Everything was essentially a process of systemic contingencies; ‘if this, then that’. If this happens then we react with that. If this is likely to come out, then we proactively respond with this – that allows control. That is the nature of a cover-up operation….
By mid-2018 there was a concern amid the deepest part of the deep state. Congress was asking President Trump for declassification of key documents, the Weissmann/Mueller special counsel held control authority over those documents, and -during the prior five months- Weissmann and team had been working through a careful process to diffuse a dangerous sunlight situation…. the communication amid the players was critical.
At the same time President Trump was frustrated. Openly and publicly frustrated. The OIG, Michael Horowitz had released a report saying the FBI did nothing wrong in the Clinton investigation (no bias). President Trump was railing against the ineffectual AG Jeff Sessions and contrasting ever increasing research by those outsiders starting to put the puzzle together. On June 5th 2018 President Trump tweeted:
In the background, and unbeknownst to the public, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein was working to facilitate the needs of Robert Mueller, quietly expand the scope of authorities to assist Mueller’s attack-dog Andrew Weissmann, and secretly was in direct communication with a man named Bill Barr to work the control angle against the office of the President, Donald J Trump…..
In mid 2018 it was apparent and predictable -as more information surfaced- the president would move to remove his ineffectual Attorney General, Jeff Sessions. It wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ Sessions would be removed, it was a matter of ‘when’ Trump would pull the trigger. Sessions recusal was a key element to the activity of the DC operation against Trump; if Sessions was removed, all of those in charge of constructing the cover-up operation would be at risk. Robert Mueller, Rod Rosenstein and now Bill Barr were developing a plan of action.
To make matters worse, by June 2018 there was an explosive DOJ issue; an issue that would expose part of the plot against President Trump; an issue that needed to be carefully managed; an issue the special counsel had been defusing since February; an issue that couldn’t be controlled any longer, and was just about to reach the surface. Mueller, Weissmann and Rosenstein needed to prepare the groundwork…. They needed Barr.
On June 7th 2018 the issue was released. The Security Director for the Senate Intelligence Committee, James Wolfe, was indicted for participating in a series of leaks to the media.
On March 17, 2017, Wolfe had leaked the Carter Page FISA application to his allies in the media to help frame the need for the special counsel. Wolfe was working at the behest of SSCI Vice-Chairman Mark Warner, but was caught by a sting operation conducted out of the Washington Field Office of the FBI ran by SSA Brian Dugan.
After Agent Dugan busted Wolfe in December 2017 he was required to turn over his full investigative file to the Mueller team because they held investigative authority over all things “Trump/Russia” related. Agent Dugan turned over his evidence against both Mark Warner and James Wolfe in late January 2018. Immediately the special counsel went to work diffusing the evidence within the file.
Wolfe’s primary leak source, Ali Watkins, now working at the New York Times, was notified that all of her contact information with Wolfe was captured by Agent Dugan. This gave her time to assemble a defense and provided all media with a head’s up that someone in the FBI knew about the legislative branch effort to remove President Trump.
Weissmann and Mueller’s second move to diffuse the issue was to inform Senator Mark Warner that his communication with Chris Steele’s lawyer, Adam Waldman, was also captured by FBI Agent Dugan. This gave Senator Warner time to create a defense and position himself against the investigative discovery.
The SSCI vice-chair previously knew Wolfe was busted for the leak because FBI Director Chris Wray, and FBI legal counsel Dana Boente, demanded Agent Dugan tell Warner and SSCI Chairman Burr about the evidence against Wolfe. However, Warner did not know Dugan used a back-door search warrant to capture his text messages with Adam Waldman. Those text messages needed a fast and urgent counter narrative which would justify them.
During the period from February to June 2018 the damaging Wolfe background was being managed. On June 7th enough action had taken place to eliminate the risks in the Dugan files which would outline the multi-branch plot against President Trump. The Wolfe indictment was unsealed with the approval of the special counsel.
It was now time to deploy the insurance policy against President Trump’s reaction….
On June 8th Bill Barr executed the delivery of his pre-written letter to Rod Rosenstein, as they had planned. If Jeff Sessions was fired by Trump, the letter provided a baseline for Bill Barr to be recommended as a replacement Attorney General. That was the plan… now they waited to see what Trump would do.
President Trump kept up his public confrontation against AG Jeff Sessions, begging him to do something, anything, to stop the attacks from the DOJ against his office. However, Trump never pulled the trigger to remove Sessions…. instead he took sketchy advice from others in/around the office and did not trust his instincts. In hindsight this was a big mistake.
By September 2018 the pressure from legislative supporters for Trump to declassify documents controlled by the special counsel (they held authority over all documents) was at a fever pitch. Congress was begging Trump to declassify.
When it looked like President Trump was going to take unilateral action, DAG Rod Rosenstein stepped in and told President Trump if he declassified any documents the special counsel would look upon that action as direct evidence of his interfering with their investigation. Declassification would be weaponized against him.
Rosenstein’s threat worked…. Trump backed down (September 21st):
Rosenstein had bought time for the Mueller team to continue their operations against the Trump administration…
The day after the November mid-term election Trump finally fired AG Jeff Sessions. Losing the House to democrats was an outcome of waiting for justice amid a system that was filled with corrupt and deceitful actors working against the executive office.
♦On November 30th former President George H.W. Bush died. In response to the loss of the former President, First Lady Melania Trump and President Trump extended the offer to the Bush family to stay at the Blair House during commemorations.
An extension of grace was seen by the deep state as an opportune moment…
During the early December remembrances and private meetings, former President George “Dubya” Bush put the finishing touches on the plan. President Bush recommended his friend Bill Barr to be the permanent replacement for Jeff Sessions. The June 8th letter to Rod Rosenstein was referenced as a baseline to solidify the recommendation.
Once again, President Trump trusted…. The bad actors had now successfully executed the Bill Barr (insurance policy) part of the strategy against the office of the president. Barr knew if he spoke a good game he would keep President Trump satiated… so he did.
Almost everyone fell for it and the media played their part in railing against Barr.
In addition to the hindsight timeline, one of the “tells” inside the scheme was how Bill Barr talked about the honor and integrity of Robert Mueller and DAG Rod Rosenstein. By heaping praise upon them he was affirming their status as not being questioned. The actions, actual behaviors by Mueller and Rosenstein, were being overlooked.
The rest, as they say, is history…
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ps. Bill Barr quietly appointed John Durham on October 19th 2020, just outside the 90 day window of reversal, for the exact same reason as the appointment of Robert Mueller. A special counsel insurance policy to protect the deep state.