1margd
Bill Barr, AG, Dept of Justice--because Roy Cohn is not available:
Asha Rangappa (former FBI Special Agent) @AshaRangappa_ | 12:22 AM · Jun 20, 2020
Bully Barr, how do you obstruct justice? Let us count the ways:
1. LIED about the contents of the Mueller Report, claiming that it found “no evidence” of colllusion or obstruction of justice
2. Attempted the redact material in Mueller Report which reveals that Trump DID collude
3. Tried to interfere in sentencing of Roger Stone, who we now know was communicating with Trump about said collusion
4. Is trying to get the case against Flynn dropped, against the interests of justice as a former federal judge serving as amicus
5. Is dropping the case against RUSSIA, which attacked the U.S., by classifying info necessary to prosecute Russian defendants
6. Has testified that he doesn’t believe that foreign assistance to a campaign is even a crime if it is not directly by a “foreign intelligence service”
7. Had his OLC justify blocking a whistleblower complaint required by law to reach Congress from ever reaching Congress (an opinion which was soundly rebuked in a letter from collective Inspectors General)
8. Oversaw his Criminal Division deciding — before even investigating — that secretly extorting a foreign country to investigate a political opponent would not constitute a violation of campaign finance laws
9. Has appointed, without any legal basis that I am aware of, political appointees to (repeatedly) “investigate the investigators” of Russian interference even after the DOJ IG has investigated it
*taking a break to refill wine glass*
10. Where was I? Oh yes: Got “activated” by POTUS to tear gas peaceful protesters and clergy members in violation of the Constitution of the United States
AND THEN LIED ABOUT IT
11. Has YET to mention that right-wing extremists are the most dangerous domestic terror threat AS TESTIFIED TO BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE FBI
12. But meanwhile has put the Joint Terrorism Task Force on investigating Auntie Tifa who is his imaginary foe
13. Has been pimping hydroxychloroquone in his free time for no apparent reason even though by the way we know it kills people
(Not sure this is obstruction but it’s super cray cray so including it)
14. Now is trying to fire the U.S. Attorney for SDNY which, among other things, has evidence that:
a) Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator in criminal campaign finance violations in conjunction with the indictment against his former lawyer, Michael Cohen
b) was investigating to co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein who died under mysterious and as yet unexplained circumstances and who by the way used to work for his DAD who wrote a bizarre novel about space sex trafficking (someone else please take over this piece because I can’t)
c) was reportedly investigating Fruity G & Co. playing Scooby Doo in Ukraine digging up sketchy dirt on his political opponents (see #2 and 3, reprise)
d) is obviously investigating other things which will continue “without interference” as per SDNY U. S. Attorney who
i) never was told he was “resigning” and
ii) isn’t resigning
APPENDIX A: (To tweets #11 and 12) Took it upon himself to bring in unidentified, armed federal agents to DC to intimidate the population and usurp the authority of the DC mayor*
*reserve the right to add appendices and additional evidence that I forgot or which may arise
15. I am SO EFFING DONE with this dude and if Ted Cruz wants I will wrestle Barr and settle this once and for all if Congress isn’t willing to impeach him because this %#*$! has Got. To. Stop.
END (but to be continued)
Asha Rangappa (former FBI Special Agent) @AshaRangappa_ | 12:22 AM · Jun 20, 2020
Bully Barr, how do you obstruct justice? Let us count the ways:
1. LIED about the contents of the Mueller Report, claiming that it found “no evidence” of colllusion or obstruction of justice
2. Attempted the redact material in Mueller Report which reveals that Trump DID collude
3. Tried to interfere in sentencing of Roger Stone, who we now know was communicating with Trump about said collusion
4. Is trying to get the case against Flynn dropped, against the interests of justice as a former federal judge serving as amicus
5. Is dropping the case against RUSSIA, which attacked the U.S., by classifying info necessary to prosecute Russian defendants
6. Has testified that he doesn’t believe that foreign assistance to a campaign is even a crime if it is not directly by a “foreign intelligence service”
7. Had his OLC justify blocking a whistleblower complaint required by law to reach Congress from ever reaching Congress (an opinion which was soundly rebuked in a letter from collective Inspectors General)
8. Oversaw his Criminal Division deciding — before even investigating — that secretly extorting a foreign country to investigate a political opponent would not constitute a violation of campaign finance laws
9. Has appointed, without any legal basis that I am aware of, political appointees to (repeatedly) “investigate the investigators” of Russian interference even after the DOJ IG has investigated it
*taking a break to refill wine glass*
10. Where was I? Oh yes: Got “activated” by POTUS to tear gas peaceful protesters and clergy members in violation of the Constitution of the United States
AND THEN LIED ABOUT IT
11. Has YET to mention that right-wing extremists are the most dangerous domestic terror threat AS TESTIFIED TO BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE FBI
12. But meanwhile has put the Joint Terrorism Task Force on investigating Auntie Tifa who is his imaginary foe
13. Has been pimping hydroxychloroquone in his free time for no apparent reason even though by the way we know it kills people
(Not sure this is obstruction but it’s super cray cray so including it)
14. Now is trying to fire the U.S. Attorney for SDNY which, among other things, has evidence that:
a) Trump is an unindicted co-conspirator in criminal campaign finance violations in conjunction with the indictment against his former lawyer, Michael Cohen
b) was investigating to co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein who died under mysterious and as yet unexplained circumstances and who by the way used to work for his DAD who wrote a bizarre novel about space sex trafficking (someone else please take over this piece because I can’t)
c) was reportedly investigating Fruity G & Co. playing Scooby Doo in Ukraine digging up sketchy dirt on his political opponents (see #2 and 3, reprise)
d) is obviously investigating other things which will continue “without interference” as per SDNY U. S. Attorney who
i) never was told he was “resigning” and
ii) isn’t resigning
APPENDIX A: (To tweets #11 and 12) Took it upon himself to bring in unidentified, armed federal agents to DC to intimidate the population and usurp the authority of the DC mayor*
*reserve the right to add appendices and additional evidence that I forgot or which may arise
15. I am SO EFFING DONE with this dude and if Ted Cruz wants I will wrestle Barr and settle this once and for all if Congress isn’t willing to impeach him because this %#*$! has Got. To. Stop.
END (but to be continued)
2margd
Five Questions about Geoffrey Berman’s Removal
Benjamin Wittes | Sunday, June 21, 2020
The president’s removal of Geoffrey S. Berman as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York this week requires congressional investigation. Congress should ask questions quickly. It should ask them aggressively.
Some of these questions, at least, are ones a congressional committee might address by having Berman—if he is willing—promptly up to Capitol Hill to discuss his dismissal, either privately or in a public hearing. Some are questions on which it will have to fight the attorney general and the president for answers.
Here are five key questions to which it should demand answers:
First, why was Berman removed?...
This leads to the most troubling possibility and the second key question: Why was Berman removed now? ...
A third key—and related—question: Did Berman feel political pressure with respect to any investigation? ...
A fourth important question: who precisely was responsible for Berman’s dismissal? ...
The final key question is the extent to which and the reason that Barr has been less than truthful about the events in question...
As Bharara put it in a New York Times op-ed,* “In my experience, government officials don’t lie about the intentions of others when they are acting in good faith.”
The president himself has also contradicted Barr on an important matter—though Trump himself is so prone to lying and making up facts that this dispute raises fewer questions about Barr’s candor...
Bharara writes in his op-ed that, “Within the Department of Justice, hardworking public servants—in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere—are angry, dismayed and demoralized. I’ve spoken to many of them this weekend. They are disheartened by the bad faith of Bill Barr and his determined efforts to undermine prosecutorial independence.”
Congress owes these public servants—and the public at large—answers about what happened in this bizarre episode. Having a frank conversation with Berman would be a good place to start.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/five-questions-about-geoffrey-bermans-removal
_________________________________________________
Daniel Goldman @danielsgoldman | 6:36 AM · Jun 22, 2020:
Let’s unpack this.
1) why should we believe Barr (or his lackeys) when we know that Barr lied to the public that Berman “stepped down”?
2) Berman was Trump’s pick for the job. Yet Berman has not been compliant with the Trump/Barr political playbook.
3) US Attorneys chosen by the President are NEVER fired 5 months before a presidential election. It’s laughable to assert that it was simply to make room for someone who was never a prosecutor or even a litigator.
4) Since impeachment, Trump has been on a disloyalty purge.
5) Trump/Barr originally wanted to place an interim US Attorney from outside SDNY, which also never happens when US Attorneys do step down. That indicates they did not want someone within the SDNY to be leading the office — who would likely continue the ongoing investigations.
6) Berman made a point to add in his statement Friday night that the investigations would continue without fear or favor, as the oath requires. That addition was unnecessary to respond to Barr’s lie about Berman stepping down. It was clearly a message.
So what does it all add up to? Something unusual and fishy for sure. But the circumstantial evidence supports the conclusion that Trump/Barr were acting in bad faith.
Now we need hearings to learn more. If they were acting in good faith, it should be easy to show.
---------------------------------------------
Matthew Miller @matthewamiller | 6:42 AM · Jun 22, 2020:
Plus if the point was to put Clayton in, as Barr said, why couldn’t Berman stay in the job until he was confirmed? No reason he would’ve needed to leave early to be replaced by an acting.
___________________________________
ETA: Whoa, tell us how you really feel!
The Wrong Justice Department Official Lost His Job This Weekend
AG Bill Barr, undermined the rule of law by forcing out Geoffrey Berman, the United States attorney in Manhattan.
Preet Bharara | June 21, 2020
(Mr. Bharara is a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/opinion/trump-bill-barr-geoffrey-berman.html
Benjamin Wittes | Sunday, June 21, 2020
The president’s removal of Geoffrey S. Berman as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York this week requires congressional investigation. Congress should ask questions quickly. It should ask them aggressively.
Some of these questions, at least, are ones a congressional committee might address by having Berman—if he is willing—promptly up to Capitol Hill to discuss his dismissal, either privately or in a public hearing. Some are questions on which it will have to fight the attorney general and the president for answers.
Here are five key questions to which it should demand answers:
First, why was Berman removed?...
This leads to the most troubling possibility and the second key question: Why was Berman removed now? ...
A third key—and related—question: Did Berman feel political pressure with respect to any investigation? ...
A fourth important question: who precisely was responsible for Berman’s dismissal? ...
The final key question is the extent to which and the reason that Barr has been less than truthful about the events in question...
As Bharara put it in a New York Times op-ed,* “In my experience, government officials don’t lie about the intentions of others when they are acting in good faith.”
The president himself has also contradicted Barr on an important matter—though Trump himself is so prone to lying and making up facts that this dispute raises fewer questions about Barr’s candor...
Bharara writes in his op-ed that, “Within the Department of Justice, hardworking public servants—in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere—are angry, dismayed and demoralized. I’ve spoken to many of them this weekend. They are disheartened by the bad faith of Bill Barr and his determined efforts to undermine prosecutorial independence.”
Congress owes these public servants—and the public at large—answers about what happened in this bizarre episode. Having a frank conversation with Berman would be a good place to start.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/five-questions-about-geoffrey-bermans-removal
_________________________________________________
Daniel Goldman @danielsgoldman | 6:36 AM · Jun 22, 2020:
Let’s unpack this.
1) why should we believe Barr (or his lackeys) when we know that Barr lied to the public that Berman “stepped down”?
2) Berman was Trump’s pick for the job. Yet Berman has not been compliant with the Trump/Barr political playbook.
3) US Attorneys chosen by the President are NEVER fired 5 months before a presidential election. It’s laughable to assert that it was simply to make room for someone who was never a prosecutor or even a litigator.
4) Since impeachment, Trump has been on a disloyalty purge.
5) Trump/Barr originally wanted to place an interim US Attorney from outside SDNY, which also never happens when US Attorneys do step down. That indicates they did not want someone within the SDNY to be leading the office — who would likely continue the ongoing investigations.
6) Berman made a point to add in his statement Friday night that the investigations would continue without fear or favor, as the oath requires. That addition was unnecessary to respond to Barr’s lie about Berman stepping down. It was clearly a message.
So what does it all add up to? Something unusual and fishy for sure. But the circumstantial evidence supports the conclusion that Trump/Barr were acting in bad faith.
Now we need hearings to learn more. If they were acting in good faith, it should be easy to show.
---------------------------------------------
Matthew Miller @matthewamiller | 6:42 AM · Jun 22, 2020:
Plus if the point was to put Clayton in, as Barr said, why couldn’t Berman stay in the job until he was confirmed? No reason he would’ve needed to leave early to be replaced by an acting.
___________________________________
ETA: Whoa, tell us how you really feel!
The Wrong Justice Department Official Lost His Job This Weekend
AG Bill Barr, undermined the rule of law by forcing out Geoffrey Berman, the United States attorney in Manhattan.
Preet Bharara | June 21, 2020
(Mr. Bharara is a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/opinion/trump-bill-barr-geoffrey-berman.html
4margd
Ousted US attorney Berman refused to sign Justice Department letter criticizing New York's Covid restrictions
Evan Perez and Chandelis Duster | June 22, 2020
Geoffrey Berman, the federal prosecutor ousted over the weekend by the Trump administration, recently refused to sign a letter from the Justice Department that criticized New York City's coronavirus restrictions that affect religious institutions...
..."Mayor de Blasio's recent public statements and enforcement of COVID-19 Orders have demonstrated a troubling preference for certain First Amendment rights over others," said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Eric Dreiband and US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Matthew Schneider.
They added, "The Justice Department is glad Mayor de Blasio will now permit greater religious exercise and will continue to monitor New York City's reopening to ensure that New York City extends the same respect to the freedom of religion, both in terms of indoor and outdoor gatherings, as it does to the freedoms of speech and assembly."
...Last month, Trump deemed houses of worship "essential" during the coronavirus pandemic and urged governors to reopen them for services.
According to the latest guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, religious institutions are advised to encourage congregants and staff to frequently wash their hands, use hand sanitizer and wear face coverings...
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/22/politics/geoffrey-berman-coronavirus-justice-depa...
Evan Perez and Chandelis Duster | June 22, 2020
Geoffrey Berman, the federal prosecutor ousted over the weekend by the Trump administration, recently refused to sign a letter from the Justice Department that criticized New York City's coronavirus restrictions that affect religious institutions...
..."Mayor de Blasio's recent public statements and enforcement of COVID-19 Orders have demonstrated a troubling preference for certain First Amendment rights over others," said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Eric Dreiband and US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Matthew Schneider.
They added, "The Justice Department is glad Mayor de Blasio will now permit greater religious exercise and will continue to monitor New York City's reopening to ensure that New York City extends the same respect to the freedom of religion, both in terms of indoor and outdoor gatherings, as it does to the freedoms of speech and assembly."
...Last month, Trump deemed houses of worship "essential" during the coronavirus pandemic and urged governors to reopen them for services.
According to the latest guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, religious institutions are advised to encourage congregants and staff to frequently wash their hands, use hand sanitizer and wear face coverings...
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/22/politics/geoffrey-berman-coronavirus-justice-depa...
5margd
The GW law faculty, by an overwhelming majority, has rightly censured, condemned, and essentially disowned its most dishonorable alumnus, Bill Barr. Good for GW!
- Laurence Tribe tribelaw | 12:16 PM · Jun 23, 2020
6-23 Press Release on BARR GW Law Faculty .docx (1 p)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X2CWngzTAVbyCRu0JNJojUO5_e87xDjT/view
9 p statement:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xAfyefN_wr-xQXhQ3rvUutW_o5OQTiJ7/view
- Laurence Tribe tribelaw | 12:16 PM · Jun 23, 2020
6-23 Press Release on BARR GW Law Faculty .docx (1 p)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X2CWngzTAVbyCRu0JNJojUO5_e87xDjT/view
9 p statement:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xAfyefN_wr-xQXhQ3rvUutW_o5OQTiJ7/view
6margd
Politics Influenced Justice Department In Roger Stone Case, DOJ Lawyer Tells Hill
Carrie Johnson | June 23, 2020
...Aaron Zelinsky, who has worked at Justice since 2014, is scheduled to testify at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday as one of two "whistleblowers" set to describe politicization at the Justice Department, said Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D–NY.
In his written statement, Zelinsky said he heard that Stone received different treatment "because of his relationship to the president."
Zelinsky said the person in charge of the U.S. Attorney's office at the time was "receiving heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice to cut Stone a break."...
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/23/882379916/politics-influenced-justice-department-...
(Broadcast live noon on Wednesday.)
Carrie Johnson | June 23, 2020
...Aaron Zelinsky, who has worked at Justice since 2014, is scheduled to testify at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday as one of two "whistleblowers" set to describe politicization at the Justice Department, said Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D–NY.
In his written statement, Zelinsky said he heard that Stone received different treatment "because of his relationship to the president."
Zelinsky said the person in charge of the U.S. Attorney's office at the time was "receiving heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice to cut Stone a break."...
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/23/882379916/politics-influenced-justice-department-...
(Broadcast live noon on Wednesday.)
7margd
John Bolton says he would 'consider' testifying against AG Barr
The Washington Times | June 23, 2020
“I’ll certainly consider it if and when it comes up and consult with my lawyers and try and do the right thing”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jun/23/john-bolton-says-he-would-consi...
The Washington Times | June 23, 2020
“I’ll certainly consider it if and when it comes up and consult with my lawyers and try and do the right thing”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jun/23/john-bolton-says-he-would-consi...
8margd
Barb McQuade (U Mich Law prof) @BarbMcQuade | 10:17 AM · Jun 23, 2020:
@PreetBharara, @AnneMilgram explain why it’s absurd for Barr to ask NJ USAtty to run SDNY when he already runs a busy & competing office. It’s like asking Ohio State football coach to coach Michigan at the same time. Barr just wants control
https://cafe.com/feed/custom-podcast?uid=PNIpQjVOCpirqfh
@PreetBharara, @AnneMilgram explain why it’s absurd for Barr to ask NJ USAtty to run SDNY when he already runs a busy & competing office. It’s like asking Ohio State football coach to coach Michigan at the same time. Barr just wants control
https://cafe.com/feed/custom-podcast?uid=PNIpQjVOCpirqfh
9margd
New York City Bar Calls for Congressional Probe of Barr in Wake of Berman's Firing as US Attorney in Manhattan
The bar group said the move fit a pattern of misconduct by the nation's top law enforcement official.
