Daily Beast: Moscow 'in ecstasy' over Barr letter

Aldous J Pennyfarthing  

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday March 25, 2019 · 10:48 AM PDT

RSS

PUBLISHED TO

• Aldous J Pennyfarthing
• Rim Country Gazette Blog

Apparently, Trump’s toadies and hangers-on aren’t the only ones deliberately misinterpreting AG William Barr’s four-page summary of the Mueller Report. Russian media and state officials are right behind them. 

The Daily Beast is reporting that the Russians are thrilled with the summary, and are using it to claim the entire Russia meddling story was a big nothing-burger.

Senator Alexei Pushkov, a senior deputy in Russia’s upper-house Federation Council, described the Mueller report as “a mountain that birthed a dead mouse.” Citing Fox News, Russian state news agency TASS reported that the findings represent a complete victory for President Trump. “It’s not every day you get to see [Rachel Maddow] nearly cry live on-air,” rejoiced Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.

Evgeny Popov, the host of 60 Minutes, the most popular TV program in Russia as of 2018, interpreted Mueller’s findings as a confirmation that “Russia didn’t elect Trump,” but “will most definitely elect him in 2020.” Russia’s Federal News Agency (RIA FAN), an offshoot of the notorious Russian troll factory known as the Internet Research Agency (IRA), described Mueller’s inquiry as an investigation “against Russia and Trump.”

RIA FAN disingenuously alleged that Mueller never demonstrated any evidence of the Russian trolls’ involvement in Trump’s election. “The Russians are coming—or the Russians were never there?” mockingly asked the troll agency’s surrogate, falsely claiming that the special counsel couldn’t find either the troll factory or any trace of the Russian hackers.

I’ve never seen so many people spiking the ball on the 10-yard line before. First of all, Russia was implicated in the plot to elect Trump, and numerous Russians were indicted. Secondly, hardly anyone in Russia or the United States has seen the full report. Thirdly, what were all those lies about meetings with Russians and Trump Tower Moscow anyway?

Meanwhile, Barr’s letter will do nothing to squelch Vladimir Putin’s plans for more election interference. He has his willing stooge/useful idiot, whether evidence of an overt conspiracy exists or not.

To quote The Narrator from The Big Lebowski: “Sometimes you eat the Barr and sometimes the Barr, well, it eats you.”

But this isn’t over. Not by a long shot.