Something For Everyone From The IG

Even the flailing NY Times felt obliged to admit the IG report was not all roses and chocolate for Hillary supporters and Trump bashers. 

Report Gives Trump an Opening, but Undercuts His Narrative

WASHINGTON — The report that had much of Washington buzzing on Thursday required 500 pages to outline its findings, but to President Trump, three words mattered most — “we’ll stop it.”

Those were the words that a senior F.B.I. agent texted in August 2016 to a colleague who was worried that Mr. Trump would win the election. For the president, that text seemed to validate his claim of a “deep state” conspiracy out to get him.

But the same inspector general report also undercut Mr. Trump’s narrative. Whatever the agent, Peter Strzok, meant, the F.B.I. did not “stop” Mr. Trump, nor did the inspector general find evidence it tried. To the extent that the F.B.I. and its director at the time, James B. Comey, did anything wrong in 2016, according to the report, it was to the disadvantage of Mr. Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Yeah, yeah. This will not satisfy either side. Not to suggest I have any idea what would.

Comments

[narciso]

Just one extract:

https://mobile.twitter.com/RepMarkMeadows/status/1007330850483179520?p=v

[Jim Eagle]

Getting ready to head out to Shinnecock. Mrs JiB and Elliott went earlier. I stayed home with the beagles. Will never catch up but we are having fun watching the best golfers in the world humble themselves at Shinnecock. No one beats up that course. It is the other way around.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

An Obama appointee investigated other Obama appointees.
What did anyone think was going to happen?

There is a particular "we had to destroy the village to save it" aroma to claiming no evidence of bias while at the same time noting Strozk stating he won't let Trump be pres. Suspects rarely state their criminal intent so it is inferred from other evidence, something the IG is unwilling to do lest his predetermined outcome be obviated.

The IG seems similarly willfully obtuse on the issue of gross negligence.

Government protects its own. It's what it does. "Mistakes were made" is the closest they will ever come to admitting or acknowledging their corruption.

[narciso]

I stopped reading when he said Clinton and lynch didn't discuss the investigation, based on what evidence.

[matt - deplore m if you must]

When an entire caste are morally an ethically bankrupt it is only to be expected that a narrow and generous interpretation of the law is used.

[narciso]

What part of fight club did you miss, Byron:

https://mobile.twitter.com/ByronYork/status/1007568225226383360?p=v

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

Levin played a clip by Crying Schmuck Schooomer claiming that prosecutors advised not indicting Tub Dive when the report clearly stated Queasy usurped that authority. Of course the bribed MFM didn't challenge the lying snake.

[Beasts of England]

I'm jealous, JiB!! We're having a viewing party with about a dozen of our 'Big Team' golfing group today at noon at buddy's house in town. I'll keep an eye out for you and the beagles... :)

[narciso]

In house of cards, there wee one reporter, like chuck Ross who followed the halper lead or rosiak re the awans, you see how the standard big foots him, in that link on the other thread.

[Captain Hate]

Patterico's well informed buddy:

https://mobile.twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1007379114817409024

God knows why Red State let that rocket surgeon go.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

I've said this before but I'll say it again, since I seem to be the only one who believes it;

The idea either many people go to jail or the Swamp wins has it backwards.

The sickness killing our republic is the vast state gobbling up our freedoms. A byproduct of that vast state is vast corruption. Kill the pervasive state and you kill the pervasive corruption. Kill some of the curruptocrats while leaving the complex that spawned them and you've accomplished practically nothing; they'll simply be replaced by more of the same.
It would be nice to throw them all in jail and then restore our constitution but it seldom happens that way.
Historically in fact, it is precisely the obviously corrupt continuing to skate via their equally corrupt cronies investigating them that precipitates revolts.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Horowitz = Khlestakov

[henry]

Ig, the problem is if you leave the corruptocrats in place, they kill your reforms in the womb. Impeachment is a political solution and what the corrupt will use, just ask them.

[henry]

CNBC Now @CNBCnow
1m

BREAKING: White House legislative affairs director Marc Short tells staff he will leave the administration

https://twitter.com/CNBCnow/status/1007629750284771328

[narciso]

So Lucas arsenault had to break the law in order to follow up zoes murder had Wolfe followed suit, would Coppins or even ben Smith have followed up, Michael Hastings widow would answer that.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

henry,
Corruptocrats powerful enough to prevent their own prosecution usually have the levers of power sown up. Occasionally they can be pried off those levers but very possibly there isn't a political solution to the problem. A continuation by other means is often forced by the corruptocrats hijacking the political process irretrievably.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

How come important BREAKING NEWS so often involves not only someone I never heard of but a position I've likewise been blissfully unaware of?

[henry]

lots of critters in that swamp Ig.