Tom McParland | June 23, 2020
https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2020/06/23/new-york-city-bar-calls-for-con...
The bar group said the move fit a pattern of misconduct by the nation's top law enforcement official.
Tom McParland | June 23, 2020
https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2020/06/23/new-york-city-bar-calls-for-con...
11margd
>10 2wonderY: Not even Trump, apparently:
...Trump told reporters Saturday that he was "not involved" in Berman's ouster, despite Barr saying he had approved the firing...
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/503921-white-house-distances-trump-f...
(I've since read that Barr did contact Trump, and Trump did approve.)
...Trump told reporters Saturday that he was "not involved" in Berman's ouster, despite Barr saying he had approved the firing...
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/503921-white-house-distances-trump-f...
(I've since read that Barr did contact Trump, and Trump did approve.)
12margd
(Former AG) Donald Ayer (to House Judiciary Committee): "I was privileged to serve in the DOJ under 2 Republican and 1 Democratic president, and I am here because I believe that William Barr poses the greatest threat in my lifetime to our rule of law and to public trust in it."
2:13 ( https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1275832019243630592 )
-Aaron Rupar @atrupar | 12:43 PM · Jun 24, 2020
2:13 ( https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1275832019243630592 )
-Aaron Rupar @atrupar | 12:43 PM · Jun 24, 2020
13margd
JUST NOW: Former Deputy AG under Bush 41, Donald Ayer, to House Judiciary Committee:
"The drumbeat of Bill Barr's misbehavior is accelerating as we get closer to the election. I don't know what's next, but I'm scared to think about what it might be."
1:55 ( https://twitter.com/chkbal/status/1275853332851105792 )
- Checks and Balances @chkbal | 2:08 PM · Jun 24, 2020
"The drumbeat of Bill Barr's misbehavior is accelerating as we get closer to the election. I don't know what's next, but I'm scared to think about what it might be."
1:55 ( https://twitter.com/chkbal/status/1275853332851105792 )
- Checks and Balances @chkbal | 2:08 PM · Jun 24, 2020
14margd
5 takeaways from the scathing testimony about William Barr’s Justice Department
Aaron Blake | June 24, 2020
1. (Aaron Zelinsky, one of four prosecutors who withdrew from the Stone case when DOJ dropped it) names names
...(people) who told him that the Stone decision was politicized...these officials had spoken with Barr, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen or then-U.S. Attorney Timothy Shea...
2. Zelinsky says DOJ abandoned the rule of law
3. GOP’s dodgy attacks on the witnesses’ credibility
4. A Barr predecessor (Zelinsky): ‘We’re on the way to something far worse than Watergate’
5. GOP witness (former AG Michael Mukasey) says ‘maybe’ Trump politicized allies’ cases
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/24/takeaways-zelinsky-testimony-...
Aaron Blake | June 24, 2020
1. (Aaron Zelinsky, one of four prosecutors who withdrew from the Stone case when DOJ dropped it) names names
...(people) who told him that the Stone decision was politicized...these officials had spoken with Barr, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen or then-U.S. Attorney Timothy Shea...
2. Zelinsky says DOJ abandoned the rule of law
3. GOP’s dodgy attacks on the witnesses’ credibility
4. A Barr predecessor (Zelinsky): ‘We’re on the way to something far worse than Watergate’
5. GOP witness (former AG Michael Mukasey) says ‘maybe’ Trump politicized allies’ cases
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/06/24/takeaways-zelinsky-testimony-...
15margd
Senate panel votes 21-1 to back Justice IG measure over Graham objections
Jordain Carney - 06/25/20 12:37 PM EDT
...The committee voted 21-1 on the legislation (written by Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), which would give the DOJ watchdog the authority to investigate attorneys within the department. Graham was the only senator to vote against the measure.
The vote sends it to the full Senate, where supporters acknowledge they don't know if it will get taken up for a vote in the face of opposition from Graham, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, and Attorney General William Barr.
Graham tried to change the legislation to require the attorney general to sign off on investigations into potential DOJ attorney misconduct. Graham noted that he had spoken with Barr about the legislation three times. He said the attorney general did not support his proposal either but DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz did...
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/504532-senate-panel-votes-21-1-to-back-justi...
Jordain Carney - 06/25/20 12:37 PM EDT
...The committee voted 21-1 on the legislation (written by Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), which would give the DOJ watchdog the authority to investigate attorneys within the department. Graham was the only senator to vote against the measure.
The vote sends it to the full Senate, where supporters acknowledge they don't know if it will get taken up for a vote in the face of opposition from Graham, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, and Attorney General William Barr.
Graham tried to change the legislation to require the attorney general to sign off on investigations into potential DOJ attorney misconduct. Graham noted that he had spoken with Barr about the legislation three times. He said the attorney general did not support his proposal either but DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz did...
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/504532-senate-panel-votes-21-1-to-back-justi...
16margd
Four ways William Barr is already subverting the 2020 elections
Safeguarding the vote would be the top priority of a normal attorney general. It’s the opposite now.
Joshua A. Geltzer* | June 26, 2020
...There are four ways that Barr’s approach to running the Justice Department imperils the vote:
(1) He’s letting off the hook those who contributed to interference in the last election;
(2) he’s undermining confidence in the government’s ability to protect the coming election;
(3) he’s signaling to bad actors that helping President Trump win will garner them special treatment under the law; and
(4) he’s spreading disinformation about the potential for voter fraud.
...The threats to this election — not just from Russia but from the coronavirus — would be formidable enough if there were an attorney general acting in good faith to lead federal law enforcement’s response to them. We have the opposite: The country’s top lawyer turns a blind eye to these threats, taking us backward rather than forward in addressing them, and even worsening them himself. That makes an already dangerous situation dire. And it means that the calls for Barr’s impeachment shouldn’t be seen as backward-looking or retributive against an administration that may be on its way out anyway. They’re forward-looking — if Americans believe that the country deserves an attorney general who protects not one presidential candidate but all citizens as they prepare for a crucial vote.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/barr-attorney-general-election/2020/06/26...
* Joshua A. Geltzer, a former Justice Department and National Security Council lawyer, is executive director and professor of law at Georgetown’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection.
______________________________________________________
Manu Raju (CNN) @mkraju · 16h
AG Barr: “I think there's a range of concerns about mail-in ballots. ...
But but one of the things I mentioned was the possibility of counterfeiting.”
(Steve Inskeep) @NPRinskeep: “Did you have evidence to raise that specific concern?”
Barr: “No, it's obvious. It's obvious that it can be done”
--------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Goldman (House impeachment staff lawyer) @danielsgoldman | 10:18 PM · Jun 25, 2020:
Remarkable. No evidence this has happened yet asserts it’s a risk.
Any lawyer would get laughed out of court after this statement.
____________________________________________
Per the Prez:
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump | 7:16 AM · Jun 22, 2020
RIGGED 2020 ELECTION: MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL BE PRINTED BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND OTHERS.
IT WILL BE THE SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES!
Safeguarding the vote would be the top priority of a normal attorney general. It’s the opposite now.
Joshua A. Geltzer* | June 26, 2020
...There are four ways that Barr’s approach to running the Justice Department imperils the vote:
(1) He’s letting off the hook those who contributed to interference in the last election;
(2) he’s undermining confidence in the government’s ability to protect the coming election;
(3) he’s signaling to bad actors that helping President Trump win will garner them special treatment under the law; and
(4) he’s spreading disinformation about the potential for voter fraud.
...The threats to this election — not just from Russia but from the coronavirus — would be formidable enough if there were an attorney general acting in good faith to lead federal law enforcement’s response to them. We have the opposite: The country’s top lawyer turns a blind eye to these threats, taking us backward rather than forward in addressing them, and even worsening them himself. That makes an already dangerous situation dire. And it means that the calls for Barr’s impeachment shouldn’t be seen as backward-looking or retributive against an administration that may be on its way out anyway. They’re forward-looking — if Americans believe that the country deserves an attorney general who protects not one presidential candidate but all citizens as they prepare for a crucial vote.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/barr-attorney-general-election/2020/06/26...
* Joshua A. Geltzer, a former Justice Department and National Security Council lawyer, is executive director and professor of law at Georgetown’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection.
______________________________________________________
Manu Raju (CNN) @mkraju · 16h
AG Barr: “I think there's a range of concerns about mail-in ballots. ...
But but one of the things I mentioned was the possibility of counterfeiting.”
(Steve Inskeep) @NPRinskeep: “Did you have evidence to raise that specific concern?”
Barr: “No, it's obvious. It's obvious that it can be done”
--------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Goldman (House impeachment staff lawyer) @danielsgoldman | 10:18 PM · Jun 25, 2020:
Remarkable. No evidence this has happened yet asserts it’s a risk.
Any lawyer would get laughed out of court after this statement.
____________________________________________
Per the Prez:
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump | 7:16 AM · Jun 22, 2020
RIGGED 2020 ELECTION: MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL BE PRINTED BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND OTHERS.
IT WILL BE THE SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES!
17margd
Why 27 Distinguished DC Lawyers Filed a Complaint with Bar Association Against Attorney General Barr
Scott Harshbarger | July 22, 2020
...(27) distinguished non-partisan leaders and members of the DC Bar who today filed an ethics complaint against Mr. Barr. This is a meticulously researched legal brief that describes in painstaking detail how Mr. Barr has violated his attorney’s oath of office and rules of professional conduct.
That complaint asks the DC Bar’s discipline office to investigate Mr. Barr’s alleged ethical violations and determine what sanctions would be appropriate.
The complaint is a sober and comprehensive “bill of particulars.” It challenges Mr. Barr’s actions as to four basic matters:
1. Unconstitutionally ordering, overseeing and supporting the forcible dispersal of constitutionally protected peaceful protests at Lafayette Square. In so doing, Mr. Barr unethically represented Mr. Trump’s personal interests in a “photo op” rather than carrying out his ethical duty to represent his client — the people of the United States — to protect their fundamental interest in their constitutional rights.
2. Misleading Congress and the public by asserting that the Mueller Report did not contain sufficient evidence to establish that President Trump committed the crime of “obstruction of justice.”
3. Deceiving the American people in his unprecedented December 2019 attack on a report from a Justice Department Inspector General. Mr. Barr misrepresented the IG’s determination that the FBI had a proper basis for launching its 2016 counterintelligence investigation — by leaving out crucial evidence on which the IG relied.
4. Issuing harmful and totally unnecessary public prejudgments of FBI personnel during a pending criminal investigation he was overseeing in which they were potential defendants – seriously interfering with the administration of justice.
All of these matters are part of Mr. Barr’s pattern of placing the president’s personal and political interests ahead of his ethical duty to represent the interests of the United States in dispensing evenhanded justice under the rule of law and upholding the Constitution...
https://www.justsecurity.org/71598/why-we-filed-a-complaint-with-the-dc-bar-agai...
Scott Harshbarger | July 22, 2020
...(27) distinguished non-partisan leaders and members of the DC Bar who today filed an ethics complaint against Mr. Barr. This is a meticulously researched legal brief that describes in painstaking detail how Mr. Barr has violated his attorney’s oath of office and rules of professional conduct.
That complaint asks the DC Bar’s discipline office to investigate Mr. Barr’s alleged ethical violations and determine what sanctions would be appropriate.
The complaint is a sober and comprehensive “bill of particulars.” It challenges Mr. Barr’s actions as to four basic matters:
1. Unconstitutionally ordering, overseeing and supporting the forcible dispersal of constitutionally protected peaceful protests at Lafayette Square. In so doing, Mr. Barr unethically represented Mr. Trump’s personal interests in a “photo op” rather than carrying out his ethical duty to represent his client — the people of the United States — to protect their fundamental interest in their constitutional rights.
2. Misleading Congress and the public by asserting that the Mueller Report did not contain sufficient evidence to establish that President Trump committed the crime of “obstruction of justice.”
3. Deceiving the American people in his unprecedented December 2019 attack on a report from a Justice Department Inspector General. Mr. Barr misrepresented the IG’s determination that the FBI had a proper basis for launching its 2016 counterintelligence investigation — by leaving out crucial evidence on which the IG relied.
4. Issuing harmful and totally unnecessary public prejudgments of FBI personnel during a pending criminal investigation he was overseeing in which they were potential defendants – seriously interfering with the administration of justice.
All of these matters are part of Mr. Barr’s pattern of placing the president’s personal and political interests ahead of his ethical duty to represent the interests of the United States in dispensing evenhanded justice under the rule of law and upholding the Constitution...
https://www.justsecurity.org/71598/why-we-filed-a-complaint-with-the-dc-bar-agai...
18margd
CBS News @CBSNews · 55m:
Rep. Pramila Jayapal says Barr targets Black Lives Matter protesters:
"When White men with swastikas storm a government building with guns,
there is no need for the president to activate you,
because they're getting the president's personal agenda done"
3:21 ( https://cbsnews.com/live-updates/attorney-general-william-barr-house-judiciary-c... )
________________________________________________________
Zack Stanton @zackstanton | 3:11 PM · Jul 28, 2020:
Just noting: the Michigan gun-toting Michigan protests that Rep. Jayapal referenced —
and which AG Barr said didn't fall under under his authority —
happened ~100 yards away from the Chamberlain Federal Building/courthouse in Lansing.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal says Barr targets Black Lives Matter protesters:
"When White men with swastikas storm a government building with guns,
there is no need for the president to activate you,
because they're getting the president's personal agenda done"
3:21 ( https://cbsnews.com/live-updates/attorney-general-william-barr-house-judiciary-c... )
________________________________________________________
Zack Stanton @zackstanton | 3:11 PM · Jul 28, 2020:
Just noting: the Michigan gun-toting Michigan protests that Rep. Jayapal referenced —
and which AG Barr said didn't fall under under his authority —
happened ~100 yards away from the Chamberlain Federal Building/courthouse in Lansing.
19margd
Trump lays down gauntlet for Barr on Durham probe: Either 'greatest attorney general' or 'average guy’
'I hope they're not going to be politically correct,' Trump said
Brooke Singman | 8/13/2020
President Trump in an exclusive interview with FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo outlines all the grievances during the Trump-Russia probe and how many Obama administration members knew about the spying. He later says U.S. Attorney General William Barr needs to keep taking action.
...“I hope he’s doing a great job, and I hope they’re not going to be politically correct,” Trump said. “Obama knew everything. Vice President Biden, as dumb as he may be, knew everything, and everybody else knew.”
“And former FBI Director James Comey, and former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, they were all terrible, they lied to Congress,” the president added.
“They spied on my campaign, which is treason,” he continued. “They spied, both before and after I won, using the intelligence apparatus of the United States to take down a president, a legally elected president, a duly elected president of the United States. It is the single biggest political crime in the history of our country.”
The president went on to say he hopes Durham is “doing a job,” and that his team “is not going to be politically correct and just get a couple of the lower guys.”
“Bill Barr can go down as the greatest attorney general in the history of our country, or he can go down as an average guy. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said.
The president doubled down, saying: “Bill Barr and Durham have a chance to be — Bill Barr is great most of the time, but if he wants to be politically correct, he’ll be just another guy.”
“They have all the answers,” Trump said. “It goes all to Obama, and it goes right to Biden.”...
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-barr-durham-probe-gauntlet
'I hope they're not going to be politically correct,' Trump said
Brooke Singman | 8/13/2020
President Trump in an exclusive interview with FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo outlines all the grievances during the Trump-Russia probe and how many Obama administration members knew about the spying. He later says U.S. Attorney General William Barr needs to keep taking action.
...“I hope he’s doing a great job, and I hope they’re not going to be politically correct,” Trump said. “Obama knew everything. Vice President Biden, as dumb as he may be, knew everything, and everybody else knew.”
“And former FBI Director James Comey, and former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, they were all terrible, they lied to Congress,” the president added.
“They spied on my campaign, which is treason,” he continued. “They spied, both before and after I won, using the intelligence apparatus of the United States to take down a president, a legally elected president, a duly elected president of the United States. It is the single biggest political crime in the history of our country.”
The president went on to say he hopes Durham is “doing a job,” and that his team “is not going to be politically correct and just get a couple of the lower guys.”
“Bill Barr can go down as the greatest attorney general in the history of our country, or he can go down as an average guy. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said.
The president doubled down, saying: “Bill Barr and Durham have a chance to be — Bill Barr is great most of the time, but if he wants to be politically correct, he’ll be just another guy.”
“They have all the answers,” Trump said. “It goes all to Obama, and it goes right to Biden.”...
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-barr-durham-probe-gauntlet
20Cubby.R.S.
Correct Conservative Conspiracy theories:
Obama is a Socialist with Socialist policy - Check
Obama is running a corrupt administration - Check
The Clinton's are dirty - Check
Biden is dirty - Check
Google and Social Media, including CNN, etc. are lying their ass off and are in the bag for Leftist agenda - Check
Correct Leftist -- theories:
Trump is mean - Check
Obama is a Socialist with Socialist policy - Check
Obama is running a corrupt administration - Check
The Clinton's are dirty - Check
Biden is dirty - Check
Google and Social Media, including CNN, etc. are lying their ass off and are in the bag for Leftist agenda - Check
Correct Leftist -- theories:
Trump is mean - Check
21margd
"I don't know what the law in the particular state says" --
Wolf Blitzer has to explain to the Attorney General of the United States that it's actually illegal to vote twice
- Aaron Rupar @atrupar | 7:21 PM · Sep 2, 2020
Ted Lieu @tedlieu | 2:22 AM · Sep 3, 2020:
US House candidate, CA-33
Dear Bill Barr of @TheJusticeDept:
As the Attorney General, you are expected not to be an idiot when it comes to basic legal principles.
Federal law prohibits voting more than once in the same election. 52 U.S. Code § 10307.
Wolf Blitzer has to explain to the Attorney General of the United States that it's actually illegal to vote twice
- Aaron Rupar @atrupar | 7:21 PM · Sep 2, 2020
Ted Lieu @tedlieu | 2:22 AM · Sep 3, 2020:
US House candidate, CA-33
Dear Bill Barr of @TheJusticeDept:
As the Attorney General, you are expected not to be an idiot when it comes to basic legal principles.
