Recoiling from Russiagate

Sundance at CTH on the timing of the Mueller report shenanigans: DOJ: No Mueller Report Next Week – Meanwhile Schiff and Nadler Demand Report Details….

The most likely sequencing of the Democrat scheme has always looked to be: (1) Michael Cohen testimony; then (2) The Mueller report.

Cohen is scheduled to testify to Elijah Cummings House oversight committee Wednesday February 27th (10:00am) next week. Today, predictably, the DOJ announces the Robert Mueller report will be *after* that testimony:

WASHINGTON DC – Special counsel Robert Mueller will not deliver his report to the Justice Department on Friday or next week, a Justice Department official told The Hill.
The news comes amid broad speculation that Mueller’s probe into Russia’s electoral interference is wrapping up, with several news outlets reporting Wednesday that newly confirmed Attorney General William Barr was preparing to receive Mueller’s final report as soon as next week. (read more)

Meanwhile, also anticipated, with Attorney General William Barr in place to receive and statutorily summarize the report from Robert Mueller, House democrats start posturing to impede AG Barr’s influence within the final report construct.

Is the Mueller report to Barr being delayed to help the Democrats with the Cohen testimony? Or are we just paranoid? Or in the view of Patriot.com Clearly Schiff lost faith in Mueller. In politics, both can be true. Hot Air reads the NYT so they can tell us what we already knew, Will The Mueller Report Be Made Public? It’s Largely Up To The New AG, and they're not very happy about it.

The AP tries to convince us that Court records reveal a Mueller report right in plain view, trying to pump up the importance of some process crimes, some tax evasion, and some Russians indicted who will never face trial. But as Jonathon Turley notes, We’re At Least “One Collusion Short” On Any Mueller Bombshell

.@smerconish: “Doesn't the absence of additional indictments against [Roger] Stone suggest, as the President would say, no collusion?” 

Law prof. @JonathanTurley: “There is no evidence thus far of collusion…I think that so far we're one collusion short” https://t.co/m2ODT5ai9k pic.twitter.com/jiCCIOAdk7

— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) February 23, 2019

Mueller’s team has managed to produce a significant number of indictments, but as Turley says, none of them relate to collusion by Trump’s campaign. The most substantive indictments were against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates on a case that the Department of Justice had developed in 2014 but put aside after the overthrow of Manafort’s clients in the pro-Russian regime in Ukraine. Mueller also indicted several Russian entities and individuals for their disruption operations, but those will never get prosecuted. Otherwise, as Smerconish notes, the rest of the indictments are all “process crimes” — lying to investigators, for the most part.

Mueller is really going after Paul Manafort, calling him a ‘hardened’ and ‘bold’ criminal, and literally throwing the book at him with an 800+ page sentencing "memo!".  One thing to keep in mind is that as a front line prosecutor, Rod Rosenstein tried, and failed to indict Manafort on the same kinds of offenses in 2014. Is he using the Special Counsel for a second bite of the apple? I don't doubt that Manafort is a tax cheat, and violated FARA (along with almost every other lobbyist in D.C.), but he wouldn't be in trouble had he not become associated with Trump.
Scott Adams tells an unpleasant truth:

We have entered an era in which the news business creates huge problems for the country and then reports that it was someone else's fault. https://t.co/O6J9TvnbN6

— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) February 22, 2019

Hot Air from the NYT again: Cohen Gave Prosecutors New Information On The Trump Family Business and boy are they happy about it. I hope they are equally happy when their lawyers are dragged before Congress and forced to testify about their businesses.

Men Need Feminists Like a Robot Needs Vegetables

Hey, remember when Gloria Steinem said "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle"? It turns out that with women becoming unwanted due to the increasing sophistication of sex robots that feminists are starting to see the future less brightly: Swedish Feminists Demand State Ban on 'Dangerous' Sex Robots

'Bot or not?

Three Swedish feminist organisations, Sweden's Women's Lobby, the National Organisation for Women's Shelters and Young Women's Shelters (Roks) as well as the empowerment organisation Unizon have published a joint appeal in the newspaper Expressen, in which they demand a state ban on "dangerous" sex robots for men.

The debaters noted that today's sex robots often have the "appearances and attributes typical of the objectifying, sexualised and degrading attitude to women found in today's mainstream pornography".

"Why are men willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a robot that obeys their smallest command?" the feminists asked rhetorically. "A female robot cannot say no to something that the man wants, if she is not programmed to do so", the feminists complained.

The leaders of the women's organisations claimed that fantasies stimulated by such technology may lead to real violence against girls and women. They also drew parallels with pornography, whose consumption, they claimed, leads to sexist attitudes and actual violence. The dehumanisation of women justifies slavery, and the exploitation of the female body through new technology is part of this, they claimed.

Sex is easy, but can they make sandwiches yet?

The three organisations demanded that an inquiry be made to produce proposals on "how technology and activities that normalise abuse can be restricted and prohibited".

The feminists also want Swedish authorities to make it difficult for "brothels with sex robots and dolls" to open in Sweden. Unlike neighbouring Denmark and Finland, Sweden has yet to open an automated brothel with no human prostitutes. The organisations drew comparisons between sex robots and prostitution.

"Sweden has for 20 years had a regulatory framework that punishes sex buyers and which has reduced the demand for prostitution. <…> Now, Sweden must take the next step and dare to address the ongoing technological developments that are driven by the sex industry at the expense of real women and girls", they concluded.

Lastly, they demanded that such dolls and robots be included in sexual education curricula and addressed from a perspective that portrays the relationship between sexuality and power as problematic.

Now, I'm not advocating sex bots, but they have to be more satisfying than feminists.

What do you think would happen if men tried to ban vibrators?

The Wombat has Rule 5 Monday: Michelle Malkin ready and waiting for your digital pleasure. 

