One Term for Biden, Trump Hillary Show Intent, J6 Star Chamber Just Won't End

At Da Caller, Paul Moreno calls on "Sundown" Joe Biden Should Revive The One-Term Tradition. I'd call for a new tradition of a half a term if it weren't for Kamala. At the WaEx White House Report Card, Paul Bedard says ‘Where’s Jackie’ is a problem. At NewsBusters, Chuckie Todd Excuses Biden's 'Where's Jackie?' Gaffe, Just a Mistake, 'Move On'. PJ Media's Stephen Kruiser worries Biden's Last Brain Cell May Be the Death of the Republic.

Bill Otis at Ringside of the Reckoning notes Kamala Harris to White Ian Victims: Go Drown, We're Sending the Boats to BLM. At Da Wire, the FEMA Administrator Vows To Help ‘Everybody’ After VP Harris’s Hurricane Relief ‘Equity’ Comments: ‘We’re Going To Support All Communites,’

At ET, Kellyanne Conway say Trump ‘Wants His Old Job Back,’ Might Announce White House Run Within Weeks. After the midterms? Guess who else is angling? John Hinderacker at Power Line warns Hillary 2024?. She certainly seems to have emerged from her chardonnay haze. At NYPo, Ex-Clinton adviser: Hillary setting up 2024 presidential bid with ‘open borders’ critique of Biden. Bob Spencer at PJ Media, notes Hillary Is Still Spreading Trump-Putin Conspiracy Theories. At the Victory Girls Carville claims Liz Cheney will be next House Speaker. Only if GOP leadership wants an insurrection. "Democrat strategist James Carville predicted that Biden will pardon Trump and that Liz Cheney will become Speaker of the House. Here's how he arrived at those predictions..."

Beege Wellborn at Haut Hair says Cue hankie clutchers: Gov DeSantis reminds looters FL is a 2d Amendment state. Victory Girls again, DeSantis Warns Looters, Joy Reid Cries Racist. Kurt Schlicter at Town Hall notes that in the media's eyes DeSantis Is History’s Greatest Monster For Some Reason. Curt Mills at Am Con attempts to discern What the Republican B-Team is Thinking "Let’s interrogate the ambitions of Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, Glenn Youngkin, Nikki Haley, and Ted Cruz."

From Da Caller, Bill Clinton Just Sent A Massive Warning To Democrats About The Midterms " Clinton said that “defund the police and socialism” would not appeal to “people in the middle, especially like suburban middle-class voters, upper-middle-class voters,” claiming that they “had something to lose.” He's not wrong. I&I Ed Board warns If This Is The Dems’ ‘Winning’ Message, They Deserve To Lose … Bigly. Thanks to Steve Hayward at Power Line for The Daily Chart That Should Terrify Democrats. Jeff Folks at Am Think wants you to Remember: Leftist Media Polls Are Often Wrong by design. 

Stacy McCain would like to inform you of The $250,000,000 Scandal That’s Wrecking Minnesota Democrats  "The question is now being asked: What did Tim Walz know, and when did he know it? And his answers so far seem kind of shaky. No one has claimed that Walz personally benefited from this fraudulent scheme, but rather that his administration failed to properly supervise the expenditure of federal funds through this “child nutrition” program run by the non-profit Feeding Our Future. . ."

'Bonchie' at Red State watches brain-damaged Fetterman Go on MSNBC and Confusion About 'Balls' Follows. Chris Barron at HE details Fetterman’s Latest Fraud: The Pretend Tough Guy Turns Victim. Scott Johnson at power Line takes note in How’s he doing? From the Wa Free Bee, Another Racism Scandal for John Fetterman, "Democrat who held unarmed black jogger at gunpoint promotes TikTok video glorifying violence against black men."

In misc. election coverage, Breitbart has a Poll: Only 15% of Arizonans Feel Better Off Under Democrat Rule, Mark Kelly feeling the pain. KT at Haut Hair observes O'Rourke exploits deaths of Uvalde school shooting victims in new campaign ad. What else does he have? Jim Thompson at Red State details how Starbucks and Seattle Times Send Stupid 'Cease and Desist' Letters to Republican Senate Candidate for holding a cup of coffee and wearing a team jersey in a campaign ad. Hey, you sold them to him. At Da Wire, GOP Senate Candidate’s Blind Army Vet Husband At Center Of Legal Fight Between Her Campaign And The Seattle Seahawks. "Seattle-area journalist Brandi Kruse said on Twitter that they had, and also pointed out that while they sent Smiley a cease-and-desist notice, they did not level similar notices against a Democrat running for re-election to the Washington State Legislature." From PM, Obama's brother Malik endorses Doug Mastriano for PA governor, ""​​If he's with President Trump then I'm with @dougmastriano Pennsylvania Senator PA District 33," tweeted Malik Obama." Michael Ginsberg at Da Caller, Rep. Steve Scalise Slams Dem Candidate’s Tweet About 2017 Baseball Shooting. Breitbart claims an Exclusive: Darren Bailey Within ‘Striking Distance’ as Illinois Governor’s Race Tightens — ‘Voters Ready for Change’. A Republican in Illinois? Well shut my mouth!

Vicky Marshall at Da Fed, Wisconsin Elections Commission Let Electors Change Votes After Submitting Ballots. At JTN, Natalia Mittelstadt reports on how Biden is tapping tax dollars to boost Dem registration, turnout, warn House GOP, voting watchdog. "Suspecting partisan intent behind an executive order instructing federal agencies to submit plans to expand political participation, nine ranking committee members warned administrators against "engaging in the Biden Administration's political activities." Daniel Greenfield at Front Page, How Taxpayers Finance Democrat Voter Registration. "Who funds Democrat campaign operations? You do." At Da Wire, Brian Kemp Blasts Stacey Abrams After She Loses Court Battle Against Georgia Voter Integrity Laws. 

We're still seeing reactions to David Bowdich,  deputy director of the bureau letter firing Peter Strzok. At Da Wire, READ IT: FBI’s Brutal Draft Letter Firing Disgraced Agent Peter Strzok Revealed. Twitchy,  DAAAMN! Peter Strzok’s dismissal letter so BRUTAL, so VICIOUS, so MERCILESS it goes viral and it’s a beautiful thing (screenshot). "Peter Stzok really stinks so nothing makes us happier than to cover his painful, brutal, SAVAGE dismissal letter. Maybe he can send Lisa Page a text or two and tell her Trump won’t ever be president … again. That worked out so well for him." 

