Russiagate Languishing, Waiting for Durham

It's been almost two weeks  since we last took up the greatest scandal in American history, the unjustified use of the nation's investigative and intelligence arms to attempt to, first, prevent the election, and second, having failed, block to agenda of, and third, attempt to remove from office, a duly elected President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. With the Democrats now (barely) clinging to power atop the executive and legislative branches of government, the investigation has slowed to an imperceptible crawl. 

Brian Joondeph at Am Think, No Storm, No Reckoning, No Nothing

The spygate coconspirators are all running free, with university teaching appointments or cable news gigs, some worming their way back into the Biden administration, like John Carlin, who lied to the FISA court, and is now back at main Justice.

The sole indictment was Kevin Clinesmith, a low level FBI attorney who fabricated evidence, and only received probation. Some reckoning.

There is no shadow Trump government, controlled by the military, under devolution or secret executive orders. Deep state actors are not at Gitmo or appearing in public as body doubles or CGI creations. No one is wearing an ankle bracelet.

Biden and the Democrats are running the show, his feebleness of mind and body on full display, mocking Trump and his supporters as losers to a Chauncey Gardiner president. They opened the southern border floodgates, transforming America as Obama promised, pushing the great reset with little if any pushback from elected Republicans.

The longer this goes on, damaging and socializing the country, the harder it will be to stop or reverse. Are we still to “trust the plan”?

Trust no one. Chuck Ross at Da Caller,  With GOP Out Of Power, This Federal Lawsuit Is One Of The Last Remaining Hopes To Settle Dossier Mysteries

One lawsuit pending in federal court holds some promise for closure about the dossier.

The three owners of a bank in Russia, Alfa Bank, filed a defamation lawsuit in October 2017 against Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm that commissioned the dossier.

The lawsuit has been mired in legal fights between lawyers for Fusion GPS and the bankers, Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan. But the lawsuit has recently entered the discovery phase, which could shake loose additional details about the dossier.

In a federal court filing this week, lawyers for the Russian bankers revealed that they have submitted subpoenas for 22 people, including David Corn, Michael Isikoff and Eric Lichtblau, three prominent journalists who wrote about possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

How dare you demand a journolist tell the truth in court under penalty of law; they're above such tawdry justice. Paul Sperry at Da Fed,  This Russiagate FBI Analyst Couldn’t Verify Anything In The Steele Dossier Yet Said Nothing For Years "FBI Director Christopher Wray has kept Brian Auten in his job at the bureau, where he continues to work at headquarters as a supervisory intelligence analyst." Just Doing his job. Ashe Schow at Da Wire, The FBI Is Now Mainly A Weapon Against Republicans.

The latest example relates to an FBI investigation into a political ally of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), during which allegations were made against Gaetz accusing him of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, whom he allegedly paid to travel with him. The New York Times reported on the investigation, quoting three, anonymous “people briefed” on the investigation. Gaetz has denied the allegations. Maybe there’s something there and maybe there isn’t, but no matter the outcome, the way the investigation was reported appeared, at least in part, politically motivated.

RedState’s Bonchie addressed the problematic aspects of the Times’ recent Gaetz piece:

Really, it should bother everyone, no matter their feelings on Gaetz, that the FBI can just leak something like this, to attack someone in such a blatantly political way. When you are facing an anonymous allegation, you can’t respond to it in any effective manner. Just last night, the reporter behind the Times story appeared on Rachel Maddow’s show and countered Gaetz’s claim about the man he named, yet she did so offering no proof whatsoever. These games are rigged, and you aren’t supposed to be able to defend yourself.

This is the same tactic media outlets took during the FBI’s investigation into whether former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia to “steal” the election. That investigation ultimately found no evidence of such collusion, but that didn’t stop media outlets from publishing thousands of articles over a two-year period featuring quotes from “sources familiar with the matter.”

I'm still waiting for the FBI to leak on the "Hunter Laptop" investigation. Dan Chaitin at WaEx, Rod Rosenstein takes 'wait and see' approach on whether Crossfire Hurricane was justified. If there was ever evidence it was justified, we'd have seen it by now. 

But wait! From Jerry Dunleavy at WaEx, John Durham issuing subpoenas and interviewing witnesses. "issuing subpoenas and interviewing witnesses", where have I heard that before? Oh, right, Mueller. 

John Solomon at JTN highlights Disparate treatment in two fund-raising fraud cases renews debate over dual Justice system "Nigerian Clinton foundation donor gets deferred prosecution deal, Trump inauguration donor gets 12 years in prison in eerily similar cases." Similarly from Jim Hoft at Gateway, Lovely Former HUD Official Lynne Patton Charged with Violating Hatch Act for Speaking at 2020 RNC — Something SIX Obama Officials Did at the 2012 DNC (VIDEO) But, but . . . reasons!

The Peacock struts, NY prosecutors subpoena Trump Organization exec’s bank records in criminal probe, report says. Dan Chaitin again, Mueller investigator assisting New York prosecutors in Trump Organization case: Report. Clearly, he has a record of failure. 

Sundance at CTH, Lawfare – New York Prosecutors Subpoena the Personal Bank Records of Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer – The Intent is To Find a Way, a Backdoor, to Destroy Donald Trump

Let’s be clear about the motives of a fully weaponized DOJ here. The DOJ is looking for any way to destroy Donald J Trump. As long as he exists in the sphere of political influence, he represents a risk to their objectives.

Direct targeting of Donald Trump has not succeeded. Direct attacks against Donald Trump and his organization and personal finances have not succeeded. The DOJ is not getting the results they need…. So now they need a backdoor, some leverage, from somewhere, anywhere, where they can use that leverage to destroy their enemy. THAT is what’s going on.

NEW YORK – New York state prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed the personal bank records of the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer in the investigation into former President Trump and his company, The New York Times reports.

Prosecutors are reportedly looking into gifts Allen Weisselberg, who has been with the Trump Organization for decades, and his family received from Trump. The CFO has not been accused of any criminal activity, noted The Times, which reported earlier this month that the investigation was shifting its focus to Weisselberg.

Sundance also reports Stephen Miller Launches MAGA-Minded Legal Network to Counter Democrat Lawfare Group

Mr. Miller, an architect of the last administration’s restrictive immigration policies and a leading backer of its socially conservative initiatives, is launching this week a new organization, America First Legal, to challenge Biden administration initiatives at odds with Trump-era priorities.

“Anything the president does that we believe to be illegal is fair game,” he said.

[…] The group, Mr. Miller said, would tap into the expertise of Trump administration lawyers, work with Republican state attorneys general and partner with lawyers around the country who need legal and financial resources for their cases.

The group also has broader ambitions, Mr. Miller said, to eventually get involved in litigation that goes beyond the Biden administration, including to support police officers, go after big tech companies and take on other business interests whose positions run counter to those he embraced in the White House.

Turn about is fair play. Expect Democrats and the media to pretend otherwise.