So, Michael Flynn has been pardoned by Trump. His crime was lying to the FBI about talking to the Russians before Trump was inaugurated.
Even a man like Trump can do the right thing occasionally, usually for the wrong reasons. It is entirely reasonable and routine for a President-elect’s advisors to talk to foreign governments. Flynn asked the Russians to not retaliate against the US, because Trump did not intend to let the sanctions for Russian election interference stand, once he was President.
This is not a crime. It was prosecuted as one under the Logan act, which has never been used for this purpose. Plenty of other politicians have done this, indeed, as Greenwald points out, Biden is doing so right now.
Next, lying to the FBI about something which is not a crime, should not be a crime. (Honestly, just never talk to the FBI or cops if you aren’t forced to. Ever. For any reason. Remember, they can lie to you.)
You really don’t want it to be the case that you have to tell the truth to any group of police, just because they ask.
There are a great number of tragedies in US foreign affairs under Trump, though less tragic than under Obama or Bush Jr (no Libya, no Iraq). One of the greatest is that, contrary to what you constantly hear, he in fact made US/Russia relations even worse, slamming the Russians with more and more sanctions and withdrawing from nuclear weapon treaties. This is the actual fact, for someone supposedly a Russian “asset” Trump sure acts awfully strange.
“He’s their asset,” I yell, as he kicks them repeatedly in the ribs.
(It’s my annual fundraiser (and going slower than normal this year.) If you value my writing and can afford to, please consider donating.)
The Russians likely had an influence project in the 2016 election, it was minor, and only “cost” Clinton the election in the sense that everything did. They have a smaller economy than California and one-third the population of the EU. Yes, they punch above their weight militarily, but the real threat is just that they still have a lot of nukes. The Russians are only a threat to the West if they are pushed into a corner.
Further, in raw geopolitical terms, what has happened over the past 30 years is that they went from wanting to be Westerners to being China’s key strategic partner. They will be at the core of China’s new alliance, providing muscle and resources.
Acting as if Russia is the USSR is deranged. They aren’t nearly that powerful. Acting as if they are some third world country one can push around is also deranged: they aren’t that weak, they’re still a continental power with high tech and nukes, and they have options like allying with China.
Imagine the geopolitical situation if Russia was a firm western ally. Rather different, isn’t it?
It is probably as well they aren’t, simply because there needs to be a counterbalance to the West. Since the fall of the USSR America and its allies have proved that absolute power in the hands of a sole-superpower will be abused, over and over again. The cold war sucked, but when the USSR was around, it put some limits on Western bullying, only because there were other options.
The China/Russia axis (which will wind up including much of Africa) will provide that alternative again.
In the broader sense, this is a pity, but when Americans “won” the Cold War they decided it meant they were victorious for all time, it was, in Francis Fukuyama’s utterly foolish phrase “The End of History”.
History never ends, imperial arrogance always leads to horrible behavior and stupid mistakes, and here we are, staring down a new cold war.
One of the only smart things Trump appeared serious about at the start was having good relations with Russia. That it didn’t happen is one the bad things about the Trump administration, not one of the good things.
As for Flynn, he had every right to do what he did, and, again, a free standing lie to cops should not be a crime. Hatred of Trump or Russia is not a good reason to normalize anti-civil liberties behaviour or apply a double standard to something like a President-elect’s people talking to foreign countries.
If it is, I look forward to Biden apparatchniks being charged with the same crime.
No?
I’ve said a number of times now that my intuition is that Trump will be gone soon. My current intuition is within five weeks of today. But the more I look at the numbers, the more true it seems to me, and might be worth unpacking.
There is a right way, and a reason to do things, and a wrong way and reason to do things.
I keep seeing this talking point that “Trump will not leave voluntarily.”