Summery in March (SCO v 31)

[SBJJ]

Are you color blind?

What would you call a prosecutor not having evidence to even indict

 

[andnowweknow]

What would you call a prosecutor not having evidence to even indict

I certainly wouldn't call them a prosecutor without evidence.

 

[MikeMcMann]

House Intelligence Committee Republicans Ask Adam Schiff to Step Down as Chairman

by Kristina Wong

House Intelligence Committee Republicans unveiled during a hearing on Thursday a letter signed by all Republicans on the committee asking Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to step down as chairman.
Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) announced the letter during the hearing, which is the first since Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation ended, finding that President Trump’s campaign did not collude with Russia.

Conaway, who led the committee’s Russia probe last year, read from the letter to Schiff:

Your willingness to continue to promote a demonstrably false narrative is alarming. The findings of the Special Counsel conclusively refute your past and present assertions, and have exposed you as having abused your position to knowingly promote false information.

Having damaged the integrity of this committee, and having undermined the faith in the United States government and its institutions, your actions both past and present are incompatible with your duty as chairman of this committee, which alone in the House of Representatives has the obligation and authority to provide effective oversight of the U.S. intelligence community.

As such, we have no faith in your ability to discharge your duties in a manner consistent with your Constitutional responsibility and urge your immediate resignation as Chairman of this Committee.
​

The letter is especially stunning coming from all GOP members of the committee, including moderate Republicans such as Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY).

Their voices join House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) in calling for Schiff’s resignation as chairman. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway has called on Schiff to resign from Congress altogether.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/...ans-ask-adam-schiff-to-step-down-as-chairman/

as I said prior

---------

i think the most laughable thing currently is this idea being put forth by Trumpsters that somehow he was an aggrieved victim and there should have been no investigation to begin with.


So many people on this planet seem to have no clue what Investigations are for. An Investigation is not wrong if a person is not found guilty at the end.

In no universe where a Foreign hostile gov't is trying to interfere in an election should an investigation not be launched. In no universe where a Campaign is meeting with that hostile gov't rep's and seeking dirt, and worse lying about the contacts at every turn should that not be investigated. If that was Obama's campaign meeting with Iranians or Chinese and seeking dirt on McCain that should be investigated.

the biggest takeaway from this, is that if tomorrow another Potus and Campaign finds themselves in the exact same spot as Trump and his Campaign did, they should EXPECT an investigation and it would be absolutely justified. the biggest danger is that future Investigators fear doing their job due to Republicans, once again undermining the Institutions that are meant to protect the USA by trying to portray such investigations as treasonous.

it is just as important to establish an investigation to clear suspicions as it is to establish guilt. the former being done does not mean the investigation should never have happened.

 

[SBJJ]

There is no doubt the Steele Dossier has proved a credible road map doc of raw intelligence that, as all raw does, requires follow up and substantiation. In almost all key areas followed and investigated its assertions have proved founded in a large degree of fact and accurate. In a rare few (Cohen, Prague, etc) it has not.

Any assertion that such clear written claims such as in the Dossier cannot be disproves or shown to have no substantiation is just disingenuous spin.


------------------



As we noted, our interest is in assessing the Steele dossier as a raw intelligence document, not a finished piece of analysis.

. And even where the details are not exact, the general thrust of Steele’s reporting seems credible in light of what we now know about extensive contacts between numerous individuals associated with the Trump campaign and Russian government officials.

However, there is also a good deal in the dossier that has not been corroborated in the official record and perhaps never will be—whether because it’s untrue, unimportant or too sensitive. As a raw intelligence document, the Steele dossier, we believe, holds up well so far.

THE RUSSIA CONNECTION
The Steele Dossier: A Retrospective

Lol at the fucking source

 

[SBJJ]

I certainly wouldn't call them a prosecutor without evidence.

Just not enough evidence

 

[BarryDillon]

I wonder if he'll step down? Seems compelling.

No it isn't. It's fucking ridiculous.

 

[MikeMcMann]

as I said prior

---------

i think the most laughable thing currently is this idea being put forth by Trumpsters that somehow he was an aggrieved victim and there should have been no investigation to begin with.


So many people on this planet seem to have no clue what Investigations are for. An Investigation is not wrong if a person is not found guilty at the end.

In no universe where a Foreign hostile gov't is trying to interfere in an election should an investigation not be launched. In no universe where a Campaign is meeting with that hostile gov't rep's and seeking dirt, and worse lying about the contacts at every turn should that not be investigated. If that was Obama's campaign meeting with Iranians or Chinese and seeking dirt on McCain that should be investigated.

the biggest takeaway from this, is that if tomorrow another Potus and Campaign finds themselves in the exact same spot as Trump and his Campaign did, they should EXPECT an investigation and it would be absolutely justified. the biggest danger is that future Investigators fear doing their job due to Republicans, once again undermining the Institutions that are meant to protect the USA by trying to portray such investigations as treasonous.

it is just as important to establish an investigation to clear suspicions as it is to establish guilt. the former being done does not mean the investigation should never have happened.

