On Tuesday, Donald Trump formally nominated Jeffrey Rosen to replace Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Cher did not have as many farewell tours and encores as Rosenstein did, who tells us, “there is nobody more committed to rooting out abuse and misconduct than I.” Rosenstein said that in response to a question about his subordinate Bruce Ohr’s involvement in the Trump-Russia collusion hoax.
To what misconduct does Rosenstein refer? To answer this question, we now can turn to another question Ohr answered in the transcript Congress recently revealed: How much is it worth to a U.S. presidential candidate to buy an FBI investigation of her opponent?
Of all of the high-priced ads Clinton commissioned to take down Donald Trump from her war chest of $1.4 billion, none was as effective as the one that really counted: the Trump-Russia collusion hoax. For the low price of $44,000, Clinton campaign subcontractor Fusion GPS hired Nellie Ohr, the wife of a senior Department of Justice attorney, to “consult” on the Russia research Clinton commissioned.
Credit Hillary Clinton for being a thrifty shopper. As a bonus and at no extra charge, Nellie Ohr’s husband, senior DOJ attorney Bruce Ohr, successfully promoted his wife’s research to the FBI. The FBI relied upon the indispensable credibility of husband Ohr’s status as a senior DOJ attorney vouching for the hoax to launch an investigation in July of 2016. $44,000? What a steal! In a climate where it’s practically impossible not to become rich promoting the Trump-Russia hoax (here, here, here, and here), the Ohrs are the best value around.
Shouldn’t We Prohibit That?
Honest Americans might say, “There ought to be a law prohibiting a Justice Department official from using his official position to sponsor his wife’s political opposition research to the FBI.” Congress has already passed at least two such laws. The first is 18 U.S.C. § 208, which says:
whoever, being an officer or employee of the executive branch of the United States [who] participates personally and substantially as a Government officer [in] the rendering of advice [or] investigation [regarding] a controversy, charge, accusation, arrest, or other particular matter in which, to his knowledge, he [or] his spouse, has any arrangement concerning prospective employment [or] has a financial interest…shall be subject to [imprisonment] of not more than one year…or five years if [the subject] willfully engages in the conduct.
The second statute, 5 U.S.C. § 7323 provides, that an employee may not “use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.”
But surely the deputy attorney general with oversight over the double-dealing Bruce Ohr would have applied some of his lofty rule of law principles to fire and prosecute Ohr, right? After all, the deputy AG now has a transcript of a confession Ohr made under oath, and seven intervening months in which to take action. It’s funny how the phrase “rooting out misconduct” turns out to be code for “covering up misconduct” when it comes to Rosenstein’s supervision of Ohr.
Ohr, and so many others, have benefited from Rosenstein’s version of the “rule of law” in an era of Trump derangement syndrome: if it is done to get Trump, the DOJ will not prosecute. I show in this link 18 examples of blatant violations of the law that Rosenstein’s DOJ hasn’t punished because they were all committed to undermine Trump.
Ohr Claims He Notified Rosenstein
Even before confessing his double-dealing to Congress, Ohr claims he notified Rosenstein of the Ohrs’ Fusion GPS connection in October 2017. As noted by The Hill, Ohr and Clinton subcontractor Christopher Steele continued operations well into the Trump administration, as evidenced by the following text exchange: “Whenever convenient, I would like a chat, there’s a lot going on and we are frustrated with how long this re-engagement with the Bureau and Mueller is taking,” Steele texted Ohr on Aug. 6, 2017. “Anything you could do to accelerate the process would be much appreciated,”Ohr responded.
Not only did Rosenstein fail to “root out” Ohr’s continued collusion with the Clinton campaign’s subcontractor, our intrepid deputy AG joined the Ohr cause when Rosenstein signed off on at least one of the Fusion GPS dossier-dependent requests to spy on a Trump-connected American even though the head of the FBI characterized the dossier as “salacious and unverified.” No wonder Rosenstein fought so vigorously to keep his role in the FISA process a secret. In his defense, however, Rosenstein didn’t actually read the application before certifying its validity to the court.
Ohr, it has been reported (here, here, here, for example), was demoted as punishment for his work with Clinton’s subcontractor Steele. We have reason to doubt this claim. The term “demotion” has a legal definition that refers to a loss of pay or compensation. Merely changing a title does not constitute a legal demotion. From Ohr’s point of view, he was not demoted, he was, “Moved twice since December [2016].”
By not punishing Ohr, the DOJ sends an important message to its employees who might consider interfering with future American elections: It’s a nice way for your spouse to make extra cash, with no risk to you!
For candidates interested in taking down President Trump in 2020, Bruce Ohr continues to have access to the vast and powerful resources of the Department of Justice. Ohr remains gainfully employed in the DOJ with Rosenstein’s blessing. Fusion GPS is still rolling, too, with even more robust funding. And the law firm that hired all of them on behalf of Hillary Clinton has already started partnering with at least one Democratic candidate.
Plus, if the Russians won’t cooperate by interfering in the 2020 election, groups linked with Fusion GPS have already piloted false-flag operations that can frame a candidate of choice for colluding with the Russians. Why mess with a winning formula? $44,000? Nellie Ohr should consider raising her prices. Her husband’s sponsorship of the hoax has been so effective that daily media coverage of the Trump-Russia is just short of 100 percent negative.
What accounts for Bruce Ohr’s seeming immunity from the consequences of his apparent misconduct? One by one, the original bad actors in the Russia hoax have been exposed and quit, retired, or are fired. Yet Ohr continues to draw a paycheck from the DOJ in open mockery of the principle mission his agency purports to advance. Hopefully, Rosenstein’s replacement finds something to occupy the DOJ other than prosecuting political enemies and meddling in American elections.
