Election: Liz Cheney Proves No Insurrection on Jan. 6

Man, oh man, I started the morning with an easily manageable handful of links and ended up with two full pages. Nothing to do but get started.

As was foreordained, the House voted, largely upon party lines (except for Liz Cheney and Adam Kinsinger), to hold ex-Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows in criminal contempt of Congress (JTN).  So, yeah, all real Republicans voted no. Well, we all know how I feel about contempt of Congress. Every red-blooded American needs to be in contempt of Congress. Breitbart, Defiant Mark Meadows Slams the Democrats: ‘They’re Not Going to Intimidate Me’ It's a totally illegal, improperly composed committee.

And we're still jawing about how Trump Jr, Fox hosts texts to Trump on Jan 6: Call off the riot! (Capt. Ed at Haut Hair). I don't know about you, but when I'm rioting, I'm always on my phone checking for texts and Twitter. Althouse cites the Beeb in "Donald Trump's son sent the White House chief-of-staff frantic texts calling for his father to intervene during the Capitol riot on 6 January...." The fun is in the comments. 

AllahPundit at Haut Hair crows Cheney hints: We're building a case that Trump committed a federal crime on January 6. CNN, Liz Cheney's latest move against Trump highlights her distinct path among Republicans. Pretty much an ex-Republican. Sundance at CTH, The Sanctimonious, Insufferable and Clownish Liz Cheney Seeks Revenge for Republican Ridicule, "Previously, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski set the low bar for contempt against the Tea Party movement, however, this week Liz Cheney says ‘hold my beer’ and goes all in against the MAGA base.  Ugly is as ugly does – inside and outside." Slightly cooler heads at Western Journal (WJ) explain how Liz Cheney Accidentally Undercuts Entire Purpose of Jan. 6 Committee by Releasing Mark Meadows' Texts. 

Cheney just accidentally proved there was no insurrection.

On Monday, The New York Times reported, Cheney read aloud text messages sent to Meadows from Donald Trump Jr. and Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Brian Kilmeade as the incursion was underway. All of them urgently conveyed the need for the then-president to publicly and firmly condemn the violence as it got out of hand.

In so doing, however, she accidentally revealed that Trump and his supporters were both surprised and concerned by the rioting and that there was a general consensus that it should end.

At Twitchy,  Mollie Hemingway points out the fatal flaw in the January 6 conspiracy theory argument now that we’ve seen these text messages. Robert Spence, PJ Media, Liz Cheney, Daily Beast Tout ‘Bombshell’ Texts That Actually Prove There Was No Insurrection and Adam Schiff Uses Text Messages That Disprove Insurrection to Try to Shore Up Sagging Insurrection Narrative.

At the Right Scoop, WATCH: Tucker Carlson reports that Liz Cheney may be running for president. Seriously. Tristan Justice at Da Fed reports that the toleraters of the pedophile at the Lincoln Project Donors Are Bankrolling Liz Cheney. At TNP, REVEALED: Liz Cheney Accepted ‘Statesmanship’ Award From Chinese Communist Party Influence Group. Dogs, fleas. 

From Town Hall, Jim DeMint explains the obvious, The Jan. 6 Committee's Real Goal

The real goal of the Pelosi’s select committee serves no legislative purpose, but is political retribution to keep the “Trump and Republican riot” in the news until the 2022 election. Democrats are doing this because they have nothing else to talk about. Biden, Pelosi and Schumer have no policy platform to improve the country, all they have is a record of economic and cultural destruction.

Lloyd Billingsly at Am Great excoriates Emmet Domain, "Judge Emmet Sullivan, persecutor of General Michael Flynn, now railroads the January 6 defendants." Paul Bedard at WaEx  Marjorie Taylor Greene rips Jan. 6 jailer as ‘hateful’ anti-Trumper. And she has the receipts. She will likely get banned at Twitter. Yahoo! D.C. attorney general sues Proud Boys, Oath Keepers for Jan. 6 violence, and of course they can win in D.C. courts, but could it survive judicial review? At PJ Media, Stephen Kruiser begs  Please Democrats, Keep Up Your Lunatic Jan. 6 Obsession.

News from Georgia's home county, the North Coast Journal reports The Clintons Swing Through Humboldt, Reportedly Filming Docuseries and Ace wonders Is Hillary Clinton Actually Running? Insty, PROOF THE DEMOCRATS HAVE NO BENCH IS THAT THEY’RE FLOATING THIS IDEA: Hillary 2024? Given the competition, she may be the Dems’ best hope.   Regarding Hillary's comment that the reelection of Trump might be the end of our democracy, by way of the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.14.21 (Evening Edition), Don Surber explains what she means What Hillary meant by democracy "By democracy, she meant a government of the Democrats, by the Democrats, and for the Democrats."

At JTN, Trump-DeSantis in 2024? Former president suggests it’s a ticket that could work, "In Florida, DeSantis has a job-approval rating of 56% and double-digit leads over his Democratic challengers." I'm OK with it. Also from the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.14.21 (Evening Edition), Louder With Crowder: Ron DeSantis Unleashed – “Democrats Must Be Punished At The Ballot Box”

From A J-Con, Why David Perdue is confident he can oust Brian Kemp. Trump magic? 

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.14.21 (Afternoon Edition), Power Line: DeSantis Strikes Back, Twitchy, Rep. Cori Bush Preemptively Blames Sleepy Joe & Moderate Dems For Defeat In 2022, Da Tech Guy: The Biggest Messaging Problem For Democrats and Gates Of Vienna, Immigrants Are “Future Voting Cattle & Profiteers”. 

Paul Bedard at WaEx, Southern GOP states have highest ‘election integrity’: Report. This is a surprise? At TNP, Even CNN’s Polling Shows Energized 2022 Voters Are Split on Whether 2020 Was Stolen. Ethel Fenig at Am Think finds Stalin and Biden agree: who gets to count the votes matters more than who gets to vote.

At Summit News, Poll Finds Trump is More Admired Than Biden or The Pope. Not a high bar. D Tech Guy, The Biggest Messaging Problem for Democrats is Reality The 2nd is Saying What they Actually Believe Out Loud. "Now given the methods used to win the last national election it may well be that it doesn’t matter what the voters think but in midterm elections at a time of heightened scrutiny this is a danger." Dr. A at Am Think sees Out of Africa Come Republicans. Mike LeChance at LI, Biden and Democrats are Losing Their Advantage With Latino Voters, “Last year, more than 60% told pollsters they would cast a ballot for their House Democratic contender, researchers found. This month, 37% said they would make the same choice, while the same percentage would back the Republican.”

