Resuming Russiagate for 2019

Actually a pretty small collection, since no actual news is occurring. Via Insty,  How Should We Read the American Press? In Arabic, Lee Smith writes at Tablet:

Other former U.S. intelligence officials who have joined the anti-Salman campaign, include ex-CIA director John Brennan, who suggested the United States freeze arms sales to Riyadh, ex-deputy CIA director John McLaughlin, and former CIA official Ned Price. All three are MSNBC analysts, along with other former agency officers. One upside of the Khashoggi operation is that it has helped illuminate another part of the map of the new U.S. media—MSNBC appears to be a destination of choice for CIA leaks.

Blurring the lines between journalists/analysts and officials/operatives is not simply a matter of convenient nomenclature. It’s part of a conscious strategy to legitimize the nature and structure of information operations by obscuring their political character. How dare Trump strip John Brennan’s security clearance! He’s infringing on the former CIA director’s free speech rights—as a journalist.

Branding political operatives and intelligence officials as “press” is also intended to shield these newly minted “analysts” from possible prosecution. Evidence of their crimes and abuses may be found in the steady stream of classified intelligence illegally leaked to a complicit press corps for the purpose of marketing the Russia collusion narrative. By relabeling government officials as “journalists,” the media is protecting both its clandestine confederates and itself.

An analysis of Russiagate coverage also seems to suggest that the Federal Bureau of Investigation tends to favor The New York Times as a delivery mechanism while the Department of Justice prefers The Washington Post. Last month, the Times published a story sourced to memos written by FBI officials, including former deputy director Andrew McCabe, portraying Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as a conspirator plotting to bring down Trump. According to the account, Rosenstein told FBI officials that he’d wear a wire to record the president and gather evidence to remove him from office. When it was time for Rosenstein and allies at the DOJ to do damage control, their story went to the Post, published hours after the Times piece, explaining that Rosenstein was being sarcastic about spying on Trump, those FBI guys can’t take a joke!

I never saw it as a protection strategy before, but it make sense, since we've essentially excused the MSM from any laws relating to the revelation of government secrets.

Flashback: “Lee Smith was fired very shortly after simply offering an article about Fusion GPS to the Weekly Standard. He merely offered it to them. And then the Weekly Standard suddenly decided things aren’t working out between themselves and Smith.”

On December 14, 2018, Clarity Media Group announced that it would cease publication of the magazine after 23 years.

Coincidence? I think not. Related? Marty Waters and Lee Cary at Big League Politics,  How Deep State ‘Journalist’ Michael Isikoff Has Been Setting Up Mueller’s Enemies For Years

When the Deep State needs a Special Counsel to protect its friends and punish its enemies, it looks for a willing journalist to help get it done. One is named Michael Isikoff.

When the Swamp needed to protect Hillary Clinton and hurt Donald Trump, they fed Isikoff the phony Steele Dossier that Clinton paid for to frame Trump.

It kicked off the plot that, today, is widely known as Russiagate.

In what was a journalistic obelisk to fake news, on September 23, 2016 Isikoff’s article entitled “U.S. intel officials probe ties between Trump adviser and Kremlin” posted on Yahoo.com.

Then, to round out the cycle of deceit, corrupt officials at the FBI and DoJ used Isikoff’s “news report” to obtain FISA warrants authorizing spying on the Trump Campaign.

In the world of fake journalism, it’s called circular reporting.

Never forget, it was Isikoff who spiked the Monica Lewinsky story until Drudge got wind of it.

In the only real news, although it's sort of negative, "what we still don't know" news, Feds won't detail extent of GOP operative's cooperation with Mueller

Federal prosecutors refused Monday to disclose publicly the extent to which Republican political consultant W. Samuel Patten is cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller, a sign that he may be assisting the government in at least one ongoing investigation.

Patten, a longtime associate of Paul Manafort, pleaded guilty in August to illegally lobbying in the U.S. on behalf of a Ukrainian political party. He has since been cooperating with Mr. Mueller’s probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

I won't care about illegal lobbying until Tony Podesta is in jail. Even then, I think the law ought to be a First Amendment violation.

Althouse reads the New York Times because you don't want to. "Letitia James, a Democrat, has made no secret that she intends to use her powers as New York’s attorney general to pursue possible legal action against President Trump."

"She calls him an 'illegitimate president.' She says her decision to run for attorney general was largely 'about that man in the White House who can’t go a day without threatening our fundamental rights.'... Her strident attacks on the president could potentially threaten the legal standing of cases that her office brings against Mr. Trump, his family members or their business interests, legal experts said.... In an interview, Ms. James defended her remarks about the president, adding that she believed that her race and gender were shaping what she characterized as assumptions and misconceptions about how she would perform as attorney general. Ms. James is the first woman in New York to be elected as attorney general, the first African-American woman to be elected to statewide office, and the first African-American to serve as attorney general. Before winning election, she was the New York City public advocate. 'This is similar to when I was about to take office as public advocate, and individuals expressed concerns,' Ms. James said. 'What I have done repeatedly throughout my life is I have been underestimated and have continued to perform.'"

From "N.Y.’s New Attorney General Is Targeting Trump. Will Judges See a ‘Political Vendetta?’" (NYT)

Yes, Virginia, there are Obama judges. From the Guardian, Democrat-controlled House faces question: what not to investigate? I would be in favor of a permanent office of special counsel designed to be a presidential watch dog, appointed by his opponents, so they don't have to waste all their legislative time doing it.. But to be fair, lets start the next time the Presidency turns over, right?