Flotsam and Jetsam - Has The Smoking Gun Been Found?

Is this real? Or just another hope, at PJM from Matt Margolis, a REPORT that Smoking Gun ‘Evidence of Joe Biden’s Corruption’ Will Be Released in Coming Weeks

“There is an audio tape — I am told by people in the know, not necessarily in government, not necessarily out of government — I can’t say too much. But there is incontrovertible evidence of Joe Biden’s corruption that is about to be made public,” Kelly claimed. 

Don’t get too excited yet. There’s a catch.

“It’s not going to happen tomorrow, it’s not going to happen before Labor Day, but it will happen sometime between Labor Day and Halloween,” he said. “This tape will be made public — I’m not sure by what entity at this point — but once it is heard, Joe Biden will have… well… he’ll have only two options. Number one: he will not be able to remain a candidate for the presidency for reelection. It will be over and done with; the only thing that he might be able to do potentially, but probably not, is remain as president.”

Kelly claims his sources tell him that this tape is so incriminating that “they’re worried about it right now at the White House. ”

So the classic "October Surprise." As far as I'm concerned, there's more than enough evidence already to impeach Biden, but that won't happen because Democrats stick by their criminals. At Twitchy, Walls ARE closing in! Another BOMBSHELL just dropped ON the Biden Crime Family and it AIN'T good. Byron York@ByronYork, "National Archives has located 5,000+ emails in which then-VP Joe Biden used aliases to communicate, sometimes with son Hunter. Addresses: robinware456@gmail.com, JRBWare@gmail.com, and Robert.L.Peters@pci.gov. " Hat Hair's Jazz Shaw, Joe Biden sent at least 5,400 pseudonymous emails as VP. But at Andrea Widburg at Am Think notes The National Archives refuses to release 5,400 emails Biden sent using fake names. Nothing to see here! From Fox, Dems leave Congress with 'very little choice' over Biden impeachment inquiry: Jonathan Turley "Emails reveal Devon Archer met with then-Secretary of State John Kerry weeks before Burisma investigator was fired." Ace, Burisma's Devon Archer Met With Then-Secretary-of-State Kerry Just As Biden Was Ordering Ukraine to Fire Viktor Shokin, "Not a speck of corruption." Ben Whedon at JTN reports the House GOP says DOJ gave Hunter Biden ‘special privileges’ in tax case, as inquiry heats up. "Weiss, in his capacity as U.S. Attorney for Delaware, previously oversaw the years-long investigation into the now-first son." Julios Rosas at Town Hall says just Wait Until You Hear Eric Swalwell's Latest Defense of Biden " By the way...one day he sleepy Joe, next day he’s corrupt Joe. I know people who are sleepy, I know people who are corrupt, I don’t know anybody who is both." 'Bonchie' at Red State is amused that Joe Biden's Own Biographer Tosses Him Under the Bus. Josh Kraushaar@JoshKraushaar, "Biden biographer ⁦@FranklinFoer⁩, on Biden: “For a man vaunted for his empathy, he could be detached, even icy, when confronted with the prospect of human suffering.”" Rick Moran at PJM The Number of Americans Who Believe Biden Is Too Old to Be President May Surprise You. On the Summit, U.S. NEWSAP Poll: Almost 70% Of DEMOCRATS Say Biden Too Old To Run Again. "Most respondents associate Biden with the words “old,” “outdated,” “retire,” “elderly,” “aging,” “senile” and “dementia”"

At Insty, EVERY INSTITUTION HAS BEEN CORRUPTED: These BLS downward revisions have become a bad habit — or something worse. “Worse, had the BLS not drastically slashed the May number from 9.582MM to a laughable 9.165MM, the drop would have been almost 800K job openings. And yes, today’s downward revision… continues the recent trend of every single data point in the Biden administration being revised sharply lower in subsequent month(s), in a coordinated propaganda attempt to make the economy look stronger, then quietly revise it away when everyone forgets.”

John Davidson at Da Fed, Democrats Aren’t ‘Interfering’ In 2024 Election With Trump Trial, They’re Blatantly Rigging It. Dan Chaitin at Da Wire details How Trump’s Trial Schedule Lines Up With The 2024 Election Calendar. At WaEx, Trump lawyer Alina Habba calls trial dates 'unrealistic' and 'theatrics'. NewsMax reports Trump Says He'll Appeal Trial Date Given in Federal Election Case. 

Jonathan Turley, Raffensperger and Meadows Testify in Key Hearing in Federal Court on Georgia Allegations "The most interesting takeaway is that Willis may have overplayed her hand by including Meadows. In doing so, she may have created the strongest avenue for removal. I believe that she hoped that Meadows would “flip.” Instead, he is leading the charge to federal court. Even if Judge Jones denies the motion, it can now be appealed and there are solid arguments here in his favor." Capt. Ed comments "Jeffrey Clark also has a good chance in a removal motion, assuming he files one, as he was arguably acting within his duties as an assistant AG at that time. If this goes to federal court, the RICO predicate will likely get tossed, and so will those counts not related to actual black-letter crimes (such as the alleged Coffee County ‘hack’). Turley thinks that Raffensperger undermined Willis’ case on “The Call” too, so be sure to read his analysis on that point." Da Caller, Turley Says There Will Be ‘Substantial Constitutional Questions’ If Trump Wins White House In 2024 Amid Indictments. At TNP, Here’s Why Mark Meadows Wants His Case Moved. You mean, other than to get it out of an insanely anti-Trump prosecutor and jury? Jeff Charles at Red State sees Democrats Are Trying to Use the 14th Amendment to Stop Trump From Becoming President Again. Ace, Congressmen Seeks to Defund Trump Prosecutors, "He would deny both the DOJ and states federal funds if they continue the political prosecutions." Eddie Scarry at Da Fed has  Just A Preview Of How The Dishonest Media Will Lie And Mislead About Trump’s Show Trials. 

TNP points out how the Georgia Indictment Bounces Off Trump, Who Leads by 42 Points in Peach State. Leah Barkoukis at Town Hall, Here's How Much the Trump Campaign Has Raised Since Mugshot, $7 million, as of yesterday. Jeff Lord at Am Spec cites Gingrich to Levin: Trump Is Getting the Last Laugh. "The former president’s foes are reelecting him."

Also at Am Spec Melissa McKenzie tries to plumb The Magical Thinking of Never Trump "Why do they believe the problems he has faced will miraculously disappear for their preferred candidate?" Whoever the next Republican candidate is, he/she will be worse than Hitler immediately, if not before. Anxious is anxious, "Fake news": DeSantis campaign denies Trump claim he might drop out of 2024 race. Capt. Ed, "All he has are juvenile jabs, which look even worse when Trump refuses to engage in debate. His most ardent supporters will eat this up, but it’s not just embarrassing, it looks weak." Mediaite is pleased as Vivek Ramaswamy Hit With Cease and Desist From Eminem. KT at Hat Hair, Eminem nips Vivek Ramaswamy's rapping career in the bud. A dumb controversy, but this probably helps, rather than hurts, Vivek. Deroy Murdock at Am Spec claims The Last Word on Last Week’s GOP Debate "I noticed that almost every man on stage was dressed just like Donald J. Trump. What the hell was that?"

