Rolling in Russiagate

Like a dog rolls in dead fish.  Get yourself a cup of coffee, or whatever it is you drink in the morning; this one's going to take a while:

Remember Sam Nunberg's very public meltdown on Monday and threat not to cooperate with Mueller's investigation?  Awful scandal porn: Nunberg gone wild,   “What The F*Ck?” Nunberg’s Mueller Meltdown Leaves Friends Petrified. Yeah, that one. Apparently the alcohol or drugs wore off, and he's having second thoughts. Nunberg To AP: Never Mind

In an interview with The Associated Press, Sam Nunberg said he was angry over Mueller’s request to have him appear in front of a grand jury and turn over thousands of emails and other communications with other ex-officials, among them his mentor Roger Stone. But he predicted that, in the end, he’d find a way to comply.

“I’m going to end up cooperating with them,” he said.

So why all the drama? Nunberg wants to negotiate with Mueller on the scope of the request:

“I’m happy if the scope changes and if they send me a subpoena that doesn’t include Carter Page,” he said, insisting the two had never spoken.

He also said he believes the only reason he’s being asked to testify before the grand jury is to provide information that would be used against Stone, a longtime Trump adviser, which he says he won’t do.

Instapundit: THE HILL: Nunberg media blitz raises questions for press.

Should Nunberg — who has bragged about planting fake stories in the press — have been allowed to ramble for hours during repeated television interviews on Monday, even as questions were raised about whether he had been drinking or was suffering from distress?
More broadly, some question whether reporters are leaning too heavily on sketchy sources in their drive to dig up the latest dirt on the Trump administration and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling.

“Some question.”

Next issue, the Aussie diplomat who allegedly set off the George Papadopoulos  investigation, Turns Out to Have Ties to the Clintons. 

The Australian diplomat whose tip in 2016 prompted the Russia-Trump investigation previously arranged one of the largest foreign donations to Bill and Hillary Clinton’s charitable efforts, documents show.

Former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer’s role in securing $25 million in aid from his country to help the Clinton Foundation fight AIDS is chronicled in decade-old government memos archived on the Australian foreign ministry’s website.
. . .
But lawmakers say the FBI didn’t tell Congress about Downer’s prior connection to the Clinton Foundation. Republicans say they are concerned the new information means nearly all of the early evidence the FBI used to justify its election-year probe of Trump came from sources supportive of the Clintons, including the controversial Steele dossier.

Whether this is important or not kind of depends on his level of involvement. Was he merely the Australian governments agent in this, or was he the person pushing the deal.

Hmm: Did Papadopoulos Tipster Have Clinton Foundation Connections? Australian Diplomat Who Tipped FBI About George Papadopolous Ties to, Get This, the Clinton Foundation

I think it was Hannity, or maybe a guest (maybe John Solomon), who pointed out that now every single one of the four "sources" cited in the Page FISA application has ties to Clinton:

* This guy, who tipped the FBI about Papadopolous, arranged a $25 million grant from his country's coffers to the Clinton Slush and Hush Fund.

* Steele was of course paid by Clinton and the DNC.

* Isikoff, cited in the application as independent confirmation of Steele's claims, was of course himself told his information by Steele, who had in turn been paid by Clinton. Thus Isikoff was at least an unknowing transmission agent for Clinton-bought sleeze.

* And of course the FBI also relied on information from long time Clinton smear merchants Sid Blumenthal and Cody Shearer.

FBI’s Aussie Trump-Russia Tipster Linked to Firm U.S. Intel Chiefs Have Distrusted for Years I wonder if they reported that to the FISA judge? Probably not.

Alexander Downer — the Australian diplomat whose tip to the FBI about a London pub conversation led to the massive probe of allegations of collusions between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia — is himself closely tied to a Chinese firm experts say is deeply involved in espionage against America.

Just last month, all six top U.S. intelligence bosses warned Americans against using digital telecommunications equipment produced by Chinese smartphone producer Huawei.
. . .
Downer is an especially odd choice as an FBI source, given Wray’s warnings about the Chinese firm, because Downer joined the board of directors of Huawei’s Australian subsidiary in June 2011, according to The Australian newspaper.

