Showing posts with label Matthew Whitaker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matthew Whitaker. Show all posts

Friday, December 4, 2020

Election 2020: If You Like Your Fraud, You Can Keep It

Capt. Ed at Hot Air, Alito Responds To PA Appeal — But There’s Just One Catch. Trump may win at the Supreme Court level, showing that the Pennsylvania counted illegal mail-in-votes (which went heavily for Biden) far in excess of Biden margin of victory, but by then, Biden will be President, and there won't be any remedy. 

DJHJ Media, Mysterious ‘Leak’ Exposed as a Cover for Suitcases of Ballots, US Rep for GA Reacts and Calls out Sec. of State. Video at link, and everywhere else, for that matter.

In a ballot counting room in the state of Georgia, something extraordinary happened. It was uncovered in front of a huge online audience growing increasingly more concerned about the 2020 Presidential election’s integrity, and a member of the House called out the Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, who insists he sees no concerns for fraud.

US House member from Georgia Jody Hice reacted on Twitter and wrote:

This looks like election fraud on a mass scale. Fulton officials throw everyone out of the room and start counting ballots in secret. For 2 hours. 3,000 ballots per hour per machine. Multiple machines. The margin in Georgia is 12,000. You do the math, @GaSecofState.

Ace, In Georgia, Vote-Counters Claimed They Were Shutting Down and Ordered All GOP Monitors to Leave; Then They Continued Counting, In Secret and Without Observers Present, For Three More Hours. Sundance, Stunning CCTV Video From Fulton County Georgia Shows Workers Unloading Suitcases of Ballots After Monitors Told To Leave For Night…

Bronson Stocking at Town Hall, Georgia Governor Changes Tune After Trump Lawyers Present Troubling Video of Alleged Fraud

Brooke Singmen at Fox, Georgia group founded by Stacey Abrams under investigation for seeking out-of-state, dead voters, Capt. Ed. Raffensperger: We’re Investigating Voter Fraud From GOTV Groups — Including Abrams’ "Raffensperger told the media that Abrams’ group tried to register his son in three separate applications — even though he’s been dead for two years." 

The Right Scoop, WATCH LIVE: Georgia Senate holds oversight committee on election fraud at 9:30AM. Charles Lipsom at RCP, The Georgia Runoffs and Our Embattled Constitution. Stephan Kruiser at PJ Media in The Morning Briefing: The Idiocy of Republicans Boycotting GA Runoffs Has to Stop. Rich Lowry at Politico, The Conspiracy Theory That Could Hand Joe Biden the Senate "There is no evidence that Lin Wood and Sidney Powell are secretly working for the Democratic National Committee, but no one has definitively disproved it, either."

“This is good news because those media propagandists who say there’s no evidence of fraud can now shut up,” Ward said. “The bad news is this looks like this election has been attempted to be stolen from President Trump.”

“And to remind you what a duplicate ballot is: It’s when there’s a damaged ballot or, for some reason, the machine cannot read a ballot,” Ward said. “So, then, election workers ‘recreate’ that ballot. They ‘duplicate’ it for the voter. And it’s either fed back into the machine or created electronically.”


CNS News, Attorney Lin Wood Poses ‘7 Fair Questions for AG Barr’ Regarding Voter Fraud Investigation "Did you investigate voting fraud? What did you do? What did you find?How much time did you spend? Were experts involved? How many Dominion machines analyzed? How many poll watchers interviewed?"


Should Biden’s handlers take hold of the levers of power in the executive branch, all bets are off. These assorted swamp creatures know they’ll have 48 months to cement their grip on the federal government and begin the Great Reset. They’ll rule by executive order, if necessary, and dare the federal courts and the GOP Senate -- if Republicans hold the Senate -- to stop them. If Democrats brazenly steal the presidency, why wouldn’t that embolden them to try to try to steal the rest?

As often is the case, much more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 12.03.20 and JJ Sefton's The Morning Report - 12/4/20 at Ace's.

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Thursday, May 28, 2020

Russiagate Still Humming Along

Minimal new stuff on Flynn, while the courts and Judge Sullivan wait to work out their differences. From Da Blaze, Appeals court to Flynn judge: Why haven't you dismissed this case? If I were Sullivan, I'd be mighty mad at DOJ, but not at Flynn. Still more to come out? Capt Ed at Hot Air, Today’s Hot Question: When Will Ratcliffe Release Transcripts At Heart Of The Flynn Prosecution? My question is "if" not "when". If he doesn't release them he doesn't have guts enough for the job.
The real question isn’t will but when. Now that Grenell has declassified the documents, it won’t be long before House and Senate Republicans will want to see them, and that means they will leak quickly. They also might be subject to FOIA demands from outfits like Judicial Watch and others, as well as media outlets with some interest in exploring the ways power might have been abused in Russiagate. That might leave out the major media outlets, admittedly, but they have a significant number of competitors who will tread that path whether mainstream outlets do or don’t.

One party to the call has a particular interest in those transcripts. Flynn attorney Sidney Powell openly complained last week that the defense had never been provided the calls or the transcripts. She bet that the word “sanctions” never appeared in any of them even though that was the issue on which the FBI and DoJ later claimed Flynn lied, leading to his prosecution. Even if Flynn had discussed sanctions with Kislyak, though, it would have been legal for him to do so as part of the incoming presidential transition team. The full set of transcripts could answer definitively whether the FBI and DoJ ever had a legit case against Flynn for obstruction — and that might embarrass one judge in particular, who refuses to sign off on the DoJ’s dismissal motion.
The best summary of Russiagate I've seen yet. Comprehensive, but not too deep in the weeds from Charles Lipsom at RCP, What the 'Obamagate' Scandals Mean and Why They Matter. Consider it a homework assignment. And speaking of in the weeds, Sundance at CTH has the video of an ET interview with Matthew Whitaker at The “Obstruction of Justice Trap” – Former AAG Matt Whitaker Confirms Mueller Probe Was Used As Weapon to Cover Coup Effort….. It's long but well worth the time. I'd be happy with him as AG in the Ivanka Trump administration.



At Da Wire, Ryan Saavedra, Grenell Declassifies Document That Is ‘Very Significant’ To Origins of Russia Investigation
The documents include transcripts of the phone calls that then-incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn had with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, which is at the center of the Obama administration’s “unmasking” scandal.

The newly declassified documents will have to be released by new Director John Ratcliffe, who was sworn in on Tuesday morning.