Insty, JOSH BLACKMAN & SETH BARRETT TILLMAN: Is the President an “Officer of the United States” for Purposes of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment? 

Though it’s now moot with regard to Trump after two failed impeachments, one takeaway from this is that presidents aren’t subject to disqualification after impeachment.

Shorter summary of the argument here.

Russiagate Revisited

It's been a while, almost a week, since I updated this. Michael Flynn is still in the news as Checuk Ross at Da Caller reminds us that Judge Dismisses Case Against Michael Flynn But Refuses To Say He’s Innocent

Sullivan said in a 43-page ruling that he would likely not have approved a Justice Department motion to withdraw charges against Flynn if not for the Trump pardon. He also asserted that clemency for Flynn did not indicate that he was innocent of charges in his criminal case.

Kim Strassel at paywalled WSJ discusses  Judge Sullivan’s Final ‘Verdict’. Insty helps with a sizeable quote:

Judge Sullivan positioned himself as prosecutor, judge, jury and lord high executioner. He went so far as to hire a former federal judge, John Gleeson, to make the case against Mr. Flynn—and Mr. Barr. Mr. Gleeson gave it his all, filing a 30-page brief asserting there was “clear evidence” the motion to dismiss “reflects a corrupt and politically motivated favor unworthy of our justice system.” That implies a grand conspiracy and impugns the reputations of dozens of Justice Department professionals. Yet it turns out the only evidence Mr. Gleeson had for such an outrageous claim was Mr. Trump’s tweets expressing interest in justice for Mr. Flynn.

Meanwhile, have pity (or not) on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which in August naively provided Judge Sullivan the opportunity to dig out—which he disrespectfully declined. A three-judge panel in June ordered Judge Sullivan to drop the case. He appealed, and the full D.C. Circuit agreed to hear his plea. That was a mistake, establishing joint ownership of Judge Sullivan’s malpractice.

The court made a second mistake by wrapping itself in legal knots (with Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan ignoring his own 2016 precedent, known as U.S. v. Fokker Services) to give Judge Sullivan an out, claiming he should at least be provided the opportunity to rule. The appellate court made clear this was a face-saving exercise; it expected Judge Sullivan to dismiss the case quickly. Instead he made fools this week of his higher-court colleagues. He sat on the case for months, and only when forced by a pardon did he issue a ruling in which he made clear he had no intention of granting the Justice Department’s dismissal motion. (Judge Srinivisan’s willingness to remake law at the behest of a rogue judge is worth remembering if his name comes up for elevation to the Supreme Court.)

It was Mr. Comey’s arrogance that dragged the country into the three-year Russia-collusion saga, so perhaps the Sullivan ruling is a natural bookend. It’s a reminder that for all the caterwauling these past four years about the breaking of “norms” and “standards,” the unhinged critics of Mr. Trump have done the most damage to the system.

Freed from the threat of prosecution, Flynn is speaking out. John Solomon at JTN, Mike Flynn fires back at FBI, DOJ: ‘I've seen corruption up close and personal’ "Former general suggests trial judge refused to follow law."  Breitbart, Michael Flynn: There’s an ‘Anti-American’ Sentiment in the DoJ, FBI, Intel Community. YouTube, Gen. Michael Flynn Full Speech at March for Trump Rally in DC 12/12/20 and Fox, Flynn: Feds should have been looking into Swalwell instead of him and Trump. Maybe they have, and maybe not.  

Speaking of Swallowell, Scott Johnson at Power Line has Swalwell's Swill (Say that ten times fast). 

In the annals of misdirection, this Politico story retails nonpareil spin: “Rep. Swalwell says Trump criticism behind spy story.” Subhead: “The California Democrat says the president is trying to make him look bad.” As for “trying to make him look bad,” I rate the degree of difficulty at 0.0.

Jordan Peterson at Da Fed tells how As Swalwell Spy Scandal Spirals, Pelosi Won’t Say How Many Other House Intel Dems Had Sexual Relationships With Spies, More than she has ice cream bars?  Fox, China's extensive 'honey trap' spy network could involve thousands of ploys underway now, "ex-operative says 'There are many more of these women out there,' retired CIA officer Daniel Hoffman says."  Chuck Ross at Da Caller reports Swalwell Spoke At Same 2013 Event As Alleged Chinese Spy Who Worked For Dianne Feinstein. Birds of a feather. PM, EXCLUSIVE: Swalwell Took Donations From Chinese Communist Party Employee "In the years 2014 and 2015, the California Congressman accepted a total of $6,000 from Victoria Li, an employee of Air China: a state-owned, Chinese Communist Party-run company." Fox, Swalwell stonewalls on relationship with suspected Chinese spy for 3rd day "Swalwell says he did not share classified information with her" Or as it would be said in anti-Trump newspeak "asserts without evidence." Twitchy, Richard Grenell calls out newspaper for fake news on Rep. Eric Swalwell and his Chinese spy friend

This anonymous quote is pushing fake news. I believe it’s completely made up by the reporter, too.

No real intel official with real information could honestly say this.

But of course, the SF Chronicle and @cmarinucci happily push it because it looks to help a Democrat. https://t.co/B8Khf9N8wu

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) December 14, 2020

Explosive segments on @seanhannity with Former Acting DNI. @RichardGrenell and @RepMattGaetz. If governors and mayors have been leveraged by China, that would be very disturbing and they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/HaATKo9yLX

— CENSORED INFORMATION (@CENSOREDINFORM1) December 11, 2020

​NotTheBee reminds us NYT has not covered the Swalwell Chinese spy honeytrap scandal a single time. Usually, at least, sex sells. Rick Moran at PJ Media, Sensenbrenner Requests Ethics Investigation Into Swalwell's Relationship With Chinese Spy. Yeah? Good luck with that. 

Fox, Special Counsel John Durham expanding team, making 'excellent progress'  "Fox News has learned that Durham is adding prosecutors to his team". Matt Vespa at Town Hall, 'Full Speed Ahead': Durham Expands Russian Collusion Hoax Investigation. Caution, I remember the same headlines about the Mueller team. Jeff Dunetz at Da Lid is also skeptical, Is Durham Really Expanding His Team And Making ‘Excellent Progress?’ "Why Does It Seem That Durham Is Like Lucy Pulling Away The Football Again?" Chuck Ross at Da Caller, John Durham Sought Christopher Steele’s Notes From A Meeting With The FBI In Which An Agent Said The Ex-Spy ‘Wasn’t Truthful’. Steele would be a nice scalp. Comey, McCabe, Strzok and Lisa Page would be more satisfying.

