Wednesday Morning Rant [Joe Mannix]

Yesterday, despite the overwhelming evidence of his guilt and the wider conspiracy that was presented by prosecutors, Michael Sussman was acquitted by his DC jury. Those following this trial with bated breath for each piece of evidence - both known and new - to be revealed were sure of his guilt for far more than just the relatively tame charges of lying to the FBI, yet this outcome should not be a surprise to anyone who's followed American politics or justice for the past forever.

Acquittal is acquittal and it's over. Not guilty. Legally and officially, despite the evidence, he didn't do it. He walks away and all is well. There are, I suppose, some silver linings for which many are grasping such as how the case was complete and the evidence was overwhelming - not just of this allegation but of many more - and that is now out in world for all to see. Surely, this must mean that more people will be outraged now that they know. Right?

No.

This makes no difference. The only people who will learn anything from this trial and acquittal are people who were following this entire sordid saga anyway and already knew most of it. Sure, some details were filled in and a new name or two popped up here and there, but these are minor as compared to everything that anyone paying attention already knows. Anyone who wasn't already paying attention won't know what happened here beyond a political prosecution that failed. How about some headlines?

NBC: didn't cover the verdict per their site search
MSNBC: Jury finds former Clinton campaign attorney Michael Sussman not guilty of lying to FBI
CBS: Michael Sussmann acquitted in first Durham special counsel trial
ABC: Lawyer acquitted of lying to FBI
CNN: Donald Trump's 2016 election conspiracy theory just took a big hit
NYT: No direct coverage, only included in the evening roundup
WaPo: Special counsel loses first trial of Trump probe; Sussmann acquitted
Fox News: Michael Sussmann's not guilty verdict wasn't a surprise. Here's why
NPR: John Durham's case against lawyer Michael Sussman ends in acquittal
AP: Clinton 2016 campaign lawyer acquitted of lying to the FBI
Reuters: No coverage that I could find

Some major outlets aren't covering it at all, and only two mention the Clinton connection in the headline (the same number of headlines that mention Trump or Durham). This is how stories die, and how people are kept ignorant. The mainstream outlets that set the primary narrative are all yawning and burying it under other stories. You can tell your friends and if they're interested then you should, but the idea that at least people know now is in my opinion misguided. People in general won't know meaningfully more than they did before the trial. Those scintillating details are irrelevant because only people who already knew what's going on will ever learn about it.

There will probably be more trials, and those trials will build an even bigger case about what happened during the 2016 campaign and the Trump administration. There will be more acquittals and probably some hung juries, and likely there will be no convictions (not that it matters - if someone is somehow found guilty, he'll get the Clinesmith package).

The next trials will be covered even less than this one, and slowly it will all just fade away.

posted by Open Blogger at 11:00 AM

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