Russiagate on the Run

It seems like something is getting ready to break in the matter of Bruce Ohr, DOJ muckety muck, and Nellie Ohr, his wife, and employee of Fusion GPS, and likely author of much of the "Steele Dossier". John Soloman at the Hill: How a senior DOJ official helped Dem researchers on Trump-Russia case    Thomas Lifson at American Thinker: Out of the shadows: FBI corruption probe about to put Bruce Ohr in the hot seat. Ace: Chuck Ross: Christopher Steele Was "Concerned" About Senate Inquiries Into The Dossier, Text Messages Show

Why should such a straight-arrow boyscout of a truth-telling professional have any concerns about inquiries into his conduct?

You'd think he'd be proud. I've been assured by the left and the NeverTrump Rump (but I repeat myself) the sun beams out of this guy's immaculate asshole.

* Text messages between dossier author Christopher Steele and Department of Justice official Bruce Ohr have been released.
* Steele said in one message that he was "concerned" by a Senate Committee on the Judiciary request for records about the dossier.
* Ohr and Steele met in Washington, D.C., before the FBI opened its investigation of the Trump campaign.
Christopher Steele expressed concern last year at a Senate committee's request for information about the former British spy's anti-Trump dossier, according to text messages recently provided to Congress.
"Would it be possible to speak later today please? We're very concerned by the Grassley letter and it’s possible implications for us, our operations and our sources. We need some reassurances," Steele wrote in a March 7, 2017 text message to Bruce Ohr, who then served as deputy assistant attorney general.
...
Grassley's letter also posed a question that hit directly at the relationship between Steele and Ohr.
“Were any other government officials outside of the FBI involved in discussing or authorizing the agreement with Mr. Steele, including anyone from the Department of Justice or the Obama White House? If so, please explain who was involved and provide all related records," Grassley wrote.

Remember, the FBI had fake-fired Christopher Steele in November, 2016 by breaching, allegedly, the requirements that he not speak to the press about his alleged research. He was also told that he was to no longer gather alleged information for the FBI.

The reason I say "alleged" so many times is that now I'm not sure the FBI really fired him. Steele continued working with the DOJ after his firing for cause/for his lack of integrity, in a system probably set up by Sally Yates whereby Bruce Ohr would act as a cut-out to pass Steele's continuing bullshit to the Obama Administration. Despite his alleged "firing" and bar from continuing his operation on behalf of the government.

I begin to wonder if Steele actually talked to reporters with the tacit or explicit approval of Obama Administration officials, and then was only fake-fired because they knew what he'd done violated government policy, and that even though they'd authorized that violation of government policy, they would have to fake-fire him to make it look, as they say, "by the book."

An oldie but goodie that I missed somehow. Get a cup of coffee for this one:  The Mechanics of Deception.

Considering all of the dossier’s unusual aspects, I decided to take a little time and do a deeper dive into its structure and content. In this post, I’ll demonstrate how by using readily available OSINT tools and techniques, video analytics, and writing style analysis, we can pinpoint the likely sources, methods, and the individuals involved in the creation and distribution of this document.

Rachel Maddow bugs Devin Nunes. TRMS Exclusive: Devin Nunes speaks candidly at fundraiser, and he really doesn't say anything outrageous.

“They know it’s ridiculous to go after the president for obstruction of justice. But if they tell a lie often enough and they put it out there and they say, ‘Oh, we’re looking at the tweets,’ cause you know you’ve got a mixed bag on the tweets, right? Like sometimes you love the president’s tweets, sometimes we cringe on the president’s tweets. But they’re trying to make a political, this is all political as to why that story ran in the New York Times on the tweets.”

Compare and contrast: Ed Morrissey at Hot Air: “It’s Fantastic”: Trump’s Growing Bond With … Rod Rosenstein

But in recent months, their relationship has improved. The two men talk once or twice a week, and Mr. Trump calls Mr. Rosenstein on his cellphone to discuss such issues as immigration, according to one person familiar with the matter. Mr. Rosenstein consistently prepares the president’s team ahead of major news, officials said. And he visits the White House as often as three times a week, meeting with the president or White House chief of staff John Kelly. He also has a regular lunch with White House general counsel Don McGahn.

