Mueller probe, one year on

It's the one year anniversary of the Mueller probe ...



Trump and his minions have said the investigation has been going on for too long, but these things take time ... Iran-Contra, Watergate, Whitewater, and many other investigations took longer (How Mueller’s First Year Compares To Watergate, Iran-Contra And Whitewater).

I remember watching the Watergate hearings in 1973 ....

The first weeks of the committee's hearings were a national politico-cultural event. They were broadcast live during the day on commercial television; at the start, CBS, NBC, and ABC covered them simultaneously, and then later on a rotation basis, while PBS replayed the hearings at night. Some 319 hours were broadcast overall, and 85% of U.S. households watched some portion of them. The audio feed also was broadcast gavel-to-gavel on scores of National Public Radio stations, making the hearings available to people in their cars and workplaces, and giving a major boost to the fledgling broadcast organization.

The hearings made stars out of both [Democratic Senator Sam] Ervin, who became known for his folksy manner and wisdom but resolute determination, and [Republican Senator Howard] Baker, who appeared somewhat non-partisan and uttered the famous phrase "What did the President know, and when did he know it?" (often paraphrased by others in later scandals). It was the introduction to the public for minority counsel Thompson, who would later become an actor, senator, and presidential candidate. Many of Watergate's most famous moments happened during the hearings, including John Dean's "cancer on the Presidency" testimony and Alexander Butterfield's revelation of the existence of the secret Nixon White House tapes.



After Watergate I never really regained whatever trust I had once had in government and until this Trump presidency, I had thought that Nixon was the crookedest president of my lifetime .... little did I know that there would be someone much worse.

Thank goodness for Robert Mueller.