Russiagate, Rerereclaiming My Time

It's been a while, and there's been a reasonable amount of material caught in the drain. Let's check it out.

From Kash's Korner at ET, More Indictments Are Coming; Unraveling the Origins of the Russia Collusion Hoax

“When you issue an indictment for lying to the FBI, like they did [Michael] Sussmann, it’s two to five pages max. It’s unheard of to be 27 pages. So why put all that information out there?” It’s “the biggest signal that more is coming,” says Kash Patel.

I've heard that argument before. I hope it's right.  Kash Patel to Newsmax: Durham's Subpoenas Show He's Following the Money. And the money flowed from the Clinton campaign through Perkins Coie to Steel and his phony sources, Nellie Ohr and lots of other malefactors. At Da Blaze, Special Counsel John Durham investigating Pentagon cybersecurity contractors in Russiagate origins probe, and Per Paul Sperry at RCI, Durham Probes Pentagon Computer Contractors in Anti-Trump Conspiracy

Durham is investigating whether they were involved in a scheme to misuse sensitive, nonpublic Internet data, which they had access to through their government contracts, to dredge up derogatory information on Trump on behalf of the Clinton campaign in 2016 and again in 2017, sources say — political dirt that sent FBI investigators on a wild goose chase. Prosecutors are also investigating whether some of the data presented to the FBI was faked or forged.

George Perry at Am Spec speculates about  John Durham and the Mysterious DNC Email Hack "If as is likely the DNC’s server wasn’t hacked by the Russians, who was behind the inside job and why?" You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!

Why would the DNC, the purported victim of a crime, refuse to fully cooperate with law enforcement in solving that crime? Was it hiding something? Was it afraid the server’s contents would discredit the Russia-hacking story? Why, instead of full and complete cooperation with the FBI, was the DNC having CrowdStrike and Perkins Coie run the investigation and, in effect, filter and control the flow of information regarding the server’s contents to the FBI?

The answers to those questions began to emerge thanks to an article in the August 8, 2017 issue of the Nation. By no means a pro-Trump publication, the Nation published an exhaustive report about an exacting forensic investigation of the DNC hack by the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), an organization of former CIA, FBI, National Security Agency, and military intelligence officers, technical experts, and analysts.
. . .
VIPS concluded that the DNC data were not hacked by the Russians or anyone else accessing the server over the internet. Instead, the data were downloaded by means of a thumb drive or similar portable storage device physically attached to the DNC server.

How was this determined? The time stamps contained in the released computer files’ metadata established that at 6:45 P.M. on July 5, 2016, 1,976 megabytes (not megabits) of data were downloaded from the DNC’s server. This took 87 seconds, which means the transfer rate was 22.7 megabytes per second, a speed, according to VIPS, that “is much faster than what is physically possible with a hack.” Such a speed could be accomplished only by direct connection of a portable storage device to the server. Accordingly, VIPS concluded that the DNC data theft was an inside job by someone with physical access to the server.

VIPS also found that, if there had been a hack, the NSA would have a record of it that could quickly be retrieved and produced. But no such evidence has been forthcoming. Can this be because no hack occurred?

Roger L. Simon. To Save America, Durham Must Reveal The Whole Russiagate Story And Punish the Guilty. Unfortunately, I still doubt Durham's ability get get convictions in a DC or NoVa courtroom. Still, airing the facts would be helpful. Watch Merrick Garland suppress that.

HE recites the facts that show Efforts to Spread Trump Russia Hoax Went Beyond FBI, CIA to Senate. McCain and Romney were up to their necks in them. Paul Sperry at Am Great, Biden Security Adviser Jake Sullivan Tied to Alleged 2016 Clinton Scheme to Co-Opt the CIA and FBI to Tar Trump, "The ties between Joe Biden and Jake Sullivan, the White House Security Adviser now indicted by John Durham’s grand jury." I don't see where Sullivan was actually "indicted" in court. But he should be.

From NYPo, Ex-NSC official admits it unlikely Russia had blackmail info on Trump. Fiona Hill. 

Kaelen Deese at WaEx, Adam Schiff claims Robert Mueller suffering 'heartbreaking' cognitive decline. Yep, it was elder abuse to put him up on the stand in front of Congress. Not to mention the Andy Weissman and his cohorts were actually running the operation. More at the Western Journal, Schiff Knew Mueller Was Suffering from Cognitive Decline, Decided to Dumb Down Questions Instead of Dismissing Him. Even with simple questions, he didn't seem to have the answers they were looking for.

JC Adams at PJ Media, The Mob Attacking Trump's Lawyer Is More Dangerous Than Anything John Eastman Is Accused of Doing. His crime? Defending the, in their minds) indefensible. 

Russiagate: Bruce Ohr Slides Out the Back, Jack

 As noted yesterday, the unmasking probe is dead, Jim. Capt. Ed at Hot Air, Harbinger? DoJ’s “Unmasking” Probe Goes Nowhere and the nominally conservative anti-Trump Bulwark Boyz couldn't be happier, Trump’s Great “Unmasking” Hoax Is Finally Dead "Another “Deep State” non-scandal goes down the memory hole."

Which leaves Trump feeling less than sanguine about Bill Barr, as AllahPundit at Hot Air whines “I’m Not Happy”: Trump Won’t Commit To Bringing Back Bill Barr In Second Term and Christian Datoc at Da Caller, Trump Isn’t Ruling Out Replacing Bill Barr In A Second Term: ‘I’m Not Happy With All The Evidence I Have’. Me neither, but unless you make Ric Grenell AG, Bill's the best your likely to get. Meanwhile, Bloomberg complains Trump Presses Loyal Pompeo, Barr for Dirt to Use Against Biden. Id be more upset if the Obama administration hadn't used to full power of DOJ, FBI, CIA etc to try to torpedo Trump. 

Speaking of which, while nobody was looking, Bruce Ohr, from DOJ, deeply enmeshed in the Spygate game, snuck out of the back door of the department while nobody was looking, a day before he was going to be fired. I suspect Barr had a role in that. Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Bruce Ohr Resigns From Justice Department,  Sundance at CTH, The Laundry Operation – Bruce Ohr Left DOJ Shortly Before Being Terminated: Likely in July…  and Fox, Russia probe figure Bruce Ohr retired from DOJ as disciplinary review decision loomed, spokeswoman says

Bruce Ohr, a Justice Department official demoted in 2017 following the revelation of his meetings with anti-Trump dossier figure Christopher Steele, retired in late September while awaiting a "final decision on a disciplinary review," a department spokeswoman told Fox News on Wednesday.