At PM, Miami mayor Francis Suarez drops out of 2024 presidential race. Politico, Francis Suarez suspends presidential campaign. At Hat Hair, Capt. Ed, New: The "CNN+ of presidential campaigns" comes to an end, "Suarez started off his campaign by fumbling the Uighur question from Hugh Hewitt and then later claiming that Hugh mispronounced “Oy-gers.” He was Ramaswamy without the money. The headline comes from the best response on Twitter to Suarez’ suspension announcement." Hat Hair's Beege Wellborn, Guy nobody knew was running drops out of presidential race.

From Town Hall, Tucker Carlson's Caricature of the Average Democrat Voter Goes Viral "In a viral speech all the way from Budapest, Tucker Carlson eviscerates the ruling party and average 20-something voter by comparing living in Democratic cities to being in…prison?"

Shawn Fleetwood at Da Fed thinks Biden Admin’s Voter Drive For Newly Naturalized Citizens Is Just Another Act Of Federal Election Interference. Ben Bartee at PJM notes YouTube Demonetizes Montage of Democrats Denying Elections, Calls It 'Dangerous' and 'Harmful'.

Culture Ware below the fold:

Reclaiming Russiagate on a Rainy Day

Just a nasty cold wet day, maybe I can get this done before Skye insists I take her out for a walk around the neighborhood.

Two day ago, Sundance at CTH posted U.S. Attorney John Durham Announces His Departure from Office, No Details of Special Counsel Role Continuing, pointing out, as he has before that technically, John Durham was not qualified to be a special counsel because he was also currently a US Attorney. 

However, here’s the issue… under DOJ regulations [28 cfr 600] a special counsel must come from “outside government“; so did John Durham resign his position prior to the appointment, or has Bill Barr just given the appearance of a special counsel appointment while knowing the legal validity of it will collapse upon challenge?

 But clarifying this, Chuck Ross at Da Caller reports John Durham To Step Down As US Attorney, Will Continue Investigation Origins Of ‘Russiagate’ and ET, John Durham Announces Resignation as US Attorney, Will Continue Role as Special Counsel. Good, because there's plenty to investigate still, and good knows the O'Biden administration DOJ ain't gonna jump right on it. Sundance, JoeBama Put The Gang Back Together Inside The DOJ – John Carlin Returns as Acting Deputy AG

John Carlin was the assistant attorney general and head of the National Security Division inside the DOJ when efforts against the Trump campaign and incoming administration were underway. John CarIin was previously chief of staff to FBI Director Robert Mueller.

In September of 2016 Carlin manipulated the FISA court by misleading them on the Section 702 certifications. Carlin never informed the court of FBI contractors having access to the NSA database and exporting the search results to unknown actors. The FBI was using the database to monitor 2016 political campaigns and political opposition.

John Solomon at JTN, Once-secret FBI informant reports reveal wider-ranging operation to spy on Trump campaign

The now-declassified operational handling reports for FBI confidential human source Stefan Halper — codenamed "Mitch" — provide an unprecedented window both into the tactics used by the bureau to probe the Trump campaign and the wide dragnet that was cast to target numerous high-level officials inside the GOP campaign just weeks before Americans chose their next president in the November 2016 election.

Among the revelations, the memos make clear that:

• Almost immediately after the FBI opened a Russia collusion probe on July 31, 2016 narrowly focused on the foreign lobbying of a single Trump campaign aide named George Papadopoulos, agents pressed Halper for information on more than a half dozen other figures, including future Attorney General Jeff Sessions, foreign policy adviser Sam Clovis, campaign chairman Paul Manafort, economic adviser Peter Navarro, future National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and campaign adviser Carter Page.
• Halper provided significant exculpatory evidence to the FBI — including transcripts of conversations he recorded of targeted Trump advisers providing statements of innocence — that was never disclosed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that approved a year of surveillance targeting the Trump campaign, and specifically Page.
• While current FBI Director Chris Wray has insisted the bureau did not engage in spying on the Trump campaign, Halper's taskings include many of the tradecraft tactics of espionage, including the creation of a fake cover story (he wanted a job at the Trump campaign), secret recordings, providing background on targets, suggested questions to ask and even contact information for potential targets.

But the memos' most explosive revelations are the sheer breadth of the FBI's insufficiently predicated dragnet targeting the Trump campaign, and the agents' clearly stated purpose of thwarting any Trump campaign effort to get dirt from Russia that could hurt his Democratic rival.

Matt Margolis at PJ Media,  Dem Senator Says It’s a ‘Conspiracy Theory’ to Say Dems Were Out to Get Trump From Beginning. It's one of the least controversial aspects of all this; many of them were quite public and explicit about it from the day he won the election. But if you repeat a lie often enough. . . .  At Am Con, The Lies Aren’t Secret "Thanks to friendly courts, the Deep State continues to avoid accountability, triumphant at home and abroad."

The Logan Act must be tested: Fox, John Kerry meetings with Iran and Michael Flynn talks with Russian officials: Two different treatments? Jazz Shaw at Hot Hair, Did Biden And Kerry Undermine Trump’s Relations With Iran? Absolutely. Tyler O'Neil at PJ Media, Former Obama Staff Colluded With Iran to Undermine Trump. Insty, LOGAN ACT! Report: Biden Team Members Including John Kerry Colluded With Iran to Undermine Trump. . . .Earlier: Gen. Flynn Never Violated Logan Act, But John Kerry Violated It Often.

Sophie Mann at JTN, Congressional Republicans request FBI briefing on Swalwell's connections to Chinese spy "Swalwell remains seated on several committees that are regularly briefed on top secret information pertaining to American national security." So sleeping with the enemy is bad?

The Peacock's Carol C. Lam  whines Trump's tax documents are with New York prosecutors. But the clock is ticking. Market Watch, Manhattan prosecutor obtains copies of Trump tax records after long fight. If even a digit leaks, Cy Vance Jr. needs to go to jail. They're fishing for a crime.

Russiagate on a Fine Wednesday Morning

Cooling off today. John Cleer at Red State wants to know Who Told Clinesmith to Do It?. I'm betting on Andy Weissman myself, probably through a layer or two of deniability.

I find it unlikely that Clinesmith committed this forgery of his own accord, and unusual that a junior employee would be tasked by the FBI and Special Counsel with a pivotal role in such a high-level criminal operation: overseeing the applications for search warrants targeting a sitting president, his cabinet and even his family, for made up reasons. Shipwreck contends his assignment, while surprising, “is not atypical in the Bureau where oftentimes the view is that agents/analysts/OGC attorneys are “fungible”. By training and procedures, all are equal to each other.”

This may be a common view at the FBI, but would they apply it while attempting a coup? Mueller hired “one of the most impressive groups ever assembled for a special counsel investigation” and the FBI sent him a young man with one year at the Bureau. I can’t imagine why they’d do this but to use Clinesmith as the “fall guy,” in which he’d be closely watched–if the forgery wasn’t his idea, he probably wouldn’t get away with it.

Weisman is arguing that a forgery can’t be a falsification unless the content of the forged statement is also false; and he has to know this isn’t true. He tweeted last week, rhetorically, that

Clinesmith is charged with adding the words “not a source” to an email about Carter Page, but no where does the charge say that is false, i.e. that Page was a source for the CIA. Without that, how is the addition “materially” false?

