The Wall

     No, I don’t mean the wall under construction along the southern border. I have a far more significant wall in mind: the one you put your back to when you realize that it’s time to stand for something.

     We’ve seen politicians do their best to avoid contact with that sort of wall for decades now. But developments these past few days suggest that a new era might be dawning.

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     Ted Cruz was my original preference for the GOP’s 2016 presidential nomination, but these days I’m glad he’s still in the Senate:

     Sen. Ted Cruz lit into surveillance of President Trump’s 2016 campaign during Wednesday’s hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

     The Texas Republican thanked Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz for his work on the more-than 400-page report following an investigation of the FBI’s conduct in the Russia probe. But he quickly noted that the report was “a stunning indictment of the FBI and the Department of Justice, of a pattern of abusive power.”...

     The GOP lawmaker referred to the numerous errors the report indicated occurred as the FBI went forward in applying for warrants to conduct surveillance, saying it “should be deeply chilling” to all Americans.

     “A number of them are deeply, deeply troubling, these are not typos. These are not small inadvertent errors. These are grotesque abuses of power,” the senator said, citing one instance where an email was intentionally altered, changing its original content.

     “The men and women sitting at home need to know what’s happening: A lawyer at the FBI creates fraudulent evidence, alters an email. That is in turn used as the basis for a sworn statement to the court that the court relies on in issuing authority to wiretap Trump campaign officials. Am I stating that accurately?” Cruz asked.

     “That’s correct,” Horowitz responded. “That is what occurred.”

     “And by the way, what he inserted was not just slightly wrong, it was 180 degrees opposite of what the evidence said!” Cruz added.

     Please watch the video embedded above. The exchange and statements are not out of character for Senator Cruz, one of the few federal legislators I do trust. He’s been a straight-to-the-jugular type for as long as he’s been in federal office. It’s the facial expressions and tone of voice he elicited from Inspector General Michael Horowitz that I find fascinating.

     Cruz was compelling Horowitz to put his back against the wall. Horowitz didn’t enjoy the experience. Yes, he knew that if he answered Cruz’s inquiries candidly he would be telling the verifiable truth. What displeased him was being forced to rip the cover off the abuses in the Justice Department.

     Horowitz had wanted to avert outright accusations of criminality against the FBI and DoJ agents embroiled in the “Russian collusion” hoax. His report avoids making such charges. It attempts, albeit feebly, to dispel the specter of such charges with a “mistakes were made” summation. Cruz would not permit that to stand. He explicitly noted the corruption involved in the attempt to bring down the president with allegations of collusion with Russia. That is exactly as it should be.

     Horowitz agreed on the record. But I’ll bet Ted Cruz won’t be on his Christmas card list this year.

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     I’m sure you’ve heard the old maxim that “He who won’t stand for something will fall for anything.” It’s true. We’ve had a lot of examples of it over the years. But politicians, and persons whose livelihoods and status depend upon the good will of politicians, hate it. To stand openly and staunchly for anything, including honesty in government, is to make enemies. It endangers one’s career in public office or public employ.

     So very few persons in government will ever put their backs to the wall for any reason.

     There’s nothing more to say about this, other than what I wrote yesterday:

     If no one is called to account for this obvious attempt to overturn the election of 2016...if the FBI, CIA, DoJ, and FISA apparatus are not purged from top to bottom, with the worst offenders awarded long prison terms...if the Democrats and their media mouthpieces aren’t haled before courts of law and compelled to answer for their misrepresentations and outright slanders and libels...there will be an explosion of lawlessness. There will be chaos. And chaos means bloodshed.

     Have a nice day.