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Stop hoping Mueller and the prosecutors will save us
We can only save ourselves
So now the Mueller report has been submitted, and with news emerging that he is recommending no further indictments, Democrats are barely mentioning it anymore, while Trump supporters are praising it. Quite a turnaround.
In retrospect, this result was probably easily anticipated (and in fact, I had considered writing a post a few days ago suggesting that this result is what we should expect — events overtook me). Where some progressives have been touting Mueller’s report for months, you can almost hear the disappointment in their roaring silence.
Mueller is a very careful prosecutor. His conscientiousness is part of what progressives have touted while Trump spouted invective. The bar for a responsible prosecutor to file criminal charges against someone is high, however. The prosecutor must have a good faith belief that he or she can prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Mueller must have felt that he could not meet that bar with any further charges.
To be sure, this special counsel investigation is probably the most productive in history, racking up convictions and guilty pleas against 34 individuals and three companies, including many very close to the President himself. What we can piece together from his court filings is a…