It’s “materially” false because he said the liaison wrote it when she didn’t, and in doing caused the FISA application to go forward: A “Materially false statement means any false statement, regardless of its admissibility under the rules of evidence, which could have affected the course or outcome of an official proceeding”. Clinesmith admitted in his plea to doing this on purpose but claims he had no *intention* to mislead, and thought Page was truly not a source but instead some kind of sub-source. This is a funny thing to say, as he plead guilty making a false statement *intentionally*, and there are lawyers who think it constitutes an invalid guilty plea. Clinesmith claims to have thought Page wasn’t technically a source, which is immaterial since its being a forgery is what made the statement false and he admits this was done intentionally. The judge made him clarify (“In other words, you agree you intentionally altered the email to include information that was not originally in the email?”) before pleading, but for many that isn’t good enough.

You can read the Clinesmith plea agreement here.  Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Carter Page Provides Glimpse Of His CIA Links In New Book. Sundance at CTH, Trying to Cut The Gordian Knot – Carter Page Outlines Five FBI Interviews in March of 2017…



Jerry Dunleavy at WaEx, Lindsey Graham to subpoena FBI official he says misled Senate Intelligence Committee on Steele dossier

A top Senate Republican said he plans to subpoena Bill Priestap, a key leader in the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation, after pushback from the former bureau official’s lawyer.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News's Sunday Morning Futures that he is escalating his effort to interview the FBI's former head of counterintelligence. The senator said he believes Priestap gave misleading information to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2018 about the reliability of British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s discredited dossier.

Graham said he expected to interview Priestap last week, but “his lawyer contacted us and put conditions on the interview that are unacceptable.” So, the senator said, “I’m going to subpoena him,” in part, because it was Priestap “who gave the Senate Intel a briefing about the reliability of the subsource in 2018 that basically whitewashed the actual evidence."

From 'shipwreckedcrew' at Red State,  “The Comey Rule” Movie — A Fictional Account of Crossfire Hurricane Based on Comey’s Book “A Higher Loyalty”

I’ve only watched it once, and the IMMEDIATE vibe I got from it was Oliver Stone’s “JFK”. That was Oliver Stone’s personal view of events leading up to the assassination of JFK, largely not in accord with the historical record. But that is a debate for a different day.

I have a suspicion we are going to suffer through the same kind of experience with “The Comey Rule” — which will provide a version of events that have already been lapped by actual facts undermining Comey’s descriptions in his book. There will be scenes that attempt to cast Comey as the upstanding paragon of ethical commitment, but we now know that some topics covered in his book involve versions of events that are incomplete and/or inaccurate.

Speaking of collusion with the Russians, from Eric Felten at RCI, Top Kerry Aide, Key Conduit for Steele Dossier, Once Worked for Russian Oligarch, as Did Its Author

Jonathan Winer, a former top aide to Secretary of State John Kerry who was a key conduit for disseminating the discredited Steele dossier in the U.S. government, worked as a lobbyist for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in years preceding the Russiagate affair. This revelation raises new questions about Russian efforts to influence American foreign policy -- far afield from any Kremlin efforts to favor Donald Trump.

Winer’s connection to Deripaska came to light through last week’s release of the fifth and final volume of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. The Senate report also found that at different times ex-British spy Christopher Steele had worked for the powerful oligarch with ties to President Vladimir Putin, and sent scores of reports from his intelligence firm on to Winer, who admitted to the panel destroying many of them before leaving the State Department. Further, the Senate developed evidence that Glenn Simpson – whose company Fusion GPS contracted with Steele for the dossier – also did work for Deripaska. Simpson denied that, telling senators, “I don’t think I’ve knowingly had any contact with his organization.”

In his initial interview with the Senate committee, Winer claimed never to have met the oligarch. In a second interview Winer revised this answer. He conceded that, beginning in 2003, Deripaska had hired the law firm Alston & Bird, where Winer was a partner. He worked on the Deripaska account but, asserting attorney-client privilege, refused to say what exactly he had done on Deripaska’s behalf. RealClearInvestigations sent questions to Alston & Bird’s spokesman but received no reply.

On the ongoing persecution of Gen. Michael Flynn, Sundance has Flynn Oral Argument Transcript Released – Decision Imminent Due to Justice Griffith Retiring…

Regardless of what decision is reached, the announcement should be anticipated prior to Judge Griffith being replaced by recently confirmed Trump nominee Judge Justin Walker. That means we could see a decision announced this Friday, or by next Friday at the latest.

The judges could remove Judge Sullivan and reassign the case. In that event it’s likely the next judge would simply accept the motion to dismiss. However, the DC circuit could also deliver a ruling that allows Sullivan to retain the final disposition with strong guidance on any subsequent activity.

Given the extra-judicial path of this case essentially anything is possible. That said, the DC appeals court likely doesn’t want this decision being reviewed any further (SCOTUS). It would make sense for the DC panel to seek a face-saving exit for Sullivan that doesn’t put Flynn’s defense in a position to appeal to Supreme Court Justice Roberts for intervention.

Joseph Weber at JTN,  In New York, subpoena delayed on Trump financials, state attorney general wants Eric Trump deposed. Clint Fargeau at Red State, Steve Bannon’s Arrest Shows Why Democrats Have Salivated over Trump’s Tax Returns

The Resistance bureaucrats could use the tax return to pry open all the accounting for the president’s extensive business networks. Any ambiguous accounting decisions–or heaven forbid, serious mistakes–would be cast in the blackest light and used as a pretext for “Impeachment 2.0: We Got You This Time, A**hole.”

Even if the gray accounting turned out to be wholly defensible, it wouldn’t matter. All the public would hear is that THE PRESIDENT IS AN INDICTED MONEY CRIMINAL! Most Americans could not hope to understand the tax and accounting arguments that would arise, so their first impression would be hard to dispel.

An army of Twitter wits (“twits”) and the Hollywood actor brigade (who are experts in everything, but especially tax law) taunted the president when he refused to release his tax returns in 2016: “If you have nothing to hide, just release your returns. What are you afraid of, huh? Huh?”

A minor infraction or ambiguous accounting practice getting blown up into a weapon to cripple his presidency–that’s what Trump was afraid of–I guarantee it. And boy howdy, he was right to be. It’s too early to tell, but I *suspect* that is just what has happened to Bannon.

We’ll see.

As if to demonstrate the seriousness of their efforts,  New York AG Laughs About Suing President Trump (Matt Palumbo at Bongino).

Russiagate - Release the Kraken!

Er, I mean transcripts. This is the first day in a while that something other than the fucking of Gen. Flynn ("First we fuck Flynn, and then we fuck Trump" - Andy McCabe) has dominated the news cycle. Now it's the transcripts from the hearings of the House Intelligence Committe (an oxymoron if there ever was one), carried out under Devin Nunes while he was in command, then buried by Adam  Schiff, who has never been shy to leak transcripts favorable to his cause.

Brooke Singman, Fox, Intel chief tells Schiff transcripts of Russia probe interviews cleared for release

Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell has told House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff that transcripts from the panel’s Russia probe are cleared for public release, as House Republicans demand access to the materials.

Grenell penned a letter -- obtained by Fox News -- this week to Schiff, D-Calif., notifying him that transcripts of all 53 interviews -- which add up to more than 6,000 pages in total -- related to foreign interference in the 2016 election can be released.

EXCLUSIVE: HOUSE GOP SAYS SCHIFF IS 'BLOCKING' RELEASE OF RUSSIA PROBE TRANSCRIPTS, DEMAND ACCESS

“All of the transcripts, with our required redactions, can be released to the public without any concerns of disclosing classified material,” Grenell wrote to Schiff in a letter dated May 4.