Federal law prohibits voting more than once in the same election. 52 U.S. Code § 10307.
22margd
Vanita Gupta (Former head of USDOJ Civil Rights Division) @vanitaguptaCR | 9:49 PM · Sep 2, 2020:
https://twitter.com/vanitaguptaCR/status/1301336390014296072
DOJ’s definition of “anarchist jurisdictions” includes “any other related factors the Attorney General deems appropriate”
This is actually happening. On our watch. I can’t imagine what four more years of Trump-Barr would mean for our democracy.
Jeff Stein (WaPo)@JStein_WaPo · 6h
President Trump signed a memo today to restrict federal $ from going to "anarchist jurisdictions" -
the memo cites Seattle, Portland, NYC & D.C.
Per the memo, below is how DOJ is supposed to determine what the "anarchist jurisdictions" are:
Image ( https://twitter.com/JStein_WaPo/status/1301314853747990530/photo/1 )
https://twitter.com/vanitaguptaCR/status/1301336390014296072
DOJ’s definition of “anarchist jurisdictions” includes “any other related factors the Attorney General deems appropriate”
This is actually happening. On our watch. I can’t imagine what four more years of Trump-Barr would mean for our democracy.
Jeff Stein (WaPo)@JStein_WaPo · 6h
President Trump signed a memo today to restrict federal $ from going to "anarchist jurisdictions" -
the memo cites Seattle, Portland, NYC & D.C.
Per the memo, below is how DOJ is supposed to determine what the "anarchist jurisdictions" are:
Image ( https://twitter.com/JStein_WaPo/status/1301314853747990530/photo/1 )
23margd
U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday said the Justice Department was monitoring the protest movement antifa, saying that it is at the heart of violence in cities around the country.
U.S. Attorney General Barr says antifa 'flying around' U.S. to incite violence
Jan Wolfe | September 2, 2020
"They are flying around the country. We know people who are flying around the country."
"We see some of the purchases they are making before the riots of weapons to use in those riots, so, we are following them."
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-race-barr-police-idUSKBN25T3AI
___________________________________________________________
ETA:
Molly McKew @MollyMcKew | 5:20 PM · Sep 2, 2020:
Bill Barr is on TV casually dropping that the
DoJ is tracking the movements, communications, and purchases of Americans
U.S. Attorney General Barr says antifa 'flying around' U.S. to incite violence
Jan Wolfe | September 2, 2020
"They are flying around the country. We know people who are flying around the country."
"We see some of the purchases they are making before the riots of weapons to use in those riots, so, we are following them."
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-race-barr-police-idUSKBN25T3AI
___________________________________________________________
ETA:
Molly McKew @MollyMcKew | 5:20 PM · Sep 2, 2020:
Bill Barr is on TV casually dropping that the
DoJ is tracking the movements, communications, and purchases of Americans
24margd
Barr’s removal of career national security official, weeks before election, raises concerns
A little-known office in the Justice Department has lost its long-time chief.
Mike Levine |August 31, 2020
...For much of the past decade, that little-known office has been led by Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brad Wiegmann, a 23-year career public servant, not a political appointee. But two weeks ago, Wiegmann, 54, was told he is being reassigned and replaced with a political appointee...
...the new head of the office is 36-year-old Kellen Dwyer, a cyber-crimes prosecutor who joined the federal government six years ago and made international headlines in November 2018 when he accidentally revealed that federal charges had been secretly filed against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
...The timing of the personnel change – coming just two months before the U.S. presidential election, and in the midst of a battle against domestic terrorism and foreign interference in the election – has worried current and former members of the national security community.
...The concern from current and former officials stems from the Office of Law and Policy's role in national security: The office shapes government efforts by ensuring that new policies and executive actions don't violate federal law.
"I understand that is what you want to do, but that is illegal," (Katrina Mulligan, who worked for the Obama administration in several national security roles and then, after President Donald Trump's inauguration, joined the Office of Law and Policy in the Justice Department's National Security Division) recalled telling other government officials when she was in the office, working on matters such as immigration, counterterrorism, and Russia's interference in U.S. elections.
She would then "try to offer them alternatives that weren't illegal," according to Mulligan.
Now the office is being steered by a political appointee with power to potentially influence decisions over national security policy, especially debates over "what we will and won't do overseas and at home," including in terms of secret surveillance, and when "it is and isn't appropriate" for the Justice Department to tell the public about election interference, Mulligan said...
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/barrs-removal-career-national-security-official-...
A little-known office in the Justice Department has lost its long-time chief.
Mike Levine |August 31, 2020
...For much of the past decade, that little-known office has been led by Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brad Wiegmann, a 23-year career public servant, not a political appointee. But two weeks ago, Wiegmann, 54, was told he is being reassigned and replaced with a political appointee...
...the new head of the office is 36-year-old Kellen Dwyer, a cyber-crimes prosecutor who joined the federal government six years ago and made international headlines in November 2018 when he accidentally revealed that federal charges had been secretly filed against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
...The timing of the personnel change – coming just two months before the U.S. presidential election, and in the midst of a battle against domestic terrorism and foreign interference in the election – has worried current and former members of the national security community.
...The concern from current and former officials stems from the Office of Law and Policy's role in national security: The office shapes government efforts by ensuring that new policies and executive actions don't violate federal law.
"I understand that is what you want to do, but that is illegal," (Katrina Mulligan, who worked for the Obama administration in several national security roles and then, after President Donald Trump's inauguration, joined the Office of Law and Policy in the Justice Department's National Security Division) recalled telling other government officials when she was in the office, working on matters such as immigration, counterterrorism, and Russia's interference in U.S. elections.
She would then "try to offer them alternatives that weren't illegal," according to Mulligan.
Now the office is being steered by a political appointee with power to potentially influence decisions over national security policy, especially debates over "what we will and won't do overseas and at home," including in terms of secret surveillance, and when "it is and isn't appropriate" for the Justice Department to tell the public about election interference, Mulligan said...
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/barrs-removal-career-national-security-official-...
25Matke
>20 Cubby.R.S.:
Unbiased Fact: The Attorney General of theUnited States said on live TV that he isn’t sure if it’s illegal to vote twice in any given election.
Check
Unbiased Fact: The President of the United States has encouraged people in two different states to vote twice in the upcoming election.
Check
This has nothing—nothing at all— to do with Democrats or liberals of any stripe.
This is the President of the United States and the Attorney General of the United States, both of whom are at least nominal Republicans and self-describes Conservatives.
And why oh why haven’t the Republicans, the Party of Law and Order, spoken up? Silence implies consent.
Since these facts are provable (tv recordings), and have nothing to do with liberals or Democrats, I don’t expect an on-point answer. But please, please don’t answer with one of those “Look! Over there!” in a vain attempt to deflect attention from what is, in fact, criminal wrongdoing by Trump and Barr.
Unbiased Fact: The Attorney General of theUnited States said on live TV that he isn’t sure if it’s illegal to vote twice in any given election.
Check
Unbiased Fact: The President of the United States has encouraged people in two different states to vote twice in the upcoming election.
Check
This has nothing—nothing at all— to do with Democrats or liberals of any stripe.
This is the President of the United States and the Attorney General of the United States, both of whom are at least nominal Republicans and self-describes Conservatives.
And why oh why haven’t the Republicans, the Party of Law and Order, spoken up? Silence implies consent.
Since these facts are provable (tv recordings), and have nothing to do with liberals or Democrats, I don’t expect an on-point answer. But please, please don’t answer with one of those “Look! Over there!” in a vain attempt to deflect attention from what is, in fact, criminal wrongdoing by Trump and Barr.
26margd
Unbelievable! Barr now has DOJ acting directly as Trump's lawyer. If maneuver proves successful, Trump will dodge NY state court (where Presidential pardons don't apply) and American taxpayers will not only pay for his defense, but they will be on the hook for any damages. Worst of all is where this leaves DOJ as a institution...
Justice Dept. intervenes on behalf of Trump in defamation case brought by woman who accused him of rape
Matt Zapotosky | September 8, 2020
The Justice Department on Tuesday intervened in the defamation lawsuit brought by a woman who says President Trump raped her years ago, moving the matter to federal court and signaling it wants to make the U.S. government — rather than Trump himself — the defendant in the case.
In filings in federal court in Manhattan, the Justice Department asserted that Trump was “acting within the scope of his office as President of the United States” when he denied during interviews in 2019 that he had raped journalist E. Jean Carroll more than two decades ago in a New York City department store. Carroll sued Trump over that denial in November.
The maneuver removes the case — at least for now — from state court in New York, where a judge last month had rejected Trump’s bid for a delay and put Carroll’s team back on course to seek a DNA sample and an under-oath interview from the president. It also means that Justice Department lawyers will be essentially aiding Trump’s defense, and taxpayers could be on the hook for any potential damages, if the U.S. government is allowed to stand in for Trump. Winning damages against the government, though, would be more unlikely than in a suit against Trump, as the notion of “sovereign immunity” gives the government and its employees broad protection from lawsuits.
Justice Department lawyers said that because Trump was acting as president when he denied the allegations, a judge should “substitute the United States for President Trump as defendant.”...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/jean-carroll-trump-justice-depa...
______________________________________________________
ETA:
Steve Vladeck ( U TX Law) @steve_vladeck | 9:08 PM · Sep 8, 2020
Just to be clear, DOJ's argument that Trump was acting "within the scope of his employment"
when he defamed E. Jean Carroll is not an effort to *take over* defense of the suit;
it's an effort to have the suit *dismissed*—because the government itself can't be sued for defamation.
Justice Dept. intervenes on behalf of Trump in defamation case brought by woman who accused him of rape
Matt Zapotosky | September 8, 2020
The Justice Department on Tuesday intervened in the defamation lawsuit brought by a woman who says President Trump raped her years ago, moving the matter to federal court and signaling it wants to make the U.S. government — rather than Trump himself — the defendant in the case.
In filings in federal court in Manhattan, the Justice Department asserted that Trump was “acting within the scope of his office as President of the United States” when he denied during interviews in 2019 that he had raped journalist E. Jean Carroll more than two decades ago in a New York City department store. Carroll sued Trump over that denial in November.
The maneuver removes the case — at least for now — from state court in New York, where a judge last month had rejected Trump’s bid for a delay and put Carroll’s team back on course to seek a DNA sample and an under-oath interview from the president. It also means that Justice Department lawyers will be essentially aiding Trump’s defense, and taxpayers could be on the hook for any potential damages, if the U.S. government is allowed to stand in for Trump. Winning damages against the government, though, would be more unlikely than in a suit against Trump, as the notion of “sovereign immunity” gives the government and its employees broad protection from lawsuits.
Justice Department lawyers said that because Trump was acting as president when he denied the allegations, a judge should “substitute the United States for President Trump as defendant.”...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/jean-carroll-trump-justice-depa...
______________________________________________________
ETA:
Steve Vladeck ( U TX Law) @steve_vladeck | 9:08 PM · Sep 8, 2020
Just to be clear, DOJ's argument that Trump was acting "within the scope of his employment"
when he defamed E. Jean Carroll is not an effort to *take over* defense of the suit;
it's an effort to have the suit *dismissed*—because the government itself can't be sued for defamation.
27margd
Nora Dannehy, Connecticut prosecutor who was top aide to John Durham’s Trump-Russia investigation,
resigns amid concern about pressure from Attorney General William Barr
Edmund H. Mahony | Sep 11, 2020
Federal prosecutor Nora Dannehy, a top aide to U.S. Attorney John H. Durham in his Russia investigation, has quietly resigned - at least partly out of concern that the investigative team is being pressed for political reasons to produce a report before its work is done, colleagues said.
Dannehy, a highly regarded prosecutor who has worked with or for Durham for decades, informed colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Haven of her resignation from the Department of Justice by email Thursday evening. The short email was a brief farewell message and said nothing about political pressure, her work for Durham or what the Durham team has produced, according to people who received it.
Durham, who has never even acknowledged that Dannehy was in Washington working for him, had no immediate comment on the resignation.
Durham recruited Dannehy to join his team after he was appointed by Attorney General William Barr more than a year and a half ago to examine the the FBI’s legal justification for a disputed counterintelligence investigation that looked for ties between President Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russian efforts to meddle in the election...
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-john-durham-dannehy-resignation...
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Goldman @danielsgoldman | 4:01 PM · Sep 11, 2020:
It is exceedingly rare for DOJ prosecutors to resign in protest, and this is the 2nd one this year to do so bc of improper political influence.
This tells you all that you need to know about the bastardization of the Durham investigation by Bill Barr.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Renato Mariotti @renato_mariotti | 3:45 PM · Sep 11, 2020:
Barr’s public statements about the Durham investigation have been highly problematic.
His frequent statements and predictions about the Durham probe suggest
his intense interest in the case and his improper motive for launching and pushing this investigation.
resigns amid concern about pressure from Attorney General William Barr
Edmund H. Mahony | Sep 11, 2020
Federal prosecutor Nora Dannehy, a top aide to U.S. Attorney John H. Durham in his Russia investigation, has quietly resigned - at least partly out of concern that the investigative team is being pressed for political reasons to produce a report before its work is done, colleagues said.
Dannehy, a highly regarded prosecutor who has worked with or for Durham for decades, informed colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Haven of her resignation from the Department of Justice by email Thursday evening. The short email was a brief farewell message and said nothing about political pressure, her work for Durham or what the Durham team has produced, according to people who received it.
Durham, who has never even acknowledged that Dannehy was in Washington working for him, had no immediate comment on the resignation.
Durham recruited Dannehy to join his team after he was appointed by Attorney General William Barr more than a year and a half ago to examine the the FBI’s legal justification for a disputed counterintelligence investigation that looked for ties between President Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russian efforts to meddle in the election...
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-john-durham-dannehy-resignation...
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Goldman @danielsgoldman | 4:01 PM · Sep 11, 2020:
It is exceedingly rare for DOJ prosecutors to resign in protest, and this is the 2nd one this year to do so bc of improper political influence.
This tells you all that you need to know about the bastardization of the Durham investigation by Bill Barr.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Renato Mariotti @renato_mariotti | 3:45 PM · Sep 11, 2020:
Barr’s public statements about the Durham investigation have been highly problematic.
His frequent statements and predictions about the Durham probe suggest
his intense interest in the case and his improper motive for launching and pushing this investigation.
28margd
Justice Department internal watchdog is investigating Roger Stone's sentencing, say sources
Julia Ainsley and Ken Delanian | Sept 14, 2020
...One of the prosecutors, Aaron Zelinsky, testified before Congress in June that he was told by the office of the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., to recommend a lighter sentence than he otherwise would have because of Stone's close personal relationship with Trump.
Zelinsky said the U.S. attorney at the time, Timothy Shea, was "receiving heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice to cut Stone a break, and that the U.S. Attorney's sentencing instructions to us were based on political considerations."...
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/justice-department-internal-...
Julia Ainsley and Ken Delanian | Sept 14, 2020
...One of the prosecutors, Aaron Zelinsky, testified before Congress in June that he was told by the office of the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., to recommend a lighter sentence than he otherwise would have because of Stone's close personal relationship with Trump.
Zelinsky said the U.S. attorney at the time, Timothy Shea, was "receiving heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice to cut Stone a break, and that the U.S. Attorney's sentencing instructions to us were based on political considerations."...
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/justice-department-internal-...
29margd
Justice Dept. Opens Criminal Inquiry Into John Bolton’s Book
Katie Benner | Sept. 15, 2020
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into whether President Trump’s former national security adviser John R. Bolton unlawfully disclosed classified information when he published a memoir this summer, a case that the department opened after it failed to stop the book’s publication this summer, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The department has convened a grand jury, which issued a subpoena for communications records from Simon & Schuster, the publisher of Mr. Bolton’s memoir, “The Room Where It Happened.” In the book, Mr. Bolton delivered a highly unflattering account of his 17 months working in the Trump administration.
The investigation is a significant escalation in the fraught publication of the book. The Trump administration had sought to stop its publication, accusing Mr. Bolton in a lawsuit of moving forward with publication without receiving final notice that a prepublication review to scrub out classified information was complete. The director of national intelligence referred the matter to the Justice Department last month, two of the people said. John Demers, the head of the department’s national security division, then opened the criminal investigation, according to a person briefed on the case...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/us/politics/john-bolton-book-criminal-investi...
Katie Benner | Sept. 15, 2020
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into whether President Trump’s former national security adviser John R. Bolton unlawfully disclosed classified information when he published a memoir this summer, a case that the department opened after it failed to stop the book’s publication this summer, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The department has convened a grand jury, which issued a subpoena for communications records from Simon & Schuster, the publisher of Mr. Bolton’s memoir, “The Room Where It Happened.” In the book, Mr. Bolton delivered a highly unflattering account of his 17 months working in the Trump administration.
The investigation is a significant escalation in the fraught publication of the book. The Trump administration had sought to stop its publication, accusing Mr. Bolton in a lawsuit of moving forward with publication without receiving final notice that a prepublication review to scrub out classified information was complete. The director of national intelligence referred the matter to the Justice Department last month, two of the people said. John Demers, the head of the department’s national security division, then opened the criminal investigation, according to a person briefed on the case...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/us/politics/john-bolton-book-criminal-investi...
30margd
Bill Barr Said Prosecutors Could Charge Rioters for Conspiring to Overthrow U.S. Government
Matt Naham | Sep 16th, 2020, 2:13 pm
Attorney General Bill Barr said during a conference call with U.S. Attorneys last week that charging Americans with sedition was on the menu of criminal statutes available to federal prosecutors examining how to charge violent protesters, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
According to the Journal, which cited “people familiar” with the conference call, the attorney general “encouraged the prosecutors to seek a number federal charges, including under a rarely used sedition law, even when state charges could apply.”
The seditious conspiracy statute, 18 U.S. Code § 2384, is a means of punishing those who conspire to violently overthrow or who oppose by force the authority the U.S. government or who by force conspire to seize federal property: If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.
...Attorney General Barr has said publicly that Black Lives Matter and antifa are “essentially Bolsheviks.” Barr called antifa a “highly organized” and “new form of guerrilla warfare”—the type of thing that would be covered by the seditious conspiracy statute.