Fox News reported “that Grenell also completed the declassification review of other documents related to the origins of the Russia probe — including one that a senior intelligence official told Fox News was ‘very significant in understanding how intelligence was manipulated to support launching the Russia investigation.'”
Kevin Brock from Da Hill thinks the New FBI document confirms the Trump campaign was investigated without justification
To the untrained eye, the FBI document that launched Crossfire Hurricane can be confusing, and it may be difficult to discern how it might be inadequate. To the trained eye, however, it is a train wreck. There are a number of reasons why it is so bad. Two main ones are offered below (if you would like to follow along, the document is here) . . .
Insty, IT WAS AN ATTEMPTED COUP, DESIGNED TO OVERTURN AN ELECTION, AND THE PERPETRATORS SHOULD BE JAILED OR SHOT: New FBI document confirms the Trump campaign was investigated without justification. But we’ll be lucky if they pay any serious price at all.
A parting shot from Grenell:
But I'm not sure Rubio is who we need at the head of the  Senate Intelligence Committee, Marco Rubio zeroes in on Russia — not Obama (Politico).  "The new Senate Intelligence Committee chairman has no interest in fighting Trump's election-year battles." Sundance is sure, Marco Rubio Moves to Protect Senate From Exposure in Their Role Against President Trump….

WaPoo, Rod Rosenstein to testify in Senate committee’s examination of Russia probe. Sundance, Rod Rosenstein Scheduled to Testify to Senate Judiciary Committee – June 3rd, 10:00am… "Yeah, Rosenstein has a lot to answer for." Ace, Lindsey Graham Responds to Pressure to Finally Investigate Russiagate by Inviting Rod Rosenstein to Testify
Boy that Lindsey. What a hero.

Of course, Graham is inviting one of the lesser figures to testify. He's not making waves by demanding Clapper, Brennan, Comey, McCabe, Baker, Strzok, or Page testify.

Inviting this one lesser figure to testify will give him six months of tough-but-folksy-sounding soundbites to offer up to Fox & Friends.

Not all heroes wear capes, you know.
I'm interested in hearing from Rosenstein. My feeling was that he was an "institution" man, more interested in keep DOJ running smoothly than in pursuing the President, but took over an institution where many at the top had that goal. He was just sitting on the fence the whole time. Fox News, Barr asks US Attorney John Bash to review 'unmasking' before and after 2016 election, DOJ tells Fox News
Attorney General Bill Barr has asked U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas John Bash to review the practice of "unmasking" before and after the 2016 presidential election, a controversy that has picked up steam after the Justice Department moved to drop charges against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, the DOJ told Fox News on Wednesday night.

Republican lawmakers have demanded more information about the extent of the practice after a previously clandestine list of Obama-era officials who sought to reveal what turned out to be the identity of Michael Flynn in intelligence reports was released earlier the month. The DOJ had moved to drop the Flynn case after internal memos were released raising serious questions about the nature of the investigation that led to his late-2017 guilty plea for lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts.

DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec told Fox News' "Hannity" that U.S. Attorney John Durham, who has been reviewing the origins of the Russia investigation, was looking into "unmasking" but Barr determined certain aspects of the practice needed further review, and Bash has been assigned to do so.
Texas, huh? That's interesting. Hold those treason trials in a red county, not Washington D.C.

Sundance, Devin Nunes: House Cannot Debate FISA Reauthorization When Democrats are Not Here…. Video at link. Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Trump Urges House Republicans To Vote Against Spy Tool Used To Snoop On His Campaign. Fox, DOJ urges Trump veto on FISA legislation, vote in limbo. Curiously, Trump and the Barr DOJ are on different sides of this; Trump wants FISA reformed more after it was used against him; Barr wants less reform so he has tools against terrorists. But it gets them to the same place: BREAKING: President Trump Vows to Veto FISA Reauthorization if Passed… (Sundance). WaPoo, House effort to pass surveillance overhaul collapses after Trump tweets and pushback from DOJ

Via the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 05.27.20 Nice Deb at American Greatness reminds us Former Mueller Prosecutor Weissmann Now Fundraising For Joe Biden. Ace, Andrew Weissman, the Real Ringleader of the So-Called "Mueller" Report, Is Such an Extreme Partisan That He Quits a High Paying Job at MSNBC Rather Than Skip His Fundraiser for Biden
"Nah, I don't want money of my own. I'd rather raise money for a Democrat politician."
Is exactly the sort of thing a non-partisan who can be trusted with an inherently partisan investgiation says all the time.

I mean, every non-partisan independent I know is always using vacation days to canvass for Democrat politicians. Non-partisan independents just can't wait to take their own wealth and assets and donate them to Democrat politicians.
"If the fundraiser goes forward, I’m withdrawing from MSNBC so I can be in compliance with their policy," Weissmann said in a Friday night phone interview, in reference to the network's policy that employees avoid activities "that may create the appearance of a conflict of interest."
There's one circumstance where this makes perfect sense: If you are very scared you might be facing criminal liability from a Trump Administration but definitely not a Biden one, it would make sense to quit a job to campaign for the guy who will end the investigation into your crimes.
Hot Air cites WSJ in Trump Imitates The Steele Dossier In Attacks On Joe Scarborough. After all the horrible things they've said about Trump over the last three years that turned out not to be true, a little sauce for gander is amusing, if not especially presidential.
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Monday, May 25, 2020

Memorial Day Russiagate Debris

We're mostly dealing with stuff left over, no particularly new issues have arisen since the last post. Everyone went to the beach for the long weekend except a few unlucky writers left behind to fill pages and collect clicks.

Seth Barrett Tillman at the New Reform Club asks What the Media will not ask, but what I already asked
Will anyone in the media inquire from: Judge Sullivan, John Gleeson, Beth Wilkinson, and the Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and ask:

If Gleeson’s work and Wilkinson’s work is pro bono or paid?

If paid, then paid by whom?—Sullivan or the Treasury (or other)?

If the Treasury, then through what fund or under what specific legal authority?
Good questions, still. From sundance at CTH, Sunday Talks: Former AAG Matt Whitaker Discusses Flynn Case and Sketchy Judge…



Monte Kuligowski at AmThink says The Flynn Frame-Up: Everything Was Done by the Book, if "by the book" means Machiavelli's "The Prince" or Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals." But it was not limited to Gen. Flynn, Susan Quinn at Ricochet reminds us of The Revolting Inquisition of K.T. McFarland, Flynn's deputy.

Andy McCarthy at NR says Flynn Was Not Masked because the FBI Framed Him as a Clandestine Agent of Russia. Not fair to say "the FBI". It was Comey, McCabe, Strzok, Page, and Pientka, with a little assistance from Sally Yates and Lisa Page at DOJ. We can make a crime out of this if we try hard enough. That's how this works. Sundance Sunday Talks: Andy Biggs Discusses “Why Now” as Chris Wray Initiates an FBI Investigation…



I expect to hear soon that Joe Pientka has resigned, making him the last of original top level coup originators to sneak out of range to be hired by CNN as a law commentator.
Keep in mind there are dozens of currently employed FBI officials, agents, analysts and administrators who participated in the effort. As a result of USAO Jeff Jensen reviewing the activity; and in combination with DNI Ric Grenell declassifying and releasing the information to the public; FBI Director Chris Wray has no choice.

Remember, despite his involvement FBI supervising agent David Archey was promoted and now leads the Virginia field office. Additionally, one of the key actors, FBI Agent Joe Pientka, was transferred to San Francisco. Both Archey and Pientka are part of a much larger network of FBI officials that remain currently employed and have never been held accountable.