[narciso]

He's been on rove news Sunday, thats why.
But the wider point is he is a factotum a cigar store Indian that contributes little.

[Threadkiller]

An Obama appointee investigated other Obama appointees.
What did anyone think was going to happen?

The Afterbirthers, and Larry Tribe, saw no reason to worry about things like this.

[Kevlar Kid]

Is this an example of what some have mentioned re what's been made visible to the public, while other facts have been left out?

"Put on the spot by the IG, Agent 1 explained his indiscreet comments as just being the nature of using instant messaging.

He succumbed to a “water cooler” style of “jocularity” because he thought IMs “were not retained by the FBI and therefore used less caution with those communications than he would have with other types of communications.” OOPSIE, Romeo.

“You know, guys, I just, I think this was primarily used as a personal conversation venting mode for me. I’m embarrassed for it” Agent 1 told the IG investigators. Apparently the G in IG stands for "guys."

But he was only humbled so far: “I don’t think that it affected my actions,” he insisted.

Agent 1 had lots of explanations for why he was indiscreet with the IM-ing: The Midyear investigation team was crammed into a sensitive compartmented information facility at headquarters, and “Due to this, he was effectively unable to use his personal electronic devices at work, and was also in a small space with his coworkers and supervisors, thereby preventing phone communication.”

But Agent 1 wanted the IG to know that this was merely an explanation for why he used instant messages, “not excuses for the substance of his instant messages.” Duly noted Mr. Law Enforcement Perfayshunul.

The substance, however, is telling—perhaps the most telling information in the IG’s report."

Here's a repost of the link (h/t MM?):

https://www.weeklystandard.com/eric-felten/meet-the-other-amorous-fbi-staffers-who-texted-about-the-clinton-email-investigation

[rich]

should i start polishing up my "i told you so's" ... you know ... just saying.

why is it the dems can put together the Pike and Church committees and gut from mouth to asshole the agencies of government that have crossed them ... but here we have a coup and the coup plotters are walking free.

we don't fix it now, it'll never get fixed.

[Extraneus]

based on what evidence.

Both Lynch and former President Clinton told the OIG that they did not discuss the Midyear investigation or any other Department investigation during their conversation. Chapter Six of our report describes their testimony about the substance of their discussion.

[Beasts of England]

Hold up, Ig! Are you suggesting that unfettered access to a $4T annual piñata and its ambient power structure are a breeding ground for corruption? Well, I never...

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Natalie Portman [and other Hahvahd classmates of Jared Kushner] demonstrate their lack of integrity and decency while trying to smear Kushner.
You'd think actors at least might have some conception of how their actions appear to others.

[Stephanie, Nene, Not your Normal Grandma]

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2018/06/breaking-north-korea-begins-returning-remains-of-missing-us-troops-from-korean-war-trump-says/?utm_source=foramerica&utm_campaign=alt&utm_medium=facebook

NOKO keeping its bargain so far. Anyone hear the MFM report this?

[rich]

Posted by: narciso | June 15, 2018 at 09:39 AM

pinky swears ... well it was "a matter" and "not an investigation" ...

... still waiting for all those good guys to show up.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Kev,

You didn't get the Weekly Standard article from me, but thanks for posting it!

[narciso]

So looking at appendix g, who are the three reporter's I'm guessing Barrett and the journal then bezos, apuzzo at bezos entous then at the post now new yorker?

[ENRDV]

For those who don't subscribe to the WSJ, here's a complete copy of Kim Strassel's piece today on the damning facts in the IG report, in spite of its weak (wrong) conclusion that the bias it found didn't affect the investigation. (She also points out the even more damning fact: that the IG gave a pass to the investigators for treating Hillary and her colleagues in a very deferential and therefore ineffective manner.)

"Insubordination and Bias at FBI
The inspector general report is careful in its conclusions, but damning on the facts.

Kimberley A. StrasselJune 14, 2018 7:16 p.m. ET

That won’t be the message from Democrats and most of the press, who will focus on a few episodes they will claim cost Hillary Clinton an election. Watch for them to blame former FBI Director James Comey, whom the report faults for “a serious error of judgment,” for having “concealed information” from superiors, and for “violation of or disregard for” departmental and bureau policies.

True, the report is damning about the man who lectures Americans on “higher loyalty.” It describes how an “insubordinate” Mr. Comey was, as early as April 2016, considering how to cut his Justice Department bosses from a public statement exonerating Hillary Clinton. He hid this scheme for fear “they would instruct him not to do it”—and therefore was able to “avoid supervision.” He then “violated long-standing Department practice and protocol” by using his July 5 press conference for “criticizing Clinton’s uncharged conduct.” In October, he made public that the FBI had reopened the investigation, even though the Justice Department recommended he not do so. Mr. Comey went rogue, and President Trump had plenty of justification in firing him in May 2017.

