Friday, March 29, 2019

Russian Collusion Delusion as Plan B? What were They Thinking?

Forgive me some random thoughts. I ask your help in formulating a coherent argument here.

The Putin-Trump collusion hoax has ended exactly as any reasonable observer would have predicted. With the end of the turtle-paced Mueller inquiry, we found out what most sane people already knew, that, to steal from Gertrude Stein, "There is no there there." This collusion story almost certainly constitutes the second biggest hoax in American political history; second only to the Climate Change hoax. Charles Dawson, father of the Piltdown Man hoax, would doff his cap to the creators of the Putin-Trump tale.

I don't want (again) to go into all the facets of this incredible lie. More details will emerge in coming weeks, as the Republicans begin to probe its origins and, I hope, hold accountable the many Charles Dawsons who participated in it. And, yes, Barack Obama, I am looking at you.

Today's little post comprises a thinking aloud piece. As noted, please help me flesh out the ideas and get more clarity on this disaster.

The first thoughts that come to mind: What were they thinking? How did the promoters of this lie think it would end? What exit plan did they have?

The collusion lie originated, it seems, in the run-up to the 2016 election, and formed a key part of the Clinton strategy to ensure Trump's defeat--please note, the word ensure. That strategy, of course, depended on the support of Obama and his key staff, e.g., Rice, Power, Kerry, Brennan, Comey, Lynch, Clapper, McCabe, and so on. Obama, in effect, offered the intelligence and law enforcement agencies and capabilities of the United States to the Hillary Clinton campaign. The Clinton campaign cooked up the collusion lie as a way not only to smear Trump, but to provide cover for the use of those agencies and capabilities to spy upon and tamper with the Trump campaign. Watergate on steroids? Much, much worse.

Let's run over this very quickly and with broad brush strokes--I am leaving out a lot of details: the Hillary campaign, through its lawyers, bought some shoddy and salacious oppo research from a shoddy and shady firm, Fusion GPS, that contracted a hack former British spy, Christopher Steele, to write it up. The material, put together in a "dossier," proved absurd, poorly sourced and researched, and laughable on its face. That, however, was irrelevant. This flimsy dossier, apparently at CIA Director John Brennan's urging, circulated within the top echelons of the US government and to select Congressmen--including John McCain--and then circled back to the FBI. The FBI then used it as primary "evidence" in seeking FISA warrants to conduct surveillance operations on the Trump campaign. The FBI, it seems, did not tell the FISA judges from whence came the "intel," to wit, from an unverified piece of opposition "research" paid for by Trump's political rivals. Certain details of the dossier got leaked to friendly journalists by Brennan, Comey, and others, and given the imprimatur of official intel.

The Dems assumed all along, clearly, that Hillary would beat the Donald like a rented mule. Nearly all the polls and pundits had declared this a scientific certainty. This dossier and the Russian collusion story served, in the words of a disgraced FBI attorney to her lover, as "an insurance policy." Once Hillary won, of course, the story would, I assume, just become some sort of vague political lore that would permanently stain Trump, and prove the source of endless Hollywood movies.

The cooked up collusion story encountered a big problem on November 8, 2016: Clinton lost. The unthinkable happened: Trump won. The Dems, US government agencies, and, yes, Obama, went into high gear to develop a plan, some kind of "Hail Mary Pass" to keep Trump from taking office and cover up the grotesque malfeasance involved in the Collusion story. They attempted a number of strategies, e.g., pressing the electoral college not to recognize Trump's victory, talking impeachment, hinting at a military coup, demanding recounts, unleashing street thugs, etc. The collusion story was modified to place heavy emphasis on Russian "hacking of the election," trying to give the impression that the Russians had tampered with the voting machines themselves. Progs, who never cared about American security when the USSR strode the stage or our sovereignty or about the meddling in our elections by hundreds-of-thousands if not millions of illegal aliens, now wrapped themselves in the flag, proclaiming themselves great patriots fighting a foreign power seeking to take over our White House.