Agent’s Pientka and Archey were coordinating their corrupt operations with several dozen FBI officials and staff.
Hopefully his last days are as productive as the rest of his tenure, from Chuck Ross at Da Caller, ‘Those Are Coming’: Grenell Says He Is Working To Declassify More Flynn Documents. Zing!
Schiff, a Democrat, requested the call transcripts as well as records related to 39 so-called “unmasking” requests that Obama administration officials made for intelligence reports that mentioned Flynn. Grenell declassified that list earlier this month, and it was released on May 13.

“Those are coming,” Grenell wrote to Swalwell. “It’s very important for the public to see ALL of them.”

He then took a swipe at the Democratic congressman, writing that “for too long the public has been misled.”

“Just compare your committee’s transcripts to your public statements!”
Fox reports Grenell stepping down as ambassador to Germany following DNI stint, Politico, U.S. ambassador to Germany reportedly stepping down. No word on whether he has his eye on another post closer to the action, but the articles give no clue. I hope he finds one where he can continue the work he started as acting DNI.

BPR, President Trump tells Sharyl Attkisson: ‘I have a chance to break the deep state,’ in exclusive interview. I saw this part of the interview last night. A good start.
From Matt Mayer, as Spectator USA, Obama should apologize to Trump "Most of what has transpired over the last three years could have been avoided" Yes, he should, but he won't. He achieved part of what he wanted; tying Trump up and smearing him. So should the media, for the same reason. More to the point, they should also reveal who the sources are that gave them fake news for political purposes. Newsbusters, Why Doesn't CNN Care When Anonymous Sources Give Them Fake News?


Far too much Washington journalism is reliant on anonymous sources, and the public has no earthly idea of the agendas and ideologies of the "senior government officials" or just "sources" who can be used to ruin a presidency or a congressional career.

Larry O'Connor at Townhall threw a strong headline at Team Zucker: "CNN Was Used to Spread Lies And They're Just Fine with That." He began:
When an anonymous source gives bad information to a journalist, that source should no longer be protected by the cloak of anonymity. And the angriest people involved in the entire scenario should be the reporter who passed on the bad information and the company that broadcast or published it.
So, why is CNN so complacent about one of the biggest fake stories in the entire Russian Collusion affair?
O'Connor referred to a story posted on September 18, 2017 by Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz, and Pamela Brown using anonymous sources to claim the FBI had a FISA warrant to wiretap Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort before and after the 2016 election.

That story may have spurred judicial action: "It appears as though the press reports of the FISA warrant may have compelled the judge overseeing the Manafort grand jury to make a ruling that compelled Manafort's lawyer to testify (an apparent breach of attorney/client privilege)."

It turned out that Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz emphatically stated in his report that not only did the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane team not seek a FISA on Manafort, they never even “seriously considered” FISA surveillance of Manafort! This was a serious Fake News moment.
Well, because then that source would never give them fake news again! And that's their product.

John Fritze at USA Today, 'You should drop out': Trump spars with ex-Attorney General Jeff Sessions amid battle for Alabama Senate seat. He should forgive and forget Sessions, who was a good man promoted beyond his capabilities. He was too easily cowed by the "Deap Staters."

Speaking of fake news, or at least news that is being deliberately misinterpreted, sundance says about those 16,000 Unmasking Requests in 2018 They Say – While They Simultaneously Ignore The Special Counsel… So, Mueller's Weissman's goons were unmasking left and right? Makes sense.
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Saturday, March 7, 2020

Russiagate, Because I Feel I Should

Chuck Ross at Da Caller on how Spy Court Sidelines FBI Agents Who Wiretapped Carter Page. Not much really new except that he names FBI agent #1, Stephen Somma as a likely candidate. As Capt. Ed at Hot Air in Consequences: FISA Court Disqualifies FBI Agents Linked To Carter Page Warrants points out:
The banishment of Crossfire Hurricane figures is almost certainly meant to be embarrassing, but that’s about as much teeth as FISC has in this situation. As the New York Times’ Charlie Savage points out, the court has limited authority to deal with FBI misconduct. It has no oversight over the Department of Justice at all, which is an executive-branch agency. Presumably the court’s rotating judges had already adopted a more skeptical approach to more recent surveillance warrant applications after reading the Michael Horowitz report, but unless Congress changes the FISA law, courts are still required to follow it.



For a more learned take, take Jonathon Turley, FBI Agents Connected To Carter Page Surveillance Barred From FISA Process
In a further demonstration of the abuses that led to the surveillance of Trump officials, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court has barred FBI officials involved in the wiretapping of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page from appearing before the court. in rebuke that exceeded the remedial recommendations made by the independent monitor recently appointed by the court. Notably, this goes beyond the recommendations for David Kris, the highly controversial choice as an independent monitor of reforms. The order of Judge Boasberg further belies arguments that the surveillance of the Trump-relate figures was well-based and justified, as I discussed in any earlier column.
. . .
We will have to wait to see if there are meaningful reforms of this court. Boasberg made a baffling mistake in the appointment of Kris. Moreover, this is not a permanent ban. Most importantly, Sen. Rand Paul is being opposed in his efforts to put serious protections in place, including opposition from the Justice Department.
At AmGreat, Julie Kelly says Without Consequences or Penalties, FISA Should Expire. Yep. And the FISA court is clearly on the ball, FISA court mistakenly says Fusion GPS was digging up dirt on Hillary Clinton, not Trump (Jerry Dunleavy, WaEx). Judge Boasberg clearly reads the NYT. Whoopsie!

Bonchie at Red State details how New Documents Reveal How Robert Mueller Let Conspiracies Run Wild for Years Despite Having Answers Almost Immediately. They knew the Trump Tower meeting was a nothing burger in four days, but let the rumor mill continue to operate.

Mollie Hemingway wonders why If Bloomberg Couldn’t Buy 2020, How Could Russia Buy 2016? Heh.
“We had years where people were saying a couple hundred thousand dollars in barely literate Facebook ads from Russians caused Donald Trump to win. Here you had a guy spend nearly $1 billion and he went nowhere. It’s a humiliating defeat for Michael Bloomberg,” she said.

Host Bret Baier drilled the point home: “So Russians influenced the election with $200,000, or $300,000 in Facebook ads? And Mike Bloomberg couldn’t get more than 50 delegates with $600 million dollars?”
From sundance at CTH,  Attorney General Bill Barr Responds to Federal Judge Who Questioned His Credibility…. A pointed but civil reply. A middle finger would be more appropriate.

Tyler at PJ Media, Trump Campaign Files Multi-Million-Dollar Defamation Lawsuit Against CNN Over Russia Collusion Claims. One of those suits I hope succeeds that won't.

Insty, AND JUST LIKE THAT, THE DNC-MSM NO LONGER LOVES ROMNEY: Mitt Romney’s vote to clear path for probe into Hunter Biden’s Burisma ties (NYPo). From Jordain Carney on Da Hill, Romney to vote for Burisma subpoena
Liz Johnson, a spokeswoman for Romney, said Friday that he would support the subpoena — which is expected to request documents and an interview with former Blue Star Strategies consultant Andrii Telizhenko — during Wednesday's committee meeting after getting assurances from Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).