The committee, in September 2018, voted in “unanimous and bipartisan fashion” to release the transcripts of witness interviews that they conducted during the panel’s Russia probe. In November 2018, the committee transmitted the transcripts to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for an “interagency classification review to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of classified information.”

Capt Ed at Hot Air, Grenell Warns Schiff: Release House Intel Transcripts Now — Or I Will.

Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell has now upped the ante. All 53 transcripts are ready for release, and most have been for almost a year. If Schiff doesn’t release them, Byron York reports, Grenell is threatening to publish them himself under the authority of the previous unanimous HIC vote:

John Solomon at JTN, Adam Schiff may be the biggest loser of Russia probe declassification. Of course, it will show Adam to be one of the biggest liars in that lot, and that's a pretty high bar.

I mentioned last night that it was Schiff himself who wanted these transcripts released — back when it was easier to spin them as Russia collusion and not Democrat wrongdoing. Now he’s done an about face. https://t.co/eYjzsZuUVd

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) May 6, 2020

Sundance at CTH, Lou Dobbs Interviews Devin Nunes About Declassification and Release of Witness Transcripts…

As Nunes notes, even with the release the media have a vested interest in not covering the content of the transcripts as released; because the media along with Adam Schiff lied about what was happening during the depositions at the time.

If I read Nunes right, don't expect bombshells, just politicians being politicians. From sundance, Forced Transparency – ODNI Richard Grenell Reminds Adam Schiff He Can Release Transcripts…, and has a interesting list of the 53 interviews. And as Chuck Ross at the Da Caller reports, stuck between a rock and a hard place, House Intel Chairman Adam Schiff Will Release Russia Probe Transcripts, after as much delay as he can muster: “Our review of ODNI’s newly proposed redactions will be as expeditious as possible given the constraints of the pandemic, and we look forward to releasing these transcripts.”

But these aren't the only releases of classified information that Richard Grenell is involved with. Jerry Dunleavy at WaEx,  Declassifications by Barr and Grenell lead senator to lift two-year hold on counterintelligence nominee

A two-year standoff over a top counterintelligence nomination ended this week after a Senate Republican said the nation’s spy chief and attorney general provided long-sought transparency for congressional investigations.

William Evanina, a former FBI special agent, has led the National Counterintelligence and Security Center since 2014 and in February 2018 was nominated by President Trump to be the first Senate-confirmed director of the center. But since June of that year, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley has blocked the nomination as a form of protest against Department of Justice leadership and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for not providing Congress documents related to the government’s investigation into Russian election interference and Trump’s presidential campaign.

That impasse ended on Monday with Grassley withdrawing his objection, citing "recent actions” by Attorney General William Barr and acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell to “finally respond to my very longstanding oversight requests."

Katie Pavlich at Town Hall, Democratic Senator Makes False Claim About Acting DNI Richard Grenell

As Acting DNI, this individual promptly instituted a hiring freeze and a reorganization whose purpose has not been communicated to the intelligence oversight committees," he continued.

But Grenell has made efforts to communicate his work to Capitol Hill. In fact, Grenell reached out to Warner ahead of today's hearing and offered to brief him on the implementation of badly needed reforms. Warner refused the meeting and falsely attacked Grenell anyway.

Back to the Flynn fiasco, Brian Cates at Uncover DC calls it The Breaking of the Seals At NYPo, Pressure mounts on FBI director as Trump, GOP fume over Flynn documents. John Sexton at Hot Air, Former FBI Agent: Michael Flynn Was Railroaded By The FBI. There are, or at least were, some good people at the FBI. But as they say in the Peter Principle, the cream rises to the top, and sours.

News Thud, Republicans turn up pressure on FBI Director Wray as report suggests Trump “would love to replace” him… It should happen, but it's not politically convenient. Make his life miserable until he quits. Adam Mill at AmGreat, Are Russia Collusion Hoax Holdouts Still Operating Within the FBI?. Probably, maybe even Christopher Wray himself. Dana Boente is still around somewhere, as is mystery agent Joe Pientka.

And something new, via Sean Davis at Da Fed, Rosenstein Scope Memo For Mueller Peddled Steele Dossier, Logan Act Conspiracy Theories. Sundance DOJ Finally Releases Less Redacted 2nd Scope Memo (Aug 2, 2017) – Still Missing 3rd Scope Memo (Oct 20, 2017)…  has the actual pdf, and this one is the key:

Not a lot of that worked out. They got Manafort on financial crimes and Papapop on misremembering a date (they tried to set him up to look like an agent of Israel, but he wisely chose not to bite), and of course, they forced Flynn to plead guilty to lying to the FBI, a crime not on the list, by threatening his son. That's quite a lot of glory to the Mueller team.

We really need to get that Logan Act shit off the books; charge John Kerry, and force his to appeal it with Teresa's money, all the way to the Supreme Court.

Fox, Obama's office bashed Senate Biden-Ukraine probe, linked it to 'Russian disinformation campaign,' letter shows

The office of former President Barack Obama in March privately bashed Senate Republicans’ investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son in Ukraine, a probe it deemed as lending credence to a “Russian disinformation campaign,” according to a letter obtained by Fox News.

The letter, addressed to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which manages presidential records, was written in response to a request on Nov. 21, 2019, by Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson for Obama administration records on Ukraine-related meetings.

The letter referred to their request as improper use of the NARA’s release terms and a supposed effort “to shift the blame for Russian interference in the 2016 election to Ukraine.”

Courtney O'Brian at Town Hall, Obama Blasts Ukraine Investigation Requests...and Rand Paul Thinks He Knows Why

Sen. Paul was asked about my story yesterday on Obama’s letter to the National Archives, saying "it's not surprising to me that he would try to keep a lid on it and not let any records come to the public."

Except Obama allowed the records to be released.https://t.co/4FLgmuwbWY

— Emma Loop (@LoopEmma) May 6, 2020

Russiagate in Spades

OK, so where were we when we were so rudely interrupted by reality?

Chuck Ross at Da Caller has an EXCLUSIVE: Dossier Author Testified His Emails Were ‘Wiped,’ He No Longer Has Documents Related To Primary Source, you mean, like, with a cloth? I wonder why?

Christopher Steele told a British court last month that he no longer has documents and other information from his meetings with the main source for his Trump dossier, suggesting that the former British spy has no way of backing up his side in a dispute with the Justice Department’s inspector general (IG), according to a deposition transcript obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

From Breitbart, FISA Docs Show John Kerry’s State Dept. Was Key Player in Russia Collusion Hoax. Can I borrow your shocked face? Mine is busted.

Last Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham released a trove of documents from the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump’s campaign, including a less redacted version of the Obama administration’s FISA warrant applications to spy on Page, who served as a tangential adviser to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The disclosures focus renewed attention on the text of the warrant, which begins by claiming Page is “an agent of a foreign power” and that “the status of the target was determined in or about October 2016 from information provided by the U.S. Department of State.”

The newly declassified sections underscore that the FBI under its disgraced former chief, James Comey, relied heavily on the Christopher Steele dossier alleging debunked Russian collision charges. The dossier was produced by Fusion GPS, which was paid for its anti-Trump work by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

And  FBI Used Left-Wing Conspiracy Theory to Spy on Trump Campaign Adviser

Newly declassified documents show that in order to build its dubious case of Russian collusion to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court, James Comey’s FBI utilized the misleading Democratic Party talking point that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign had the Republican Party platform gutted so as to “not provide defensive weapons to Ukraine.”