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/bill-barr-said-prosecutors-could-charge-rio...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
WSJ: Barr warned that sometimes violent demonstrations across the US could worsen as the November presidential election approaches.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/barr-tells-prosecutors-to-consider-charging-violent...
Matt Naham | Sep 16th, 2020, 2:13 pm
Attorney General Bill Barr said during a conference call with U.S. Attorneys last week that charging Americans with sedition was on the menu of criminal statutes available to federal prosecutors examining how to charge violent protesters, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
According to the Journal, which cited “people familiar” with the conference call, the attorney general “encouraged the prosecutors to seek a number federal charges, including under a rarely used sedition law, even when state charges could apply.”
The seditious conspiracy statute, 18 U.S. Code § 2384, is a means of punishing those who conspire to violently overthrow or who oppose by force the authority the U.S. government or who by force conspire to seize federal property: If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.
...Attorney General Barr has said publicly that Black Lives Matter and antifa are “essentially Bolsheviks.” Barr called antifa a “highly organized” and “new form of guerrilla warfare”—the type of thing that would be covered by the seditious conspiracy statute.
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/bill-barr-said-prosecutors-could-charge-rio...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
WSJ: Barr warned that sometimes violent demonstrations across the US could worsen as the November presidential election approaches.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/barr-tells-prosecutors-to-consider-charging-violent...
31margd
...AG Barr...asked prosecutors to explore whether to bring charges against the mayor of Seattle for allowing a police-free protest zone.
Katie Benner | Sept. 16, 2020
(Barr Told Prosecutors to Consider Sedition Charges for Protest Violence)
...The attorney general has also asked prosecutors in the Justice Department’s civil rights division to explore whether they could bring criminal charges against Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle for allowing some residents to establish a police-free protest zone near the city’s downtown for weeks this summer, according to two people briefed on those discussions. Late Wednesday, a department spokesman said that Mr. Barr did not direct the civil rights division to explore this idea.
The directives are in keeping with Mr. Barr’s approach to prosecute crimes as aggressively as possible in cities where protests have given way to violence. But in suggesting possible prosecution of Ms. Durkan, a Democrat, Mr. Barr also took aim at an elected official whom President Trump has repeatedly attacked...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/us/politics/william-barr-sedition.html
Katie Benner | Sept. 16, 2020
(Barr Told Prosecutors to Consider Sedition Charges for Protest Violence)
...The attorney general has also asked prosecutors in the Justice Department’s civil rights division to explore whether they could bring criminal charges against Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle for allowing some residents to establish a police-free protest zone near the city’s downtown for weeks this summer, according to two people briefed on those discussions. Late Wednesday, a department spokesman said that Mr. Barr did not direct the civil rights division to explore this idea.
The directives are in keeping with Mr. Barr’s approach to prosecute crimes as aggressively as possible in cities where protests have given way to violence. But in suggesting possible prosecution of Ms. Durkan, a Democrat, Mr. Barr also took aim at an elected official whom President Trump has repeatedly attacked...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/us/politics/william-barr-sedition.html
32margd
Barr says calls for coronavirus lockdown are the 'greatest intrusion on civil liberties' other than slavery in US history
Katelyn Polantz and Christina Carrega | September 16, 2020
..."You know, putting a national lockdown, stay at home orders, is like house arrest. Other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history"...
"Most of the governors do what bureaucrats always do, which is they ... defy common sense," Barr said Wednesday. "They treat free citizens as babies that can't take responsibility for themselves and others."
"We have to give business people an opportunity, tell them what the rules are you know the masks, which rule of masks, you had this month...and then let them try to adapt their business to that and you'll have ingenuity and people will at least have the freedom to try to earn a living"...
Slams prosecutors
Barr has faced immense blowback from Justice Department employees and even rank-and-file attorneys in the department since the close of the Mueller investigation, for swaying cases in a way that undermines longstanding legal policies.
Wednesday, he upped the ante and equated them to preschoolers.
"Name one successful organization or institution where the lowest level employees' decisions are deemed sacrosanct, there aren't. There aren't any letting the most junior members set the agenda...It might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it is no way to run a federal agency"...
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/16/politics/barr-justice-department-speech/index.htm...
Katelyn Polantz and Christina Carrega | September 16, 2020
..."You know, putting a national lockdown, stay at home orders, is like house arrest. Other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history"...
"Most of the governors do what bureaucrats always do, which is they ... defy common sense," Barr said Wednesday. "They treat free citizens as babies that can't take responsibility for themselves and others."
"We have to give business people an opportunity, tell them what the rules are you know the masks, which rule of masks, you had this month...and then let them try to adapt their business to that and you'll have ingenuity and people will at least have the freedom to try to earn a living"...
Slams prosecutors
Barr has faced immense blowback from Justice Department employees and even rank-and-file attorneys in the department since the close of the Mueller investigation, for swaying cases in a way that undermines longstanding legal policies.
Wednesday, he upped the ante and equated them to preschoolers.
"Name one successful organization or institution where the lowest level employees' decisions are deemed sacrosanct, there aren't. There aren't any letting the most junior members set the agenda...It might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it is no way to run a federal agency"...
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/16/politics/barr-justice-department-speech/index.htm...
33margd
What Bill Barr Said* and What it Means
Susan Hennessey, Benjamin Wittes | September 17, 2020
...Barr’s speech, taken in the context of his actions, is less a defense of politics as a means of ensuring the integrity of the department’s work than it is a defense of politicization of the department. The attorney general is proposing that his supervisory powers over the career officials he commands entitle him to deploy the department for the naked political benefit of his team, without pausing over the reality or appearance of impartiality or the preservation of legitimacy through the department’s norms and traditions.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-bill-barr-said-and-what-it-means
* Attorney General Bill Barr’s Constitution Day (Sept 16, 2020) speech to a gathering organized by Hillsdale College
Susan Hennessey, Benjamin Wittes | September 17, 2020
...Barr’s speech, taken in the context of his actions, is less a defense of politics as a means of ensuring the integrity of the department’s work than it is a defense of politicization of the department. The attorney general is proposing that his supervisory powers over the career officials he commands entitle him to deploy the department for the naked political benefit of his team, without pausing over the reality or appearance of impartiality or the preservation of legitimacy through the department’s norms and traditions.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-bill-barr-said-and-what-it-means
* Attorney General Bill Barr’s Constitution Day (Sept 16, 2020) speech to a gathering organized by Hillsdale College
34Limelite
BREAKING
House Dems request ’emergency investigation’ into Bill Barr’s Russiagate probe
Obviously, the four look at the resignation of Assistant U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy, ". . .reportedly because she felt pressured to produce an interim report ahead of the election, as cause for alarm.
Barr is no USAG, he's just a fixer in the same way that USPG, DeJoy is a fixer. They both occupy their offices for the sole purpose of doing dirty tricks to get Trump reelected by illegally operating the institutions they head to serve the president's interests rather than the interests of their actual clients -- the people of the United States.
House Dems request ’emergency investigation’ into Bill Barr’s Russiagate probe
Four of the most powerful Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Friday requested that Department of Justice inspector general Michael Horowitz launch an “emergency investigation” into Attorney General Bill Barr’s probe of the actions American intelligence officials took during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.Letter signed by Schiff, Nadler, Maloney, and Lofgren, all are leaders of the House Intelligence Committee. They are asking Horowitz to make a determination ". . .if Barr has the legal authority to demand the probe release an “interim” report before the election, even if the investigation itself has not been completed."
Obviously, the four look at the resignation of Assistant U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy, ". . .reportedly because she felt pressured to produce an interim report ahead of the election, as cause for alarm.
Barr is no USAG, he's just a fixer in the same way that USPG, DeJoy is a fixer. They both occupy their offices for the sole purpose of doing dirty tricks to get Trump reelected by illegally operating the institutions they head to serve the president's interests rather than the interests of their actual clients -- the people of the United States.
35margd
Lovely. (NOT!)
Bill Barr Bullied Me Because I Backed Civil Rights
Jimmy Lohman | Updated Jun. 15, 2020 11:00AM ET / Published Jun. 14, 2020
BULLY BILLY
A piece I wrote about the attorney general back in 1991 has been making the rounds. Here's why I wrote it, and why what I said is even truer now...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bill-barr-bullied-me-because-i-backed-civil-rights
Bill Barr Bullied Me Because I Backed Civil Rights
Jimmy Lohman | Updated Jun. 15, 2020 11:00AM ET / Published Jun. 14, 2020
BULLY BILLY
A piece I wrote about the attorney general back in 1991 has been making the rounds. Here's why I wrote it, and why what I said is even truer now...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bill-barr-bullied-me-because-i-backed-civil-rights
36Cubby.R.S.
Bill Barr rocks! This little idiotic festering of lies and misconceptions from top to bottom is about as pathetic as it gets.
37margd
Annual murders/100k population:
* Oklahoma City - 12.5
* Jacksonville - 12.2
* Miami - 11.2
* Lexington - 9.0
* Ft. Worth - 8.0
* NYC - 3.4
Guess which is the only one DOJ has designated an "anarchist jurisdiction"?
- Mark D. Levine (NYC Council) @MarkLevineNYC11:53 AM · Sep 21, 2020
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portland is 3.8 per 100,000
Seattle is 3.7
Anarchy personified...
- Thom Hartmann (progressive talk show host, author) @Thom_Hartmann | 1:08 AM · Sep 22, 2020
__________________________________________________
NYC
REMINDER: In this anarchist jurisdiction, alternate-side parking rules are in effect.
- David Gura (NBC, MSNBC davidgura | 10:13 AM · Sep 21, 2020
* Oklahoma City - 12.5
* Jacksonville - 12.2
* Miami - 11.2
* Lexington - 9.0
* Ft. Worth - 8.0
* NYC - 3.4
Guess which is the only one DOJ has designated an "anarchist jurisdiction"?
- Mark D. Levine (NYC Council) @MarkLevineNYC11:53 AM · Sep 21, 2020
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portland is 3.8 per 100,000
Seattle is 3.7
Anarchy personified...
- Thom Hartmann (progressive talk show host, author) @Thom_Hartmann | 1:08 AM · Sep 22, 2020
__________________________________________________
NYC
REMINDER: In this anarchist jurisdiction, alternate-side parking rules are in effect.
- David Gura (NBC, MSNBC davidgura | 10:13 AM · Sep 21, 2020
38Cubby.R.S.
>37 margd:
Did he drink insecticide? The spike in murders is what calls for the alarm.
I can't rightfully post their articles or all of the content and this post would go for a day or nine, but here's some update on that:
https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-poll-near-majority-of-oregonians-favor-portla...
Despite the efforts by leftists and rioters in Portland, Oregon, to bash police, a new poll released Thursday found that a near-majority of Oregon voters think police should use more force in confronting protesters.
DHM Research conducted a poll between September 3 to 8, 2020. “Nearly half of the participants said they lived in either Multnomah, Clackamas or Washington counties. Another quarter of them live elsewhere in the Willamette Valley and the rest are from other parts of the state,” Oregon Live noted.
42% of respondents felt the police should use more force; another 18% felt the force currently used was fine with them.
66% of Oregonians disapproved of the protests. “Voters ages 18-29 are the only group to approve of the protests, with 62% saying that they approve compared to 33% who disapprove,” DHM Research pointed out.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/riots-looting-that-followed-george-floyds-death-c...
“The protests that took place in 140 U.S. cities this spring were mostly peaceful, but the arson, vandalism and looting that did occur will result in at least $1 billion to $2 billion of paid insurance claims
https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-violent-leftist-memes-surging-on-social-me...
The “surge” includes “calls to destroy property and attack police officers,” the outlets said.
There have certainly been a number of incidents of protesters-turned-rioters doing both. In Portland, anti-racism and anti-police brutality demonstrations have gone on nightly for more than three months, and many of those protests have turned destructive.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-has-overwhelming-intel-that-portland-violence...
A leaked email from a former top official at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says that the department has “overwhelming intelligence” that the extremist violence in Portland was “organized” by individuals with an ideology categorized as “Violent Antifa Anarchist Inspired” (VAAI).
CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge tweeted out a letter that she obtained that was written by Brian Murphy, former Acting Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at DHS, that said in July that the violence in Portland had reached a level that officials could no longer state that the violence was “opportunistic” but that it was “organized.”
Murphy stated in the email that the individuals who were attacking the federal facilities in the city did so “based on those ideologies.”
“We have overwhelming intelligence regarding the ideologies driving individuals towards violence and why the violence has continued,” Murphy continued. “A core set of threat actors are organized, show up night after night, share common TTPs tactics, techniques and procedures and drawing on like minded individuals to their cause.”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/woman-to-reporter-on-killed-trump-supporter-tough...
Response when Trump supporter was killed -- Tough Luck!
https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-ag-barr-to-officially-designate-3-u-s-ci...
“anarchist jurisdictions” that are being targeted to be defunded by the federal government for failing to stop violent rioters and for defunding law enforcement departments.
“When state and local leaders impede their own law-enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest,”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-yorkers-paint-massive-f-cuomo-and-de-blasio-m...
Whether a jurisdiction forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction.
Whether a jurisdiction has withdrawn law enforcement protection from a geographical area or structure that law enforcement officers are lawfully entitled to access but have been officially prevented from accessing or permitted to access only in exceptional circumstances, except when law enforcement officers are briefly withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing unlawful incident posing an imminent threat to the safety of individuals or law enforcement officers.
Whether a jurisdiction disempowers or defunds police departments.
Whether a jurisdiction unreasonably refuses to accept offers of law enforcement assistance from the Federal Government.
https://nypost.com/2020/08/03/portland-sees-a-record-number-of-murders-in-july-a...
https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-staffer-among-dozens-arrested-in-portland-rio...
A key Democratic staffer was among dozens arrested over the weekend in a series of protests-turned-riots marking the 101st day of unrest in Portland, Oregon, the Washington Free Beacon reports.
“The police arrested Kristina Narayan, who is legislative director for the top Democrat in Oregon’s House of Representatives, along with 58 others during a riot that began Saturday night and continued into Sunday morning, according to a Portland Police Bureau report,” the Free Beacon notes. “Narayan has worked for House Speaker Tina Kotek since 2016.”
They are actually wreaking havoc in residential areas as well. I really don't know if you have seen any news or if the links you provide are just funneled through the Act Blue network, but these stances are something Nazi Germany would shield their followers into believing.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-portland-activists-block-truck-demand-passe...
Over the weekend, leftist activists blocked a pick-up truck in Portland near the central police precinct, demanding that the passenger next to the driver give the black power salute and chant “Black Lives Matter”; the truck was later smashed and a window shattered.
Did he drink insecticide? The spike in murders is what calls for the alarm.
I can't rightfully post their articles or all of the content and this post would go for a day or nine, but here's some update on that:
https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-poll-near-majority-of-oregonians-favor-portla...
Despite the efforts by leftists and rioters in Portland, Oregon, to bash police, a new poll released Thursday found that a near-majority of Oregon voters think police should use more force in confronting protesters.
DHM Research conducted a poll between September 3 to 8, 2020. “Nearly half of the participants said they lived in either Multnomah, Clackamas or Washington counties. Another quarter of them live elsewhere in the Willamette Valley and the rest are from other parts of the state,” Oregon Live noted.
42% of respondents felt the police should use more force; another 18% felt the force currently used was fine with them.
66% of Oregonians disapproved of the protests. “Voters ages 18-29 are the only group to approve of the protests, with 62% saying that they approve compared to 33% who disapprove,” DHM Research pointed out.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/riots-looting-that-followed-george-floyds-death-c...
“The protests that took place in 140 U.S. cities this spring were mostly peaceful, but the arson, vandalism and looting that did occur will result in at least $1 billion to $2 billion of paid insurance claims
https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-violent-leftist-memes-surging-on-social-me...
The “surge” includes “calls to destroy property and attack police officers,” the outlets said.
There have certainly been a number of incidents of protesters-turned-rioters doing both. In Portland, anti-racism and anti-police brutality demonstrations have gone on nightly for more than three months, and many of those protests have turned destructive.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-has-overwhelming-intel-that-portland-violence...
A leaked email from a former top official at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says that the department has “overwhelming intelligence” that the extremist violence in Portland was “organized” by individuals with an ideology categorized as “Violent Antifa Anarchist Inspired” (VAAI).
CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge tweeted out a letter that she obtained that was written by Brian Murphy, former Acting Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at DHS, that said in July that the violence in Portland had reached a level that officials could no longer state that the violence was “opportunistic” but that it was “organized.”
Murphy stated in the email that the individuals who were attacking the federal facilities in the city did so “based on those ideologies.”
“We have overwhelming intelligence regarding the ideologies driving individuals towards violence and why the violence has continued,” Murphy continued. “A core set of threat actors are organized, show up night after night, share common TTPs tactics, techniques and procedures and drawing on like minded individuals to their cause.”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/woman-to-reporter-on-killed-trump-supporter-tough...
Response when Trump supporter was killed -- Tough Luck!
https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-ag-barr-to-officially-designate-3-u-s-ci...
“anarchist jurisdictions” that are being targeted to be defunded by the federal government for failing to stop violent rioters and for defunding law enforcement departments.
“When state and local leaders impede their own law-enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest,”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-yorkers-paint-massive-f-cuomo-and-de-blasio-m...
Whether a jurisdiction forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction.
Whether a jurisdiction has withdrawn law enforcement protection from a geographical area or structure that law enforcement officers are lawfully entitled to access but have been officially prevented from accessing or permitted to access only in exceptional circumstances, except when law enforcement officers are briefly withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing unlawful incident posing an imminent threat to the safety of individuals or law enforcement officers.
Whether a jurisdiction disempowers or defunds police departments.
Whether a jurisdiction unreasonably refuses to accept offers of law enforcement assistance from the Federal Government.
https://nypost.com/2020/08/03/portland-sees-a-record-number-of-murders-in-july-a...
https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-staffer-among-dozens-arrested-in-portland-rio...
A key Democratic staffer was among dozens arrested over the weekend in a series of protests-turned-riots marking the 101st day of unrest in Portland, Oregon, the Washington Free Beacon reports.
