One Year Later

 
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating alleged Trump/Russian collusion in the 2016 election for one year now, and he has little to show for it. Speaking to Laura Ingraham about the status of the Mueller investigation, Rudy Giuliani said:
 
"It's been a year.  [Mueller's] gotten more than 1.4 million documents.  He's interviewed 28 witnesses.  And he has nothing. . . It's about time to say, 'Enough. We've tortured this president enough.' . . . 
 
"This is not good for the American people [and] the special counsel's office doesn't seem to have that sort of understanding that they're interfering with things that are much bigger than them or us."
 
During an interview with CNN, Giuliani added this:
 
"All they [Mueller's team] get to do is write a report.  They can't indict.  At least they acknowledged that to us after some battling, they acknowledged that to us."
 
If Mueller actually told Giuliani that he would follow Justice Department guidelines, my first reaction would be, "How big of Mueller to stick to the guidelines!"  [Sarcasm alert!] 
 
But after decades in Washington, call me cynical.  That standard has never been tested in the courts, and Mueller's grudging "acknowledgment" could simply be more bait to try to get the president to sit down for an interview. 
 
Reports indicate that Mueller's team of liberal lawyers was initially burning through $50,000 a day.  That's outrageous!
 
But, my friends, it's a mistake to think about the costs of this investigation only in terms of dollars.  The real cost is the damage Mueller's inquisition is doing to our republic.
 
Progressive politicians are deploying unprecedented stalling tactics, contending that Trump is an illegitimate president.  Stalling nominees prevents the president from being able to fully enact his agenda.  The left is deliberately hobbling the administration, while it desperately tries to "run out the clock" until the next election. 
 
There has been 24/7 negative press and fake news about a non-existent scandal.  This is contributing to an atmosphere of extreme polarization.  The nation is more divided than it has been in decades, perhaps since the 1850s. 
 
There is a cloud of paranoia over the government spying on American citizens and government moles being planted inside a presidential campaign.  Legitimate congressional oversight by our elected representatives to discover the truth about these activities is being resisted by unelected bureaucrats.
  
In short, the damage is incalculable, far more than just $50,000 a day. 
 
If Vladimir Putin's goal in meddling in our election was "to promote discord in the United States and undermine public confidence in democracy," as Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said, then the Mueller investigation has succeeded beyond Putin's wildest dreams. 
 
That's the real cost of his investigation.
 
 
 
Trump vs. Sanctuary Cities
 
In spite of the Mueller albatross, President Trump is pushing ahead in his efforts to restore the rule of law and secure our borders. 
 
Toward that goal, the president held a remarkable event at the White House yesterday.  He invited mayors, sheriffs and local leaders from California who are resisting the state's sanctuary city policies that protect illegal immigrants. 
 
At various points during the meeting the president talked about the brutal gang MS-13. The gang is comprised of young illegal immigrants from Central America.  During his opening remarks, Trump said this:
 
"California's law provides safe harbor to some of the most vicious and violent offenders on Earth, like MS-13 gang members putting innocent men, women, and children at the mercy of these sadistic criminals."
 
Later, while responding to Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, who explained how California's sanctuary law prevented her from telling Immigration and Customs Enforcement about MS-13 members in her jail, the president said this:
 
"We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in -- and we're stopping a lot of them -- but we're taking people out of the country.  You wouldn't believe how bad these people are.  These aren't people.  These are animals."
 
The left-wing media completely ignored the context of the conversation and the entire event in order to smear the president as if he was talking about all illegal immigrants.  Just look at some of the headlines and tweets that resulted from the president's remarks:
 

• "Trump Referred To Those Crossing US Border Illegally As 'Animals.'" -- Associated Press
• "President Trump Used The Harsh Rhetoric To Describe Some Undocumented Immigrants." -- CBS News
• "Trump Lashed Out At Undocumented Immigrants." -- New York Times

 
These so-called "journalists" should be fired.  The context of the president's remarks was absolutely clear.  He and Sheriff Mims were talking about MS-13 gang members, not all "undocumented immigrants." 
 
This is why the public has zero trust and respect for the "mainstream media."  The left and its media allies seemingly care more about illegal immigrants than American citizens. 
 
During today's White House press briefing, Sarah Huckabee Sanders doubled down when defending the president from hostile reporters.  "If the media and liberals want to defend MS-13, they're more than welcome to," she said.  "Frankly, I don't think the term the president used is strong enough."
 
President Trump is right -- these thugs act like vicious animals.  Here, here, here, and here. Every single public official and responsible journalist should be helping the president keep them out of the country, not "resisting" him.
 
 
 
America Leads Again
 
When President Trump announced that he was moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and abandoning the Iranian nuclear deal, the left insisted that his actions were reckless and would result in America being isolated.  Our allies would ignore him and continue dealing with Iran, they said.
 
Well, they were wrong. 
 
Major European businesses are pulling out of Iran, fearing U.S. sanctions might cost them access to the U.S. market.  For example, French energy giant Total announced it is abandoning plans to develop Iran's offshore natural gas fields.  And a Danish shipping company announced it will no longer transport Iranian oil.
 
While the left may not get it, European businesses clearly understand Trump's "America First" approach.  Their interests in our markets and our leadership is far more important than anything Iran has to offer.
 
By the way, another embassy opened in Jerusalem this week.  This is what leadership looks like.
 
 
 
Faith Under Fire
 
Thank you to everyone who took the time to offer your prayers and congratulations in response to my pending appointment to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
 
Needless to say, not everyone is celebrating the news. 
 
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest homosexual rights lobbying group, blasted the Trump/Pence Administration, saying that my appointment, "is insulting to our core American values and ignores the reality of the vast majority of Americans who believe religious freedom and equality are . . . essential in 21st Century America."
 
While I take their criticism as a badge of honor, I couldn't help but miss the irony in their statement. 
 
The Human Rights Campaign is trying to force men and women of faith to participate in same-sex weddings.  Where is the "freedom" and "equality" in that? 
 
Moreover, they are attacking my appointment to the Religious Freedom Commission precisely because I have been defending religious freedom!
 
Oh well.  Just another day at the office for me.