Dan Chaitin at WaEx reports on Ron Johnson's reaction to Investigation into FBI 'corruption' impeded by Durham probe, senator says. At Am Think Jack Cashill sees possible progress in The Seth Rich Case: The FBI’s Other Laptop Scandal  "In less than two weeks, however, thanks to a recent federal court decision, the FBI will be compelled to share its secrets, presuming there are any secrets and presuming too those secrets have not been scrubbed." At Am Great, Lloyd Billingsley reaches back even further for FBI incompetence, the Unabomber case, When Billy Met Teddy "How the FBI failed to protect America against a real domestic terrorist."

Are the National Archives putsching for more raids against Trump? Sure looks like it. At Da Mail, National Archives says it's STILL missing Trump White House documents nearly two months after FBI's Mar-a-Lago raid - and warns DOJ could be called in to recover 'unlawfully removed' files. Yah? Maybe it's you that "lost' them. But atop Da Hill, McMaster says he was never ‘uncomfortable’ about Trump handling classified information.

Madeleine Hubbard at JTN details how Conservatives, pro-lifers face political violence after Biden called Trump supporters 'threat', "Several of the attacks occurred in traditionally red states." At Am Great Maurice Richards thinks Leftist Political Terror Against Republicans Greenlighted by Biden and the Left. Margot Cleveland at Da Fed explores how the DC Bar Does Democrats’ Dirty Work By Tarring Opponents Right Before Midterms. "If the investigation of Jeff Clark is indeed a Democrat-fueled disbarment scheme, as it appears to be, it could start an escalating war of political retribution." Also recall how they gave Kevin Clinesmith his law license back after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI in the Durham probe. 

Nicholas Ballasy at JTN reports on the J6 Star Chamber, Jan. 6 committee chair: Public hearing next week, no final report before election. "We're not sure we're going to do any more witnesses," said Rep. Benny Thompson. "We have a lot of information that we haven't shared with the public that wouldn't necessarily necessitate a witness." So you know they don't have jack. Also at JTN, John Solomon, Trump hails Ginni Thomas for standing firm on election integrity in face of Jan. 6 panel. "Too many Republicans are weak and they're afraid, and they better get strong fast or you’re not going to have a Republican Party and you’re not going to have a country anymore," the former president told the crowd.

Matt Margolis at PJ Media sees Biden Wash His Hands of Gas Prices Now That They're Going Back Up. He's running out of cheap oil to sell. From NYPo, Biden’s ‘woke’ green energy is a joke that makes us dependent on China, by design. WaEx warns an Expensive New England winter is coming. Well, they voted for it, most of them. Paul Driessen at Town Hall warns of The Coming Green Electricity Nightmare

How many millions of wind turbines, billions of solar panels, billions of EV and backup batteries, millions of transformers, thousands of miles of transmission lines – sprawling across how many millions of acres of wildlife habitat, scenic and agricultural lands, and people’s once-placid backyards?

How many billions of tons of copper, steel, aluminum, nickel, cobalt, lithium, concrete, rare earth, and composite plastics? How many trillions of tons of ores and overburden? How many mines, across how many more acres – with how much fossil fuel energy to operate the enormous mining equipment, and how much toxic air and water pollution emitted in the process?

To cite just one example, just those 2,500 wind turbines for New York electricity (30,000 megawatts) would require nearly 110,000 tons of copper – which would require mining, crushing, processing, and refining 25 million tons of copper ore ... after removing some 40 million tons of overlying rock to reach the ore bodies. Multiply that times 50 states – and the entire world – plus transmission lines.

How many processing plants and factories would be needed? How much fossil fuel power to run those massive operations? How many thousands of square miles of toxic waste pits all over the world are under zero to minimal environmental standards, workplace safety standards, and child and slave labor rules?

How many dead birds, bats, and endangered and other species would be killed off all across the USA and world – from mineral extraction activities, wind turbine blades, solar panels blanketing thousands of square miles of wildlife habitats, and transmission lines impacting still more land?

Paul Bedard at WaEx sees Inflation pushing nearly 90% firms to raise prices in 2023. Only 90%? 

The College Fix reports on a Bill that would force universities to repay portion of student loan default. "Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley introduced the “Make the Universities Pay Act” on Sept. 21 in the wake of President Joe Biden’s announcement that taxpayers will absorb student loan debt to the tune of at least $400 billion, estimated to cost individual American taxpayers $2,500 each."   A great idea that will never happen; the politicians are too indebted to the schools.

Russiagate, Use It Or Lose It

If I don't get this stuff out soon, I never will. Why does it matter? Peder Zane at RCW explains Why The Russiagate Scandal Outranks Every Other In History. An unholy alliance between an opposition political party, the mass of the bureaucratic state (especially the intelligence agencies) and the media, who all conspired to try to block a President from being elected, and when he beat them and won the election, to attempt to oust him. John O'Connor at Am Great, The Russiagate Probe: ‘Clean Gene’ or ‘Dirty Harry’?, " The much-ballyhooed “Russian collusion” probe, as it was pursued after Trump was elected, was simply a “perjury trap” investigation, a specialty of the unctuous James Comey. " Ned Ryun at Am Great, The Praetorian Guard of the Administrative State, "The FBI and Justice Department should cease to exist in their current forms, if they should even exist at all." Dan Chaitin at WaEx, Mark Meadows says DOJ tried to redact Russiagate materials 'minutes' before Biden sworn in. Mediaite is really pissed that Trump Brags to Mark Levin He Stayed in Office Four Years Because He Fired James Comey

As for the media, as Margot Cleveland at Da Fed notes, The Corrupt Media Did Not Fall For The Russia Collusion Hoax. They Were Part Of It and Corporate Media’s Systemic Corruption Is Far Worse Than Chris Cuomo’s Coverup For His Brother. Mark Judge at Stream, ‘Reporting the Controversy’ — How the Corrupt Media Creates Fake News. He has experienced it personally. Aaron Mate' at RCI, Five Trump-Russia 'Collusion' Corrections We Need From the Media Now -- Just for Starters: "Falsehood No. 1: Michael Flynn Discussed Sanctions With Russia and Lied About It, Falsehood No. 2: Repeated Contacts With Russian Intelligence, Falsehood No. 3: George Papadopoulos's Night of Heavy Drinking' With the Australian Envoy, Falsehood No. 4: Russia Launched a Sweeping Interference Campaign That Posed a ‘National Security Threat' and Falsehood No. 5: The Justice Department Pulled Its Punches on Trump. Ed Sherdlu at Am Think thinks The New York Times still hasn’t apologized for its Russia Hoax coverage. No, and they never will. 

