House Speaker Paul Ryan did something totally uncharacteristic Wednesday—the right thing.
After hailing the House GOP's sabotage of the Russia probe as "good thorough oversight" two weeks ago, Ryan actually sided with Rep. Trey Gowdy’s assessment that the FBI acted appropriately vis-à-vis Trump's campaign in 2016. Politico writes:
“I think Chairman Gowdy’s initial assessment is accurate,” said Ryan, who was one of a handful of lawmakers, including Gowdy, briefed by the Justice Department on the FBI’s use of an informant. “I have seen no evidence to the contrary of the initial assessment Chairman Gowdy has made.”
It's a stunner, folks, precisely because Ryan has made the morally and ethically bogus choice at every turn on the Russia probe, consistently backing the GOP's chief saboteur Devin Nunes over the Justice Department and FBI.
It's also weird that Ryan sided with Gowdy after the retiring South Carolina representative suffered extreme blowback from his media tour last week killing virtually every one of Donald Trump's lies about the FBI embedding a “spy” in his campaign.
“I am even more convinced that the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do,” Gowdy told Fox News last week after seeing the intel about how the FBI engaged Trump's campaign.
Gowdy quickly became a punching bag for Fox News pundits and Trump allies ranging from Sean Hannity to Laura Ingraham to Rudy Giuliani.
Nonetheless, Ryan even waded into the pardon debate Wednesday, telling reporters that Trump "shouldn't" pardon himself and "no one is above the law."
Which leaves one wondering, what the heck is up with Paul Ryan?
Here's two possibilities: Ryan wants a post-speakership career and finally decided that doing Trump's bidding and irrevocably tying himself to Nunes could ultimately ruin that prospect.
Or just maybe, Republicans are seeing something in the polling as the midterms approach.
Remember that Democratic Navigator poll on the Russia probe a couple weeks ago? One message tested higher than any other in that survey with 63 percent support: Nobody, including the president of the United States, is above the law.
Please forgive me for finding it hard to believe that Ryan was suddenly moved by a sense of conscience. His actions over the last several years, particularly as they relate to Trump, render that prospect downright implausible.