Russian Collusion

BREAKING: Clapper Blames Obama For Collusion Delusion

Published by Papa Giorgio

>> REMEMBER, Mark Levin CALLED THIS in March of 2017! <<

~ALSO, see my OBAMAGATE post! ~

(GATEWAY PUNDIT h-t, via RED RIGHT VIDEOS)

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper revealed in an interview last week that if not for President Obama asking for an intelligence community assessment that “set off a whole sequence of events” we would not have the Mueller investigation. Clapper, a CNN contributor, said the effects of that intel assessment “are still unfolding today.”

There needs to be just a bit of reading between the lines here but make no mistake, what James Clapper is doing here is sending out a warning flare that if he’s going down there will be a lot of others he intends to take with him—including a certain former President of the United States. (Really pay attention to how much he emphasizes Obama’s personal involvement in the process from beginning to end.)

(Here is the March 5th, 2017 time where Clapper mentioned no evidence for collusion) But remember, he called Trump a Russian assett.  He may refer to a time where he said there was no evidence of collusion… but he then stepped on his own CYA toes to claim this in December 18th, 2017:

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper referred to President Donald Trump as a Russian “asset” on Monday.

Clapper was asked by CNN’s Jim Sciutto about the difference between Trump’s criticism of Russia as a rival power and his praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin after the Russian leader foiled a terror attack using CIA intelligence.

“I think that this past weekend is illustrative of what a great case officer Vladimir Putin is,” Clapper said.

“He knows how to handle an asset and that’s what he’s doing with the president,” he said.

Sciutto asked Clapper to reiterate his statement, to confirm whether he was indeed calling the American president an “asset” of Russia.

“That’s the appearance to me,” Clapper said. “He’s a [former] KGB officer. That’s what they do. They recruit assets.”

(FOX)

RELATED:

Remember, this is the Clapper that said a spy in the Trump campaign was a good thing (via RUSH LIMBAUGH, May 18, 2018). In other words… OBAMA AUTHORIZED AMERICANS TO BE SPIED ON WITH NO EVIDENCE!!

RUSH: We have the audio of you James Clapper. I wanted you to actually hear this. I mentioned it to you, but here’s James Clapper last night on CNN with Don Lemon. Clapper is the former Director of National Intelligence for Obama, and they’re talking about the story we began on this program on Monday that the FBI had a spy in the Trump campaign or an informant. Again, I know who it is, but I’m not gonna mention the name until it’s officially mentioned or released — and it doesn’t matter who.

What’s important is the FBI, the DOJ, the anti-Trump people had a spy in the Trump campaign, an informant. And here is James Clapper being asked about it and basically saying, “Yeah. It’s a good thing.” The question is from Lemon. Here’s what the president tweeted: “Andrew McCarthy says, ‘There’s probably no doubt that they had at least one confidential informant in the campaign.’ If so, this is bigger than Watergate!” Don Lemon — who’s clueless, like Fredo Cuomo is clueless. You’ll hear an example of Fredo in clueless action in moments. Don Lemon said, “That’s an extraordinary claim. Based on your experience, Mr. Clapper, what’s the likelihood that it’s true?”

CLAPPER: This is hyperbole. They may have had someone who was talking to them in the campaign, but, y’know, the focus here, and as it was with the intelligence community, is not on the campaign per se, but what the Russians were doing to try to substantiate themselves in the campaign or influence or leverage it. So if there was someone that was observing that sort of thing, well, that’s a good thing! Uh, because the Russians pose a threat to the very basis of our political system.

RUSH: Come on.

CLAPPER: And I think it’s hugely danger if someone like that is exposed because, uh, the danger to that person, not to mention the reluctance of others to be informants for the FBI. And the FBI gains a lot of valuable information from informants. So — so — so to me, this is incredible.

RUSH: So it’s perfect… Okay. I tell you what. I’ll tell you what then, Clapper. Whoever you people run in 2020, we’re gonna put a spy on! It’s gonna be a valuable thing. We’re gonna find out who it is that might be trying to rig the election for you. If the Russians tampering with campaigns is the big deal… You heard Clapper say, “It’s not Trump. No, no. This is hyperbole! We were trying to find out what the Russians were doing because the Russians were tampering.”

You people have done more to damage the integrity of the American electoral process than Vladimir Putin could in his dreams! And I’m not joking. With what these people have done for the last year and a half — basically get people thinking the election was stolen, that it was illegitimate, that the Russians didn’t want Hillary and wanted Trump and made it happen — look at what they have done to the image, the reputation of the American electoral system and process.