As also said prior and not in dispute


-------


- Russia meddling in the election on behalf of the Trump Campaign
- Trump and Trump Campaign Officials taking meetings with Russians and soliciting help
- Trump and Trump Campaign Officials lying incessantly about said meetings

Not one thing I say above is in dispute even after the Barr Summary.

those actions alone 100% justify an investigation. No one can dispute that.

 

[BarryDillon]

"The investigation totally exonerates Trump, but also it was an illegal witch hunt and now we need to go after our political enemies who were involved in trying to hold us accountable."

- Trump's Acolytes

 

[andnowweknow]

Just not enough evidence

maybe, maybe not. But clearly, there will be both evidence for conspiracy/coordination and obviously much more so for obstruction. I'm not sure why people are so sure about any of this...it's not like we have to guess, it'll come out.

 

[HereticBD]

House Intelligence Committee Republicans Ask Adam Schiff to Step Down as Chairman

by Kristina Wong

House Intelligence Committee Republicans unveiled during a hearing on Thursday a letter signed by all Republicans on the committee asking Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to step down as chairman.
Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) announced the letter during the hearing, which is the first since Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation ended, finding that President Trump’s campaign did not collude with Russia.

Conaway, who led the committee’s Russia probe last year, read from the letter to Schiff:

Your willingness to continue to promote a demonstrably false narrative is alarming. The findings of the Special Counsel conclusively refute your past and present assertions, and have exposed you as having abused your position to knowingly promote false information.

Having damaged the integrity of this committee, and having undermined the faith in the United States government and its institutions, your actions both past and present are incompatible with your duty as chairman of this committee, which alone in the House of Representatives has the obligation and authority to provide effective oversight of the U.S. intelligence community.

As such, we have no faith in your ability to discharge your duties in a manner consistent with your Constitutional responsibility and urge your immediate resignation as Chairman of this Committee.
​

The letter is especially stunning coming from all GOP members of the committee, including moderate Republicans such as Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY).

Their voices join House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) in calling for Schiff’s resignation as chairman. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway has called on Schiff to resign from Congress altogether.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/...ans-ask-adam-schiff-to-step-down-as-chairman/

I doubt he'll step down, but he should. That guy was like a child telling tall tales whenever he was on TV.

"So, at this point Mr. Schiff, would you say the case against the President is purely speculative and circumstantial?"

"No, I wouldn't say that. We have lots more evidence that conclusively points to a conspiracy with the Russians."

"Like what?"

"Oh'...wellllll, we can't really divulge any of that information, but I assure you that there is much more evidence that will come out in the coming weeks and months"

He did that routine countless times. Now that the report is out, he's all "We need to see the full report, and what evidence Mueller really had!"

It's like, dude, you said you had seen evidence. So much more evidence. Now that it's done, you don't know anything? The guy is such a creepy, lying sack of shit. Him and the rest of the CT Dems don't know jack shit, and were merely hoping this investigation would carry over to the election, so they could use the cloud of Russian bullshit against Trump. Now they're gonna desperately try to drag it out in the face of the report. The Dems are absolutely pathetic, and they're running out of bullshit.

 

[andnowweknow]

I doubt he'll step down, but he should. That guy was like a child telling tall tales whenever he was on TV.

"So, at this point Mr. Schiff, would you say the case against the President is purely speculative and circumstantial?"

"No, I wouldn't say that. We have lots more evidence that conclusively points to a conspiracy with the Russians."

"Like what?"

"Oh'...wellllll, we can't really divulge any of that information, but I assure you that there is much more evidence that will come out in the coming weeks and months"

He did that routine countless times. Now that the report is out, he's all "We need to see the full report, and what evidence Mueller really had!"

It's like, dude, you said you had seen evidence. So much more evidence. Now that it's done, you don't know anything? The guy is such a creepy, lying sack of shit. Him and the rest of the CT Dems don't know jack shit, and were merely hoping this investigation would carry over to the election, so they could use the cloud of Russian bullshit against Trump. Now they're gonna desperately try to drag it out in the face of the report. The Dems are absolutely pathetic, and they're running out of bullshit.

lol

 

[Farmer Br0wn]

I laughed, mostly because the incel that made this probably thinks Barr's letter was the Mueller report.

I laugh because it's amusing to watch you so desperately cling to this delusion.

President Trump wins again, get over it.