“The police arrested Kristina Narayan, who is legislative director for the top Democrat in Oregon’s House of Representatives, along with 58 others during a riot that began Saturday night and continued into Sunday morning, according to a Portland Police Bureau report,” the Free Beacon notes. “Narayan has worked for House Speaker Tina Kotek since 2016.”
They are actually wreaking havoc in residential areas as well. I really don't know if you have seen any news or if the links you provide are just funneled through the Act Blue network, but these stances are something Nazi Germany would shield their followers into believing.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-portland-activists-block-truck-demand-passe...
Over the weekend, leftist activists blocked a pick-up truck in Portland near the central police precinct, demanding that the passenger next to the driver give the black power salute and chant “Black Lives Matter”; the truck was later smashed and a window shattered.
39margd
ANARCHY in Central Park this eve
Image ( https://twitter.com/MiriamElder/status/1308182151704305664/photo/1 )
Did find this horrific mushroom growth
Image ( https://twitter.com/MiriamElder/status/1308182423939809283/photo/1 )
- Miriam Elder (Buzzfeed News, Guardian) @MiriamElder7:11 PM · Sep 21, 2020
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks very scary
- Molly Jong-Fast (Daily Beast) @MollyJongFast | 9:00 PM · Sep 21, 2020
Image ( https://twitter.com/MiriamElder/status/1308182151704305664/photo/1 )
Did find this horrific mushroom growth
Image ( https://twitter.com/MiriamElder/status/1308182423939809283/photo/1 )
- Miriam Elder (Buzzfeed News, Guardian) @MiriamElder7:11 PM · Sep 21, 2020
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks very scary
- Molly Jong-Fast (Daily Beast) @MollyJongFast | 9:00 PM · Sep 21, 2020
40Cubby.R.S.
>39 margd:
Nice block of a post with your propaganda. see >38 Cubby.R.S.: for opinions on the Governor and the Mayor.
Nice block of a post with your propaganda. see >38 Cubby.R.S.: for opinions on the Governor and the Mayor.
41margd
Federal Agencies Tapped Protesters' Phones in Portland
Homeland Security has not yet come clean to the public about the full extent of its intelligence operations in Portland.
Ken Klippenstein | Sept 21, 2020
...A current DHS official described a colleague with expertise in electronic surveillance who was being deployed to Portland. But for what purpose? “Extracting information from protester’s phones,” the DHS official said. While in Portland, an interagency task force involving DHS and the Justice Department used a sophisticated cell phone cloning attack—the details of which remain classified—to intercept protesters’ phone communications, according to two former intelligence officers familiar with the matter.
Cell phone cloning involves stealing a phone’s unique identifiers and copying them to another device in order to intercept the communications received by the original device. The former intelligence officials described it as part of a “Low Level Voice Intercept” operation, declining to go into further detail—one of them citing the sensitive nature of the surveillance tool and the other an ongoing leak investigation within I&A.
“You’re getting an inside view into your targets, who they are, who they’re talking to—the hierarchy,” the former intelligence officer said, explaining that many within the DHS believe that antifa is an organized group—as opposed to the largely spontaneous, decentralized ideological tendency that most experts, including Trump’s own FBI director, believe it is. DHS intelligence has even found some limited evidence, which he considered thin, of foreign sponsorship. Attorney General William Barr, however, recently claimed that antifa is receiving foreign sponsorship—a necessary criterion to formally designating it a terror organization, which President Trump vowed to do in July. (The Nation recently reported on DHS intelligence’s attempts to tie antifa to Kurdish militant groups in Syria.)
“Signals intelligence collection would not be useful for preventing opportunistic looting or violent confrontations. It presumes the existence of coordinated, purposeful, and unlawful activity that is conducted through electronic means,” said Steven Aftergood, who heads the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy. “The general concern is that DHS treated mass public protests—not just violent individuals—as suspicious and targets of investigation, or worse.”
While it wasn’t clear which individuals had specifically been targeted in Portland, both former intelligence officers agreed that it had violated protocol. “They were abusing people’s rights,” one said.
...“(There were) at least two federal agencies and there was some spooky shit going on,” one former intelligence officer said of the Portland operation.
Attorney General Barr has repeatedly echoed President Trump’s rhetoric on antifa. After President Trump alleged without evidence that a plane full of violent protesters had been traversing the country, Barr claimed that the Justice Department had received similar reports of violent protesters traveling from all over the country to sow mayhem. Last week, Barr urged federal prosecutors to consider charging violent protesters with sedition, a rarely used charge for people conspiring to overthrow the government. This week, Barr designated New York, Portland, and Seattle as “anarchist” jurisdictions—a term often used interchangeably with antifa...
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/homeland-security-portland/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Goitein (Brennan Center for Justice) @LizaGoitein | 10:34 PM · Sep 21, 2020:
https://twitter.com/LizaGoitein/status/1308233226725584897
If this article is correct and the feds intercepted protesters' cell phone communications without a warrant,
that's a blatant violation of the law and the Fourth Amendment. 1/3
We are headed back to the days of J. Edgar Hoover, and fast. Congress needs to find out exactly what's happening. That's going to mean issuing subpoenas and actually enforcing them. 2/3
I know it seems like we're all drinking from a fire hose of outrageous scandals, and we have to pick our battles. But if we don't fight *this* battle, we lose the war. Congress, don't let this one slide! 3/3
Homeland Security has not yet come clean to the public about the full extent of its intelligence operations in Portland.
Ken Klippenstein | Sept 21, 2020
...A current DHS official described a colleague with expertise in electronic surveillance who was being deployed to Portland. But for what purpose? “Extracting information from protester’s phones,” the DHS official said. While in Portland, an interagency task force involving DHS and the Justice Department used a sophisticated cell phone cloning attack—the details of which remain classified—to intercept protesters’ phone communications, according to two former intelligence officers familiar with the matter.
Cell phone cloning involves stealing a phone’s unique identifiers and copying them to another device in order to intercept the communications received by the original device. The former intelligence officials described it as part of a “Low Level Voice Intercept” operation, declining to go into further detail—one of them citing the sensitive nature of the surveillance tool and the other an ongoing leak investigation within I&A.
“You’re getting an inside view into your targets, who they are, who they’re talking to—the hierarchy,” the former intelligence officer said, explaining that many within the DHS believe that antifa is an organized group—as opposed to the largely spontaneous, decentralized ideological tendency that most experts, including Trump’s own FBI director, believe it is. DHS intelligence has even found some limited evidence, which he considered thin, of foreign sponsorship. Attorney General William Barr, however, recently claimed that antifa is receiving foreign sponsorship—a necessary criterion to formally designating it a terror organization, which President Trump vowed to do in July. (The Nation recently reported on DHS intelligence’s attempts to tie antifa to Kurdish militant groups in Syria.)
“Signals intelligence collection would not be useful for preventing opportunistic looting or violent confrontations. It presumes the existence of coordinated, purposeful, and unlawful activity that is conducted through electronic means,” said Steven Aftergood, who heads the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy. “The general concern is that DHS treated mass public protests—not just violent individuals—as suspicious and targets of investigation, or worse.”
While it wasn’t clear which individuals had specifically been targeted in Portland, both former intelligence officers agreed that it had violated protocol. “They were abusing people’s rights,” one said.
...“(There were) at least two federal agencies and there was some spooky shit going on,” one former intelligence officer said of the Portland operation.
Attorney General Barr has repeatedly echoed President Trump’s rhetoric on antifa. After President Trump alleged without evidence that a plane full of violent protesters had been traversing the country, Barr claimed that the Justice Department had received similar reports of violent protesters traveling from all over the country to sow mayhem. Last week, Barr urged federal prosecutors to consider charging violent protesters with sedition, a rarely used charge for people conspiring to overthrow the government. This week, Barr designated New York, Portland, and Seattle as “anarchist” jurisdictions—a term often used interchangeably with antifa...
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/homeland-security-portland/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Goitein (Brennan Center for Justice) @LizaGoitein | 10:34 PM · Sep 21, 2020:
https://twitter.com/LizaGoitein/status/1308233226725584897
If this article is correct and the feds intercepted protesters' cell phone communications without a warrant,
that's a blatant violation of the law and the Fourth Amendment. 1/3
We are headed back to the days of J. Edgar Hoover, and fast. Congress needs to find out exactly what's happening. That's going to mean issuing subpoenas and actually enforcing them. 2/3
I know it seems like we're all drinking from a fire hose of outrageous scandals, and we have to pick our battles. But if we don't fight *this* battle, we lose the war. Congress, don't let this one slide! 3/3
42margd
>40 Cubby.R.S.:
Picture = 1000 words.
BTW, you edited and added to your #38 post nine minutes after I posted #39.
Picture = 1000 words.
BTW, you edited and added to your #38 post nine minutes after I posted #39.
43kiparsky
>39 margd: They are actually wreaking havoc in residential areas as well.
I have a lot of friends who live in residential neighborhoods in Portland who I talk to on a regular basis. They are not seeing havoc.
I have a lot of friends who live in residential neighborhoods in Portland who I talk to on a regular basis. They are not seeing havoc.
44Cubby.R.S.
>43 kiparsky:
https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-times-confrontational-portland-protester...
“The tactics are dividing supporters of Black Lives Matter, with some worried that the confrontational approach will antagonize people who would be otherwise be receptive to the message, or play into conservatives’ critique of the protests, which have been largely nonviolent nationally,” the outlet notes.
At least one demonstration, which the NY Times happily terms a “carnival in the dark,” featured literature outlining how “anarchists” could kill cops.
“A small free literature selection was set up on the grass and overseen by three people in ski masks. It was a popular offering, and people crowded around, craning to see the pamphlets,” the NY Times notes. ‘Titles included ‘Why Break Windows’; ‘I Want To Kill Cops Until I’m Dead’; ‘Piece Now, Peace Later: An Anarchist Introduction to Firearms’; ‘In Defense of Smashing Cameras’; and ‘Three-Way Fight: Revolutionary Anti-Fascism and Armed Self Defense.'”
Although the NY Times does not identify the author of the “kill cops” pamphlet, Hot Air was able to locate a similar publication in an online anarchist library and, indeed, that’s what it outlines: “To begin, we wish to address a simple yet potentially contentious issue which will form the basis of our appeal here. Police Officers must be killed, the families of Police Officers must be killed, the children of Police Officers must be killed, the friends and supporters of Police Officers must be killed.”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-times-confrontational-portland-protester...
“The tactics are dividing supporters of Black Lives Matter, with some worried that the confrontational approach will antagonize people who would be otherwise be receptive to the message, or play into conservatives’ critique of the protests, which have been largely nonviolent nationally,” the outlet notes.
At least one demonstration, which the NY Times happily terms a “carnival in the dark,” featured literature outlining how “anarchists” could kill cops.
“A small free literature selection was set up on the grass and overseen by three people in ski masks. It was a popular offering, and people crowded around, craning to see the pamphlets,” the NY Times notes. ‘Titles included ‘Why Break Windows’; ‘I Want To Kill Cops Until I’m Dead’; ‘Piece Now, Peace Later: An Anarchist Introduction to Firearms’; ‘In Defense of Smashing Cameras’; and ‘Three-Way Fight: Revolutionary Anti-Fascism and Armed Self Defense.'”
Although the NY Times does not identify the author of the “kill cops” pamphlet, Hot Air was able to locate a similar publication in an online anarchist library and, indeed, that’s what it outlines: “To begin, we wish to address a simple yet potentially contentious issue which will form the basis of our appeal here. Police Officers must be killed, the families of Police Officers must be killed, the children of Police Officers must be killed, the friends and supporters of Police Officers must be killed.”
45Cubby.R.S.
>42 margd:
Only to continue posting, it was edited multiple times so that the information was not erased as I continued to add. Either way, nothing to do with Barr.
Only to continue posting, it was edited multiple times so that the information was not erased as I continued to add. Either way, nothing to do with Barr.
46kiparsky
>44 Cubby.R.S.: Hm. Sounds like the sort of stuff that the FBI used to produce to "prove" that the Black Panthers were a violent organization or that Earth First! was out to kill loggers.
I don't know, I've never seen that stuff. All I can say is that people actually living in Portland say your "news" is rubbish. I believe them a lot more than I believe your op-eds.
I don't know, I've never seen that stuff. All I can say is that people actually living in Portland say your "news" is rubbish. I believe them a lot more than I believe your op-eds.
47Cubby.R.S.
>46 kiparsky:
Most of those stories are not opinion pieces, so not sure what is not to believe. Many of them even reference your CBS, NYT and even CNN.
Most of those stories are not opinion pieces, so not sure what is not to believe. Many of them even reference your CBS, NYT and even CNN.
48Limelite
Excellent analysis of Barr's political and religious philosophies in The Atlantic, traced through his parallel trail of writings going back decades. Takeaway? By remarkably nimble, twisted mental gymnastics, Barr acts out of the belief that he and only he (echoing Trump's "only I can fix it" mentality) knows the real intentions of the Founding Fathers, and it wasn't the "mythology" of a balance of power among three separate branches that we were once taught in school.
Similarly, he and only he can turn the tide against the "religious persecution" of true-believing Christians and the turning away from our Christian religious founding principles (oh yeah? -- a bunch of, at best, deists) that took place when Americans grew tired of white paternalistic dominance and had a second American Revolution in the social justice campaigns successfully ongoing since the 60s.
In sum, Barr sees himself as an ordained Crusader against all threats to white male dominance, fighting to restore the paternal domination of society that has been 'eroded' during his adulthood. Power, he believes, is best concentrated in a dominant strong presidency and morality is better dictated by an unenlightened avenging godhead. Bluntly put, Barr's agenda is to erase the Ages of Enlightenment and Reason and return to a time and society in which everyone's place is determined by the infallibility of Latinized popes and the divine right of power grabbing rulers.
Make America Feudal Again?
Similarly, he and only he can turn the tide against the "religious persecution" of true-believing Christians and the turning away from our Christian religious founding principles (oh yeah? -- a bunch of, at best, deists) that took place when Americans grew tired of white paternalistic dominance and had a second American Revolution in the social justice campaigns successfully ongoing since the 60s.
In sum, Barr sees himself as an ordained Crusader against all threats to white male dominance, fighting to restore the paternal domination of society that has been 'eroded' during his adulthood. Power, he believes, is best concentrated in a dominant strong presidency and morality is better dictated by an unenlightened avenging godhead. Bluntly put, Barr's agenda is to erase the Ages of Enlightenment and Reason and return to a time and society in which everyone's place is determined by the infallibility of Latinized popes and the divine right of power grabbing rulers.
Make America Feudal Again?
50Limelite
>49 Cubby.R.S.:
Says the someone who never read the documented, evidence based, in-his-own-words article because the post describing it collides with his own personal mythology about what a grand pooh-bah Bill Barr is.
Like Trump supporters, Bill Barr and his fan club are united behind a fantastic belief that they're faced by a common enemy and are so easily terrified by people who disagree with them or hold different views that they regard us as a mortal threat to their existence, since the majority of Americans hold liberal social views and despise the racist Don-Boy and his lickspittle white supremacist sycophants.
Only the cowering resort to fear-mongering. And that's ALL conservatives do. RWNJ Republicans and Trumpty-Dumbpties huddle together, quaking at the thought that the real White Man's Burden is to deal with being nothing more than a dwindling white man minority.
So many snowflakes. All of them melting.
EDITED to add ref articles.
Learn about Trump/Barr supporter psychology here:
https://pro.psychcentral.com/understanding-the-psychology-of-fear-that-drives-a-...
The Predicate Is Fear
Social Psychological Perspectives on Trump Supporters" (peer reviewed)
"Social-Psychological-Perspectives-on-Trump-Supporters"
Trump supporters high on authoritative aggression
Just a handful of MANY psychological studies and reports on this topic.
Says the someone who never read the documented, evidence based, in-his-own-words article because the post describing it collides with his own personal mythology about what a grand pooh-bah Bill Barr is.
Like Trump supporters, Bill Barr and his fan club are united behind a fantastic belief that they're faced by a common enemy and are so easily terrified by people who disagree with them or hold different views that they regard us as a mortal threat to their existence, since the majority of Americans hold liberal social views and despise the racist Don-Boy and his lickspittle white supremacist sycophants.
Only the cowering resort to fear-mongering. And that's ALL conservatives do. RWNJ Republicans and Trumpty-Dumbpties huddle together, quaking at the thought that the real White Man's Burden is to deal with being nothing more than a dwindling white man minority.
So many snowflakes. All of them melting.
EDITED to add ref articles.
Learn about Trump/Barr supporter psychology here:
https://pro.psychcentral.com/understanding-the-psychology-of-fear-that-drives-a-...
The Predicate Is Fear
Social Psychological Perspectives on Trump Supporters" (peer reviewed)
"Social-Psychological-Perspectives-on-Trump-Supporters"
Trump supporters high on authoritative aggression
Just a handful of MANY psychological studies and reports on this topic.
51Matke
>48 Limelite: and >50 Limelite: Thank you for pointing us to the article. Psychiatrists I’ve spoken to (oh, have with that, Proxy, Cubby, Carny, and New Boy Earthling if you’re still about) and scientific studies (obviously false because science) I’ve read have all pointed to the fact that approximately one-third of any population prefers an authoritarian government, for whatever reason. Erich Fromm explains some of this in Escape from Freedom, an older book which has lost none of its punch or relevance.
NB Earthling1: “New Boy isn’t an insult, personal or otherwise; it’s a British (there I go again) term from schools.
NB Earthling1: “New Boy isn’t an insult, personal or otherwise; it’s a British (there I go again) term from schools.
53Matke
>49 Cubby.R.S.: Is it getting more difficult to defend/support/approve your disgusting hero-leaders when they condemn themselves out of their own mouths, or with their own pens?
Or have you completely given up on the truth and just said, “The hell with it”?
Because denying what these men have said, or twisting and braiding their words so that the plain sense of their statements denied, distorted, and destroyed into literal non-sense is becoming slightly entertaining yet extremely pathetic.
I do feel sorry for all of you who try to work with idols who not only have feet of clay, but are despicable as well. That is, if you’re sincere and not just baiting us all.
Or have you completely given up on the truth and just said, “The hell with it”?
Because denying what these men have said, or twisting and braiding their words so that the plain sense of their statements denied, distorted, and destroyed into literal non-sense is becoming slightly entertaining yet extremely pathetic.
