Beyond Mueller’s ‘Purview’ The Justice Department will have to examine the rest of the Russia story.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/beyond-muellers-purview-11564097665
Having failed to prove collusion and obstruction of justice, the cheerleaders of the Robert Mueller investigation are now highlighting his claim this week that Russia is still trying to interfere in U.S. elections. No doubt the Russians are. Which makes it all the more important that the Justice Department finish the half of the Russian-meddling probe that Mr. Mueller didn’t.
We’re referring to the areas that Mr. Mueller said this week were not in his “purview.” We counted nine times the former special counsel resorted to that answer, all in response to questions about the origin story of the FBI counterintelligence operation against the Trump campaign.
Was Mr. Mueller familiar with Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm that Democrats used to flog dirt about Donald Trump and Russia? “This is outside my purview,” he said.
Did he know that Fusion GPS was also representing a Russian-based company known as Prevezon while it was flogging that dirt? “It’s outside my purview,” Mr. Mueller said.
Did he know that Fusion GPS was working with Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who figured so prominently in the meeting at Trump Tower in 2016 with Trump campaign officials? She wanted to repeal the Magnitsky Act that allows sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s cronies. “Outside my purview,” he said.
And what about the notorious Steele dossier, supposedly based on Russian sources, that formed the basis for a FISA warrant to spy on the Trump campaign? “Well what I think is missing here is the fact that this is under investigation,” Mr. Mueller replied. “And consequently it’s not within my purview, the Department of Justice and FBI should be responsive to questions on this particular issue.”
None of this was under investigation as far as we know when Mr. Mueller began his probe in May 2017, so that isn’t a good excuse. How could Mr. Mueller think that the Steele dossier that drove the media clamor about Russia-Trump collusion for months wasn’t part of his purview? Mr. Mueller may never answer that question.
Which leaves finishing the job to the Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr. In his public life Mr. Barr will never have a more important assignment. Americans need to know how and why a U.S. intelligence and law-enforcement agency came to spy on a presidential campaign. They need to know the real story, not merely the one leaked to a sympathetic media by former FBI and Obama Administration officials.
So much doesn’t add up from the dribs and drabs we have already learned. If the fear of Russian influence was so great, why didn’t the FBI tell Donald Trump? If the threat was so great, why did the FBI send its operatives to entrap a pair of minor campaign advisers, Carter Page and George Papadopoulos? If they thought Mr. Trump was a Manchurian Candidate, then why not seek to engage someone with real authority who actually spoke with Mr. Trump?
The good news is that Mr. Barr does seem determined to find the truth. “The use of foreign-intelligence capabilities and counterintelligence capabilities against an American political campaign to me is unprecedented and it’s a serious red line that’s been crossed,” Mr. Barr told CBS News in May.
There are several key areas to explore. The first that will become public is the investigation by Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz into the FISA warrants against Mr. Page and perhaps others. Were they legitimate and based on solid information? Or were the FISA judges deceived as part of a politically motivated campaign against Mr. Trump? Mr. Horowitz should report sometime this autumn.
Other areas include the private actors such as Fusion GPS, the Democratic law firm Perkins Coie that paid Fusion, the former British spy Christopher Steele and others. What actions did they take and how did they influence the FBI and FISA court?
Then there’s the FBI investigation, which was controlled by a small number of officials under former director James Comey. Their actions and motivations need to be examined closely for their legality but also for their communications across the government, especially with former CIA Director John Brennan and the Obama White House.
All of this is being investigated by U.S. Attorney John Durham at Mr. Barr’s request. His probe may not find illegal acts, but the documents and facts related to all of this should still be made public consistent with U.S. national security. Mr. Barr has pledged to declassify as much as he safely can, and we hope he leans to more disclosure than the insiders will want.
As Mr. Durham’s probe proceeds, look for the attacks on Messrs. Barr, Durham and Horowitz to escalate. We hope they bear up under the pressure, because the U.S. cannot tolerate intelligence and enforcement officials who abuse their power for political ends. If abuses occurred in 2016, they need to be exposed and punished so it never happens again.
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