Yet it is the report’s findings on the wider culture of the FBI and Justice Department that are most alarming. The report depicts agencies that operate outside the rules to which they hold everybody else, and that showed extraordinary bias while investigating two presidential candidates.

There’s Loretta Lynch, who felt it perfectly fine to have a long catch-up with her friend Bill Clinton on a Phoenix tarmac and whom the inspector general slams for an “error in judgment.” Mr. Comey’s entire staff was complicit in concealing the contents of the July press conference from Justice officials. We discover that significant FBI “resources” were dedicated in October to spinning FBI “talking points” about the Clinton investigation—rather than actually investigating the new Anthony Weiner laptop emails the bureau discovered in September. We even find that Mr. Comey used personal email and laptops to conduct government work.

There’s former Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik, who was tipping off the Clinton campaign even as he took part in the investigation, and who “failed to strictly adhere to [his] recusal” when he finally stepped away. Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe also did not “fully comply with his recusal,” and he’d already been found to have lied to the bureau about a leak to the media. Speaking of leaks, Mr. Horowitz needed full attachments and charts to list the entire “volume of communication” between FBI employees and the press. Not only did these folks have “no official reason to be in contact with the media,” but they also “improperly received benefits from reporters, including tickets to sporting events, golfing outings, drinks and meals, and admittance to nonpublic social events.”

Be ready to hear the report absolves the FBI and DOJ of “bias.” Not true. It very carefully states that “our review did not find documentary or testimonial evidence directly connecting the political views these employees expressed in their text messages and instant messages to the specific investigative decisions we reviewed.” Put another way, he never caught anyone writing down: Let’s start this Trump investigation so we can help Hillary win.

But the bias is everywhere. It’s in the texts between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, and those of three other employees who are routinely “hostile” to Candidate Trump. It’s in Ms. Page’s freak-out that Mr. Trump might win the presidency and Mr. Strzok’s reply: “No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it.” It’s in a message from an unnamed agent in November 2016 who writes that although the FBI found Clinton aide Huma Abedin had “lied,” it doesn’t matter since “no one at DOJ is going to prosecute.” To which a second agent replies. “Rog—noone is going to pros[ecute] even if we find unique classified.”

It’s in the Justice Department’s decision to cut deals with Mrs. Clinton and her staff and shelter them from a grand jury. And to agree to limitations in searching for and in devices. And in immunity agreements. The report is largely neutral on all this, giving officials the broad benefit of the doubt on “discretionary judgments made during the course of an investigation.” But it immediately follows that statement by noting that its job of evaluating the integrity of decisions was “made significantly more difficult” by the obvious bias among key players, which “cast a cloud” over the entire “investigation’s credibility.”

The current FBI and Justice Department leadership can no longer justify its refusal to come clean on its other actions. A neutral arbiter has found they made a hash of the Clinton investigation, and it is reasonable to assume that those same players made a hash of the Trump probe. The sooner they acknowledge it, the sooner Congress can move to reform these agencies so that no such thing ever happens again.

Write to kim@wsj.com."

[Kevlar Kid]

But wait! There's more:

"The “conduct of these employees cast a cloud over the entire FBI investigation and sowed doubt about the FBI’s work on, and its handling of, the Midyear investigation,” the inspector general concluded. “The damage caused by these employees’ actions extends far beyond the scope of the Midyear investigation and goes to the heart of the FBI’s reputation for neutral factfinding and political independence.”

FBI Director Wray's comment ("To know us is to love us") was his insider way of giving the finger to the IG while he circled his wagons even tighter.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

What the elites never learn is the citizenry has merely to shrug slightly and their entire edifice of corruption and power instantly crumbles.
When they begin to believe their own propaganda about the power they wield they take actions which prompt the elephant in the room to decide it's had enough of the oxpecker birds pecking away on its hide.
Perhaps the most pervasive and powerful bureaucracy the world has ever seen dried up and blew away without even a shot being fired in 1989 just years after we were assured it was our equal if not eclipsing us and would remain a superpwer as far as the eye could see.

[rich]

at least the spin is getting out

>>>David Leonhardt / New York Times:
The Report's Real Message: Trump Is Lying<<<

the tree of liberty is so thirsty ...

[Kevlar Kid]

"Both Lynch and former President Clinton told the OIG"

reverting to his glory days, Bubba yammered "I/we did not have sex on the tarmac. She's not my type."

corroboration please.

[narciso]

It could be Scott Shane, Ali soufan toy poodle.

[Thomas Collins]

"since I seem to be the only one who believes it;"

Count me as number two, Ignatz.

[Kevlar Kid]

Iggy with a prospective entry into the band name contest:

"Oxpecker Birds"

Ig? May i?

