Russiagate: Barr on the Barricades

WaPoo has a big article out today claiming Barr’s handpicked prosecutor tells inspector general he can’t back right-wing theory that Russia case was U.S. intelligence setup. Bear in mind, this is before either the Horowitz Report, or anything from John Durham, so it is being leaked by insiders with an agenda. Anyway, the article is clearly in the process of backing down from one of the fundamental claims of the Mueller Report, that Joseph Mifsud was a known Russian agent:

Among Horowitz’s questions: whether a Maltese professor who interacted with a Trump campaign adviser was actually a U.S. intelligence asset deployed to ensnare the campaign, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the inspector general’s findings have not been made public.

But the intelligence agencies said the professor was not among their assets, the people said. And Durham informed Horowitz’s office that his investigation had not produced any evidence that might contradict the inspector general’s findings on that point.

Of course, Sundance has a worthy fisking: Is The Washington Post, New York Times and CNN Now Declaring Professor Mifsud is *NOT* A Russian Asset?…

Obviously the prior Washington Post effort to conflate the Durham investigation with the Horowitz investigation didn’t get the desired result. As a consequence it only took a few days before the Washington Post was back at it (Matt Zapotosky and Devlin Barrett again) to try obfuscation 2.0; this time with Joseph Mifsud.

For three years the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN have sold the FBI claim that Professor Joseph Mifsud was a Russian operative passing information about Clinton’s emails to George Papadopoulos.

That essential point underpins their defense of the predicate for the CIA and FBI to open the July 31st investigation of the Trump campaign. Again, for three years Joseph Mifsud was sold as a Russian operative; working on behalf of Russian interests.

That “Mifsud is a Russian asset” claim is the fulcrum of Crossfire Hurricane. Mifsud has to be a Russian asset, or else… George Papadopoulos talking to Australian Diplomat Alexander Downer about Mifsud is simply political gossip without merit, value or bearing.

The key point is Mifsud has to be a Russian operative in order for all of the downstream FBI activity to be justified. If Mifsud ain’t Russian, the CIA and FBI have a problem.

It doesn’t matter if Mifsud is Maltese, Taiwanese, Sicilian, Italian, British, Canadian, Chinese, or a half-breed Congolese migrant from Morocco… for the CIA and FBI justification to stick Professor Joseph Mifsud has to be a Russian operative.

Yet for some reason the PR outlet for the CIA and FBI are spending an inordinate amount of time trying to say Mifsud isn’t an American intelligence asset. A ridiculous amount of energy spent on a claim that no-one has ever made. The question remains: Is Joseph Mifsud a Russian Operative?

If no, the CIA and FBI have a world of sh!t on their hands. Period.

Allah Pundit, at Hot Air, IG Has No Evidence From Durham That Mifsud Was A U.S. Asset — But Does Have Evidence That FBI Omitted Concerns About Dossier From FISA Applications

WaPo claims Horowitz reached out to Durham — and other U.S. intelligence agencies — wanting to know if Trumpist suspicions about the mysterious Joseph Mifsud were correct. Is he actually an asset of western, not Russian, intelligence agencies, a man who duped poor George Papadopoulos into believing that Russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton? If Mifsud was working for the U.S. or a U.S. ally, that would lead to the hair-raising question of whether Team Trump was deliberately set up by the “deep state.” There was no Russia plot, just the nefarious CIA or whoever wanting the FBI to think there was a Russia plot in hopes that they’d start sniffing around Trump and raising public suspicions about his connections to the Kremlin. It worked like a charm.

And Hot Air cites the paywalled WSJ, IG Report Details Problems Between FBI And Justice Department

Attorney General William Barr has told associates he believes the inspector general examined too narrow a set of questions to be able to draw any sweeping conclusions, people familiar with the matter said.

Specifically, Mr. Barr doesn’t believe the inspector general is in a position to draw a conclusion about whether the FBI was justified in opening an investigation into ties between several Trump associates and Russia by looking only at the FBI’s decisions. He has appointed Connecticut’s U.S. attorney, John Durham, to conduct a broader investigation, including into the actions of the nation’s intelligence agencies, that seeks to answer that question.

Mr. Barr has also openly lamented that the inspector general was limited in the kind of information he was able to obtain—a prosecutor for example, can use subpoenas if there is evidence of a crime while the inspector general relies mostly on voluntary cooperation.

Newsweek complains that RUSH LIMBAUGH CALLS DOJ INSPECTOR GENERAL A 'DEEP STATER,' 'SWAMPIST' OVER TRUMP-RUSSIA REPORT. We'll see. I think he's honest, but pulling punches at DOJ out of "professional courtesy."

Also from Hot Air, CNN whines that Former Official Says Trump Often Refused To Believe His Intelligence Briefings. Because they have such a history of being correct.

From Stacy McCain, Pedophiles for Hillary: Mueller Source Indicted for Campaign Finance Fraud. Remember the Mueller Report? That didn't go anywhere? Ace does, Convicted Pedophile and Star Informant for Robert Mueller Now Indicted for Funneling Millions in Illegal Campaign

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Hillary Clinton's Campaign

In the Ukrainian follies, Politico pushes the discredited (or is that debunked?) theory that Ukraine didn't meddle in the 2016 election in Folksy John Kennedy gets serious pushback on Ukraine mess, while WaPoo reports that Ukraine lawmaker seeking Biden probe meets with Giuliani in Kyiv. And the NYT, cited at HA, Giuliani, Facing Scrutiny, Travels To Europe To Interview Ukrainians  So is that supposed to be a crime? Vanity Fair pushes “Trump Was Pissed”: Rudy Given Fox Time-Out After “Insurance” Diss