That sort of bare-knuckle overtly politicized operation at senior levels in federal law enforcement must be part of the reason why the two men are such old friends that Fitzgerald reportedly is godfather to one of Comey's children .

Birds of a feather are flocking together, as we learned last night, when Patrick Fitzgerald joined the legal team representing James Comey shortly after Comey was fired by President Trump in May 2017. Fitzgerald was the former U.S. attorney in Chicago who was the special prosecutor who railroaded Scooter Libby into an unjust conviction on perjury while allowing the actual leaker of information he was supposed to be going after to remain uncharged. Fitzgerald wanted to pressure Libby to provide information on his then-boss, Vice President Cheney, apparently to force Cheney out of office.

Two Capitol Hill sources confirmed to Talking Points Memo that Comey had retained Fitzgerald, though it was not immediately clear in what capacity he made the hire. "He's been representing me since I was fired," Comey told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday evening at a reception in Washington, D.C., for his new memoir. Comey said Fitzgerald is part of a three-member legal team that includes David Kelley, a former deputy U.S. attorney under Comey in New York, and former federal prosecutor Dan Richman, a Columbia Law School professor.

According to the Chicago Tribune: "Fitzgerald is now a partner in Chicago of the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom," the big law firm that reportedly just separated itself from another political henchman, former impeachment lawyer for President Clinton and White House counsel for President Obama, Greg Craig. The Daily Caller News Foundation reports:

Greg Craig, the White House counsel for President Barack Obama, abruptly left his law firm as it has come under scrutiny from the special counsel's investigation. A spokeswoman for Skadden Arps confirmed to The Daily Caller News Foundation that Craig is no longer with the firm. She did not address whether his departure is related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. The website Above the Law first reported on Tuesday that Craig's biography had been removed from Skadden Arps' website. Skadden Arps has come under scrutiny because of its work with Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, on behalf of the Ukrainian government in 2012. A team led by Craig helped produce a report that sought to justify the imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko, a political rival of Viktor Yanukovych, the Ukrainian president at the time and an ally of Vladimir Putin's.

If this seems confusing, that means you are paying attention. Keep in mind that Manafort worked with super-lobbyist and Democrat fixture Tony Podesta, brother of John Podesta, on the Ukraine gig.

The collective sleaze factor among this group of political insider manipulators is overwhelming. Sorting it all out is going to take a lot of time, and a grand jury probably would be helpful.