J. E. Dyer: The Deep-State/Media Steam Calliope Tries To Shape Expectations Of Next Week's DOJ IG Report

Very interesting:

   The WaPo story from Monday, about evidence and Crossfire Hurricane, has a convincing sound to it. But its premise doesn’t bear scrutiny. It’s no wonder the AG’s office is answering no questions about the story. The story is subtly misleading on its face; it’s not the DOJ’s job to get mired in responding to loaded questions.
   The WaPo article was apparently written to frame an expectation in readers’ minds that the AG would be disputing conclusions from the IG that are imputedly independent and legitimate. In other words, to preemptively make it look as if William Barr is engaged in special pleading, instead of the Washington Post and its sources.
   To set up that implied premise, reality has to be turned on its head. It doesn’t matter whether the IG thinks the evidence was sufficient to justify launching Crossfire Hurricane. It matters whether Barr does. It matters whether the president does, and ultimately, whether Congress and the American people do.

Ok...so...now another level has been added. 

   I did independently conclude that the WaPo et al. were not being straight with us--that doesn't take a smartypants. I don't recall whether I independently concluded that they were trying to spin expectations...but I don't think I did. I think I picked that up from the wingnutosphere--it seems like a common view there. 

   At any rate, now it seems like the righties have upped the stakes: if they're right, it's big, and if they're wrong it's big, too. Or so it seems to me. If they're right about the DoJ report, it's still game, set, match, tournatment, etc...but if they're right, they're now probably going to also be right about the WaPo spinning expectations...yet more pw0nage of the left, if true. If they're wrong...well...I used to think: NBD because their theory is so outlandish. Now I'm thinking; YBD because they produced such a nutty (if false) theory. (Whelp, looks like I've gone justificatory externalist somehow...) 

   Sheesh. What a mess.