Foreign influence in Washington.

That which must never, ever be discussed.

In any event, the fact is that after what seems like years of accusations, not a single iota of actual evidence has corroborated the charge that the Trump campaign plotted with Putin to deprive Hillary Clinton of her divine right of succession to the Oval Office. The foundational myth upon which the Mueller investigation rests – the idea that Russia was behind the WikiLeaks email dump – was never real, to begin with: the Mueller probe, therefore, once launched, branched out into a more general look at foreign influence on the incoming administration. Which could and should mean that half of Washington will soon be lawyering up. ^[1]

The Saudis bought off State Department officials with responsibilities pertaining to the Saudi Arabia by letting it be known, shall we say, that after retirement from federal service there might well be lucrative employment opportunities available to “knowledgeable and experienced” (that is to say, cooperative) people (who didn't make waves where Saudi realities are concerned).

It seems to have worked to the benefit of the Saudis as it’s now virtually universally accepted that Iran is the chief sponsor of terrorism around the world. Saudi sponsorship of virulent wahhabiism? Nothing to see here, boys. Move along if you please.

Notes
^[1] "As the Fake ‘Russia-Gate’ Scandal Fades, the Real ‘Israel-Gate’ Scandal Emerges." By Justin Raimondo, Russia Insider, 12/6/17.