Trump And Barr’s Favorite Conspiracy Theory Just Went Down In Flames

When the Russia investigation began and former Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed, Donald Trump repeatedly called the probe a “witch hunt” and suggested that U.S. intelligence sought to frame him because they were upset he won the 2016 election.


In other words, Trump has relied on a conspiracy theory that has no grounding in reality and is utterly devoid of facts, as Aaron Blake of the Washington Post notes:

“A theory espoused by Trump and other Republicans that the Russia investigation was some kind of setup — in Trump’s words, a ‘coup’ — by U.S. intelligence to take Trump down.”

Trump was so eager (and desperate) to discredit the Mueller investigation and subsequent report that he had his handpicked attorney general, William Barr, appoint two men to take a closer look at the minutiae of the how the Russia probe began and hopefully prove that the conspiracy theory was supported by evidence.


As recently as June, Trump was tweeting that the two men would find all kinds of dirt which would prove his thesis that he was spied on during the 2016 presidential race:

But both investigations have uncovered nothing that suggests anything wrong or the least bit improper was done, which means the Trump-Barr lie about the whole thing being a setup is now utterly destroyed:

“The prosecutor handpicked by Attorney General William P. Barr to scrutinize how U.S. agencies investigated President Trump’s 2016 campaign said he could not offer evidence to the Justice Department’s inspector general to support the suspicions of some conservatives that the case was a setup by American intelligence, people familiar with the matter said.

“Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s office contacted U.S. Attorney John Durham, the prosecutor Barr personally tapped to lead a separate review of the 2016 probe into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, the people said. The inspector general also contacted several U.S. intelligence agencies.”

So where does that leave the White House, Trump, and the attorney general? Pretty much up the proverbial shit creek without a paddle, because their carefully crafted narrative has now come crashing down to earth.


What remains if Barr and Trump want to try and save face? Well, Barr can still do the same thing he did with the Mueller Report: Write his own summary of the work done by Horowitz and Durham and refuse to release the full reports. But that carries a nasty political risk that could wind up biting Trump squarely on his fat ass right as he’s seeking reelection.

As we’ve learned from history on numerous occasions, the truth does eventually come out, and lies are debunked. Now we just have to hope all of Trump and Barr’s lies will also lead to their shared downfall.

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