Quote:
As the perpetrators of one of the most shameful scandals in American political history begin slowly to retreat, we are left to ponder one overarching question:
What now?
.......
Who will pay the price for unleashing this ordeal on the American public? Which lawmaker will be rebuked and censured for pretending to have evidence of malfeasance that never happened? Which former high level official will be charged for abuse of power?
What journalist will be fired and permanently jettisoned from the industry for intentionally misleading readers and viewers? What editor or media owner will be held accountable for publishing illegally leaked information that exacted real harm on innocent people? When will NeverTrumperers who accused more astute observers of this scheme of being "conspiracy theorists" going to apologize?
How will people harassed by the media and investigators restore their professional standing, squandered savings and mental wellbeing? How can the president regain the time in his term that has been lost to this craven insurgency?
These are only a handful of the questions now arising from the wreckage of the failed Trump-Russia collusion gambit; the answers might be just as infuriating as the questions themselves.
The comments are worth reading, also.Quote:
Think about that for a moment. Barack Obama's Justice Department weaponized federal law enforcement and intelligence powers to infiltrate and spy on a rival presidential campaign then leveraged that same authority after the election to raze an incoming administration, yet not one member of the press corps has asked him one question about it.
Quote:
Former top FBI lawyer: 2 Trump Cabinet officials were 'ready to support' 25th Amendment effort
Former top FBI lawyer James Baker, in closed-door testimony to Congress, detailed alleged discussions among senior officials at the Justice Department about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office, claiming he was told Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said two Trump Cabinet officials were "ready to support" such an effort.
The testimony was delivered last fall to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees. Fox News has confirmed portions of the transcript. It provides additional insight into discussions that have returned to the spotlight in Washington as fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe revisits the matter during interviews promoting his forthcoming book.
Baker did not identify the two Cabinet officials. But in his testimony, the lawyer said McCabe and FBI lawyer Lisa Page came to him to relay their conversations with Rosenstein, including discussions of the 25th Amendment.....
Rosenstein, who still works at the Justice Department but who is expected to exit in the near future, has denied the claims since they first surfaced in the media last year......
All good questions that deserve an answerdrcrinum said:
https://amgreatness.com/2019/02/14/after-the-coup-is-gone/Quote:
As the perpetrators of one of the most shameful scandals in American political history begin slowly to retreat, we are left to ponder one overarching question:
What now?
.......
Who will pay the price for unleashing this ordeal on the American public? Which lawmaker will be rebuked and censured for pretending to have evidence of malfeasance that never happened? Which former high level official will be charged for abuse of power?
What journalist will be fired and permanently jettisoned from the industry for intentionally misleading readers and viewers? What editor or media owner will be held accountable for publishing illegally leaked information that exacted real harm on innocent people? When will NeverTrumperers who accused more astute observers of this scheme of being "conspiracy theorists" going to apologize?
How will people harassed by the media and investigators restore their professional standing, squandered savings and mental wellbeing? How can the president regain the time in his term that has been lost to this craven insurgency?
These are only a handful of the questions now arising from the wreckage of the failed Trump-Russia collusion gambit; the answers might be just as infuriating as the questions themselves.
This is a fascinating article. One of the best in recent times.
Quote:
Graham calls McCabe comments 'beyond stunning' as he threatens to subpoena former FBI chief
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., vowed Sunday to investigate alleged discussions at the Department of Justice about invoking the 25th Amendment as a way to oust President Trump from office and threatened to subpoena former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe if he refused to testify on the matter before the Senate.
"We're going to find out what happened here and the only way I know to find out is to call the people in under oath and find out, through questioning, who's telling the truth because the underlying accusation is beyond stunning," Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Graham added that he also plans to subpoena both McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein if they won't voluntarily agree to testify before the committee.
He said: "But we've got to get to the bottom of it. What are people to think after they watch "60 Minutes" when they hear this accusation by the acting deputy acting FBI director that the deputy attorney general encouraged him to try to find ways to count votes to replace the president? That can't go unaddressed.".....
blindey said:
Lends a lot of credibility to the theory that Scaramucci really was a hatchet man brought in to clear out the people that were revealed to support that nonsense.
Tend to agree. Mooch was a misstep when Trump was under siege all around him. He trusted him. Then promptly realized he was extremely ill-suited for the job.BMX Bandit said:blindey said:
Lends a lot of credibility to the theory that Scaramucci really was a hatchet man brought in to clear out the people that were revealed to support that nonsense.
