“Plenty of time for a midterm October surprise...”
These guys didn’t just fall off the turnip truck - no way they fail to notice the election coming up in November. They have to be considering how to time things to have the most impact on the election - they know that Mueller is doing that (Manafort’s trial is set for 16 September).
The IG’s report is due in April, but he may drop a few. If the IG recommends criminal investigation, I don’t see how the AG could avoid assigning a prosecutor. Separately, when the oversight committees with jurisdiction direct an investigation, as they are doing, with irrefutable facts and logic, as they are doing, I don’t see how the AG ignores that (only perhaps if the IG investigation claims to clear everyone of wrongdoing).
So I think that it is likely that folks are just getting things as best prepared as they can (building a case, vetting the team that will handle it), because they have an absolute, unavoidable duty to investigate and prosecute this wide-ranging, high-level misconduct. They know that there is going to be a firestorm, so they have to have their case nailed up tight - and they have to time it so that the main charges explode in October.
You said a lot that I’ve been thinking. Timing is crucial in politics, and we’re seeing groundwork being laid now. Trotting the big-name deep-state thugs up to take the 5th before a grand jury is best left closer to election day.
“if the IG investigation claims to clear everyone of wrongdoing”
The IG only has jurisdiction to investigate the people who still work for the DOJ. This excludes all the Obama people who already left or were fired.
Read what Gowdy said. The IG can only nail the low level career bureaucrats who are still there. That’s why a special counsel must be appointed.
“The IG’s report is due in April”
What happened to Jan or Feb?
The release is always six weeks away.
FWIW aim4truth.org’s video yesterday said the IG is an Obama-nominated sellout who will only give some little dribble on some small infraction—so he is not the answer.