And then the Democrats, who directed and paid for the hoax. Robert Spencer at PJ Media, Irony On Steroids: Hillary Laments People Not Being Held Accountable for Their Actions. Mediaite scandalized when Stephen Miller Says ‘Criminal’ Hillary Clinton Is the ‘Single Biggest Purveyor of Disinformation in the History of Our Country’. For a non-media person, she's surely in the top 5. Daniel Greenfield at Front Page documents how Schumer, Who Accused Trump of Russian Collusion, is Getting Paid by Putin. "Schumer, along with a number of other top Democrats, is a beneficiary of campaign contributions from top Democrat fundraiser Vincent Roberti whose lobbying firm was paid over $8.5 million by Nord Stream 2 which is owned by Putin's state-run Gazprom energy monopoly." Eli Lake, The Resistance Liar, "Review of 'Midnight in Washington' by Adam Schiff."

David Keltz at Am Great writes 2021 Was the Year of Vindication for Trump "One by one, the lies of the past five years are being exposed." And the coverup continues, David Frum at the Slantic, The new Trump-Russia denialists. Jonathon Rauch, The Real Hoax "There is ample evidence that Trump colluded with Russia. Here’s how he convinced people otherwise." Seth Barret Tillman has a take down of Frum at The Reform Club, Letter to the Editor responding to David Frum’s ‘It Wasn’t a Hoax’

Frum’s position amounts to this: If you express the wrong political views in public—by which he means, political views he disagrees with—that is a reason for the government to investigate you. Frum is not embarrassed by his position. Millions of Americans agree with Frum. He and they are entirely wrong. And the continuing viability of American and Western democracy depends on changing the hearts and minds of those millions.

Jerry Dunleavy at WaEx does some heavy lifting in exposing The many Russian links to the operatives behind the Steele dossier. WaPoo whines Steele dossier sources, methods face new scrutiny after indictment of key figure, "The indictment of Igor Danchenko, a key source for the report on Trump’s alleged ties to Russia, has sharpened focus on the work by ex-British spy Christopher Steele." They're trying desperately to cover his ass. Tristan Justice at Da Fed reports that a Soros-Funded ‘Disinformation’ Group Paid Nearly $1 Million More To Creators Of Steele Dossier Disinformation Operation. Fox, New York Times mocked for claiming debunked Steele dossier a 'distraction' from the real Russia investigation, "Mollie Hemingway tweeted, 'Give it up, hoaxers. Your credibility: gone.'" Paul Sperry at RCI writes Journalist-Authors Isikoff, Corn Also Fell For Danchenko's Mythical Dossier Source. They weren't fooled, they were complicit. At Haut Hair, John Sexton cites WaPoo's Erik Wemple: Brian Stelter and CNN aren't taking much responsibility for their embrace of the Steele dossier. Again, complicit. But according to NewsBusters, former Clinton lead flak George Stuffinenvelopes is going to brazen it out, Really? Stephanopoulos Rejects Notion ABC Hyped Bogus Steele Dossier.

According to Jordan Boyd at Da Fed, Grassley Warns Durham: ‘Don’t Take Your Eye Off Government Misconduct’ Jerry Dunleavy, John Durham says evidence shows Michael Sussmann lied when pushing Trump-Russia claims. John Sexton at Haut Hair, Additional evidence supports Durham's indictment of Michael Sussmann. But ex-Federal Prosecutor Andy McCarthy at NR, cited at Haut Hair, worries Is Durham's case against Michael Sussman collapsing? Any case against a high level Democrat in the DC metro area is a tough row to hoe. Witness, as Paul Sperry notes DC Bar Restores Convicted FBI Russiagate Forger to ‘Good Standing’ Amid Irregularities and Leniency. Convicted felon Kevin Clinesmith good enough for D.C. Sophie Mann at JTN, DC bar restores status of convicted ex-FBI lawyer who deceived the FISA court during Russia probe, "Typically, a case like Kevin Clinesmith's would end in disbarment, but not this time."

At the Wa Free Bee, Jake Sullivan’s Wife Faces Growing Calls for Recusal From Durham Probe, "Margaret Goodlander serves as counsel to AG Merrick Garland, who oversees the probe". Nothing to see here, move on!

Sundance has some interesting inside baseball, About That Yahoo Article on Ali Watkins and James Wolfe and WaEx reports Michael Cohen sues Trump for 'retaliatory confinement' to prevent book publication. I'm not impressed.

Russiagate Revived - Durham Stirs

 Rebecca Downs at Red State, Trump Finally Has His Answer on 'Where's Durham?'

The New York Times reported on Wednesday night that John Durham has informed the Department of Justice he will ask a grand jury to indict Michael Sussmann over his making a false statement to the FBI. The report cites "people familiar with the matter." Durham was assigned by then Attorney General Bill Barr in 2019 to investigate. Last December, Attorney General Barr elevated Durham's status to Special Counsel.

As the report noted about Sussmann:

Any indictment of the lawyer — Michael Sussmann, a former federal prosecutor and now a partner at the Perkins Coie law firm, and who represented the Democratic National Committee on issues related to Russia’s 2016 hacking of its servers — is likely to attract significant political attention.

Donald J. Trump and his supporters have long accused Democrats and Perkins Coie — whose political law group, a division separate from Mr. Sussmann’s, represented the party and the Hillary Clinton campaign — of seeking to stoke unfair suspicions about Mr. Trump’s purported ties to Russia.

The case against Mr. Sussmann centers on the question of who his client was when he conveyed certain suspicions about Mr. Trump and Russia to the F.B.I. in September 2016. Among other things, investigators have examined whether Mr. Sussmann was secretly working for the Clinton campaign — which he denies.

There's also an explanation about the incident in question:

The accusation against Mr. Sussmann focuses on a meeting he had on Sept. 19, 2016, with James A. Baker, who was the F.B.I.’s top lawyer at the time, according to the people familiar with the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity.
...
At the meeting, Mr. Sussmann relayed data and analysis from cybersecurity researchers who thought that odd internet data might be evidence of a covert communications channel between computer servers associated with the Trump Organization and with Alfa Bank, a Kremlin-linked Russian financial institution.

The F.B.I. eventually decided those concerns had no merit. The special counsel who later took over the Russia investigation, Robert S. Mueller III, ignored the matter in his final report.