Trump, President! What to do with the Great Collusion lie? Just as ordinary criminals and congenital liars do, the Obama folks, the DNC, and the prog echo chamber in the media and Hollywood, doubled down on their criminal activities and lies. The story would, must survive. The Russia collusion story, a campaign stunt, gained a life of its own; Frankenstein's monster lived! In order to terrorize the deplorable villagers, the mad political scientists insisted on and got themselves a Special Counsel to "investigate" the non-existing crimes of Trump. They even managed to mau-mau Trump's new Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, into recusing himself, and turning over the whole investigatory process to the pro-Obama prog swamp creatures that controlled the DOJ and the FBI. James Comey's buddy, Robert Mueller, got the assignment as Special Counsel, with almost unfettered power to pick staff and even define the extent of his mission; he, furthermore, had no apparent budgetary or time restrictions. All the money and the time in the world, dear Robbie. Do your thing! Get us a scalp!

Mueller would keep the story alive! And that he did! His investigation not only would create a huge cloud for the Trump people, but plunged many of them into legal and financial jeopardy as they faced interrogation and prosecution/persecution for alleged sins and "crimes" having nothing to do with Collusion. Investigators used slimy Beria-type tactics against innocent people, threatening them with crippling legal costs and long prison terms for unspecified crimes and errors, to force them to confess and name others. As the story had no substance, of course, they sought to push people, including President Trump, into committing procedural transgressions, into falling into perjury traps, into "obstructing." (Please note: The fake FBI investigation into Hillary, of course, did none of those: she was not even put under oath.) Accompanying the investigation, we had an almost daily supply of leaks from "anonymous" sources relating, in breathless terms, that the "noose was tightening," "the walls were closing in on Trump," that soon "another bombshell" would drop, that Mueller and the intel services had verified key "portions of the Dossier," that evil Trump was about to fire Mueller--Save Mueller! Soon, they told us, soon, yes, soon, we would see a "hard, hard rain" (h/t Bob Dylan) of indictments fall on the White House: Trump and his whole family would exit 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in hand-cuffs! In addition, lest we forget, former bosses of the intel services got lucrative gigs on mainstream media outlets assuring us that Collusion was real, and proven beyond a doubt. Hollywood stars, late-night comics, and once-minor prog TV personalities rode the story to fame and fortune hyping daily "revelations." Journalists won Pulitzer Prizes for reporting fantasy.

Stand by! Impeachment is Imminent! Stand by! Stand by!

The prog machine strung out this absurd story for over two years; it ran prominently during the 2018 midterm elections, and, possibly, could have contributed to GOP losses in the House. As with anything, however, there comes a time when even the mightiest machine can no longer block an outcome. The Mueller report went to the new AG. Mueller's vast team had spent two years investigating, and produced not one indictment for "collusion". . . fizzle, fizzle, fizzle. "There is no there there," as Mueller and the creators of this scam knew all along.

Now, of course, the cry is to release the whole report. There must be something in those hundreds of pages that we can use to impeach or smear Trump and the deplorables! The fat lady hasn't REALLY sung yet, right? Right? Please! Warm up the band, she still has some air in her lungs!

OK. Like I said, these are thoughts. We are still left with one big question about all this. What were THEY thinking? What were they thinking would happen at the end? There are lots of possible scenarios but they all depend on one basic assumption.

What were they thinking? Simple, it was that the rest us were not.

40 comments:

  1. The endgame was to crush the White House with terrible concern over the "investigation". Had this been a normal politician, the Karl Rove of that administration would have been out every night discussing the latest "crisis" and he'd be demanding the President's focus. Instead we have Trump. He tossed some red meat on occasion, but doesn't seem to have been pre-occupied.

    Sure the "investigation" neutered the Republican Congress who feared being seen as helping Trump. The one time they tried legislation, John McCain rose from his deathbed to vote against lest legislative success occur. And now, we hear of how Trump has been a failure at getting legislation (the whitewash of Washington). Look, look at our pretty legislation. But Trump looked about and discovered that no one was guarding the foundation and it needed some real work. And Trump realized he wasn't a prime minister, head of parliament, but head of the Executive branch with foreign policy and national security briefs.

    They kept it going, but Trump wouldn't bite. Instead he did foundational work that has made serious alterations. Many that aren't even showing above the fence line yet to the wonder of passers by.

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    1. "[H]e did foundational work that has made serious alterations. Many that aren't even showing above the fence line yet .."

      And speaking to that which isn't above the fence line yet:

      https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2019/03/26/trump-gets-a-fourth-judge-appointed-to-ninth-circuit/

      Wondrous!

