I've never done this before, but I'm pasting in a complete book review by Barbara Boland of The American Conservative. The review is titled as above: The Worst Political Coverup You’ve Never Heard Of. Sadly, for many Americans this will be a very true description of the scandal in question. What is revealed, IMO, beyond what Boland documents in her review, is that the United States has already largely descended to the political level of a banana republic. The only change I've made in what follows is that I've linked to the book's Amazon page:
Obstruction of Justice: How the Deep State Risked National Security to Protect the Democrats, by Luke Rosiak, is for anyone who enjoys political thrillers and whodunit fiction. The story itself has been described as “reminiscent of a spy novel” and “crazy as fiction”—except that it is the true tale of what happened during the 2016 election, when a Pakistani national with access to several House Democrats’ computers was arrested by the FBI.
Imran Awan had just wired $283,000 to Pakistan, where he planned to join his wife, who had also just fled the country with $12,000 cash in a suitcase. Awan had access to all emails and files of dozens of members of Congress, as well as the password to the iPad that DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz used for Democratic National Committee business before she resigned. He and his family lifted data off the House network, stole the identity of an intelligence specialist, destroyed federal hard drives, sent congressional electronic equipment to foreign officials, and engaged in several financial schemes including mortgage fraud.
Obstruction of Justice exposes how congressional Democrats, with the help of Republicans in leadership, manipulated the media and engaged in a massive cover-up to protect the Awans and preserve their power and the status quo. Even if you remember glimpses of this story from the scant reporting that occurred at the time, you’ve only just skimmed the surface of the corruption at the highest levels of government that the book details. This true story is so riveting, with so many unbelievable twists and turns, that I finished it over a weekend, unable to put it down.
The author, Luke Rosiak, was an investigative journalist with the Daily Caller News Foundation, and every detail is meticulously documented and well-researched. It’s easy to see why Tucker Carlson called him “one of the smartest, most diligent reporters in Washington” and Peter Schweizer said he’s a “dedicated, truth-seeking investigator who won’t let bureaucrats stonewall him.”
While the book reads like a spy novel, the conclusion is nowhere near as satisfying as a Tom Clancy thriller. Like many true stories, this one doesn’t have a happy ending, and the breathtaking subversion of justice that occurs in the final chapters, long after the media and the public had moved on, will leave the reader deeply frustrated.
That’s exactly why it should be read: it should deeply concern us all that these egregious malefactors escaped justice. The book lays bare exactly how swamp insiders protect their own, shielded from the rule of law, in what Newt Gingrich called “possibly the largest scandal and coverup in the history of the United States House of Representatives.”
Sadly, this episode of corruption within the federal government is but one chapter in an encyclopedia of criminality that has been festering for decades and reached a crescendo during the Obama Administration. This is why Barr and a partially honest DOJ are not going to be able to do much as remedy. The vastness and seriousness of the wrongdoing is just too much to take on and successfully combat. The tool of the judiciary simply is not capable of addressing this level of systemic cancer.
ReplyDeleteLike an alcoholic chasing the bottom in their final bender, this country must descend to a point where the proverbial 2x4 upside the head finally creates the awareness needed to make real changes. Our culture has become rotten and our society won't take the cure until it has no choice in the matter.
Heh. I figured you'd be all over this--and rightly so. I knew I wasn't giving the coverage this story deserved, but it was also much more hidden from the public view, whereas the point of the Russia Hoax was to go public as much as possible.
DeleteI can't claim to have any clear idea of what Barr/Durham are up to--only occasional glimpses that show that their investigation is wide ranging. However, this Ukraine Hoax does have me wondering whether they may need to reconsider their declassification strategy and push some more docs out sooner.
The FISA report from OIG should be out by Oct., according to Graham, and that should free up some docs. I'd like to see more offense.
Something I never understood was why doesn't the GOP make any fuss about it? Even for political leverage? I followed Luke's reporting on this until it all just literally "disappeared". Doesn't book cover republican side of this scandal? The fact GOP won't push this makes me wonder if they are also compromised or if something even larger looms. ???
ReplyDelete"The fact GOP won't push this makes me wonder if they are also compromised or if something even larger looms."
DeleteYes, it's always been clear to me that the GOP was somehow complicit in this--but coverup was the name of the game. It's huge and We The People deserve to know. Remarkably, even Trump doesn't refer to it. So it must be very huge.
Precisely. Trump won't even speak of it. As stated, I followed Luke's every report with interest until I realized this was bigger than one side of the isle and it was going to be BURIED. At that point I kind of 'lost hope'....