Last Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham released a trove of documents from the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump’s campaign, including a less redacted version of Comey’s FISA warrant applications to spy on Page, who served as a tangential adviser to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The disclosure reveals that the FISA warrant cites a “July 2016 article in an identified news organization” claiming that Trump’s campaign “worked behind the scenes to make sure” the GOP “platform would not call for giving weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian and rebel forces, contradicting the view of almost all [the Republican Party’s] foreign policy leaders.”

Without offering any evidence, the FISA application claims “the FBI assesses that, following Page’s meetings in Russia, Page helped influence Political Party #1 and Candidate #1′ s campaign to alter their platforms to be more sympathetic to Russia.”

Political Party #1 refers to the Republican Party and Candidate #1 is Trump. Page repeatedly denied having the meetings in Russia referred to in the FISA applications.

There are several layers of problems with the FBI’s claims to the FISA court about the Republican Party platform.

Firstly, the “July 2016 article” is actually an opinion piece by the Washington Post’s Josh Rogin titled “Trump campaign guts GOP’s anti-Russia stance on Ukraine.”

Second, the charge, which comes mostly from that Washington Post opinion piece, remains so unproven that even the left-leaning PolitiFact failed to reach a judgement on the issue, allowing “it’s hard to use those news reports as evidence in this fact-check.”

The entire issue revolved around one platform committee member, a Ted Cruz supporter, who wanted to use language calling for the U.S. to provide “lethal defensive weapons” to the Ukrainian military. Instead the platform eventually called for “appropriate assistance” to Ukraine – which leaves open the possibility of providing “lethal defensive weapons” – and called for “greater coordination with NATO defense planning.”

David Krayden at Da Caller, Former NSC Chief Of Staff: John Brennan Buried Evidence That Putin Actually Favored Hillary In 2016 and Tyler O'Neil at PJ Media, U.S. Intelligence Knew Russia Preferred Hillary to Trump, But John Brennan Hid the Truth, Ex-NSC Chief Says. Politicization of the intelligence community was total under Obama.

Andy McCarthy at NR, More Media Misdirection on Trump-Russia

So now, the committee that does nothing has released a report about nothing new, which the Times promptly serves up as a bombshell that purportedly undercuts Trump contentions about the Obama administration’s Russia investigation . . . even though the committee report does not actually address the president’s main contention: that Obama intelligence and law-enforcement officials tried to frame Trump for conspiring in Russia’s election meddling.

But there are signs of progress on another front, from Jerry Dunleavy at WaEx, John Durham expands investigative team amid coronavirus outbreak

U.S. Attorney John Durham has expanded his team as his review of the Trump-Russia investigators ramps up during the coronavirus pandemic, which has gripped the country and swept the globe.

The top federal prosecutor for Connecticut selected additional team members for his investigative effort in recent weeks, adding agents from the FBI as well as the chief of the Violent Crimes and Narcotics Trafficking Section for the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, Anthony Scarpelli, according to sources cited by CNN. Durham, who has been running the operation out of Connecticut and D.C., drove down to Washington a few weeks ago to keep the investigation moving even as the COVID-19 virus hampered many law enforcement efforts nationwide. The CNN report said Durham requested witness information in March and April.

Attorney General William Barr said in an interview this week that Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Crossfire Hurricane operation and the conduct of associated law enforcement officers and intelligence officials is proceeding full speed ahead, and the timing of a report or possible criminal charges will not be based on the 2020 election calendar. But, he stressed, an announcement or possible indictments are not imminent.

Capt. Ed at Hot Air notes you don't add prosecutors unless you intend to prosecute. Hmmmm: Durham Bolsters Investigative — And Prosecutorial — Team. Also, adding FBI guys to an investigation involving FBI guys? It's hard to avoid, but it would seem to be a problem.

News Thud, Schiff, Nadler Call for IG to Review AG Barr’s Comments on Atkinson Firing. Tough titties.

Sundance at CTH, House Democrats Install Joe Biden Handler, Jim Clyburn, As Lead For Newly Created Trump Removal Committee…

The DNC Club boldly created the Coronavirus Oversight Committee to find new and insightful ways to claim the Wuhan Virus was caused by President Trump. However, it is the installation of Jim Clyburn, the engineer for the Joe Biden campaign, as the head of that committee that shows the political intents for 2020.

Democrats are not even trying to hide it.

and Jim Jordan Discusses Pelosi and Clyburn’s New ‘Remove Trump’ Sub-Committee…



Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.

Russiagate Reissue

Paul Goldberg at News Thud, Devin Nunes Opens Investigation Of Inspector General and Dems Botched Impeachment

Adam Schiff should be nervous. From Fox News:

Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes, R-Calif., first told investigative reporter Sara Carter earlier this week that the panel has an “active investigation” into Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson.
A source familiar with the committee’s investigation on Tuesday went into further detail, telling Fox News that Republicans are looking at the ICIG’s handling of the whistleblower complaint that sparked the impeachment inquiry into President Trump; the veracity of his testimony about the whistleblower complaint; and the explanations he offered for changes made to the ICIG’s guidance on accepting second-hand information.
In August, Atkinson received a complaint from an individual raising concerns about Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he pressed Kiev to launch investigations into the dealings of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in Ukraine, as well as issues related to the 2016 presidential election.
The president’s request came after millions of dollars in U.S. military aid to Ukraine had been frozen, which Democrats argue shows a “quid pro quo” arrangement. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
Republicans for weeks have complained that the whistleblower made contact with Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s, D-Calif., staff in advance — though Schiff has downplayed the nature of that contact.
Whether Republicans are looking further into that contact as part of their review is unclear. But since last fall, they have specifically challenged intelligence community officials over changes to a key form that dropped a requirement for “first-hand information” in whistleblower complaints.

Mark Tapscott at ET, Documents Show Senior Kerry Aide Used Private Email to Send Steele Reports to State Department Colleagues. Sure why not. The more the merrier, when they get rounded up for working with the Russians.

WASHINGTON—Eleven pages of State Department documents released on Jan. 7 in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch show that Jonathan Winer, an assistant to then-Secretary of State John Kerry, used his private email address to convey information he received from former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to top U.S. diplomatic officials.

“I will send them to her [his assistant, Nina Miller] from my non-State email account, not copying myself,” Winer said in response to a December 2014 email from Paul Jones, principal deputy assistant secretary for European Affairs.

John Sexton at Hot Air, Washington Post Asks Reporters To Explain Their ‘Sunny Remarks’ About The Steele Dossier In Light Of The IG Report

Erik Wemple is now on part 10 of his series of articles about the media’s handling of the Steele Dossier. I’ve had my disagreements with Wemple in the past but the work he’s done on this topic is exemplary. As a conservative who wonders why progressives in the media never get held accountable for things they say that later turn out not to be true, Wemple is doing his level best to restore my faith in the major media with this series.
. . .
Here’s a list of the reporters who didn’t respond to Wemple’s questions (on the record):

• MSNBC’s Rachel “Maddow declined to comment on the record.”
• CNN’s Alisyn Camerota “Declined to comment on the record.”
• CNN’s John Berman “Declined to comment on the record.”
• Former State Department official Jonathan Winer (appearing on CNN) “did not return a request for comment.”
• Former federal prosecutor Paul Butler (appearing on MSNBC) offered “No response to a request for comment.”
• CNN counterterrorism analyst Phil Mudd…Wemple lists this as “Awaiting a reply.”
• Journalist Jacob Weisberg (appearing on MSNBC)…Wemple writes “Attempts to secure a comment from Weisberg have been unsuccessful.”
• Journalist Natasha Bertrand (appearing on MSNBC) “Bertrand did not respond to requests for comment.”

