Montoya served as special agent in charge of the FBI's Seattle field office and in other executive roles at the FBI.
（作者 Montaya 为 FBI 西雅图办公室特别代理人，兼FBI其他专门工作人员）



When the future writes this chapter of American history it wouldn’t surprise me at all if we’ve just witnessed a Fifth Avenue moment.

BuzzFeed’s report on Thursday that President Trump instructed his one-time attorney, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress in an attempt to obstruct justice was every bit as stunning as if the President had shot someone in cold blood.

Of course, that’s assuming its true.

Still, I can’t see how anyone who has closely followed the special counsel’s investigation for the last 20 months would be surprised about this latest revelation. More to the point, even casual observers can’t have failed to realize we are witnessing an American presidency in peril.

The BuzzFeed revelation is just the latest in a litany of disclosures in the mainstream media about a string of bad decisions, cover-ups, lies, cons and violations of the law that are making the Trump administration look more and more like a criminal enterprise.

The proof?

Already there are 36 Russia-related indictments and seven convictions on the books. Cooperators like Mike Flynn, Rick Gates and the aforementioned Cohen have provided hours of testimony to the special counsel. In that testimony, they have provided information of investigative value, including the names of witnesses who can corroborate what they said.

Known and possible subjects of investigation like Roger Stone, Jerome Corsi and Donald Trump Jr. have reportedly told associates they expect to be indicted. Others — publicly and behind closed doors — sound increasingly desperate about what exactly the special counsel has uncovered.

No doubt it’s a lot.

And it’s pretty good, too. The latest glimpses we’ve gotten — thanks to the terrific reporting that has been occurring on a near-daily basis over the past two years — confirm that something is up. Something big.

Just a few days ago we were trying to get our heads around the fact that the President of the United States was reportedly under investigation for possibly being an agent of a foreign power. And then there was that bit about Cohen allegedly attempting to manipulate polling data, also at Trump’s request. Now we learn Trump reportedly ordered him to lie to Congress.

In a quarter of a century of service in the FBI, including two-and-a-half years as the National Counterintelligence Executive, I cannot recall a single instance when a President of the United States was suspected of undermining our national security. Or stealing an election. Or even standing on the sidelines as an adversary had its way with us. Even in the wake of Watergate, it wasn’t just absurd to think things like that could happen. It was unthinkable.

And, yet, here we are. The question now is does Mueller have enough to make a case against the President of the United States and stop the madness?

Let’s hope, as Shakespeare noted in the Merchant of Venice, that the “truth will out.”

Still, if there is a case to be made against the President, it shouldn’t happen in the court of public opinion. As well as the media has reported on the special counsel’s investigation, justice, in the end, belongs in his hands. Knowing first-hand his rigorous adherence to the rule of law and how faithfully he strives to uphold his oath to the Constitution, I can attest no one is better suited for the job.

I also know how methodically and precisely he works. His conduct of this investigation has been classic Bob Mueller from the start: Focus on the mission, keep to the facts, and no leaks. And it’s clear he’s on to something. Nearly two years into it there wouldn’t be an investigation if that weren’t the case.

Yes, there’s a lot more to do. It is one thing to know what you know. Quite another to prove it. That’s why the most significant part of the Buzzfeed story wasn’t what Cohen said about the president, but rather the assertion there was a lot of other evidence — witnesses and documents — to support it.

The President saw fit to tell us this morning — yet again — that Cohen is a liar. We already knew that. But good evidence can redeem a bad witness.

Just ask Rudy Giuliani. He knows from his days when he was one of the good guys that the testimony of the worst witness can upend the omertá of even the tightest-lipped family if prosecutors have the evidence to back it up.

Montoya served as special agent in charge of the FBI's Seattle field office and in other executive roles at the FBI.