Reason #6992 That Trump Was Elected

Calistoga police officer Riley Jarecki, right, takes the oath
 of office Tuesday from City Clerk Kathy Flamson
 as Chief of Police Mitch Celaya, April 2017

WATCH: Amazing Bodycam Video Shows Female Cop Kill 4-Times-Deported Illegal Enabled By Sanctuary Law

During a routine traffic stop Sunday, a deadly shootout occurred between a California police officer and a Mexican national.

Napa County Sheriff’s Deputy Riley Jarecki approached a car containing 48-year-old Javier Hernandez Morales. She walked from the passenger side to the driver’s window, and when she reached the door, Morales suddenly fired at her.

If you want to see what cops are up against — at any given moment — please check out the video, courtesy of Officer Jarecki’s bodycam, at the bottom of this article.

And then consider this: ICE had issued four different detainers against Morales related to suspicion of driving while intoxicated, selling liquor to a minor, battery of a peace office, and probation violations. Three detainers had been sent to Napa County Jail in 2014, 2015, and 2016. One had also been lodged with the Sonoma County Jail in ’16.

None of the detainers were honored, thanks to California’s sanctuary laws.
. . .
Amazingly, Officer Riley Jarecki wasn’t hurt. She shot Morales dead.

Watch the incredible and frightful video below.

She was very lucky not to be killed, let along hurt. As for Morales, good riddance.

Napa County wasn't exactly apologetic about letting Morales slip away previously:

Napa County supervisors told ABC 7, which broke the news, that the county has been following state law since 2017.

“Compliance with state law is what Napa County will, in fact, follow through upon, whether there are changes in the future that change things but as of right now we do need to comply with state law and that is what our policy reflects,” Napa County Supervisor Belia Ramos told ABC 7.

Henry Wofford, a sheriff’s spokesman, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the department was alerted by immigration officials to Hernandez Morales’ status prior to ICE issuing a press release on Thursday.

“We’re not talking about that information because that’s an ICE issue,” he said. “We know our role has always been sticking with the role in the community.”

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

Misleading Headline of the Day

From this morning's WaPoo: When Trump declared national emergency, most detained immigrants were not criminals. Actual paper headline (at least in my edition), Most immigration detainees do not have criminal records, ICE figures show. Technically true, but just barely, according to the figures they give:

According to new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement figures obtained by The Washington Post, the nation’s immigration jails were not filled with such criminals. As of Feb. 9, days before the president’s declaration, nearly 63 percent of the detainees in ICE jails had not been convicted of any crime.

Of the 48,793 immigrants jailed on Feb. 9, the ICE data shows, 18,124 had criminal records. An additional 5,715 people had pending criminal charges, officials said, but they did not provide details. ICE also did not break down the severity of the crimes committed by or attributed to detainees.

An average of 59 percent of detainees in custody during this fiscal year had no criminal history, according to ICE.

So if you take the 18,124 convicted criminals, and add the 5,715 suspected criminals, most of whom will probably plea out, be deported, and re-enter the country illegally again, like the first 18,124, you get 48.85% either already convicted, or charged with criminal acts. Certainly, some of those detained have committed crimes, and simply got away with them. Given that nearly half are known to be criminals, that would certainly push the total well over 50%.

This is supposed to convince us there is "no crisis" at the border?

“It proves this is a fake emergency,” said Kevin Appleby, policy director at the Center for Migration Studies, a New York-based nonpartisan immigration think tank. “It really shows that what the president’s doing is abusing his power based on false information.”

Tell that to the people victimized by crimes committed by the illegal aliens.

Days earlier at a Cabinet meeting, as a budget deal over border security and immigration enforcement was falling into place, the president said U.S. officials were nabbing “incredible” numbers of criminals. Taking a card handed to him by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, he read from a list of crimes allegedly committed by immigrants: “Robberies: 11,177. Kidnappings: 4,112. Murders: 3,914.”

“So these are people that ICE is dealing with, and nobody can deal with them more effectively,” Trump said. “There’s probably no group in this country that does so much and gets, really, so little respect or love as ICE. It’s really a terrible thing. They’re doing an incredible job.”

This is Your News on Drugs

From the home town: KTLA Anchor Chris Burrous Died from Overdose on Crystal Meth During Wild Tryst

KTLA anchor Chris Burrous died from an overdose of crystal meth while engaging in vigorous sexual activity with a man he met on Grindr.

According to the L.A. County Medical Examiner, Burrous died from methamphetamine toxicity after being found unresponsive in a Glendale motel on December 28. The manner of death is listed as accidental.

According to the death investigation, officials say Burrous worked his shift at KTLA, and then left early for the day complaining he felt ill. Instead of going home, he set up a meeting with a man at a motel in Glendale for an afternoon of hardcore sex. The two allegedly met on Grindr and had hooked up multiple times in the past.

When the companion arrived, Burrous allegedly answered the door fully nude, and had set up the room with “DJ style” lighting, S&M toys, lubrication jelly and a massage bench. The two men allegedly engaged in various forms of sexual activities. At some point during the meeting, 43-year-old Burrous allegedly inserted a “rock” of crystal meth into his body.

He then allegedly gave his companion a syringe full of GHB and a bottle of Gatorade. The two became intimate again, and Burrous allegedly used another “rock” of meth before engaging in more sexual activity.

The report states Burrous also used “poppers,” an alkyl nitrite inhaled that produces a euphoric effect. Burrous allegedly told his companion he was feeling fine until the man noticed him making a strange noise, and flipped him over to realize Burrous had vomited inside his S&M mask.

The man called 911 and began to perform CPR on Burrous until emergency responders arrived. He was transported to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead in the emergency room.

I don't really know his politics, but as a member in good standing in the media until his unfortunate "accident" we can be reasonably secure in the assumption that he was a Democrat secure in the knowledge that Donald Trump was the essence of evil.

During the death investigations, officials were told Burrous, who leaves behind a wife and young daughter, did not have a history of drug or alcohol abuse, and apparently only used drugs recreationally.