It’s interesting how many of these journalists who were part of the pro-dossier chorus on left-leaning networks suddenly have nothing to say about it. To their credit, some of the people who did respond expressed regret or at least admitted to reassessing their past comments:

• Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote an email saying, “I’m still working through the IG report and doing some reporting, trying to decide what, if anything, is still credible in the Steele dossier.” The work to answer that question has already been done and the answer is “not much.” But at least he answered.
• MSNBC’s Howard Fineman gave a solid response which said in part, “In retrospect — and after much more digging — it’s clear that the whole emergence and effect of the dossier should be a warning to us all: bad oppo + zealous feds = bad journalism, erosion of the rule of law and threats to civil liberties.” Fineman also took a swipe at Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith: “at least initially, the press deserves more credit for steering clear of it than the feds! Remember, it took Ben Smith and BuzzFeed to put it out there in January 2017, after the dossier had been essentially bootstrapped into a semblance of credibility by the fact that the feds already had used it!”
• Reporter Daniel Lippman (appearing on CNN) claimed he couldn’t remember why he said what he did and then blamed the NY Times: “As far as what I told CNN, they were a long time ago and while I don’t recall my exact frame of mind at they time, this NYT story is a point of reference for my comments.”

The reporters defending their prior statements about the dossier included CNN’s Manu Raju, who didn’t defend himself but had a CNN flak do it for him, and MSNBC Nicole Wallace. But the standout has to be Jane Mayer who wrote a lengthy and favorable profile of Steele for the New Yorker in 2018 . . .
. . .
Tenth in a series on the media’s handling of the Steele dossier. Read the rest of the series here.

Mostly, they've reacted to the unpleasant truth they way vampire respond to garlic; avoid it.

Lunden Robert's, Hunter Biden's baby mama

Facebook admits the truth, Facebook Exec: Trump Won 2016 Not Because Of Russians But Because Of An Outstanding Digital Campaign

The Biden crime family continues their winning ways, as Plaintiffs Who Sued Joe Biden's Brother for Fraud Receive Terroristic Threat: FBI Investigating (Megan Fox, PJ Media). Poor Hunter, always being forced to take responsibility, since the old man is senile, Fox News, Hunter Biden not disputing judge's custody ruling: Court papers and WaEx, Hunter Biden says he wants no custody of 'Baby Doe' he fathered with Arkansas stripper, probably the wise choice.

In the Shampeachment, according to WaPoo, Nancy is still holding out; Pelosi says impeachment articles won’t go to Senate until she learns more about how trial would be conducted. Capt. Ed, Hot Air, Pelosi: No Articles For McConnell Until He Explains Himself, Or Something

Normally, a briar-patch strategy only works once. Mitch McConnell seems to be getting a whole lotta mileage out of his use of the tactic with Nancy Pelosi. McConnell locked up enough votes to use the 1999 Bill Clinton impeachment-trial rules for the impeachment of Donald Trump and has begun preparations to pass them quickly. Despite this, Pelosi keeps trying to use leverage she just doesn’t have, pledging to keep holding onto the articles until McConnell allows her to approve the process.
. . .
At some point, perhaps a constitutional scholar will explain to the House Speaker that she has no role in setting Senate rules, just as the Senate has no role in setting the House’s. She should be grateful for that; plenty of Senate Republicans objected to the kangaroo court Adam Schiff conducted to produce these articles of impeachment. The objections got so heated that pressure got put on Lindsey Graham to conduct a parallel set of hearings to deconstruct the Schiff Show, which he declined to do.

AP alternate headline,  McConnell says 'no haggling' as impeachment standoff deepens, or as sundance at CTH puts it Mitch McConnell Invites Nancy Pelosi to Sit on a Pinecone: “There will be no haggling with the House over Senate procedure”…



When you've lost Politico, McConnell's win on impeachment trial procedure was months in the making. Jazz Shaw at Hot reports restiveness in the ranks, Pelosi Continues Stalling. It’s Time To Leave Her Behind and  Capt. Ed, NBC, CNN: Senate Dems Getting Tired Of Pelosi’s Delay Tactics, Too

This is all Kabuki theater anyway, but Pelosi’s making that a lot clearer with her bizarre tactics — and making McConnell’s job easier to boot.

Betsy McCaughey at NYPo, Impeach Trump or get off the pot. But then, there's Sen Pierre Delecto, Senator Romney Throws A Wrench In Senate Impeachment Trial (Paul Goldberg, News Thud). “I would like to be able to hear from John Bolton. What the process is to make that happen, I don’t have an answer for you,” Romney told reporters on Capitol Hill. And Joe Manchin is still pretending to be a Democrat for now, AllahPundit,  Joe Manchin: The Impeachment Trial Will Be A Sham If We Don’t Hear From John Bolton. Breitbart, Adam Schiff Threatens House Subpoena for John Bolton: It’s Not ‘Off the Table’ I would kind of like to hear from Bolton too, but that doesn't mean we should.

 At Roll Call, Todd Ruger think Roberts would hold the gavel, but not the power, at Trump impeachment trial. Historically, the CJ's have been pretty hands off during impeachment trials. But, can Roberts resist the temptation to poke Trump?

More Russiagate on a Tuesday Morning

Via the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 06.17.19 Powerline insists “Obama Had to Know”.

What did President Obama know, and when did he know it? Those questions need to be asked by investigators both inside and outside of Congress. I think Trump’s surmise is correct, not only because the anti-Trump effort rose high up into the bureaucracy, but because Peter Strzok told his lover that “potus wants to know everything we’re doing.”

It sure seems likely. We need to put a few guys and gals in jail to squeeze them to confess, AMI right? At Althouse, Did Trump say that Obama was behind a group of people who were trying to steal the election using the fake dossier? He did, and he's right. As usual, the fun in is the comments. At Breitbart, Fitton: Emails Show Obama State Department’s Role in Anti-Trump Coup Cabal. After being led by Hillary Clinton and John Kerry why would that be surprise? From Lloyd Billingsley at Frontpage Mag, Kerry State Department Promoted Steele Dossier and Russia Collusion Fantasy.

Monica Showalter at Am Think, Dictator in exile, Medici edition: Is Obama secretly meeting with Italy's Renzi to get their stories straight?. Quick, let's find out if the Logan Act still has any teeth.

Jed Babbin, AmSpc reports The CIA Is Running Scared - Barr’s bloodhounds are sniffing up Langley’s skirts. Still questioning Gina Haspel's commitment to the clean up. At RCP,
Victor Davis Hanson claims Likely Criminal Referrals For Brennan, Comey, McCabe Will Be A Slow Process All The Way Through 2020. I didn't imagine he was that optimistic.

