Special Counsel Robert Mueller III submitted his findings to Attorney General William Barr on March 22, 2019.  A redacted version of the 448-page report was publicly released by the Department of Justice on April 18. 

By that date, Mueller had:

• Indicted 34 people—including four former Trump campaign advisers.
• Indicted three Russian companies.
• Obtained eight guilty pleas to felonies or convictions—including five Trump associates and campaign officials.
• Unveiled Russians’ determination to elect Trump over Hillary Clinton.
• Revealed that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn discussed removing sanctions against Russia with then-Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, during the transition period. 
• Discovered that Trump associates knew about Russian outreach efforts during the campaign. 

On July 24, 2019, Mueller testified before the House Judiciary Committee. There he revealed that Donald Trump, the President of the United States, had:

• Sought Russian interference during the 2016 Presidential campaign.
• Benefited from that intervention.
• Concealed his close personal economic ties to Vladimir Putin by lying to the public about his hidden attempts to secure a construction project in Moscow.
• Lied to the special prosecutor.
• Directed subordinates to falsify records.
• Tried to exert “undue influence” on law enforcement in order to protect himself and his allies.

While appearing before Congress, Mueller was forced to:

• Testify for seven hours before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee.
• Endure powerful, hot klieg lights needed by television cameras.
• Patiently take questions that were at times self-serving 
• Respectfully answer questions meant to attack his personal and professional integrity.
• Simplify complex legal scenarios for men and women who have the attention span of a gnat. 

Although Mueller was joined by former deputy special counsel Aaron Zebley, Zebley was forbidden to give testimony. He could only serve as Mueller’s counsel, giving quiet advice.

So the entire seven hours of public testimony fell on the shoulders of a 74-year-old man. No wonder he appeared tired by the end of the day.

And what was his reward?

A July 26, 2019 article in The Atlantic—entitled “The Press Has Adopted Trump’s Reality-Show Standards”—sums up the general reaction of the nation’s press to these bombshell revelations:

“In any other administration, in any other time, a special prosecutor, former FBI director, and decorated Marine testifying that the president of the United States was an unprosecuted felon who encouraged and then benefited from an attack on American democracy in pursuit of personal and political gain would bring the country to a grinding halt.

“But the American political press found Mueller insufficiently dazzling.” 

Among those media:

• The New York Times: “Mueller’s Performance Was a Departure From His Much-Fabled Stamina.”
• The Washington Post: “On Mueller’s Final Day on the National Stage, a Halting, Faltering Performance.” And another reporter dubbed him a “weary old man.”
• The Hill: “Muller’s ‘Blockbuster’ Appearance Turned into ‘Bomb’ of Performance.”
• Politico: “Bob Mueller Is Struggling.”
• Right-wing media openly questioned Mueller’s health. These same media never mentioned that Trump is grotesquely overweight, never walks when he can ride, and eats a diet high in fats and calories.

In short: The nation’s most influential news media—on which citizens depend for their understanding of national and international personalities and events—has adopted the standards of teenagers.

* * * * *

Americans like their heroes young and powerful—preferably invincible. They want their heroes to be handsome and their villains to be ugly. They want to see lots of explosions and collapsing buildings.

And if a superhero can deliver a zinger of a line while throwing a KO punch, so much the better.

Lacking a sense of history—or concern for it—most Americans remain ignorant of the men, women and events that have shaped the era in which they live. 

Most of those who watched Robert Mueller testify before Congress knew nothing of the sacrifices he had made for his country: 

• As a Marine Vietnam veteran decorated for heroism (1968-1971);
• As a United States Attorney (1986-1987 and 1998-2001);
• As a United States Assistant Attorney General (1990-1993 and 2001); and
• As director of the FBI (2001-2013).

Robert Mueller

A news media that prizes glitz over substance has abdicated the role intended for it by the Founding Fathers: To act as a watchdog over the nation’s leaders.

That does not, however, diminish the legacy of Robert Mueller’s achievements—as Special Counsel and every other position he has held.

Revered within the law enforcement community, he will forever rank among the giants who personify courage and integrity

As a soldier, prosecutor, FBI director and Special Counsel, Robert Mueller took an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

So did Donald Trump when he was inaugurated the nation’s 45th President.  And so did every Republican member of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The difference between Robert Mueller and Trump—and the overwhelming majority of Republican Congressional members—is this: Mueller, like a compass pointing True North, has always stayed faithful to that oath.

