A Drama, In Many Acts

This is a Law Porn Alert.

The release of todays Nunes FISA memo has created a firestorm of charges, counter-charges and prognostications. Most of the talking (or shrieking or screaming) heads are giving the memo their utmost attention, to either:

Proclaim that the future of our free Republic is at stake, or;

This not only doesn't live up to its billing, it isn't anything at all.

Much depends on what people have said in the past, how what is in the memo supports/refutes that, and where their bias takes them. Me?

I have poured myself a glass of wine, chopped up some cheese, selected some crackers and sat back to watch it all unfold. This is going to be interesting.

The underlying allegation contained in the memo seems to be that members of the FBI used information gleaned from (either in whole, or in part) opposition research done initially by Republicans, but later taken over by Democrats. It is possible that some, or all, of the information was - how would you say - fanciful. Made up.

It isn't important, at this juncture, whether the information is credible, or garbage. It isn't important how much, or little, it mattered in the original FISA application. The mere (mere?) fact that the information is questionable is sufficient to trigger all kinds of things. To wit:

If the original FISA warrant is based on fabrications that the FBI knew to be so, or they were reckless in determining the voracity of the information, the warrant could be void, and any evidence suppressed. This would be the subject of a very tasty suppression hearing, multiple appeals and perhaps eventually heard by The Supremes.

The same names keep coming up, with allegations of bias surrounding them. Is this a case of good-faith reliance on facially credible information, "It's true because I wish it to be so," or an understanding that - in the event of a Clinton Administration - their activities would be overlooked? Or rewarded (Victor Davis Hanson has an interesting piece from that perspective).

Wither the F...B...I? I have a number of friends, and co-workers, who are or were FBI employees. Every one of them (without exception) is honest, competent and a professional. None of them are political appointees. That is probably a meaningful distinction. It is possible that holdover Obama Administration employees have been less than objective. It is possible there is a giant conspiracy within a weaponized DOJ. And, it's possible that this is nothing other than the usual bullshit - four thousand or so political assholes jockeying with each other over who gets the cash and the perks, employing whatever dirty, shameless methods appear at hand.

I'm a law geek. How this all shakes out is an amazing exercise in self-government. Because, as I've written previously - Tom, Ben, Jim and George are not here to help us out. We have to figure it out on our own.

And, we're not especially good at doing that without drama.