On Wednesday, CNN published text messages between the former second-in-command in FBI counterintelligence, Peter Strzok, and his mistress and co-worker Lisa Page.
Mr. Strzok was involved in the Hillary Clinton email investigation, instrumental in helping to launch the investigation into supposed collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, and staffed on the Trump-Russia investigation itself. He was fired by special investigator Robert Mueller after these texts were uncovered.
Now, one of those texts may wound the special investigation beyond repair.
That text is dated Aug. 15, 2016. Strzok texted Ms. Page, “I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in [deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe’s] office that there’s no way he gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40…”
This looks an awful lot like motivation for launching an investigation into Mr. Trump in order to sink Mr. Trump as a hedge against Mr. Trump’s victory. The FBI’s investigation into Russian governmental interference in the election began in July 2016, just weeks before Mr. Strzok’s text message.
And that means that there is now more of a smoking gun of FBI corruption against Mr. Trump than there is of Mr. Trump colluding with Russia.
How can Mr. Mueller come back from that?
He has fired Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page, but if the investigation was initially a political hit job, how can it now turn into something good and decent, particularly in the absence of a smoking gun regarding collusion?
It’s not just that this is fruit of the poisonous tree — there’s no fruit to show, just the poisonous tree. And as Victor Davis Hanson has written, the Mueller team is filled top-to-bottom with political activists who have a specific anti-Trump agenda.
All of which means that President Trump isn’t wrong to suspect that Mr. Mueller wants to aim for a political skull-blow against him. President Trump could theoretically use these texts as a reason for firing Mr. Mueller altogether — and that wouldn’t be completely unjustified. It would be politically unwise. At this point, Mr. Trump’s best tactic is to sit tight — now, no matter what, half the country is going to believe that Mr. Mueller’s investigation was never motivated by truth. That’s a win for Mr. Trump, and an automatic loss for Mr. Mueller.
Mr. Shapiro may be contacted at www.dailywire.com where this story originated as well