[narciso]

The short answer is the Hoover fbi and the company up to helms were the enemy of the progs, of course they were an instrument of state as they were independent actors, also Nixon unlike his predecessors wanted to change the fundamental relationship with the intelligence services.

[Kevlar Kid]

"the $4T pin~ata"

Ya, Baby. Let them presses roll. We needa new shovel ready project!

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Absolutely Kevlar, though the avian order Goatsuckers have a more evocative name, IMO. :)
[The whippoorwill etc.]

[narciso]

So Eisenhower dispatched lumumba, Kennedy did likewise with Trujillo (an ally of conservative democrats like dodd pere) this brought the left coalition to the fore,

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Glad to have you on board TC, but you do realize our hangout is called the Portico of Ignorance right?

[Kevlar Kid]

"The sickness killing our republic is the vast state gobbling up our freedoms."

an historical rhyme with King George III. different context but an earlier form of the current virus.

Me three.

[Kevlar Kid]

That makes it a twofer, iggy. thanks!

[narciso]

Everybody in those days had an op against left elements, Hoover had cointelpro (whose records were inconveniently in one facility) company had chaos, puzzlepalace had minaret and shamrock.

[narciso]

Thomas Charles Huston actually thought he had invented the wheel, silly rabbit.

[Thomas Collins]

I'm fine with that, Ignatz, as long as OL's catering company delivers refreshments to the portico!

[Kevlar Kid]

"@robbystarbuck
21h21 hours ago
More
Another damning section of the #IGReport details how FBI Peter Strzok created the appearance that investigative decisions were impacted by bias. Important to note this pertained to the Russia investigation which isn’t covered in this report, that will be a separate report later.
"

So has Strozker Ace been flipped?

BTW, where's Rosita Sombrero Blanco?

[Kevlar Kid]

Rumor has it that Nantucket's been overrun by bunnies.

Appears the FBI has too.

[Old Lurker]

Kev "Ah, the Grey Goose flails in the wake. Must be hard doing that with one hand."

Kev, please at least keep your insults straight. Everybody knows I am a gin guy.

Have you always had such a thin skin?

[GUS]

When Strzok, Gummy Bare Page and "Andy", took out that "INSURANCE POLICY" against TRUMP being elected, EVERY MOTHER FUCKING AMERICAN should have been outraged. The very people who preen and consider themselves PARAGONS of VIRTUE, are the sleaziest SCUM imaginable. I do believe going forward Mr Trump will have a LOT to say.
The SCUM, and their CLEAN WHITE TOGA wearing 6'8" pussy boy, are disgusting. The whole lot of them are disgusting.

NEW FBI MOTTO
You cover my ass, I'll cover your ass.

[henry]

NEW FBI MOTTO
You cover my ass, I'll cover your ass.

Wray yesterday, "good news, we just got a bigger tarp."

[narciso]

Dave Abbott Kirkpatrick, got the bigger piece of rizzotto

http://freebeacon.com/issues/phone-records-suggest-qatar-shopped-hacked-emails-dc-reporters

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

I'm a lassie fair capitalist reclining drowsily on my chase loungee TC, so whatever commercial venture you engage in is your own affair, so long as you understand that while I impose no tariffs nor membership fees neither do I subsidize members proclivities. :)
The equanimity of sublime ignorance is the Portico's attraction.

The only rule is you have to at the very least abide, and if you so choose make obeisance to, the looming three story portrait of our patron saint Alfred E Newman in the foyer.

[jimmyk]

Accidentally posted to the old thread:

jim_nj from early this morning:
Does that make sense? No provable criminal intent, but a vast effort to hide her actions with the collusion of others.

As Davod pointed out, there's no need to prove intent. But even if there were, the "vast effort to hide her actions" would be sufficient. It shows that she knew what she was doing was illegal.

[Extraneus]

Trump: ‘I May Get Involved’ in Justice Department ‘If It Gets Worse’

"I said on the Department of Justice, I would stay uninvolved. Now I may get involved at some point if it gets worse," he said, adding that the investigation into Russian collusion will not implicate him in any conspiracy.

Fox News’ Steve Doocy then asked about documents Congress has requested from the Department of Justice, and Trump said, again, he does not want to be involved but he may not be able to stay "uninvolved." He did say, however, that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wants to provide those documents as Congress requested.

"I think that Rod Rosenstein thinks that you have to get the documents," he said. "I really believe that. I saw him yesterday, he gave me a briefing, I think he believes you have to get the documents."

He added that the FBI’s actions during the election were "a disgrace."

