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In the 12 days before election day, Trump is desperate to recreate the identical circumstances that led to his victory in 2016: a computer with potentially scandalous emails, and the very public re-opened investigation by an FBI Director.
But there are numerous differences between now and then, and why it has no chance of working.
1) The President's daily political interference in the DOJ. The President was already impeached once for basically the same thing, he's known to be corrupt and a liar, and has zero ****s to give about the political independence of the DOJ.
2) Bill Barr has no credibility, so any announcement by him can't work.
3) The computer at the heart of the scandal has already been shown to be a fake.
4) Regardless of 3), the emails don't actually highlight a crime anyway, which is emblematic of the right's inability to create cogent CT narratives.
5) Everyone can see for themselves that the FBI director isn't having any of this nonsense and therefore isn't going to do a Comey.
6) The American people can be stupid, but there's only so far you can appeal to their credulity. If Trump fires Wray and appoints a goon to publicly open an investigation, everybody can see for themselves that the investigation is horseshit. The goon, whoever it ends up being, will not be an FBI director with the respect of both parties.
7) Unlike in 2016 when the NYTimes broke the story, this story was broken by a tabloid using the sketchiest of sources: Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani. The story is so sketchy, in fact, that the author didn't want her name attached to the byline. Giuliani only went to the Post because he knew they wouldn't fact check the story.
So this scandal is good for motivating Trump's base, but not much else.
But there are numerous differences between now and then, and why it has no chance of working.
1) The President's daily political interference in the DOJ. The President was already impeached once for basically the same thing, he's known to be corrupt and a liar, and has zero ****s to give about the political independence of the DOJ.
2) Bill Barr has no credibility, so any announcement by him can't work.
3) The computer at the heart of the scandal has already been shown to be a fake.
4) Regardless of 3), the emails don't actually highlight a crime anyway, which is emblematic of the right's inability to create cogent CT narratives.
5) Everyone can see for themselves that the FBI director isn't having any of this nonsense and therefore isn't going to do a Comey.
6) The American people can be stupid, but there's only so far you can appeal to their credulity. If Trump fires Wray and appoints a goon to publicly open an investigation, everybody can see for themselves that the investigation is horseshit. The goon, whoever it ends up being, will not be an FBI director with the respect of both parties.
7) Unlike in 2016 when the NYTimes broke the story, this story was broken by a tabloid using the sketchiest of sources: Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani. The story is so sketchy, in fact, that the author didn't want her name attached to the byline. Giuliani only went to the Post because he knew they wouldn't fact check the story.
So this scandal is good for motivating Trump's base, but not much else.
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