Julie Kelly at AmGreat, No Outrage Over Democrat Ties to Foreign Election Interference. I'm outraged, how about you? It's just the bulk of the media that doesn't care and is actively resisting attempts to investigate it. From Adam Mill at Da Fed, Election Commissioner: Clinton Can Get Info From Foreigners, But How Dare Trump Think About It. Ace, Lindsey Graham and Jim Jordan: Psst, Hillary Clinton and the DNC Employed a Foreign Agent to Buy Disinformation From RUSSIANS. From Da Caller, Lindsey Graham: ‘President Trump Is Right. Talking To People Is Not A Crime’. Lindsey 2.0 was a considerable upgrade. David Harsanyi at NYPo insists, Anti-Trump ‘dossier’ was all about foreign interference in a US election. Why, yes it was, wasn't it?

At Fox News, Beto argues Trump's foreign intel comment is grounds for impeachment. Not exactly a source of non-biased political opinion. So what's he polling at now? 3%. No, 2%. From Rabbi Fischer at Am Spec, ‘I Think I Would’ — A Clause Challenging Those Who Incite Before Thinking, but what's the fun of thinking before emoting?

A review by John Fund at NR, FBI Lovebirds Is D.C. Satire at Its Best. At WaPoo, Former Superman and 'FBI Lovebirds’ star Dean Cain explains where he falls politically

Dean Cain is one of the rare Hollywood stars that doesn’t fall into the category of liberal. But don’t call him a conservative either. Yes, he likes and voted for Trump, and vows to vote for him again, but he says that doesn’t make him a “an alt-right crazy" (which he claims he’s been called, in addition to a slew of other names). Which is why he didn’t shy away from participating in the right-leaning play, “FBI Lovebirds: Undercovers” even after someone threatened violence against the cast via Twitter two weeks ago, causing the production to change venues.

“It was a tweet,” play director Phelim McAleer said of the threat. “We get more than that every day.”

The Daily Signal, DC Theater Cancels Strzok-Page Play, ‘FBI Lovebirds: UnderCovers’ You're just not allowed to make fun of some people in that town.

The play was scheduled to open at Mead Theater space in the Studio Theatre complex June 13, but on May 28, the theater sent an email to McAleer and the Unreported Story Society production team revoking their booking.

“Media reports have made us aware of undisclosed details about the event,” an employee of the theater told the team, according to the press release about the film’s cancellation. The employee also cited “security concerns” as a reason for cancelling.

Speaking of Page and Strzok,  The DNC Sold The Brooklyn Bridge To The FBI. But the FBI and DOJ knew what they were getting was shite.

Another review by John Dale Dunn at AmThink, Robert Mueller: A Scary and Mendacious Man. You don't get that high up in the deep state by being warm and fuzzy.

"Mueller has left his imprint on some of the most notorious episodes of government wrongdoing of the last thirty years."  Mr. Milkovich is and was assiduous in his research and provides almost 400 endnotes and more than 125 items of bibliography as reference sources for his 165-page self-published book.  When I asked him about the tough calls, he pointed to the sources and compelling evidence.

A bit like the girl who killed her mother and asked for forgiveness because she was an orphan, British home secretary on Trump: Time to stop 'interfering' in UK politics (Da Hill).

And from Capt. Ed at Hot Air, Dems’ New Strategy To Defeat Executive Privilege: Subpoena Randos!

Question: What can Congress do to get around claims of executive privilege while pursuing dreams of impeachment? Answer, via Politico — subpoena randos. Oh sure, they’re famous randos, of course, necessary for garnering the headlines that the House Judiciary Committee craves, but legally speaking about as relevant as calling John Dean to talk about Watergate.

The subpoenas for Paul Manafort and Rick Gates might have some theoretical connection to an impeachment case against Donald Trump. They worked on his campaign and are facing long years in prison for their earlier corrupt acts in dealing with Ukraine and Russia. Similarly, Michael Flynn worked in the White House — briefly, anyway, after working on the campaign and transition team. It’s theoretically possible that they could produce some sort of smoking gun against Trump.

However, that’s only a theoretical possibility. All three men faced prosecution by Robert Mueller, and none of them produced any smoking guns in exchange for leniency. Flynn, in fact, has been so cooperative that Mueller’s team has had to go to bat for him a couple of times with a federal judge to get a lenient sentence — and yet never gave Mueller anything on Trump. What exactly can the House Judiciary Committee give any of these men to unlock some supposed secret knowledge that they theoretically didn’t cough up to Mueller when it theoretically might have kept them out of prison? Immunity from future prosecutions? That’s a big help, and only in the theoretical sense.

At best, this is the House Judiciary Committee doing some belated due diligence in confirming Mueller’s work. At worst, it’s a publicity stunt by Jerrold Nadler.

As for subpoenaing Corey Lewandowski and Chris Christie, there is no “at best” scenario. It’s pure stuntwork and nothing more. Neither man worked in the White House, so they can’t speak to obstruction. No one has ever hypothesized that either man was in the Russia-collusion-hypothesis loop either. They literally have nothing to add to any impeachment case proposed by Democrats. Democrats will use them as props, targets for their soliloquies about Trump while producing nothing at all of substance.

The other objective, which they've been practicing all along, is to make it clear that if you work for Trump, ever, you will face a mountain of lawyer's fees.

A "Where are they now" From WaT, Justice Department reportedly blocks Paul Manafort transfer to Rikers Island. Good, extrajudicial punishment should not be an option.

Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen sent a letter to Manhattan prosecutors last week and on Monday informed the Manhattan district attorney’s office that Manafort would not be moved to the notorious prison, according to the Times.

Instead, Manafort could remain at a federal facility own Loretto, Pennsylvania, or the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan while he awaits trial in New York on state charges, the paper said. The Times also reported Manafort was transferred to the Manhattan facility on Monday, a sign that his arraignment is near.

Justice Department officials told the Times that the intervention was unusual, but not inappropriate. Judges and prosecutors, however, said it was surprising that Mr. Rosen would involve himself in the Manafort case, according to the paper.

Russigate: The Declassification Boogie

The big news, of course, is that President Trump has authorized AG Barr to declassify documents relating to the origin of the Russiagate hoax and ordered the heads of other agencies to aid in his quest. WaPoo (30 day pass), Trump gives Barr power to declassify intelligence related to Russia probe

President Trump has granted Attorney General William P. Barr “full and complete authority” to declassify government secrets, issuing a memorandum late Thursday that orders U.S. intelligence agencies to cooperate promptly with Barr’s audit of the investigation into Russia’s election interference in 2016.

The president’s move gives Barr broad powers to unveil carefully guarded intelligence secrets about the Russia investigation, which the attorney general requested to allow him to quickly carry out his review, according to the memo.

“Today’s action will ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the events that occurred, and the actions that were taken, during the last Presidential election and will restore confidence in our public institutions,” the White House said in an accompanying statement, which Trump then tweeted.

You can imagine APs take from the title,  Trump moves to escalate investigation of intel agencies.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff accused Trump and Barr of trying to “conspire to weaponize law enforcement and classified information against their political enemies.”

“The coverup has entered a new and dangerous phase,” Schiff said in a statement released late Thursday. “This is un-American.”

Typically, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence coordinates declassification work by contacting various agencies where classified material originated to get their input on what should be released or not disclosed based on legal exemptions. The president, however, has the authority to declassify anything he wants.