Burrous’ companion was cooperative throughout the investigation and no foul play is suspected in his death.

Stacy McCain: Never Trust a Bisexual

Linked by EBL in Rio Carnival 2019, Nathalie Emmanuel, Chili Day, Polar Bear Day and I ❤ Pistachios.

Russiagate Not Dead Yet

Remember how CNN told us that Russiagate was over, that Mueller would hand his report to Robert Mueller sometime next week? Fake News! Da Peacock, Robert Mueller won't submit report to attorney general next week, DOJ official tells NBC News.

Special counsel Robert Mueller will not deliver a report to the attorney general next week, as was previously reported by multiple outlets, a senior Department of Justice official told NBC News on Friday.

Attorney General William Barr was preparing to announce the completion of Mueller's investigation into any links between President Donald Trump and Russia as soon as next week, CNN reported Wednesday. The outlet reported that those plans were subject to change.

 Axios, Trump team sees Mueller endgame "The bottom line: We've seen no evidence that there's any sense of panic or great urgency inside the White House even as the end of the probe appears imminent." Can Mueller find a way to in the mix to help Adam Schiff in 2020? Ace: It's not a joke any longer.

Adam Schiff begs Republicans to join him in his plans for neverending congressional harassments of Trump, surely signaling that he thinks the Mueller report will be of little help to him.

Kim Strassel writes of Little Schitt's "new phase" in the Russia Collusion investigation, in which they admit there was no Russian collusion but come up with Exciting New Conspiracies to investigate:

The collusionists need a "new phase" as signs grow that the special counsel won’t help realize their reveries of a Donald Trump takedown. They had said Mr. Mueller would provide all the answers. Now that it seems they won't like his answers, Democrats and media insist that any report will likely prove "anticlimactic" and "inconclusive." "This is merely the end of Chapter 1," said Renatto Mariotti, a CNN legal "analyst."
Mr. Schiff turned this week to a dependable scribe--the Washington Post's David Ignatius--to lay out the next chapter of the penny dreadful. Mr. Ignatius was the original conduit for the leak about former national security adviser Mike Flynn’s conversations with a Russian ambassador, and the far-fetched claims that Mr. Flynn had violated the Logan Act of 1799. Mr. Schiff has now dictated to Mr. Ignatius a whole new collusion theory. Forget Carter Page, Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos--whoever. The real Trump-Russia canoodling rests in "Trump's finances." The future president was "doing business with Russia" and "seeking Kremlin help."
So, no apologies. No acknowledgment that Mr. Schiff & Co. for years have pushed fake stories that accused innocent men and women of being Russian agents. No relieved hope that the country might finally put this behind us. Just a smooth transition--using Russia as a hook--into Mr. Trump’s finances. Mueller who?

This ray of hope for Democrats from CNN, Mueller could tell all in last major court filing in Paul Manafort's case. The article delivers less than it promises. Reuters, New York prosecutors pursuing criminal charges against Manafort: source just in case Trump decides to pardon him.  Texas needs to start prosecution against the Clinton cabal just in case the Horowitz IG doesn't get the job done.

Laredo on Line, Access to Mueller's report and evidence may be guided by Congress, Clinton email case

Justice Department officials have worried that they will have a weak argument for withholding such materials, given how much information was turned over to Congress after the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

When that investigation ended in 2016, then-FBI Director James Comey made public the reports of agents' interviews with witnesses, gave public briefings to Congress and supplied additional information to lawmakers in private meetings.

Justice Department officials who cringed at that level of information-sharing and the disclosure of sensitive investigative documents did much the same after Trump fired Comey in May 2017. When Republican lawmakers demanded additional materials about both the Clinton and Russia probes, the White House squeezed the agency to comply. At one point, in early 2017, then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, refused to allow the nomination of Rod Rosenstein for deputy attorney general to go forward unless Grassley was provided a detailed briefing from the FBI about the Russia investigation.

To be fair, the situations behind the Clinton investigation and the Trump investigations were very different. The facts behind the Clinton email scandal were pretty well established to the public long before the election, the only real question was whether the Obama Justice Department would find some way to try get past the fact that she had committed multiple violations of national security. They did, by declaring intent a requirement for a crime that didn't require intent.

The read of the day, Conrad Black, Real Scandal Of Trump Term Starts To Unravel

. . . The special counsel, apart from smearing the president, distracted public attention from or tended to justify the ever more evident misconduct of the president’s enemies. We now know that Mr. Comey, despite his “higher duty,” lied to the president about his not being a target of an FBI investigation, illegally leaked to the New York Times the contents of a self-serving memo he purloined from the government, and lied to Congress by claiming 245 times in one sitting to be ignorant of recent matters that no one of sound mind could have forgotten.

Now we have Andrew McCabe’s proud confirmation that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein not only continued the illegal counterintelligence investigation of President Trump, but actively discussed methods of securing his removal from office by deliberate misuse of a variety of laws, including the Emoluments Clause, the 25th Amendment to deal with mental incompetence, and the Logan Act of 1799, which has never been used successfully and has not been tested in 150 years.

This entire monstrous travesty is finally coming apart without even waiting for the horrible disappointment of the special counsel’s inability to adduce a scrap of evidence to justify his replication of Torquemada as an inquisitor and of the Gestapo and KGB at rounding up and accusing unarmed individuals who were not flight risks. The collapse of this grotesque putsch, under the irresistible pressure of a functioning attorney general and Senate committees that are not hamstrung by NeverTrumpers, will cause a revulsion against the Democratic Party that will be seismic and prolonged. . .

Matthew Walter tells The Mueller joke. Just go read it.

Politico, Mueller rebuffs Roger Stone’s claims that feds tipped off CNN "In a court filing, his team said Stone’s sealed indictment was properly released minutes after the GOP operative’s arrest." That's a lawerly non-denial if I've ever heard one. Remember, it's a crime for you to lie to them, but not a crime for them to lie to you.