I do feel sorry for all of you who try to work with idols who not only have feet of clay, but are despicable as well. That is, if you’re sincere and not just baiting us all.
54Matke
>52 lriley: If only it were that simple (pun unintentional), but I think it’s a good deal more complicated and I don’t think there’s a cure or a way to deal with it.
I think fear—of not having any control, of the essential chaos (thanks to someone for pointing me thus way), fear of change, and especially for the people we’re discussing, fear of even a tiny loss of the hegemony, power, and money that they have right now—however illusory each of those things are.
I think fear—of not having any control, of the essential chaos (thanks to someone for pointing me thus way), fear of change, and especially for the people we’re discussing, fear of even a tiny loss of the hegemony, power, and money that they have right now—however illusory each of those things are.
55Limelite
Bill Barr, Don-Boy's inept fixer who fails at almost everything he tries to cover up, starting with the TRUE FACTS of criminality by Trump and his campaign as delineated in the Mueller Report to trying to run interference in order to keep tax-cheater-in-chief's returns secret by employing feckless court challenges has jumped the shark.
Barr directly and personally briefed the pickle-puss president, regarding the 9 discarded ballots "discovered" in the PA P.O. He obviously framed his briefing in such a way so as to give Trump to understand that these were actual ballots cast by PA voters that were opened and deliberately thrown away because they appeared to be votes for Trump.
How do we know he did? Because Trump immediately took off to pick up the phone and proceeded to gleefully misspeak himself for the several minutes of Faux News air time that he wasted selling the lie of "Democratic election/voter fraud/corruption."
Turns out, Barr is either a) An Idiot; b) Been punk'd; c) A corrupt flunky; or d) All three and a bag of chips.
Here's the facts.
Well, DUH! So, who's fault does this teapot tempest ultimately boil down to?
The ballots were discarded by a temporary, or “contract” worker assigned to sort the mail who appears to have been following directions.
They ballots were military ballots, not absentee or other by-mail ballots.
The county immediately reported what happened to federal officials, who appear to have immediately politicized the issue.
“Because these ballots were returned in envelopes similar to absentee ballot requests, elections officials opened them,” The Washington Post reports. “If the ballots weren’t then enclosed in another envelope which shielded the actual vote being cast, they may have been considered ‘naked ballots,’ a term used to describe mail ballots returned without the voter’s intent being protected.
The Trump campaign and the Pennsylvania GOP in a lawsuit argued that “naked ballots” should not be counted. They won that lawsuit. These nine ballots appear to be “naked ballots,” and that appears to be the reason they were thrown out.
The GOP's! Everyone turn and state at Trump and Barr.
56Limelite
Democrats' 'October Surprise'?
How about it Dems? Why not create a little distraction of our own instead of letting Trump fuel all the disturbance before the election?
Colin Powell ally calls on House to begin ‘immediate’ impeachment hearings on Bill Barr.
How about it Dems? Why not create a little distraction of our own instead of letting Trump fuel all the disturbance before the election?
Colin Powell ally calls on House to begin ‘immediate’ impeachment hearings on Bill Barr.
Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday Morning with Ali Velshi, former Colin Powell chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) should immediately begin impeachment hearings against Attorney General Bill Barr.
(SNIP)
"He’s no attorney general — he’s not even a good lawyer. He’s a dangerous threat to this country.”
57margd
Maria Bartiromo (Fox) @MariaBartiromo | 10:17 AM · Sep 27, 2020:
Breaking news:
NO John durham interim report. No indictments before election
- Bartiromo sources. @SundayFutures
Breaking news:
NO John durham interim report. No indictments before election
- Bartiromo sources. @SundayFutures
58Cubby.R.S.
>50 Limelite:
Weaponized science or psychology is not exactly a demonstrably fair way of concluding anything. I understand how you got to where you are in your thinking, but I'm not exactly sure how to get your type to be responsive. I admit, sometimes I say outlandish things, but that's no different than anyone else here. The difference is, I don't want to clinically or physically have you abolished from speaking. I think you have to recognize that your idiocy in a moment does not make me feel as though you are defective or worthless, but I do think you are wrong. The means in which you go to justify your own viewpoint is more vicious and hateful than you realize and that's what makes your type so dangerous when given power. You will disregard voices as psychologically unfit and have them cast aside, only to maintain that power.
Weaponized science or psychology is not exactly a demonstrably fair way of concluding anything. I understand how you got to where you are in your thinking, but I'm not exactly sure how to get your type to be responsive. I admit, sometimes I say outlandish things, but that's no different than anyone else here. The difference is, I don't want to clinically or physically have you abolished from speaking. I think you have to recognize that your idiocy in a moment does not make me feel as though you are defective or worthless, but I do think you are wrong. The means in which you go to justify your own viewpoint is more vicious and hateful than you realize and that's what makes your type so dangerous when given power. You will disregard voices as psychologically unfit and have them cast aside, only to maintain that power.
59Matke
>58 Cubby.R.S.:
Now there’s a post that’s meaningless and unresponsive in the extreme.
Do you read through your posts before or after uploading them?
You want vicious and hateful means to justify posts? Look into Proxy’s posts.
Or your own.
Now there’s a post that’s meaningless and unresponsive in the extreme.
Do you read through your posts before or after uploading them?
You want vicious and hateful means to justify posts? Look into Proxy’s posts.
Or your own.
60Cubby.R.S.
>59 Matke:
I'm not sure that you understand the difference or the dangerous difference between my outburst and limelight's delegitimizing of my ability to think, period. That is exactly what leads to internment camps and scientific experiments. You should be careful about the process you go into before decisions.
I'm not sure that you understand the difference or the dangerous difference between my outburst and limelight's delegitimizing of my ability to think, period. That is exactly what leads to internment camps and scientific experiments. You should be careful about the process you go into before decisions.
61Matke
I don’t think he said you mustn’t express yourself. I think he, along with many others, is trying to understand how someone would be motivated to support someone like Mr. Trump.
And psychological studies long before Mr. Trump was a blip on the public radar, have indicated that approximately one-third of any population favors an authoritarian leader or leaders.
I recommend to you Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm. I think it was published in 1938. The popularity of a demagogue like Mr. Trump isn’t new.
But it’s terribly troubling to those who don’t want authoritarian government. You know, like the founders of the US.
And psychological studies long before Mr. Trump was a blip on the public radar, have indicated that approximately one-third of any population favors an authoritarian leader or leaders.
I recommend to you Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm. I think it was published in 1938. The popularity of a demagogue like Mr. Trump isn’t new.
But it’s terribly troubling to those who don’t want authoritarian government. You know, like the founders of the US.
62Cubby.R.S.
>61 Matke:
If you think that the Democrat Party as a whole, represents anything of the founding, you are wrong. They decry the founding as inherently racist, bigoted and antiquated. Please give one example of President Trump's authoritarian actions.
If you think that the Democrat Party as a whole, represents anything of the founding, you are wrong. They decry the founding as inherently racist, bigoted and antiquated. Please give one example of President Trump's authoritarian actions.
63Limelite
>58 Cubby.R.S.:
I'm sorry that you feel my posting of facts, evidence, and unbiased documentation of reality to back up any opinions I express is "vicious and hateful."
You might feel better if you cited credible sources, too, when expressing your opinions because then your posts would carry equal weight.
Not being able to do so will always put you at a disadvantage in political debate. While the solicitation of sympathy from your audience is a recognized rhetorical technique, your attempt at using it is not, since no one is "weaponizing" anything. The fact that you admit to being outlandish in your opinions and expression of them in the nest couple of sentences completely undermines your attempt as well as nips in the bud any reader's burgeoning sympathy for you.
What "idiocy" of mine, exactly, are you talking about? The "idiocy" supported by Trump's own words, by his acts, by his personality? Or is it the documented opinions of experts that I cite when discussing the crimes, intentions, and motives of Barr? I understand how the overwhelming evidence that your opinions are fallacious when it comes to the character and nature of Trump and Barr and why they are dangerous to America and should not be in positions of any kind of power in our democracy can make you feel powerless. The feeling of powerlessness is exactly what Trump and Barr want you to feel.
That's why Resistance is not futile. They must be exposed; their destructive wielding of power must be counter-acted; their agents must be exorcised from their roles; and 250 year-old American values that unite us must not be allowed to be trampled roughshod into the muck and mire of hatred, racial bigotry, and vigilantism.
Finally, you misjudge my motives. I am not interested in power beyond the portion that is my fair allotment as one of the people from whom the elected officials in our government derive any authority they wield.
You will begin to feel better once you wrest your personal power, independence, and true freedom of spirit away from the clutches of propaganda, misinformation, actual "fake news," and your identity from a political party that probably doesn't represent what you really believe. Today's "Republican" is not you. You are not a Republican. Trump is not you. You are not -- I hope -- him. Let it all go. Reengage with reason. Dwell in the reality of the times, even though at the moment it takes great strength. Just be an American and let everyone else in this country be one, too. Then you'll taste the true sweet joy of being a winner.
And always put on your +2 armor when entering the arena of political debate.
I'm sorry that you feel my posting of facts, evidence, and unbiased documentation of reality to back up any opinions I express is "vicious and hateful."
You might feel better if you cited credible sources, too, when expressing your opinions because then your posts would carry equal weight.
Not being able to do so will always put you at a disadvantage in political debate. While the solicitation of sympathy from your audience is a recognized rhetorical technique, your attempt at using it is not, since no one is "weaponizing" anything. The fact that you admit to being outlandish in your opinions and expression of them in the nest couple of sentences completely undermines your attempt as well as nips in the bud any reader's burgeoning sympathy for you.
What "idiocy" of mine, exactly, are you talking about? The "idiocy" supported by Trump's own words, by his acts, by his personality? Or is it the documented opinions of experts that I cite when discussing the crimes, intentions, and motives of Barr? I understand how the overwhelming evidence that your opinions are fallacious when it comes to the character and nature of Trump and Barr and why they are dangerous to America and should not be in positions of any kind of power in our democracy can make you feel powerless. The feeling of powerlessness is exactly what Trump and Barr want you to feel.
That's why Resistance is not futile. They must be exposed; their destructive wielding of power must be counter-acted; their agents must be exorcised from their roles; and 250 year-old American values that unite us must not be allowed to be trampled roughshod into the muck and mire of hatred, racial bigotry, and vigilantism.
Finally, you misjudge my motives. I am not interested in power beyond the portion that is my fair allotment as one of the people from whom the elected officials in our government derive any authority they wield.
You will begin to feel better once you wrest your personal power, independence, and true freedom of spirit away from the clutches of propaganda, misinformation, actual "fake news," and your identity from a political party that probably doesn't represent what you really believe. Today's "Republican" is not you. You are not a Republican. Trump is not you. You are not -- I hope -- him. Let it all go. Reengage with reason. Dwell in the reality of the times, even though at the moment it takes great strength. Just be an American and let everyone else in this country be one, too. Then you'll taste the true sweet joy of being a winner.
And always put on your +2 armor when entering the arena of political debate.
64Earthling1
Medlemmem har stängts av.
65Earthling1
Medlemmem har stängts av.
66Earthling1
Medlemmem har stängts av.
67Limelite
>64 Earthling1:
Earth to Earthling! Come in, please.
Real Americans don't "see Hitler" everywhere they look and they don't worry about tattooed people walking around. We of the science-based actual reality world community know that if those inked folks live long enough to get wrinkles they'll be ugly as saggy faded skin art can make them on top of being the ordinary saggy faded old people the un-tattooed will be.
Equality in old age, don'tcha know, is like karma.
But Hitler wasn't tattooed! It's just a fan fad the extremist right wing is especially prone to experiencing, evidently. You know, the side of the political spectrum you are comfortable belonging to. So, you better get used to all the tattoos that will accompany you on your road through life.
Take yourself on an educational field trip and meet your fellow travelers.
We in the science-based actual reality world know full well what Bill Barr is, despite your delusional campaign to rehabilitate the old reprobate. Have a gander./cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/sltrib/LE72GXK5ZJEKJCFYUR2HT57YZU.jpg)
Earth to Earthling! Come in, please.
Real Americans don't "see Hitler" everywhere they look and they don't worry about tattooed people walking around. We of the science-based actual reality world community know that if those inked folks live long enough to get wrinkles they'll be ugly as saggy faded skin art can make them on top of being the ordinary saggy faded old people the un-tattooed will be.
Equality in old age, don'tcha know, is like karma.
But Hitler wasn't tattooed! It's just a fan fad the extremist right wing is especially prone to experiencing, evidently. You know, the side of the political spectrum you are comfortable belonging to. So, you better get used to all the tattoos that will accompany you on your road through life.
Take yourself on an educational field trip and meet your fellow travelers.
We in the science-based actual reality world know full well what Bill Barr is, despite your delusional campaign to rehabilitate the old reprobate. Have a gander.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/sltrib/LE72GXK5ZJEKJCFYUR2HT57YZU.jpg)
68Earthling1
Medlemmem har stängts av.
70Earthling1
Medlemmem har stängts av.
71margd
Judge rules federal law enforcement commission violates law, orders work stopped as attorney general prepares to issue report
Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement is not diverse, doesn’t hold public meetings as law requires
Tom Jackman | Oct. 1, 2020
A national commission on law enforcement launched earlier this year by President Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr has violated federal law by failing to have a diverse membership and failing to provide public access to its meetings, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The judge ordered the commission to stop work, though it has already sent its draft report and recommendations on improving American policing to Barr for release next month, and prohibited Barr from releasing a final report.
The ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in Washington came in response to a lawsuit from the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund, which sought an injunction against the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice for violating laws on how federal advisory committees must work. Bates did not issue an injunction, but ordered the commission to change its membership and comply with other aspects of the law...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2020/10/01/judge-rules-federal-law-enfo...
Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement is not diverse, doesn’t hold public meetings as law requires
Tom Jackman | Oct. 1, 2020
A national commission on law enforcement launched earlier this year by President Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr has violated federal law by failing to have a diverse membership and failing to provide public access to its meetings, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The judge ordered the commission to stop work, though it has already sent its draft report and recommendations on improving American policing to Barr for release next month, and prohibited Barr from releasing a final report.
The ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in Washington came in response to a lawsuit from the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund, which sought an injunction against the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice for violating laws on how federal advisory committees must work. Bates did not issue an injunction, but ordered the commission to change its membership and comply with other aspects of the law...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2020/10/01/judge-rules-federal-law-enfo...
73Limelite
improperly redacted part of the Mueller report — and must release unredacted those redacted parts BEFORE election day.
. . .those parts of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report for the Russia investigation appear to deal with, among other things, Russian hacking of Democratic National Committee e-mails in 2016 and the Trump campaign’s interest in those e-mails.
74margd
Attorney General Barr chooses not to quarantine despite possible exposure to Covid-19
Evan Perez and Veronica Stracqualursi | October 3, 2020
(CNN)Attorney General William Barr is choosing not to quarantine after recently coming in close contact with members of President Donald Trump's inner circle who have tested positive for Covid-19, including former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
Conway is among at least seven people who have contracted the virus after attending a Rose Garden event last Saturday where Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Barr, who was seen leaving the White House Friday night by photojournalists, also attended the nomination event, where he sat in the front row and was among those tested by the White House for Covid-19.
Following Trump's announcement, Barr and Conway chatted in close proximity, hardly standing the recommended six feet apart, for an extended period of time. Both were seen not wearing masks. Barr also shook hands with other guests, touched his face and mingled among the crowd...
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/03/politics/william-barr-coronavirus-quarantine/inde...
Evan Perez and Veronica Stracqualursi | October 3, 2020
(CNN)Attorney General William Barr is choosing not to quarantine after recently coming in close contact with members of President Donald Trump's inner circle who have tested positive for Covid-19, including former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
Conway is among at least seven people who have contracted the virus after attending a Rose Garden event last Saturday where Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Barr, who was seen leaving the White House Friday night by photojournalists, also attended the nomination event, where he sat in the front row and was among those tested by the White House for Covid-19.
Following Trump's announcement, Barr and Conway chatted in close proximity, hardly standing the recommended six feet apart, for an extended period of time. Both were seen not wearing masks. Barr also shook hands with other guests, touched his face and mingled among the crowd...
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/03/politics/william-barr-coronavirus-quarantine/inde...
76Limelite
BREAKING: ‘Incompetent’ Bill Barr failed to act on known threats to Mich. Gov. Whitmer's safety.
On Thursday’s edition of CNN’s “OutFront,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) tore into Attorney General William Barr for denying he knew anything about the threats against her life, even as the FBI was unraveling a plot by white supremacist militias to kidnap her and violently overthrow state officials.VIDEO: CNN Interview Gov. Whitmer
“So he blew the threats off. I remember we talked after that,” said anchor Erin Burnett. “You told me you didn’t believe him then. Now we have a plot that was at a point with seven FBI field offices, multiple law enforcement agencies involved. They scoped your vacation home twice. They planned Molotov cocktails, they were going to attack, storm, and kidnap you. Do you believe the attorney general knew anything about that?
“If he didn’t, he’s incompetent,” said Whitmer. “The fact of the matter is, I have raised this very issue with this White House and asked them to bring the heat down. I have asked leaders, Republican leaders in the state, let’s bring the heat down. I was aware of a lot of the threats that were being made against me and my family, and I asked for their help and they didn’t do a darn thing about it, and then denied even knowing that it was a problem. And here we are, we came very close to a plot that was to kidnap me and to murder. That is what the affidavits say. ”
77Limelite
What Bill Barr Knew but Denies or Pretends Ignorance of Violence Against Democrats
What the Nation Witnessed April 30th 2020 from MI State Capitol
Then, what the nation heard from USAG in sworn testimony during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.
Barr's Own Words Show he is Corrupt
From July 28, 2020. Begins at 0.57 minutes. . .
VIDEO: Michigan Attorney General's Office confirms that the first and third men (from left) in this April 30 photo of armed men in Senate gallery are among the 13 men charged in a plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer.
Where we are today: Mugshot 10 of 13 Plotters
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/RXHVK4FUWFERFGKXBBZ4SQT74Y.jpg)
What the Nation Witnessed April 30th 2020 from MI State Capitol
Then, what the nation heard from USAG in sworn testimony during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.