Mr. Sussmann’s lawyers have told the Justice Department that he sought the meeting because he and the cybersecurity researchers believed that The New York Times was on the verge of publishing an article about the Alfa Bank data and he wanted to give the F.B.I. a heads-up. (In fact, The Times was not ready to run that article, but published one mentioning Alfa Bank six weeks later.)

Mr. Durham has been using a grand jury to examine the Alfa Bank episode and appeared to be hunting for any evidence that the data had been cherry-picked or the analysis of it knowingly skewed, The New Yorker and other outlets have reported. To date, there has been no public sign that he has found any such evidence.

But Mr. Durham did apparently find an inconsistency: Mr. Baker, the former F.B.I. lawyer, is said to have told investigators that he recalled Mr. Sussmann saying that he was not meeting him on behalf of any client. But in a deposition before Congress in 2017, Mr. Sussmann testified that he sought the meeting on behalf of an unnamed client who was a cybersecurity expert and had helped analyze the data.

Moreover, internal billing records Mr. Durham is said to have obtained from Perkins Coie are said to show that when Mr. Sussmann logged certain hours as working on the Alfa Bank matter — though not the meeting with Mr. Baker — he billed the time to Mrs. Clinton’s 2016 campaign.

Another partner at Perkins Coie, Marc Elias, was then serving as the general counsel for the Clinton campaign. Mr. Elias, who did not respond to inquiries, left Perkins Coie last month.

What is particularly telling is that even Sussmann's lawyers, Sean M. Berkowitz and Michael S. Bosworth of Latham & Watkins acknowledged they expect him to be indicted, but deny he made any false statement:

It turns out Durham only has a few days left to charge this crime before the expiration of the statute of limitations.  More from Jerry Dunleavy at WaEx, Durham seeks indictment against lawyer at Steele dossier-linked law firm over Alfa Bank matter: Report. Bonchie at Red State, John Durham Reportedly Preparing a Surprise Indictment, Da Wire, Durham Expected To Indict Clinton-Connected Lawyer On Trump-Russia Matters, Report Says. Mark Wauk at Meaning in History, Breaking: Durham To Indict Michael Sussman? "Daniel Jones Also In Trouble?". Capt. Ed at Hot Hair, NYT: Durham will ask grand jury to indict prominent Dem-connected attorney. Althouse, "The case against [Michael] Sussmann centers on the question of who his client was when he conveyed certain suspicions about Mr. Trump and Russia to the F.B.I. in September 2016.". Ace, Durham is Coming? Maybe? Yeah, it's only been about 5 years. Justice delayed. . . 

I hope they're squeezing him for somebody bigger.

UPDATE: WaPoo reports Durham grand jury indicts lawyer whose firm represented Hillary Clinton’s campaign

Speaking of (in)justice, 'Adam Mill' at Am Great informs us Shocker! D.C. Bar Reinstates Russia Collusion Hoax Lawyer

On September 2, the District of Columbia Bar quietly converted the indefinite suspension of Kevin Clinesmith’s law license to a one-year suspension (retroactively). This will restore Clinesmith’s ability to practice law before the D.C. bar. To understand how shocking this development is, it’s important to review Clinesmith’s pivotal role in the Russian collusion hoax. . . .

Jerry Dunleavy and Dan Chaitin, Mueller investigated media involvement in conspiracy to steal Democratic emails. No word on who, but given the Mueller team, I'm just going to guess they weren't left wing. 

From the WaT, Ex-CIA analyst: Anti-Trump officials politicized intelligence, undermined U.S. security. No shit, Sherlock.

“Current and former U.S. intelligence officers in unprecedentedly large numbers politicized intelligence in their opposition to candidate and then President Donald Trump,” Mr. Gentry stated in an article in the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence.

Across da pond at Da Mail, Now Russia accuses US of election meddling: Kremlin summons ambassador amid fury at American tech giants' refusal to censor anti-Putin content. I wouldn't be shocked.

Lifezette, Chase Bank Goes Full Woke, Cancels Gen Flynn’s Credit Card Over “Reputational Risk” but then, Chase Bank apologizes for Michael Flynn credit card cancellation letter sent in 'error' (Yahoo!).

White Supremacy is so rare the FBI has to pay to get it produced. JTN, FBI suffers another black eye, admits it hid payments to informant in white supremacist case

The FBI, already under fire for its handling of FISA warrants and confidential informants, is enduring more scrutiny as the Justice Department admits agents failed to disclose to a court that they had paid — to the tune of six figures — a white supremacist publisher for years to be an investigative source.

The admission came in a series of court filings this month in the case of Kaleb Cole, a Washington state man accused of being a member of the white supremacist group Atomwaffen and participating in an intimidation campaign against Jewish Americans and minority journalists. Cole has pleaded innocent and awaits trial.

Cole's lawyers filed a motion to suppress evidence gathered against their client on the grounds that the FBI had failed to disclose in a search warrant application that a publisher of extremist literature had been paid about $144,000 over 16 years to be an informant, including $82,000 for work in the case against Cole. The confidential informant (CI) also had an earlier felony conviction that wasn't disclosed, court records show.

The filings don't identify the informant by name but describe him as a publisher who "owns and operates a publishing company that distributes white supremacist writings."

Election 2020: NSA Attempts Damage Control

We're still talking about how a Whistleblower Comes Forward to Tell Fox News Host What the NSA Is Allegedly Doing To Him (Matt Vespa, Town Hall). Mediaite is skeptical,  Tucker Carlson Claims the NSA is Monitoring His Communications ‘In an Attempt to Take This Show Off the Air’ and finds people who agree. AllahPundit at Hot Hair is also a doubter, Will Fox's news division investigate Tucker's claim that the NSA is preparing to leak his private communications? This will unrefurbish his conservative credentials. Virginia Kruta at Da Caller notes  the Psaki Refuses To Answer Question On Tucker Carlson’s Spying Claim: The NSA ‘Focuses On Foreign Threats’. That's the theory, anyway. Even NCIS doesn't think that's true. And we know from Russiagate that countless counter examples exist. NT, BREAKING: Tucker responds to NSA who is spying on him 

"We made a very straightforward claim: NSA has read my private emails without my permission... Tonight's statement from the NSA does not deny that instead it comes with this non-sequitur: Tucker Carlson has never been an intel target."

