Paul Ryan, in his final year in Congress, has done an impressive job of building a reputation as the figure responsible for the substantive conservative bills of the Trump administration — the tax cuts, repeal of the individual mandate for health care, boosts to military spending — while somehow escaping being implicated in President Trump’s most egregious wrongdoing: the financial crimes and possible collusion with Russia that special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating.
Ryan rebuffed Trump after Trump praised Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at a summit in Finland, saying, “The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally,” he refused to allow Putin to address Congress if he visits Washington, and he declared after the summit that “[Mueller] should be allowed to finish his investigation and carry out his work.”
He has also endeavored to shore up a reputation as a serious statesman interested in discourse, not a partisan bomb-thrower. In a talk to congressional interns, he admonished the young ’uns that “Snark sells, but it doesn’t stick,” telling them to “think about what you’re doing to kind of poison the well of society.”
This is important for Ryan’s potential future career as a lobbyist, think tank denizen, highly paid corporate speaker, or what have you. If Ryan is perceived as an enabler and co-conspirator with a fundamentally corrupt administration, some of those doors could close.
The problem is that Ryan’s prepared image is a lie. He has failed to take modest, reasonable steps to protect the Mueller investigation and hold the Trump administration to account. Even worse, he’s actively empowering forces in the House — most prominently Rep. Devin Nunes (CA) — who are conspiring to disrupt the investigation and protect Trump.
The clear goal is to delegitimize the Mueller investigation, to ensure that its conclusions are perceived as mere partisan propaganda rather than fact-finding by reputable investigators. That will enable Republicans in Congress to ignore any wrongdoing Mueller discovers, no matter how egregious, and ensure that efforts to impeach or remove Trump or any of his aides will fail.
It’s some of the most valuable work being down to protect Trump in all of Washington, and Ryan is right at the center of it.