O Say Can You Please Entry 6

O Say Can You Please Entry 6: Stop! Mueller Time!

    Finally, after an unusually long hiatus, I am returning to my writing and am as ready to riff on current events as I ever am. During the hiatus, I unfortunately missed the story involving Biden getting a little too handsy, but besides that, there was precisely nothing worth reporting on to me. That is, until today. WikiLeaks mastermind Julian Assange was arrested in London today after spending seven years holed up in an Ecuadorian embassy. It may also be worth mentioning that he had to be carried out of the embassy by several men, and I am only saying this to humiliate him and his associates.

    Many are calling Assange’s arrest a danger to press freedom, but I’m not one of them. True journalists don’t assist in hacking government computers and leaking diplomatic secrets, and Assange did just that. Rather, a true journalist is someone who reports about the news without resorting to hacking government databases. Instead, a true journalist finds out about corruption from the inevitable whistleblower or through personal experience. Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist killed by Saudi Arabia this past October, was a much better example of a journalist. This is because he exposed the depravity of the Saudi government through his writing and through his demise. Assange, on the other hand, cheated his way to classified information and then released it publicly (illegally) in 2010, putting the lives of American soldiers in the Middle East at risk.

    The secrets were released using classified information dug up by an Army intelligence analyst now known as Chelsea Manning. Assange released the material, and WikiLeaks was on the map as a source of otherwise-hidden information. Two years later, he began his isolation in the Ecuadorian embassy after allegations of sexual misconduct in Sweden popped up. Therefore, his fall began with him being accused of being a sex offender, and not of being the borderline traitor he actually was. Either way, the outside world knew he was screwed, and yet, he persisted in what he probably saw as a quest for knowledge.

    Then, the 2016 American Presidential election came around, and Assange wasn’t done messing with American heads. This was proven when Assange dumped damaging material on Hillary Clinton during the campaign, possibly leading to Trump’s victory. Don’t get me wrong, Hillary was generously describable as terrible, but so was the guy that actually won. In all seriousness, while that information was quite important to know, it probably would have come from the FBI Director at the time, James Comey, who is best known now as a metaphorical leaky faucet.

    However, there are two reasons why this story is significant. The first is that this may unintentionally revive the Russian collusion narrative. This will only happen if it all actually happened (no kidding) and if Assange’s fear of prison overcomes him, but he still may tell his side of the story if there actually is anything there. That would be the death knell for the Trump presidency, as there would finally be irrefutable evidence that the Trump campaign cheated to win the election.

    One last thing I have to say is that Assange’s actions may have played a role in weakening the press’s standing in America and beyond. He used tactics that are internationally decried (such as hacking government computers) to get information that would advance an anti-American interest. This effect dragged down the rest of the press as he gained notoriety for what he did. In fact, I’d say that the only reason this may even be a press freedom issue is because what he did degraded some people’s opinion of the press before the cries of “Fake News” became commonplace. The American media would not face this shellacking at the hands of some if Assange hadn’t dumped all the dirt on Clinton, which allowed a possible opponent of a free press (Trump) to become the President. In short, Julian Assange has only done ill to the world of journalism, and I will close this segment with this statement: Screw Assange and the Trojan Horse he rode in on. Speaking of a Trojan horse...

    Two weeks later...

    With that out of my system, the next story to cover is the Mueller report, and it is something, to say the least. I might as well say what the results are right now: Collusion was nowhere to be found, and it was revealed that Mueller basically punted to Congress on the matter of obstruction. However, there are still salacious details hidden in the report, and the implications are not good for President Trump.

    To begin, the report paints Trump as corrupt and an impeding presence to the investigators. I have a Washington Post opinion article to reference, and we will dissect the points made in the article. To begin, the report portrays Putin as assisting Trump, but not being a direct collaborator with him, as conveyed by the article. By that, I mean that the Trump campaign “only” received the Russian help rather than pursue it themselves. This is not collusion, but it’s still a concerning development, as it is currently impossible to know whether the two collaborating parties are still in that state.

    Next, the Trump administration seemingly attempted to cover up their tracks by lying to investigators, the press, and the public. This is a problem because lying to investigators is a crime in and of itself, meaning that Team Trump engaged in criminal activity and behavior, even without collusion. This is also troubling because lying to the press is a form of propaganda, and the American right took the bait. As a result, they are heralding a man who cheated on his pregnant wife with a pornstar when it flies in the face of their “principles."

    Finally, this report gives irrefutable evidence to a claim that I suspected was true for a long time; that the classic “Fake News” line frequently uttered by Trump and many of his supporters is a way of saying that the story hurts the feelings of the President, and is therefore false. The “logic” behind this is that Trump is always right because he is the President, and to that I say that his supporters were definitely not like that with Obama, so the “logic” here is hypocritical. Discrediting certain media sources is something both sides do to sources they disagree with, but if a government official is doing it, it’s propaganda, and that’s pathetic. This is what has led to totalitarian rule in numerous countries throughout history, with Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and of course, North Korea being three well-known examples. Totalitarian rule goes against the very spirit of America, and if Trump’s “Fake News” chants lead to mainstream sources that are critical of him shutting down, I fear for the future of democracy in the USA.

    Any way it’s sliced, Trump is in trouble. Now, I understand that I (and many other media sources) have said such for some time now, but this feels like it could really haunt him for the remainder of his Presidency. While Mueller fell short of charging Trump himself, some of his inner circle will be behind bars for years (Manafort and Cohen in particular, with Stone potentially to follow). Trump will have to replace these people, and any intelligent campaign  adviser will probably stay away from a candidate that has been the subject of an investigation about foreign interference. No matter how much money he may raise, this is not good for his 2020 re-election chances. Again, I could be underestimating the effect he has on his base, but I’d rather not think about what would happen if that is indeed the case. That’s all I got for today, and I’ll see you next time.