Fox News first reported that Ohr was demoted from his senior position at the Justice Department following the revelation of his meetings with ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, of which his superiors at the DOJ were unaware.

“Bruce Ohr retired from the Department of Justice on Sept. 30, 2020. As such, he is no longer an employee of the department,” Justice Department spokesperson Kerri Kupec said in a statement. “Mr. Ohr retired after his counsel was informed that a final decision on a disciplinary review being conducted by department senior career officials was imminent.”

SCOOP: A person familiar with the matter tells @CBSNews that Bruce Ohr is no longer working at DOJ. He resigned the day before he was going to be terminated by DOJ over his conduct cited in IG Horowitz report. Ohr was faulted for becoming a kind of backchannel linking dossier

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) October 14, 2020

Ace, Disgraced FusionGPS Accomplice Bruce Ohr Resigns From the Justice Department -- Just As He's About to be Fired, Following a Disciplinary Review "He was the guy who illegally back-channeled FusionGPS Russian-agent-sourced bullshit to the FBI, and then lied about that to investigators." 

Gee, I wonder if he'll just immediately start working for the Democrat-Shadow Government Complex, like all other criminal government officials wind up doing.


The Democrat Party is like the mafia -- if one of its soldiers goes down, they immediately find a no-show job for him in one of their many shell companies.

And so how did we come to find out now? Sundance provides a clue: Senate Intel Committee Releases FBI Interview Notes of Bruce Ohr – Nellie Ohr Thumb Drive Likely Connected to Circular Verification of Dossier…

First, the timing, content and sequence of the specific documents being released are interesting. Almost like someone is paying attention. The original release of the Bruce Ohr 302 interview notes was in August 2019 to Judicial Watch. The release today is of the same information in a better quality.

Secondly, in both sets of released documents the name Dan Jones has been redacted. It appears the redaction is made under the auspices of “sources and methods”; however, Jones was a former SSCI lead staffer, so the redaction appears to be one of institutional concern and self-preservation.

The last interview of Bruce Ohr (May 15th, 2017) took place two days prior to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Throughout the interviews Bruce was acting as the go-between from his both his wife Nellie at Fusion-GPS and Fusion’s contract agent Christopher Steele.

Third, The content of the December 2016 thumb-drive given to Bruce by Nellie is discussed within the interview notes but not released.

Why? Possibility/Probability:

(A) The Nellie research will align almost identically with the content of the Dossier; and (B) the Nellie research was used as verification of the dossier itself. See the recent release of verification documents. [SEE HERE] In essence the source information for the Dossier was used to validate the dossier conclusions…

….It’s the same damn material. That’s why Nellie Ohr took the Fusion-GPS header off the top of the material she provided.

And a revelation from the giant spreadsheet the FBI assembled in vainly trying to verify the contents of the Steele Dossier, from Chuck Ross at Da Caller, FBI Cited Tweet From DNC Operative’s Sister In Analysis Of The Steele Dossier’s Trump Sex Tape Claim

FBI analysts relied on a tweet from the sister of a DNC operative as part of its analysis into the Steele dossier’s most explosive allegation: that the Kremlin was blackmailing Donald Trump with a videotape of him with prostitutes in Russia.

An FBI spreadsheet declassified last week and released on Monday shows that investigators cited an allegation from author and activist Andrea Chalupa.

Chalupa’s sister, Alexandra Chalupa, was a contractor for the Democratic National Committee through at least June 2016. The two sisters have been staunch critics of President Trump, and have helped push the since-debunked allegation that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election.

And an interesting twitter thread from Steven McIntyre at Climate Audit,  

like many readers, I'm reading and dismayed by the FBI spreadsheet purportedly summarizing their analysis of Steele dossier. scribd.com/document/47978…

if incompetence, laziness and stupidity were crimes, then Comey's "right people" would all be in jail long ago.

Jordan Davidson at Da Fed, Taking Saudi And Chinese Cash? You Won’t Be Advising Trump’s State Department Anymore. Bummer!

CNN has the story of yet another failed attempt to get Trump: Exclusive: Feds chased suspected foreign link to Trump's 2016 campaign cash for three years. Three years of investigation, with no evidence. No evidence they ever looked for foreign cash in either of Obama's campaigns or in Hillary's. 

For more than three years, federal prosecutors investigated whether money flowing through an Egyptian state-owned bank could have backed millions of dollars Donald Trump donated to his own campaign days before he won the 2016 election, multiple sources familiar with the investigation told CNN.

The investigation, which both predated and outlasted special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, examined whether there was an illegal foreign campaign contribution. It represents one of the most prolonged efforts by federal investigators to understand the President's foreign financial ties, and became a significant but hidden part of the special counsel's pursuits.

The investigation was kept so secret that at one point investigators locked down an entire floor of a federal courthouse in Washington, DC, so Mueller's team could fight for the Egyptian bank's records in closed-door court proceedings following a grand jury subpoena. The probe, which closed this summer with no charges filed, has never before been described publicly.

Prosecutors suspected there could be a link between the Egyptian bank and Trump's campaign contribution, according to several of the sources, but they could never prove a connection.

 And Jerry Lambe at Law and Crime (one of the Lawfare group) thinks that DOJ Admits to Federal Court That Trump Lied to His Supporters on Twitter About Declassifying All Russia Docs

Well, at this point on a usual day of Russiagate, I might have a couple of links regarding the Joe and Hunter Biden Burisma Ukrainian scandal, but as you may know, that blew up yesterday, and left me with more than a page of links, and is well worthy of another post. 

Getting Down to Russiagate and Shampeachment

I suppose I must, at least as long as the coffee holds out.

First, via the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 01.24.20, EBL wonders about Obama Administration's Fraudulent FISA Warrants? How is this not a bigger news story? 👨‍⚖️. I think that's a rhetorical title question. Sundance at CTH provides an example of why, CNN Journalist Who Pushed Original Dossier Story Now Covers Invalid FISA Application That Relied on Dossier…. It's just like the past never happened!

Greg Re at Fox reports how Dem impeachment witness Vindman unloads on Blackburn as Dems wrap 3rd day of Trump's trial. Wrapped himself in the flag, as you might expect. Elizabeth Vaughn at Red State, If Eric Ciaramella is the ‘Whistleblower’, Then He, IG Michael Atkinson and Adam Schiff Must Be Questioned Under Oath Right Away. Yep, count me among the people who want witnesses; just maybe not the witness Democrats demand.

