April 20, 2019

Apparently, Laura Ingraham thinks that just because Donald Trump was not indicted or otherwise directly accused of a crime in the Mueller report, that proves she and Fox News Trumpers were right about a witch hunt!

I haven’t read the complete Mueller report yet but the behavior described in it is shocking for anyone in public office. And Mueller explicitly did not exonerate Trump, especially in regard to obstruction of justice.

“If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state,” Mueller writes. “We are unable to reach such a judgment.”

As The New York Times put it, the report reveals the White House as a “culture of dishonesty.” "So many lies. So many changed stories ...The report recaps one false statement after another," The Times wrote in the second of its seven key takeaways.

As for “collusion,” Mueller wrote, “In sum, the investigation established multiple links between Trump Campaign officials and individuals tied to the Russian government. Those links included Russian offers of assistance to the Campaign. In some instances, the Campaign was receptive to the offer, while in other instances the Campaign officials shied away. Ultimately, the investigation did not establish that the Campaign coordinated or conspired with the Russian government in its election-interference activities.”

But that is what looks like complete exoneration, honorable behavior and, presumably, good governance to Ingraham (transcript via Fox News):

INGRAHAM: Number one, the President and his team, they went above and beyond in their transparency in dealing with the Special Counsel's office. This openness in and of itself cuts against any suggestions you might be hearing on the other cables about obstruction of justice.

My friends, if Trump wanted to obstruct justice, he wouldn't have waived executive privilege. Now if you don't know what that is, it's a doctrine which would have shielded much of the President's internal communications from investigators and from the public but he didn't do that.

In fact, I would argue, remember, I was a former criminal defense lawyer myself, clerk of the court. I would argue that the President's team may have went - have gone overboard in giving Mueller too much information. But anyway this demonstrates the President's supreme confidence in his own innocence from the very beginning.

He had nothing to hide and by the way, the transparency even extended to the release of the report itself. Remember, the American people are getting much more than is required by law. And Bill Barr, he didn't have to do the synopsis of the report, he didn't have to answer press questions this morning.

Although I don’t recall Ingraham ever demanding that Trump apologize for bogus birther accusations against President Barack Obama, she thinks Trump, his family, and every Trumper, including herself, deserves an apology because Mueller decided not to indict the Liar in Chief:

INGRAHAM: First, the president himself, Donald Trump. These destructive and defamatory allegations against him were based on erroneous reporting, anonymous sources, leaks and whispers, gossip. But now with the release of the Mueller report, we find that it was all false.

The Trump family is also owed an apology. Attorney General William Barr certainly deserves an apology. All of the members of the mainstream media -- I have no words for their calumny, their lies and their false accusations. Are they really paid enough to say that stuff, guys? And to those who branded the prime time hosts on this network as "state news" for daring to tell the truth -- not just our truth but the truth -- you owe us an apology. No wonder they were so angry on Thursday.

But while Ingraham dismissed Trump's very disturbing behavior, she’s demanding a banana republic-like attack on those who think a guy in the Oval Office should not behave like a Russian asset or a crook, even part of the time:

INGRAHAM: Every effort should be made to investigate the origins and motivations of this Mueller investigation.

Hey, I’ve got an idea! Why doesn’t Ingraham prevail on Trump to give fellow justice victim O.J. Simpson that investigator's job? If Ingraham thinks Trump World is owed big apologies, she surely must think Simpson deserves the same and more.

Meanwhile, Laura, as far as I’m concerned, the efforts of you and the lying P**** Grabber to undermine our democracy mean you are the ones who owe America the apology.

Watch Ingraham display her very low bar for presidential ethics above, from the April 18, 2019 The Ingraham Angle.

Crossposted at News Hounds.
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