These people are doing the damage to it, and they continue to do it, because they can’t show any evidence whatsoever the Russians succeeded in determining the outcome of a presidential race. And we’ve got multiple sound bites from Obama himself admitting that it would be impossible to do. Our election, presidential election system is way too complex. You couldn’t know enough in advance of where you would have to start playing games to pull anything off because the Electoral College, precincts, voter turnout. You just… It couldn’t be done. If it could, the Democrats would never lose.

If they had found a way, if they had found a way to tamper with presidential elections, do you think they would ever lose one? No. But they do. They haven’t found any evidence that the Russians succeeded, and yet they continue to talk about it and validate the idea that spies are worthwhile. These people need to be held accountable for this.

They are doing this on purpose. They are attempting to impugn and cloud the very integrity of the electoral system as a means of explaining every election they lose in the future. They are doing this so that they’ll be able to rant and rave that they were never rejected by voters, that voters didn’t choose to vote against them because of their policies. The Russians must have done it. The Russians or other foreign entities must have been conspiring against these precious Democrat candidates.

And it’s gotten to the point now that this is so prevalent that you cannot watch prime time television without — the entire series of Homeland this year, the entire season was devoted to this fake premise that the Russians were easily able to infiltrate anything they wanted. The Russians were able to get rid of a duly elected president. The Russians were able to determine the outcome of an election.

The Russians cannot hold a candle to the American Democrat Party. The Russians can’t hold a candle to the ChiComs in terms of worldwide power and the ability to project it. You talk about a straw man, a straw dog. And not a shred of evidence. And now here’s Clapper. And there’s one more thing he said here that I want to double back to. “This is hyperbole,” he said.

“They may have had somebody who was talking to them in the campaign. But, you know, the focus here, as it was with the intelligence community, is not on the campaign per se, but what the Russians were going to try.” That is, pardon me, BS, Mr. Clapper. Your focus was Trump. It was Trump you were spying on. You weren’t spying on the Russians. If you were trying to find Russian influence in the campaign, you’d have been looking in Russia, you’d been looking in Putin, you’d be spying on people that would have done it.

No, you were spying on Trump. You were trying to find evidence that Trump was conspiring with the Russians, not that Russia was conspiring with Trump. That’s what you wanted to prove. And if you could, if you could have gotten close to it, I know these people would have said so. This is total obfuscation. “No, we weren’t looking at the campaign. No, no, no. We were looking at the Russians because, of course, the Russians were going to try to instantiate themselves in the campaign or influence their leverage,” blah, blah, blah, blah. These guys are trying to double back and cover their tracks, lying through their wooden teeth about what they were doing.

So we’ll just say that the next time there’s a presidential race, we’re gonna vouch for a spy being in the Democrat campaign. It’s a valuable thing. We need to have informants in there, Mr. Clapper, to see to it that foreign actors don’t instantiate themselves, as you say, into the campaign and tamper with our precious electoral process. People are starting to tick me off, and you’ve probably been there longer than I have.

…break in the transcript…

You know, here’s another thought. And this is how I know that the snake Clapper is lying. Clapper tells CNN (imitating Clapper), “Oh, no, no, no, we weren’t interested in the Trump campaign, our spy. We think it was a good thing the FBI had a spy to look for pernicious activity from the Russians, the Russians tampering with our electoral process. It was a good thing they had a spy in that campaign, not to look at the Trump campaign, but to look at the Russians.”

MR. CLAPPER, THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU PUT A SPY IN THE HILLARY CAMPAIGN? SHE WAS INTERACTING WITH THE RUSSIANS. SHE WAS RIGGING THE DNC PRIMARY. SHE DID HIRE A GUY TO WRITE A PHONY OPPOSITION RESEARCH WITH RUSSIAN AGENTS ON TRUMP. THE HILLARY CAMPAIGN WAS INTERTWINED WITH THE RUSSIANS FOR MONTHS. WHY DIDN’T YOU HAVE A SPY IN HER CAMPAIGN, IF IT WAS THE RUSSIANS YOU WERE REALLY INTERESTED IN? WHY NOT LOOK AT HOW HILLARY WAS WORKING WITH THEM?

But of course they weren’t looking for the Russians, because I think they’ve known from the get-go the Russians didn’t affect the outcome of this election. Remember, if Hillary had won, you’d a never heard about the Russians, other than whatever steps they took to destroy Trump, which I think they would have done. Even if Trump had lost, I think they would have made moves to further destroy this guy, to send the message to any other outsiders, “Don’t even think about trying this. Look what we’ll do to you.”

And if I’m right, they’re gonna continue their destruction plan of Trump after he leaves the White House, whenever that is.

