I got back from the vet — one of the swamp cats needed hyperthyroid medicine — and found Swamp Rabbit at my shack, complaining about how badly the mainstream media had handled news of the Mueller report even before the report was released. He read aloud from a critique by the media columnist at an influential newspaper:

Many news organizations, including some of the most prominent, took what [Attorney General William] Barr said at face value or mischaracterized the report’s findings. They essentially transmitted to the public — especially in all-important headlines and cable-news bulletins — what President Trump desperately wanted as the takeaway: No collusion; no obstruction…

“I don’t care about the media today,” I said. “I care about what Mueller will say tomorrow at those hearings when he’s asked about the questions his report raised but never answered. Does he have a soul, or does he just follow orders, even when following orders is bad for the country?”

“Mueller’s a Republican, so I don’t expect he’ll rock the boat too hard,” Swamp Rabbit replied. “He already said he ain’t gonna say nothing.”

Don’t lose hope, I told him. Mueller has heard Trump falsely claim, again and again, that the report exonerates him. He’s watched Trump and Barr turn the Justice Department into a private law firm for Trump’s defense. He’s put up with two years of insults from Trump and his cronies, and from the crooked Republican officeholders whose fates are linked with Trump’s. He’s got an opportunity to help prevent the second act of a would-be dictator and be the hero of the century.

The rabbit chuckled. “Mueller don’t wanna be no hero, he just wants to go home.”