“Senator Romney has expressed his concerns to Chairman Johnson, who has confirmed that any interview of the witness would occur in a closed setting without a hearing or public spectacle. He will therefore vote to let the Chairman proceed to obtain the documents that have been offered," Johnson said.
Nancy Palsy triples down,  Nancy Pelosi On Impeachment: Trump Can Say ‘Acquit This Or That,’ But ‘He’ll Never Be Vindicated’, from Justin Caruso at Da Caller.

From WaEx, Shameless Hillary Clinton says email scandal apology was 'against my better judgment'. That's OK. We didn't believe you meant it, and we didn't accept it.
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Saturday, August 31, 2019

Russiagate: Get thee behind me, Jim Comey.

The day produced so much material on Jim Comey it's ridiculous, so I'll do it the ugly way. Find your own nuggets. Get thee behind me, Jim Comey.

Comey violated FBI policy in handling of memos detailing interactions with Trump, inspector general finds - The Washington Post
DOJ inspector general buries real James Comey news - The Washington Post
IG Report: James Comey Passed Private Conversation with Trump to FBI Team Investigating Russia Collusion - Breitbart
Trump Shreds Comey For Breaking Dozens Of Rules At FBI - Daily Wire
Con Man Comey - Frontpage Mag
President Trump Reacts to IG Report on James Comey Conduct as FBI Director…. - The Last Refuge
James Comey wants an apology? This is myth becoming madness - TheHill
It Seems Trump Was Right To Fire James Comey - NYSun
Rod Rosenstein shades Comey, rips MSNBC and CNN pundits after IG report released - Fox News
The PJ Media Morning Briefing: Comey Loses FBI 'Employee of the Month' Titles
Instapundit » KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Comey Loses FBI ‘Employee of the Month’ Titles. “Comey’s smugness is only e…

Instapundit » FLASHBACK: Comey ‘Friend’ Who Leaked FBI Memos Now Claims To Be His Attorney. “Daniel Richman, t…
Trump: Isn't Barr a "fair and reasonable" guy for not prosecuting Comey? Hot Air
James Comey was the Bad Guy in the 'Russia Collusion' story
Turley: Comey apology demand was "a Captain Queeg moment"
IG report on Comey shows how Trump brings out the worst in his opponents - Hot Air
Inspector general's devastating report on James Comey shows how Trump brings out the worst in his opponents
The worst is still to come for Jim Comey  -  TheHill
Instapundit » Blog Archive » I CERTAINLY HOPE SO: The worst is still to come for Jim Comey. “Rushing into victimland is a commo…
First Review of IG Report on James Comey – The Substance Within the Report Shows a Two-Tiered Justice System… | The Last Refuge
New inspector general report shows James Comey's 'highest loyalty' is to himself - WaEx
We Can End the Comey Worship Now - The Bulwark
Byron York and Rep Doug Collins Discuss IG Report on James Comey Conduct… - The Last Refuge
DOJ Inspector General: Comey Set a Dangerous Example The American Spectator
Jumpin’ Jim Flash - Power Line
Mark Levin: Comey 'shouldn't have been anywhere close' to a law enforcement career - Fox News
From In The Mailbox: 08.30.19 (Early Edition) : The Other McCain sends DOJ IG: 'Comey's Retention, Handling, and Dissemination of Certain Memos Violated' DOJ, FBI PoliciesJames Comey: The corrupt cop the media painted as their savior - Legal Insurrection

But there was real news beyond Comey, For example, Sundance at CTH, Thunderstruck – Flynn Attorney Sidney Powell Drops Atomic Sledgehammer of Truth on DC Court….
In an explosive response filing today, which includes the phrase”sunlight is the best disinfectant”, attorney Sidney Powell has outlined the soup-to-nuts construct of the malicious government action taken during their targeting her client Michael Flynn.
In the 19-pages (full pdf below), Ms. Powell walks through the history of the DOJ, FBI and intelligence apparatus weaponization against Mr. Flynn and lays out the background behind everything known to have happened in 2016, 2017 through today.

From the corrupt DOJ lawyers who were working with Fusion-GPS and Chris Steele, including Mr. Weissmann, Mr. Van Grack and Ms. Zainab Ahmad; to the 2015/2016 FISA database search abuses; to the CIA and FBI operation against Flynn including Nellie Ohr; to the schemes behind the use of DOJ official Bruce Ohr; to the corrupt construct of the special counsels office selections; to the specifics within the malicious conspiracy outlined by hiding FBI interview notes of Mike Flynn,… all of it…. Is a stunning filing that many CTH readers are well prepared to understand.
While I hope that Sydney Powell gets a full exoneration and an apology from the DOJ for their likely illegal investigation and prosecution of Flynn, I'm not betting on it. And even with Robert Barr at the head of Justice, DOJ is still playing dirty pool in the case. Government Refuses to Grant Flynn Lawyer Security Clearance – Also Refuse to Produce Original January 24th FBI Report….. Bear in mind, Powell is a former Federal prosecutor; she should easily get a security clearance.
In a filing today (full pdf below) Flynn’s defense lawyer, Sidney Powell, notes two significant issues: (1) Ms. Powell is being denied a security clearance she needs to review all of the documents in the case; and (2) the DOJ is refusing to provide the original FBI notes from their interview of Michael Flynn on January 24th, 2017.
From Chuck Ross at Da Caller,  Matthew Whitaker: DOJ Meeting Suggests Andrew McCabe Will Be Indicted ‘Imminently’. Well, good.




BPR, Lawrence O’Donnell’s apology ‘not enough’, Eric Trump goes for lawsuit
“This was a reckless attempt to slander our family and smear a great company,” Eric, who serves as the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, wrote in a tweet.

“Apologies are not enough when the true intent was solely to damage and cause harm. As a company, we will be taking legal action. This unethical behavior has to stop.”

He posted the tweet about five hours after O’Donnell issued his first apology on Twitter and about an hour and a half before the host went on to further clarify his apology on air.

In both instances, the longtime MSNBC host refused to say the words “I’m sorry.” Worse, he kept the conspiracy theorizing alive by suggesting that his original claim might still be true.

Uttered Tuesday evening on MSNBC’s “The Last Word,” the claim by O’Donnell was that a loan provided to the president by Deutsche Bank had been co-signed by Russian oligarchs.
Filed under lawsuits I hope succeed.
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Saturday, August 3, 2019

Russiagate: Ratcliffe Out

Well that was fast. WaPoo (fresh 30 day pass) is triumphant, Ratcliffe withdraws from consideration for intelligence chief less than a week after Trump picked him. Lack of Republican support and abundant Democrat opposition:
In tweets, Trump said that Ratcliffe (R-Tex.) was being treated “very unfairly” by the media.

“Rather than going through months of slander and libel, I explained to John how miserable it would be for him and his family to deal with these people,” Trump wrote. “John has therefore decided to stay in Congress where he has done such an outstanding job representing the people of Texas, and our Country.”