[henry]

IranWire @IranWireEnglish
4h

A banking crisis has taken hold in Iran, with financial institutions suffering crippling losses and unable to pay the interest on deposits:

https://iranwire.com/en/features/5258

[jimmyk]

The sickness killing our republic is the vast state gobbling up our freedoms. A byproduct of that vast state is vast corruption. Kill the pervasive state and you kill the pervasive corruption.

Perzackly.

A related point: There's a fine line between "bias" and raw self-interest. A lot of what all these slimeballs did is more easily explained by their wish to keep their jobs, advance their careers, and accrue power. That is how power corrupts.

[Thomas Collins]

How about a portrait of Alfred flanked by Destiny and Tatiana in the champagne room, Ignatz?

[Jane]

Ed,

Thanks for posting the Strassel piece in full. I appreciate it!

[Extraneus]

Playing Dumb: Comey Claimed Ignorance of a Hillary-Weiner Connection on NBC, NPR

April 17 on NPR:

Somebody told me. And I think it was Andrew McCabe, but I'm not certain of that. But someone at the FBI told me I think in the first week of October that there may be some connection between Anthony Weiner's laptop that was seized in a criminal case in New York and the Midyear investigation, which was the code name that the FBI had for the Clinton email investigation.

I don't remember that conversation clearly. And that makes sense to me because how on Earth could there be a connection between Anthony Weiner's laptop and the Clinton investigation? And so I don't remember it clearly. I remember clearly that Andrew McCabe emailed me at 5:30 in the morning on October 27 telling me that the Midyear team needed to meet with me. And later that morning, the team told me that they had found hundreds of thousands of Hillary Clinton emails on Anthony Weiner's laptop, didn't know how they got there.

April 29 Meet the Press:

Yeah, I remember somebody, and I think it was the deputy director, Andrew McCabe, saying something to me early in October, I think? And I didn't index on it, because how on Earth could there be a connection between Anthony Weiner and Hillary Clinton's e-mails? And so, I don`t remember even noting it in my head as a follow-up.

And the next thing I remember is the team coming back to me -- actually Andy e-mailed me at 5: 30 in the morning on October 27th, saying, the team needs to meet with you. And met with them that morning and got the full briefing. I don`t know exactly what happened in between. I assumed, and it wasn`t conscious, but I think I must have assumed the team was following up to figure if there was a connection between Weiner and Clinton.

More scripted "aw, gee" moments from the Reverend

[Old Lurker]

Marlene, previous thread "I grabbed the bungee type leash from the fence post,which snapped back and the metal clip hit me in the face. Yes,I gave myself a fat lip!"

Marlene, you will recall that YL2 is doing her residency in eyes in Boston. Spent a year in the Eye Trauma Center. She told me that perhaps the #1 (maybe I exaggerate) cause of serious eye injury is bungee cords of one sort or another. You got off easy with a fat lip.

[Man Tran]

Wow, yesterday was really sumpin. Several conference calls and furious editing of a report I’ve been working on for months to a bunch of lawyers. Now I just wait for the opposition to try to shred me when dep time rolls around.

Then went to a blowout memorial for a friend who passed recently after she suffered from lung cancer for four years. Yesterday was her 75th BD. Three years older than Trump. Learned she was ‘Out of Compton’ and was the top driver of the monorail at Disneyland as a kid and was a friend of Walt’s. She even had a guest gig with the Mouseketeers. She then meets her future husband when he also starts driving a monorail. Spent their adult working lives living on 12 acres above Santa Barbara with hubby ending up a Fire Chief of SB County. Now their son has that job. She was an early Ayn Rand disciple and a fierce game player who never lost a competition. Knew every two letter word, particularly words that had q’s without u’s. Her hubby has a slip in our marina and their daughter and her family are here, too. The daughter is a torch singer in some of the local bands. Great bunch of people.

So, did anything else happen yesterday? Need to go catch up.

[maryrose]

Thank you ENR for the Kim Strassel report.
Great summation.
Bail revoked for Manafort.
The Left has their weekend story.

[henry]

Washington Post @washingtonpost
2m

Ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort ordered to jail over witness-tampering charges while awaiting trial in Mueller probe

=================
coup cabal still free with pensions.

[sbw]

The sickness killing our republic is the vast state gobbling up our freedoms. A byproduct of that vast state is vast corruption.

Yup.

Kill the pervasive state and you kill the pervasive corruption.

Not so sure that is enough. You have to inoculate citizens to validate for themselves what matters, recognize the disease, and see it as a personal threat.

[Old Lurker]

Jimmy, "raw self interest" is built into the DNA of all living species. Group norms, then rules, then laws coupled with negative consequences is how humans have managed that fact. This country was founded on probably the finest example of a codified statement of how this group of citizens can combine individual liberty (to pursue that self interest) with a "consent of the governed" set of rules for all.

Just not lately.