More amusement from Avenatti from the Tax Prof Blog, Michael Avenatti Arrested By IRS Agents, Accused Of Committing More Financial Crimes While Out On Bail. Hey, remember when CNN was touting him as a Democrat presidential candidate? Why not, at least he's openly a crooked lawyer.

At CTH, Jay Sekulow bridges the gap between Spygate and Shampeachment, Jay Sekulow Presser: Defense Begins Saturday 10am With Three Hour Preview – And Don’t Forget Nellie Ohr…



Schiff and Nadler were going along swimmingly, until Schiff claimed Trump threatened to put Republican senators heads on pikes, and Nadler called Trump a dictator. Town Hall, WATCH: Schiff Alienates Key Senators With Quote About GOP Heads 'on a Pike'.  AllahPundit at Hot Air thinks it was Steve Bannon. Politico, Republicans livid after Schiff cites supposed threat to GOP senators.

"I thought he was doing fine with moral courage until he got to the head on a pike. That's where he lost me ... he's a good orator," said the Alaska Republican, whose vote is crucial in the Democrat’s push to subpoena new witnesses and documents in the trial. "You've got to give him that. And he was moving right along with good oratory ... it was just unnecessary."

Alhouse, I need to get up to speed on the "head on a pike" story.

I'm trying to read "Schiff refers to CBS 'head on pike' story, infuriating GOP: 'Every one of us knows it is not true'" (Fox News), "Schiff sparks blowback with head on a 'pike' line" (The Hill), "GOP senators incensed by Schiff’s ‘head on a pike’ remark" (AP).

Did Adam Schiff make up another quote?!

CNS News, Schiff Tells Senators: Hope ‘You Don’t Choose Imprisonment’ Over Paying Attention at Impeachment Trial 

Rep. Zeldin reacted to Schiff’s comment by tweeting that Schiff isn’t helping his cause by making such remarks:

“Adam Schiff kicks off Day 3 of the Senate impeachment trial threatening Senators with imprisonment. Not sure what he’s worse at: reading his audience or telling jokes. Either way he is not helping his cause.”

Capt. Ed at Hot Air, Camerota: Maybe Schiff Shouldn’t Have Insulted Republicans, Either

As for Nadler, ‘Stunned’ Sen. Collins objected to Nadler’s impeachment accusation in note to Roberts. “I took it as offensive,” she told reporters Wednesday. “As one who is listening attentively and working hard to get a fair process, I was offended.” I don't think that helps win her vote on witnesses. Matthew Continenti at the WaFreeBee, Nadler’s Folly, Impeachment's target audience isn't moderate Republicans. It's left-wing Democrats.  Via Insty

Would a “dictator” allow himself to be impeached on grounds he finds scurrilous. Trump has routinely been subverted and undermined by his own subordinates. This is so moronic. https://t.co/pr8CiANFjj

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) January 25, 2020

Ace, Lisa Murkowski: Why are the Democrat House Managers Demanding That We Go Through the Hassle of Calling Witnesses Whom They Themselves Refused to Call?, and Joni Ernst: I'm Tired of Liberal House Mangers Lecturing Us About the Ukraine When Four of Them Repeatedly Voted Against Providing Ukraine with Lethal Aid. Yep.

Sen. @JoniErnst NAILS it. pic.twitter.com/JdrF1CYHA3

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 24, 2020

Peter Hasson at Da Caller, Putin ‘Owns Donald Trump,’ Says MSNBC Analyst Claire McCaskill

CNS News, Jim Jordan has Jim Jordan: ‘7 Important Things’ Schiff ‘Had Exactly Wrong’ - and ‘We’re Supposed to Believe Him?’

Schiff:

1. "More than circumstantial evidence" of collusion
2. Nunes memo was false
3. FISA process was fine
4. The "Whistleblower" would testify
5. "We haven't spoken... with the 'Whistleblower'"
6. Parodied @POTUS' call
7. "Mr. Z" referred to Zelensky

But today we're supposed to trust him?

Bob Fredericks at NYPo, Trump impeachment: Democrats push obstruction charge in last day of arguments. Generally agreed to be a bullshit charge. From Tyler O'Neil at PJ Media, Jonathan Turley: Dems Have to Scrap Half of Impeachment to Have a Prayer at Getting Witnesses. He proposes to trade a dismissal of the Obstruction of Congress charge for witness for the Abuse of Power charge. CNN liberal hack Manu Raju, Senate GOP uses Trump's executive privilege threat as rallying cry against subpoenas. At Roll Call, Executive privilege standoff could roil Trump impeachment trial timeline.

Evidence that the public is tuning out? NYPo, Trump impeachment: Half-empty spectator gallery puzzles senators, but at least some people are taking it seriously, Ace, Man Chokes His Girlfriend When She Complains That She's Tired of Watching the Impeachment Trial; Another Man Murders His Pro-Trump Boss, and AllahPundit sadly reports ABC/WaPo: Trump Climbs To Highest Job Approval Rating Of His Presidency Amid Impeachment Trial "Impeachment is just … there. Not really good for him, not really bad. It’s just sort of what’s on TV this week." Althouse catches WaPoo shading the truth in "President Trump’s approval rating has climbed to match the highest of his presidency, boosted by majority approval of his economic stewardship..."  Meanwhile, the AP whines Study links impeachment beliefs to regular news diets, prescribing a stiff dose of MSNBC for conservatives.

McClatchy whines Hardball tactics from his classic playbook: On impeachment, McConnell ‘plays to win’ How dare Republicans not roll over and die for us! And at the Atlantic, The Democrats Are Letting Roberts Off Too Easily "By doing nothing to ensure that Trump’s trial gets at the truth, the chief justice is taking a side. And the Democrats are just watching him do it." He's doing nothing and doing it well, just like his mentor, CJ Rehnquist.

SF Gate cites WaPoo in Democrats have a new impeachment hero: Fox News analyst Andrew Napolitano

Politico writes about What Republicans want to hear from Trump's lawyers.

"The president’s team ... has never presented its case since it did not do so in the House,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key swing vote. “Unlike the House managers, who partially presented when the motions were being debated, the president’s attorneys chose not to do that. It’s not finished yet ... so it’s difficult to judge."

Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said he hopes Trump’s team will present a "fact-based" defense that counters the Democrats' case. “I assume at some point they're going to feature [Alan] Dershowitz and Ken Starr, people like that and talk about impeachment in the broader context of what that threshold is,” he said.

Gaining bonus points for brevity? Althouse, "President Trump's team is considering using just a portion of the 24 hours they're given for arguments in his impeachment trial...."