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  2. I think they, knowing Collusion was complete hog-wash, ran the investigation in order to find something on President Trump. Anything, parking tickets not paid, income taxes not filed correctly (you don't think they had the IRS looking? Hah!) Anything. Pet application not filled out or filed correctly. Anything at all.

    And they found out that one of the most investigated businessmen of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries was just as he appeared.

    They were hoping to find an exploitable crack or flaw, and they found what? Trump was, and is... Trump. Melania is Melania, the family is... normal. Boring. No hookers, little boys, strange connections to radical churches, secret or drug addictions. Nothing.

    Heck, I wish they'd do this to every presidential candidate. Like they did for Barack Obama or both of the Clintons, solid investigations and reporting, right? Um, wait, there's some people here who are telling me I'm going to commit suicide by shooting myself in the back of the head several times...

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  3. That is a good summary of events
    If it never happened what are the chances of publishing a novel with that story?
    I suspect in their wildest dreams it would work or they wouldn't have tried it.

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  4. Only tweak I'd maybe suggest pertains to this bit, "Fusion GPS, that contracted a hack former British spy, Christopher Steele, to write it up" because as I understand it, a Miss Nellie Somebody had already got the 'big body' (Frankenstein?) and simply needed an imprimatur.

    And as it just wouldn't do to get any run-of-the-mill Renaissance Masters forger onboard because, in part, *Frank required also some ring of authenticity as being Slavic formed, so whose better seal of approval could possibly be better than a former Five Eyes Russia desk operations chief?

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  5. BTW I like the warning I get here that if I comment anonymously I won't be able to edit or delete my comment. This is new to me, as I haven't said anything here in months or longer . . .

    Anyway, good summary. One aspect that I would bring up is that the lengthy investigation by a set of conflicted--to say the least--legal functionaries has given the O-crowd plenty of time to sanitize their own participation, which I doubt not was . . . vast. The prospect that more light could be shed on the gummint's mis- and mal-feasance and where it leads is why the few reamining reality-based D's (Pelosi, Clyburn) want to turn the focus to 2020 and health care.
    A few more GS-1X's will have to be sacrificed, but that will be a small price to pay.

    As to where the whole thing started I'd just have to quote the wise person who pointed out that Power always sees itself as virtuous; I'd say doubly so when those who have the Power have dedicated their whole lives to appearing virtuous.

    One last thought about Robert Mueller. I only know about him what I read online (not all of it good by any means) but I'll give him this: I know a lot of decorated Vietnam War veterans who would have been sorely tempted to put their thumb on the scale against the playboy draft-dodger. That he apparently didn't gives me some - a little some - hope that our cannibalistc and dysfunctional imperial metropolis isn't entirely corrupt.

    Narr

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  6. Wouldn’t it be great if this sordid story could be the basis of a semester civic lesson in every high school in the United States?

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  7. What were they (Far Left Democrat Insiders) thinking?

    They were thinking that they had won. They control the bureaucracy, the judiciary, the media, and in most States they control the elections. Case in point -- Barry used the IRS to stymie the TEA Party, and the woman responsible (Why is it so often a woman?) was not prosecuted; instead of breaking rocks on a chain gang, we all have the pleasure of paying her a pension that most Americans can only dream about.

    They did not expect to get caught. And they did expect (probably still expect) they would suffer no consequences if the plan went pear-shaped. That is what they were thinking. And the sad part is they may be right in expecting to get away with their criminal actions.

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  8. These collusion participants throughout our government managed to behave like Russians of USSR days.

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  9. Diplomad, you asked "what were they thinking?" The answer is simple, they could take down Donald Trump and get by with it. Why not? The Democrats have been doing such "deep state" moves for a long time; Woodrow Wilson, FDR, JFK, all spied on their opposition using federal agencies to do it. Remember the bogus Valerie Plame scandal where we were all told that Karl Rove would be frog marched out of the White House for outing Plame by a breathless left wing news media? And in the end, what did we get but a "process" crime of lying to the FBI by Scooter Libby. SSDD.

    You see, the Democrats overplayed their hand. They expected Trump to act like all over Republicans have when accused of some "scandal" by the Democrats; be quiet. Not to fight back. They discounted the fact that Donald Trump has had to deal with crooked city/state politicians and mob run unions his whole professional life.