A former senior intelligence official who served in the Obama administration said their principle concern is that the attorney general, hand-picked by Trump, could declassify and release selective bits to make the previous administration and former senior officials look bad. The former official spoke on the condition that the official would not be named in order to describe the concerns of intelligence professionals.

Comey, Clapper or Brennan? They all have stuff they want to keep hidden. Gateway Pundit, Schiff Panics: Accuses Trump of Cover-up With Declassification of Campaign Spying Docs

Da Wire, BREAKING: Trump Declassifying Information That Led To Russia Investigation, Capt Ed at Hot Air, Let The Gamechanging Begin: Trump Authorizes Declassification Of Crossfire Hurricane Origins, Ace, Trump Orders Intelligence Agencies to Cooperate With AG Barr's Investigation; First Round of Declassified Documents Being Prepped for Release

Wait, are you telling me they weren't cooperating before?

That's not possible. I'm told they're straight-shooters and the very best of us.

Power Line, Trump signs declassification memo

Recognizing the danger to Democratic interests posed by a thorough and transparent investigation of surveillance against the Trump campaign, Rep. Adam Schiff wasted no time complaining about the declassification memo. He accused the president and the attorney general of conspiring to “weaponize law enforcement and classified information against their political enemies.”

But all they are really doing is providing access to information. If the information shows no wrongdoing, there will be nothing to “weaponize.” If the information shows wrongdoing, consequences should follow.

PJ Media, Susan Rice on Investigating Origins of Russia Probe: 'I Have No Idea What DOJ is Doing'. But was she on her way to see a lawyer?

Attachment 3, the 302 of Strzok being interviewed regarding his ambush interview with Gen Michael Flynn. "Flynn was unguarded and clearly saw the FBI agents as allies." Big mistake, don't ever talk to the FBI without a lawyer.

Althouse catches the legal community in wishful thinking in Bill Barr said something that was literally true but could still be considered a criminal false statement.

Lawprof Stephen Gillers explains in "When Is a 'Literally True”' Statement False and a Crime?"

I'll just excerpt the part about Bill Clinton:

Da Caller, Trump Accuses James Comey, Andrew McCabe Of Treason. Hey, it might be worth litigating. Ace, Mike Pompeo: Why Yes, It Happens to Be True That John Kerry Is Violating the Logan Act. I'm all for prosecuting him, and appealing all the way to the Supes if necessary. I don't believe it's constitutional, but lets find out before the Democrats try to use it on another Republican.

So open an investigation into John Kerry. Per Obama precedent, THE LOGAN ACT IS REAL, YO.

Put him under oath and subpoena all his financial records going back 8 years. Justice requires no less.

This man cannot be allowed to prance around as if he is King, immune to all laws.

Via Wombat's In The Mailbox: 05.23.19 (Morning Edition), Mark Steyn: Honey Traps & Money Traps, also, Investigation Without End

Via the Wombats, In The Mailbox: 05.23.19 (Evening Edition) VDH at American Greatness: Federal Rats Are Fleeing The Sinking Collusion Ship, Don Surber: Americans Want The FBI Investigated, Power Line, Will The Media Ever Pay A Price For Its Irresponsibility? Mark Steyn, Declassify Everything, Mr. President!,  BattleSwarm, Creepy Porn Lawyer Even Creepier, Weasel Zippers: Flashback – Media Drooling Over Michael Avenatti As “Savior Of The Republic”

Sundance at CTH claims Robert Mueller Did Interview President Trump Regarding Obstruction Case…, only it occurred before he was appointed Special Counsel. It's an interesting theory, but I'm unconvinced. I feel much more certain about this one from Bonchie at Red State, Details Show Obama Is Clearly Lying About His Involvement In The Trump-Russia Hoax. As Capt. Joseph Hazelwood knows, the Captain is responsible for what happens on his ship, even when he's lying in his bunk. Capt. Ed at Hot Air, CJR: Obama Admin Surveillance Of Reporters “Broader Than Previously Known”. And they stayed his friend and protector anyway.

Chuck Ross at Da Caller (again) Nunes To Trump: Ask Theresa May About Brits’ Handling Of Steele Dossier. Don't ask. Tell her. Besides, I doubt she'll last the week. UPDATE: Gone! Francis Turner at  L'Ombre de l'Olivier A Tale of Two Coups, compares the Spygate scandal to the Brexit mess, both examples of the ruling class being unwilling to honor the wishes of the voters.

Spike Hampson at AmGreat has a simple request. Let's Make Sure 'Obstruction of Justice' Is Properly Defined. Not all forms of resistance to a prosecutor is obstruction regardless of how they feel about it.

The Department of Justice is not synonymous with "justice."  We all sincerely hope that the Department pursues true justice most of the time, but anybody with any worldly experience knows that sometimes it doesn't.  Obstructing the activities of the Department of Justice should not be automatically viewed as obstructing justice.  Even if the Department of Justice is behaving honorably, a person who interferes with its investigation to keep it from arriving at a false conclusion should not be found guilty of obstructing justice.  Only a person who attempts to block the department from discovering something true should even be considered for prosecution based on obstruction of justice.

WaFreeBee, Democracy Alliance Members Fund ‘American Oversight’ Investigations of Trump "Group running FOIA op on Trump admin claims to be nonpartisan". I'm shocked, shocked to find out the contrary. Politics ain't bean bag!

Capt Ed is a busy man, Breaking: Banking CEO Indicted For Bribing Manafort To Get A Trump Admin Gig. News flash, Manafort is scum. So why didn't the FBI warn Trump instead of opening an investigation on him? Because they could.

Twitchy, Didn’t pull a single punch! Rep. Doug Collins NAILS Democrats for the real reason they want to question McGahn (watch)

House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Doug Collins at McGahn hearing: "The special counsel closed up shop without giving Democrats anything to deliver to their base. Now the Democrats are trying desperately to make something out of nothing" https://t.co/wMuigsaBGa pic.twitter.com/JYBkIEQB8w

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 21, 2019

Michael Tracey at Spectator USA captures my impressions in Maria Butina: jailed for the crime of being Russian. She’s a political prisoner, caught up in the mess of the Mueller probe

Maria Butina was not a Russian spy. She did not trade sex for influence. She had nothing to do with any clandestine espionage activity, nor did she ever hide her dealings with American political officials. In fact, she unabashedly loved America – perhaps to a fault. But she’s currently sitting in jail, and almost no one will say a word in her defense. The ordeal to which she’s been subjected is jaw-dropping for its recklessness and absurdity.

There’s so much that’s wrong with this case, it’s almost hard to know where to begin. Maybe the most obnoxious malfeasance was committed by moralizing media members who saw fit to cast judgment on her personal romantic decisions – as if that was ever remotely any of their business in the first place. Butina was in a long-term relationship with an older man, Paul Erickson, a fact automatically skewed as proof (somehow) that she was a transactional harlot. The sleazy hunch was never supported by actual facts, but that didn’t stop journalists from spewing the most malignant theories about what could have possibly possessed her to enter this consensual adult relationship. When it comes to the wider Trump-Russia saga, all ordinary journalistic and ethical standards are chucked decisively out the window.

On the other side of media malfeasance, Twitchy ‘Too shocked for words’: Somebody’s conspicuously missing from CNN’s homepage "We can remember a time not so long ago when CNN couldn’t get enough of Michael Avenatti. But now?" Dr. John at Flopping Aces shares Creepy Porn Lawyer highlights and flashbacks