Even by the tumultuous standards of the Trump administration, Ratcliffe’s nomination, which fell apart in less than a week, was a spectacular flameout.
leading to speculation as to who will be Dan Coats successor:
Trump also indicated that the current principal deputy director of national intelligence, Sue Gordon, might serve as the acting director when Coats leaves office Aug. 15. Trump had previously been unclear whether he expected her to fulfill the role. By law, the principal deputy director becomes the acting director when that position is vacant.

“I like Sue Gordon. Sue Gordon is there now, and I like her very much. I’ve always liked her,” Trump said adding, “Certainly she will be considered for the acting.”
. . .
Gordon is widely admired among Democrats and Republicans in Congress, and Burr offered a quiet endorsement Friday.
Ace, Trump Withdraws John Ratcliffe as Nominee for Director of National Intelligence
Ah darn. I thought he'd be good.
. . .
A friend who's an expert in this are is upset at this news of asking for a list of the top intelligence officials, because almost all of the people on that list are Deep State Obama operators. "Might as well just pick John Brennan and be done with it," he says.
Sundance, at CTH, Deep State Center Holds – John Ratcliffe Nomination Withdrawn…  "It always comes back to the SSCI."  I think you get the gist of it.

Capt. Ed at Hot Air reads Da Beast so you don't have to. Daily Beast: Is Trump Going To Cashier Coats’ Deputy Too? Gordon. Generally speaking, the more firings the better. Keep them off balance.

Sundance at CTH was on fire with Comey posts: Moments Away – Inspector General Report on James Comey To Be Released Any Day… Moments away in government time could be months. James Comey Responds IG Investigation and Criminal Referral…

The interesting aspect here is to remind ourselves that James Comey is currently in the “Principal Review Phase” of a pending IG report that is specific to his conduct.

Inspector General Michael Horowitz has written a report of Comey’s conduct. Part of that process included a criminal referral to US Attorney John Huber, and a prosecution declination. James Comey has obviously reviewed the IG report (an NDA restricts his ability to talk specifically about it); and we are awaiting publication of the final report

It sounds like former FBI Director James Comey has concluded his response to the Inspector General’s report. Which means the IG report is soon to be released.
DOJ Files Motion to Block Court Order Forcing Release of “Archey Declarations” (Comey Memos)… I confess I don't understand the significance, except that the DOJ is still hiding something, and therefore,  I want to see it. Devin Nunes Discusses IG Criminal Referral and DOJ Position on James Comey… and holds out hope.



CNBC reports Robert Mueller’s Russia probe cost nearly $32 million in total, Justice Department says, a pittance by government standards, and they made money if you count what they seized from Paul Manafort. Say, let's try that with the Clinton Foundation!

Sundance posts Lou Dobbs Interviews Former Acting AG Matt Whitaker…



And in impeachment follies,  Yahoo!, Pelosi Cites Progress in Trump Probes as Impeachment Calls Rise, From Da Hill, An impeachment inquiry has begun and CNN, Majority of House Democrats now say they support starting an impeachment inquiry. Please, don't throw him in dat briar patch!
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Monday, March 11, 2019

Some Recent Russiagate

Well, it was supposed to be out on Friday, and the book is already on sale, but the NYT asks, (through Hot Air) Will There Be Smoking Guns In The Mueller Report? Desperately invoking Mifsud and Papadopulous. Cockburn at the Spectator USA thinks it's down to Mueller vs Barr, and the battle to indict Trump
A good rule in journalism is, or ought to be: Never predict. (Just report.) So Cockburn has some explaining to do, having quoted one source saying that Robert Mueller would hand in his report yesterday. The story said members of President Trump’s family would be charged but also noted that it is Department of Justice policy not to indict a sitting President. However, there was no frenzy at the DoJ on Friday, no throng of reporters to make the tourists heading up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House stop and look. So what happened?

Several sources tell Cockburn that the Special Counsel has indeed completed his report. It is said to recommend indicting three of President Trump’s children – Don junior, Ivanka and Eric – as well as his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The Attorney General, William Barr, is said to have ‘silently assented’ to this. It’s also claimed that Mueller wants President Trump himself to be indicted. Barr is said to oppose this. The two men met on Friday but apparently could not agree and this was the reason for the delay in any announcement from the DoJ. At least this is what the sources say.
Have any of a thousand or so pronouncements about the Special counsel been right? I'm waiting.  at Da Caller, ABC News’ Terry Moran: Media, Democrats Face ‘Reckoning’ If Mueller Finds No Collusion
“How big a deal is it if they don’t find collusion for the president?” ABC “This Week” host Martha Raddatz asked Moran.

“Huge,” said Moran. “He’s cleared. If Robert Mueller comes back, Mueller became a folk hero in the United States.”

“The central and most serious question in this investigation, the reason Robert Mueller started it: Did the current president of the United States assist the Kremlin in an attack on our democracy? And if Mueller, after two years, comes back and says, ‘I don’t have the evidence to support that charge,’ that’s a reckoning,” he said. “That’s a reckoning for progressives and Democrats who hoped that Mueller would essentially erase the 2016 election. It’s a reckoning for the media. It’s a reckoning across the country if in fact after all this time there was no collusion.”
Byron York, WaEx, Yes, Trump is target of 'presidential harassment'
The president's adversaries of course dismiss his protests as self-interested whining. But the fact is, Trump has a point. He is the target of an extraordinary combination, not just of federal law enforcement and congressional probes, but a long list of less-discussed but potentially consequential investigations by state and local prosecutors and regulators.

Together, it adds up to a pile-on of unprecedented proportions, by and large the work of blue-state Democrats who stand to gain politically if their investigations succeed in crippling the president.

Recently, the New York State Department of Financial Services, the agency that regulates the insurance business, issued what the New York Times called an "expansive subpoena" to Aon, the insurance broker for the president's companies. The agency leaped into action after former Trump fixer Michael Cohen told the House that Trump had at some point inflated his assets to an insurance company. Cohen, who has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and faces serious questions about the truthfulness of his latest testimony, supplied no details.

None were needed. "The subpoena that was served on Aon contains no indication that the company or any of its employees engaged in misconduct," the Times reported. "Nor does it specify any possible wrongdoing that is the focus of the inquiry by state regulators." The subpoena demanded "a broad range of materials" related to Trump's dealings with Aon going back a decade, the Times said.
As Lav Beria liked to say to Joe Stalin, Show me the man, I'll show you the crime. Eventually, Niki Khrushchev had him executed, though. William Krumholz, Da Federalist, 35 Key People Involved In The Russia Hoax Who Need To Be Investigated. A good start, concluding with:
Was the Kremlin behind this whole thing, in order to sow distrust in the American political process? If so, that would make far too many Democrats their “useful idiots.” Why isn’t there more uproar about the fact that Fusion GPS was working for Russia while it was working for the Clinton campaign?

The other gnawing problem is the timeline to all of this. In early June 2016, the DNC publicly said that it had been hacked, two days after WikiLeaks announced that it had information that showed Clinton and the DNC were mistreating Sanders. Right away, Steele began his work for Fusion GPS in June.