Democrat predicts House will get Trump’s tax returns — but there are a few complications

According to Beyer, the law allows “entities in Congress” to “request the tax return of any American citizen.” He said the Joint Taxation Committee theoretically could ask for the returns, but would be unlikely to do so due to Republican control of the Senate. This leaves the Ways and Means Committee, which is led by Democrats since they won control of the House last year. While Beyer said the Democrats on the committee have “begun the process,” he said it would be slow going.

“Our chairman, Richie Neal of Springfield, Mass., is going about this in a deliberate, thoughtful way. As he says, this is a really big, important, historic thing. He doesn’t want to not do it right. He wants to make sure that he’s crossing all the t’s and dotting all the i’s,” Beyer said.

Beyer said Neal had described some details about the process to his committee colleagues.

“As I understand it, at least as he’s explained it to us, the first step with his request is that the Internal Revenue Service will share it with him as the chairman confidentially,” Beyer said of Neal. “He will then review it and decide what can be shared with the full committee, and then ultimately, what can be shared with the American people.”

But the woman who claims to head a co-equal branch of government, Speaker Will Release Tax Returns ‘If and When She Runs for President’

Rule 5 Saturday - Hello Boys, It's Eva Herzigová

This week's Saturday homage to beautiful women features Eva Herzigová.

Herzigová was born in Litvínov, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). She began her modeling career after winning a modeling beauty contest in Prague in 1989, at the age of sixteen. She was a member of Thomas Zeumer's Metropolitan Models. After arriving in Paris, her popularity increased. Her first important appearance was as the model for the first Wonderbra campaign. In 1994, advertising executive Trevor Beattie, working for TBWA/London, developed an ad for Sara Lee's "Hello Boys" Wonderbra campaign. It featured a close-up image of Herzigová wearing a black Wonderbra. The ad used only two words: "Hello boys."

Amongst her most recent projects, Herzigová also starred in a fashion art film by Imagine Fashion, called Decadent Control with Roberto Cavalli. It featured fashions by Agent Provocateur and H&M. Herzigová posed for the August 2004 edition of Playboy. In 2006, she portrayed Venus at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. In 2016, Herzigová featured in campaigns for Giorgio Armani and Dior Beauty.

Herzigová has three sons with Gregorio Marsiaj: George (born 1 June 2007 in Turin), Philipe (born 13 March 2011) and Edward (born April 2013). In 2003, Herzigová sued Canadian retailer La Senza for $36,000 for a breach of contract. La Senza refused to pay her for a catalog photo shoot because the company did not approve of her recently shortened haircut.

She looks good with short hair, too. Some NSFW from the old days.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Ski Bunnies! and FMJRA 2.0: Baby, Whatcha Hiding? up and ready for action. Also linked at The Right Way in his weekly Rule 5 Saturday LinkOrama. Linked by EBL in Elvis Presley: Such A Night, Dido: Thank You and White Flag, Alexandra Stepanova,   Crab Meat Day, Women's Day Today? Celebrate by catching up on past episodes of Game of Thrones..., Tartar Sauce Day and Democrat Ilhan Omar: Making Antisemitism Acceptable Again.

Does Maryland Need a State Salamander?

Long-tailed Salamander

Sure, why not. Next for Maryland: a state amphibian?

Several other states besides Maryland — nearly two dozen — have official amphibians.

A group of students at Garrett County’s Southern Middle School discovered Maryland doesn’t have one, and they would like to rectify that.

They found an ally in Sen. George Edwards, R-Washington/Allegany/Garrett.

On their behalf, Edwards introduced legislation to designate the long-tailed salamander (eurycea longicauda in Latin) as Maryland’s state amphibian.

The eighth-graders proposed the designation during a trip to the Hickory Environmental Education Center in Garrett County, he said.

“They came up with the idea they would like to have the long-tailed salamander be the state amphibian because the colors of that amphibian are basically the state colors,” Edwards said.

Maryland State Flag

These particular critters live “from our area west into — I don’t think they get quite to the (Chesapeake) Bay area, but it takes in most of Central and Western Maryland,” he added. “So they asked if I would put a bill in to make the long-tailed salamander the amphibian of the state of Maryland.”

Edwards said students researched eurycea longicauda.

“And I thought, you know, they put that time in, were that interested in it, I’d be happy to put a bill in to try to create that category,” he said.

OK, I get the orange and black

And why not? Maryland has a state bird (Baltimore oriole — with or without bats and gloves); state crustacean (the Maryland blue crab); state butterfly (Baltimore checkerspot); state reptile (diamondback terrapin — fear the turtle!); and state dog (Chesapeake Bay retriever).

Thanks to former Del. Kevin Kelly, D-Allegany, and elementary school students from Cumberland, there also is a state cat (calico “felis catus”).

Again, with the orange and black theme.

But more than giving Maryland another state symbol, Edwards said the bill lets students see how the machinery of government works. Several students and their teacher plan to come to Annapolis for a bill hearing at 1 p.m. March 7 with the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee.

“They need to participate, since they requested it,” Edwards said, “and that’s all part of the process. It’s a good learning experience for them, and they can see how government works, or doesn’t work. … And when you can do that for young people, hopefully, they then get instilled in them to be involved.”

Edwards said he learned that long-tailed salamanders “eat insects, etc., so they’re helpful there.”

Another fun fact: They can regrow the long tails, should the appendages meet some unfortunate mishap.

Which would be a neat trick, if I had a tail.

Uplifting Post of the Day

Idiot terrorist takes selfie with bomb trigger phone and blows up the whole squad. pic.twitter.com/z0UnLHpH14

— Imam Mohamad Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) February 21, 2019

They got uplifted, all right.

