Robert Mueller, Former F.B.I. Director, Is Named Special Counsel for Russia Investigation

I'm totally fine with Barr doing an investigation. I don't agree with it, but I'm fine with it. If he can find any malfeasance we don't already know about, I'll be surprised but it'd be good to know the truth. I don't expect he'll talk about an ongoing investigation, I don't expect he'll have anything indictable, and I don't expect MSM will be wringing its hands in the meantime. So, this will probably be the last time I'll talk about it anyway.

 

So Russia attempted to hack 50 states not 21...

 

Putin says Russian security groups did not interfere with the US election and Trump publicly believes him.

Who do you believe?

 

Stumbled onto this robust collection of information from the Russian Investigation compiled from court documents:

https://russia-investigation-summary.com/

"When Veselnitskaya met with Trump, Jr. , Kushner, Manafort, and others at Trump Tower in June of 2016, she worked in “secret cooperation” with Russian government officials while posing as a private lawyer without government connections. At the same time, she was working to falsely smear Magnitsky (the guy who uncovered corruption in Russia, and was consequently imprisoned in Russia and killed.)"

"Manafort lies fall under 5 separate areas: (1) number of contacts with Kilimnik [other docs established K. has ties to the Russian intelligence unit that hacked Democrats’ emails.] (2) He changed his story to say that K wasn’t involved in the witness tampering, (3) he lied about a $125K payment, (4) he changed his story in another criminal investigation going on elsewhere, and (5) he lied about his contacts with the Trump administration."

"Trump hired Manafort to manage his campaign AFTER Manafort had, for years, been working as an agent for the pro-Putin Party of Regions. While serving as campaign manager, Manafort was busy laundering millions in dirty Ukranian-Russian money. In 2018 he was trying to get witnesses to lie. Mostly it matters because it shows Manafort in a close partnership with Konstantin Kilimnik all the way through 2018, and because Manafort knows a lot about the Russia-Trump connection. He was at the June 2016 meeting, for example."

"Lots of outreach to the Russians during the campaign, including looking for ways to get hundreds of millions of dollars from the Russians WHILE the Russians were actively undermining the elections."

Re: Maria Butina: "She was charged under 951, which a person is acting as an agent of a foreign government (other than as a diplomatic or consular officer or attache. This is close to actual espionage."

"In mid-June 2016, conspirators created Gucifer 2.0 “lone Romanian hacker” to undermine claims of Russian responsibility for the hacks.

“A person who was in regular contact with senior members” of the Trump campaign began communicating with Gucifer 2.0. Roger Stone has admitted this person is probably him.

Guccifer received and responded to a request for documents from a candidate for US Congressman.

The same day Trump said, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Russian government hackers launched an attack against email accounts of Clinton staffers.

The hacking was ongoing during the time individuals in the Trump campaign were in touch with “charged and uncharged Russian conspirators.”"

"Demonstrates a large scale criminal operation carried out by high ranking members of Trump’s campaign and transition. Demonstrates strong ties from within the campaign to pro-Putin agents in Europe."

" The Trump campaign knew that the Kremlin had emails before the hacking was public knowledge—and the information came from the campaign’s Russian ties. Trump campaign knew that Papadopoulos had extensive contacts with Russia."

 

https://thefederalist.com/2019/04/1...ncies-implicated-in-anti-trump-spy-operation/

 

Only now that the tables have turned that it’s a “conspiracy”. Oh what a tangled web we weave.

 

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board makes a similar point this morning:

‘Spying Did Occur’
Barr wants to find out why the FBI eavesdropped on the Trump campaign in 2016.
By
The Editorial Board
April 10, 2019 6:58 p.m. ET

William Barr knew he wasn’t accepting easy duty as Donald Trump’s Attorney General, and it’s no surprise that the Democratic-media complex attacked him in unison on Wednesday. His sin was disclosing that he wants to find out how the FBI came to eavesdrop on the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. Let’s hope he doesn’t flinch.

“I think spying did occur,” Mr. Barr told a Senate committee Wednesday, adding that this is “a big deal.” The government has “a lot of rules” in place to guard against abusive “political surveillance,” he said, adding that he has an obligation to examine what happened since “one of the principal roles of the attorney general” is to “make sure that government power is not abused.” Hear, hear.

Mr. Barr said he also wants to know why the Trump campaign wasn’t notified of the FBI’s concerns, as would “normally” happen. He praised the “outstanding” FBI rank and file, saying that “to the extent there were any issues” it was “probably a failure among a group of leaders there at the upper echelon.” His review will also include the actions of the “intelligence agencies more broadly.” See former CIA Director John Brennan.

Mr. Barr has access to documents that the Justice Department has kept from Congress. Ranking House Intelligence Republican Devin Nunes is also sending Mr. Barr eight criminal referrals from his own investigation into l’affaire Russe, including evidence of lying to Congress and manipulating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. By late spring Mr. Barr may also receive DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s review of FBI actions in 2016 and 2017.

All of this should be encouraging to Americans who want credibility restored to an FBI that lost its ethical bearings under James Comey.

Appeared in the April 11, 2019, print edition.​

https://www.wsj.com/articles/spying-did-occur-11554937112

 

I wonder if (or when) Manchin regrets that vote...

 

This is some dumb coded bullshit.

Yeah spying occurred - by the Russian GRU, twhich ran an operation in the US, with the cooperation of the Trump Campaign.

At the end of the day, the fact of the matter is that the Trump campaign was openly collaborating with Russian intelligence against Hillary Clinton ("If you're listening Russia" "If it's what you say I Love it!") - this isn't a wild claim, or some feverish Mueller sealed indictment that exists in Rachel Maddow's head - this is all indisputable public record.

The best you can argue is such collusion isn't a crime, but it's defintely a matter worthy of FBI investigation under any rational definition of a functioning democracy. If it wasn't, I'm sure the Mueller Report itself indicates there's no there there. But it obviously doesn't, which is why William Barr is trying to bury it.

But if you want to turn teh US into an authoritarian banana republic of idiots, which is what is the current purview of the WSJ, then yes, call it "spying" in order to galvanize your supporters and tilt the narrative.

 

I think that the best that you can argue is that Trump and his campaign lacked the competence to fully engage in the help with the Russians.

Plausible Incompetence. This will be be Trump's Legacy.

 

Byron York in the Washington Examiner: "Barr is right, spying on Trump campaign did occur."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...r-is-right-spying-on-trump-campaign-did-occur

 

You may want to lay off Maddow for a while Sam.

 

Lol.... yea we know there were FISA warrants used to gather information on the Trump campaign....

Maybe don’t be act shady and hire campaign managers with ties to Eastern European strongman? Maybe report to the authories that foreign influences are happening .... like McCain did.

Oh. And remember it was McCain, a GOPer, who turned the Steele Dossier over to the FBI...

 

So did... the Trump Tower meeting happen? Did Trump change his story about what took place?

Remind me again...

 

When all else fails... meme and cartoon...

 

Sure, spying occurred in the same way that police officers spied on Bob Kraft at a Massage Parlor in a Florida strip mall

 

It would have helped if the Trump campaign did not have 100+ contacts with the Russians during the 2016 election campaign.

 

It’s amusing to watch law and order folks react to how white collar criminals are being handled....

When it’s some thug... the law and order crowd resembles a mob...