Lee Smith at JTN, Clinton associate wrote anti-Trump dossier in 2016 claiming he had Russian FSB source "Cody Shearer’s intel, forwarded to FBI via Christopher Steele, should have set off disinformation alarm bells, intel experts say." We should call it the "Clinton Dossier."

Ben Weingarten at Da Fed asks a strictly rhetorical question, Why Does Corporate Media Amplify John Brennan’s Neverending Lies? Because they want to buy the shit he's selling.

Jazz Shaw at Hot Air says Trump Suggests He Might “Declassify Everything” Just do it!

Catch Up Russiagate: Sullivan Dismisses Flynn Case in Hissy Fit

I didn't know the phrase "hissy fit" until I moved east; out in Calfornica is was "hizzy fit." Anyway, that went downhill quickly. First, back on Dec. 5th, from the JTN staff, Judge Emmet Sullivan still refusing to dismiss Michael Flynn case, and then on the 7th, 

Judge Sullivan on #Flynn's case just granted a lineup of requests to file friend-of-the-court briefs in the wake of Trump granting a pardon to the former national security adviser. pic.twitter.com/16BipvH8ZZ

— Megan Mineiro (@MMineiro_CNS) December 7, 2020

But then, somebody higher must have called and told him to get it over with or else (remember, even the DC circus told him to move quickly, three months ago), Twitchy, ‘It’s OVER’: Judge Sullivan throws spiteful 43-page temper tantrum because he can’t do a DAMN thing to hurt Flynn anymore, 'Bonchie' at Red State, BREAKING: Michael Flynn Case Officially Dropped, Judge Releases Whiney, Politicized 43 Page Opinion

Accompanying Judge Sullivan's order is a spiteful opinion supportive of the broader Crossfire Hurricane and Flynn investigations.

He labels the DOJ dismissal as "pretextual" and "dubious"

Full doc:https://t.co/09DHj4brlt pic.twitter.com/g7qDwdosE8

— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) December 8, 2020

Sundance at CTH, Arrogant and Petulant Judge Sullivan Finally Dismisses Flynn Case as Moot, It’s Over "I’ve got two words for you Judge Sullivan, and they ain’t Merry Christmas!" Related, NYPo, Mike Flynn says he ‘put the fear of God’ into Obama.

In other amusing, and yet still disconcerting news, Russiagate deadender Eric Swalwell was caught sleeping with the enemy, probably quite literally. Anxious broke the story, Exclusive: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians, although they tended to focus in mid-west mayors, perhaps to take the heat off Swallowell. 

Eric Swalwell and Christina Fang

The woman at the center of the operation, a Chinese national named Fang Fang or Christine Fang, targeted up-and-coming local politicians in the Bay Area and across the country who had the potential to make it big on the national stage.

• Through campaign fundraising, extensive networking, personal charisma, and romantic or sexual relationships with at least two Midwestern mayors, Fang was able to gain proximity to political power, according to current and former U.S. intelligence officials and one former elected official.
• Even though U.S. officials do not believe Fang received or passed on classified information, the case "was a big deal, because there were some really, really sensitive people that were caught up" in the intelligence network, a current senior U.S. intelligence official said.
• Private but unclassified information about government officials — such as their habits, preferences, schedules, social networks, and even rumors about them — is a form of political intelligence. Collecting such information is a key part of what foreign intelligence agencies do.

Among the most significant targets of Fang's efforts was Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).

Ace, Eric Fartwell Got Cozy With a Chinese Spy

Notice the publication of this story was delayed until after it could no longer harm the Democrats in the election.

When it could no longer underscore the threat from China, or its efforts to turn US politicians.

Such as Joe Biden.

Bryan Preston at PJ Media, Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell Screamed About Russia for Four Years -- But He Was Cozy With a Chinese Spy. Jeff Dunetz at Da Lid, Trump Russiagate Accuser Rep. Eric Swalwell Infiltrated By Chinese Spy

Insty, TRUMP RUSSIAGATE ACCUSER REP. ERIC SWALWELL INFILTRATED* BY CHINESE SPY.

As Jerry Dunleavy of the Washington Examiner tweets, “You’d think Swalwell could just say ‘of course I didn’t have sex with the Chinese Communist Party spy’ but so far he has not done so.”

And, of course, from Fox, Swalwell suggests Trump is behind blockbuster Axios report. Well, I certainly hope so.

From Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Carter Page Wants A Say At Sentencing Of Ex-FBI Lawyer Involved In FISA Abuse. Victim impact statement. A few million dollars would be nice too. Never forget, Clinesmith was part of corrupt Mueller team. 

'Bonchie' at Red State notes how John Brennan Lies About the Steele Dossier, Fox News' Chris Wallace Just Nods Along and at WaEx, 'John Brennan is a liar': Former CIA director slammed after saying, 'There was no spying on Donald Trump’s campaign'

.@JohnBrennan: “The Steele dossier was not used in any way to undergird the judgments that came out of the intelligence community assessment about the Russian actions in the 2016 election." pic.twitter.com/OMV70c6u2X

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) December 6, 2020

#Durham Pg 6 Declassified FBI emails from "London debrief" Steele dossier used to secure 4 surveillance warrantsfor @carterwpage “After Comey's letter (Oct 28, 2016) reopening HRC (email) case, Fusion GPS (firm behind Dossier + opposition research) felt the gloves had come off" + pic.twitter.com/Roahy2oBIq

— Catherine Herridge (@CBS_Herridge) December 6, 2020

BREAKING: IRS tax filings reveal that Obama's Organizing for Action paid Perkins Coie LLP $302,000 in "legal services" in 2016 as Perkins Coie paid for the anti-Trump Russia dossier and spread its debunked allegations to the Hillary Clinton Campaign, DNC, Washington media and FBI

— Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) December 7, 2020

WaEx editiorial, Barr right to make Durham special counsel and public must get final report. I give 50:50 odds. Ace want to Declassify! All Of It!. 

From Da Wire, Congressman Calls For Special Counsel To Be Appointed To Investigate Hunter Biden: ‘Critical To Defending The Integrity Of Our Republic’. I still think that Trump should pardon Hunter, and then we can go around saying how that doesn't mean he's innocent. 