    Now Adam (The Leaker) Schiff is complaining that Trump is not acting honorable, as if Schiff is. Good thing Schiff is not dealing with George Washington who would have caned Schiff to a bloody pulp.

    Keep up the good work. I thoroughly enjoy your posts.

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  10. "What were they [the 'rats] thinking? Simple, it was that the rest of us[the Deplorable half] were not." WLA

    Probably so, we were too busy hoping and praying that enough REAL AMERICANS would mark their ballots clearly enough, such that our electors would once again carry-out the will of the electorate -- who clearly did -->not<-- opt for a POTUS in a Pantsuit, who was barely able to walk without toppling over!

    Now if we GENUINE AMERICANS can continue to successfully defend our Constitutional Right to Bare Arms, and FIRE when ready & required, through the ensuing centuries, we may be able to hold our ground against the Progs, Thugs, young Turks, and other enemies of state, howling at our gates of Freedom -- For our Children's sake, I do so Declare and say Amen!
    ~~Remember the Alamo~~Remember the Bundy Ranch~~
    On Watch~~~
    "Let's Roll"

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    1. The Alamo? George P Bush R. has given out Alamo to the UN. Remember that the next time you step into a voting booth. We have to clean the ranks of the GOP as well.

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    2. Sorry, Pecos, but George P. Bush did NOT give out the Alamo to the UN. The UN negotiations were made under Jerry Patterson who is now trying to divert the attention for that little deal to George P. Why? Patterson wanted the job again so Patterson started that little bit of untruth. Of course, when Patterson lost the primary, he supported George P.'s Democrat opponent. Looks like we cleaned the ranks of the GOP by turning Patterson down in 2018.

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    3. Thanks for taking care of my lite work Davy!
      Got me a Hawg down in the brush I gotta finish skinning before the cats come a'looking for a hand-out~~~
      OW~~~

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  11. They were thinking Hillary was next. Inevitable. The smartest woman in the world. The breaker of glass ceilings. Batman to Bill's Robin.
    Then, after changing their Collective pants over the election results it was panic city. They had no plan about what to do if the impossible happened. Who would Trump put in the AG slot? Guliani? Or does he get the SCOTUS Seat? Trey Gowdy at Treasury/IRS? Who else? Their worse nightmare come true.
    So the panic. Step 1 is to shutdown the Foundation and shred every last bit of paper. I'm rather surprised key staff in the foundation have not committed suicide by shooting themselves in the head. Twice. From behind.
    Then comes the Mueller plot. Certainly he can find something...anything. The assumption being that Trump would do the Republican dance of shame and resign. But he didn't. He hit back. And then he did the unthinkable and replaced the Deep State plant that was Sessions with an AG who cared about Justice and the reputation of the FBI. Mueller closed up shop rather than come under the scrutiny that was about to torch his entire sham investigation. Rosenstein dropped out of the media limelight and likely became Barr's pet hoping to leave and not get a future 6AM raid by FBI agents in 6 months.
    Now stage 3. Mueller is now a racist colluder who was working with Trump to plan this whole exoneration. Barr lied about the report. Mueller was incompetent. Yep, after 2 years of Mueller being the only serious, honest, man of highest integrity, he must now be forced before the Democrats Committee to explain himself (as a warning to all future Prosecutors who fail to provide The Left with their Letter of Marque.

    I think at this point the pants staining is on full cycle as the Media tries to get the last 2 years down the memory hole (Hello Jussie Fruit Smollett). Schiff and Nadler are trying to setup a scorched Earth set of hearings to stifle or stop and current or follow on investigations. Hillary wishes Sandy Burgler was alive to go raid the Federal Archives again. No doubt files are getting shredded in haste and many people are practicing the phrase "on advice of council I invoke my 5th Amendment Right."
    Personally I'm waiting for Clapper and Brennen to take the stand. That will be a popcorn worthy day.

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  12. "Personally I'm waiting for Clapper and Brennen to take the stand. That will be a popcorn worthy day."

    They need to run a "prisoners' dilemma" on these guys. Hold their testimony in strictest confidence (if that's at all possible in this day'n age), and let each try to save him/her self by ratting out the other(s).
    What a "frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" that would be, eh?

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  13. One has to wonder, given the damage he did, whether Brennan wasn't a Russian asset . . .