(emphasis added)

 

Dershowitz Called It From Day One…

Published by Papa Giorgio

(See a previous post detailing some of his arguments, HERE) Mar. 25, 2019 | Former Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz says Robert Mueller was wrong for not completely ruling out a case for obstruction of justice in his Russia report.

Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz weighs in on the lack of a decision on obstruction in the Mueller report.

 

The Liberal Media’s Most Embarrassing Russia Fails

Published by Papa Giorgio

(Via MRCTV/NEWSBUSTERS) The Sunday afternoon letter from Attorney General Bill Barr on the Mueller report has rocked the political world and burst more than a few bubbles in the liberal media, most notably their years-long insistence that the President and/or his team colluded with Russia.

Some journalists have conceded this reality, while others are mimicking Japanese soldiers still fighting World War II in 1971……

The Medias Most Embarrassing Fails (Via THE DAILY CALLER):

1. CNN ACCUSES DON JR. OF WIKILEAKS COLLUSION

Last December, CNN’s Manu Raju reported that Wikileaks emailed Donald Trump Jr. to give him access to stolen documents a full 10 days before they were released to the public.

Unfortunately for CNN, it turns out their sources gave them the wrong date. Don Jr. actually received an email with access to the stolen docs on Sept. 14, 2016, after they had already been released publicly.

2. ABC TANKS STOCK MARKET WITH FAKE FLYNN NEWS

ABC was forced to suspend Brian Ross after he falsely reported that former national security adviser Michael Flynn was prepared to testify that then-candidate Donald Trump ordered him to make contact with the Russians.

The stock market dropped a few hundred points at the news — but it turned out to be fake.

ABC clarified that Flynn was actually prepared to testify that Trump asked him to contact Russia while the administration was transitioning into office. Pretty standard preparation for an incoming president.

3. THE MOOCH IS NOT UNDER INVESTIGATION

CNN earns another spot on this list for their shoddy reporting about former Trump adviser Anthony, “The Mooch,” Scaramucci. In June 2017, CNN relied on a single unnamed source to claim that Scaramucci was under investigation for a meeting he took with a Russian banker prior to Trump’s inauguration.

The Mooch denied the story and CNN later gave him a much-deserved apology. Oh … and three CNN employees resigned over the botched piece.

4. BLOOMBERG’S DIRTY DEUTSCHE BANK SCOOP

Bloomberg initially reported in December that special counsel Robert Mueller had “zeroed in” on Trump by subpoenaing Deutsche Bank records for the incoming president and his family.

Bloomberg later admitted that Mueller was looking for records relating to “people affiliated” with Trump.

5. SESSIONS EXONERATED

Last May, CNN was sure that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had botched protocol when he didn’t list meetings he had with the Russian ambassador on his security clearance forms. To CNN and other establishment media outlets, this was proof that Sessions was hiding something related to Russia.

A little over six months later, CNN quietly walked back the scandal, explaining the FBI sent emails informing Sessions’ aide that he did not need to disclose the meetings on his forms because they were carried out in the course of his duties as a senator.

6. RUSSIANS AREN’T JUST HACKING THE ELECTION — THEY’RE HACKING OUR POWER GRID

The Washington Post claimed in January 2017 that Russians were hacking the U.S. power grid through a company in Vermont, only to change the story to say that only one laptop was infiltrated. It turns out that one laptop was never even connected to the power grid.

7. REPUBLICANS FUNDED THE DOSSIER! 

A number of news outlets have consistently claimed that Republicans initially paid for the anti-Trump Steele dossier, failing to note that Steele wasn’t even contracted by Fusion GPS until after the GOP donors pulled funding. The Republican donors say they paid Fusion for standard opposition research and that they have zero connection to the dossier.

The media has perpetuated this falsehood so consistently that even former FBI director James Comey was confused, repeating the lie in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier…..

(READ THEM ALL!)

Tucker Carlson and Glenn Greenwald Discuss the Russian Conspiracy

Published by Papa Giorgio
  • Back from Vacation, this was awesome. I didn’t watch much politics on TV on the trip. But I did catch this:

Robert Mueller’s investigation did not find any evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.

The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald alleged Monday on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” that MSNBC banned him and other “left-wing journalists with very high journalistic credentials” because of their coverage of the Mueller probe. (DAILY CALLER). [Editors note: I disagree with Greenwald on the Iraq War (WMDs)… but that proves his Leftism well.]

The Wiki-Leaks “Dump” Was Already Public Knowledge (A Media Myth)

Published by Papa Giorgio

The Wiki-Leaks “Dump” pre-dated when Roger Stone supposedly told Trump. In other words… the information about the dump was already publicized BEFORE Roger Stone “told” Trump. While I do not agree with everything below, it is humorously pointed out that Congress and the media are clueless about htis simple fact.