Axios reports.

A truncated defense would likely reflect a decision not to contest facts or defend Trump point by point, but rather to try to diminish the legitimacy of Democrats' overall case and end the trial as quickly as possible.How many "points" are there? Seems to me — and I'm listening to precious little of the proceedings — that the Democrats have been repeating themselves quite a bit.

 A former TV star, the Donald is exquisitely sensitive to how and whem things are portrayed on TV.

After having been treated unbelievably unfairly in the House, and then having to endure hour after hour of lies, fraud & deception by Shifty Schiff, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer & their crew, looks like my lawyers will be forced to start on Saturday, which is called Death Valley in T.V.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2020

Could that have been part of the Democrat plan? They're evil, not stupid. Insty, SPOILER: IT WON’T BE.

What do you think the second term Trump impeachment will be for? I sure hope it’s more exciting and better concocted than this one.

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) January 24, 2020

Also via Wombat's In The Mailbox: 01.24.20, a plethora of shampeachment links. Twitchy: Just When You Thought The Dems’ Impeachment Trial Arguments Couldn’t Get More Desperate & Unhinged, American Thinker: Sharyl Atkisson Speaks Out, Don Surber: The Fourth Anniversary Of National Review‘s Suicide, also, NYT Rushes To Save Quid Pro Joe, Joe For America: NY Post Reports Giuliani To Go Public With Biden Corruption Evidence, JustOneMinute: Send Better Investigators – Or Newer Clowns, Power Line: WaPo Columnist Blames Chief Justice Roberts For “Impeachment Mess”, The Political Hat: Firing Line Friday – Implications Of Watergate, and Weasel Zippers: Glenn Beck Reads Letter From Biden Campaign Demanding Press Toe The Biden Line On Hunter, Ukraine, also, This Is What Media Bias Looks Like, Starring George Stephanopoulos

Matt Margolis, PJ Media, Biden Still in Denial, Says 'No One Has Suggested My Son Did Anything Wrong'. In fact, I agree, Hunter didn't do anything wrong by taking free money; Joe did something wrong by taking charge of Ukraine policy, and demanding the prosecutor be fired. If it was clear Biden wouldn't act on his behalf, Burisma wouldn't have hired Hunter.

WaPoo whines Trump’s defense team to target Bidens in counterpunch to impeachment charges Calls it "scorched earth."

Sundance, Rudy Giuliani: “I Won’t Stand By and Watch”….





Democrats are wetting their panties as ABC reports 'Take her out': Recording appears to capture Trump at private dinner saying he wants Ukraine ambassador fired. Of course, it wasn't until 14 months later she was dismissed. And they say he's impulsive.

Mike Pompeo has a spat with a reporter over Ukraine coverage: “Do You Think Americans Care About Ukraine?”

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly says the following happened after the interview in which she asked some tough questions to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. pic.twitter.com/cRTb71fZvX

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 24, 2020

Russiagate Rally

Whew, boy, did the stuff ever build up while I was out fishing! OK, let's start with what I now categorize as "Russiagate" proper, the original conspiracy to block Trump's election and subsequently to take out President Trump using the hoked up charge of collusion with the Ruskies. First, we go to The Last Tradition, who posts Judical Watch's latest findings, Judicial Watch Obtains Records Showing Contact Between Peter Strzok, Bruce Ohr That DOJ Claimed It Couldn't Find

And Michael Flynn's lawyer, Sidney Powell files a reply to DOJ's attempt to pooh pooh her recent filing regarding how Flynn was railroaded with invented crimes. Adam Mill at AmGreat, New Filing in Flynn Prosecution Casts Further Doubt on the Government’s Case. Much more, as usual by sundance at CTH, Reconstructing Justice – Flynn Defense Submits Outstanding Sur-Surreply to Counter Prosecution….

Flynn’s defense calls out the ridiculous. The prosecution argues it had no obligation to tell the target about any material favorable to the defense while the prosecution was piling-on pressure to generate a plea agreement. Then, once the plea was coerced, the prosecution claims they have no obligation to provide Brady material because the target signed a plea.

Apparently, according to DOJ,there was a nanosecond between the govt charging Flynn, and his guilty plea during which his previous defense was entitled to file for any exonerating material.Also from sundance,  Why John Brennan, Peter Strzok and DOJ Needed Julian Assange Arrested – And Why UK Officials Obliged…

The predicate for Robert Mueller’s investigation was specifically due to Russian interference in the 2016 election. The fulcrum for this Russia interference claim is the intelligence community assessment; and the only factual evidence claimed within the ICA is that Russia hacked the DNC servers; a claim only made possible by relying on forensic computer analysis from Crowdstrike, a DNC contractor.

The CIA holds a massive conflict of self-interest in upholding the Russian hacking claim. The FBI holds a massive interest in maintaining that claim. All of those foreign countries whose intelligence apparatus participated with Brennan and Strzok also have a vested self-interest in maintaining that Russia hacking and interference narrative.

Julian Assange is the only person with direct knowledge of how Wikileaks gained custody of the DNC emails; and Assange has claimed he has evidence it was not from a hack.

Margot Cleveland at Da Fed, SCOOP: CIA, FBI Informant Was Washington Post Source For Russiagate Smears

The Federalist has learned that the now-outed CIA and FBI informant Stefan Halper served as a source for Washington Post reporter David Ignatius, providing more evidence that the intelligence community has co-opted the press to push anti-Trump conspiracy theories. In addition, an email recently obtained by The Federalist from the MI5-connected Christopher Andrew bragging that his long-time friend Ignatius has the “‘inside track’ on Flynn” adds further confirmation of this conclusion.

Svetlana Lokhova, the Russian-born English citizen and Soviet-era scholar, told The Federalist that she only realized the significance of her communications with and about Ignatius following the filing of attorney Sidney Powell’s reply brief in the Michael Flynn case.

Jim Geraghty at NR gives John Durham glowing reviews in The Last Trusted Prosecutor in Washington, and a book review from AmThink, Lee Smith's Book Will Make Patriots' Blood Boil. At NyPo, Maria Butina blames ‘racism against Russians’ for her legal problems. I think she got a bad deal, but that's not why.

Onto the various misnamed "whistleblowers". From Nice Deb at AmGreat, Retired Army Officer Remembers Lt. Col. Vindman as Partisan Democrat Who Ridiculed America, Ace, Officer Who Served with Vindman Says Vindman Is a Partisan Globalist Democrat Who Would Casually Ridicule Americans as "Rednecks" to His Russian Counterparts. But guess which officer the MSM will choose to honor, and which to ridicule?