Russiagate: Roger Gagged

Garrett Graff at Wired has 7 Scenarios for How the Mueller Probe Might End. In other words, he doesn't know either, but he offers something for everybody. Dr. John at Flopping Aces fears Robert Mueller may be teeing up Adam Schiff. Ann reads the NYT so you don't have to "The [Mueller] report is unlikely to be a dictionary-thick tome, which will disappoint some observers. But such brevity is not necessarily good news for the president." Rep. Meadows Says Democrats Won’t Accept Mueller Report If It Finds No Collusion. Well, duh. At WaPoo, Adam Schiff affirms that in An open letter to my Republican colleagues

A reminder of something we already knew from Ace FBI's Top Lawyer Thought Hillary Clinton Should Be Prosecuted Over Email Crimes, But Was Talked Out Of It. Talked of "talked?"

CNN IRS analyst charged in leak of Michael Cohen's bank records, but Stacy McCain notes Ace noting, ‘There Is No Deep State’

So says Ace of Spades, remarking on the astonishing report that an IRS bureaucrat has been charged with leaking Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s bank records to reporter Ronan Farrow and attorney Michael Avenatti last year. The bureaucrat, based in the IRS San Francisco office, was evidently in the throes of Trump Derangement Syndrome, telling Farrow: “To say that I am terrified right now would be an understatement. This is a terrifying time to be an American, to be in this situation, and to watch all of this unfold.”

Yeah, and you know what else is terrifying? The idea that our government hires criminals to spy on the financial records of their enemies.

Also terrifying: Federal prison. Bon voyage!

From Vanity Fair: “She Was Pitching Her Intimate Knowledge of the Mueller Probe”: Sarah Isgur Flores, Former Trumper, Talked to MSNBC Before Signing with CNN A lot of media types are concerned, because they don't want any contamination of CNN's version of the truth:

CNN’s hiring of Sarah Isgur Flores, a longtime G.O.P. operative who has worked for Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz, and most recently served as a spokeswoman for Jeff Sessions in the Justice Department (a position that reportedly involved a loyalty pledge to Donald Trump), caused an immediate and fairly predictable media firestorm. Unlike Corey Lewandowski, who was hired to great consternation during the 2016 election cycle (and then terminated), Flores won’t simply be an ideological talking head—she’ll be playing a larger role in the editorial process. Despite a lack of journalism experience, she will be helping to coordinate CNN’s political coverage across platforms, as well as occasionally appearing on-air as a political analyst, which is the more customary role for former politicians and government officials. Within the media world, she is seen as a controversial and unorthodox appointment. Moreover, Isgur apparently has a history of lambasting the mainstream media on Twitter, including CNN, which she once termed the “Clinton News Network.”

How quickly they fall, McCabe Book Bumped From #1 Spot On Amazon Best-Seller List. Another one from Hot Air, Pompeo: Can’t Talk About Gang Of 8 Claim Except To Note McCabe’s A Liar. What happens in the Gang of 8 stays in the Gang of 8. Charles Lipson, Da Spectator USA, Andrew McCabe is the new Joe McCarthy "Serious charges need serious proof. Simple fairness demands it. But McCabe presents none." WaPoo, McCabe says 25th Amendment talk was exploratory; no effort launched. Maybe he realizes he looks like the crazy guy shouting at clouds now.

And speaking of known liars, Cohen visits Senate offices ahead of congressional testimony Getting his stories aligned with their desires?

And what can you say about Roger Stone, who's old enough to know better. Da Mail, 'I’m not giving you another chance!' Judge imposes total gag order on Roger Stone despite apology for posting 'sinister' image of her with rifle crosshairs near her head – and says she'll throw him in JAIL if he defies her.  Da Caller, Roger Stone Unexpectedly Takes Witness Stand In Hearing Over Controversial Instagram Post

Roger Stone admitted to making an “egregious, stupid error” on Thursday during a court hearing which saw the longtime Trump confidant barred from making public statements about his case before the special counsel.

Stone apologized over a graphic he posted to his Instagram account on Monday which depicted the judge handling his case, Amy Berman Jackson, placed in front of what appeared to be a set of crosshairs. “I am kicking myself over my own stupidity,” Stone said from the witness stand, according to reporters at the hearing.

“I recognize that I let the court down. I let you down. I let myself down. I let my family down. I let my attorneys down. I can only say I’m sorry. It was a momentary lapse in judgement. Perhaps I talk too much,” said Stone, who chalked his post up to an “outgrowth of the extreme stress of the situation.”

Jackson was seemingly unmoved by Stone’s apology, saying that his mea culpa “rings quite hollow.” She imposed a gag order on the longtime GOP operative prohibiting him from speaking about his case beyond proclaiming his innocence and raising money for a legal defense fund.

Jackson also suggested that jail time could be in Stone’s future if he violates the gag order. “I want to be clear today. I gave you a second chance. But this is not baseball. There will not be a third chance,” she said.

So why does the Judge intervene when the defendant is clearly hurting his own case? To me this is a first amendment issue.

F@ck the Environment!

Sex on Ibiza’s famous sand dunes is ruining the environment

Randy tourists having sex on Ibiza’s most famous nudist beach are causing massive damage to the island’s protected sand dunes, say furious environmentalists.

The white sands of Es Cavallet Beach are so beautiful they have become a haunt for millions of tourists — including those hooking up for some alfresco action.

But now campaigners say the sex sessions are to blame for the erosion of the famous but “delicate” dunes, part of Ses Salines Natural Park, The Sun reports.

Geologists and biologists say the excessive sexual activity is causing damage which can’t be put right and claim unbridled passion has turned the zone into an “outdoor riding arena”.

They add the sexual activity is also “degrading” the landscape and a unique geological system.

Websites promote Es Cavallet as “an ideal place to walk naked and look for a lover” among the sand dunes.

“If you feel like it, you can walk through the dunes in search of ‘adventures’,” advises www.sexo-casual.net.

Island newspaper Diario de Mallorca said the protected areas of the beach are closed off with fencing but randy holiday-makers are jumping over them daily.

