drcrinum said:

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backintexas2013 said:

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drcrinum said:

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Rosenstein's days are definitely numbered.

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So after the McCabe timeline I really think this is being done perfectly.

I posted this on another thread.

McCabe gets canned around March 15th with little reason why.

Congress critters and other Dems defend hi. His wife writes an editorial about being unfair.

Others start supporting McCabe and saying it's unfair

Three weeks later report comes out showing McCabe lied multiple times and should have been fired.

Everyone that supported McCabe look like complete morons and scurry away.

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This is Phase 1...nail McCabe and destroy his public credibility, then indict him for lying to obtain a plea deal. McCabe is the 'keystone' as he played a central role in the subsequent Phases. Phase 2: The phony FISA warrant application on Carter Page so they could spy on the entire Trump Campaign/Transition Team via the 2 hop rule. Phase 3: The unmasking of names in cooperation with Susan Rice/Samantha Power. Destination...The White House & Obummer, not to mention coordination and sharing with HRC.

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This is a great strategy by the IG.

Makes it harder for the media to ignore the story when you break it out in to multiple phases.

A couple thoughts. I agree it is highly likely that some of those remaining at the FBI/DOJ have likely flipped. There are lots of folks who are uncharacteristicly quiet right now.

A question for these who are knowledgeable in attorney client privilege. If Cheryl Mills was involved in Hillary's email operation, can she be granted immunity?

Absolutely he does, and Comey damn well knows it.

aggiehawg said:

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RoscoePColtrane said:

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drcrinum said:

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https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/04/michael-cohen-investigation-serious-peril-for-trump/

Andrew McCarthy's latest -- the Cohen investigation is criminal and all about hush money; very detailed.

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I respect McCarthy a lot, but that is a large pile of speculations, what ifs, maybes, and perhaps.

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True...at the moment. Cohen is looking more and more sleazy. The women all having the same lawyer is troubling to me.Not necessarily from a legal exposure for Trump as I doubt he was ever aware of it (at least I hope not) but it does smack of a conspiracy between Cohen and Davidson to hoodwink these women.

Of course none of the women are sympathetic characters being porn stars, Playboy models sleeping around with married billionaires, essentially hoors-for-hire.

My question is why is all of this coming out now? Because of Cohen's lawsuit against BuzzFeed and Fusion, GPS? That's Fusion's specialty, scouring public sources for information even decades old. If Fusion is involved and this is an attempt to force him to drop the suit? We'll see if there are connections between the SDNY and Fusion at some point, I expect. Hell, it might have been Fusion that sleuthed out the original information that started the investigation. We still don't know.

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From TheLastRefuge:


He believes that the raid on Cohen is directly related to his lawsuit against Buzzfeed, which happened as a result of the FISA abuse that resulted in his name being collected in the illegal queries.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/andrew-mccabes-very-dramatic-call-with-top-obama-doj-official-about-clinton-foundation-probe-raises-questions

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Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said he was pressed by a top Justice Department official about the FBI's investigation into the Clinton Foundation, according to the released Justice Department inspector general's report released Friday.

McCabe describes the August 2016 call with the then-principal associate deputy attorney general as being "very dramatic" and unlike any confrontation he'd ever had with such a high-level official.

"McCabe told the OIG that on August 12, 2016, he received a telephone call from PADAG regarding the FBI's handling of the CF Investigation (the 'PADAG call'). McCabe said that PADAG expressed concerns about FBI agents taking overt steps in the CF Investigation during the presidential campaign," the IG report states.

"According to McCabe, he pushed back, asking, 'Are you telling me that I need to shut down a validly predicated investigation?' McCabe told us that the conversation was 'very dramatic' and he never had a similar confrontation like the PADAG call with a high level Department official in his entire FBI career."

Matthew Axelrod served as the principal associate deputy attorney general at the end of the Obama administration, but it's not immediately clear if he is the person referenced in the report....

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This revelation comes from the detailed (35 page) OIG Report on McCabe released yesterday that details McCabe's lying, the above PADAG call reported on Page 5.
https://static01.nyt.com/files/2018/us/politics/20180413a-doj-oig-mccabe-report.pdf

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And those that have supported Rosenstein will also look like complete morons, as will those defending Mueller.

It's nothing less than amazing how clowns like Comey, Mueller, Rosenstein and McCabe climbed to their positions in authority. And it's nothing less than amazing that the GOP Senate STILL defends Mueller.

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Even if they are never filed I have to wonder what the precise grounds are in those Articles of Impeachment for Rosenstein.

I tend to think of Rosenstein as a gray hat, neither black nor white. I don't think he was sufficiently inside of the loop when Comey and Lynch were running the show to have a full understanding of what was going on. By that I mean he reasonably believed in his mind that there was some collusion, without knowing that all of that was oppo research paid for by the DNC and Hillary campaign. If Comey didn't see fit to tell Trump why would he tell Rosenstein?