In an eye-opening thread on Twitter last week, retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Jim Hickman said that he “verbally reprimanded” Vindman after he heard some of his derisive remarks for himself. “Do not let the uniform fool you,” Hickman wrote. “He is a political activist in uniform.”

Hickman’s former boss at the Joint Multinational Simulation Center in Grafenwoehr has since gone on the record to corroborate his story. Hickman, 52, says he’s a disabled wounded warrior who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and who received numerous medals, including the Purple Heart.

The retired officer said that Vindman, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Ukraine, made fun of the United States to the point that it made other soldiers “uncomfortable.” For example, Hickman told American Greatness that he heard Vindman call Americans “rednecks”—a word that needed to be translated for the Russians. He said they all had a big laugh at America’s expense.

Via Town Hall, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy Has These Questions For Shifty Schiff About The Ukrainian Whistleblower. How much did you coordinate with Adam Schiff and his staff? Referring, of course, to the original, still nominally anonymous whistleblower, widely believed to be CIA "analyst" Eric Ciaramella. Gateway Pundit claims knowledge of Why Corrupt FBI Actors Strzok and Page Referred to Schiff’s Suspected ‘Whistleblower’ Eric Ciaramella as ‘Charlie’. Has he been in the conspiracy from the beginning? Looks like it. From Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Whistleblower Is Willing To Submit Written Answers To House Republicans, Lawyer Says. That's mighty white of him. Althouse, "Well, I’ll tell you what. There have been stories written about a certain individual, a male, and they say he’s the whistleblower."

"If he’s the whistleblower, he has no credibility because he’s a Brennan guy, he’s a Susan Rice guy, he’s an Obama guy. And he hates Trump. And he’s a radical. Now, maybe it’s not him. But if it’s him, you guys ought to release the information."

I'm beginning to think Adam Schiff was duped by Brennan loyalist Eric Ciaramella. He was promised a quid pro quo--then Trump released the transcript. They got nothing. Now Schiff is left holding the bag on the dumbest hoax since Jussie Smollett mugged himself w a Subway Sandwich.

— thebradfordfile™ (@thebradfordfile) November 4, 2019

And switching gears to an even earlier whistle blower, Chuck Ross reports DOJ Requests Information That Could Identify Trump Official Behind ‘Anonymous’ Op-Ed, and Roger L Simon (PJ Media) thinks The Cowardly 'Whistleblower' and 'Anonymous' Must Go Public.

And how could we go a day without more goodies from Joe Biden and Ukraine? A big one as John Solomon reports Hunter Biden’s Ukraine gas firm pressed Obama administration to end corruption allegations, memos show, and then, of course, Hunter's dad threatened to withhold billions in aid to Ukraine. Just a coinkydink, I'm sure. Sundance is all over it with Biden Lied – Emails Show Burisma Executives Leveraging Hunter Biden Membership as Pressure on U.S. State Dept. For Assistance in Removing Ukraine Corruption Probe…. Althouse goes to Scott Adams, "How would it be possible for a Ukraine investigation into Biden to be good for Trump politically unless it was also the kind of thing that voters in the United States would care about?"

"There were two potential outcomes of the requested Ukraine investigation on Biden. Either they would find nothing, or they would find behavior that voters in the United States need to know. Which of those two outcomes is the impeachable one?"

The WaPoo continues to whine about the treatment of their deep state allies in Former ambassador testifies she felt threatened by Trump’s comments about her, while sundance counters The Bloom is Off The Ruse – Marie Yovanovitch Transcript a Case Study in Narrative Construction…. More from sundance, Ukraine, Kerry and Quid-Pro-Joe: Steve Hilton -vs- Marie Harf



Chuck Ross, Da Caller, Giuliani Associate Will Cooperate With Democrats’ Impeachment Inquiry, and through Hot Air, NYT whines that Republicans Try New Response To Ukraine Call: Quid Pro Quo Isn’t Impeachable. Assuming the worst, that Trump thought Biden was guilty of corruption in Ukraine, and demanded an investigation as a price for aid (not in evidence yet), is this worse than Obama seeking to damage and oust Trump using the CIA, FBI, DoJ and State Dept?

A bunch of unsorted impeachment follies:

Poll: 59% Say Trump's Interactions with Ukraine Neither Illegal Nor Wrong

Schiff's Impeachment Train to Nowhere

Doing the Impeachment Math – American Greatness

Levin on House Democrats' impeachment effort: 'This entire thing is a sham' - Conservative Review

Nancy Pelosi’s Impeachment Banana Republic – American Greatness

Fox News Polls Show 49% Of Americans Want Impeachment, Democrats Beating Trump In General Election | The Daily Caller

Impeachment, Nunc Pro Tunc | The American Spectator

Donald Trump Versus ‘The Interagency Consensus’

The Military-Intelligence Complex – American Greatness

Chuck Todd: We asked voters about impeachment ... because we had to

Weaponizing Impeachment against Political Opponents

Sunday Talks: Jim Jordan -vs- Maria Bartiromo… | The Last Refuge

Trump's True Crime: He Made People Laugh at Congress | RealClearPolitics

Short: Democrats Doing Everything to Hand House Back to GOP in 2020

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Russiagate: Will McCabe Be Prosecuted?

It's shaping up to be another nice, coolish day here in Slower Maryland. We'll let's get down to business. Andy McCabe is back in the news, as, after his hiring by CNN as an objective commentator, DOJ is Close To A Decision On Charging Andrew McCabe from John Sexton at Hot Air. Kinda makes you wonder what CNN was thinking.

I’d love to see this happen but I’m skeptical and here’s why: This guy just got a job at CNN. Would CNN have hired him if there was an imminent chance he’d be prosecuted? I don’t think so. Seems more likely to me they held off until they were pretty certain this cloud was about to dissipate. Anyway, Fox News is reporting it could happen:

Federal prosecutors appear to be close to a decision on whether to charge former FBI official Andrew McCabe over the circumstances that led to his firing from the bureau last year, Fox News has learned.
A source close to the process said that McCabe has had a “target on his back” because of the Justice Department inspector general findings against him over actions during the Hillary Clinton email investigation, as well as his role in the surveillance warrants against Trump campaign associates during the Russia investigation. McCabe is a former deputy and acting director of the FBI.
The New York Times, which first reported the developments Monday, said McCabe’s lawyers recently met with DOJ attorneys who would handle a prosecution – an indication of a possible indictment.