Es Cavallet apparently comes out top in a poll for preferred sexual locations, especially as the dunes offer protection from prying eyes.

Biologist Joan Carles Palerm told the paper: “Free access like this is causing the breakup of the dunes and their structures.
“The system that maintains them is very complex and any alteration, such as this continuous activity, fatally affects them.”

The sex is said to be disturbing fragile plants on the sand vital for the environment — which are being uprooted.

The ground is then hit by the wind, destroying the dunes.

Geologists say people have been warned not to jump the fences but there is still a “non-stop frenzy”.

They say an information campaign was tried several years ago but visitors ignored the advice and even became aggressive.

Ecologists and geologists have no soul . . .

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Ski Bunnies! up and ready for action.

Science Says Neanderthals Not Morally Evolved

Neanderthals mostly ate meat, study confirms

"These new compound-specific isotope measurements confirm earlier interpretations of Neanderthal diets as being composed of mainly large herbivores," researcher Michael P. Richards said.

The popular interpretation of the Neanderthal diet has always been meat-centric. But a handful of recent studies have called the assumption into question.

Let me guess, the handful of recent studies that called that assumption into question were vegan feminists.

New analysis of the Neanderthal diet by scientists with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology showed the original interpretation is correct. Neanderthals, researchers confirmed, ate mostly meat.

Scientists typically determine a species' tropic level, its position on the food chain, by measuring nitrogen isotope ratios.

Neanderthals exhibit elevated nitrogen isotope ratios, but some researchers have argued those measurements can be explained by Neanderthals' consumption of mammoth meat or putrid meat. A few studies have argued cannibalism boosted Neanderthals' nitrogen isotope ratios.

 It OK if they ate each other, as long as the only other thing they ate was fruits and nuts.

Because many of the bones used to measure Neanderthals' nitrogen isotope ratios have been sourced from infants and juveniles, some scientists have also suggested Neanderthals were late-weaned. Fish consumption, typically thought to be a signature of modern humans, has also been offered as an explanation for Neanderthals' elevated nitrogen isotope ratios.

Because so many explanations could in theory explain the elevated ratios, researchers decided to turn a different analysis technique, a novel method called compound-specific isotope analyses, or CSIA.

The technique allowed scientists to separately analyze each amino acid in Neanderthal collagen extracted from remains at two French dig sites, Les Cottés and Grotte du Renne. Different amino acid ratios are linked with environmental factors, while others are influenced by food sources. When analyzed separately and collectively, the combination of ratios can reveal are more detailed portrait of Neanderthals' dietary patterns.

Interestingly, the Neandertals of Les Cottés had no modern human DNA, even though they lived in Europe at the same time. My guess is that modern humans occasionally captured and mated with Neandertals and not vice versa. It was hard to be picky in the Paleolithic.

"Using this technique, we discovered that the Neanderthal of Les Cottés had a purely terrestrial carnivore diet: she was not a late weaned child or a regular fish eater, and her people seem to have mostly hunted reindeers and horses," Klervia Jaouen, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute, said in a news release. "We also confirmed that the Grotte du Renne Neandertal was a breastfeeding baby whose mother was a meat eater."

The new findings, published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are in agreement with the archaeological evidence.

"There has recently been some frankly bizarre interpretations of the bulk isotope data ranging from Neanderthals primarily subsisting on aquatic plants to eating each other, both in direct contrast to the archaeological evidence," said Michael P. Richards, researcher at Simon Fraser University in Canada. "These new compound-specific isotope measurements confirm earlier interpretations of Neanderthal diets as being composed of mainly large herbivores."

I would suggest the scientists proposing bizarre interpretations to support vegetarian diets didn't live at the height of the ice age.

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A Light at the End of the Russiagate Tunnel?

Or just another train? CNN claims  Justice Department preparing for Mueller report as early as next week. Of course, the report, as such will go to AG Barr, who will then decide what to do about. Trump will be out of town.

Attorney General Bill Barr is preparing to announce as early as next week the completion of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, with plans for Barr to submit to Congress soon after a summary of Mueller's confidential report, according to people familiar with the plans.

The preparations are the clearest indication yet that Mueller is nearly done with his almost two-year investigation.
The precise timing of the announcement is subject to change.

The scope and contours of what Barr will send to Congress remain unclear. Also unclear is how long it will take Justice officials to prepare what will be submitted to lawmakers.

But with President Donald Trump soon to travel overseas for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Justice officials are mindful of not interfering with the White House's diplomatic efforts, which could impact the timing.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday last week, special counsel's office employees carried boxes and pushed a cart full of files out of their office -- an unusual move that could foreshadow a hand-off of legal work.

At the same time, the Mueller prosecutors' workload appears to be dwindling. Four of Mueller's 17 prosecutors have ended their tenures with the office, with most returning to other roles in the Justice Department.

And the grand jury that Mueller's prosecutors used to return indictments of longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and several Russians hasn't apparently convened since January 24 the day it approved the criminal charges against Stone.

Even with these signs of a wrap up, the DC US Attorney's office has stepped in to work on cases that may continue longer than Mueller is the special counsel.

AllahPundit: DOJ Planning To Announce As Early As Next Week That Mueller’s Investigation Is Finished

I am prepared for any eventuality in terms of the report’s findings. I am not yet fully prepared for the reality that we’ll probably never get to read the actual report, even though Bill Barr already alerted us to that possibilityduring his confirmation hearing. We’ve been watching this cloak-and-dagger TV drama for two farking years. We deserve closure.

What we’re going to get, it sounds like, is a summary of Mueller’s findings, probably not the actual text. So, a “Scooby Doo mysteries” degree of closure.

Ace: Leak (Possibly Dubious) to CNN: Justice Department Expecting Mueller Investigation To End As Early as Next Week; Report Expected Soon After

Commenters say ABCNews has also heard this, which also means near-zero to me.
On the other hand, some point out that now that Sleepy Jeff isn't AG any longer, Mueller may feel some need to actually wrap up before he starts getting actual supervision.

