By Michael Goodwin, October 26, 2019

With no end in sight to the madness gripping Washington, it is wise to seize on any possible sign of humor to brighten the day. In that spirit, a statement by Reps. Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler qualifies as the mood booster of the week.

Responding to reports that Attorney General William Barr’s investigation into the 2016 spying on Donald Trump’s campaign is now a criminal probe, Schiff and Nad­ler laid down their thumbscrews and emerged from their impeachment dungeon to express outrage. In unison, the twin Trump tormentors declared that partisanship has infected the Justice Department and “the rule of law will suffer new and irreparable damage.”

Despite stiff competition from two centuries of congressional hypocrisy, that is a first-rate howler. If you can’t laugh at Schiff and Nad­ler accusing anyone else of damaging the rule of law for partisan purposes, you don’t have a sense of humor.

They have violated every historic precedent, not to mention simple decency, by conducting their impeachment probe in a secret star chamber. They leak juicy fragments to the media echo chamber, which would be a federal crime for real prosecutors.

Then they squeal and gnash their teeth when the worm starts to turn. Come on, people, this is hilarious!

It is true, of course, that some in Washington will see nothing amusing about Barr’s monumental decision. Among these are James Comey, Andrew McCabe, John Brennan, James Clapper and the assorted CIA officials who reportedly hired criminal-defense lawyers because they may now find themselves in the legal crosshairs.

Still, if they’ve done nothing wrong, they have nothing to hide, right? After all, that’s the standard Schiff, Nadler, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and every two-bit prosecutor in America has applied to the Trump White House.

Their approach from Day One has been merciless: Guilty first, a trial later. Give us everything we want, or we’ll accuse you of ­obstruction of justice and treason, too.

Oh, and when you come to testify behind closed doors, bring your toothbrush because if you don’t tell us what we want to hear, you’re not going home.

Finally and thankfully, the other side of the story is about to be ­revealed.

Barr’s decision means US Attorney John Durham, after months of interviews, believes crimes were committed by government officials during and/or after their probe of Trump’s campaign. The designation gives Durham the power to empanel grand juries, issue subpoenas for testimony and documents and send target letters to potential suspects.

“It’s all the stuff that scares the crap out of people,” a former prosecutor told me. As for the significance, he put it this way: “We may find out that the people entrusted with our most sacred powers are criminals themselves.”

Possible charges could include perjury and illegal wiretapping, and the public is likely to learn more very soon about where Durham is going. The separate report from the Justice Department’s inspector general on how the government secured the suspect wiretapping warrants on Carter Page is almost ready for release and any criminal referrals in it would be made to Durham. Although there is no certainty, logic suggests that Barr authorized the switch to a criminal probe because there are, in fact, prosecution referrals in the IG report.

In addition to the review of the wiretapping issue, Barr and Durham also interviewed foreign intelligence officials who may have been recruited by the Obama administration to meddle in the campaign and help spy on Trump.

These are extraordinary events and the effort to expose the truth about both the spying on a presidential candidate and the subsequent plot to upend his administration is so rich with bombshell potential that you would think the media would be licking their chops over the scoops to come. Instead, The New York Times, CNN and the rest of the Democratic propaganda outlets are furious that the public may finally learn the whole sordid story about one of the most disgraceful episodes in presidential history.

And so they have joined forces with Comey, Brennan, Clapper, Schiff, Nadler and Pelosi in attacking Barr for daring to hunt for the truth. In effect, the left-wing media, instead of leading the search for truth, has become the errand boys of those trying to hide it.

This is the ultimate irrationality of the anti-Trump zealots, in and out of the media. Their hatred for him has distorted their judgment so much that they are willing to help cover up potential crimes and turn Barr into a villain for seeking to enforce the law against corrupt officials.

Of course, this is the same corrupt alliance that sold Russia, Russia, Russia as the crime of the century before it was exposed as much ado about almost nothing. Now they tell us never mind Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine is the crime of the century and Trump must be removed immediately.

What if it’s all a head fake? What if the Russia-collusion narrative was created by the FBI and CIA to steal the election? What if Ukraine is the same thing by ­another name with a separate group of rogue agents?

The mere possibility that “yes” is the answer to any of those questions should shake every American to the core.

Remember, too, that none of this would have come to light if Hillary Clinton had been elected.

Indeed, the assumption that she was a sure thing for the Oval ­Office helps explain the arrogance of the plotters. They thought they were immune from suspicion and, ultimately, above the law.

In that case, it is worth repeating again Sen. Chuck Schumer’s infamous warning to Trump: “You take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.”

Pay attention. The curtain on the real crime of the century is about to be lifted.

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https://nypost.com/2019/10/26/goodwin-wh...ething-to-hide/