Also at Da Caller, NSA Responds To Tucker Carlson, Claims He ‘Has Never Been An Intelligence Target’

Carlson responded to the NSA’s statement on his show Tuesday night. He said he was “glad to know” that he wasn’t an “intelligence target” but still asked if the Biden administration had read his personal emails. The Fox News host said he spoke to NSA officials directly and they “refused to explain why they couldn’t answer that simple question.”

Sundance at CTH, NSA Responds to Tucker Carlson Claim of Surveillance, The Generic and Very Political Non-Denial Should Alarm Everyone

Techno Fog noted something most of us would also note {SEE HERE} the NSA statement is an obtuse non-denial. However, there’s a lot more in that statement that should alarm everyone. I don’t know if I can cover it all here; this is actually serendipitous for a larger framework article I have been working on. But here’s some top-line initial reactions.

First, notice the time of the tweet message. Exactly 8:00pm to coincide with the beginning of Tucker Carlson’s broadcast. That’s typical political operative snark, which wouldn’t be too surprising if it were not the fact this is from the actual National Security Agency.

Many people in/around the intelligence apparatus have noted and confirmed to me that most of the modern human resources, within the working analytical part of the intelligence apparatus, are immature, solitary and emotionally stunted individuals. Accepting things as they directly appear, this subtle snark is actual confirmation.

Second, “Tucker Carlson has never been an intelligence target of the agency“, is akin to the NSA previously saying none of the 17 Republican candidates in the 2016 presidential race were “officially” targets of metadata surveillance; the surveillance just happened because, well, it was rogue contractors from our partner agency (FBI) using the facilitation of the NSA database for their opposition research. Oh, well, if that’s all it was… and not official NSA conduct… then, well, okay, move along. Or something.

And could this be related? Top Pentagon Cyber Official Probed Over Disclosure Concerns

Katie Arrington, chief information security officer for the Pentagon’s acquisition and sustainment office, was informed May 11 that “her security clearance for access to classified information is being suspended” as “a result of a reported Unauthorized Disclosure of Classified Information and subsequent removal of access by the National Security Agency,” according to a memo made available to Bloomberg News.
. . .
Arrington is a former two-term Republican state representative from South Carolina who ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2018 that emphasized her private-sector cyber experience. She was brought into the Pentagon in 2019 under the category of “Highly Qualified Expert” and later competed for and attained the nonpartisan Senior Executive Service status, Zaid said.

As I noted yesterday, Insty notes Matt Margolis at PJ Media: Did Maricopa County Officials Just Accidentally Admit Voting Machines Can Be Compromised? It sure seems that way. At Da Caller, Maricopa County Scrapping Voting Machines Used In GOP Audit and ET, Arizona’s Maricopa County Will Replace All Voting Machines After Audit. But we were assured the machines were tamper proof! It must be the GOP cooties.

And speaking of funny business with elections, via In The Mailbox: 06.29.21, the Weasel Zippers are amused  NYC Mayoral Candidate Raises Concerns After 100,000 Votes “Suddenly Appear”. Thomas Lifson at Am Think thinks the NY mayor’s race is in ‘chaos’ as 135,000 extra votes show up. AllahPundit want to Stop the steal: NYC mayoral frontrunner hints at election chicanery as lead slips during ranked-choice voting count. But the mystery was solved when it was discovered that BOE botched NYC mayoral primary results by including ‘test’ run (NYPo) and NYT notes (cited at Hot Hair) that NYC mayor's race in chaos after elections board counts 135,000 test ballots. Oops! These things happen. But of course, they never happen to Republicans! NYPo Ed Board calls New York’s Board of Elections a travesty. Insty catches some Democrat hypocrisy on the issue in PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS . . .

At Da Wire, Another Unarmed Trump-Supporting Grandma Charged In Jan 6 Capitol Breach. 'Shipwreckedcrew' at Red State explains The Emerging Reality Is the Biden Justice Department Will Charge Everyone It Can Identify for Capitol Protests

That means that anyone who attended the January 6 protest and went inside the Capitol, but has not yet been charged, will wake up every morning until the statute of limitations expires and wonder, “Will today be the day the Democrat Justice Department arrests me because I protested the election of Joe Biden?”

The argument could be made that, having opted to go down this path early on, the Democrat Justice Department needs to continue to identify and bring charges simply as a matter of even-handedness. Suspects whose identity has been harder to come by should not benefit by avoiding prosecution compared to individuals who the FBI was able to identify in the days and weeks that followed January 6.

While that might be true, the heavy-handed policy of “no exceptions” which is being followed only ensures that the damage to the country created by political divisions which exist will only get worse. It is a statement by the Biden Administration that it intends to criminalize to the greatest extent allowed by law the sentiment following the 2020 election that the outcome was not legitimate.

More significantly, it is a legitimate basis upon which the segment of the population who politically oppose the Biden Administration can reasonably claim the Administration is employing the criminal justice system to delegitimize that political opposition by declaring it to be based in criminality.

In today's Morning Report at Ace's JJ Sefton noted another violent protest just occurred in Washington DC, and nobody cared, because it was left wing: 

First up, one wonders whether or not Titty Caca Ocasio-Cortez had such severe flashbacks from January 6th that they caused Malig-Nancy Pelosi to soil her 18-Million-Year Girdle:

A group calling themselves "Sunrise Movement" created what some people might deem an insurrection. Fortunately, none were wearing MAGA hats so no unarmed protestors were shot by mystery guards. Dozens were supposedly arrested . . .

. . . New York's uber-progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman just couldn't pass up a chance to do some race-baiting, and graciously dropped an "F" bomb to let us know he means it:

"They occupy our streets. They mass incarcerate us, but they leave us food insecure, in transportation deserts, and our buildings and schools falling apart. Fuck that!" Bowman said at the event while speaking about the history of discrimination against black people. "We've got to go big, and take it to another level. And this is our moment. This is the moment" . . .

. . . Sunrise Movement is allegedly funded by Comrade George Soros. They blocked all 10 entrances to the White House and bellowed their demands. No reports of tear gas, pepper spray, firearms, or batons being used on the potential green panther insurrectionists.

Meanwhile, dozens of decent, G-d-fearing people who showed up to the Capitol to lawfully protest the certification of a stolen national election are languishing in jails and having their lives destroyed by what amounts to an American Gestapo of the DoJ/FBI as punishment for daring to object to the overthrow of the former United States of America.

Tyler O'Neil at PJ Media, GOP Calls Democrats' Bluff on the Capitol Riot Good luck with that. 

Last Thursday, Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), David Joyce (R-Ohio), Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), and Van Taylor (R-Texas) introduced legislation to investigate the involvement of antifa in the nationwide riots of 2020.