The DNC says it first noticed that it was hacked on April 28, 2016. But DNC staffers weren’t forced to turn over their presumably infected equipment until June 10, 2016. And numerous set-up attempts of Trump campaign people occurred during 2016, possibly as early as April 2016.

You don’t have to think that the Clintons killed Seth Rich to think something stinks to high heaven here. Justice has been grossly miscarried, on a high and far-reaching level. If this is what America is to be like going forward, it will be only a shell of what it once was in the past. The only hope is for Barr’s DOJ to swing into action.
Sundance at CTH, FOIA Discovery Reveals AG Jeff Sessions Initiation Letter To U.S. Attorney John Huber…
A left-leaning watchdog group, American Oversight, filed a FOIA request in 2017 looking for any communication that might show former AG Jeff Sessions giving instructions to DOJ officials to target Hillary Clinton for investigations.

Ironically, and perhaps serendipitously, the American Oversight FOIA request was submitted on November 22nd, 2017, the exact date Sessions’ chief-of-staff Matt Whitaker was sending a letter to Utah U.S. Attorney John Huber. Had they waited a day, what AO were looking for would have surfaced. However, with the Sessions-Huber communication falling outside the FOIA request window, the DOJ response was delayed until yesterday.

The Sessions letter was an attachment to a email sent by Whitaker to Huber at 5:21pm on November 22nd, 2017. The AG letter to Huber requests Huber to review issues raised by the House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, and return with advice. Here’s the letter:

Summary: We know when John Huber was assigned to the corruption review (November 22, 2017); and we know the first scope of that review was Clinton issues (working with Horowitz); and we know the outcome the Horowitz/Huber review (on Clinton issues and FBI misconduct) resulted in a disappointing IG report, no criminal referrals [McCabe referral only related to media leaks and lying], and no special counsel.

We also know the IG/Huber review later expanded (March 2018) to cover FISA abuse.

However, we do not know what aspects of the FISA abuse the IG has investigated, if anything, or what accountability outcomes there may be, if any.

It still appears the Mueller probe is the impediment to the public releases of declassified documents and evidence; and we do not know what Huber and Horowitz have been doing for a year on the FISA abuse issues.

However, if Rod Rosenstein is actually leaving the DOJ in the middle of this month; and if he actually does leave; perhaps that indicates Mueller’s investigative roadblock is about to end… timed with the ides of March.
Don Surber, Maybe Jeff Sessions pulled the swamp's plug. Swamps are difficult to drain, because the muck settles into the lowest possible state. I caution against optimism.

Also from Sundance, Sketchy Notation About Doug Collins Releasing Full Unredacted Bruce Ohr Transcript…. 
NBC News penned an article about the unorthodox release of DOJ official Bruce Ohr’s transcript. Within the article NBC notes current DOJ officials responded to the congressional request for release by sending them an approved “redacted version”:
(NBC) […] The transcripts of interviews with Ohr and other witnesses before the joint committee investigation were sent to the Justice Department last December to be vetted for public release at the request of the outgoing GOP chairmen, Bob Goodlatte from the Judiciary Committee and Trey Gowdy from the Oversight Committee.
The Justice Department returned the Ohr transcript to the committee this week with redactions. But Collins said he was releasing a copy without those edits because the changes sought by the department did not relate to classified information or sensitive personal data. By releasing the transcript on the House floor, Collins would be protected under what is known as the Speech and Debate Clause from any reprimand. (read more)
Having read the Ohr transcript (also provided below), there didn’t appear to be any national security interests, sources or methods, beyond investigative embarrassment for DOJ and FBI, simply because of the sham of it all.

What parts did the current DOJ redact, and what would have been their justification? What did the current DOJ attempt to hide? …Maybe Representative Doug Collins could provide the redacted version, so we can find out. Curiouser, and curiouser…
It has always been about protecting the Obama/Clinton/DOJ/FBI cabal, not protecting the Republic. Jim Jordan Discusses Pelosi and Schiff’s Manipulation of Michael Cohen… 



Schiff getting his time in the papers, Boston Herald, Adam Schiff should worry about his own collusion, WaT, Schiff: Erik Prince interview doesn't match testimony to House intel committee. WaPoo, Schiff says it’s a ‘mistake’ for Mueller not to interview Trump

Fox, McCabe says he was 'shocked' by Manafort sentencing, but does not think Trump's comments had influence.
"I was really surprised by the sentence he was given. I think it’s an incredibly lenient sentence in light not just of the offenses he was convicted for, but the additional offenses that he has pled guilty to in D.C.," McCabe said during an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation."

"Like most people, I was shocked by how lenient the sentence was,” he added.
Umm, Manafort wasn't being sentenced for the "additional offenses." I'm shocked at his basic ignorance. I look forward to commenting on how shockingly short Andy McCabe's sentence for lying to Federal investigators is.
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Sunday, February 10, 2019

Russiagate Rattling Along

Like an old car with a lot of loose nuts. A really disappointing batch today; what can I say, I don't make the news, I only chew it up and regurgitate it.

Nice Deb on the meeting between Democratic Congressman, and head of the Intelligence Committe, Adam Schiff and Fusion GPS boss Glenn Simpson. Collusion? Rep. Adam Schiff Met with Fusion GPS Founder Glenn Simpson in Aspen Last July
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the new House Intelligence Committee chairman, is facing calls to recuse himself from the Russia investigation after photos emerged of him at an undisclosed meeting (colluding?) with Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson, a key figure in the Russia collusion scandal.

This comes as the Democrat-led committee is massively expanding the Russia probe to include Trump's business dealings.

The photos in question were taken at a prestigious Aspen security conference last July, The Hill's John Solomon reported. They show Schiff wearing a "sport coat and open-neck dress shirt, and Simpson wearing casual attire," according to Solomon, who has seen the pics.

Fusion GPS, which was hired on behalf of the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to find dirt on then-candidate Donald Trump, has a long history of smearing Republicans for profit. In 2012, for instance, Barack Obama's presidential campaign hired Fusion GPS to dig up dirt on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, as well as his donors, to literally create an enemies list.
It's hard to keep track of all your enemies if you don't keep a good list. Ask Nixon; he missed a few. Well, snakes occasionally find themselves in the same pit. "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action." John Solomon at Da Hill, Adam Schiff, Glenn Simpson and their Forrest Gump-like encounter in Aspen
When confronted with the Aspen conference photos of Schiff, in sport coat and open-neck dress shirt, and Simpson, wearing casual attire, representatives for both men tried to minimize their discussion, insisting nothing substantive about the Russia case was discussed.

“In the summer of 2018, Mr. Simpson attended a media-sponsored social event where he exchanged small talk with Rep. Schiff and many other people who were in attendance,” Fusion GPS said in a statement to me. “The conversation between the two was brief and did not cover anything substantive. There has been no subsequent contact between Mr. Simpson and Rep. Schiff.”

The congressman’s response was even more vague: “The chairman did not have any pre-planned meeting with Glenn Simpson, and any conversation with him at the Aspen conference would have been brief and social in nature,” Schiff spokesman Patrick Boland said.

