Jerome Corsi begins to put his life back together after Mueller

In Real Clear Investigations, Paul Sperry takes a look at Mueller’s investigations.

His witness list, which grew to more than 500, targeted conservative journalists and authors, conservative think tank analysts and Republican congressional staffers. Witnesses were compelled to comply with more than 2,800 grand jury subpoenas and nearly 500 search-and-seizure warrants. Casting an even wider net, Mueller also issued 230 orders for communications records and almost 50 orders authorizing use of “pen registers” – devices that record dialed numbers — to collect phone records on individuals, most of whom turned out to be innocent.

But, the 10 witnesses swept up in the inquiry say those facts and figures, as well as the final determination that there was no conspiracy or collusion with the Russians, do not begin to account for the human toll of the Mueller probe.

His witness list, which grew to more than 500, targeted conservative journalists and authors, conservative think tank analysts and Republican congressional staffers. Witnesses were compelled to comply with more than 2,800 grand jury subpoenas and nearly 500 search-and-seizure warrants. Casting an even wider net, Mueller also issued 230 orders for communications records and almost 50 orders authorizing use of “pen registers” – devices that record dialed numbers — to collect phone records on individuals, most of whom turned out to be innocent.

But, the 10 witnesses swept up in the inquiry say those facts and figures, as well as the final determination that there was no conspiracy or collusion with the Russians, do not begin to account for the human toll of the Mueller probe.

…Jerome Corsi’s appearance before “angry” anti-Trump D.C. jurors was stressful, he said, but nothing compared with what he called Mueller’s “mental torture.” Over the next two months, the 72-year-old Corsi said he was interrogated six times by a battery of the special counsel’s lawyers and investigators inside a windowless conference room in an unmarked FBI building in southeast Washington. Some of the sessions stretched up to eight hours. He said he was often left alone in the sparse room for long periods with no cellphone, laptop or even a book to read, while investigators observed him from another room. He was not allowed to leave to go the bathroom without being accompanied by an armed agent.

He said Mueller’s investigators engaged in “Gestapo tactics,” including harassing his friends and family — as well as his sources. “They got abusive when they didn’t get what they wanted,” he said, “and they got nasty.”

…He said the stress caused him to have “a nervous breakdown.” He suffered insomnia, as did his wife, who was worried about him and crying a lot. He said Mueller’s office had leaked information from the grand jury hearing to CNN, which dispatched a news crew to camp outside their home in a black SUV. Feeling chest pains and shortness of breath one day, Corsi made an appointment with his cardiologist, who warned that the “tension from Mueller” could trigger a heart attack or stroke.

…They offered a plea deal: cop to one count of perjury for no jail time. He had one week to accept the offer.

Corsi rejected the deal and was never indicted. The Mueller report indicates he is no longer under active investigation.

In the end, Corsi was drilled by Mueller’s team for more than 40 hours, and in the process, racked up more than $100,000 in legal bills.

“I still haven’t recovered physically or financially,” he told RCI, though he has received donations from a legal defense fund. “We’re just now putting our lives back together.”

They offered a plea deal: cop to one count of perjury for no jail time. He had one week to accept the offer.

Corsi rejected the deal and was never indicted. The Mueller report indicates he is no longer under active investigation.

In the end, Corsi was drilled by Mueller’s team for more than 40 hours, and in the process, racked up more than $100,000 in legal bills.

“I still haven’t recovered physically or financially,” he told RCI, though he has received donations from a legal defense fund. “We’re just now putting our lives back together.”