In the end, it is always raw self interest that will prevail unless it is checked by the group.

[GUS]

Ext.... Comey is using the.. "don't blame me, I'm a dumb fuck" defense.
Can you imagine the response he would have gotten from every JOM'er, if he tried to sell US that pile of shit in an interview. The MFM just swallowed the shit sandwich and asked for more

[narciso]

That's a bullcap story, if you know the CV of segar and Friedman, they would feed their grandparents to the bugblatter beast of traal

[Kevlar Kid]

The IG Review released yesterday is indeed, as Mark Levin said, "the tip of the iceberg."

For those with interest in the "scope of the OIG" investigation that released the "Review" yesterday.

Scope is everything.

The excerpt below is from 12/4/17

reposting the link:https://themarketswork.com/2017/12/04/the-inspector-generals-quiet-investigation/

Key excerpt:

"The Office of Inspector General has been investigating the Department of Justice and the FBI for almost a full year. this article published on Dec 4 2017

It appears the OIG is looking at just about everything.

Some thoughts on each of the bullet points.

Allegations that Department or FBI policies or procedures were not followed in connection with, or in actions leading up to or related to, the FBI Director’s public announcement on July 5, 2016, and the Director’s letters to Congress on October 28 and November 6, 2016, and that certain underlying investigative decisions were based on improper considerations.

People likely to be examined: FBI Director James Comey, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Bill Clinton (Meeting on Tarmac).

This is fairly broad – and would include anyone involved in the FBI’s investigation of Clinton’s email scandal.

It would also include Huma Abedin – and the thousands of “cleared” emails found on her husband’s (Weiner) laptop. Thus the reference to Comey’s October 28, 2016 and November 6, 2016 letters.

It’s likely that this part of the investigation uncovered Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

Allegations that the FBI Deputy Director should have been recused from participating in certain investigative matters.

People likely to be examined: FBI Director James Comey and FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

Andrew McCabe is currently under investigation related to Conflict of Interest charges in the Clinton Email Investigation:

Virginia Governor and longtime Clinton confidant Terry McAuliffe donated $467,500 to the 2015 Senate campaign of Dr. Jill McCabe. The Virginia Democratic Party donated an additional $207,788 for a grand total of $675,288.

This equated to more than a third of Dr. McCabe’s campaign funds.

Mr. McAuliffe met with the McCabe’s on March 7, 2015 – the purpose of the meeting was to convince Dr. McCabe to run for office – her first run at any public office.

Mrs. Clinton’s private server was uncovered by the New York Times on March 2, 2015 – five days before Mr. McAuliffe’s first meeting with the McCabe’s.

Allegations that the Department’s Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs improperly disclosed non-public information to the Clinton campaign and/or should have been recused from participating in certain matters.
People likely to be examined: Peter Kadzik.

Kadzik sent a “heads up” email to John Podesta May 19, 2015 regarding the start of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s illegal server.

May 19 2015 – Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik sends “heads up” email to John Podesta regarding Hillary Clinton’s server investigation. Both email addresses – Kadzik’s and Podesta’s – are private email accounts. The email is revealed in the WikiLeaks Podesta emails hacks.

“There is a HJC oversight hearing today where the head of our Civil Division will testify. Likely to get questions on State Department emails. Another filing in the FOIA case went in last night or will go in this am that indicates it will be awhile (2016) before the State Department posts the emails.”

Kadzik will later have dinner with Podesta the day after Clinton testifies to Benghazi Committee.

October 23 2015 – Leaked emails show Clinton Campaign head John Podesta meets with DOJ official Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik the day after Clinton testifies to Benghazi Committee. On May 19 2015, Kadzik had given Podesta a “heads up” email on Clinton’s server investigation status.

Interestingly, on January 17, 2017, a federal judge issued an order requiring the Justice Department to secure emails from Kadzik’s personal Gmail account.

Allegations that Department and FBI employees improperly disclosed non-public information.

People likely to be examined: Anyone who leaked information. As such, this is a deceptively broad category. It likely includes the network of information sharing that existed between the FBI, the DOJ and State. And possibly the Obama Administration.

Allegations that decisions regarding the timing of the FBI’s release of certain Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents on October 30 and November 1, 2016, and the use of a Twitter account to publicize same, were influenced by improper considerations.

People likely to be examined: Unknown FBI Leakers. Also possible – but unlikely, Bill Clinton, The Clinton Foundation, AG Eric Holder, James Comey, John Podesta, Jack Quinn, Mary Jo White – for their role in the Marc Rich pardon (more info below).

This references FOIA documents released through a Twitter account on October 30, 2016 and November 1, 2016. This account had been dormant for over a year until these sudden releases.

The documents were dropped into the FBI Vault.