Rod could pull off the skirt

Much more, of course, by Sundance at CTH,  Bill Barr’s Test – U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu Punts McCabe Indictment Decision Back to Main Justice…

According to reporting today from the New York Times, Washington DC U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu has punted the decision on whether to indict former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe back to Main Justice, via Deputy AG Jeffrey Rosen.

All of our prior research into the DC U.S. Attorney’s office, specifically toward Jessie Liu, has identified her as -essentially- Rod Rosenstein in a skirt. Attorney Liu’s DC office was responsible for not prosecuting the Awan Brothers; and also Liu’s office was responsible for covering up the leaking of the classified FISA application by SSCI Director of Security James Wolfe. Yes, covering it up – there is ZERO DOUBT.

Both cases were clear law-breaking, and both highly politically charged.

Today the Times is reporting on leaks from officials connected to the DC office of Ms. Liu, framing her deference of the McCabe indictment back to Main Justice.

And some snark from Ace, Prosectuors Nearing Decision on Whether to Indict CNN Contributor Andrew McCabe

Calling him "CNN Contributor" is accurate, but I wouldn't have thought of that without Jack Prosobiec reminding me.

He should be prosecuted if for no other reason that lying to the FBI is one of the favorite harassing charges used by the DOJ team in general and the Mueller team specifically. We need to send a message that such behavior is not tolerated within the DOJ while being prosecuted against "regular citizens"  And the trial should be held in Utah, away from anti-Trump DC juries. Give him the same choice Papadopuolos had, plead guilty and get a few weeks in jail, or see yourself bankrupted by attorney's fees.

Also from sundance, DOJ is still fighting to keep the Comey Memo's hidden, Request for Stay – DOJ Stalls For More Time Before Forced Production of Comey Memos… There may be good reasons to keep some of it secret, but at this point the need to understand what the DOJ and FBI were doing in the 2016 election out weighs that need. Especially since they might be concealing the role of the "5 Eyes" "allies" in interfering in our election. Fuck 'em.

Below is an example of the redacted information in the Archey Declarations that Judge Boasberg had previously ruled must be released with the redactions removed. This is what the DOJ and FBI are working to stop, stall and delay from being released to the public:

Jerry Dunleavy, WaEx, Hundreds of pages of emails show Nellie Ohr researched Trump-Russia connections

Newly uncovered FBI documents show how Nellie Ohr fits into the Trump-Russia saga, documents that also paint an increasingly clearer picture of the Clinton-linked opposition research firm Fusion GPS's central role in 2016 and beyond.

Ohr, the wife of high-ranking DOJ official Bruce Ohr and a contractor for Fusion GPS in 2015 and 2016, put together reams of research purporting to show connections between Trump, his associates, his family, and numerous other figures, including those with ties to the Russian government. Bruce passed all of this information along to the FBI, showing the FBI was receiving Fusion GPS-linked information not just through the infamous "dossier" from British ex-spy Christopher Steele, but from the wife of a key DOJ official too.

The new documents, revealed by conservative watchdog Judicial Watch, detail hundreds of pages of emails between Bruce Ohr, Nellie Ohr, and DOJ officials, and show Nellie’s research was delivered by Bruce to investigators after Trump won in 2016. Two large research documents — a “Who’s Who” of alleged Trump-Russia connections and a “Manafort Chronology” — were given to the FBI by Bruce in December 2016.

The greatest mystery to me is why Bruce Ohr is still at DOJ, albeit demoted. Is he giving Horowitz's and Durham's teams everything the need in hopes of getting out with his pension intact? Is he not media savvy enough for a CNN gig?

Da Beast accuses Rudy Giuliani of  Jumping on the Seth Rich Conspiracy Bandwagon. Well, it still is kind of mystery. I doubt we'll ever find out who killed Rich, but now that we you need to be officially exonerated by the DOJ to be clear of suspicion, we can continue to pin it on the Clinton/DNC cabal. My own theory is that it was Elizabeth Jennings, cleaning up loose ends.

And, via the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 08.26.19, the Victory Girls have a great cartoon, that's too big to steal and embed. Obsession: White Supremacy and the Democrat Pivot

Overstocked with Russiagate

OAN, FBI Ordered To Release Steele, Ohr Communications To Judicial Watch



John Solomon on Da Hill, 10 declassified Russia collusion revelations that could rock Washington this fall

1.)   Christopher Steele’s confidential human source reports at the FBI. These documents, known in bureau parlance as 1023 reports, show exactly what transpired each time Steele and his FBI handlers met in the summer and fall of 2016 to discuss his anti-Trump dossier. The big reveal, my sources say, could be the first evidence that the FBI shared sensitive information with Steele, such as the existence of the classified Crossfire Hurricane operation targeting the Trump campaign. It would be a huge discovery if the FBI fed Trump-Russia intel to Steele in the midst of an election, especially when his ultimate opposition-research client was Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The FBI has released only one or two of these reports under Freedom of Information Act lawsuits and they were 100 percent redacted. The American public deserves better.
. . .

Read on McDuff! Jerry Dunleavy, WaEx, Lindsey Graham: Horowitz will offer Senate 'chilling testimony' on FISA abuse

Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham confirmed Wednesday that Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz will testify in front of the committee.

The South Carolina Republican predicted Horowitz will give “chilling testimony” in front of the committee about his highly anticipated report on potential abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act once the report is public.

Graham confirmed the widely expected hearing on the “Wake Up Carolina!” radio show with Ken Ard earlier this morning. Graham said he’d call for Horowitz to explain his report to the American public in an open session, though he did not specify exactly when it might happen.

“He will come to the committee to testify — the chairman — and we’ll make sure he gets all the time he needs to tell the country what happened,” Graham said. “He will be in public. We want to do all of it that we can in the open. We don’t want to have a classified session unless we have to.”

 Rushbo, Here Come the Spygate Documents! I'll believe it when it happens.

Fox, Ex-Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne says he got 'fishy' orders from Peter Strzok; former acting AG unsure of claims. He resigned from Overstock yesterday, saying the controversy was hindering his ability to do his job. His interview with. A new part of the claim is that he traced his orders back to Peter Stzok. His interview with Martha McCallum is a hoot:



Note that while he alleges the orders came from Strzok, he says he never actually met him; however it was confirmed to him that his orders came from him. Another interview at Fox Business courtesy of  sundance at CTH, Patrick Byrne CEO of Overstock Corp. Resigns and Admits to Participating in FBI Political Surveillance…



More from sundance at Details Behind Patrick Byrne Allegations of FBI “Political Espionage”…

To verify his April DOJ discussion, Byrne points to two references:

♦First, the movement of Maria Butina from harsh isolation in prison on May 9th, ten days after he delivered his testimony to the DOJ. According to Byrne Ms. Butina was moved to a very different White Collar facility based on his information.
♦The second reference point Byrne highlights is the May 13th DOJ appointment of John Durham to look into the origination of the Russia investigation events. Byrne says this too was a direct result of his two DOJ sessions April 5th and 30th.

