to be indicted.
3. The release of that report and the indicting of those individuals seems imminent, as in days and not weeks or months.
4. Besides the indictments directly related to the attempt to steal the election, there also will be charges of perjury. Apparently the equivalent of a jury in numbers and as a cross-section of the community already determined that one or more people lied under oath. This development adds a new wrinkle to the proceedings. It puts witnesses on notice that no matter how clever they and their lawyers are in crafting dishonest answers, a jury is quite capable of discerning that dishonesty. That means regardless of the charges announced at the beginning of the trial, additional charges may be generated during the course of the trial. Perjury charges put witnesses on notice that when they think they are being crafty they may in fact be digging themselves deeper into a financial and legal hole. That may encourage more people to plead the 5th or to not even testify in their own defense.

We are getting closer to the first moment of truth. There is a lot to be said for not indicting the Wicked Witch of the West Wing in the initial indictments. That minimizes his ability to slow things down with frivolous lawsuits that courts are weary of since he has not been indicted. It also allows time for the people charged for a crime initiated at the hand of the Wicked Witch of the West Wing to re-assess their willingness to pay the price for the crime while he escapes scot free. The saga continues.

THE BELTWAY HIGH SPEED CHASE

Meanwhile in Washington, the investigation of the Wicked Witch of the West Wing appears to be barreling along. Like the January 6 House Select Committee, it too, has a deadline. The campaign for 2024 already is underway. Speaking now as a civilian, I would say Smith has until this summer to put up or shut up – at least for Mar-a-Largogate.

Still, things seem to be happening even if we don’t know all the details. Subpoenas have been issued for the former Vice President and Chief of Staff. That means in typical Mafioso case fashion, the prosecution has worked his way up the chain of command until he has now reached the inner circle. The Flying Monkeys are having their wings clipped. Soon they will be sitting ducks. It will be like shooting fish in a barrel if I may mix my metaphors.

One might suspect that some of the secret cases now before the judges may involve people we have not heard much about lately. People like Steve Bannon. People like Scott Perry. People like John Eastman. People like Jeffrey Clark. Some of them may be snagged in the Georgia case.

Here is where there will be a lot of doubt about whether a wealthy white man can be held to justice even if he is not the President.

BARR AND DURHAM MADE A MOCKERY OF THE RULES I WROTE

So wrote Neal Katyal in an op-ed piece in The New York Times today. He seems irked to say the least about how the rules for the Special Counsel have been trashed by these two individuals. With Barr, the politicization of the Department of Justice by the President has been well-known since even before the Mueller report was issued. That in itself raises three immediate questions:

1. Will the House Republicans who claim to be interested in the corruption of the politicization of the Department of Justice even investigate these people? – Unlikely no matter how much the Democrats push for it. On the other hand, the Inspector General seems like a better path to investigation.

2. Will the current Attorney General act against John Durham following the guidelines presented by Neal Katyal in his op-ed piece? – This is quite possible. Durham is obligated to produce a final report anyway. At this point, Durham may realize that he has sacrificed a lifetime of credibility and reputation as a reputable investigator and now has only one chance to salvage his tattered legacy.

3. What will happen to the ten obstruction charges identified by Mueller and obscured by Barr? There is no problem about indicting a sitting President any more. As in the previous item, Merrick Garland has a decision to make.

Despite the hullabaloo about the events today over the Georgia case and the revelation of new subpoenas for people very high up in the criminal conspiracy and for the secret cases, there still is a great deal of uncertainty about what will happen. In the meantime, the clock keeps ticking; and there are limits to human patience. If these investigations turn into Ph.D. theses that take forever to complete, then by the time they are done, the country will have moved on.

Armageddon: The Indictment Countdown to September 1

August 10, 2018
by Peter Feinman
Destruction by Thomas Cole as part of the The Course of the Empire

The Flying Monkeys are clamoring for the Witch Hunter to wrap up his investigation. They have established September 1 as the deadline for its end citing Department of Justice protocols. No such deadline by law exists for a conclusion to the open investigation, only a pause on indictments until the election period is over. But Republicans, like the Chinese, only get their news from a state-authorized agency. Except for the First Lady, Republicans do not have access to CNN so they will think that the Flying Monkeys speak the truth. For Republicans, September 1 is the put up or shut up date.