But at some point, he should have understood how much he didn't know. His failure to rein Mueller in and keep him on task is his chief failing in my eyes.

Wasn't Rosey on the Comey/Mueller team when they were after Enron?

RoscoePColtrane said:

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Wasn't Rosey on the Comey/Mueller team when they were after Enron?

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Was he? I forget.

aggiehawg said:

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But at some point, he should have understood how much he didn't know. His failure to rein Mueller in and keep him on task is his chief failing in my eyes.

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Exactly

And, as we all know, ignorance is no defense in the eyes of the law.

Whether Rosenstein is a gray hat (a spineless idiot who was duped into going along with corrupt people) or a black hat (as corrupt as Lynch and the Obama cronies), is irrelevant. He went along with wrongdoing.

Personally, I think Comey, Mueller and Rosenstein are all gray hats who are for sale to the highest bidder, and are therefore void of any moral convictions.

Due to this, I actually have more respect for Lynch and McCabe. At least they have some convictions (albeit ones 180 degrees from those tha I hold).

CrazyDayDuck said:

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aggiehawg said:

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But at some point, he should have understood how much he didn't know. His failure to rein Mueller in and keep him on task is his chief failing in my eyes.

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Exactly

And, as we all know, motivation is no defense in the eyes of the law.

Whether Rosenstein is a gray hat (a spineless idiot who was duped into going along with corrupt people) or a black hat (as corrupt as Lynch and the Obama cronies), is irrelevant. He went along with wrongdoing.

Personally, I think Comey, Mueller and Rosenstein are for sale to the highest bidder and are void of any moral convictions.

Due to this, I actually have more respect for Lynch and McCabe. At least they have some convictions (albeit ones 180 degrees from those tha I hold).

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Rosenstein COULD try and save face by reigning-in Mueller, limiting its scope to only Russian collusion, and making sure any other issues that might arise are referred to DOJ and back under the jurisdiction of Sessions.

But he hasn't, and obviously won't. So he deserves whatever fate befalls him.

RoscoePColtrane said:

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Wasn't Rosey on the Comey/Mueller team when they were after Enron?

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They definitely have a history together.

And they are definitely trying to cover their tracks after selling their souls to Hillary and Obama.

Reminds me of that line in Lonesome Dove when Jake gets hung. "You ride with outlaws. You hang with outlaws."

Comey and Rosenstein have been riding with outlaws. Mueller may be an outlaw (based on his reckless handling of the Anthrax investigation and Whitey Bulger).

jjeffers1 said:

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CrazyDayDuck said:

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aggiehawg said:

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But at some point, he should have understood how much he didn't know. His failure to rein Mueller in and keep him on task is his chief failing in my eyes.

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Exactly

And, as we all know, motivation is no defense in the eyes of the law.

Whether Rosenstein is a gray hat (a spineless idiot who was duped into going along with corrupt people) or a black hat (as corrupt as Lynch and the Obama cronies), is irrelevant. He went along with wrongdoing.

Personally, I think Comey, Mueller and Rosenstein are for sale to the highest bidder and are void of any moral convictions.

Due to this, I actually have more respect for Lynch and McCabe. At least they have some convictions (albeit ones 180 degrees from those tha I hold).

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Rosenstein COULD try and save face by reigning-in Mueller, limiting its scope to only Russian collusion, and making sure any other issues that might arise are referred to DOJ and back under the jurisdiction of Sessions.

But he hasn't, and obviously won't. So he deserves whatever fate befalls him.

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By signing off on the invasion of Trump's personal attorney, Rosenstein crossed one line too many.

Which makes me think his hat is at least a dark shade of gray if it is not black.

CrazyDayDuck said:

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jjeffers1 said:

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CrazyDayDuck said:

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aggiehawg said:

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But at some point, he should have understood how much he didn't know. His failure to rein Mueller in and keep him on task is his chief failing in my eyes.

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Exactly

And, as we all know, motivation is no defense in the eyes of the law.

Whether Rosenstein is a gray hat (a spineless idiot who was duped into going along with corrupt people) or a black hat (as corrupt as Lynch and the Obama cronies), is irrelevant. He went along with wrongdoing.

Personally, I think Comey, Mueller and Rosenstein are for sale to the highest bidder and are void of any moral convictions.

Due to this, I actually have more respect for Lynch and McCabe. At least they have some convictions (albeit ones 180 degrees from those tha I hold).

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Rosenstein COULD try and save face by reigning-in Mueller, limiting its scope to only Russian collusion, and making sure any other issues that might arise are referred to DOJ and back under the jurisdiction of Sessions.