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    1. Was Brennan a Russian asset, or a Chinese asset?

      My expectation back after the election was that Presidents Trump and Putin would find they could work together -- they both are patriots, trying to do the best for their respective nations. The fabricated alleged Russian election interference plot had the effect of making that cooperation impossible -- since any move by President Trump would be claimed to be evidence that he was paying back his Russian benefactors.

      Who benefitted from preventing cooperation between Russia and the US? China is either very lucky … or very smart.

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    2. ". . . wonder, given the damage he did, whether Brennan wasn't a Russian asset . . .

      Wheel, we know he was RED, just hasn't been indicated for his most recent affiliated affliction, as yet! I'm just hoping the POTUS pops him in the NOSE before they haul the ball-less SOB off to the slammer!
      OW~~~

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    3. @Gavin Longmuir: I'm of the mind that the Clintons may well have been bought by China. Back when I was in Guangzhou, our posts in China dutifully reported on prison labor, and I even noted underaged girls on what amounted to corvee (grading rows in large pick-and-shovel gangs of girls and women)--rural residents owing a certain amount of time on public works. We got back reminders that we should not push an issue that can't be proven in a US court of law (as if the Chinese Communist government was going to willingly cooperate!)

      Yet despite the egregious post-Tiananmen human rights violations, the Clinton admin still pushed through a permanent MFN status for China. ANd I'm sure that their Bureau of Public Safety and military intel are thanking Shrillary Shrooooo from the bottoms of their hearts for her using an unsecured server.

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    4. Kepha-Dont forget the Lippo group and James Riady had with the Clintons. Back in the 1990's there were some unclassified indications he also had ties with the Chinese government
      https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/02/28/riady-denies-ties-to-chinese-spy-agency/811093ce-6208-4b8d-ad11-e76312f4f05e/?utm_term=.c8263ee27b78

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    5. Venit: Hate to admit it, but Uncle Kepha and his Diplowife had a connection with RIady. The guy who did our wedding in Taiwan was brother to the Pastor of the Riady family in Indonesia.

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    6. Kepha-Ha! That kind of reminds me of this classic advertisement, playing of the "6 degrees of Kevin Bacon" game:
      https://b0wie.s3.amazonaws.com/videos/609/4314/63288/hd_html5_mp4_1399664754.mp4

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  14. Let's run over this very quickly and with broad brush strokes--I am leaving out a lot of details: the Hillary campaign, through its lawyers, bought some shoddy and salacious oppo research from a shoddy and shady firm, Fusion GPS, that contracted a hack former British spy, Christopher Steele, to write it up. ... The FBI then used it as primary "evidence" in seeking FISA warrants to conduct surveillance operations on the Trump campaign.

    Among other things you're leaving out that the investigation into Russian interfere started before the Steele report, and you're simply lying that it was the primary evidence for the FISA warrants. With some people, I might assume they were too ignorant of the facts to realize this was false, but with you, I know it's a lie.

    Here's some truths about Russia, in the words of Adam Schiff:
    ... the Russians offered dirt on the Democratic candidate for president as part of what’s described as the Russian government’s effort to help the Trump campaign. ... when that was offered to the son of the president, who had a pivotal role in the campaign, that the president’s son did not call the FBI, he did not adamantly refuse that foreign help — no, instead that son said he would ‘love’ the help with the Russians. ... Paul Manafort, the campaign chair, someone with great experience running campaigns, also took that meeting. ... the president’s son-in-law also took that meeting. ... they concealed it from the public. ... when it was discovered a year later that they had lied about that meeting and said it was about adoptions, ... the president is reported to have helped dictate that lie. ... the campaign chairman of a presidential campaign would offer information about that campaign to a Russian oligarch in exchange for money or debt forgiveness. ... that campaign chairman offered polling data, campaign polling data, to someone linked to Russian intelligence. ... the president himself (sic) called on Russia to hack his opponent’s emails, if they were listening. ... later that day, the Russians in fact attempted to hack a server affiliated with that campaign. ... the president’s son-in-law sought to establish a secret back-channel of communication with Russians through a Russian diplomatic facility. ... an associate of the president made direct contact with the GRU through Guccifer 2.0 and WikiLeaks, that is considered a hostile intelligence agency. ... a senior campaign official was instructed to reach that associate and find out what that hostile intelligence agency had to say, in terms of dirt on his opponent. ... national security adviser-designate secretly conferred with a Russian ambassador about undermining U.S. sanctions, and ... he lied about it to the FBI.

