Yes, they didn't want Trump elected, but there was far more to it than that. //

Flynn not only made it clear that he wanted to undo the Iran Deal, he also broadcast his determination to find the documents detailing the secret deals between Obama and Iran, and to publicize them. With Flynn on the march, the outgoing administration was keen to shield the JCPOA. Obama diplomats consulted with their European counterparts and gave the clerical regime more sanctions relief, even after the Senate agreed with a 99 to 0 vote to renew the Iran Sanctions Act. Kerry called his Iranian counterpart to tell him not to worry. //

Recall that Obama was not profoundly interested in Russia prior to the election. While it’s easy to look back and assume he was all aboard the collusion train in 2016, the truth is that he was mostly AWOL, allowing Russia to run roughshod when he thought it would benefit him. As Smith points out, it was Hillary Clinton who wanted to use Russia as a campaign issue. Meanwhile, Obama made some empty threats and essentially did nothing.

In other words, the idea that this was always about Russia doesn’t add up. What makes far more sense is that Obama originally turned his sights on Flynn over the Iran deal. He wanted to protect his legacy and cover up his administration’s misdeeds. To do that, he needed to buy time. Going after Flynn and eventually piggy-backing off the newly founded Russia hysteria afforded him exactly that.

In the end, Obama was such a narcissist, so wanting o protect his “greatest” achievement, that he was willing to do just about anything. If that meant reviving a previously deemed non-viable case against Flynn to stop him from uncovering what had happened, then so be it. Pretty soon, Flynn had been fired and H.R. McMaster, who largely supported the Iran deal, was put in place at the urging of the established order.

And he’d have probably gotten away with it too if not for Sidney Powell, who came onto the scene and decided she wasn’t going to let what happened stand.