On the other hand, the Flying Monkeys should be careful what they wish for. They do not know how many buckets of water the Witch Hunter has and is ready to pour by September 1.

Two critical points should be realized: Mueller has latitude on when he chooses to issue indictments and he knows more than we do. The recent indictment of the Russians just prior to the meeting with Putin could have been done at another time. In other words, we do not know how many indictments he has ready to go but simply has not chosen to do so yet. Obviously any indictments involving family or finances crosses a line. He may have deliberately held back on them but the September 1 deadline provides a good reason to issue those indictments now.

In addition, the recent public disclosure by the Fixer about a pre-meeting meeting may be news to us but not necessarily to Mueller. Given the interviews conducted so far with participants at the Trump Tower meeting(s), it is reasonable to conclude that he already was familiar with who attended, what was discussed, and what each individual did. In other words, we have no idea how much additional information he has.

That being said, there is a political side to the investigation which should not be ignored. Just because Mueller has been silent does not mean the events in the public arena do not concern him. And in the public arena he is losing the battle to the Flying Monkeys. So what if Nunes the Clown was taped telling truth. It is not as if people did not know what his true job was. What’s important here is that the Republicans support that effort.

So what indictments should the Witch Hunter issue by September 1? My advice for whatever it is worth is to follow a four-bucket plan.

Bucket 1: The Financial

The money-laundering on behalf of the Russia mob should be a straightforward indictment. There are financial statements, transactions, and tax returns plus the United States laws prohibiting transactions with specifically identified Russian banks and organizations. In addition, the indictments here at the state and federal level including in New York are not dependent on interviewing the President. The indictments could be against Trump organizations and possibly some staff who facilitated the transactions. Future indictments might be possible as more information becomes available.

Americans understand the Mafia.
Americans understand THE GODFATHER.
Americans can recognize that Putin is the Godfather and the serial-business-failure desperate for money who could not have cared less about the law was the perfect vehicle through whom to launder money.

This indictment possibly with the disclosure of the tax returns will bring the investigation home to the American public in a way the indictments of Russians, Manafort, and Roger Stone will not.

Bucket 2: It’s a Family Affair

Similarly the indictments of the son and son in-law among others also will bring the investigation home to Americans. The charges of perjury, obstruction, and criminal conspiracy against people known to the American people will make the investigation a front-page issue even to those who have tended to dismiss and discount it. Real people they know now will be brought to trial. Even for the world’s greatest narcissist, the indictment of family will be a moment of truth. What will he decide to do?

Bucket 3: The Invitation

Mueller should issue an open invitation to the father/father-in-law to appear before the grand jury to testify on behalf of his son and son in-law so the charges will be dropped. Similarly he should have the opportunity to testify on behalf of the employees in the Trump organizations who have been indicted in the money-laundering schemes. Every effort should be made to extend to the President of the United States the courtesy for him to legally clear the names of the people who have been loyal to him.

Bucket 4: The Gauntlet

Mueller should announce that no additional indictments or charges for money-laundering, perjury, obstruction, or criminal conspiracy will be issued until after the elections. He should state that he expects a final report to be submitted to Congress in the new year.

In this sense, we really are approaching a moment of truth. Just because an investigation can drag forever does not mean it should. The actions detailed above omit criminal conspiracy and obstruction related to the direct Russian violation of the United States in the 2016 election. I question that months of delay with nothing much to show for it may only serve to undermine the potency of any forthcoming indictments or report. There are limits to how much more the American people can endure the current three-ring circus. There is a time to show that you are holding more than a pair of deuces and September 1 would be a good time to do so.

I do not have access to Mueller so I have no way to contact him about my suggestions. If any of you reading this have the means to do so, I would appreciate your sending him this post.

Thank you for your assistance.