    I don't think it's okay that his attorney lied to our committee. There is a different word for that than collusion and it's called compromise.

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    1. Speaking of REPORTS my low-browed Demo'crapper hugging puke! Eat This! Then Call me in the morning, after you've been hosed down, stinky! OW~~~

      Spygate: The Inside Story Behind the Alleged Plot to Take Down Trump By Jeff CarlsonMarch 28, 2019 Updated: March 29, 2019

      Efforts by high-ranking officials in the CIA, FBI, Department of Justice (DOJ), and State Department to portray President Donald Trump as having colluded with Russia were the culmination of years of bias and politicization under the Obama administration

      The weaponization of the intelligence community and other government agencies created an environment that allowed for obstruction in the investigation into Hillary Clinton and the relentless pursuit of a manufactured collusion narrative against Trump.

      A willing and complicit media spread unsubstantiated leaks as facts in an effort to promote the Russia-collusion narrative.

      The Spygate scandal also raises a bigger question: Was the 2016 election a one-time aberration, or was it symptomatic of decades of institutional political corruption?

      This article builds on dozens of congressional testimonies, court documents, and other research to provide an inside look at the actions of Obama administration officials in the scandal that’s become known as Spygate.

      To understand this abuse of power, it helps to go back to July 2011, when DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz was appointed.

      From the very start, Horowitz found his duties throttled by Attorney General Eric Holder, who placed limitations on the inspector general’s right to have unobstructed access to information. Holder used this tactic to delay Horowitz’s investigation of the failed sting operation known as Operation Fast and Furious.

      ...And as a result, they weren’t going to give us that information,” Horowitz told members of Congress in February 2015.

      On Aug. 5, 2014, Horowitz and other inspectors general had sent a letter to Congress asking for unimpeded access to all records. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates responded on July 20, 2015, with a 58-page memorandum, titled “Memorandum for Sally Quillian Yates Deputy Attorney General,” written by Karl R. Thompson, the principal deputy assistant attorney general of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC).

      The July 20, 2015, opinion was widely criticized. But it accomplished what it was intended to do. The opinion limited IG Horowitz’s oversight from extending to any information collected under Title III—including intercepted communications and national security letters. (Notably, The New York Times disclosed that national security letters were used in the surveillance of the Trump 2016 presidential campaign.)

      In response, on Aug. 3, 2015, IG Horowitz sent a blistering letter to Congress. The letter was signed not only by Horowitz but by all other acting inspectors general as well:

      “The OLC opinion’s restrictive reading of the IG Act represents a potentially serious challenge to the authority of every Inspector General and our collective ability to conduct our work thoroughly, independently, and in a timely manner. Our concern is that, as a result of the OLC opinion, agencies other than DOJ may likewise withhold crucial records from their Inspectors General, adversely impacting their work.

      Horowitz continued to push Congress for oversight access and encouraged passage of the Inspector General Empowerment Act. Horowitz would ultimately win his battle, but only as President Barack Obama was leaving office. On Dec. 16, 2016, . . .
      It is against this backdrop of minimal oversight that Spygate took place.
      ...
      On Jan. 29, 2016, Comey appointed McCabe as FBI deputy director,..the three participants in the infamous “insurance policy” meeting—McCabe, Strzok, and Page—were now in place at the FBI... Cont. Here: https://www.theepochtimes.com/spygate-the-inside-story-behind-the-alleged-plot-to-take-down-trump_2833074.html

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    2. LOL, thanks for that great laugh! "Here's some truths about Russia, in the words of Adam Schiff" as if Full-of-Schiff ever told the truth! Oh, man, he's almost as big a liar as Her Herness!

      Pencilneck Schiff is still clinging to his position, but the storm clouds are gathering, and he's going down, down down; the longer he waits to face up to the lies he's been spreading, the harder he'll hit bottom! I hope he gets many years in the slammer, he fully deserves it for the sedition he's sponsored and promoted.

