Fox News’ phony Uranium One “scandal” has begun bearing the fruit that I would argue it was really about all along: House Republicans are attacking the credibility of Special Counsel Robert Mueller just as he has begun issuing indictments in the Russia investigation.
From Politico:
Three House Republicans on Friday moved to pressure special counsel Robert Mueller to resign over what they contend are “obvious conflicts of interest,” the latest instance of rising GOP resistance to his Russia probe.
Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), introduced a measure that, while nonbinding, would put the House on record describing Mueller, a former FBI director, as unfit to lead the probe because of his relationship with James Comey, his successor at the bureau.
As I previously reported, Sean Hannity has already massaged the sale of Uranium One from the right-wing fringe into a Congressional investigation designed to suggest that it is the “real” Russia scandal. As I wrote then, “I believe the real goal here is not just to smear the Clintons (and deflect from the Trump disgraces) but to damage the Mueller investigation.”
So now that Fox got its investigation, it’s getting some action in its Mission to Destroy the Mueller Investigation, too. Media Matters explains the pipeline from Fox to Congress:
The demand for Mueller’s resignation from lawmakers in Congress comes after months of attacks leveled by pro-Trump media. But their conspiratorial focus on Mueller’s supposed involvement in a uranium deal reveals the extent to which many Republicans may be taking their cue from Fox News, particularly Sean Hannity.
Just three weeks ago, right-wing journalist John Solomon authored a flimsy article in The Hill, which revived the debunked Uranium One conspiracy theory. Hannity rushed to amplify the story, claiming the real collusion was between Clinton and Russia while impugning Mueller’s character. As recently as October 24, Hannity encouraged Congress to call on Mueller to testify about his “past role” in the Uranium One story, adding “there’s no way the American people can trust Robert Mueller to investigate anything Russia related, to be fair and impartial, it’s impossible because of his past role in this. He should resign immediately, tonight.” In a November 1 tirade, Hannity hyped “massive conflicts of interest coming from the special counsel, Robert Mueller, and his team” calling them “beyond shocking” and “beyond disturbing.” Hannity alleged that the special counsel investigation “has become a partisan witch hunt that is now rotten to the core” before attempting to tie Mueller to the alleged uranium plot. Hannity also suggested that Mueller might have an ax to grind with Trump after not being chosen to replace Comey at the FBI.
According to the Washington Post, the Destroy Mueller movement does not have widespread support in Congress:
[Gaetz] admitted Thursday that he does not expect any Democrats to support his Mueller resolution. And many Republicans who have questions about Clinton’s role in the 2010 uranium deal still support Mueller’s right to do his job free from political interference.
Will most Republicans resist Fox’s ongoing efforts to shore up Trump by destroying Mueller? God, I hope so. But I’m not overly optimistic.
Stay tuned!
Watch Joy Reid’s amazing debunking of the phony Uranium One scandal below, from the October 29, 2017 AM Joy on MSNBC.
On the other hand, I’m not that concerned about a pointless bill coming from Louie Gohmert of asparagus fame. He regularly brings up pointless bills that just fuel his own emotional need to do so, but they don’t tend to go anywhere. Gohmert is not anyone of note or influence. When we hear this is coming from someone more substantial (and that could happen very quickly), then we’ll have a very different situation.