If Byrne is accurate; and if his claims of him personally being an operative of the FBI with instructions to engage Ms. Butina inside the political espionage events structured by corrupt FBI officials are genuine; it would appear Special Counsel Robert Mueller facilitated throwing a bag over Ms Butina in an effort to keep the corrupt FBI intelligence operation hidden from the public. This would explain the Mueller demand for strict solitary isolation and confinement. [The reports are indeed troubling]

Again, if Byrne is correct, it would appear that extremely significant and exculpatory Brady material -evidence that could easily prove an entrapment defense- was intentionally withheld from Ms. Butina’s defense team. Alarmingly this points to ongoing corrupt officials that still remain inside the current DOJ. Ms. Butina was collateral damage.

Linked at nourishing obscurity in Saturday.

Russiagate: Never Mind, It's Racism

Byron York at WaEx, New York Times chief outlines coverage shift: From Trump-Russia to Trump racism

In the beginning of the Trump administration, the Times geared up to cover the Russia affair, Baquet explained. "Chapter 1 of the story of Donald Trump, not only for our newsroom but, frankly, for our readers, was: Did Donald Trump have untoward relationships with the Russians, and was there obstruction of justice? That was a really hard story, by the way, let's not forget that. We set ourselves up to cover that story. I'm going to say it. We won two Pulitzer Prizes covering that story. And I think we covered that story better than anybody else."

But then came the Mueller report, with special counsel Robert Mueller failing to establish that the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia to fix the 2016 election. "The day Bob Mueller walked off that witness stand, two things happened," Baquet continued. "Our readers who want Donald Trump to go away suddenly thought, 'Holy shit, Bob Mueller is not going to do it.' And Donald Trump got a little emboldened politically, I think. Because, you know, for obvious reasons. And I think that the story changed. A lot of the stuff we're talking about started to emerge like six or seven weeks ago. We're a little tiny bit flat-footed. I mean, that's what happens when a story looks a certain way for two years. Right?"

Baquet used the gentlest terms possible — "the story changed" — but the fact is, the conspiracy-coordination allegation the Times had devoted itself to pursuing turned out to be false. Beyond that, Democrats on Capitol Hill struggled to press an obstruction case against the president. The Trump-Russia hole came up dry.

Now, Baquet continued, "I think that we've got to change." The Times must "write more deeply about the country, race, and other divisions."

At Power Line , Scott Johnson notices NYT's shift From Russia to Racism. Ace, New York Times Employees Tie Paper's Future to Racism

So basically, that meeting was called because the New York Times accidentally told the truth in a headline.

York also noted about the meeting that "no one could be surprised that a recording of it leaked, possibly by Times employees who want to push Baquet in an even more anti-Trump direction."

As someone noted in the comments at Powerline, The Times is making an extraordinarily valuable campaign contribution to the Democrats.

Brit Hume recounted a little history in reaction to York's piece:

Former executive Times editor Abe Rosenthal told me many years ago, he wanted it to be said of him: "He kept the paper straight." Indeed, those words are on his gravestone. As the story . . . makes clear, playing it straight is not the Times' mission now.

They covered it better than anybody else. Won two Pulitzers. And it was all a hoax.

So, maybe there is a White Supremacy Hoax. too!

Dan Chaitin, WaEx, Sean Hannity: Sources say 'most explosive' part of DOJ review is about 'outsourcing of illegal intelligence-gathering'



From sundance at CTH, Former AG Matt Whitaker: Everything About Bruce and Nellie Ohr “Was Very Concerning”…

Delivering a statement directly from the files of ‘captain obvious‘ former AAG Matt Whitaker notes that everything about Bruce and Nellie Ohr was sketchy.

Political opposition research was paid for by Hillary Clinton and created by Fusion-GPS (Glenn Simpson and Nellie Ohr).  That oppo-research was then sent to Chrisopher Steele in the U.K. so he could launder the information and return it to the DOJ and FBI, through Bruce Ohr, as a semi-official “intelligence” product.

Within the released documents provided to Judicial Watch the last FBI interview of Bruce Ohr (May 15th, 2017) took place two days prior to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller; and one day before Rod Rosenstein took Mueller to the White House. . . .

John Hinderacker at Power Line, More Clinton Email Funny Business.

We may never learn all the details of Hillary’s email frolic, but we probably don’t need to. What we know for sure is bad enough: she ignored statutes and State Department rules by creating a technically incompetent off-the-books email system that was easily vulnerable to penetration by foreign powers. She did this in order to evade the Freedom of Information Act and to keep secret matters relating to her job duties that the American people were entitled by law to know (and perhaps other things as well).

In the Obama administration, Clinton was no outlier. Other senior Obama officials did the same or similar things–Obama’s EPA head conducted official business using a private email account in the name of her dog–and President Obama himself was well aware of Hillary’s improper conduct. He emailed Hillary at her “secret” email address using an alias. The rank incompetence on display here is stunning.

 Forget it John, it's Clinton World.

Linked by EBL in Ana Carolina Da Fonseca: Why Brazil is on Fire 🌴🔥🇧🇷, Astronaut Anne McClain 👩‍🚀 Accused of Space Crimes!, Camilla Belle: Because Brazil is on fire🌴🔥, Sexy Savory Scrapple 🐷🌽🐖, Catalina Lauf for Congress IL-14 🌽, Roger Ailes's Threesome Movie, The British Seaside (circa 1960s) and Nukâka.

Russiagate: Hillary was Hacked

So, now it's official, in her sloppy computer practices, Hillary Clinton was sending all her State Dept. email correspondence straight to China. If you've followed SpyGate from the beginning - and I have - then you know that it came out months ago via anonymous sources in news reports that all of Hillary Clinton's St. Dept. emails were being automatically copied & sent to a Chinese-related email account.So what changed today?  "Documentation was released that verifies these anonymously sourced prior news accounts."

NEWS: The metadata in Hillary Clinton's emails contained a Gmail address with the name of a Chinese company: "carterheavyindustries@gmail.com" according to documents released by a Senate committee yesterday.