These are the documents dropped on October 30, 2016:

Fred C. Trump
General Telecommunications Policy 0862D
Records Management Standards for Scanned Documents 0774D
Nikola Tesla
FBI Ethics and Integrity Program Policy Directive Policy Guide
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG)
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) 2013 Version
Hillary R. Clinton
David Howell Petraeus
Protests in Baltimore, Maryland 2015, Aerial Surveillance Footage
Honoraria Policy 0867D: The FBI Honoraria Policy
Protests in Baltimore, Maryland, 2015
Security Division Processing of Forms Involving Activities Outside of the FBI
Stay-Behind Special Agent Program in Alaska
Social Networking Sites and FBI Employee Guidance
Physical Fitness Program Policy Directive and Policy Guide 0676PG
Policy Directive 0481D
FBI Seal Name Initials and Special Agent Gold Badge 0625D
FBI Student Programs Policy Guide 0805 PG
Laboratory Reference Firearms Collection Policy LD0020D

These are the documents dropped on November 1, 2016:

William J. Clinton Foundation

Some of these documents appear innocuous. Others less so.

The Hillary R. Clinton and William J. Clinton Foundation releases were of obvious interest. There may be additional details of import that are less obvious.

I was aware of these at the time of release and have used some of the released information in previous posts.

The Hillary documents pertain primarily to the FBI Email/Server Investigation. The Bill Clinton documents come from the FBI’s investigation into then-President Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich.

Rich was pardoned after his ex-wife made a series of donations to the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation. With Rich’s financial expertise, this later became the Clinton Foundation.

The Bill Clinton documents are heavily redacted.

It’s also worth noting the final sentence of the OIG release:

Finally, if circumstances warrant, the OIG will consider including other issues that may arise during the course of the review.

The OIG is providing notification that they may investigate anything of import that arises from the investigation of the bullet-pointed items.
The OIG investigation can be looking at almost anything they want, anywhere they want and anyone they want.

This investigation has the potential to be of enormous scope and impact.

The Clintons – and folks from the Obama Administration – may have very real reason to be feeling skittish right about now.

"

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Lindsey Graham live on @CNN: "If you don't like me working with President Trump to make the world a better place, I don't give a shit" pic.twitter.com/iNnqiYjZpV

— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) June 15, 2018

On CNN. Video clip at link.

I wonder if Lindsey's blackmailer has been rolled up.

[GUS]

OL, we should call you SENATOR REID from now on.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Chuck Todd
‏Verified account @chucktodd
2h2 hours ago

Today’s POTUS performance was breathtaking in the sheer number of provable falsehoods, intentional mischaracterizations and outright lies uttered. Clearly someone feels emboldened. Will GOP leaders continue to shrug this off? Bury their head in the sand?

=================================

WHAT provable falsehoods? Chuck is thinking they can still control the narrative. I odn't think so.

[Another Bob]

Williwed.

Commenter st Surber’s blog suggests that without quick and decisive action, dissolution of the FBI will become a major issue for conservative candidates.

That seems a bit Quixotic to me.

[maryrose]

Senator Lindsay is trying to be on the right side of history.
I haven’t seen any evidence he has been blackmailed.
He is free from McCain’s influence.

[Kevlar Kid]

"Have you always had such a thin skin?"

OL:

Is that your goto question template?

It generates such pearls such "When did you stop beating your wife?"

It's called repartee, GG. I like hitting the snot out of your backhand.

Mea culpa: drinkers are particular about their poison. I should've known better than to craft a nickname out of liquor that would only do in a pinch.

"Cheers"

Kev

[GUS]

Maybe C Fhuck Todd should listen to PELOSI or SCHUMER speak.

[jimmyk]

In the end, it is always raw self interest that will prevail unless it is checked by the group.

Yes, and I think that's Iggy's point, if I can speak for him: A leviathan government cannot (and has no interest in) limiting self-interested behavior. In the private sphere self-interest works to the greater good by Adam Smith's invisible hand, but in government it corrupts.

[Captain Hate]

Today’s POTUS performance was breathtaking in the sheer number of provable falsehoods, intentional mischaracterizations and outright lies uttered. Clearly someone feels emboldened. Will GOP leaders continue to shrug this off? Bury their head in the sand?

LOL. Gutless Repuke piñatas are your father's Oldsmobile, Junior. Time for glory hole duty, F Chuck.

[Kevlar Kid]

UPTodd is projecting the sins of his camp onto POTUS.

How's that workin' for ya?

[Kevlar Kid]

More grist from Wictor thread (h/t MM)

"14. #3 - Peter Strzok & Lisa Page show clear animus, bias and intent to 'get Trump' BEFORE he was elected.