Butthurt Brennan: Mueller report may be 'anti-climactic,' says ex-intelligence director. He should know; he helped concoct it out of thin air.

“I think the hope is that the Mueller investigation will clear the air on this issue once and for all. I’m really not sure it will, and the investigation, when completed, could turn out to be quite anti-climactic and not draw a conclusion about that,” Clapper said Wednesday on CNN.

Some more interesting speculation from Sundance at CTH:  How Long Before We Hear About FBI Recordings in The White House?… Did Trump have the Green Room stripped to the walls to remove FBI bugs left behind by the Obama thugs? Hmm. Sundance also looks at Trey Gowdy's interview with a different point of view: Trey Gowdy Draws Distinction – McCabe Ain’t Talking About “Crossfire Hurricane”…

For sake of brevity there are essentially three investigations: ♦One counterintelligence investigation known as Crossfire Hurricane, began on July 31, 2016, into the Trump campaign and possible Russia involvement. ♦One counterintelligence investigation that McCabe started on May 10th, 2017, (Trump as the target w/Russia); and ♦one criminal investigation (Trump obstruction) that also began on May 10th, 2017.

In the first investigation (Crossfire Hurricane), presumably the defensive -albeit obtuse- position of the FBI is that Trump wasn’t a specific target. [It would be too toxic for the Obama DOJ and FBI to directly admit they were investigating an opponent’s political campaign] However, in the second set of McCabe personal investigations, Trump was definitely the target.

If we take what Gowdy is saying; and overlay Robert Mueller absorbing McCabe’s investigations; and then overlay Devin Nunes recent statements about the August 2nd, 2017 Rosenstein origination memo; a picture emerges.

Likely the first task Mueller took on was the immediate two McCabe investigations, from May 10th, 2017, where Trump was the direct target. However, as that phase of the Mueller probe found nothing of substance (likely with the August 2nd clarification memo), Mueller evolves into investigating the original premise behind 2016 Crossfire Hurricane (the trump campaign) which contained specific targets (Flynn, Manafort, Page, Papadopoulos) and specific evidence (Ohr/Steele Dossier).

And speaking of the Steele Dossier, John Solomon reports a third:  The family secret Bruce Ohr told Rod Rosenstein about Russia case

Steele’s dossier was the opening salvo. A document sent to the State Department by Clinton proteges Cody Shearer and Sidney Blumenthal was another. A thumb drive given by Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussman to FBI general counsel James Baker was a third. Simpson's thumb drive given to Bruce Ohr was a fourth. And Nellie Ohr’s thumb drive would be a fifth. At least three of those work products — those from Steele, Shearer/Blumenthal and Nellie Ohr — resemble what many people might consider a dossier.
. . .
Ohr’s testimony also revealed that the DOJ’s internal watchdog, the inspector general (IG), was interested in his actions. “They have asked to interview me and I will talk with them,” Ohr explained.

No matter what the IG investigation finds, it is clearer today than ever before that Ohr played an essential role in feeding a Clinton-financed political opposition-research project to the FBI.

Read it all. Red State, John Solomon’s Revelation Of A Third Dossier Is The Latest Sign The Assault Against Trump Has Reached A Tipping Point. It's starting to look like a rat. Well, it always did to me. IBD, Rod Rosenstein Out, William Barr In: Time To Investigate Deep State Plot Against Trump. Bloomberg, Rod Rosenstein Has Some Serious Explaining to Do. "Why would the deputy attorney general help Trump fire the FBI director, then investigate the president for doing so?" I'm sure he's been very careful, but he has to have broken a law or two along the way. CNS News, Judicial Watch Sues DOJ: We Face DOJ/FBI 'Cover-Up' of Planned 'Coup Against President Trump'. George Neumayr at AmSpec, FBI’s Weaselgate. At NYPo, Rich Lowry goes off on The demented FBI bid to oust Trump. Katie Pavlich at Townhall, New Poll: Majority of Voters Want a Special Prosecutor to Investigate Attempted Coup Against Trump

Fifty-six percent (56%) of Likely U.S. Voters believe senior federal law enforcement officials are likely to have broken the law in their discussions in May 2017 to oust Trump, with 37% who say it is Very Likely. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 36% consider that unlikely, with 19% who say it’s Not At All Likely that they broke the law.

And on to the McCabe Macabre: George Parry at Am Spec,  Andrew McCabe: Faux Hero of Our Times  McCabe Says McConnell, Ryan, Others Approved of His Trump Probe. Well, to say that most of the congressional Republicans hate Trump for overturning their apple cart is no surprise. But Trey Gowdy thinks it's another McCabe lie: Trey Gowdy doubts Andrew McCabe told ‘Gang of Eight’ about Trump investigation, and apparently Congressional rules forbid them from talking about it if they did. When did that stop a Congressman from leaking? At Da Caller, Jim Jordan Claims Andrew McCabe Told Him Something Completely Different About Trump And Russia . It sounds like McCabe is having troubles keeping all his lies straight. The Federalist, Andrew McCabe Can’t Keep His Story Straight. Hey, I thought of that independently!

“Well, I wasn’t informed or I would have objected. Remember even when all the way up to the day James Comey was fired, he told us when we deposed him that there was no evidence of any type of coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. All the way up until May 9 of 2017,” Jordan said.

Fox, Meghan McCain stuns Andrew McCabe on 'The View,' asks if he was New York Times leaker. Good for Meghan. Fox, McCabe says he doesn't recall discussing infamous 'insurance policy' with Strzok, Page in 2016. In addition to Mrs. Clinton's money, through Terry McAuliffe, he also got her memory problems. Ed Morrissey at Hot Air, McCabe: On Second Thought, No One Was Counting Cabinet Votes On 25th Amendment

I know McCabe is a liar, it's well established and all that, but any theories as to why he couldn't even stick with his Sunday story for two days? https://t.co/xlyfGiC1TL

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) February 20, 2019

Yes, ABC News reported in March 2018 that McCabe personally ordered an investigation into whether Jeff Sessions -- I repeat, JEFF SESSIONS -- was a Russian agent. https://t.co/UO59vg5zod A completely out-of-control conspiracy theorist was at the top of the FBI.