Translation: This was just a Forrest Gump-like moment in which the Democrats’ chief defender of the dossier and the man whose firm produced it met serendipitously.

There is nothing illegal or technically improper about a congressman meeting, intentionally or unintentionally, with a witness in an investigation. At least not under the law or the House Intelligence Committee’s rules.

But Schiff created a far higher standard two years ago when he demanded that his Republican counterpart on the committee, then-Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), be investigated for having meetings with national security council officials at the Trump White House without telling the committee. Schiff’s attacks led Nunes to temporarily recuse himself from the Russia probe.

Schiff assailed Nunes’s contacts with a source outside the committee confines as “a dead-of-night excursion” and said it called into question the impartiality of the inquiry because the committee wasn’t informed.

“I believe the public cannot have the necessary confidence that matters involving the president’s campaign or transition team can be objectively investigated or overseen by the chairman,” Schiff said at the time.
If only I had a dollar for every time a Congressperson was hypocritical. Hell, even a dime!
Simpson has become a Gump-like character who keeps showing up in so many different places in the Russia scandal: He’s the owner of the company that was paid by Clinton for the Steele dossier, the guy who hired Steele to create the dossier, the one who met with Ohr at the Justice Department, who pitched reporters writing Trump dirt at the end of the campaign and who met with the Russian woman and an American lobbyist at the heart of the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting.

And then, he shows up with Schiff in Aspen.

“It’s interesting that Simpson is at the heart of the dossier and the dossier played a mighty role in not only going after Carter Page but in much of Adam’s and Eric Swalwell’s [D-Calif.] quest to find collusion, that [Schiff] would in fact in that exact same conversation, or time frame, be in conversation or appear to be in conversation with the guy who’s principally responsible for the dossier,” Conaway said.
Republicans pounce! Shouldn't Adam Schiff recuse himself from Russia probe now that he's been caught hobnobbing with Fusion GPS?  (Monica Showalter, American Thinker). Polizette, Democrat Adam Schiff Is ‘Interested in Undoing the 2016 Election Results,’ Says Trey Gowdy. Now where would he get an idea like that?

Something interesting from Acting AG Whittaker's testimony that I didn't see from Sundance at CTH, Jim Jordan Questions AAG Matt Whitaker on Rosenstein Scope Memo to Robert Mueller….



According to Lyin' Andy McCabe, Rosenstein did not want to write memo justifying Comey firing – new book. Unfortunately, likely true, the DOJ and FBI guys don't seem to like to go after each other, even when they deserve it.

ABC, Ivanka Trump has "zero concern" about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

The Guardian, Do New York prosecutors pose the greatest threat to Donald Trump? Wait, see video above, they're supposed to be investigating crimes, not people. Yeah, just kidding. Related, The Stamford Advocate has an unflattering profile of Michael Cohen, The fixer's secret agenda. Hint, the not so secret agenda is himself. That same article was in this morning's WaPoo.
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Saturday, February 9, 2019

Bearly Any Russiagate

I was considering skipping it altogether and getting on the mess in the neighbor state, over the river and through the woods, but when I do that, stuff usually piles up, so here we go.

Even this one is a little late: Trey Gowdy Urges Acting AG Matt Whitaker to Blow Off Congressional Testimony.
"Although, Martha, I hope he doesn't. He's going to be the AG for another week. He's got about another week, so he's certainly not going to talk about his vision for the Department of Justice. He can't talk about Mueller. He can't talk about Rosenstein. He can't talk about any ongoing investigation, and he can't talk about any communications he's had with the president. So what's he going to talk about? He's not going to be there in a week."
I saw a swathe of his "testimony" yesterday. Democrats were just rude. And he stayed in pretty good spirit because none of it really matters, it was all for show. You can see the whole 6 hrs here, or two minutes of the most asshole moments here.

Fresh from Da Caller, H/T to Insty, Jake Tapper Tore Into ‘Irresponsible’ BuzzFeed Editor For Publishing The Steele Dossier. A moment of honesty, or did he want it for himself?
After BuzzFeed published the infamous Steele dossier, CNN anchor Jake Tapper lit into BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith for the decision, calling it “irresponsible” and “uncollegial,” according to emails released Friday.

“I think your move makes the story less serious and credible[.] I think you damaged its impact,” Tapper wrote to Smith on Jan. 10, 2017, just after BuzzFeed published the dossierin full on its website.

The emails were released in response to a federal judge’s order to unseal documents from a lawsuit against BuzzFeed, which was sued in February 2017 by a Russian businessman who was accused in the dossier of being a Russian agent.

Lawyers for the Russian, Aleksej Gubarev, picked out the Tapper-Smith exchange in hopes of showing BuzzFeed failed to do its due diligence before publishing the dossier, which was funded by Democrats and compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.

 “Collegiality wise it was you stepping on my dick,” Tapper responded.

“You could have waited til morning,” he said.
A moment of honesty, or did he want it for himself? You be the judge.

Breitbart, GOP Rep. Brady: House Investigation into Trump’s Tax Returns an Abuse of Power. And that's exactly the point.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the famous weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. Wombat-socho has Rule Five Sunday: Post-Valentine’s Day Pinup and FMJRA 2.0: Holiday In The Sun up and running.
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Friday, February 8, 2019

Russiagate Today, Much More Manafort

Ace: Cuck Senator Richard Burr: The Senate Intelligence Committee Has Not Found Anything Suggesting any Collusion by Trump with Russia
And this guy has always been kind of pushing for this investigation and also, noticeably, not taking any interest whatsoever in the revelations of crimes committed by FBI and DOJ officials.

Yet he says there's nothing to this Fusion Fantasia.

After more than two years of investigation, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has not found evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, the committee’s Republican chairman said in interview.
"If we write a report based upon the facts that we have, then we don’t have anything that would suggest there was collusion by the Trump campaign and Russia," North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr told CBS News.
"If I can finish tomorrow, I would finish tomorrow," said Burr, adding, "We know we’re getting to the bottom of the barrel because there’re not new questions that we’re searching for answers to."
The Senate panel has conducted more than 200 witness interviews and reviewed hundreds of thousands of documents as part of an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
...
Burr has not been marred by the same sniping from Democrats [that Devin Nunes faced]. He and Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the vice chairman of the committee, have largely operated in sync during the Senate probe. Burr noted in his CBS interview that he and Warner agreed early on that they would only take major investigative steps, subpoenas or witness interviews, only if both of them approved.
As I said, he acted like Mark Warner's prison bitch doing everything Mark Warner told him to do, but now even this sad cuck says it was all a snipe hunt all along.
It looks like the Manafort thing is coming near a close, CNN, Mueller's office in sealed hearing says Manafort meeting with Kilimnik at 'heart' of investigation,  WaEx, Top Mueller prosecutor reveals 2016 meeting between Manafort and Russian national at 'heart' of investigation. It looks like Andy Weismann, the bane of Arthur Anderson, has stepped forward to take control of the "Mueller" investigation.
One of special counsel Robert Mueller's top prosecutors said this week an August 2016 meeting between former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik, his old associate who the FBI claims has ties to Russian intelligence, is at the "heart" of the federal Russia investigation.