 

[Farmer Br0wn]

"The investigation totally exonerates Trump, but also it was an illegal witch hunt and now we need to go after our political enemies who were involved in trying to hold us accountable."

- Trump's Acolytes

That's President Trump to you.

 

[HereticBD]

lol

The guy who is wrong about literally everything is still chiming in for some reason, as if his opinion means something to anyone.

 

[andnowweknow]

I laugh because it's amusing to watch you so desperately cling to this delusion.

President Trump wins again, get over it.

I disagree.

 

[SBJJ]

maybe, maybe not. But clearly, there will be both evidence for conspiracy/coordination and obviously much more so for obstruction. I'm not sure why people are so sure about any of this...it's not like we have to guess, it'll come out.

Usually if a prosecutor actually exonerates someone it means little to no evidence.

As for punting the obstruction to the Justice dept. Idk, just a pussy move imo

 

[Farmer Br0wn]

I disagree.

Then you disagree with reality.

Enjoy living in your delusion, you seem happiest there.

 

[BarryDillon]

(CNN)Monica Lewinsky said Wednesday she wishes President Bill Clinton's attorney general treated the independent counsel's investigation into the Democrat's administration the same way Attorney General William Barr treated special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Lewinsky took to Twitter to react to Barr's four-page letter that summarized Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Her response came in reply to a tweet from University of Southern California law professor Orin Kerr, who compared Barr's summary of the Mueller report to Ken Starr's report into Clinton's conduct.
"Imagine if the Starr Report had been provided only to President Clinton's Attorney General, Janet Reno, who then read it privately and published a 4-page letter based on her private reading stating her conclusion that President Clinton committed no crimes," Kerr wrote on Twitter.


https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/27/poli...r-letter-mueller-report-comparison/index.html

 

[Farmer Br0wn]

(CNN)Monica Lewinsky said Wednesday she wishes President Bill Clinton's attorney general treated the independent counsel's investigation into the Democrat's administration the same way Attorney General William Barr treated special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Lewinsky took to Twitter to react to Barr's four-page letter that summarized Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Her response came in reply to a tweet from University of Southern California law professor Orin Kerr, who compared Barr's summary of the Mueller report to Ken Starr's report into Clinton's conduct.
"Imagine if the Starr Report had been provided only to President Clinton's Attorney General, Janet Reno, who then read it privately and published a 4-page letter based on her private reading stating her conclusion that President Clinton committed no crimes," Kerr wrote on Twitter.


https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/27/poli...r-letter-mueller-report-comparison/index.html

The difference being, Bill Clinton was actually guilty of a felony, he committed it on film, under oath, for all the world to see:



Meanwhile, President Trump is basking in the sunlight of exoneration.

 

[waiguoren]

Mueller swiftly closes up shop

It’s a move that could create tensions between DOJ and Democrats as lawmakers seek more information.

By DARREN SAMUELSOHN



The docket sheet hanging outside a federal courtroom on Wednesday morning still listed Robert Mueller’s prosecutors. But they were nowhere to be found at the hearing.

Welcome to the post-Mueller world.

In a matter of days the special counsel has downshifted from investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election to the managerial tasks involved in packing up papers, disbanding staff and handing off cases. Almost everything left to argue in court — like Wednesday’s hearing involving a mysterious foreign company fighting a Mueller subpoena — has been given to career prosecutors in permanent offices.

It’s all happened in a quick burst in the days since Attorney General William Barr on Friday declared an end to Mueller’s work. He then issued a four-page summary declaring no conspiracy had been found between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, but that Mueller hadn’t come to a conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice.

The memo left lawmakers clamoring for more information about exactly what Mueller did — and didn’t — find during his two-year-long probe. But Mueller and his team won’t be sticking around to answer those questions. While Mueller was in his D.C. office on Wednesday, he’ll be a private citizen again in a matter of days, as will several of his top prosecutors who, like the special counsel, left their well-paying jobs at white shoe law firms nearly two years ago to come work on the Russia investigation.

In their stead, the deputy attorney general’s office “in consultation” with Barr’s team — Mueller’s bosses during his tenure — will handle any remaining responsibilities, including briefing Justice Department colleagues and members of Congress, according to Peter Carr, a special counsel spokesman.

It’s a rapid shift that could create tensions between the department and lawmakers as they seek more information. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declared on Sunday that Barr, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, was “not in a position to make objective determinations about the report.” And the House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), emerged frustrated from a Wednesday phone meeting with Barr, proclaiming that he was “very disturbed” that the attorney general would not commit to turning over Mueller’s entire report to Congress. Nadler added that Barr intended to testify before his committee “reasonably soon” and that the panel might want Mueller to appear as the main witness in a public hearing after that.

