As of this writing, we await the Democrats’ response to the so-called Nunes Memo released last week. But with the caveat that we still have to hear from the Democrats, the Nunes Memo was explosive.
It painted a picture of improper Department of Justice and FBI manipulation of the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) court in order to secure a special warrant to surveil an American citizen – in this case Carter Page, a Trump campaign volunteer foreign policy adviser – suspected of having committed a foreign intelligence security crime.
According to the Nunes Memo, prepared by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence chaired by Congressman Devin Nunes, the DOJ and FBI failed to disclose to the court that they were unable to corroborate or verify key allegations in the Steele Dossier (the document prepared by former British spy Christopher Steele) against Donald Trump and Mr. Page or that the document was otherwise discredited.
Nor did they disclose that the document – which had been leaked to the press and served as the basis for claims that there was collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign and which led in significant part to the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate any such collusion – was prepared by someone who was paid $160,000 by the Clinton campaign and who had told a senior DOJ official that he was “desperate” to prevent Mr. Trump from being elected president.
But this was just one of several news items in recent days that seem to suggest elements of our government may be out of control.
Thus we saw the DOJ move to dismiss all charges against New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez. Mr. Menendez was accused of taking bribes, in the form of expensive gifts, from an old-time friend he had interceded for with a government agency.
A hung jury failed to convict him, voting 10-2 for acquittal. The DOJ initially announced it was going to retry him. This week it announced it would not.
At the time he was indicted, it was widely felt Mr. Menendez was targeted for prosecution by the Obama administration in order to clear the deck for a full court press to pass the Iran nuclear deal. He was the most senior and thus most powerful Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and in a pivotal position to determine the outcome on the nuclear deal vote in the Senate. But he announced he would actively oppose the Iran deal and soon after that announcement he was indicted for bribery by the Obama Justice Department. He had to give up his seat on the Foreign Relations Committee and was suddenly out of the picture regarding the nuclear deal.
Also this week came the announcement that the IRS was settling a lawsuit brought by the pro-Israel organization Z Street. The suit claimed the IRS was not forthcoming with approval of Z Street’s application for tax-exempt status because Z Street championed Israeli policies the Obama administration strongly opposed. A number of politically conservative groups made similar allegations.
The IRS official in charge of overseeing tax-exempt groups categorically denied, under oath to Congress, that anything improper was in play. But a few days ago the DOJ apologized on behalf of the IRS, saying it had plainly treated the various groups improperly and announced settlements of the various lawsuits for substantial sums of money.
Actions by the Obama Department of Justice, the IRS, and possibly the FBI have raised serious questions about the undue influence of partisan politics in key government agencies. And it’s difficult to imagine a business-as-usual President Hillary Clinton allowing any of this to see the light of day. The recent developments and revelations may prove to be the proverbial tip of the iceberg.