The Trump Administration Revisits The Russia Scandal

Donald Trump may be glad Robert Mueller is dead. But the president’s effort to exorcise the ghosts of Russiagate is more alive than ever.

In recent weeks and months, the president and administration officials have zeroed in on people involved in the yearslong investigation into Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election and the Trump campaign’s ties to Moscow.

This past weekend, the Justice Department hired Joe diGenova, the pitbull lawyer whose firm took on clients in Mueller’s investigation — and nearly represented Trump — to help pursue Trump’s former pursuers. And Trump has spent the last week urging House Republicans to extend the FBI’s intelligence collection authority, even as he renewed attacks against former officials for using that authority to investigate his allies in 2016.

Then there was the abrupt $1.25 million settlement between the Trump administration and Carter Page, the 2016 Trump campaign adviser who found himself at the epicenter of a court-ordered surveillance scandal that has resonated for years. Those developments followed a similar settlement between DOJ and former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn, whose guilty plea for lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia in 2016 helped ignite the broader investigation.

In September, Trump ordered up the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, handpicking the prosecutor who would ultimately try to bring the ill-fated indictment.

And in recent days, the Justice Department appears to have slammed on the accelerator to bring charges against John Brennan, the Obama-era head of the CIA and a vocal Trump critic.

In short, what’s old is new again and another Trump truism, circa 2015, prevails: “When people treat me unfairly, I don’t let them forget.”

“The Russia Hoax was one of the greatest political scandals in American history and a clear attempt to subvert the will of the American people," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. "The American people should always remember every single person who was involved in this sick hoax, including many in the mainstream media who uncritically amplified the Democrats’ perverse narrative.”

One added twist: the Russia redux is taking place against the backdrop of another favorite Trump technique: an Apprentice-style jockeying to lead a Justice Department in flux following the ouster of Attorney General Pam Bondi. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer who is holding the AG role on an “acting” basis, has moved quickly to slake Trump’s thirst for vengeance on multiple fronts.

Blanche wanted it known that one of his first moves after Bondi’s departure was to hire diGenova, with DOJ aides forcefully rebuttinga conservative reporter’s assertion that Blanche had blocked diGenova’s appointment for a year.

“Enough with the clickbait,”the DOJ rapid response X account posted, adding a clown emoji for good measure. Blanche also posed for photos with diGenova and posted one on social media, adding “Welcome to the fight, Joe!”

But speaking to reporters this week, Blanche was vague about the remit for the 81-year-old diGenova, who served as a U.S. Attorney under President Ronald Reagan. “He's been in this business for decades, and when we had the opportunity to ask him to join the team and help, we readily did,” Blanche said.

The fate of the effort to revisit Russiagate remains murky. An initial rush to the grand jury in Washington, D.C. appears to have faltered, with subpoenas reportedly withdrawn and a slower interview process underway.