OIG: (pp 420/1): 'not only indicative of a biased state of mind but, even more seriously, implies a willingness to/..
15. /...take official action to impact the presidential candidate's electoral prospects'

That's a mind-boggling finding, right there.

They weren't acting alone, either."

[Kevlar Kid]

Dix named "Chuck."

[Kevlar Kid]

So was Chuck whoring with FBI agents?

[Eye Doctor]

The key to all of this is to focus on Mueller and his history!

[Captain Hate]

I wonder if Lindsey's blackmailer has been rolled up.

Maybe one of Goober's staffers said nobody thinks he's straight.

[GUS]

FUCKING SCUM.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/06/14/obama-had-direct-contact-with-clinton-on-private-email-server-ig-report.html

[Eye Doctor]

Mueller gathered a great deal of blackmail material while Director of FBI.

[Kevlar Kid]

@RobbyStarbuck:

"FBI Agent Peter Strzok and FBI Lawyer Lisa Page texts in the #IGReport are telling. Page at one point 5 days after the election says “I bought all the presidents men. Figure I need to brush up on Watergate.”

"Now why would they be worried about brushing up on Watergate?"

[Captain Hate]

> If JackStraw is reading this: apologies if you've addressed this already but last night, as he was going through the details of the report, Levin said the only way the corruption in the FBI/DOJ can be addressed is by a special counsel with a very specific mandate of what to investigate. My question is do you think he's overlooking Huber's role and is it possible for him to accomplish setting the organization in order?

I think eventually we will end up with a Special Counsel although I'm not convinced that's a good thing. Sessions even indicated yesterday it's on the table.

The IG report did result in 5 criminal referrals to Huber as well as potentially other criminal investigations but there are limits to what Huber can do. A SC has a lot more flexibility to go beyond just the DOJ to include other agencies and departments.
Posted by: JackStraw at June 15, 2018 10:14 AM (/tuJf)

[Eye Doctor]

Mueller is the key to it all!

[Kevlar Kid]

Does Willie speak for thee?

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/06/15/willie-nelson-says-christians-should-be-outraged-over-separating-families-at-border.html

[Eye Doctor]

Mueller put the fix in 2008 and 2012

[henry]

so much for email marketing (note: spam not affected by laws):

Internal research from Huge found about 38 percent of Americans are ignoring these emails, and 23 percent have actually used them as an opportunity to unsubscribe. Email marketing firm PostUp has even grimmer stats, estimating that only 25 to 30 percent of recipients globally, and only 15 to 20 percent in the U.S., are opening the emails at all.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/15/gdpr-emails-going-unopened.html?__source=twitter%7Cmain

[jimmyk]

"Now why would they be worried about brushing up on Watergate?"

They weren't "worried," they were excited. They saw it as a blueprint (or at least a good starting point) for the coup d'etat they were planning on Trump.

[Eye Doctor]

Mueller kept Obama out of prison and put him in the White House. That's a fact!

[narciso]

They were following mark felt's playbook, the story is only understood through the narrative.

[Kevlar Kid]

"Last month, Ellis blasted the special counsel's team, suggesting federal investigators are only after Manafort to find information on Trump.

"You don't really care about Mr. Manafort,” U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III told Mueller’s team. “You really care about what information Mr. Manafort can give you to lead you to Mr. Trump and an impeachment, or whatever."

He added: "C'mon man!" "

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/06/15/manafort-pleads-not-guilty-to-charges-witness-tampering.html

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

About those families separated atthe border:

1. By now word of mouth should have percolateddown to El Salvador and other Central American countries that families will be sepparated. Why are they still coming? Are they being encouraged to by democrats just for the election issues and photo op? Seems awfully risky for those children, having to cross the desert and all.

2. How many children are actually children. I saw a Central American woman in Kroger the other day and she looked to be about 4'8". It wouldn't be hard to disguise her as a girl.

3. Of the children who ARE children, how are we to know if the parents with them ARE their parents? What if they are being brought up here by traffickers? Isn't it safer for them to be in a controlled setting until we ascertain who their relatives are?

No one ever talks about this stuff, but they should.

[GUS]

I'm not a BIG TIME TEE-VEE NEWS STAR BUT..........

What need would there be for the JUG EARED MF'er to have a FAKE NAME when corresponding with his own SEC STATE?? I'm sure the slobbering MFM will get around to asking that as soon as PRIDE MONTH FESTIVITIES are over.

[Old Lurker]

Gus, just yesterday I was thinking about Sen Reid and his famous comment about having lied about Romney's tax returns or some-such. When asked by a reporter after the election about that below the belt tactic, he said something like "he lost, didn't he?"

As I scanned through the IG stuff, I could just hear all those guys telling them just that as they pimped for Hillary...except they forget to get the happy ending Harry got.

To me, in a nutshell, that explains the left and breaking the rules.