One of the more unfortunate effects of the Trump-Russia investigation - and there have been many - is the weakening of traditional standards of argument and proof in the public debate over allegations that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to fix the 2016 election.
First is the so-called Steele dossier, the collection of wild allegations against Trump compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele on behalf of the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
Steele's unfounded accusations - that there was a years-long "Well-developed conspiracy" between Trump and Russia, that Trump accepted "a regular flow of intelligence from the Kremlin," and that Russian spies taped Trump watching prostitutes perform a kinky sex act in a Moscow hotel room in 2013 - circulated throughout law enforcement and political circles starting in the summer of 2016.
That just happened to be the time the Clinton campaign and some in the media began accusing Trump of "Colluding" with Russia to gain an advantage in the election.
The new Trump standard turned the old standard - can an allegation be proven true? - on its head. It's not surprising that commentators, especially those with partisan motives, would adopt such a low standard.
Mueller, like Feinstein and Tribe and Todd before him, changed widely accepted standards, casting the shadow of guilt on Trump without formally accusing him of wrongdoing.
In Mueller's no-exoneration gambit, a storied figure in American law enforcement abandoned one of the most important standards of justice.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/byron-york-law-enforcement-media-changed-standards-for-trump
First is the so-called Steele dossier, the collection of wild allegations against Trump compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele on behalf of the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
Steele's unfounded accusations - that there was a years-long "Well-developed conspiracy" between Trump and Russia, that Trump accepted "a regular flow of intelligence from the Kremlin," and that Russian spies taped Trump watching prostitutes perform a kinky sex act in a Moscow hotel room in 2013 - circulated throughout law enforcement and political circles starting in the summer of 2016.
That just happened to be the time the Clinton campaign and some in the media began accusing Trump of "Colluding" with Russia to gain an advantage in the election.
The new Trump standard turned the old standard - can an allegation be proven true? - on its head. It's not surprising that commentators, especially those with partisan motives, would adopt such a low standard.
Mueller, like Feinstein and Tribe and Todd before him, changed widely accepted standards, casting the shadow of guilt on Trump without formally accusing him of wrongdoing.
In Mueller's no-exoneration gambit, a storied figure in American law enforcement abandoned one of the most important standards of justice.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/byron-york-law-enforcement-media-changed-standards-for-trump
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