Doubts

The 12 Russian agents apparently responsible for the election result have been indicted, so obviously they and Trump are guilty. But wait a moment, Trump and his campaign members aren’t being charged despite the persistence of that narrative.

This information is readily available to the public. It is also pertinent to mention that the indictments surfaced eerily close to Trump’s summit with Putin. What is amiss?

The first thing to note is that the source of the indictment’s details can be intelligence, which opens up the possibility of exposing U.S. sources and methods if challenged in court. As Joe Lauria explained in a Consortium News article, “Such a trial is extremely unlikely however. That makes the indictment essentially a political and not a legal document because it is almost inconceivable that the U.S. government will have to present any evidence in court to back up its charges.” When it came to possibility of interviewing the agents, Mueller fled.

“The extremely remote possibility of convictions were not what Mueller was apparently after, but rather the public perception of Russia’s guilt resulting from fevered media coverage of what are after all only accusations, presented as though it is established fact. Once that impression is settled into the public consciousness, Mueller’s mission would appear to be accomplished,” Lauria pointed out.

The Russiagate narrative is still faulty, and democracy is not under attack by Russian spies. However, that still leaves whether or not Trump himself warrants vigils for democracy.