DeleteAnyway, to my question: I assume Luke has no answers on this front? Does he touch any of it? Does he discuss or dig into Republican foot-dragging? Wondering if its still worth the purchase. It sounds fascinating... the case ALWAYS WAS!! But honestly the case is also depressing...
Complicit? Paul Ryan was a Queensberry Rules Republican, it seems. He never understood that the "go-along to get-along" avenue was a one-way street.
DeleteRyan was too much of a policy wonk to be a political leader who fights and scores blood--perfect as a oversight committee chair in his area of expertise.
I followed Rosiak's coverage at DCNF and was just shocked that the FBI/DOJ wasn't all over it for a criminal investigation. The entire Awan family was up to their necks in slime.
The only conclusion is the Deep State protects its own.
Mons. America, I may have to read the book. I don't know whether he answers those questions and, most importantly, names names. I have to assume that when he refers to GOP complicity he's referring especially to Paul Ryan--and in fairness Trump has made his negative assessment of Ryan very well known.
DeleteForbes, yes, I see you focus on Ryan, too. I don't see how it can be otherwise--no coverup without his complicity. As for the FBI, yes, that did shock me--more the extent of the coverup than the fact. I thought there would be some sort of accounting. There was essentially none.
All of which points toward depths of corruption that are difficult to fathom.
Was Awan's case adjudicated right when Barr was incoming to the Administration?
ReplyDeleteEven so, from what I've learned from you, Barr may not have possessed the power to demand a greater penalty, even if he objected.
I partially agree with commenter number one, Unknown. We The People have to demand justice. At least we have the internet.
And, yes, we are already a banana republic.
It was another case handled in the District. The AG can't just take over local cases. I wish I could explain it better, but it's complicated and I lack the expertise to fully explain the relations between the AG (and DoJ) and the local US Attorneys. But this complication is a fact that Weissmann and Mueller were fully aware of, which is why they handed cases off to local USAs (of their choosing) rather than holding onto them themselves as subordinate to the AG. This ploy was intended to thwart Barr.
DeleteAs a workaround, could Barr have gone to Trump and asked him to intervene, or would that be improper?
DeleteAnd, maybe answering my own question, I guess that he' be accused by the Deep State of doing what they do. And I'm sure they don't like it when others use their tools against them.
Exactly. As a matter of principle we don't want the Chief Executive intervening personally in "local" prosecutions. Short of a declaration of martial law.
DeleteI very much appreciate your perspective.
DeleteTell me, how do we arrive at a point, with integrity, where we put a stop to such shenanigans? I get that the President should not involve himself, but it seems that the local USA should not be able to thwart justice and the rule of law.
Very frustrating. There must be a solution to this selective prosecution.
The only surefire way to solve it is to appoint people of integrity to all supervisory positions. Short of that, bureaucracy virtually always wins. No "rules" can substitute for persons of integrity.
DeleteNot even Rosiak has the full story. The data breach created by the Awans enabled foreign actors to blackmail dozens of members of Congress, many of whom were compromised to the point of committing outright treason. The GOP became complicit in the coverup because revelation of the full truth would likely undermine the foundations of our current system of governance. The DC elites fear that the citizens of this country would then either openly revolt (unlikely) or throw them all out en masse (reasonably likely).
ReplyDeleteThe members of Congress with the most criminal exposure are the ones pushing hardest for impeachment of Trump. And the reason all of this looks so crazy to normal Americans is because no one understands that this is an existential battle for the culprits. For them, it's kill or be killed, not simply partisan politics.
In reply to Unknown's comment at 12:15 PM SEP 23, this is a good time to get a plug in for congressional term limits.
DeleteNot that I think it will solve everything, but it's a start.
"Not even Rosiak has the full story."
ReplyDeleteI have to assume this is true. The whole point, unlike the Russia Hoax, was to cover up entirely. There was no leaking, none, not as in the Russia Hoax. In such circs, it's almost a miracle that Rosiak was able to learn anything.
"The only surefire way to solve it is to appoint people of integrity to all supervisory positions."
ReplyDeleteAnd people of ability.
I hate to say it...I almost dare not say it...but this is a major problem with affirmative action. It simply isn't easy...often...to do the right thing.
(Coming from one who went to school with one of Obama's AGs...)
And that plays into the hands of corrupt politicians.
DeleteBuilding on what's already been said here, the Occam explanation seems to be that so many Members of Congress (and many others, no doubt) have one sort of exposure or another to all this that basically the entire Establishment just went full-on omerta. In this scenario, since Trump needs the GOPe to some extent, especially in the Senate, he went with the "choose your battles wisely" admonition and so felt the need to shut up along with everyone else.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, just maybe, a Trump 2nd term could allow the right thing to be done and the voters to be let in on the secrets. One can at least hope.