Lessons From The Mueller Report

It's long.  The broad outlines are in place, but there will be more information to glean from it, especially as the redacted parts are read by members of Congress.  As Josh Marshall explains, we know what Trump did, we know it was - at the very least - incredibly sketchy, we know he did almost everything in his power to obstruct the investigation.  Very little in the Mueller report is fresh information, if you've be diligently following this story.  Basically, the special prosecutor found that what we believed to be true was, in fact, true. Russia wanted Trump to win. Russia worked to help Trump win.  Trump desired Russian help to win.

Therefore to me, the real story is the complete failure of the media in reporting on this story.  Or more accurately, the failures in evaluating the importance of this story.  The investigative reporters did exceptional work and got most of the information correct. The problem remains that too many media figures extend to the Trump administration a benefit of the doubt when it comes to truthfulness that the Trump administration has completely unearned.

One "revelation" in the report is that Sarah Sanders lied when she said that FBI agents thanked her for the Comey firing.  Did anyone seriously believe this? Has Sarah Sanders EVER been completely forthright?  Much of the news coverage (as opposed to the investigative reporting) has fallen into the predictable "he said/she said" dynamic when it comes to initial reports.  At some point, the Times and the Post and CNN simply need to assume that a Trump spokesperson is lying until proven otherwise.  The disgraceful performance of William Barr should be the final nail in a coffin that should have been buried two years ago. 

Mueller decided to abide by the OLC decision that he couldn't indict a sitting president, therefore turning the matter over to Congress.  So far, House Democrats seem gun-shy about pursuing impeachment, preferring to let the election decide the matter.

But if the media have failed to learn the lessons of 2016 and every day since, we are screwed.  False balance and unearned credulity will destroy the republic.