Duds (Cont.)

We noted last week the duds that were being dropped by Trump consigliere William "Low" Barr's "find- something, anything!" U.S. Attorneys at the Justice Department, who were assigned to uncover something scandalous in the opening of the counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election on behalf of their boy.  Well, 3...2...1...fizzle:

The federal prosecutor appointed by Attorney General William P. Barr to review whether Obama-era officials improperly requested the identities of individuals whose names were redacted in intelligence documents has completed his work without finding any substantive wrongdoing, according to people familiar with the matter.

The revelation that U.S. Attorney John Bash, who left the department last week, had concluded his review without criminal charges or any public report will rankle President Trump at a moment when he is particularly upset at the Justice Department. The department has so far declined to release the results of Bash’s work, though people familiar with his findings say they would likely disappoint conservatives who have tried to paint the “unmasking” of names — a common practice in government to help understand classified documents — as a political conspiracy. [snip]

Though “unmasking” is common and appropriate because it allows government officials to better understand a document they are reading, Trump and others suggested the list of requests that ultimately revealed Flynn’s name showed wrongdoing.

Bash’s team was focused not just on unmasking, but also on whether Obama-era officials provided information to reporters, according to people familiar with the probe, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive investigation. But the findings ultimately turned over to Barr fell short of what Trump and others might have hoped, and the attorney general’s office elected not to release them publicly, the people familiar with the matter said. The Washington Post was unable to review the full results of what Bash found.

So, another investigation ends not with a bang, but a whimper.  But, shhh, don't let Trump hear about this latest fizzle, Low Barr. Better to bury it, along with the other duds that were born out of Trump's crazed conspiracy ramblings and his pathological need to find scapegoats for his multitude of failures.

Here's what a former top Homeland Security official under Trump had to say this morning:

 

"All bluster..." All bullshit, you mean.