But he hasn't, and obviously won't. So he deserves whatever fate befalls him.

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By signing off on the invasion of Trump's personal attorney, Rosenstein crossed one line too many.

Which makes me think his hat is at least a dark shade of gray if it is not black.

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But that's the thing - if it was determined that the Cohen stuff doesn't fall under the Mueller umbrella - shouldn't that call been Sessions'?

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But that's the thing - if it was determined that the Cohen stuff doesn't fall under the Mueller umbrella - shouldn't that call been Sessions'?

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Sessions is still hiding under his desk from Al Franken.

Rapier108 said:

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Quote:

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But that's the thing - if it was determined that the Cohen stuff doesn't fall under the Mueller umbrella - shouldn't that call been Sessions'?

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Sessions is still hiding under his desk from Al Franken.

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He's certainly been a disappointment (outwardly). Still hoping he's more of a silent assassin, but I don't think he is.

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By signing off on the invasion of Trump's personal attorney, Rosenstein crossed one line too many.

Which makes me think his hat is at least a dark shade of gray if it is not black.

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I'm still unclear on how that happened in the first place, given what we know now, i.e. that the SDNY had been investigating Cohen for months for his business practices (taxi medallion issue), had already obtained his email accounts to determine if he was advising clients and actively practicing law.

IOW, I don't know who was using who. Did Mueller poke his nose into an existing SDNY investigation? Or did Mueller actually start the SDNY investigation several months back? With Rosenstein's direct involvement, I tend to lean towards the latter.

If it were an independent existing SDNY investigation, the sign off on the Cohen warrant would have gone through Sessions, not Rosenstein, is my point.

I need to carry through on my threat to go to D.C. and hoist up Mr Magoo by his drawers and parade him around the National Mall.

He's a disgrace. Not just as an Attorney General but as a man.

The loser let Stuart Smalley intimidate him.

Everything I have heard is that it was Rosenstein that signed off on the Cohen home invasion.

Regardless, both he and Sessions need to go.

CrazyDayDuck said:

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Everything I have heard is that it was Rosenstein that signed off on the Cohen home invasion.

Regardless, both he and Sessions need to go.

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Not disputing that he did. The early reporting was so disparate on what the warrants were looking for there was ample cause for confusion as to why Mueller was involved and thus Rosenstein.

And Rosenstein does deserve condemnation for his expansion of Mueller's jurisdiction into Manafort's actions in the Ukraine going back to 2006.

So it appears Rod Rosenstein is a member of the Mueller Gang, having worked directly under Robert Mueller at the Department of Justice as far back as 1990, when Comey was still working as the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division for the U.S. Attorney's office in New York, Mueller and Rosenstein were becoming thick as thieves. It appears Rosey did loyal work for Hillary Clinton, when he became a clean-up man for the Clinton Administration as an Associate Independent Counsel from 1995 until 1997. He also supervised the investigation that found no basis for criminal prosecution of White House officials who had illegally obtained classified FBI background reports. He also covered for the Team Clinton, including covering for Hillary, as she was one of the people who had access to the reports, and may have even requested them. Convenient for the Clintons, no indictments were filed. He was also tapped to run interference in the Whitewater investigation. Rosey wasn't alone, he had help from his co-worker James Comey, who was also making sure the Clintons were exonerated during the Whitewater affair. So it appears Rosenstein and Mueller go even further back than Comey does with Mueller.

Now Lisa Barsoomian works for R. Craig Lawrence, an attorney who has represented Robert Mueller three times, James Comey five times, Barack Obama forty-five times, Kathleen Sebelius fifty-six times, Bill Clinton forty times, and Hillary Clinton seventeen times between 1991 and 2017.

Barsoomian participated in some of this work personally and has herself represented the FBI at least five separate times while Mueller was the Chief. It would be great to research the specifics of the cases she worked in, many of the documents from the Court Docket relating to these cases have been removed from the D.C. District and Appeals Court, including her representation for Clinton in 1998's case Hamburg. V. Clinton.

Mockingbird in full force again. Both the NYT & WP put on the front page a story about someone no one has heard of, Elliott Broidy, for paying off a mistress. Both papers buried a story about someone everyone has heard of, Andrew McCabe, who was found found to have lied 4 times under oath.

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So it appears Rod Rosenstein is a member of the Mueller Gang, having worked directly under Robert Mueller at the Department of Justice as far back as 1990, when Comey was still working as the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division for the U.S. Attorney's office in New York, Mueller and Rosenstein were becoming thick as thieves.

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Guess Ol' Rosey has never stopped thinking of Mueller as his boss. <sigh>

How about this from Comey's book?

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Ex-FBI Director James Comey savages President Trump in his bestselling new tell-all, "A Higher Loyalty" but also skewers former Attorney General Loretta Lynch for her dubious handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe.

