Resuming Somewhat Regular Russiagate

So, in answer to the question no one asked, yes, we've been in California for the past two weeks more or less, and for at least the last 5 days have been staying at my father's house, which has no wi-fi, so it was post with the Ipad or nothing. So it was mostly nothing. In any case, we were pretty busy taking care of family business.

So did anything happen while I was more out of touch than usual? What, Trump ordered the release of the Carter Page FISA warrant unredacted, along with the Peter Strzok, Lisa Page and Jim Comey texts? EXCLUSIVE: Trump says exposing ‘corrupt’ FBI probe could be ‘crowning achievement’ of presidency

President Trump in an exclusive interview with Hill.TV said Tuesday he ordered the release of classified documents in the Russia collusion case to show the public the FBI probe started as a “hoax” and that exposing it could become one of the “crowning achievements” of his presidency.

“What we’ve done is a great service to the country, really,” Trump said in a 45-minute, wide-ranging interview in the Oval Office.

“I hope to be able to call this, along with tax cuts and regulation and all the things I’ve done ... in its own way this might be the most important thing because this was corrupt,” he said.
. . .
“If I did one mistake with Comey, I should have fired him before I got here. I should have fired him the day I won the primaries,” Trump said. “I should have fired him right after the convention, say I don’t want that guy. Or at least fired him the first day on the job. ... I would have been better off firing him or putting out a statement that I don’t want him there when I get there.”

From the whining of Adam Schiff, it's pretty clear that the documents will not be favorable to the Democrats talking points, even if they contain few new bombshells. Schiff Calls Trump's Declassification of Russia Probe Documents a 'Clear Abuse of Power'

“President Trump, in a clear abuse of power, has decided to intervene in a pending law enforcement investigation by ordering the selective release of materials he believes are helpful to his defense team and thinks will advance a false narrative,” Rep. Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

“With respect to some of these materials, I have been previously informed by the FBI and Justice Department that they would consider their release a red line that must not be crossed as they may compromise sources and methods,” he claimed. “This is evidently of no consequence to a President who cares about nothing about the country and everything about his narrow self-interest.”

And predictably, the DOJ and FBI are resisting the lawful order from the Commander in Chief: FBI, DOJ Plan Redactions Despite Trump’s Document Order

President Donald Trump has demanded the “immediate declassification” of sensitive materials about the Russia investigation, but the agencies responsible are expected to propose redactions that would keep some information secret, according to three people familiar with the matter.

So what's immediate about that?

The Justice Department, FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence are going through a methodical review and can’t offer a timeline for finishing, said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive matter.

A methodical review to attempt to scrub the material of any material that implicates the DOJ or FBI in illegal acts or embarrassing interference in the electoral processes.

The White House issued a statement on Monday listing material that Trump wants declassified immediately, echoing demands of Republican lawmakers who share his contention that the continuing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election was tainted by anti-Trump bias well before Robert Mueller was named special counsel to run it.

Among Trump’s demands was the full public release of all text messages concerning the Russia probe by Justice Department official Bruce Ohr and by several former officials, including two who were fired -- former FBI Director James Comey and his deputy, Andrew McCabe. One person described the order to release text messages as unprecedented, and another said additional talks will probably be held with the White House over the matter.

Time to reset the precedent.

The Justice Department and FBI are expected to submit their documents and proposed redactions to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which will assemble all the material into a package and hand it over to the White House, according to the people.

While the agencies want to guard against revealing classified sources and methods about the ongoing Russia investigation, doing so could put them in direct conflict with Trump, who as president has the power to override the agencies and declassify material on his own.

As they say, elections have consequences.

It’s too early to say if any officials would resign in protest should Trump do that, one person said. Trump could ask the agencies to go back and scrub the redacted material further.

Fine, resign. If and when they do, open it all up.

Roger Stone in West Palm Beach: ‘I will never roll on Donald Trump’ We'll see, when Mueller attempts to try you on 57 counts of Attempted Fraud against the United States, or whatever bullshit charges he can obtain indictments in Washington D.C.

In Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, prosecutors have interviewed several Stone associates, heightening speculation that Stone is a target. Fort Lauderdale resident Stone communicated in 2016 with Wikileaks, which prosecutors have branded a front for Russian interference efforts, but he said he had no inside information on its release of stolen Democratic documents.

“The FBI tried to question my cleaning lady and FBI agents have been seen sifting through my garbage,” Stone said. “Here’s what I can tell you: they will find no evidence of Russian collusion…They will find no evidence of Wikileaks collaboration.”

Stone, who began urging Trump to run for president in the 1980s, contrasted himself with another longtime Trump confidant, Michael Cohen, the former Trump personal attorney who has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

“I’m ready. I will never roll on Donald Trump. Michael Cohen I am not,” Stone said. “One reporter asked me last week ‘Are you worried?’ I don’t worry. I make other people worry.”