Who are the people that Scaramucci cleared out?
Priebus? He wasnt a cabinet member & Certainly didn't support removing Trump
That theory about him really never has made any sense.
If you want to read about some complicated crap involving Cambridge Analytica, this chap below has been digging deep. Perhaps related to the Dragon FISA:MD1993 said:
Mueller is now investigating the cambridge analytics and people are hoping some Huskies are tied to it.
Not that I have seen. However he is keen on investigating FISA abuse so he's looking into it and proposed legislation will likely result, is my guess.policywonk98 said:
On your third point. I can't think of anyone but the 40 or so freedom caucus members and a few of their senate counterparts that have even talked about reform. Is Graham talking reform?
... not to minimize the presumed trust these courts likely place in the integrity and candor of FISA applications as another contributing factor, I wonder if these courts are suitably staffed to critically read/analyse the volume of FISA documents that cross their desks?drcrinum said:
Bates was the FISC judge who signed off on the final extension of Carter Page's FISA. This is almost unbelievable. IMO people are not critically reading the documents presented to them...or they are so ill prepared or inexperienced that they should not be placed in such positions...or they are so naive that they would never consider that someone would attempt to pull the wool over their eyes...or there are more stupid people in circulation than commonly assumed. It's worrisome that if this is the prevailing opinion of FISC judges, it probably blows enough holes in the FISA abuse scandal that no one will ever see prosecution.
Considering that an incredibly high percentage (upper 90s percent) of FISA applications are approved, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess, "No."benchmark said:... not to minimize the presumed trust these courts likely place in the integrity and candor of FISA applications as another contributing factor, I wonder if these courts are suitably staffed to critically read/analyse the volume of FISA documents that cross their desks?drcrinum said:
Bates was the FISC judge who signed off on the final extension of Carter Page's FISA. This is almost unbelievable. IMO people are not critically reading the documents presented to them...or they are so ill prepared or inexperienced that they should not be placed in such positions...or they are so naive that they would never consider that someone would attempt to pull the wool over their eyes...or there are more stupid people in circulation than commonly assumed. It's worrisome that if this is the prevailing opinion of FISC judges, it probably blows enough holes in the FISA abuse scandal that no one will ever see prosecution.
Not to put too fine a point on it but FISA court judges are not subject to reversal upon appeal.blindey said:
Federal courts are busy, but in my experience, they've read everything. District judges get 2 law clerks (who are licensed attorneys) and by the time something big like a FISA application hits their chambers and is ripe for oral argument (if any), they're aware of what it contains.
Hell, I clerked for a bankruptcy judge and when we had hearings over even mundane stuff (personal debtor reaffirming a car loan or something), we had read the materials, knew the facts, knew the law, and had the judge ready to ask probative questions to make sure he got it right.
Nope. They are supposedly supervised by Chief Justice Roberts but think about it. These are secret warrants. The target doesn't know anything about them. There is no adversarial proceeding from which to appeal. How would such a case even get before the SCOTUS?blindey said:
That's.....screwy. And I certainly didn't know that.
So there's no one with jurisdiction to check their homework at all?
As I said, there is some reporting from the senior FISC judge (Rosemary Collyer, at present) to Chief Justice Roberts, who is the one who appoints them to terms on the FISC but I'm not sure how deep that reporting process goes since national security is involved. I would guess that there are some long term SCOTUS employees who may have top secret clearance to review these. I would doubt law clerks would have that type of clearance but I could be wrong about that.blindey said:
Good point. That is really screwy.
But it makes sense.
Perhaps a reporting requirement would help?
I'm really spitballing here. This is a strange area of inquiry that is unsettling all around. Secretly spying on American citizens is really problematic to me. The fact that we are doing it at all ought to give everyone pause. The fact that an outgoing administration actively tried to use the process to attack an incoming administration should chill everyone to the bone.
That is all I needed to read since I don't trust Roberts at all.aggiehawg said:Nope. They are supposedly supervised by Chief Justice Roberts but think about it. These are secret warrants. The target doesn't know anything about them. There is no adversarial proceeding from which to appeal. How would such a case even get before the SCOTUS?blindey said:
That's.....screwy. And I certainly didn't know that.
So there's no one with jurisdiction to check their homework at all?