Russiagate Delayed is not Russiagate Denied

Seeing as how it was headed to nearly 100 F today, and the low tide was early, we decided to walk early (more later maybe), but we're back, so it's time to deal with yesterdays bounty of Russiagate.

First off, back to the "newest" arena: From Anders Hagstrom at Da Caller, US Intelligence Says Leak Of Russian Bounty Story Was ‘A Crime,’ Jeopardized Investigation. Yes, it was and it did. For example, John Sexton at Hot Air (VIP) writes An Afghan Contractor Was Identified As Middle-Man Handing Out Russian Bonuses For Killing American Soldiers. And who wants to talk to US intelligence when they can't keep a secret?

Via the Wombat' In The Mailbox: 07.02.20 Da Lid has Schiff’s Staff Briefed On Russia “Bounty” Intel In February – And Did Nothing  and from Breitbart,  a Report that Schiff Learned of Russian Bounty Allegations in February and Took No Action. It appears as though Schiff runs a parallel intelligence agency using discarded and disgruntled left wing apparatchiks. And he was content to hold this for an opportune time.

Town Hall,  Robert O'Brien: There's a Reason President Trump Wasn't Briefed on the Russia-Taliban Story

According to National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, President Trump was never briefed on the situation because the intelligence had not been confirmed.

"When it comes to the briefing, that's another false story. I'm somewhat surprised that the New York Times ran with that story," O'Brien told "Fox and Friends" on Wednesday. "The president was not briefed because, at the time of these allegations, they were uncorroborated. The DOD has come out, Secretary Esper on a prior segment just said that it was uncorroborated, the intelligence community did not have a consensus, and, as a result, the president's career CIA briefer decided not to brief him because it was unverified intelligence."

O'Brien praised the CIA briefer's decision not to brief Trump based on the facts and evidence surrounding the case.

"Sadly, because of the leak it may now become an impossible effort to get to the bottom of this, to get to the truth of the matter, and it's one of the very sad things," he explained. "We were working very hard on this matter and it may be impossible to get to the bottom of it because someone decided to leak to hurt the president rather than uphold their obligations to the American people they took when they became an intelligence officer or government employee."

Fox,  Gang of Eight briefed by intelligence chiefs on Russia bounty allegations. Meh, a useless bunch. Reactions fall on party lines for the most part. Matt Margolis at PJ Media recounts how Susan Rice Accidentally Proved Barack Obama (Not Trump) Is Guilty of Dereliction of Duty

While the evidence is clear that President Trump didn’t ignore the uncorroborated and disputed intelligence about alleged Russian bounties on U.S. troops, we do know that President Obama was repeatedly briefed about the rise of ISIS, but failed to respond to this intelligence.

Is it possible Obama didn’t see the intel? It’s theoretically possible he missed multiple warnings. According to a former aide in the Obama administration, Obama got all his intelligence briefings in writing. “And it’s well-understood why,” explained the aide. “No one sits and watches him read them, and no one can come back later and tell Congress in a closed session that ‘I told the president this specific thing was likely to happen.'”

Capt. Ed at Hot Air, Checkmate? SCOTUS Locks Up Mueller Grand-Jury Testimony Until 2021 … At Earliest.  WaFreeBee, In Setback for Democrats, Supreme Court Will Hear Case On Sealed Mueller Evidence, and the WaPoo whines Supreme Court will hear arguments over Mueller’s secret evidence, a delay for House Democrats investigating President Trump

The decision to hear the case next fall keeps the information from the House Judiciary Committee at least until after the election. A lower court ruled that the committee was entitled to see the previously withheld material from Mueller’s probe, which also investigated whether President Trump obstructed the special counsel’s work.

But even if the justices were to affirm the lower court, it is highly unlikely their decision could come before the end of the current congressional term in January.

Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said he was disappointed the court agreed to the Trump administration’s request to review the lower court, adding that Attorney General William P. Barr had reversed long-standing Justice Department practice in opposing release of the material.

From Julie Kelly at AmGreat,  Ben Sasse Rescues Obamagate Conspirators

. . . thanks to opposition from his own party, Graham had to postpone a vote to issue the subpoenas until next week. Senate Democrats successfully hijacked the discussion to instead vent about police brutality and racism. “Instead of engaging in political partisan gains on behalf of this president what the American people want this committee to do is to be relevant to why they are shouting and marching and crying in the streets of our country,” California Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) scolded Thursday morning. “I would dare say the conversation we are having today is irrelevant to what…is happening on the streets of America today.”

Senator Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) shared Harris’ disinterest in Graham’s attempt to call ObamaGate accomplices to account. Sasse, who has been silent on this unprecedented abuse of federal power against a political foe despite his spot on the Judiciary committee, ranted that “some of us have other work to do” and asked how much longer the meeting would last. “It’s bullshit the way people grandstand for cameras in here,” Sasse scolded. “The Senate doesn’t work…ninety percent of our committees are about people trolling for soundbites.” (Sasse gave a similar dramatic, weepy monologue to an empty Senate chamber during the Kavanaugh-Ford debacle in 2018.)

Sasse’s brief tirade was his only contribution to the meeting; he didn’t even bother attending Rosenstein’s 3-hour testimony on Wednesday. The Nebraska Republican spent more time authoring a statement to condemn the president’s “photo op” at St. John’s this week than he did exposing corrupt Obama-era Democrats.

AllahPundit at Hot Air wonders  Does It Mean Something That The SDNY’s Public Corruption Unit Is Handling Ghislaine Maxwell’s Case?

So maybe the Maxwell case was handed to the PCU early in the belief that it might eventually implicate a public official. But that doesn’t mean that it has, or will. They might be staying with the case simply because they’re more familiar with the facts and the law at this point than any other office in the building.

Naturally lefties are pointing a finger at Trump today while righties are pointing a finger at Bill Clinton. The talented Mr. Epstein was a known associate of not one but two U.S. presidents, after all. But if there’s a “public official” at risk here, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s Trump or Clinton. Remember that Epstein was pursued by the feds in 2007 for sex crimes and somehow ended up with a deal so insanely favorable that it might pose a problem for prosecuting Maxwell.

That deal was upheld by a federal appellate court a few months ago, with the judges describing Epstein’s case as a “national disgrace.” The deal purported to guarantee federal immunity to Epstein *and* his co-conspirators, which would include Maxwell. Prosecutors will argue that the agreement covers only the Florida district where it was signed, not the SDNY, but there was language in it about “global” immunity. Does that mean Maxwell’s untouchable in New York too?
. . .
There’d better be a platoon of Marines stationed outside Maxwell’s cell making sure no one lays a hand on her, including herself. If she ends up hanging herself, whatever traces of trust in public institutions that are left in this country will go up in smoke. In lieu of an exit question, enjoy this, which is weird even by the standards of 2020. Looks nothing like him, by the way.

This may have less to do with the relative morality of this or any other administration than the breakup of the defensive box formation the elites used to fly in. https://t.co/kCCBBCcZQS

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) July 3, 2020

There has been some suspicion that head of SDNY Berman was moved out to make way for the Maxwell trial.