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) February 20, 2019

No wonder Trump Is Beyond Obsessed With Andrew McCabe (Da Beast). When you try to kill the king. . .

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 02.19.19 American Thinker: Crime & Punishment For The Deep State

Where is the reckoning for this? Treasonous activities have so far led to the perpetrators being fired, but not much else. This is not a proper reckoning. They write books, make media appearances to promote their books, appear on cable news shows, and flaunt their defiance on social media. None are behind bars or being prosecuted (yet). That seems to be reserved only for Trump associates like Paul Manafort, still in solitary confinement.

The players in this coup are not only McCabe and Comey, but also Clapper and Brennan, as well as second tier FBI and DOJ officials including Strzok, Yates, Page, Ohr, Baker, and others. One can’t leave out the ring leaders of this entire cabal of corruption – Clinton and Obama. Aside from Obama, who elected them? Justice and intelligence officials are unelected and have no mandate to carry out the will of the people. Only Donald Trump now carries that mantle.

The Clinton’s have a long list of illegalities and scandal, dating back to their days in Arkansas. Flash forward to Hillary Clinton’s illegal home-based email server containing hundreds of thousands of emails, many highly classified, ending up on the laptop of sex-offender Anthony Weiner. And available to whoever had access to that laptop, whether the Chinese or the Muslim Brotherhood, the group Weiner’s wife Huma’s parents are affiliated with.

The FBI covered this all up, for expediency, as they didn’t want to open a criminal investigation into their future boss, who the media magpies stated unequivocally would win the 2016 election in a landslide.

How many top FBI and DOJ officials lied to Congress during hearings over the past two years? I thought this was a crime. Robert Mueller sure thinks lying to Congress or the FBI is criminal. Ask Flynn, Papadopoulos, or Cohen.

Where is the reckoning on this illegal behavior? Why is justice meted out based on politics, and not instead blind to political considerations as represented by a blindfolded Lady Justice holding the scales of justice? She also carries a sword, representing punishment. The modern Lady Justice seems to wear a pink pussy hat and holds a tilted scale in one hand and a book contract in the other.

The National Institute of Justice discusses deterrence: “The crime prevention effects of the threat of punishment.” Does anybody in the Deep State truly believe they are about to be caught and punished? Quite the opposite, actually. They are busy repeating their lies on cable news show and social media, writing and selling books with fawning media adulation.

Some say there is panic in DC and that pain is coming, but where is the evidence of that? Are Huber and Horowitz cleaning up the corruption or just rearranging the furniture?

Bloomberg, Trump Poised to Name Jeffrey Rosen as Deputy Attorney General. I assume he's been well vetted?

Axios, Judge grants Cohen’s request to push back start of prison term. The Saul Goodman of Russiagate.

Morning Music - "Inner Demons"

This song plays a lot on the radio at the gym. I don't mind it as much as some others:

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Ski Bunnies! up and ready for action.

Rats Desert Sinking Island

From the boys down under, 'Our little brown rat': first climate change-caused mammal extinction

The Morrison government has formally recognised the extinction of a tiny island rodent, the Bramble Cay melomys - the first known demise of a mammal because of human-induced climate change.

The changed status of the Melomys rubicola from the government's "endangered" to "extinct" category was included without fanfare in a statement released by federal Environment Minister Melissa Price late on Monday.

Geoff Richardson, an environment department official, told Senate estimates on Monday night that research efforts since 2014 - "including a pretty rushed trip in 2015" - had failed to identify any melomys individuals in their only known location on Bramble Cay, a tiny Torres Strait island near Papua New Guinea .

Declaring its extinction "was not a decision to take lightly," Mr Richardson said. "There's always a delay while the evidence is gathered to be absolutely certain."


The federal extinction listing comes almost three years after the Queensland government reached a similar conclusion, with a finding that the demise of the melomys "probably represents the first recorded mammalian extinction due to anthropogenic climate change".

Bramble Cay

Maybe they just rode away on drifting log.

The limited range of the animal, living on a five-hectare island less than three metres high, left it vulnerable to climate change. However, its 2008 "recovery plan", drawn up when numbers were likely down to just dozens of individuals, downplayed the risks.

"[T]he likely consequences of climate change, including sea-level rise and increase in the frequency and intensity of tropical storms, are unlikely to have any major impact on the survival of the Bramble Cay melomys in the life of this plan," the five-year scheme stated.
. . .
The federal policy director for the Wilderness Society, Tim Beshara, said preparation for the plan was limited, and it was never reviewed at its completion in 2013.

“The Bramble Cay melomys was a little brown rat," Mr Beshara said. "But it was our little brown rat and it was our responsibility to make sure it persisted. And we failed."

The little brown mouse (it's more a mouse than a rat) chose a very poor place to live for the long term. For a burrow dwelling creature to live on a small, low lying island in tropical storm beset regions just seems like a bad choice.  However, despite constant whining, there is no evidence for an increase in frequency or strength of tropical storms, and islands like Bramble Cay can grow upwards to meet sea level rise.

Incidentally, according to Wikipedia, the Bramble Cay rat is closely related to the Cape York melomys "except that it had some protein differences and a coarser tail caused by elevated scales." They are, or were,  quite likely sibling species, with the Bramble Cay rat evolving after a few Cape York rats happened to get stranded on Bramble Cay.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out that, at least occasionally, extinction isn't always forever, with the extinct critter resurfacing upon a second, third, or even tenth look. Maybe the Bramble Cay rat will make another appearance after hiding out for a few years.