Barr's Own Words Show he is Corrupt
From July 28, 2020. Begins at 0.57 minutes. . .
VIDEO: Michigan Attorney General's Office confirms that the first and third men (from left) in this April 30 photo of armed men in Senate gallery are among the 13 men charged in a plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer.
Where we are today: Mugshot 10 of 13 Plotters
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/RXHVK4FUWFERFGKXBBZ4SQT74Y.jpg)
78margd
Elie Honig @eliehonig | 9:57 AM · Oct 9, 2020
Ordinarily the Attorney General of the United States would personally announce a case
as massive and important as the plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer.
Where are you, Bill Barr?
Ordinarily the Attorney General of the United States would personally announce a case
as massive and important as the plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer.
Where are you, Bill Barr?
79Limelite
Bill Barr accused of perjury (or incompetence) by Michigan AG for saying he had no knowledge of right-wing threats.
Appearing on CNN on Friday morning, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel lashed out at Attorney General Bill Barr for testifying in July that he was unaware of threats against the state’s governor — saying he was either ignorant of what is going on in his department or he committed perjury.
80Molly3028
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyRzdIoy9Gg
Keith Olbermann is back in the nick of time!
Barr is his subject today.
Keith Olbermann is back in the nick of time!
Barr is his subject today.
81margd
Enraging Trump, Barr will not be releasing Durham report before election--maybe this is why:
Barr broke elections law, ethics groups say in call to impeach
Greg Farrell | October 12, 2020
...U.S. Attorney General William Barr...has used the department to further President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, a bipartisan group of lawyers from the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said in a report released Monday, three weeks ahead of U.S. elections.
The authors warned that Barr’s appointment of U.S. Attorney John Durham to review the origins of the Russia investigation, and Barr’s willingness to discuss the investigation in news interviews, point to efforts to create a politically orchestrated “October surprise.” Such actions could violate the Hatch Act, which forbids government officials from using their offices to support a particular candidate in an election, they wrote.
...“The working group came to the reluctant conclusion that Attorney General Barr is using the powers of the Department as a vehicle for supporting the political objectives of President Donald Trump,” they wrote. “It appears that the Department has transitioned from one that is subject to law, to become one that instead views the application of law as politically discretionary; moving from rule of law to rule by law.”
...The Durham investigation is one of nine areas in which Barr’s conduct appeared to contradict the presumption that the Justice Department enforces the nation’s laws fairly and without political influence, the group said. In nearly 300 pages, they spelled out actions they said violated not only the Hatch Act but also obstruction of justice laws.
They focused on areas in which Barr’s conduct sparked widespread criticism, including the way in which they said he “intentionally mischaracterized” Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report when he presented it to the American public. They looked at Barr’s assignment of several U.S. attorneys, including Durham, to conduct counter-investigations that the report says are “designed to discredit” the Russia probe and the Mueller Report. The paper’s authors also looked (at) the Justice Department’s involvement in Trump’s attempt to get the government of Ukraine to announce an investigation into the conduct of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden; the department’s “interference” in politically sensitive cases; Barr’s role in the deployment of federal agents and troops against protesters in Portland, Oregon, and Washington D.C.’s Lafayette Square; and the Justice Department’s refusal to comply with subpoenas from the House of Representatives. The groups urged the House to open an impeachment inquiry into Barr over his refusal to comply with those subpoenas, among other issues.
“The conduct described in this report is more than enough to justify opening such an impeachment inquiry and we recommend that the House Judiciary Committee do so at once,” they wrote. “Potential charges include abuse of power, obstruction of Congress and obstruction of justice.”
...CREW and CERL also recommended that Congress strengthen the independence of the Special Counsel statute, strengthen the legal protections for inspectors general and require all Justice Department attorneys to comply with ethics advice from the department’s own ethics officials.
https://www.pressherald.com/2020/10/12/barr-broke-elections-law-ethics-groups-sa...
Barr broke elections law, ethics groups say in call to impeach
Greg Farrell | October 12, 2020
...U.S. Attorney General William Barr...has used the department to further President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, a bipartisan group of lawyers from the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said in a report released Monday, three weeks ahead of U.S. elections.
The authors warned that Barr’s appointment of U.S. Attorney John Durham to review the origins of the Russia investigation, and Barr’s willingness to discuss the investigation in news interviews, point to efforts to create a politically orchestrated “October surprise.” Such actions could violate the Hatch Act, which forbids government officials from using their offices to support a particular candidate in an election, they wrote.
...“The working group came to the reluctant conclusion that Attorney General Barr is using the powers of the Department as a vehicle for supporting the political objectives of President Donald Trump,” they wrote. “It appears that the Department has transitioned from one that is subject to law, to become one that instead views the application of law as politically discretionary; moving from rule of law to rule by law.”
...The Durham investigation is one of nine areas in which Barr’s conduct appeared to contradict the presumption that the Justice Department enforces the nation’s laws fairly and without political influence, the group said. In nearly 300 pages, they spelled out actions they said violated not only the Hatch Act but also obstruction of justice laws.
They focused on areas in which Barr’s conduct sparked widespread criticism, including the way in which they said he “intentionally mischaracterized” Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report when he presented it to the American public. They looked at Barr’s assignment of several U.S. attorneys, including Durham, to conduct counter-investigations that the report says are “designed to discredit” the Russia probe and the Mueller Report. The paper’s authors also looked (at) the Justice Department’s involvement in Trump’s attempt to get the government of Ukraine to announce an investigation into the conduct of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden; the department’s “interference” in politically sensitive cases; Barr’s role in the deployment of federal agents and troops against protesters in Portland, Oregon, and Washington D.C.’s Lafayette Square; and the Justice Department’s refusal to comply with subpoenas from the House of Representatives. The groups urged the House to open an impeachment inquiry into Barr over his refusal to comply with those subpoenas, among other issues.
“The conduct described in this report is more than enough to justify opening such an impeachment inquiry and we recommend that the House Judiciary Committee do so at once,” they wrote. “Potential charges include abuse of power, obstruction of Congress and obstruction of justice.”
...CREW and CERL also recommended that Congress strengthen the independence of the Special Counsel statute, strengthen the legal protections for inspectors general and require all Justice Department attorneys to comply with ethics advice from the department’s own ethics officials.
https://www.pressherald.com/2020/10/12/barr-broke-elections-law-ethics-groups-sa...
82margd
Steve Holland @steveholland1 · 31m
U.S. Justice Department accuses Melania Trump book author of breaking nondisclosure pact https://reut.rs/3nPRLqe
David Frum @davidfrum · 21m
I've read "Melania and Me" and while some of its revelations may embarrass the First Lady,
there is no compromise of any governmental or public interest of any kind.
This is using the DoJ as a private Trump family law firm.
U.S. Justice Department accuses Melania Trump book author of breaking nondisclosure pact https://reut.rs/3nPRLqe
David Frum @davidfrum · 21m
I've read "Melania and Me" and while some of its revelations may embarrass the First Lady,
there is no compromise of any governmental or public interest of any kind.
This is using the DoJ as a private Trump family law firm.
83margd
!
Trump calls on Barr to appoint special prosecutor to investigate Bidens before Election Day
Dylan Stableford • October 20, 2020
President Trump on Tuesday called on Attorney General William Barr to “appoint somebody” to launch an investigation into his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son Hunter before Election Day, now just two weeks away.
“We’ve got to get the attorney general to act,” Trump said in a telephone interview with “Fox & Friends” when asked whether a special prosecutor should be appointed to probe unverified allegations against the Bidens. “He’s got to act. And he’s got to act fast. He’s got to appoint somebody. This is major corruption, and this has to be known about before the election.”
Trump has repeatedly railed against his attorney general for failing to “lock up” Democrats for alleged crimes, including “spying” on his 2016 campaign. In an interview with Fox Business earlier this month, Trump said that history would look poorly on Barr if he does not prosecute Hillary Clinton and other members of the Obama administration, including Joe Biden.
“Bill Barr is going to go down as either the greatest attorney general in the history of the country, or he’s going to go down as, you know, a very sad situation,” Trump said then.
But Tuesday was the first time he publicly demanded Barr start an investigation before Nov. 3...
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-barr-special-prosecutor-joe-hunter-biden-before-ele...
Trump calls on Barr to appoint special prosecutor to investigate Bidens before Election Day
Dylan Stableford • October 20, 2020
President Trump on Tuesday called on Attorney General William Barr to “appoint somebody” to launch an investigation into his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son Hunter before Election Day, now just two weeks away.
“We’ve got to get the attorney general to act,” Trump said in a telephone interview with “Fox & Friends” when asked whether a special prosecutor should be appointed to probe unverified allegations against the Bidens. “He’s got to act. And he’s got to act fast. He’s got to appoint somebody. This is major corruption, and this has to be known about before the election.”
Trump has repeatedly railed against his attorney general for failing to “lock up” Democrats for alleged crimes, including “spying” on his 2016 campaign. In an interview with Fox Business earlier this month, Trump said that history would look poorly on Barr if he does not prosecute Hillary Clinton and other members of the Obama administration, including Joe Biden.
“Bill Barr is going to go down as either the greatest attorney general in the history of the country, or he’s going to go down as, you know, a very sad situation,” Trump said then.
But Tuesday was the first time he publicly demanded Barr start an investigation before Nov. 3...
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-barr-special-prosecutor-joe-hunter-biden-before-ele...
84LaurenSinclair
Detta konto har stängts av för spammande.
85margd
>26 margd:
Rape Defamation Lawsuit
Erica Orden | October 27, 2020
(CNN) A federal judge on Tuesday denied the Justice Department's effort to intervene in a defamation lawsuit brought against President Donald Trump by a longtime magazine columnist who has alleged he raped her, paving the way for the case to proceed.
The department had sought to substitute itself as defendant in the lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll, a move that likely would have ended the proceedings, since the federal government can't be sued for defamation....
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/27/politics/e-jean-carroll-defamation-lawsuit-trump/...
----------------------------------------------------------------
Judge's Conclusion: https://twitter.com/KlasfeldReports/status/1321082735318999042/photo/1
Rape Defamation Lawsuit
Erica Orden | October 27, 2020
(CNN) A federal judge on Tuesday denied the Justice Department's effort to intervene in a defamation lawsuit brought against President Donald Trump by a longtime magazine columnist who has alleged he raped her, paving the way for the case to proceed.
The department had sought to substitute itself as defendant in the lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll, a move that likely would have ended the proceedings, since the federal government can't be sued for defamation....
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/27/politics/e-jean-carroll-defamation-lawsuit-trump/...
----------------------------------------------------------------
Judge's Conclusion: https://twitter.com/KlasfeldReports/status/1321082735318999042/photo/1
86Limelite
Barr -- Hated by Libs, Reviled by Rethugs
Happy Halloween Come-Uppance, Trump Puppet!"
Happy Halloween Come-Uppance, Trump Puppet!"
Bill Barr’s house picketed by Trump supporters — because he hasn’t locked up Joe Biden yet.
On Saturday, Barr’s house outside Washington, DC was met with protesters.
Glenn Kessler
@GlennKesslerWP
It's come to this: A neighbor reports that AG William Barr's house in McLean is being picketed by Trump supporters who believe he's not doing enough to lock up Joe Biden
87margd
Barr Hands Prosecutors the Authority to Investigate Voter Fraud Claims
Katie Benner and Michael S. Schmidt | Nov. 9, 2020
...(DOJ AG) Barr’s authorization prompted the Justice Department official who oversees investigations of voter fraud, Richard Pilger, to step down from the post within hours...(“Having familiarized myself with the new policy and its ramifications...I must regretfully resign from my role as director of the Election Crimes Branch.”
...“It would be problematic enough if Barr were reversing longstanding Justice Department guidance because of significant, substantiated claims of misconduct — that could presumably be handled at the local and state level,” said Stephen I. Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law.
“But to do so when there is no such evidence — and when the president’s clear strategy is to delegitimize the results of a proper election — is one of the more problematic acts of any attorney general in my lifetime,” Mr. Vladeck added....
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/us/politics/barr-elections.html
Katie Benner and Michael S. Schmidt | Nov. 9, 2020
...(DOJ AG) Barr’s authorization prompted the Justice Department official who oversees investigations of voter fraud, Richard Pilger, to step down from the post within hours...(“Having familiarized myself with the new policy and its ramifications...I must regretfully resign from my role as director of the Election Crimes Branch.”
...“It would be problematic enough if Barr were reversing longstanding Justice Department guidance because of significant, substantiated claims of misconduct — that could presumably be handled at the local and state level,” said Stephen I. Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law.
“But to do so when there is no such evidence — and when the president’s clear strategy is to delegitimize the results of a proper election — is one of the more problematic acts of any attorney general in my lifetime,” Mr. Vladeck added....
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/us/politics/barr-elections.html
88margd
Exclusive: U.S. investigators were told to take 'no further action' on Caterpillar, ex-client of Barr
Aram Roston | Nov 18, 2020
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Before William Barr became President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Department of Justice, he represented Caterpillar Inc, a Fortune 100 company, in a federal criminal investigation by the department.
Much was at stake for Caterpillar: Since 2018, the Internal Revenue Service has been demanding $2.3 billion in payments from the company in connection with the tax matters under criminal investigation. The company is contesting that finding.
A week after Barr was nominated for the job of attorney general, Justice officials in Washington told the investigative team in the active criminal probe of Caterpillar to take “no further action” in the case
The decision, the email said, came from the Justice Department’s Tax Division and the office of the deputy attorney general, who was then Rod Rosenstein...
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-barr-caterpillar-exclusive/exclusive-u-s-...
Aram Roston | Nov 18, 2020
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Before William Barr became President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Department of Justice, he represented Caterpillar Inc, a Fortune 100 company, in a federal criminal investigation by the department.
Much was at stake for Caterpillar: Since 2018, the Internal Revenue Service has been demanding $2.3 billion in payments from the company in connection with the tax matters under criminal investigation. The company is contesting that finding.
A week after Barr was nominated for the job of attorney general, Justice officials in Washington told the investigative team in the active criminal probe of Caterpillar to take “no further action” in the case
The decision, the email said, came from the Justice Department’s Tax Division and the office of the deputy attorney general, who was then Rod Rosenstein...
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-barr-caterpillar-exclusive/exclusive-u-s-...
89Limelite
>88 margd:
Bill Barr wanted DOJ to drop drug trafficking and money laundering charges against ex-Mexican defense minister, Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, because Barr avers that the Mexican government will prosecute him since we have such an excellent partnership with Mexico and its law enforcement entities.
Uh huh.
But no such mutual understanding exists between the US Justice Dept. and Mexican law courts. However, we handed over our evidence developed so far in the case against Cienfuegos that now belongs to Mexico which did not commit to charging him upon completion of its probe. The Hill
IMO, Cienfuegos must have slipped a mighty big share of his drug profits in neatly laundered bills to certain people in the Trump administration. I'm sure the Mexican judges have long ago been paid for their consideration.
Bill Barr wanted DOJ to drop drug trafficking and money laundering charges against ex-Mexican defense minister, Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, because Barr avers that the Mexican government will prosecute him since we have such an excellent partnership with Mexico and its law enforcement entities.
Uh huh.
But no such mutual understanding exists between the US Justice Dept. and Mexican law courts. However, we handed over our evidence developed so far in the case against Cienfuegos that now belongs to Mexico which did not commit to charging him upon completion of its probe. The Hill
IMO, Cienfuegos must have slipped a mighty big share of his drug profits in neatly laundered bills to certain people in the Trump administration. I'm sure the Mexican judges have long ago been paid for their consideration.
90margd
AG Barr just set three more federal execution dates in addition to the two already scheduled in December.
The federal government just executed Orlando Hall last night.
If Barr gets his way, six people will be executed between Election Day and Inauguration Day.
This is a disgrace.
- Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking) @helenprejean | 7:23 PM · Nov 20, 2020
The federal government just executed Orlando Hall last night.
If Barr gets his way, six people will be executed between Election Day and Inauguration Day.
This is a disgrace.
- Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking) @helenprejean | 7:23 PM · Nov 20, 2020
91Limelite
Did somebody say, "Republicandeath panel"? Never -- only Democrats kill people and IOKIYAR.
92margd
Aaron Katersky (ABC News Radio) @AaronKatersky | 4:35 PM · Nov 25, 2020
The Justice Department is appealing to the 2nd Circuit the decision
that rejected its attempt to substitute for President Trump as the defendant
in the defamation lawsuit brought by @ejeancarroll
The Justice Department is appealing to the 2nd Circuit the decision
that rejected its attempt to substitute for President Trump as the defendant
in the defamation lawsuit brought by @ejeancarroll
93MsMixte
Bill Barr, in an odious paean to Trump, tendered his letter of resignation today.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/william-barr-resigns-trump-atto...
He wants to spend more time with his family.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/william-barr-resigns-trump-atto...
He wants to spend more time with his family.
94Limelite
Barr to depart Dec. 23rd. Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen will become acting Attorney General. Because who could be more qualified to be USAG than a lawyer with no prosecutorial experience?
95kiparsky
I wonder what Trump wants done in the last month of his term that even Barr wasn't willing to go along with...
96MsMixte
>94 Limelite: Oh, oh, oh, I can answer that! Jared would be perfect, don't you think?
97MsMixte
The above is snark, by the way. Jared would need to be confirmed before he could be AG. Jeff Rosen was confirmed by the Senate in May, so he can actually serve as acting AG.
98kiparsky
>96 MsMixte: I read that as a reply to >95 kiparsky: at first, and I thought, wow, this got real dark real fast.
99MsMixte
>98 kiparsky: You know, my answer fits both perfectly, doesn't it?
100Limelite
This is another Trump "resignation in name only." Barr got the Trump vengeance treatment because of two things: 1) He didn't go after the Bidens and frame them for a fake crime; 2) He didn't go out and "find" massive voter fraud by Democrats, instead he said there was no evidence of election irregularity of any kind.
I don't think Rosen knows enough about anything to initiate a directive to commit Federal Fraud. Short of blowing up the F.B.I. HQ and trying to pin it on anti-fa, there's not enough time for Trump to abuse the DOJ to spark the civil war he wants as his final act of vengeance on America for making him a LOSER.
