SQUARING THE CIRCLE ON THE HOUSE GOP’S DEFENSE OF THE FBI: Tucker Carlson’s pointed questioning of Trey Gowdy last night has a lot of people asking why he and others defended the FBI and intelligence agencies when it now appears they knew there was no “there” there with regard to collusion, Gen. Flynn, etc., suggesting that they were secretly happy to get rid of President Trump. I suggest that, in light of the unaccountable powers these agencies wield now, the historical abuses in which such secret agencies around the world have traditionally engaged, and Sen. Schumer’s famous remark that “you take on the intelligence community — they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you,” we can’t rule out the possibility that some members of Congress didn’t feel like they had a choice.