“Last year, organized cells of criminals hijacked overwhelmingly peaceful protests and used the legitimate grievances of others as cover to commit horrific acts of violence,” Mace said in a statement. “They caused billions of dollars in property damage and attacked law enforcement officers and innocent bystanders in cities across the country.”

“These riots often caused the most harm to the marginalized communities the criminals claimed to represent,” Mace added. “Antifa bands represent the same threat to our nation posed by other terrorist groups. We must do all we can to understand and neutralize this dangerous movement before more are harmed.”

Sundance, President Trump Spokesperson Liz Harrington Responds to Bill Barr Recent Statements 

From atop Da Hill, Pence faces fierce resistance from GOP's pro-Trump base “He’s never going to run for president and be successful" and I'm OK with that. Pence is a nice enough guy, but he's not presidential material.

More properly Russiagate, but fitting in with the election theme of two levels of justice, from Ace, Kevin Clinesmith, the Corrupt FBI Lawyer Who Forged Documents to Frame an Innocent Man, May Get His Law License Back on July 19

A Ruling Class judge first gave this corrupt government official, who forged a document in order to frame a man, then entered that forgery into evidence in a FISA hearing, no jail time at all. The judge's excuse? Well, this criminal lost his job. And might lose his law license. Isn't that punishment enough?

"[He] lost his job, and his government service is what has given his life much of its meaning," Boasberg said Friday. "He was also earning $150,000 a year and who knows where the earnings go now. He may be disbarred or suspended from the practice of law, you may never be able to work in the national security field again. These are substantial penalties."

I think the average street criminal would be surprised to learn that losing your job due to a crime, and maybe losing your Ruling Class Credential of a law license, is punishment enough.

And now -- about that losing his law license part. He lost it for just one year. The suspension is dated retroactively to August 2020.

And now he'll petition to have it reinstated.

The Government Clique really looks out for its own, doesn't it?

But, keep those Grandmas in jail, they're threats! 

Russiagate Languishing, Waiting for Durham

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Russiagate Still Clinging to Life

Lloyd Billingsley at Front Page would like to introduce you to  the DC Judge Who Let the FBI Criminal Off Light?

Carter Page might expect the judge to lecture Clinesmith about the lawyer about sullying the reputation of the FBI and DOJ, and betraying the federal government that employed him to uphold the law. None of that for District of Columbia judge James Boasberg. He opted for leniency because the allegedly remorseful Clinesmith had suffered by losing his job and “standing in the eye of a media hurricane.” It was a curious choice of words for the Obama appointee.

“Crossfire Hurricane” was the name of the FBI-DOJ covert operation against candidate and President Trump. And as it turns out, according to official sources, since 2014 Boasberg has served as the presiding judge of United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.”

That detail failed to turn up in news reports on Clinesmith’s slap on the wrist, which was much less than three to six month prison sentence sought by special counsel John Durham. After appointment by attorney general William Barr in May, 2019, Durham has failed to bring any criminal charges against major “Crossfire Hurricane” players James Comey, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page and others.

With the tap on the wrist for Clinesmith, Boasberg sends the message loud and clear. The DOJ and FBI may conduct covert operations against a duly elected president of the United States, violating federal law and abusing the FISA process, and avoid all prosecution. For 74 million Trump supporters, that is bad news going forward.

Sundance at CTH had Devin Nunes and Kash Patel Discussing Kevin Clinesmith’s Light Sentence For Lying to FISA Court, but Fox News took it down. At Am Great, And They Got Away With It

Clinesmith did not act in a vacuum. As I noted in August, Clinesmith made sure his superiors knew exactly what he was doing before doctoring the false evidence for the consumption of the FISA court. His attorney told us, “Mr. Clinesmith had provided the unchanged C.I.A. email to Crossfire Hurricane agents and the Justice Department lawyer drafting the original wiretap application.”

Rosenstein personally oversaw the application and the team that sought to continue the spying that began in July 2016. Thus, it should come as no surprise that Clinesmith’s leverage over powerful Justice Department co-conspirators coincided with a farcically light non-prison penalty for the most serious and easily proven criminal behavior by the get-Trump deep state.

No wonder he was one of the few Trump appointees who was on Joe's  "keeper" list. Paul Sperry

TOP SECRET: FBI Director Christopher Wray is covering up, er, classifying at top levels, all documents referring to the "Crossfire Hurricane Fusion Center." He won't let Congress know what it was, where it was based or who was assigned to it.

Sundance, Declassification and The DeceptiCon Agenda

A Question presented:

“Why do you think Trump didn’t do much in the last three months including declassifying stuff?“

The answer is simple, yet politically complex. President Trump’s cabinet, specifically those cabinet members feeling a greater responsibility to protect their institutions, would not comply with any executive office requests to declassify material. . . .

 Also Systemic Contingencies – The Need For Bill Barr’s Positioning Revealed, 2018 and Systemic Contingencies – They All Knew – Lessons From Spygate About Severity of DC Corruption

Robert Mueller had two goals as special counsel. Goal #1 was to continue the fraudulent DOJ/FBI “Stop Trump” operation initiated by James Comey, Andrew McCabe and their crew technically named Crossfire Hurricane. Goal #2 was to bury the illegal action; to create the cover-up needed for everything that took place in the “Stop Trump” operation.

It is the second goal that most people never reconciled; however, it is also that second goal that’s the most important. Everyone in DC knew Mueller’s objective. Every person in every branch of government and every federal agency knew Mueller’s real purpose.

Which is definitely not what Robert Mueller himself told Chuck Rosenberg, reported by Dan Chaitin at WaEx, Robert Mueller reveals why he became special counsel

News Max, Prosecution of Comey Reportedly 'Unlikely' After Durham Probe. Too bad. That sends a bad message.

WaPoo, Manhattan district attorney considering prosecuting Stephen Bannon following his pardon by Trump in federal fraud case. Going scorched earth, of course. If Republicans ever get control again, I hope they remember.

PM, WATCH: Jimmy Kimmel says retail investors are 'Russian disruptors' in response to GameStop stock market saga, Ace, Fatass TV Clown Jimmy Kimmel Claims That WallStreetBets Redditors are "Russian Disruptors" "How the Establishment's Gollums and Wormtongues scramble to the defense of their Dark Lords."

An explanation frequently invoked by Eric Swallowell, Woe is he! Media shed light on what Eric Swalwell had to contend with ‘after being unwittingly linked to a Chinese spy’ You might think sleeping with the enemy was a bad thing.