I don't think Rosen knows enough about anything to initiate a directive to commit Federal Fraud. Short of blowing up the F.B.I. HQ and trying to pin it on anti-fa, there's not enough time for Trump to abuse the DOJ to spark the civil war he wants as his final act of vengeance on America for making him a LOSER.
101Earthling1
Medlemmem har stängts av.
102MsMixte
>100 Limelite: Today the crazies are all excited about Executive Order 13848, which will hold military tribunals to try, and convict, all those elector individuals who perversely voted to elect Biden in the Electoral College. They will be executed for treason, and Trump will remain president.
Stay tuned for thrilling adventures to take place December 18th!
Stay tuned for thrilling adventures to take place December 18th!
103Limelite
>102 MsMixte:
Kind of a comedown, anticlimactic, even. EO 13848 deals mostly with election hardware being tampered with by foreign operators. That's going to be difficult to make a case for, after having spent all the time Trump did trying to convince the courts that the problem was mail in ballots and since he lost so many hand recounts of ballots by volunteers who it would be hard put for a complainant to claim were all really foreign robots.
But thanks for heads up; I'll buy some more Orville Reddenbacher.
Kind of a comedown, anticlimactic, even. EO 13848 deals mostly with election hardware being tampered with by foreign operators. That's going to be difficult to make a case for, after having spent all the time Trump did trying to convince the courts that the problem was mail in ballots and since he lost so many hand recounts of ballots by volunteers who it would be hard put for a complainant to claim were all really foreign robots.
But thanks for heads up; I'll buy some more Orville Reddenbacher.
104Earthling1
Medlemmem har stängts av.
105Limelite
Trump is witless.
Republicans are feckless.
Trump supporters are mindless.
Election conspiracists are senseless.
Right wing information media is factless.
Soon, if all goes according to "plan," they'll all be penniless.
Republicans are feckless.
Trump supporters are mindless.
Election conspiracists are senseless.
Right wing information media is factless.
Soon, if all goes according to "plan," they'll all be penniless.
106kiparsky
What's interesting to me is that this news broke about two days after the Times (of New York, not some other Times) ran an article headlined Barr Plans To Finish Term. So it looks like Trump really wanted to stick the knife in.
Now, it seems to me that someone in Trump's position really shouldn't be making enemies of Barr's caliber. I mean, I don't like the guy but it's pretty clear that he's got more pull in American politics than Trump does by a long shot, and he knows how to use it.
It'll be interesting to see if Barr returns the favor at some point.
Now, it seems to me that someone in Trump's position really shouldn't be making enemies of Barr's caliber. I mean, I don't like the guy but it's pretty clear that he's got more pull in American politics than Trump does by a long shot, and he knows how to use it.
It'll be interesting to see if Barr returns the favor at some point.
107margd
!
Good news: Bill Barr is refusing to appoint a special counsel on election fraud, and is saying that the hack is by Russia.
Bad news: Bill Barr is leaving Wednesday. Will his successor stand up to Trump?
Real news: Trump is now so crazed, we might be better off with Barr as AG.
- Bill Kristol (Bulwark) @BillKristol | 11:32 AM · Dec 21, 2020
-----------------------------------------------
Bill Barr: ‘No Basis’ for Seizing Voting Machines
Justin Baragona | Published Dec. 21, 2020
Outgoing Attorney General William Barr, who will officially leave his position on Dec. 23, said on Monday that there is “no basis” behind the idea Team Trump floated for the Department of Homeland Security to overtake voting machines. According to multiple reports, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani called Department of Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli last week and asked about seizing machines as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the election he lost.
Trump, furthermore, inquired about issuing an executive order to seize the machines and appointing former campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, who has peddled unhinged conspiracies about corrupt voting software “rigging” the election, as a special counsel on election fraud. Powell has held several meetings with Trump in recent days.
“I see no basis now for seizing machines by the federal government, the wholesale seizures of machines by the federal government,” Barr said during a Monday morning press conference. The attorney general also stood by his earlier comments that the Justice Department hasn’t found “systemic or broad-based fraud that would affect the outcome of the election.”
As for the president’s desire to empower Powell to investigate unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud, Barr waved off that idea: “If I thought a special counsel at this stage was the right tool, I would name one, but I haven’t and I don’t plan to.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bill-barr-says-there-is-no-basis-for-seizing-votin...
--------------------------------------------------------
ETA
Barr contradicts Trump by saying it 'certainly appears' Russia behind cyberattack
Rachel Janfaza | December 21, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/21/politics/william-barr-russia-cyberattack/index.ht...
Good news: Bill Barr is refusing to appoint a special counsel on election fraud, and is saying that the hack is by Russia.
Bad news: Bill Barr is leaving Wednesday. Will his successor stand up to Trump?
Real news: Trump is now so crazed, we might be better off with Barr as AG.
- Bill Kristol (Bulwark) @BillKristol | 11:32 AM · Dec 21, 2020
-----------------------------------------------
Bill Barr: ‘No Basis’ for Seizing Voting Machines
Justin Baragona | Published Dec. 21, 2020
Outgoing Attorney General William Barr, who will officially leave his position on Dec. 23, said on Monday that there is “no basis” behind the idea Team Trump floated for the Department of Homeland Security to overtake voting machines. According to multiple reports, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani called Department of Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli last week and asked about seizing machines as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the election he lost.
Trump, furthermore, inquired about issuing an executive order to seize the machines and appointing former campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, who has peddled unhinged conspiracies about corrupt voting software “rigging” the election, as a special counsel on election fraud. Powell has held several meetings with Trump in recent days.
“I see no basis now for seizing machines by the federal government, the wholesale seizures of machines by the federal government,” Barr said during a Monday morning press conference. The attorney general also stood by his earlier comments that the Justice Department hasn’t found “systemic or broad-based fraud that would affect the outcome of the election.”
As for the president’s desire to empower Powell to investigate unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud, Barr waved off that idea: “If I thought a special counsel at this stage was the right tool, I would name one, but I haven’t and I don’t plan to.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bill-barr-says-there-is-no-basis-for-seizing-votin...
--------------------------------------------------------
ETA
Barr contradicts Trump by saying it 'certainly appears' Russia behind cyberattack
Rachel Janfaza | December 21, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/21/politics/william-barr-russia-cyberattack/index.ht...
108Limelite
Billy Ain't Gonna Play No More
William Barr said he won't appoint a special counsel to investigate President Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud. Looks like he regrets being Trump's Fixer instead of keeping true to his oath to be USAG.
But he's trying to remain a fixer to the end. In his press conference today, he actually took questions. Mostly he tried to fix his own reputation and put some figurative miles between himself and the WH. Does he think a mild mea culpa will be enough to keep his law license? Methinks there are a lot of decent attorneys out there calling for his head. He certainly is distancing himself from Trump's seditious and outright illegal requests for special counsels, etc., to investigate a there with no there there in the instances of:
1) Stolen election
2) Hunter Biden's taxes
3) Seizeing voting machines to enable the Crazy Uncle in the WH
His last hurrah, as he tries to avoid the door hitting him in the backxide, was to indict a third Lockerbie bomber suspect, the Libyan intelligence operative who allegedly built the bomb that blew up the Pan Am jet in flight while over Scotland. This was his oppo to wrap up his 1998 "case of a lifetime," the Lockerbie terror bombing case that he was one of the lead attorneys in prosecuting against two other terrorists. One has been freed; the other was found not guilty.
I don't think Barr leaves office with a mixed record. He leaves office as the most corrupt AG ever. His itty-bitty self apology/confession would be an embarrassment if he had a shred of honor.
Your intentions were corrupt seizure of power.
More than "conforming," you enhanced, magnified, and fostered the destruction of DOJ and the Constitution.
You were only "victims" of your own greed, vanity, power hunger, and unscrupulous rottenness. NOT! You CHOSE to be a deplorable anti-democratic wrecker.
You were no "instrument." You were a delirious manipulating toolman.
With no one to blame but yourself, you should have the honesty to drop the royal "we." Being haunted by your crimes is insufficient, Billy Barr. You need to be charged with them ASAP.
William Barr said he won't appoint a special counsel to investigate President Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud. Looks like he regrets being Trump's Fixer instead of keeping true to his oath to be USAG.
But he's trying to remain a fixer to the end. In his press conference today, he actually took questions. Mostly he tried to fix his own reputation and put some figurative miles between himself and the WH. Does he think a mild mea culpa will be enough to keep his law license? Methinks there are a lot of decent attorneys out there calling for his head. He certainly is distancing himself from Trump's seditious and outright illegal requests for special counsels, etc., to investigate a there with no there there in the instances of:
1) Stolen election
2) Hunter Biden's taxes
3) Seizeing voting machines to enable the Crazy Uncle in the WH
His last hurrah, as he tries to avoid the door hitting him in the backxide, was to indict a third Lockerbie bomber suspect, the Libyan intelligence operative who allegedly built the bomb that blew up the Pan Am jet in flight while over Scotland. This was his oppo to wrap up his 1998 "case of a lifetime," the Lockerbie terror bombing case that he was one of the lead attorneys in prosecuting against two other terrorists. One has been freed; the other was found not guilty.
I don't think Barr leaves office with a mixed record. He leaves office as the most corrupt AG ever. His itty-bitty self apology/confession would be an embarrassment if he had a shred of honor.
No matter our intentions, we were complicit. We collectively perpetuated an anti-democratic leader by conforming to his assault on reality. We may have been victims of the system, but we were also its instruments."Hold on there, scum lord.
Your intentions were corrupt seizure of power.
More than "conforming," you enhanced, magnified, and fostered the destruction of DOJ and the Constitution.
You were only "victims" of your own greed, vanity, power hunger, and unscrupulous rottenness. NOT! You CHOSE to be a deplorable anti-democratic wrecker.
You were no "instrument." You were a delirious manipulating toolman.
With no one to blame but yourself, you should have the honesty to drop the royal "we." Being haunted by your crimes is insufficient, Billy Barr. You need to be charged with them ASAP.
109margd
Trump Justice Department subpoenaed Apple for data from House Intelligence Committee Democrats, sources say
Manu Raju, Evan Perez, Katie Bo Williams and Paul LeBlanc | June 10, 2021
(CNN)Prosecutors in the Trump administration Justice Department subpoenaed Apple for data from the accounts of House Intelligence Committee Democrats -- including Chairman Adam Schiff -- along with their staff and family members as part of a leak investigation, an Intelligence Committee official and a source familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN.
Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, another Democrat on the committee, told CNN's Don Lemon on Thursday evening that he was notified that his data had been seized as part of the probe as well.
The prosecutors, the New York Times first reported, were looking for the sources behind news stories about contacts between Russia and Trump associates.
...the FBI sen(t) a subpoena to Apple in February 2018, which included a gag order, seeking metadata on more than 100 accounts as part of an investigation into the disclosure of classified information...
The gag order was renewed three times before it expired this year and Apple notified the customers. The House Intelligence Committee determined that along with members of the panel and staff, the dragnet collected the records of family members, including at least one minor...
Records seized included those from staff members who had nothing to do with issues related to Russia or former FBI Director James Comey, including Schiff's personal office staff, a House Intelligence Committee source told CNN...
https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/10/politics/house-intelligence-committee-apple-data-...
--------------------------------------------------------------
Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1 | 10:25 PM · Jun 10, 2021:
Flashback: May 2019
Harris: Has the president or anyone at the WH ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone?
Barr: Um.
...
Harris: Seems you'd remember something like that and be able to tell us.
Barr: Yeah, but I'm trying to grapple with the word suggest.
0:56 ( https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1403176488753455107 )
Manu Raju, Evan Perez, Katie Bo Williams and Paul LeBlanc | June 10, 2021
(CNN)Prosecutors in the Trump administration Justice Department subpoenaed Apple for data from the accounts of House Intelligence Committee Democrats -- including Chairman Adam Schiff -- along with their staff and family members as part of a leak investigation, an Intelligence Committee official and a source familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN.
Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, another Democrat on the committee, told CNN's Don Lemon on Thursday evening that he was notified that his data had been seized as part of the probe as well.
The prosecutors, the New York Times first reported, were looking for the sources behind news stories about contacts between Russia and Trump associates.
...the FBI sen(t) a subpoena to Apple in February 2018, which included a gag order, seeking metadata on more than 100 accounts as part of an investigation into the disclosure of classified information...
The gag order was renewed three times before it expired this year and Apple notified the customers. The House Intelligence Committee determined that along with members of the panel and staff, the dragnet collected the records of family members, including at least one minor...
Records seized included those from staff members who had nothing to do with issues related to Russia or former FBI Director James Comey, including Schiff's personal office staff, a House Intelligence Committee source told CNN...
https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/10/politics/house-intelligence-committee-apple-data-...
--------------------------------------------------------------
Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1 | 10:25 PM · Jun 10, 2021:
Flashback: May 2019
Harris: Has the president or anyone at the WH ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone?
Barr: Um.
...
Harris: Seems you'd remember something like that and be able to tell us.
Barr: Yeah, but I'm trying to grapple with the word suggest.
0:56 ( https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1403176488753455107 )
110Limelite
Bill Barr Pleads Ignorance
Claims neither he nor Trump were aware of any spying on Democrats was occurring in the DOJ. In a phone interview, Barr said he didn’t recall getting briefed on any attempts to get communication records from Apple.
Claims neither he nor Trump were aware of any spying on Democrats was occurring in the DOJ. In a phone interview, Barr said he didn’t recall getting briefed on any attempts to get communication records from Apple.
In 2017 and 2018, the Justice Department seized the records of at least 12 people connected to the House Intelligence Committee, including its current chair. Barr became attorney general in 2019.
(SNIP)
Barr said that while he was attorney general, he was “not aware of any congressman’s records being sought in a leak case.” He added that Trump never encouraged him to zero in on the Democratic lawmakers who reportedly became targets of the former president's push to unmask leakers of classified information.
Trump "was not aware of who we were looking at in any of the cases,” Barr said. “I never discussed the leak cases with Trump. He didn’t really ask me any of the specifics.”
111Limelite
Bill Barr Knew and Perjured Himself
Peter Strzok -- who headed up the FBI's Counterintelligence Division -- was asked about the blockbuster report from the New York Times that the Trump Justice Department under both Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions was digging into phone records of members of Congress.
Peter Strzok -- who headed up the FBI's Counterintelligence Division -- was asked about the blockbuster report from the New York Times that the Trump Justice Department under both Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions was digging into phone records of members of Congress.
During his CNN appearance, Strzok watched a clip of Barr stumbling around when asked by then Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) whether the DOJ had been pressed by the president to open any investigations.
(SNIP)
"As an investigator, you begin to understand when people are not telling the truth, avoiding answers," Strzok replied. "When I see long pauses, vague answers, refusing to answer, it's clear things are there. It's clear Kamala Harris knew exactly what was going on and Bill Barr knew what he was hiding there. It was clear he wasn't being forthcoming in his answers to those questions."
112margd
Newly released emails show Trump pressured DOJ to challenge election results, House Oversight says
Kevin Breuninger | Jun 15 2021
The House Oversight Committee shared a cache of more than 200 pages of documents (from Trump, his White House aides and his outside allies, mid-December up to the days before the Capitol invasion).
The documents show that Trump in December pressed the Justice Department to file a Supreme Court lawsuit to nullify the 2020 election, the committee said.
“These documents show that President Trump tried to corrupt our nation’s chief law enforcement agency in a brazen attempt to overturn an election that he lost,” committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney said.
...On Dec. 14, for instance, Trump’s assistant emailed then-Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen a raft of attachments claiming an election “Cover-up” was taking place in Michigan, the panel said.
Minutes later, an assistant for Richard Donoghue, then the principal associate deputy attorney general, sent the same information to two U.S. Attorneys’ offices in Michigan, according to the committee.
About 40 minutes after the first email was sent, Trump tweeted that Rosen would be replacing Attorney General William Barr in an acting capacity and that Donoghue would serve as acting deputy attorney general.
That announcement came just moments after the Electoral College voted to formalize Biden’s victory over Trump.
Later in December, Trump’s assistant emailed a draft legal brief to Rosen, Donoghue and acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall.
The 54-page draft complaint would have asked the Supreme Court to declare that the Electoral College votes of six crucial swing states — Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania — “cannot be counted.”
The legal brief also called for the Supreme Court to authorize the states in question to conduct a special election to appoint their presidential electors.
Other emails show Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff and a former North Carolina congressman, repeatedly pushing Rosen to investigate election fraud conspiracy theories — including claims of fraudulent activity being carried out via “military satellites” from Italy...
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/15/trump-pressured-doj-to-challenge-election-result...
Kevin Breuninger | Jun 15 2021
The House Oversight Committee shared a cache of more than 200 pages of documents (from Trump, his White House aides and his outside allies, mid-December up to the days before the Capitol invasion).
The documents show that Trump in December pressed the Justice Department to file a Supreme Court lawsuit to nullify the 2020 election, the committee said.
“These documents show that President Trump tried to corrupt our nation’s chief law enforcement agency in a brazen attempt to overturn an election that he lost,” committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney said.
...On Dec. 14, for instance, Trump’s assistant emailed then-Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen a raft of attachments claiming an election “Cover-up” was taking place in Michigan, the panel said.
Minutes later, an assistant for Richard Donoghue, then the principal associate deputy attorney general, sent the same information to two U.S. Attorneys’ offices in Michigan, according to the committee.
About 40 minutes after the first email was sent, Trump tweeted that Rosen would be replacing Attorney General William Barr in an acting capacity and that Donoghue would serve as acting deputy attorney general.
That announcement came just moments after the Electoral College voted to formalize Biden’s victory over Trump.
Later in December, Trump’s assistant emailed a draft legal brief to Rosen, Donoghue and acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall.
The 54-page draft complaint would have asked the Supreme Court to declare that the Electoral College votes of six crucial swing states — Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania — “cannot be counted.”
The legal brief also called for the Supreme Court to authorize the states in question to conduct a special election to appoint their presidential electors.
Other emails show Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff and a former North Carolina congressman, repeatedly pushing Rosen to investigate election fraud conspiracy theories — including claims of fraudulent activity being carried out via “military satellites” from Italy...
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/15/trump-pressured-doj-to-challenge-election-result...