Lynch, wrote Comey, had a "tortured half-out, half-in approach" to the investigation, and he said he even considered calling for a special prosecutor to be appointed to oversee the probe because of Lynch's ambivalence.

"But I decided it would be brutally unfair to do that," he wrote.

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Link

Unfair to whom?

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Still, his grave concerns about Lynch prompted him to provide the public with an independent opinion about the investigation a move that led to howls from Trump and the GOP, who accused him of circumventing the chain of command.

"I needed to visibly step away from Loretta Lynch and do something I never could have imagined before 2016: having the FBI separately offer its views to the American people by making public my recommendation" that Clinton not be charged "and the thinking behind it."

Americans, he argued, "needed and deserved transparency, and I believed that I had the independent reputation to step out front and take the hits."

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Ever the savior, eh Jimmy?

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In another passage, he portrayed Lynch as a political actor more concerned with appearances than the truth.

The pair met privately days before the election, and the AG gave him a hug, telling him he had done the right thing when he made his sudden announcement that the feds' probe into Clinton's emails was reopening only to say days later that it was once again closed with no signs of criminality.

"She said, with just the slightest hint of a smile, 'Try to look beat up.' She had told somebody she was going to chew me out for what I had done. What a world," he wrote.

Later, however, he wrote that "I, for one, didn't see any instance when Attorney General Lynch interfered with the conduct of the investigation" into the former first lady.

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So even Lynch knew he was a wimp??

Now this just ridiculous.

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He also dismissed the significance of the infamous tarmac meeting between Lynch and Bill Clinton arguing that if Bubba was intent on influencing the investigation into his wife's private email server, he wouldn't have done so in such a public manner "in broad daylight."

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This is humorous:

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McCabe's spokesperson is already spinning like the wind and assigning blame:

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Melissa Schwartz

@MSchwartz3

Beware efforts by GOP to create (curiously timed) false drama. Emails btw the two & McCabe's recollection of discussions w/ Comey are extremely clear; Comey's memory is, by his own acknowledgment, not clear. Yet 2 allegations are based on Comey's admittedly vague recollection.

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Quote:

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Sean Davis

@seanmdav

Either McCabe lied to Comey, which is what the OIG concluded, or Comey authorized McCabe to anonymously leak that one of Lynch's minions at DOJ tried to corruptly shut down the Clinton Foundation investigation. Not sure the GOP cares which door you pick.

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More twitter war here

Whatever word is a better adjective than ridiculous is the one I'm looking for.

Son of a *****, that's fickin' insane!

fasthorses05 said:

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Whatever word is a better adjective than ridiculous is the one I'm looking for.

Son of a *****, that's fickin' insane!

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As I recall Comey was upset enough about the tango on the tarmac that he was prompted to step in with the July 5th exoneration speech. (A speech he had been working on for three months.)

Now it was no big deal?

Just like the dossier is salacious and unverified yet tried to use it to essentially blackmail Trump.

friscodick said:

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Just like the dossier is salacious and unverified yet tried to use it to essentially blackmail Trump.

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My jaw hit the floor when Comey testified that he was worried Trump would think he was blackmailing him. Who even thinks that way? Unless that's exactly what Comey had planned.

Ponder this:

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James Comey told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that he did not tell President Trump the infamous Fusion GPS dossier was funded by the DNC because he didn't view it as necessary.

"Did you tell him the Steele dossier had been financed by his political opponents?" Stephanopoulos asked the former FBI director in an interview set to air on Sunday night.

"No, I don't even think I used the words 'Steele Dossier,'" Comey responded. "I just talked about additional material."

"Did he have a right to know that?" Stephanopoulos asked as a follow-up.

"That it had been financed by his political opponents? I don't know the answer to that," Comey conceded. "It wasn't necessary for my goal, which was to alert him that we had this information."

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LINK

Does that sound like an admission to anyone else?

Somebody will be along soon to say that there has never been a single thing proven wrong about the dossier. Bring up Alpha Bank vs Alfa Bank and it's played off as just a mistake.

Fun mental exercise. Pretend every Republican in this story was a Dem and every Democrat was a Rep, then imagine how differently the media would be portraying the situation.

How about some Congressional hearings on THAT?

Tailgate88 said:

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Fun mental exercise. Pretend every Republican in this story was a Dem and every Democrat was a Rep, then imagine how differently the media would be portraying the situation.

How about some Congressional hearings on THAT?

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No one would know who McCabe, Mueller, or Comey even is in that scenario.

I think it is called "lack of candor" in MSM parlance

Immunity doesn't cover participation in crmininal activity as I understand it.

MouthBQ98 said:

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Immunity doesn't cover participation in crmininal activity as I understand it.

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Thank you.

Cheryl needs a lawyer.