Sunday Shows: State of Emergency, Bill Barr, Soft Coup, and More

Published by Papa Giorgio

Hat-Tip to CONSERVATIVE TREEHOUSE:

Also from CONSERVATIVE TREEHOUSE:

…Representative John Ratcliffe appears with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the DOJ and FBI ‘soft coup’ attempt headed by Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe.

Ratcliffe also discusses the outlook with newly confirmed Attorney General William Barr and what actions he hopes AG Barr will take in the wake of mounting evidence that Andrew McCabe, James Baker, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page and former Acting AG Sally Yates were coordinating an effort to remove President Donald Trump.

And Rush Limbaugh opines on similar topics this Sunday (CONSERVATIVE TREEHOUSE):

Media Malpractice Becoming the Norm

Published by Papa Giorgio

Sean Hannity deals a decent blow to the Corporate Media Industrial Complex. Enjoy.

Howard Kurtz has a great article (via FOX NEWS)

….BuzzFeed is standing by its story accusing President Trump of urging Michael Cohen to lie to Congress, but it has been substantially discredited by that once-in-a-blue-moon denial from Robert Mueller’s office, saying the information was “not accurate.” Making a charge of that magnitude based on two unnamed sources, without being able to cite a single e-mail, text or document, is very risky business. The story was thin at best, especially when you consider the two reporters didn’t talk to Cohen, who pleaded guilty to lying to Congress over the Russian Trump Tower project and is facing a three-year prison term on that and other charges.

But the many news outlets that breathlessly promoted the BuzzFeed scoop, until it imploded, with an avalanche of segments and stories also have a black eye. The same goes for the Democrats who raced on the air, and onto Twitter, to talk about impeachment, based on uncorroborated allegations that were not matched by any other journalists.

Throwing in a couple of “if true” disclaimers doesn’t let you off the hook. And some journalists adopted the BuzzFeed allegations as true with even thinner caveats than that. The story, said MSBNC host Lawrence O’Donnell, “essentially” says that “here is the president of the United States in the Oval Office, presumably, on the phone, telling Michael Cohen to commit federal crimes and do it right there in the House of Representatives.”

Keep in mind that BuzzFeed reported that Mueller’s office had evidence and testimony about Trump allegedly suborning perjury, and that is what the special counsel knocked down. We now know, thanks to the reporting of Fox’s John Roberts, that Rudy Giuliani played a role in the denial, since he was on the phone with Mueller’s office Friday and both sides agreed parts of the story were false.

When CNN’s Anderson Cooper said that at least some other news organizations didn’t jump on the bandwagon, New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman, to her credit, said: “No, but we all ran with it saying ‘if true.’ That was not that huge an asterisk, frankly.”

All this plays into Trump’s barrage of “fake news” criticism, and he didn’t hesitate to call the Buzzfeed story a “disgrace to journalism.”

Now to the other rush to judgment, involving students from Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky. They were caught up in a confrontation with Native Americans at the Lincoln Memorial. It just so happens some of the students were Trump fans wearing red MAGA hats, feeding a certain narrative. And there was a video, that went viral, of student Nick Sandmann smiling as he’s standing right next to Indian activist Nathan Phillips, which some interpreted as mocking.

An online mob took over, calling the students bigots and convicting them without a trial. Unfortunately, this was amplified by the media echo chamber.

But interviews and hours of earlier video made clear the story was more complicated. The students were shouting “school spirit” chants (with the approval of their chaperones) to drown out racially charged chants by a third group of black protestors, the Hebrew Israelites.

Sandmann, rather than inciting the confrontation, was actually approached by Phillips, who says he was being peaceful but whose story has been shifting. Sandmann said he smiled to show he meant no harm.

In a statement, Sandmann said that Philipps “began playing his drum as he waded into the crowd, which parted for him. I did not see anyone try to block his path. He locked eyes with me and approached me, coming within inches of my face. He played his drum the entire time he was in my face. I never interacted with this protester. I did not speak to him. To be honest, I was startled and confused as to why he had approached me. We had already been yelled at by another group of protestors.”

Once the broader context was clear, some journalists began deleting tweets and expressing regrets.

Kara Swisher, the tech writer and New York Times contributor, wrote: “I was a complete dolt to put up this and several other obnoxious tweets yesterday without waiting to see the whole video of the incident and I apologize to the kids from Kentucky unilaterally.”

Swisher had earlier posted her desire to be “finding every one of these s***ty kids and giving them a very large piece of my mind.”

