It was obvious the fix was in when Trump fired Jeff Sessions and appointed deep-state ringer William Barr to replace him.

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It was obvious the fix was in when Trump fired Jeff Sessions and appointed groveling conservative aristocracy (deep state) ringer William Barr to replace him. Barr's 19-page paean to the office of the presidency as a fortress of unaccountability convinced the venal fraud Trump that Barr was his guy.

Let's pretend there was no direct connection between Trump and Russian efforts to throw the 2016 presidential election to Trump.

Let's wipe from our collective memory Jr.'s statement that he would "love" getting dirt on HRC from the Russians, and let's also obliterate recollection of Trump's admission that he dictated a phony "adoption" cover story for Jr. Forget all that. Also forget that when contacted by the Russians, Jr. didn't report the contact to the FBI like any other campaign principle in the history of the Republic would have, and that Trump and every one in his orbit consistently lied about contacts with Russians.

Not enough actionable evidence. Move on. Oh wait, one more thing, forget that Putin admitted wanting Trump to win the U.S. presidency and may or may not have admitted helping him to get elected (depending on whether Putin understood the translation of a reporter's question, and depending if anyone other than his mother and Trump would believe anything he says). Continue moving on even though there's probably a couple dozen other miscellaneous incidents to un-see and un-hear (including the early FBI investigation into whether Trump was a Russian asset or not). Keep moving.

Ok, we're past that hurdle. That leaves obstruction of justice. Mueller didn't really say Trump obstructed justice, and he didn't say he didn't obstruct justice (maybe he is "conflicted"). Apparently 13 angry Democrats didn't notice Trump publicly obstructing justice on a daily basis.

Blatant admission of obstruction was highlighted with Trump's infamous admission to Lester Holt on national television: "Oh, I was going to fire (Comey) regardless of recommendation.... And in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself -- I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story..." Before firing Comey, Trump also asked him to drop his investigation of indicted former Trump administration National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

Then there's actual blatant obstruction - as in daily attacks on Mueller's investigation as a "witch hunt" and a "hoax", and discrediting Mueller as "a conflicted prosecutor gone rogue". It all seems like Kabuki Theatre now - as it probably was meant to. Anyway, all this took it's toll on public opinion of the investigation as indicated by a recent USA Today/Suffolk University poll in which 50% of respondents believed that the investigation was a "witch hunt". Cue H.L. Menken.

And, let's not forget blatant witness tampering with a side of blatant obstruction as with Trump's public discussion of "rats" (people who testify against him) and his enigmatic and bizarre public mention of witness Michael Cohen's father-in-law. As former acting solicitor general of the U.S., Neal Katyal, recently stated "The mob does it with violence, he's doing it with pardons and with the law enforcement apparatus. I served twice at the Justice Department, and I can tell you that these types of things are the things of two-bit criminals."

The professionalism and non-partisan nature of the Justice Department has been widely proclaimed, but it seems that when push comes to shove the interests of the deep state are served - regardless of the sanctity of the "rule of law" or the constitution. Tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulation and government agency capture "Trump" all.

As has been seen with two years of obstruction of the House investigation of Russian election interference by a group of potentially traitorous Republicans, the deep state and the support system it has so assiduously cultivated and expanded since the Reagan years, has co-opted the Justice Department.

Barr, Mueller and Rosenstein have put obstacles in place that in effect allow continued malfeasance and outright criminality of the "useful idiot" in the White House to continue unabated. Let's hope House Democrats and State authorities have the courage and determination to at least temporarily save the Republic from the tender mercies of the deep state and its wholly owned subsidiary the Republican Party.

The deep state has led our nation off a cliff with the Iraq War, financial deregulation and now by propping-up Trump - all, to date, with no accountability and no price paid. That's three strikes, but who's out?

Authors Bio:
Retired mechanical designer. Advocate for effective government.