There is a colleague of mine who sent a tweet out just attacking me, and I texted him and I said, “Really?” He called me, and he was like, “Hey bro! How you doing, man?” I’m like, “How am I doing? You just sent out a tweet attacking me. Why are you doing this?” He goes, “I didn’t know I sent a tweet.” I’m like, “What do you mean you don’t know you sent a tweet?” He said, “Oh, let me check on that.” He called me back, “Oh, my staff sent it.”

I said, “Well, take it down. Why don’t you call me if you have questions?” He goes, “Well, I don’t think you did anything wrong. You did exactly what you’re supposed to do.” I said, “Well, then take down the tweet, don’t be a part of this feeding frenzy.” He’s like, “It’s coming down, I swear.” He texts me, “Just talked to them, it’s coming down.” But he didn’t take it down, so I called him again, and he goes, “Hey man, so my staff said that this is the best performing tweet we’ve had. And I’m not going to say anything else. If I’m asked about this publicly, I’m going to say you did the right thing. But if we take it down, it will be so obvious.” I’m like, That’s courage around here?

Russiagate: Mueller Probe Lawyer Clinesmith Gets Wrist Slap for Falsifying FISA Warrant

Time to clean up again, and this is the precipitating story. Fox:  Ex-FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith given probation after guilty plea in John Durham probe

Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith was sentenced to 12 months probation and 400 hours of community service Friday after pleading guilty to making a false statement in the first criminal case arising from Special Counsel John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe.

Clinesmith in August pleaded guilty to "one count of making a false statement within both the jurisdiction of the executive branch and judicial branch of the U.S. government, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000."

U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia James Boasberg on Friday during Clinesmith's sentencing hearing said Clinesmith had suffered by losing his job and standing in the eye of a media hurricane.

Boasberg gave him 12 months probation, 400 hours of community service, and no fine.

Government prosecutors had been asking for Clinesmith to spend several months in jail, but Clinesmith's defense had been advocating for probation only.

Curiously, Boasberg is also head of the FISA court, the august body that Clinesmith defrauded. One would think he would be more concerned with government lawyers making up the opposite of the truth (can you call that a mere lie?) in order to maintain surveillance on an innocent US citizen. WaPoo, of course is pro-Clinesmith, Ex-FBI lawyer avoids prison after admitting he doctored email in investigation of Trump’s 2016 campaign

But Boasberg also said he agreed with a prior finding by the Justice Department Inspector General that Clinesmith and other FBI officials’ actions were not motivated by political bias, and he believed Clinesmith’s contention that he thought, genuinely but wrongly, the information he was inserting into the email was accurate. On top of his probation sentence, Boasberg ordered Clinesmith to perform 400 hours of community service.

That's just bullshit.  

The case against Clinesmith is the first and only criminal allegation to arise from U.S. Attorney John Durham’s review of the FBI’s Russia case, and it has become a political lightning rod.

Clinesmith’s lawyers have argued altering the email was a mistake meant to save Clinesmith time and personal embarrassment. But former president Donald Trump and his political allies have highlighted the case as part of their allegations that the bureau was biased and seeking to undermine Trump with the investigation that explored possible ties between Russia and his campaign. The case was ultimately taken over by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

. . .

Prosecutor Anthony Scarpelli said in court that Clinesmith’s conduct was “more egregious” than that of George Papadopoulos, whose offhand remark in a London bar in May 2016 helped trigger the Russia investigation and who later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. He was sentenced to 14 days in prison.

Sundance at CTH, FBI Lawyer Who Doctored False Information to FISA Court Gets 12 Months Probation, 400 Hrs Community Service and No Fine

We suspected that Kevin Clinesmith was going to get the James Wolfe leniency treatment, not only because the DOJ (Main Justice) wanted to avoid highlighting the severity of his criminal conduct, but rather -more specifically- because that criminal conduct took place under the direction of the Robert Mueller and Andrew Weissman special counsel (June 29, 2017)…. And that is what has happened. It is all corrupt as hell…. all of it.

Bryan Preston, PJ Media, Government Agent Whose Altered Email Enabled the Russia Hoax Won't Spend a Day in Jail or Pay Any Fine. Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Ex-FBI Lawyer Receives Probation For Altering Email About Carter Page, from John Sexton at Hot Air VIP, FBI Attorney Who Altered Email About Carter Page’s Work With The CIA Will Get Probation, although why you would go through a paywall to get it instead of getting it from Ace for free is beyond me, in red bold italic type (with a flaming skull, Kevin Clinesmith, the Corrupt FBI Lawyer Who Forged Documents to Frame an Innocent Man, Gets... NO JAIL TIME, HAS TO PAY A HUNDRED DOLLAR FINE

And Paul Sperry at RCP, DC Fails To Disbar Anti-Trump FBI Lawyer Despite Guilty Plea. He's only a felon after all, good enough for DC. Also, New Evidence Implicates FBI Higher-Ups in Dishonesty of Anti-Trump Lawyer, I would be shocked, shocked, if Andy McCabe, Lisa Page or Peter Strzok had anything to do with this. I would point out this would totally destroy his "I didn't know what I was doing" defense the the judge apparently bought. Ace, Paul Sperry: New Evidence Suggests That Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page Might Have Been Complicit In Kevin Clinesmith's Criminal Forgery of Documents to Frame Carter Page Of course, none of this means anything any longer now that Biden is President. 

Generally, I'm in favor of leniency in first offenses, but I take issue with this one, because it was a government actor, acting against a helpless citizen who had no recourse at the time. I hope Carter Page sues the crap out of him in a friendly jurisdiction (Washington DC won't work).