According to a Mediaite roundup, the New Republic’s Jeet Heer deleted a tweet arguing the Trump-supporting students were “racist.” CNN’s Bakari Sellers deleted a tweet suggesting the kids should be “punched in the face.”

CNN’s Ana Navarro deleted one denouncing the “asswipe” parents of the students for teaching them “bigotry” and “racism.”

And CNN host S.E. Cupp posted this yesterday: “Hey guys. Seeing all the additional videos now, and I 100% regret reacting too quickly to the Covington story. I wish I’d had the fuller picture before weighing in, and I’m truly sorry.”……

(READ THE REST)

The Russian Connection; and FBI/DOJ Goes Rogue (UPDATED)

Published by Papa Giorgio

BOOM! Remember that Russian lawyer that had the meeting in the Trump Tower? Natalia Veselnitskaya? Well, much like Mark Levin and Dan Bongino have been saying (with examples), much of the people involved in this drama are in fact “conveniently” at the right places at the right time. Like Joseph Mifsud, Alexander Downer, and Stefan Halper around Papadopoulos (SPYGATE via BONGINO). So too do we see Natalia Veselnitskaya being inserted into the story with prior contacts with FUSION-GPS AND THE FBI. Here is the latest on this spy novel via SEBASTIAN GORKA and SARA CARTER.

Here is a portion from THE HILL that is relevant:

…HERE’S ANOTHER ONE. The New York Times — which considers itself a bastion of journalism but whose work of late was questioned by its former editor — wrote a story this week on the federal obstruction-of-justice indictment of Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

The Times connected the indictment’s information about Veselnitskaya’s ties to the Kremlin and her role in a now infamous June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with the president’s son, Donald Jr., and then-Trump presidential campaign manager Paul Manafort.

What the Times omitted, however, was that Veselnitskaya also was working at the same time with Glenn Simpson and Fusion GPS, the opposition-research firm that hired Steele to produce his dossier on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

If Veselnitskaya’s ties to the Kremlin were important to mention for her Trump meeting, then why wouldn’t they be just as important to the guys who helped create the dossier that spurred the Russia probe?

Seems to me that selective editing and cherry-picking did not serve the reader well.

And there’s more paradigm-changing facts excluded from the Times story. Veselnitskaya managed to get into the U.S. because the Obama administration originally gave her a special parole visa.

Hmmm. The lawyer who sets up the Trump Tower meeting gets her original entry to the United States based on a special act by the Obama Justice Department. Seems relevant but, once again, absent from the story.

MY THIRD favorite omission of the week comes from the media’s coverage of the secret court filing made by Manafort’s lawyers. It turned out not to be so secret because its redactions were made public by a technical glitch.

Countless news organizations concentrated on the fact that Mueller believes Manafort shared Trump campaign polling data with a man in his firm named Konstantin Kilimnik, whom prosecutors claim is tied to Russian intelligence.

But omitted from those stories was the fact that U.S. intelligence first learned of Kilimnik’s ties to Russia intelligence more than a decade ago and warned then-Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2005 as he prepared to run for president and was involved in a group that hired Kilimnik.

McCain dismissed the suspected Russian-tied man from the group. I know this because McCain told it to me personally in 2007 and his longtime adviser, John Weaver, re-confirmed it to me in 2017.

Here’s why that omission is relevant: If U.S. intelligence knew long ago of Kilimnik’s ties to Russia, and the George W. Bush intelligence apparatus warned a presidential contender in 2005, why didn’t the Barack Obamaintelligence community do the same in 2016 when Kilimnik’s colleague, Manafort, joined the Trump campaign as chairman?

Unfortunately, readers didn’t get to ask that question because they were kept in the dark….

And HUGH HEWITT covers the latest via John Sololmon of THE HILL.

Hugh Hewitt references and reads from the following articles to make the point clear that the FBI and DOJ (the proverbial 7th floor – top echelon) were acting politically and not legally. I will add a story from each of the authors as well):

UPDATED LISTING

Law Enforcement Tangled In Bias/Lies/Leaks

The EPOCH TIMES has a short quick listing of firings, retirements, and “changed assignments” in the FBI and DOJ. HOWEVER, a larger ~ more in-depth ~ list that I will only post a small portion of here includes Clinton acolytes and the law firm used, Perkins Coie. GREAT STUFF via THEMARKETSWORK (also see his latest postings HERE):

Resignations/Firings – Department of Justice (Non-FBI):