Not long after joining the board, Downer was a visible advocate on behalf of the Chinese firm in the Australian press, warning, for example, in April 2012 that his country should be wary about “transmitting a message that somehow we are paranoid about Chinese investment.”

The New Yorker has an absolutely oleagenous article on Christopher Steele, which I offer in the interests of fair play: Christopher Steele, the Man Behind the Trump Dossier

Steele told friends that Trump supporters were using him as a “battering ram” to “take down the whole intelligence community.”

As they say, turnabout is fair play. The McCain Associate Who Delivered the "Steele" Dossier to the FBI Hoped to Blackmail Trump out of the Election

"Blackmail" is my word -- but what would you call it?

When you tell someone you have information over them and that therefore they must do something they otherwise wouldn't do -- well, that's blackmail, isn't it?

Or a "friendly advisory"? Doesn't seem so friendly though.

What a crew are these.

Via Wombat-socho's "In The Mailbox: 03.05.18" Power Line has  Night Thoughts With Nunes, a great interview of Devin Nunes by Mark Levin. I saw it "live" and it's worth the while.

Trump Accuses Obama Administration of Wrongfully Investigating Him Well, yes.

Why did the Obama Administration start an investigation into the Trump Campaign (with zero proof of wrongdoing) long before the Election in November? Wanted to discredit so Crooked H would win. Unprecedented. Bigger than Watergate! Plus, Obama did NOTHING about Russian meddling.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2018

Robert Mueller and His 'Vacuum-Activities'

In this respect, his behavior resembles that described by Konrad Lorenz under the category of “vacuum-activities.” Certain breeds of dogs, long deprived of bones and dirt, will act out burying a non-existent bone in non-existent dirt, in the corner of a room, say. Bone-burying is innate behavior in dogs. Take away the proper objects -- real bones and real dirt -- and the behavior will “discharge” itself in the make-believe activity. As the philosopher David Stove observed, commenting on Lorenz: “After a certain point, bone-free life is just too boring for dogs.”

I believe we see something similar in Robert Mueller’s behavior. Prosecutors, like humans, are animals, and they, too, display innate behavior patterns. Mueller has been given a task that might have stymied Hercules. The commandment was clear: uncover and prosecute the collusion between the Trump campaign and the Ruskies. But there was no such collusion. So there he is, digging, digging, digging, burying all those imaginary bones in the corner of the room and getting appreciative pats on the head from the New York Times and CNN whenever he gnaws on the leg of another hapless victim of his vacuum-activity.

Speaking of which, Is Mueller’s Office Now Investigating … Stormygate?. Sorry libs, we litigated this under Slick Willy, and it turns out no one is allowed to care about a President having extramarital but consensual affairs. You made the rules, we just live with them. Get back to us when you have a credible allegation of rape.

Good grief, this RUSSIA "investigation" is going to go on forever

FBI agent Peter Strzok was told of a possible breach into the Hillary Clinton's homebrewed server but didn't do anything about it. What ARE they doing at the FBI? "What would you say you do here?" They aren't following up on tips of a possible school shooter, they aren't following up on foreign hacking of the secretary of state's illegal email server, so what?

Sources told Fox News that Strzok, who sent anti-Trump text messages that got him removed from the ongoing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, was told about the metadata anomaly in 2016, but Strzok did not support a formal damage assessment.
One source said: “Nothing happened.”
According to intelligence community directive 732, damage assessments are done “in response to unauthorized disclosure or compromise of classified national intelligence.”
Intelligence beyond top secret was identified on the Clinton server. As secretary of state, Clinton chose to use a private, non-secure server for government business.

Ace: Peter Strzok Was Told of Possible Breach of Hillary Clinton's Illegal Homebrew Server, But Chose Not to Pursue That Lead

 Note, the source means "nothing happened" as far as subsequent investigation, not "nothing happened" as far as there being no damage due to the breach.

Unclear writing.

Tighten it up. Come on, son.