Andrew Weissmann, who the New York Times has dubbed Mueller's "legal pit bull," made the revealing statement to a federal judge in a closed hearing Monday, according to a highly redacted D.C. court transcript released Thursday.

He said the meeting, which reportedly took place at the Grand Havana Room in New York City and was also attended by former Manafort associate Rick Gates, is at “the heart of what the Special Counsel's Office is investigating."
Fox, Judge grills Mueller team on claim Manafort lied; prosecutors say issue's 'at heart' of Russia probe. Maybe he just didn't tell Andy what Andy wanted to hear.
But at the closed-door hearing on Monday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson repeatedly and bluntly pressed prosecutors to explain why Manafort's misstatements, including some that he corrected voluntarily, should affect his upcoming sentencing.
. . .
Jackson acknowledged that Manafort, after pleading guilty to conspiring with Kilimnik, offered an "exculpatory version of Kilimnik's state of mind" that "isn't necessarily consistent with what one would call full and forthright cooperation."

But, she added, Manafort quickly corrected some of his statements on the matter, undercutting prosecutors' claims that Manafort had acted intentionally to mislead them.

"Given [Manafort's] correction after consultation with counsel, why would this be something that we would characterize as the crime of making an intentionally false statement to the FBI, or even just a law of significance for acceptance of responsibility in sentencing purposes?" Jackson asked.
. . .
After Weissman underscored the extraordinary nature of Manafort's in-person meeting with Kilimnik, Jackson again said it was unclear why that would be a focus of Mueller's inquiry.
The Peacock, Manafort kept working in Ukraine after Mueller indictment, transcript shows. A big business takes a while to shut down.
A newly released transcript reveals that former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort continued working for a political client in Ukraine into 2018, after he had already been indicted in Robert Mueller's probe — and that prosecutors think Manafort may have told one lie to up his chances of a pardon.
Oh look, a thought crime.  Politico, 2020 Dems see danger in the Mueller probe
Democrats working for 2020 candidates describe Mueller’s work as something akin to a virus that will keep forcing their campaigns to take precautions.

“It’s the elephant in the room,” said the party strategist working with a White House hopeful, fretting about the uncertainties tied to Mueller, from the rumors about possible new indictments to the advice from inside their own campaigns to just stay quiet about the topic.

“The Russia issue is one that the political and pollster class says, ‘Stay away from right now.’ But ultimately the story will take us there and we will have to deal with it,” the Democratic strategist added.
But as Sundance at CTH notes,  Shifty Proof of Collusion Surfaces – Not About Trump – About Adam Schiff Meeting With Fusion GPS…
Oh man, this is unethically priceless. John Solomon received photographs of Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson meeting with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff in 2018 during the height of the ‘Spygate‘ cover-up… [STORY HERE]
The Hill […] When confronted with the Aspen conference photos of Schiff, in sport coat and open-neck dress shirt, and Simpson, wearing casual attire, representatives for both men tried to minimize their discussion, insisting nothing substantive about the Russia case was discussed.
“In the summer of 2018, Mr. Simpson attended a media-sponsored social event where he exchanged small talk with Rep. Schiff and many other people who were in attendance,” Fusion GPS said in a statement to me. “The conversation between the two was brief and did not cover anything substantive. There has been no subsequent contact between Mr. Simpson and Rep. Schiff.”
The congressman’s response was even more vague: “The chairman did not have any pre-planned meeting with Glenn Simpson, and any conversation with him at the Aspen conference would have been brief and social in nature,” Schiff spokesman Patrick Boland said. (read more)
So there’s evidence of Senate Intelligence Committee vice-chairman Mark Warner trying to conduct covert communications with Christopher Steele and Fusion GPS during their Senate investigative cover-up…..

….and now there’s photographic evidence of House Intelligence Committee ranking member Adam Schiff engaged in background communication with Fusion GPS during his House investigative cover-up…
From the WaPoo, Sergei Millian, identified as an unwitting source for the Steele dossier, sought proximity to Trump’s world in 2016 Near the end of the article, full of suspicions and devoid of facts,
Millian has insisted that he is a victim of Trump’s enemies and the news media. He has said he was not a source for information that Steele collected.

“I want to say that I don’t have any compromising information, neither in Russia nor in the United States, nor could I have,” he said in a 2017 appearance on Russian television. “Without a doubt it is a blatant lie and an effort of some people — it’s definitely a group of people — to portray [Trump] in a bad light using my name.”
Papadopoulos thinks Millian was an FBI plant, and the FBI doesn't deny it.

Allahpundit: Poll: 87% Want Mueller’s Report Released — Including 80% Of Republicans. You can't fight what you can't read.

Bloomberg, Trump Fears Schiff Is Recruiting White House Employees for Probe More like pissed.
Donald Trump believes House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff is trying to hire White House employees to gain an edge in his investigation of foreign attempts to influence the president, people familiar with the matter said.

Schiff has hired one former career official at the National Security Council, Abigail Grace, who left the White House last year, the people said. She has a congressional email address and is listed in a directory as working for the Intelligence Committee’s Democratic majority.
WaPoo, Whitaker agrees to testify before Congress after saying he wouldn’t if under subpoena threat
The House Judiciary Committee chairman said late Thursday that a standoff with the acting attorney general had ended in an agreement for Matthew G. Whitaker to testify publicly Friday, setting up a potentially dramatic confrontation over President Trump and the special counsel investigation into the 2016 campaign.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) tweeted that Whitaker “will appear tomorrow morning at 9:30 am,” capping a dramatic day-long standoff over whether Whitaker would scrap his appearance entirely over the Democrats’ threat to subpoena him.

Whitaker had said Thursday that he would not appear before the committee as scheduled unless committee Democrats gave him assurances he wouldn’t be subpoenaed.

Earlier Thursday evening, Nadler sent a letter to Whitaker that provided no such promise, saying only that “there will be no need for a subpoena” if Whitaker answers lawmakers’ questions. “To the extent that you believe you are unable to fully respond to any specific question, we are prepared to handle your concerns on a case-by-case basis, both during and after tomorrow’s hearing,” Nadler wrote.
Defying a Congressional subpoena doesn't seem to have hurt Eric Holder.
“The fact Chairman Nadler would try to force the public disclosure of private conversations that he knows are protected by law proves he only wants to play politics,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said. “The chairman should focus on helping the American people, rather than wasting time playing pointless political games.”
Gateway Pundit, Apple Gives Deep State Access To Roger Stone’s iCloud Account, After Refusing To Violate Privacy of San Bernardino Terrorists. Now we know whose side they're really on.

Sundance has new footage showing armed FBI agents invading Roger Stone's house, Yikes – Dramatic Footage Shows Heavily Armed Agents Arresting Roger Stone…

29 armed officers, to take down an unarmed 66 year old man and his deaf wife. They must be so proud.
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