  • John Carlin – Assistant Attorney General – Head of DOJ’s National Security Division – announced resignation on September 27, 2016 after filing the Government’s proposed 2016 Section 702 certifications on September 26, 2016. The filing does not disclose known FISA Abuses. Carlin is aware NSA Rogers is conducting a compliance review which will uncover the FISA Abuse. The 2016 certifications are scheduled for Court approval on October 26, 2016. Trump surveillance originated under Carlin’s tenure.
  • Sally Yates – Deputy Attorney General & Acting Attorney General (replacing Loretta Lynch – 10 days) – fired January 30, 2017. Complicit in Flynn Surveillance and surveillance of Trump Campaign.
  • Mary McCord – Acting Assistant Attorney General – Acting Head of DOJ’s National Security Division (replacing John Carlin) – announced resignation on April 17, 2017 – Left on May 11, 2017. Complicit in Flynn Surveillance and surveillance of Trump Campaign.
  • Peter Kadzik – Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs. Resigned January 2017. On May 19, 2015, Kadzik sent Podesta an email appearing to tip off Clinton Campaign about the Justice Department’s review of Clinton’s emails.
  • Bruce Ohr  – Former Associate Deputy Attorney General. Ohr was demoted twice. Stripped of Associate Deputy Attorney General title on December 6, 2017. Removed as head of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force January 8, 2018. Unofficial liaison between Fusion GPS and FBI/DOJ. Wife – Nellie Ohr – worked at Fusion. Long-standing ties to both Christopher Steele and Glenn Simpson/Fusion GPS. Simpson and Bruce & Nellie Ohr have known each other since at least 2010. Ohr has been describedas a long-time friend of Steele with a relationship going back to at least 2006 (includes Ohr’s wife Nellie). Ohr texted and emailed extensively with Steele beginning in January 2016 (likely started earlier). See here, here and here. Oleg Deripaska was discussed in emails between Ohr and Steele. Ohr appears to have a significant role in Dossier creation – see here and here.
  • David Laufman – DOJ National Security Division, Deputy Asst. Attorney General in charge of counterintelligence – resigned on February 7, 2018. Laufman “played a leading role in the Clinton email server and Russian hacking investigations.”
  • Rachel Brand – Associate Attorney General – number three official behind Deputy AG Rosenstein – resigned February 9, 2018. Takes top legal position at Walmart. Brand “played a critical role in Congress’ re-authorization” of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
  • Matthew Axelrod – Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General. May have been individual who had phone call with Deputy FBI Director McCabe re: Clinton Foundation. From IG McCabe Report: “A senior Justice Department official called Mr. McCabe to voice his displeasure at finding that New York FBI agents were still openly pursuing the Clinton Foundation probe during the election season. The Justice Department official was “very pissed off,” according to one person close to McCabe, and pressed him to explain why the FBI was still chasing a matter the department considered dormant…” Axelrod resigned on January 30, 2017 when AG Sally Yates was fired.
  • Preet Bharara – U.S. District Attorney. Involved in Prevezon Case. Used as threat by AG Lynch re: Weiner email/Clinton email case. Fired by President Trump on March 11, 2017.

Resignations/Firings – FBI:

  • James Comey – FBI Director – fired May 9, 2017. Oversaw all FBI operations – including exoneration of Clinton and Trump-Russia Investigation. Reported to AG Lynch.
  • Andrew McCabe – Deputy FBI Director – on December 23, 2017 announced retirement effective March 22, 2018. Forced to resign active position on January 29, 2018. Fired on March 16, 2018. Involved in all aspects. Subject of IG Report – will be featured in future ones. Reported to Comey.
  • Peter Strzok – Deputy Assistant Director of FBI’s Counterintelligence – forced off Mueller’s team – demoted August 16, 2017 to FBI’s Human Resources. IG Horowitz discovered texts July 27, 2017. Strzok involved in all facets of Clinton exoneration. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group. Strzok was fired on August 13, 2018.
  • Lisa Page – FBI/DOJ Lawyer – forced off Mueller’s team – demoted August 16, 2017. IG Horowitz discovered texts July 27, 2017. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group. Page resigned/fired May 4, 2018.
  • James Baker – FBI General Counsel – demoted and reassigned on December 20, 2017. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group. Senior-most legal counsel at FBI. Baker resigned/fired May 4, 2018. Took position at Lawfare.
  • James Rybicki – Chief of Staff to FBI Director James Comey & successor Chris Wray – resigned/forced out January 23, 2018. Working member of “Insurance Policy” group.
  • Josh Campbell – Special Assistant to James Comey – resigned on February 2, 2018. Writes op-ed in New York Times on why he is leaving but does not disclose in op-ed that he was Special Assistant to Comey – or that he had been offered lucrative CNN job. Takes job with CNN on February 5, 2018.
  • Michael Kortan – FBI Asst. Director Public Affairs – resigned on February 8, 2018 – effective February 15, 2018. Kortan served as assistant director for public affairs, an influential job that controlled media access.
  • Greg Brower (FBI) – Assistant Director for the Office of Congressional Affairs. FBI’s liaison with Congress. Listed by Devin Nunes as one of the individuals he wants to interview. Resigned suddenly on March 30, 2018.
  • James Turgal (FBI) – Executive Assistant Director for Information and Technology Branch. Retired from FBI sometime prior to January 9, 2018.
  • Michael B. Steinbach (FBI) – Executive Assistant Director for the National Security Branch. Was FBI’s top national security official. Some reports state Steinbach replaced John Giacalone who quit over frustration with Clinton Investigation. Other reports say it was McCabe who replaced Giacalone. Steinbach claims to have personally handledthe Clinton Email Investigation. Retired from FBI in February 2017.
  • Bill Priestap – Assistant Director – Head of FBI Counterintelligence – Holds same position. Strzok’s boss – reported directly to McCabe. More here, here and here.