      I'm really hoping that as the stuck pigs squeal, trying to get out of the trap they've found themselves in, that they also implicate Obama/Soetoro, as his stink is all over this mess; they couldn't have pulled it off without his connivance. He too would look good in an orange jumpsuit with decorative chains, but he really should be hanged by the neck until he's dead, as he's a traitor to this country which he hates so much!

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    3. One Brow,

      I'd suggest a re-write of your lead sentence:

      "Here's some truths about Russia, in the words of Adam Schiff:"

      To - 'Here are some of the purported allegations which, in the opinion of Adam Schiff, may be considered until such time as actual evidence is presented either in support of or, rejecting.'

      And ... while we've got you on the line One Brow, my response to you for your consideration on the earlier of Diplomad's posts: "Russia-hoax-is-coming-to-end" (23 MAR 19)

      "Au contraire One Brow to your impugning my opinion as regards actual Department policy.

      "What you seem to be stating is that the so-called Barr memo was, officially adopted as DoJ policy? Please correct me if I err. I trust you will.

      "But whether policy or theory (which latter I contend rather than a "supposed" booger-man-policy) no bar on the Judiciary exists owing to a mere policy having none of that an actual legislatively enacted Statute would have.

      "Put simply One Brow, whether policy or theory matters not a whit - Law as codified in Statute reigns supreme.

      "You might enjoy looking in to what, at it's most basic is, merely theory ... or perhaps laymanly, Barr's opinion. Bearing in mind that, where Opinion really counts is not that that any lowly candidate for Attorney General might express but rather those that issue through our enshrined by Statute, courts system.

      https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Barr%20Responses%20to%20Durbin%20QFRs1.pdf ..."

      I figured One Brow you'd be getting back to me once you'd cleared your calendar enabling you to devote sufficient time to the exchange between Senator Durbin and then-candidate-under-consideration William Barr so I wasn't, I assure, worried you'd skip out on that.

      JK

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    4. On Watch and Eskyman, I really appreciate what you contributed.

      JK,

      If you were unaware of the confirmation for the various meetings to which Schiff referred, perhaps you should expand your sources for news information.

      Back before Mueller was appointed, I was hearing that is was Justice Department policy that Trump could not be indicted, only impeached. It has little to do with Barr or his summary of Mueller's report.

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    5. One Brow you're aware where the infamous Trump Tower meeting is concerned both of the Russians incriminated as being in attendance there met with Glenn Simpson, personally, both within the hour before and after? Does that fact, and it is fact according to testimony given before House Intel suggest anything to you? It suggests to me but that's all it does, just suggests. Have to wait a couple weeks to see whether it confirms my bias but I'll be patient for that 'cause Gee Whiz I've had to wait two + years to see Mueller's report in sight so to me two weeks is a breeze.

      Still I note AG Barr did provide in his notification to Congress that the SC had concluded his investigation at least one complete sentence direct citation from the horse's hand - last sentence of the first paragraph bolded 'Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election' which you can read for yourself:

      https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5779699-Letter-to-Congress-detailing-Robert-Mueller-s.html

      Far as scuttlebutt that DoJ would not indict its boss why yes I've been hearing versions of that my entire adult life - You're no doubt familiar with the theory involved in the concept of The Unitary Executive?

      https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1614&context=jcl

      JK

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  15. I think it was just a ploy to first, win the election in dominating fashion. They tried mightily to get the story into the papers, but for the most part, the media didn't comply, and I think the reason is that without corroboration, the media feared the allegations would actually backfire on the Clinton Campaign. I think this judgment was correct- it would have appeared to ridiculous to anyone who wasn't already a hardcore Democratic partisan.

    The theory has been advanced, though, that a secondary consideration was this- it was pretty much conventional wisdom that Trump, if he actually won, would probably not get more 275 electoral votes- in short, his expected range of electoral votes had a hard ceiling of 275. The belief in the Clinton camp was probably this- if Trump wins by a handful of electoral votes, the Russia Hoax could be a way to turn a few electors to, at a minimum, not vote for Trump during the Electoral College and throw the election into the House, and under ideal circumstances actually vote for Clinton rather than Trump. However, Trump foiled this part of the plan by actually winning the electoral vote in commanding fashion on November 8th 2016 with 36 more votes than he needed.

