The leak from a sealed grand jury indictment within the special counsel Robert Mueller investigation, writ large, has everyone a-twitter… Perhaps, a reminder is in order.

First lesson from the DC Swamp – Everything is about politics. It’s not about the law; it’s not about the judiciary; it’s not about what’s legal, or the illegality of behavior; only politics. These are not legal issues; the entities involved are not connected to legal or illegal application of laws as they relate to the rest of American society.

You cannot view the current action through the transactional prism of modern judicial proceedings as they relate to you and me. These are political cases that use the venue of the legal system. They use the legal system to play out the optics and narrative of political battles for ideological wins and losses.

The closest reminder you might have familiarity with would be the case against George Zimmerman (never about the legal system); or the case against officer Darren Wilson; again, it was never about the legal system. Those were political cases run through the matrix of the legal system. So too is this entire DC partisan dysfunctional investigative construct -surrounding all of the current DC cases- not about the application of law, it is about politics. Period.

The notification from the FBI through the DOJ -to allow the unknown 2010 FBI witness to testify to congress about the Uranium One investigation- has initiated a responsive action from Robert Mueller to save and use his political leverage. This is not about laws broken; this is about political leverage to be retained.

The gamesmanship currently being pitched through the media is about political leverage. That leverage in DC is traded like baseball cards amid the upper tier of those who float in an entirely divergent orbit from everyone else.

Repeat: this is not about law. It’s about politics.

If Mueller waited any longer to construct his political cases against those he is investigating he would open himself up to scrutiny from within his attachment to the Uranium One deal.

If the mystery FBI witness testified to congress before Mueller announced an indictment it would look like Mueller was retaliating against that testimony. So Mueller plays the hand he’s carrying.

Now, by going first, regardless of the testimony from the FBI witness, any negative outcome therein would look like retaliation against him for indictments announced prior to the testimony.

See how that works?

Remember, this is not about laws, lawfulness, or the judicial system. These participants operate above that system. They are in a political system above the law; they use the landscape of the judicial system to advance politics. Pause and repeat as needed.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is simply attempting to retain his leverage within the game. Going first allows him to keep and use that leverage. If Mueller had waited he would have lost that leverage.

Congress has now lost leverage. Regardless of what the FBI informant says to them regarding the Uranium One deal it is useless against the optic of retaliation for the special counsel investigation.

Conversely, those who were getting sick and tired of this investigation dragging on also know how the game is played. They knew if they brought in the angle of the FBI informant it would force Mueller to act fast. Again, this is politics, not legal.

Mueller has protected himself from the leverage congress was assembling and now he has cards to trade for any outcomes therein. Mueller knew by planting the leak tonight his leverage would have all weekend to grow and establish itself through the media.

This is the exact same hand James Comey played when he intentionally leaked his memo notes to the New York Times right before he was fired. Comey was losing leverage; Comey needed to gain back leverage to protect his interests.

Changing and trading leverage is politics.

Establish enough leverage and you can break any law with impunity.

Nothing more.

Enjoy your weekend….