FBI/DOJ Watch List:

  • Bruce Ohr is a former Associate Deputy Attorney General. Ohr was demoted twice. Stripped of Associate Deputy Attorney General title on December 6, 2017. Removed as head of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force January 8, 2018. Unofficial liaison between Fusion GPS and FBI/DOJ. Wife – Nellie Ohr – worked at Fusion. Long-standing ties to both Christopher Steele and Glenn Simpson/Fusion GPS. Simpson and Bruce & Nellie Ohr have known each other since at least 2010. Ohr has been describedas a long-time friend of Steele with a relationship going back to at least 2006 (includes Ohr’s wife Nellie). Ohr texted and emailed extensively with Steele beginning in January 2016 (likely started earlier). See here, here and here. Oleg Deripaska was discussed in emails between Ohr and Steele. Ohr appears to have a significant role in Dossier creation – see here and here.
  • David Bowditch (FBI) – Replaced Andrew McCabe as Acting Deputy FBI Director. Bowditch’s name is featured in emails and Strzok texts.
  • Trisha Anderson (DOJ) – adviser in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, was previously an attorney at Attorney General Eric Holder’s former firm, Covington & Burling. Attended two April 25, 2016 White House meetings with FBI Counsel James Baker and several DOJ FISA lawyers – Tashina Guahar, Christopher Hardee, Brad Wiegmann. Anderson’s name appears in Strzok/Page texts.
  • Sally Moyer (FBI) – Attorney. Listed by Devin Nunes as one of the individuals he wants to interview.
  • Dana Boente (DOJ/FBI) – FBI General Counsel – Appointed on January 23, 2018 – replacing James Baker who was demoted and reassigned. Acting Head of DOJ’s National Security Division until January 23, 2018 and the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Replaced Mary McCord in NSD Role. Was briefly Acting Deputy Attorney General until Rosenstein appointed.
  • Edward O’Callaghan (DOJ) – became Acting Assistant Attorney General and Acting Head of DOJ’s National Security Division on January 27, 2018, replacing Dana Boente.
  • Jonathan Moffa (FBI) – Copied on Comey’s Draft Statement exonerating Clinton of Email Scandal. Mentioned in Strzok/Page texts. Surprisingly hard to find any information on Moffa.
  • Michael Gaeta (FBI) – Ran FBI’s Eurasian organized crime unit in New York. Has known Steele previously. Led the 2013 FBI investigation of Russian mafia boss, Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov. For two years ending in 2013, the FBI had a court-approved warrant to eavesdrop on Tokhtakhounov’s money-laundering network that operated out of unit 63A in Trump Tower. Gaeta was the FBI Agent sent to London to meet with Christopher Steele and obtain first copy of Dossier. Gaeta’s trip approved by State’s Victoria Nuland. Gaeta may have given copy of Dossier to Nuland before anyone else.
  • Joe Pientka – FBI Agent – Counterintelligence Division. Pientka potentially identifiedby Grassley as second FBI Agent (Strzok the other) present at Flynn Interview.
  • George Toscas – (DOJ) – Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the National Security Division. Toscas contacted by NY Prosecutors (possibly Preet Bharara) about Weiner investigation re: HRC/Huma emails on Weiner computer. Toscas contacts FBI, forcing McCabe to tell Comey of emails.
  • Randy Coleman (FBI) – Executive Assistant Director, oversight of all FBI domestic and international cyber operations and investigations concerning cyber matters.
  • Brian Brooks (FBI) – Assistant Director of the Operational Technology Division. Recently promoted by FBI Director Chris Wray.
  • Tashina Guahar (DOJ) – Deputy Assistant Attorney General. National Security Division. FISA lawyer. Appears in Strzok Texts as “Tash”.
  • Norman “Christopher” Hardee (DOJ) – Chief Counsel for Policy, National Security Division. FISA lawyer.
  • Brad Wiegmann (DOJ) – Deputy Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division – Office of Law and Policy. FISA lawyer.
  • John T. Lynch (DOJ) – Chief, Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section – Criminal Division.
  • Alan Rozenshtein (DOJ) – Attorney Advisor with the Office of Law and Policy in the National Security Division. Resigned April 2017. Visiting professor. Writes for Lawfare.
  • Iris Lan (DOJ) – Associate Deputy Attorney General. Previously U.S. Attorney at Southern District of New York.
  • James Tranor (FBI) – Assistant Director of the Cyber Division. Mentioned in Strzok Texts. Retired October 2016.
  • Bryan Paarman (FBI) – Deputy Assistant Director of Counterterrorism. Mentioned in Strzok texts re: Clinton MYE. Extensive international experience. 2004-2007 Senior FBI representative and accredited diplomat in the US Embassies in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kyiv, Ukraine.
  • Robert Anderson (FBI) – Former Executive Assistant Director under Mueller. Principal at the Chertoff Group’s global Strategic Advisory Services. Mentioned in Strzok texts re: Clinton MYE.