“It’s fantastic,” Mr. Trump said about his rapport with Mr. Rosenstein when a spokesman told him The Wall Street Journal was seeking a comment. “We have great relationship. Make sure you tell them that.”

with: Michael Goodwin at the New York Post: Why it’s time for Trump to play his ace in the hole, and fire Rod Rosenstein:

Rosenstein is guilty of three main sins. One, he gives his spawn, special counsel Robert Mueller, virtually unlimited time, scope and budget to target anybody who worked for President Trump’s campaign or administration. As the ongoing trial of Paul Manafort illustrates, the tactic involves throwing the kitchen sink of charges with the aim of terrifying defendants so they will be more inclined to spill any possible beans on Trump in exchange for leniency.

The zealous approach — and exorbitant legal fees involved for defendants or witnesses — serve as deterrents for anyone who might consider public service. And although there is still no indication the president did anything wrong, the search for a crime to pin on him creates a cloud over everything he does and could influence the midterm elections.

Rosenstein’s second sin is his arrogant stiff-arming of congressional attempts to ferret out the facts about how the Trump probe actually started. It is a national disgrace that, 19 months after the president took the oath, the public is kept in the dark about the most basic things, including whether the FBI had any credible allegations about collusion, or whether it relied exclusively on the Hillary Clinton-financed Russian Dossier to get a surveillance warrant against Trump associate Carter Page.

We also don’t know how much money the FBI itself paid Christopher Steele, the former British spy who compiled the dossier, and why the agency continued to use Steele as a source after it fired him for leaking to the media.

Nor do we know why the FBI sent at least one spy — and maybe two — to snoop on the Trump campaign. Then there is the tsunami of leaks coming from law enforcement and intelligence agencies that were clearly designed first to defeat Trump, then to undermine him.

All these events are unprecedented, yet Rosenstein continues to thwart all efforts to explain them or hold anyone accountable. His imperious refusal suggests he sees himself and the Justice Department as above the laws it enforces on all other Americans.

Which brings us to his third sin — his complete lack of interest in the suspect handling of the Clinton email investigation. The numerous examples of misconduct and deviations from rules detailed in the inspector general report came and went as if they never happened.

WaPo: Trump lawyers reject interview terms sought by special counsel in Russia probe.

One Trump adviser said there’s one way for Mueller to prove he isn’t using the interview to lure Trump into a perjury trap. “If you don’t want to accuse someone of perjury, you don’t need to have them answer questions under oath,” the adviser said.

Like they did with Hillary.

New Ad: Firing Mueller Would Make President Trump Look ‘Impotent’

GOP consultant Liz Mair, a strategist for the group, said that the group doesn’t believe Trump committed any crimes during the 2016 presidential election. But she added that the outfit views Mueller, who is leading the investigation into Russia’s meddling, as “the only investigator who has had significant interest and success in going after Russians who interfered in the 2016 election” as well as “stereotypical Beltway influence-peddlers who were exactly the people voters rebelled against in 2016.”…

Da Hill: Midterms pose dilemma for Mueller. Tell me something I don't know, like what he's going to do about it.

Tampa Bay Times: Bill Nelson: The Russians have penetrated some Florida voter registration systems So he has built in excuse whenever a Democrat loses.

If you like your news raw, the "Manafort trial: we have the transcript. How did the Special Counsel piss off Judge Ellis? What type of immunity deals did the Special Counsel . . .  and "Transcript on the cross-examination of the Special Counsel's star witness Rick Gates in the Paul Manafort case. How much did he embezzle?

WaPo: Manafort’s defense team takes parting shot at Rick Gates as star witness ends testimony. Bloomberg: Rick Gates Is Seen as ‘Despicable,’ But His Testimony May Doom Paul Manafort. Obviously, it might. Or the jury might decide he's so despicable his testimony wasn't worth the immunity he was given to invent it.