— Ivan Pentchoukov (@IvanPentchoukov) August 15, 2019

Ace, Oh: Intelligence Community Inspector General Tells Congress That All of Hillary Clinton's Emails Were Sent to a "Live Dropbox" Account Maintained by a Chinese Front Company

You may remember that the original report on Hillary's emails said something like "they were almost certainly captured by a hostile foreign nation or hostile foreign nations," but then Comey and Strzok worked that language out to say the emails "may" have been accessed by another country.

And now: Oh no big deal, her system seems to have had a virus implanted into it that sent each and every email, including the top secret classified ones, to a drop box controlled by a Chinese company.

The system had been infected so that every email was sent to this address of a Chinese company, no matter who you actually intended to send it to, or not send it to.

And she did all of this because she didn't want to turn over any records to anyone -- no watchdogs with legitimate FOIA requests, no disclosure in response to a subpoena.

She decided she didn't want any Americans to have her emails.

But a Chinese front company? Sure, let's roll the dice on that one.

No intent. No intent no intent no intent no intent.

And isn't it funny how No One Mentions That The Russian Trail Leads To Democratic Lobbyists (Forbes)

The media’s focus on Trump’s Russian connections ignores the much more extensive and lucrative business relationships of top Democrats with Kremlin-associated oligarchs and companies. Thanks to the Panama Papers, we know that the Podesta Group (founded by John Podesta’s brother, Tony) lobbied for Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank. “Sberbank is the Kremlin, they don’t do anything major without Putin’s go-ahead, and they don’t tell him ‘no’ either,” explained a retired senior U.S. intelligence official. According to a Reuters report, Tony Podesta was “among the high-profile lobbyists registered to represent organizations backing Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich.” Among these was the European Center, which paid Podesta $900,000 for his lobbying.

And the Ohr's are still in the news, Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Bruce Ohr Gave His Wife’s Fusion GPS Research To The FBI. Here Are The Documents. Not really news except that the documents have now been released.

Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch said, “These documents show a crazed DOJ-FBI effort to use the Clinton spy ring at Fusion GPS, namely Nellie Ohr, to smear President Trump – even before he was sworn in as president.”

“Clinton campaign operative Nellie Ohr may as well as have had a desk at the Justice Department.”

They weren't crazed. They knew exactly what they were doing, and expected the evidence to be buried after Clinton won. At Flopping Aces Dan Sobieski writes of how Bruce Ohr’s FBI 302s Show Obama DOJ Led Deep State Coup Against Trump

If there was ever any doubt about the depth and extent of the deep state coup against both candidate and President Donald J. Trump and the number of deep state actors to thwart the will of the American people, it vanished with the release of partially redacted copies of former Deputy Atty. Gen. Bruce Ohr’s FBI 302 reports (interview summaries) on Thursday evening obtained by Judicial Watch.

They confirm that Bruce Ohr and his wife Nellie were not merely passive conduits for the fraudulent Steele Dossier but were active participants in the plot to deny Trump the presidency. They confirm the FBI knew the Steele Dossier, paid for by the DNC and the Hillary Clinton, was a fake when they applied to the FISA court for warrants to surveil American citizens. They detail the involvement of the State Dept. and others in the Obama administration.. As I wrote almost a year ago, Andrew Weissmann, touted as former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s “pit bill” was kept in the loop by Ohr on any and all dossier and FISA developments.

Fox News, Gregg Jarrett: Comey's FBI was running a secret counterintelligence operation against Trump, new docs show

These 302s show that the FBI and DOJ were warned repeatedly by Ohr that ex-British spy Christopher Steele was virulently biased against the target of their investigation, Trump.

That bias tainted the credibility of the “dossier” Steele composed and upon which officials in the Obama administration relied when they officially launched their counterintelligence investigation on July 31, 2016. The “dossier” was also the basis for the surveillance warrant against former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page.

The FBI and DOJ ignored the warnings of bias and actively concealed it from the FISC. They never advised the judges that the information contained in the “dossier” was “unverified.”

They hid from the judges that it was all funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
. . .
To circumvent the rules they were breaking, the FBI set up an “information laundering scheme.” Steele would feed information to Ohr, who would pass it to his “handler” Joe Pienka, who would feed it to his partner Peter Strzok, who would give it to Andrew McCabe, who would deliver it to Comey.

Similar to a “money-laundering scheme,” the complex transfer cleansed the dirty information to obscure the original source –Steele. But the information, of course, was largely fabricated and/or the product of Russian disinformation.

As Don Surber notes, FBI upset over conspiracy theories? Hahaha, hypocrites

Since when does the bureau oppose baseless conspiracy theories?
Heck, it peddles them.

The FBI spied on Donald John Trump using a baseless conspiracy theory to get a FISA warrant.

It was -- in the words of its Chief of the Counterespionage Section, Peter Strzok -- an insurance policy should America elect Donald John Trump president.

America did and the FBI cashed in its insurance policy, subjecting President Trump to a $32 million investigation that threatened his business, his family members, and anyone else associated with him.

Strzok was no rogue agent. He was a major player in the bureau.

Meanwhile, the FBI destroyed evidence that implicated Hillary in her email scandal. And only now that Epstein is dead does the FBI raid his Pedo Fantasy Island.

We know this is another search-and-destroy mission for the Clintons to guard them against indictment, just as destroying Anthony Weiner's laptop was.

Rowan Scarborough, WaT,  Probe clears pro-Trump Pentagon analyst, report withheld from defense team

A confidential counterintelligence investigation cleared suspended Pentagon analyst Adam S. Lovinger on allegations of leaking data to the news media, but officials never told his defense team.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) examined Mr. Lovinger’s use of classified computer networks. In a 2018 report, the NCIS said its review “did not reveal any potential CI [counter intelligence] concerns,” according to a copy obtained by The Washington Times.

Mr. Lovinger’s attorney, Sean Bigley, has now filed a complaint with the Defense Department inspector general. He accuses Pentagon officials who targeted his client of a “serious ethics violation” by withholding the exoneration.

The NCIS probe was closed September 2018, and the report signed in November. Mr. Lovinger’s administrative trial began the next month.

Mr. Bigley is trying to convince the Pentagon IG that his client is a victim of whistleblower reprisal. Mr. Lovinger’s employer, the Pentagon Office of Net Assessment, accused him of mishandling “sensitive” material, a charge his lawyer said essentially is made up since there is no such classification.

Just the Real News has Hope Hicks response to Fat Jerry, a polite, but firm, stuff it you lying piece of shit.