FBI – Assignments Away from FBI Headquarters:

  • Stephen Laycock – Special Agent in charge of the Counterintelligence Division for the Washington Field Office. Previously Section Chief of the Eurasia Section in the Counterintelligence Division at FBI Headquarters.
  • Charles McGonigal – Special Agent in charge of the Counterintelligence Division for the New York Field Office. Previously Section Chief of the Cyber-Counterintelligence Coordination Section at FBI Headquarters.
  • Gerald Roberts – Special Agent in charge of the Intelligence Division of the Washington Field Office. Previously Section Chief of the Terrorist Financing Operations Section in the Counterterrorism Division at FBI Headquarters.
  • Charles Kable – Special Agent in charge of the Counterintelligence Division at the Washington Field Office. Previously Section Chief of the Counterespionage Section at FBI Headquarters.
  • Louis Bladel – Special Agent in charge of the Counterintelligence Division of the New York Field Office. Previously Section Chief of the Counter-Proliferation Center at FBI Headquarters. Retired 2016.

(MUCH MORE AT THEMARKETSWORK)

“Is This It?” Vanity Fair Asks of “Collusion”

Published by Papa Giorgio
  • “…Trump’s White House has pursued what is arguably the harshest set of policies toward Russia since the fall of Communism…” | Vanity Fair

Larry Elder reads from a Vanity Fair article that is entitled, “Is This It? A Trump-Hater’s Guide To Mueller Skepticism.” The “Sage” also plays a recent interview on CNN of Jerry Nadler by Jake Tapper.

Here is one of the powerful paragraphs from the article:

  • Certainly, Trump’s ethical standards are low, but if sleaziness were a crime then many more people from our ruling class would be in jail. It is sleazy, but not criminal, to try to find out in advance what WikiLeaks has on Hillary Clinton. It is sleazy, but not criminal, to take a meeting in Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer promising a dossier of dirt on Clinton. (Just as, it should be mentioned, it is sleazy, but not criminal, to pay a guy to go to Russia to put together a dossier of dirt on Trump. This is one reason why the Clinton campaign lied about its connection to the Steele dossier, albeit without the disadvantage of being under oath.) It is sleazy, but not criminal, to pursue a business deal while you’re running for president. Mueller has nailed people for trying to prevaricate about their sleaze, so we already have a couple of guilty pleas over perjury, with more believed to be on the way. But the purpose of the investigation was to address suspicions of underlying conspiracy—that is, a plan by Trump staffers to get Russian help on a criminal effort. Despite countless man-hours of digging, this conspiracy theory, the one that’s been paying the bills at Maddow for a couple of years now, has come no closer to being borne out.

Professor Eastman On Mueller Indictments

Published by Papa Giorgio

Larry elder and Chapman University’s Henry Salvatori Professor of Law and Community Service and Director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, John Eastman, discuss the latest regarding Mueller’s “witch hunt.” A passing comment comparing Whitewater is made that is informative. Good stuff, but will soon be dated.

Trey Gowdy On Kavanaugh, FISA Documents And Jeff Sessions

Published by Papa Giorgio

Sep. 20, 2018 – 8:37 – Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee says he hopes both Judge Kavanaugh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford face ‘good, fair but firm’ questions from Senate Judicial Committee.

HAT-TIP to INDEPENDENT SENTINEL (See SARA CARTER’S newest)