    Overall, though, once you are committed to a fraud, it is difficult to extricate yourself without committing new frauds along the way. So, the Mueller investigation the logical step after failing to win the election before the inauguration. I think Mueller's plan all along was to try to force Trump to fire him or to issue pardons to those caught in Mueller's web. The plan was an obstruction charge, and I think Mueller had Rosenstein's full support right up until McCabe publicized the fact that Rosenstein was likely part of the cabal all along. That combined with the Republican's holding the Senate with a larger margin meant that Sessions could be fired and replaced. Upon Barr taking office, Mueller realized the game was lost and gave up.

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    1. "The plan was an obstruction charge, and I think Mueller had Rosenstein's full support right up until McCabe publicized the fact that Rosenstein was likely part of the cabal all along."

      Yes Yancey, neat and tidy and possibly so.

      One other complication if that scenario was, McCabe screwed things hopelessly in his opening an actual investigation when, had just the counterintelligence operation been allowed solely to run, none of what's come to light, need have come to light. And that's what always gets 'em, sunshine!

      Still as you posit - Trump's exceeding the "handful of electoral votes" made all the mice's plans impossible. Even barring Barr.

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  16. One minor addendum-The Obama administration previously spied on pro-Israeli members of congress. https://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/spying-israel-congress-netanyahu-217207

    While at the time I wrote this off as incidentally collected intelligence that had been collected as part of a normal intelligence collection effort directed against a foreign government, I am now not so sure. It light of the Obama administration's efforts against Trump, it is at least as probable that the Obama administration had been misusing government power for some time. The Benghazi, IRS and the "Fast and Furious" scandals further reinforce this view. So what was the Obama administration thinking? Initially they were thinking that they wouldn't get caught. After the 2016 election, it became an effort to both cover up their sedition, as well as possibly continue to collect information via the special counsel investigation that could be used to 1) impeach; 2) interfere with the Trump agenda; 3) get control of congress; 4) provide cover for their misdeeds by preventing an investigation into them, due to the existing special counsel investigation.

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    1. "I am now not so sure."

      You're keeping in mind Venit Hora, Brennan (Directorate of Analysis) served as Bill Clinton's daily intelligence briefer before being assigned as Station Chief Riyadh - a very rare position coming out of Analysis [DA] rather than out of the 'snake-eaters' [DO]?

      Admittedly having a guy familiar with the ways of the DA was probably better given what the 'new group' Islamic Jihad [Hizbolloh] had done in Lebanon [Khobar Towers] but having had, er, 'daily chat' in the White House undoubtedly Brennan caught the eye of the other Clinton and here we are ...

      In hindsight it's probably fortuitous Brennan had his roots in Analysis rather than the Directorate of Operations.

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    2. Brennan's career is a bit of a puzzle. He doesn't appear to be too bright, yet he was in DA. He voted for the CPUSA, yet passed his background, (and presumably) a CI polygraph. Just out of curiosity, did he have a hand in that CIA "analysis" that was initiated on TWA 800 after the investigation was taken from the Department of Transportation and given to the FBI and CIA? If so, that would indicate that Brennan was useful not because he is smart, but rather he is useful for his lack of ethics. Which, of course, would be consistent with his role in the Trump investigation.....

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  17. Barr made this tactic impossible. I think the first thing Barr did was have Mueller present him with all the evidence- basically a proto-report. When that showed no collusion or conspiracy, Barr told him it was over.

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  18. Yeah the CIA did some of the TWA 800 analysis. That was highly unusual, IMHO, as the NTSB are the exprets on aircraft crashes, not the CIA or FBI. See here: https://www.cia.gov/offices-of-cia/public-affairs/entertainment-industry-liaison/twaflight.pdf

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    1. Apologies, I thought you asked, " ... did he [Brennan] have a hand ... ?"

      However I have fast-skimmed your link's contents - See its Note 3, given date 30 DEC 96? Brennan would've been in Riyadh then. Until '99 - I did not note a publish date for your linked.

      But don't take me as 'knowledged in the inanities' of DA, I associated with that Directorate as little as possible.

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    2. Sorry, I wasn't clear either. TWA 800 blew up in July 1996, and the investigation was closed in 2000, so he was wasn't involved. You answered my question: although he may lack ethics, the TWA 800 investigation isn't evidence of his ethical shortcomings.

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  19. What were they thinking? Simply, that they would get away with it just as they always had before.

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