Sundance attempts to convey his Understanding the Institutional Protection Racket Via Congress, Main Justice DOJ, FBI and FISA Court

And a ton of miscellaneous links of varying significance:

FBI Used ‘Ghosts’ To Track Trump Advisor Carter Page In 2016 | The Daily Caller

Declassified memos detail effort to get McCabe to step aside in Russia probe over conflict | Just The News

Obstruction boomerang: FBI knew DOJ was preparing to fire Comey long before Trump ordered it | Just The News

Christopher Steele Defended ‘Good Friend’ Ivanka Trump, FBI Notes Show | The Daily Caller

Star Impeachment Witness Lied About Her Contacts With Christopher Steele

Grassley wants answers on DOJ closing Flynn call leak investigation

Trump Declassified Memos Prove FBI Gave Clinton Campaign Pass on Foreign Donors | Gregg Jarrett

Michael Flynn Shot Down ‘Ridiculous’ Allegations Of Improper Contact With Russian Academic That Were Floated By Intelligence Operatives | The Daily Caller

"Retired" Enquirer chief still protecting Trump – HotAir

Gap in Trump's pardon could allow DOJ to prosecute Bannon anyway – HotAir

Eric Swalwell Again Dodges Questions About Contacts With Chinese Spy | The Daily Caller

Declassified! The Russia informant transcript the FBI didn't want Americans to see | Just The News

Giuliani in Ukraine: Kyiv's leaders, long silent, find some tales to share - The Washington Post

House Republicans seek Penn records for foreign financial ties to Biden Center | The College Fix

Russiagate: Mueller Lawyer Begs for Leniency

Time has come for the sentencing of Kevin Clinesmith, the Mueller team lawyer who altered an email from the CIA which named Carter Page as a CIA source on Russia to say that Page was not a source and passed it to an FBI agent to be included in a FISA warrant. The crime was found by IG Horowitz, and was a slam dunk for US Prosecutor John Durham.

Jerry Dunleavy at WaEx, John Durham and ex-FBI lawyer duel over prison sentence for FISA email deception

Newly appointed special counsel John Durham and fired FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith filed dueling court filings on Thursday, with the former Crossfire Hurricane attorney trying to dodge any jail time and the federal prosecutor asking the court to sentence him to up to six months in prison after he pleaded guilty to FISA email deception.

Clinesmith, who worked on the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server and on the FBI’s Trump-Russia inquiry as well as special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, admitted in August that he falsified a document during the bureau’s efforts to renew Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act authority to wiretap Carter Page, who had been a foreign policy adviser to now-President Trump's 2016 campaign. Clinesmith fraudulently edited a CIA email in 2017 to state that Page was “not a source” for the agency when the CIA had told the bureau on multiple occasions that Page had been an “operational contact” for them.

“As a licensed attorney and an officer of the Court, the defendant took an oath, was bound by professional and ethical obligations, and should have been well-aware of this duty of candor ... His deceptive conduct ... was antithetical to the duty of candor and eroded the FISC’s confidence in the accuracy of all previous FISA applications worked on by the defendant,” Durham wrote on Thursday, adding, “The defendant’s conduct also undermined the integrity of the FISA process and struck at the very core of what the FISC fundamentally relies on in reviewing FISA applications.”

“The government respectfully submits that a sentence of incarceration that is at least between the middle and upper end of the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range is appropriate and warranted,” Durham said. “This case is outside the heartland of typical cases under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 [false statements], and such a sentence would reflect the seriousness of the offense.”

In a filing that included more than 55 letters of support from Clinesmith’s family, friends, and colleagues, his lawyer argued for leniency.

“Kevin Clinesmith made a grievous mistake. By altering a colleague’s email, he cut a corner in a job that required far better of him. He failed to live up to the FBI’s and his own high standards of conduct. And he committed a crime. Kevin pled guilty and accepts full responsibility. He deeply regrets his conduct and apologizes to all those who have been affected — including his former colleagues, the FBI, the DOJ, the Court, the public, and his family,” Clinesmith’s lawyer said.

Clinesmith’s lawyer said his client “knew the original email did not contain those additional words, and he knew that the agent would, upon receiving the forwarded email, believe that it did.”

“Significantly, however, Kevin did not knowingly lie about the relationship between Individual #1 and the other government agency. When Kevin informed the agent (and others) that Individual #1 was not a source, he genuinely believed he was conveying accurate information,” Clinesmith’s lawyer also contended. “Kevin’s reputation has been ruined, his professional career is in shambles, and he has been unable to support his family financially at a time when he and his wife are expecting their first child. While he has nobody but himself to blame for those consequences, they are, in conjunction with a non-custodial sentence, a just punishment for Kevin’s critical lapse in judgment.” He requested probation and community service.

Clinesmith will be sentenced by the presiding judge on Dec. 10.

Curiously, or perhaps not, the presiding judge is "Jeb" Boasberg, who also the  Presiding Judge of the FISA Court. Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Durham Seeks Jail Time For Ex-FBI Lawyer Who Altered CIA Email About Carter Page. Much like Insty, SORRY, I’M UNMOVED. FBI lawyer who lied to surveil Trump aide asks judge to spare him from prison. I don't necessarily want to see Clinesmith in jail, but I do want to see a heavy penalty as an example.  Loss of his law license  at the minimum, and a heavy financial penalty, to repay DOJ  for time and trouble in the investigation and prosecution and especially to repay Carter Page for his legal costs, and reputational and financial losses.

In other Durham related news, high praise to William Barr from never-Trumper Benjamin Wittes, who said Barr’s Appointment Of Durham Was ‘Devilishly Clever’ (John Sexton at Hot Air)

The more I study what Attorney General Bill Barr did in his secret October order naming the Connecticut U.S. attorney as a special counsel, the more devilishly clever it seems—and the bigger the pickle it creates for Barr’s successor. This, presumably, is Barr’s intention. Untangling this knot is going to take no small amount of diplomacy, lawyering and finesse. And a false move in any of several directions could create a real mess.

But just to be sure,  ‘Non-Negotiable’: GOP Senators Say Biden’s Pick For Attorney General Must Preserve Durham Probe (Chick Ross at Da Caller). Better win at least one of those Georgia seats. 

Neal Katyal at NYT whines I Wrote the Special Counsel Rules. Barr Has Abused Them.

Alex Nitzberg at JTN Director of National Intelligence says he has given 'thousands of documents to John Durham', Sundance at CTH, DNI John Ratcliffe States He Has Produced Thousands of Declassified Documents For Special Counsel John Durham to Use. Let's hope he uses them well. But as Ratcliffe warns,  We can't declassify all of Russiagate's secrets (Jerry Dunleavy, WaEx). But we can declassify a lot more. 

Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Senate Committees Release A Treasure Trove Of Trump-Russia Documents. C'mon! Give us the juicy stuff!

And no longer in legal jeopardy, Gen. Michael Flynn is free to talk. PM, WATCH: General Flynn explains how he was targeted by Obama's intel community to Dan Bongino

Also from Sundance, Lou Dobbs Interviews Michael Flynn

And a Duh! story from the Victory Girls, Yes, CNN Did Bury The Hunter Biden Story. I think Trump should troll Biden by preemptively pardoning Hunter Biden.