Russiagate: Carter Page Sues the Usual Suspects

But, first, some continued discussion of the Michael Flynn pardon. John Solomon at JTN lays out The dozen belated disclosures that turned the tide in Michael Flynn’s case "Long-withheld evidence of innocence revealed the FBI never thought it had a case against former Trump national security adviser." Nothing you haven't seen here before, but won't see in the NYT or WaPoo. Eli Lake at Yahoo! Trump Was Right to Pardon Michael Flynn. Yes, after Judge Emmett Sullivan refused to do the right thing and dismiss the charges the way the DOJ wanted in a timely matter. But, of course we have naysaying from the usual never-Trumpers and Democrats. David Frum from the Atlantic spins a wild tale about how Trump Pardoned Flynn to Save Himself and Adam Schiff: Flynn Pardon Demonstrates Our System ‘Can Be Exploited by Hostile Foreign Powers’ (Breitbart). What's he gonna say when Joe has to pardon Hunter? (Fox, After joining Burisma, Hunter Biden requested meetings with Antony Blinken: State Dept. emails, President-elect Joe Biden nominated Blinken for secretary of state)

And the media? Tom Maguire at JOM asks you to Pardon Their Coverage

Resistance "Journalists" belly flop on the Flynn pardon.

For an example of an inarguably corrupt purchased pardon we turn to Bill Clinton and Marc Rich. However, despite investigations and hearings no crimes were charged.

For pardons arguably linked to obstruction of justice we can turn to Bush 41. His Christmas Eve pardon of Caspar Weinberger effectively ended the seemingly immortal Walsh investigation into Iran/Contra. And of course Wild Bill Clinton had entrants in the obstruction category, notably Susan McDougal of Whitewater fame.

And Carter Page? Tyler O'Neil, PJ Media, Justice Is Coming: Carter Page Takes Comey, McCabe, Strzok to Court in $75M Obamagate Lawsuit  and Althouse reports "Carter Page sued fired FBI Director James Comey, fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, the FBI, and others involved in the improper Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act snooping..."

"... on the former Trump campaign associate that relied upon British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s discredited dossier to obtain approval from the FISA court."

The Washington Examiner reports Carter Page sues James Comey, Andrew McCabe, the FBI, and others for $75M

Carter Page sued fired FBI Director James Comey, fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, the FBI, and others involved in the improper Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act snooping on the former Trump campaign associate that relied upon British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s discredited dossier to obtain approval from the FISA court.

Page filed the 59-page complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday, with his lawyers saying that he “seeks relief herein for Defendants’ multiple violations of his Constitutional and other legal rights in connection with unlawful surveillance and investigation of him by the United States Government.”

The lawsuit was filed against Comey, McCabe, the bureau, the Justice Department, fired FBI deputy assistant director of counterintelligence Peter Strzok, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, former supervisory special agent Joseph Pientka, FBI agent Stephen Somma, and supervisory intelligence analyst Brian Auten, with Page condemning the "unjustified and illegal actions" and "unlawful spying” and arguing that the court should award him “compensatory and special damages” for no less than $75 million.

DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s December 2019 report on FISA abuse concluded that the FBI’s investigation was filled with serious missteps and concealed exculpatory information from the FISA court. Horowitz criticized the bureau for at least 17 “significant errors and omissions” discovered in the Page FISA applications spanning from fall 2016 to summer 2017. The FISA filings relied upon a salacious, unverified, and now-discredited dossier compiled by Steele, who’d been hired by Fusion GPS, which in turn was hired by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee through the Perkins Coie law firm.

Page was never charged with any wrongdoing.

 Filed under suits I want to succeed, but probably won't because they're filed in the DC Circus.

Thanksgiving Russiagate: Flynn Pardoned

Of course, there would have been no need for a pardon if Judge Emmett Sullivan weren't being a partisan, pompous ass and delaying the DOJ's desire to dismiss the case because it was pursued by a corrupt prosecutors. 

First, from Anxious: Scoop: Trump tells confidants he plans to pardon Michael Flynn, echoed by Capt. Ed at Hot Air. Axios: Trump Plans To Pardon Flynn Before Leaving Office. You can read Capt. Ed's version if you don't want to give clicks to Axios. Also Althouse calls Least surprising scoop.

Then, 

It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2020

The Peacock, Trump pardons Michael Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, Tyler O'Neil at PJ Media, Trump Pardons Michael Flynn After Sullivan ForTrump: General Michael Flynn ‘Has Been Granted A Full Pardon.’ced His Hand "Trump Pardons Gen. Flynn and Jerry Nadler Can't Stand it." Johb Sexton at Hot Air, Trump: General Michael Flynn ‘Has Been Granted A Full Pardon.’ and documents the instantaneous reactions of loathing on the left, and rejoicing on the right. Ace, Trump Pardons General Flynn

Rogue "judge" Sullivan got what he wanted -- he illegally, unconstitutionally acted as prosecutor against Sullivan and refused to dismiss his case, thus forcing Trump to pardon him, and denying Flynn the simple dropping of charges he was entitled to.

The Deep State must be uprooted -- by any means necessary.

You might remember that Sullivan was ordered by the DC Circus to deal with this expeditiously, but instead he dithered another 3 months to put the election behind him.

Sundance at CTH, Flynn Family Issues Statement After Presidential Pardon… and Sidney Powell Discusses Flynn Pardon and Election Investigations With Lou Dobbs… 

Roger Kimball at Da Spectator, Trump does the right thing by pardoning Gen. Flynn, Quin Hillyer at WaEx, Trump was entirely justified in pardoning Michael Flynn

Flynn has been harried by prosecutors and judges and had his name besmirched (including through unethical leaks, to the potential harm of national security) without solid evidence of having committed a crime.

Flynn was pressured into pleading guilty to perjury (actually, a near equivalent) in order to spare his son a prison sentence. Yet the supposed perjury itself, as we now know, was not considered a lie by the FBI agents whose queries precipitated the allegation. Moreover, the subject about which he supposedly perjured himself, the conversation with the Russian diplomat, already had been deemed by investigators as containing an “absence of any derogatory information or lead information.”

In other words, they weren’t sure that he lied, and they didn’t think he had done anything wrong in the first place that he would want to lie about. 

NBC News legal analyst thinks pardons can be nullified by courts and wants that to happen, surprising nobody.

These are the sanctimonious assholes who spent 4 years chattering about "norms" while advocating everything from Electoral College coups to 25th Am removal to this: https://t.co/cWLA1Ha9tv

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 25, 2020

And more investigation into the Flynn investigation, NR, Senate Intel Republicans Ask DOJ to Declassify Notes from FBI Interview with Miles Taylor

Two top Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee have asked the Justice Department to declassify notes from an FBI interview of Miles Taylor, who authored the anonymous New York Times op-ed about the resistance to President Trump within his own administration.

Taylor was interviewed as a possible witness in the Crossfire Hurricane probe and is identified in briefing notes intended for former FBI director James Comey dated May 1, 2017. It is not clear who wrote the notes, which span eleven pages and are heavily redacted, and were released by the Justice Department on October 30 of this year. Taylor’s role in the Flynn probe is also unclear.