The House Intelligence Committee chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), even suggested that his committee would try to go around Barr on some issues. His staff had already “initiated discussions with the intelligence community,” Schiff noted, to try to learn about elements not mentioned in Barr’s memo, like the FBI’s counterintelligence probe into whether Trump or anyone on his team was compromised by Russia.

Spoiler: The Rest

Still, it’s too soon to say whether Mueller’s hand-off of all duties — including congressional briefings — should be cause for concern, said Randall Samborn, a former senior Justice Department aide and spokesman for the George W. Bush-era special counsel investigation into who leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame.

“I think we have to wait to see if DOJ officials going forward are able to preserve its long tradition of placing the apolitical integrity of law enforcement above politics,” Samborn said.

“Ultimately,” he added, “there is always concern about the erosion of respect for and confidence in the rule of law, but that seems imperiled on many fronts, including … whether senior DOJ officials are able to adequately take the reins from a departed special counsel.”

Mueller’s files will be kept in accordance with the Justice Department’s record retention rules, Carr said, though he declined to elaborate further about what those requirements entail.

The shuttering of Mueller’s team comes as the key lawmakers get their first briefings from Barr about the special counsel’s efforts. Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters after a Tuesday night meeting with Barr that the attorney general planned to release “everything that doesn’t compromise national security or violate the law.” Nadler had a different interpretation after his chat with the attorney general.

“He wouldn’t commit to” giving Congress Mueller’s entire report, Nadler told reporters in the Capitol.

Meanwhile, some remaining Mueller-related activity will continue unabated.

Although the special counsel’s prosecutors weren’t in the courtroom on Wednesday — where a judge heard arguments over a media-led push to unseal the name of the foreign state-owned firm fighting Mueller — one of the Justice Department prosecutors taking over the case confirmed that the grand jury Mueller used to investigate the 2016 election was “continuing robustly.” The revelation indicated that significant developments could still occur in the Mueller-affiliated cases not yet fully settled, legal experts said.

And Rudy Giuliani isn’t severing himself from representing Trump just yet. The former New York mayor, who has been working for Trump on a pro bono basis since last April, told POLITICO he planned to be the president’s personal lawyer “for a while.”

But he’ll be dealing with a whole new slate of lawyers for any lingering Mueller-related work.

On Monday, a day after Barr released his summary report of the special counsel’s work, seven special counsel prosecutors handed off their case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his deputy Rick Gates and their longtime associate in the Ukraine, Konstantin Kilimnik.

At least four assistant U.S. attorneys from the D.C. office will deal with any residual issues involving the case, which has resulted in Manafort serving a 7.5-year prison sentence for a series of financial fraud, obstruction and conspiracy charges. Gates is cooperating with authorities in exchange for a recommendation of a more lenient penalty, while Kilimnik has been charged with witness tampering but remains out of reach of U.S. prosecution while living in Moscow.

Federal prosecutors in D.C. are also expected to take over Mueller’s cases against both Roger Stone and Concord Management and Consulting, the Russian-based company led by a close associate of President Vladimir Putin that has hired American lawyers to fight back on charges it helped orchestrate the massive online campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

The change in command is fresh enough that the special counsel’s lawyers remain listed on the docket in both cases.

“That does seem very swift,” said John Q. Barrett, a former associate counsel who worked under independent counsel Lawrence Walsh during the Reagan-era investigation into secret U.S. arms sales to Iran.

Still, he noted that the workload involved in closing up Mueller’s shop shouldn’t be all that challenging when considering that the special counsel has always been an internal office inside the Justice Department. “So it’s more like the question of how fast an assistant U.S. attorney team closes an investigation and moves on to new work or new [non-prosecutorial] jobs,” Barrett said.

Mueller’s lawyers aren’t totally done elsewhere, either. Michael Dreeben, the deputy solicitor general and one of the most experienced lawyers on the special counsel’s team, filed a motion Wednesday opposing The Washington Post’s request for a two-week extension to address a lawsuit seeking the release of filings and transcripts in the Manafort case.

But in other venues, former Mueller members are starting to surface. David Archey, who through early March served as the lead senior FBI agent on detail to the special counsel, helped roll out the announcement Wednesday that James Fields, the neo-Nazi sympathizer who struck and killed a woman during a white nationalist rally in Virginia in 2017, had pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crimes.

Back in the D.C. courthouse on Wednesday, Theodore Boutrous, the lead attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the open-government group fighting to unseal the name of the mystery company that for months has defied a Mueller subpoena, mused about what the prompt shuttering of the special counsel’s office might mean for those hoping to learn more about the intensely scrutinized probe.

“It makes our argument stronger for maximum disclosure,” he said.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/28/robert-mueller-justice-department-1241100