In doing so, he carried on his shoulders the burdens created when millions of racist, hate-filled Americans deliberately sent a corrupt, Russian-backed egomaniac and would-be dictator to the White House.

Altogether, four Russian oligarchs—Len Blavatnik, Alexander Shustorovich, Andrew  Intrater and Simon Kukes––contributed $10.4 million from the start of the 2015-16 election cycle through September 2017. Of this, 99% went to Republicans.   

As Senate Majority Leader, Kentucky United States Senator Mitch McConnell participated in high-level intelligence briefings in 2016. From agencies such as the FBI, CIA and the code-cracking National Security Agency, he learned that the Russians were trying to subvert the electoral process.

In October, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) issued a joint statement: The Russian government had directed the effort to subvert the 2016 Presidential election.

Two weeks later, McConnell’s PAC accepted a $1 million donation from Blavatnik.

On March 30, 2017, McConnell’s PAC accepted another $1 million from Blavatnik. This was just 10 days after former FBI Director James Comey testified before the House Intelligence Committee about Russia’s efforts to subvert the 2016 election.

Billionaires don’t give huge sums to politicians without expecting to get something in return. And this is especially true—and frightening—when the contributors are linked to a former KGB agent like Vladimir Putin, whose aggressive intentions are increasingly on display.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller thus faced increased hostility from Republicans who no doubt feared their own ownership by Moscow would become a focus of his investigation.

But there was another powerful reason why so many Republicans closed ranks with President Donald Trump against him: 

#2: Republicans feared enraging Trump’s fanatical base.

On August 30, 2017, an article in Salon sought to explain why Trump was so popular among his supporters.

Its headline ran: “Most Americans Strongly Dislike Trump, But the Angry Minority That Adores Him Controls Our Politics.”

It described these voters as representing about one-third of the Republican party:

“These are older and more conservative white people, for the most part, who believe he should not listen to other Republicans and should follow his own instincts….

“They like Trump’s coarse personality, and approve of the fact that he treats women like his personal playthings. They enjoy it when he expresses sympathy for neo-Nazis and neo-Confederate white supremacists.

“They cheer when he declares his love for torture, tells the police to rough up suspects and vows to mandate the death penalty for certain crimes. (Which of course the president cannot do.)

“…This cohort of the Republican party didn’t vote for Trump because of his supposed policies on trade or his threat to withdraw from NATO. They voted for him because he said out loud what they were thinking. A petty, sophomoric, crude bully is apparently what they want as a leader.”

And keeping that cohort constantly stirred up was the Right-wing Fox News Network. This was not a source of legitimate news but the propaganda arm of the Fascistic Right and the Republican party.

Donald Trump

On May 18, 2018, conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks offered this political commentary on The PBS Newshour: “I would just say, I observe politically, I do think if Trump fired Mueller tomorrow, the Republican Party would back him. 

“Because I think Fox News has created a predicate. They have done thousands of surveys and investigations about Mueller as a political operative.” 

And Brooks’ fellow political commentator, liberal syndicated columnist Mark Shields, echoed those sentiments: “At the same time, I think what we learned is that the defense of Donald Trump, led by himself and [his attorney] Rudy Giuliani, is to savage and torment, denigrate, vilify and libel Bob Mueller.

“Bob Mueller happens to be an American who turned down an eight-figure income to be a major corporate lawyer, instead became a public servant. He’s a man who volunteered and carries the wounds of battle from having been a Marine platoon leader in Vietnam.

“He is a public servant. He has not said a word. He has not given an interview. He has not leaked to anybody. And he stands vilified by Trump and Giuliani and their cohorts and their outriders. It is indefensible.

“And they are trying to exact the same damage upon the Justice Department of the country, the FBI and this country that Joe McCarthy did on the State Department, which has never fully recovered from his libelous attacks.”

David Brooks and Mark Shields

According to a Pew Research Center survey, that one-third of Republicans who fanatically supported Trump comprised only 16% of the population. That left 65% of Republicans who were revolted by Trump’s personality and behavior.

But that 65% of Republicans were being advised by GOP political consultants to vigorously support him.

“Your heart tells you that he’s bad for the country,” one anonymous consultant told the Salon reporter. “Your head looks at polling data among Republican primary voters and sees how popular he is.”

It’s precisely these hard-core Fascists who come out in mid-term elections—and they’re scaring the remaining 65% who make up the GOP establishment.  

The highest priority of that establishment, after all, is to hold onto their privileged positions in the House and Senate. And anything that might jeopardize that—including what’s best for the country—can go hang.