Senator Ron Johnson (R., Wis.), head of the committee, and colleague Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr on Monday requesting the declassification.

“We request all records relating to the FBI’s interview of Miles Taylor, including all 302s and notes, to better understand his role in the Flynn investigation,” Johnson and Grassley wrote.

The 2017 briefing notes refer to a “witness interview of Miles Taylor” in connection with Flynn Intel Group, the lobbying firm of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, and the group’s work in Turkey. Taylor was a staffer on the House Committee on Homeland Security at the time, and met with Flynn’s firm on several occasions in October 2016. In 2017, Taylor moved to the Department of Homeland Security, where he wrote an anonymousop-ed for the Times touting himself as part of a “resistance” within the Trump administration.

Andy Weissass is not pleased:

But Andrew Weissmann, a former member of the special counsel team, tweeted, "Trump's abuse of the pardon power undermines the crown jewel of our democracy: the rule of law."

Of course, at the NYT, Andy Weissass is still calling for Trump's prosecution. Should Trump Be Prosecuted? Strictly a rhetorical question on his part, Of course he wants to.  Or you can have Hot Air's clip. Breitbart, Mueller Investigator Andrew Weissmann Calls for Biden DOJ to Prosecute Trump. How many bites of that apple does he think he's entitled to?

Weissmann’s op-ed comes after the former Mueller prosecutor compared President Trump to Nazi Germany Dictator Adolf Hitler.

“For those people who say we should appease Trump, how did that approach go for Neville Chamberlain,” he wrote on Twitter.

Jim Treacher at PJ Media,  Computer Repairman Who Threatened Biden's Electoral Prospects Goes Into Hiding, meanwhile, New Senate findings 'confirm the connections' between Biden family and Chinese, Russian governments (PM). 

Russia/Biden Gate: Blow Wind, Blow Wind

Last night around 10 PM, all the phones in the house went off with an alert from NOAA, that sudden high winds were expected from the north, threatening boaters and other things. They showed up around 10:30, when I had to walk Skye, and deck chairs started sliding around. We lost power about 11 and I went to bed in the dark. We woke up this AM, and all the non-backed up or internet connected clocks were blinking, but were set on the right time! Apparently, the power came back on at 12 midnight, or close enough to have made no difference. What a coincidence! Other then leaves and minor debris in the yard, we suffered no damage.

With that aside, how goes the state of Russiagate? According to Jerry Dunleavy and Dan Chaitin at WaEx, Lindsey Graham says John Durham report coming after election, will be 'shocked' if no indictments. Better late than never, I suppose. But my guess is that trying to convict anyone of the malefactors in a DC court is a waste of time.

And speaking of too late, Leslie MacAdoo Gordon has a long article at Da Fed on Here’s Why Judge Sullivan Must Disqualify Himself From Michael Flynn’s Case. It's been clear now for weeks that Sullivan is stalling in an effort to keep Flynn in jeopardy past a potential Biden win, or at least force Trump to pardon him, rather than being cleared by a legal process. 

Antagonism toward a party’s lawyer is a classic example of bias that warrants disqualification. It is improper for a judge to be influenced in his handling of a case or rulings on it because he dislikes a party’s attorney. A judge must set such irrelevant, personal considerations aside. If he cannot, he must disqualify himself.

During the Sept. 29 hearing, Sullivan obviously treated Powell in a more peremptory and dismissive fashion than he did either government counsel or amicus counsel (former Judge John Gleeson). Sullivan cut off her arguments and explanations but didn’t do so to the other counsel. . . Moreover, during the hearing, Sullivan improperly accused Powell of unethical conduct. He said she acted unethically in writing a letter to Attorney General William Barr asking for a review of Flynn’s case before she had entered her appearance in court as Flynn’s attorney. Sullivan not only confronted Powell about this, but he asked government counsel to comment on whether it was ethical and threatened to file a complaint with attorney disciplinary authorities about it. . . . nothing about Powell’s conduct was wrong. It is not unethical for a defense counsel to ask a senior official to review a case; lawyers do this all the time. It is entirely proper to seek review on the merits by officials empowered to overrule or alter the decisions of subordinate personnel. Powell’s letter is 100 percent ethical behavior.

. . .
The other reason Sullivan must recuse himself is that he has displayed an apparent desire to see that Flynn will still be punished even if the case must now be dismissed. This, too, is inappropriate and demonstrates that Sullivan is not acting impartially.

When Sullivan appointed an amicus to advise him about whether to grant the DOJ’s motion to dismiss, he also directed the amicus to give advice as to whether he should issue a show-cause order to hold Flynn in criminal contempt for perjury because Flynn had disavowed his guilty plea. . . Sullivan again displayed an apparent desire to see Flynn punished during the Sept. 29 hearing. Although DOJ has moved to dismiss the case against Flynn “with prejudice,” meaning Flynn could not be prosecuted again, Sullivan asked whether he can instead dismiss without prejudice, noting that a new administration at DOJ might decide to pursue the case. Similarly, Sullivan inquired into whether Flynn could still be charged for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act — to which Flynn did not plead but which was included as additional “relevant conduct” for purposes of his plea — if he dismisses the current case. 

Insty, TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE USED TO LIVING WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES:

Journalists wake up to the sound of hammers boarding up city centers and startle to unprecedented sights. The more perceptive say to themselves: what have I done?

Crossfire Hurricane lit a fuse and nobody knew where it ultimately went.

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) November 2, 2020

Speaking of used to living without fear of consequences, from Da Wire, Adam Schiff Calls For Investigation Based On New York Times Article Discredited By Anti-Trump Former FBI Officials

Althouse, "And then, this week, we got the big reveal. 'Anonymous' was Miles Taylor — a name that is likely literally anonymous to you to begin with." . . . From "The 'Anonymous' saga ended with a dud — a perfect example of the problem of Trump-era media" by Steve Krakauer (The Hill).

And a great segue from Russiagate to Bidengate, 

Trump was never "compromised" by Russian intelligence as the Hillary campaign+ Obama-Biden regime +MSM conspired to frame him. On the other hand, Joe Biden & his family crawled into bed with Chinese intelligence through CEFC & other intelligence fronts. #ManchurianCandidateBiden

— Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) November 1, 2020

At NYPo, Hunter Biden’s Ukraine contact allegedly a ‘fixer’ for shady oligarchs and from TNP, Hunter E-Mails Request ‘Formal Meetings With Dad’ To Secure Billion-Dollar Deals and from John Solomon at JTN, Most Americans have heard of Biden family allegations, more than half believe them. Half of American is willing to elect a crook,

Dr. John at Flopping Aces thinks The Biden laptop is a far bigger issue than you thought. WAY bigger. I dunno, I think it's pretty big. From the Brits at Da Mail, who can be more honest about American politics that most of the American press, National security nightmare of Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop containing phone numbers for the Clintons, Secret Service officers and most of the Obama cabinet plus his sex and drug addictions - all secured by the password Hunter02. How original! And as Matt Margolis at PJ Media reminds us, Another Hunter Biden Laptop? Why Yes, There Is! We probably won't get to see it, because it was recovered by DEA and returned to Hunter.  Paul Sperry at RCI, Court Document Shows Joe Biden Listed as a Witness With Son in Fraud Case. 

To which Biden replies is his best Sgt. Schultz voice, "I know nussing, nussing!" except that Joe Biden: ‘Every Major Outlet, Every Serious Investigator’ Says Hunter Biden Laptop Story ‘Is A Smear. And his definition is that every major outlet or serious investigator is one who supports Democrats. 

'Adam Mill' at AmGreat, Hunter Laptop Story Portends a Dark Winter for Free Speech "If Joe Biden is elected, he will owe the tech companies a favor." But is Biden the kind of politician that stays bought? 

The real scandal is the fact that the legacy media can collude with Big Tech to smother, censor, and even punish people for asking apparently legitimate questions about the evidence.

From the point-of-view of the censors, it’s easy to understand why Facebook might arrogantly believe that it has a social obligation to prevent its platform from being used to spread false information. That seems like a legitimate reason to censor until one considers that the censorship is applied only to one side. While social media censors the New York Post story about Hunter’s laptop, it has no problem spreading the completely baseless claim that the Russians planted the laptop.

Indeed, when the false stories hurt Trump, the censors never censor. Facebook is happy to spread the New York Times story that paraphrases the president’s tax returns in spite of the fact that the accounts cannot be independently verified and the person sharing the tax returns with the Times almost certainly violated federal law in so doing. Likewise for the recent Atlantic article accusing the president of calling military vets “losers and suckers.” It was widely spread on social media in spite of multiple eyewitnesses contradicting the account of unverifiable anonymous sources.

You can add the hoaxes about Trump having a secret connection to the Russian Alfa Bank, Trump’s private attorney Michael Cohen traveling to Prague to pay Russian hackers, Russians co-signing Trump Deutsche Bank loans, Trump instructing Michael Cohen to lie to Congress, the New York Times falsely reporting on extensive contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia, the entire Jussie Smollett hoax framing Trump supporters for a hate crime, media reports painting Trump supporter Nick Sandmann as a racist, and on and on and on. And let’s not forget how social media platforms aggressively censored doctors offering their assessments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The real “laptop from hell” scandal is the escalation in censorship and manipulation of the media. Google, Facebook, and Twitter now collude to exercise more control over speech than should be allowed. If Biden is elected, he will owe the tech companies a favor. And if they continue protecting him after the election, then a Biden Justice Department will have the cover of censorship to pursue its political enemies.  

A Bite of Russiagate and a Major Serving of Bidengate

Let's start with the Russiagate. Bill Barr's DOJ has answered Judge Emmett Sullivan's demand that they pinky swear to the truth of their filings, and now demand that he dismiss the case. Jerry Dunleavy, WaEx, DOJ swears to accuracy of Flynn exhibits and calls on judge to dismiss case immediately

Following an order from the presiding judge, the Justice Department filed declarations swearing to the accuracy of the exhibits it relied upon in a motion to dismiss the case against retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and the documents that it provided to his legal team.

The Justice Department also called upon the judge to grant to the dismissal, which he has so far resisted doing, with roughly a week to go before Election Day.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine submitted a 46-page filing on Monday night, assuring the judge that “there have been no material alterations made to any of the 14 Government Exhibits filed in support of the motion to dismiss and the supplement to the motion to dismiss.” DOJ emphasized that it now “declares under penalty of perjury that the Government Exhibits and Discovery Documents are true and correct, are correctly identified, and have been faithfully transcribed.”

Judge Emmet Sullivan, who has fought the Justice Department’s efforts to dismiss the criminal charges against Flynn since May, ordered DOJ to provide sworn declarations "under penalty of perjury" last week after the Justice Department acknowledged that it had inadvertently included sticky notes with estimated dates on handwritten notes from former FBI special agent Peter Strzok and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe in documents recently handed over to the Flynn team as part of the discovery process during a deep-dive review by U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Jensen.

Sidney Powell, the lead attorney for Flynn, told the Washington Examiner last week that “DOJ is not the problem here. This is another stall tactic from an impossibly biased judge.” Flynn’s lawyers argued earlier this month that Sullivan’s “increasingly hostile and unprecedented words and deeds in what has become his own prosecution of General Flynn mandate his disqualification.”

Even more people swear under penalty of perjury.  

The Justice Department further said that it “has undertaken a comprehensive review of the documents produced in discovery in this case which were subsequently filed by the defendant as exhibits in support of the defendant’s supplementary filings” and that those documents had been “authenticated” too.

“The government acknowledges its obligation to produce true and accurate copies of documents. The government has fully admitted its administrative error with respect to the failure to remove three reviewer sticky notes containing estimated date notations affixed to three pages of undated notes (two belonging to former Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok, and one page belonging to former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe) prior to their disclosure,” DOJ said. “These dates were derived from surrounding pages’ dates in order to aid secondary reviewers. These three sticky notes were inadvertently not removed when the relevant documents were scanned by the FBI for production in discovery. The government reiterates, however, that the content of those exhibits was not altered in any way, as confirmed by attorneys for both former FBI employees.”

What's Sullivan's next stall? 

Good news for Joe Biden, Tara Reide will be free to pursue him once he gets into the Oval Office, Capt. Ed, Hot Air VIP, Federal Judge To DoJ: Nice Try, But You Can’t Shield Trump In Defamation Case.

And onto the Biden Family crime syndicate. Lot's here. Sebastian Gorka, AmGreat, It’s Not About the Money or the Prostitutes "It’s about China, stupid." But the money, cocaine and prostitutes make it more interesting. Seamus Bruner and John Solomon at JTN, Hunter Biden's 2017 rant about Burisma: 'I was fighting for the only income I have left'. You might try dry wall.  Ace, Leaked Phone Call: Hunter Biden Says His Business "Partner" is the "F***ing Spy King of China", TNP, EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden Audio Confesses Partnership With China ‘Spy Chief’… Joe Biden Named As Criminal Case Witness

Hunter Biden – in an audio file labelled “Most Genius Shit Ever” – appears to be referencing Patrick Ho, who was a former Secretary for Home Affairs in Hong Kong, as a “spy chief of China” while lamenting how his business partner Ye Jianming of CEFC China Energy had disappeared.

Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Feds Obtained FISA Warrant Against Hunter Biden’s Chinese Business Associate, Documents Show  You know what that means? Joe Biden was only two hops away. Brian Preston at PJ Media, Bobulinski Bombshell: The Bidens are 'Compromised' and Lying About Joe's Knowledge of Hunter's Deals With China. Fox, Tony Bobulinski tells Tucker: Joe Biden denials of involvement in son's business 'a blatant lie' Jerry Dunleavy at WaEx, Hunter Biden's former business partner tried striking deals with politicians for years. Why? The same reason Bonny and Clyde robbed banks, that's where the money is.

#OANEXCLUSIVE:
Hunter Biden and Devon Archer were planning to launder $500 MILLION from Kremlin asset.

US Sanctions prevented the LEGAL transfer... so they worked a way around the sanctions.

$35 mill. was “tester” amount.

Biden partner: “There’s so much more.”

More to come. pic.twitter.com/wqbVnGJWNS

— Chanel Rion OAN (@ChanelRion) October 27, 2020

Sundance at CTH had the video at He’s Got Tapes? -Tucker Carlson Interviews Hunter Biden Business Associate Tony Bobulinski – 8:00pm Tonight…, but somebody took it private. Let's see how long this one stays up:

This is the downside of going full Online Left. In the real world, scorched-earth accusations that every criticism of your guy is a Russian plot is a standing dare. https://t.co/FTpVnOwuDP

— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) October 28, 2020

Post Millennial, Email reveals deal planned between Hunter Biden and Mark Zuckerberg. Tim Worstall at WaEx says Hunter Biden wasn't the customer, he was the product

Whether or not it worked, the people handing over the money thought they were buying Joe Biden's attention. That's why Hunter Biden got those jobs. In effect, he wasn't the customer, or the employee, or the board member — he was the product.

This is just how that part of the world worked, and in parts still does work. Family members of important people are brought on as employees or on to the board in order to gain access to important people. It's possible to think that Hunter was ever so slightly sleazy in his actions (me too, to be sure) but don't think that either of us was too stupid to know what we were doing.


Now, we can go on to ponder how much this changed U.S. policy at a time that Joe Biden was running the Obama administration's Ukraine policy and wonder whether being in a venture-capital relationship with the Chinese government is quite and wholly unremarkable. No doubt, we'll all take politically partisan positions on either side of those questions.

But we do need to recognize the reality here: The people buying Hunter Biden's "business acumen" were doing so because he was the son of a long-sitting senator and then the vice president. That's just what such people in such places pay said money for, political influence. Hunter was retailing that dream of what people wanted to buy, whether he came through or not.

At JTN, John Solomon has Seven uncomfortable realities confronting the Democrat nominee about the Biden family scandal: 1. Appearance of a conflict of interest . . . 2. U.S. concerns about bribery on Hunter Biden's watch at Burisma . . . 3. Joe Biden's claim he did not discuss his son's business contradicted by public evidence . . . 4. Evidence suggesting Joe Biden had a secret stake in Hunter Biden's business world . . .5 . The videotaped confession Joe Biden made about strong-arming Ukraine to fire its chief prosecutor . . . 6. A Democratic firm's relentless pressure on behalf of Hunter Biden's Ukraine gas firm . . . 7. The National Security Question: Did flagged suspicious financial transactions compromise a political family?

Interesting thought from Leonora Thompson at America: The Blog: Are Hunter and Ashley Biden Subliminally Trying to Take Down and Escape Creepy Controlling Dad, Joe Biden?

Plenty more (and some overlap) at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 10.27.20 (Morning Edition) and In The Mailbox: 10.27.20 (Evening Edition) and at Ace's in JJ Sefton's The Morning Report - 10/28/20.

The press, other than Fox, continues to play the coverup game. John Daniel Davidson at Da Fed, The Hunter Biden Scandal Has Exposed The Corporate Press’s Corruption And Condescension

As Matt Taibbi noted last week, the dogged refusal of the mainstream press to cover the story, together with Twitter and Facebook’s decision to block access to the Post’s reporting, might prove to be a bigger scandal than whatever Hunter and his dad were up to in China. Information about the Biden scandal has been so politicized, writes Taibbi, that American audiences can hardly look up anything about Hunter and China without running into “thickets of propagandistic contextualizing” — fact-checks and explainers and op-eds that keep readers away from what substantive reporting does exist, lest they come to their own conclusions about the Biden family business.

The NYT's caged conservative,  The Media’s Hunter Biden Conundrum "It should be possible to cover revelations about the Biden family that are neither disinformation nor the greatest scandal of our time." OK, I'll admit it's not the greatest scandal of our time. That has to go to Russia/Spygate, where the outgoing Obama administration used to power of the federal intelligence apparatus to hobble the incoming Trump administration. But this has a pretty good case for #2. Matt Vespa at Town Hall, Here’s ‘One of the Clearest and Most Important Sentences You'll Read’ About the Media and Hunter Biden

One of the clearest and most important sentences you'll read, showing how US media really works, from WashPost op-ed by @RidT:

** "We must treat the Hunter Biden leaks as if they were a foreign intelligence operation — even if they probably aren't." **https://t.co/T7LUOvorlI

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 25, 2020

Joseph Klein at Front Page, The Dirty Deals of NPR

National Public Radio (NPR) does not serve the American taxpayers who are paying its bills. Most recently, NPR did its part to shield Joe Biden from the fallout of the Biden family pay-for-access corruption scheme. That’s nothing new. NPR has long served as the leftwing progressive Democrat Party’s propaganda arm. Back in 2016, for example, NPR shilled for the disastrous nuclear deal pushed by the Obama administration, after receiving funding from a pro-nuclear deal advocacy group. It is long past time to end the gravy train and defund NPR.

On October 22nd, NPR’s public editor rationalized NPR’s decision to suppress coverage of the New York Post’s expose of the Hunter Biden e-mails implicating Joe Biden himself in his son’s business dealings. NPR’s managing editor Terence Samuel tweeted: “We don't want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories, and we don't want to waste the listeners’ and readers’ time on stories that are just pure distractions.”

The Media Research Center retorted: “How exactly is doing what is supposed to be your job of reporting and investigating a story with credible sources to be a ‘waste of time?’

Resuming Russiagate

Well, we're back at home, although Skye is still at the dog spa, awaiting her semiannual bath and professional grooming. I don't really have a full load of either Russiagate or Biden Crime Family links. 

There is at least one "Russiagate" type story that needs retelling. Judge Sullivan has found a new dodge to avoid letting General Flynn off the hook, while waiting for his Democrat allies to hopefully take power and force Trump to pardon him in the interim. Fox, Flynn case judge issues unusual order telling government to certify evidence is ‘true and correct’

In an unusual order posted Friday, the federal judge in the case of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn told the Justice Department to file a declaration -- under penalty of perjury -- by Monday that evidence in the case is “true and correct.”

The court order was issued after prosecutors admitted accidently altered documents -- notes written by former FBI agent Peter Strzok and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe -- were used.

“The government has acknowledged that altered FBI records have been produced by the government and filed on the record in this case,” noted Judge Emmet Sullivan

The order from Sullivan comes as the government again requested the judge dismiss the criminal case against Flynn, a move Sullivan has so far resisted.

And about those alterations? Via da  Hill, Judge orders DOJ to attest to Flynn evidence after former FBI agent accuses prosecutors of altering documents

"In response to the Court and counsel’s questions, the government has learned that, during the review of the Strzok notes, FBI agents assigned to the EDMO review placed a single yellow sticky note on each page of the Strzok notes with estimated dates (the notes themselves are undated)," Jocelyn Ballantine, a DOJ attorney, wrote in a court filing.

"Those two sticky notes were inadvertently not removed when the notes were scanned by FBI Headquarters, before they were forwarded to our office for production," Ballantine added. "The government has also confirmed with Mr. Goelman and can represent that the content of the notes was not otherwise altered."

Seems like a stupid, albeit innocent error, quite unlike Kevin Clinesmith altering an email to the FISA court, changing it to say that Carter Page was not a CIA informant, when the original said he was. I would think that all DOJ filings have the presumption that the prosecutors aren't inventing facts, although we can be sure that they always shade things to their preferred outcomes. That's kind of the definition of a lawyer.

In Judge orders Justice Department to verify its filings in Flynn case. Politico notes:

On Thursday, the Justice Department also signaled in a public filing that it had completed its review of the Flynn case and had no additional documents to turn over. DOJ specifically pointed out that it found no evidence of an earlier draft of the FBI's summary of Flynn's Jan. 24, 2017 interview with Strzok and agent Joe Pientka. Flynn's legal team, as well as outside allies including Trump himself, have suggested for more than a year that an "original" summary — known in FBI parlance as an FD-302 — of the interview exists and must be turned over, but DOJ said it scoured all FBI systems and had already turned over three drafts as well as the first finalized version, completed on Feb. 15, 2017.

"You have previously been provided with three draft versions of the FD-302, dated February 10, 11, and 14, 2017, that were circulated in PDF format by email to FBI personnel for review," Justice Department officials indicated. "[T]hese are the only draft versions of the FD-302 that we have located during our diligent searches.

"The department also indicated it found no additional relevant communications about Flynn's case among FBI higher-ups that hadn't already been disclosed.

There must have been something pretty damning to the FBI in that original 302 to make it worth such a thorough deletion from a data base designed to  retain all records indefinitely. 

From ET, Trump Transition Team Records Secretly Given to FBI, Mueller: Senate Report

The General Service Administration (GSA) secretly gave President Donald Trump’s transition team records to then-special counsel Robert Mueller and the FBI in 2017, a report by two Senate committees says.

Meanwhile, the GSA—the executive agency responsible for providing services to the transition teams of both Democratic and Republican candidates—refused to provide Trump’s transition team copies of its own records, according to the report (pdf).

GSA had agreed to a memorandum of understanding with Trump’s transition team that the records would be regarded as the private property of the transition team, and the GSA wouldn’t retain the records at the conclusion of the transition.

GSA officials proactively contacted the FBI to ask if they should preserve Trump transition team records on Feb. 15, 2017, after Michael Flynn resigned as Trump’s national security adviser, the majority staff report released on Oct. 23 by the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and its Finance Committee shows. The agency then decided to preserve all of the Trump transition team’s records after the FBI requested it to preserve records associated with Flynn.

The GSA officials’ offer to the FBI to preserve the Trump transition team’s records came after the removal process of the records had begun on Jan. 26, 2017, according to the terms of the memorandum.

The removal process was stopped afterward.

The GSA took the unsolicited action despite not receiving a formal preservation request until June 12, 2017.

The GSA decided to not tell the White House or counsel for the Trump transition team about the preservation. The agency also refused to honor the team’s request to access those records when requested.

Now this is interesting:

Mueller got the records via two letterhead memoranda from FBI assistant general counsel Kevin Clinesmith, who pleaded guilty in August to altering an email as part of the process to obtain a secret court warrant to spy on a former Trump campaign adviser. The Mueller team didn’t issue a subpoena or search warrant and the GSA didn’t afford the transition team an opportunity to review those records.

The report doesn’t mention which GSA officials contacted the FBI on their own initiative to give the transition records after Flynn’s resignation.

We should be extra wary any time Kevin Clinesmith is involved. 

And from John Solomon at JTN, Memo suggests FBI opened Manafort probe before Trump hired lobbyist but gave no warning

A recently declassified government document suggests the FBI opened its most recent investigation of Paul Manafort in January 2016, two months before President Trump hired the lobbyist as a senior official in his campaign. The revelation is prompting new questions about why the bureau did not provide the GOP candidate with a defensive briefing.

The information about the start of the Manafort probe was contained in footnote 332 of a spreadsheet that FBI analysts constructed analyzing the lack of corroboration for Christopher Steele's now infamous dossier alleging Trump and Russia colluded to hijack the 2016 election, an allegation that has since been disproven.

The spreadsheet was declassified earlier this month, revealing the FBI found little to no corroboration for Steele's allegations against Trump but nonetheless used the dossier to support a FISA surveillance warrant to spy on the Trump campaign through adviser Carter Page.

The information in the footnote and spreadsheet states an "opening EC" or electronic communication was generated in the Manafort probe on Jan. 13, 2016, and by August 2016 "Manafort is an active subject of a money laundering and tax evasion criminal case out of Washington Field Office." 
. . . 
The timing suggested in the spreadsheet is consistent with an account from Ukrainian prosecutors, who revealed last year they were summoned on short notice to Washington by the Obama White House for a series of meetings in January 2016 during which Justice Department officials pressed them to find evidence against Manafort and his work for the Ukrainian Party of Regions. The prosecutors also stated the Obama DOJ officials asked the Ukrainians to drop their investigation of the Hunter Biden-related Burisma Holdings gas company and let the FBI take it over.

So, yeah, the Obama administration was up to its neck in this, protecting the Bidens and trying to find something on any Trump associate they could, and rather than notify Trump, they decided to withhold the information, and go straight to prosecution.