[FOX] By Kimberley A. Strassel, The Wall Street Journal
The media echo chamber spent the week speculating about whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller can or will nab President Trump on obstruction-of-justice charges. All the while it continues to ignore Washington’s most obvious obstruction‐the coordinated effort to thwart congressional probes of the role law enforcement played in the 2016 election.
The news that senior FBI agent Peter Strzok exchanged anti-Trump, pro-Hillary text messages with another FBI official matters‐though we’ve yet to see the content. The bigger scandal is that the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Mr. Mueller have known about those texts for months and deliberately kept their existence from Congress. The House Intelligence Committee sent document subpoenas and demanded an interview with Mr. Strzok. The Justice Department dodged, and then leaked.
The department also withheld from Congress that another top official, Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, was in contact with ex-spook Christopher Steele and the opposition-research firm Fusion GPS. It has refused to say what role the Steele dossier‐Clinton-commissioned oppo research‐played in its Trump investigation. It won’t turn over files about its wiretapping.
And Mr. Mueller‐who is well aware the House is probing all this, and considered the Strzok texts relevant enough to earn the agent a demotion‐nonetheless did not inform Congress about the matter. Why? Perhaps Mr. Mueller feels he’s above being bothered with any other investigation. Or perhaps his team is covering for the FBI and the Justice Department.
When Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mr. Mueller, he stressed that he wanted a probe with "independence from the normal chain of command." Yet the Mueller team is made up of the same commanders who were previously running the Trump show at the Justice Department and the FBI, and hardly distant from their old office.
#1
The culture of the DOJ and FBI at the top has been to act as gatekeepers/protectors for the Obama admin. and Clinton crime syndicate. There were not enough pink slips and re-assignments in far away places by Trump initially.
OTH, Trump has managed to expose a great deal of corruption by allowing things to go on for a bit longer.
#2
It appears the FBI is overfunded, Cut their budget, fire the Clinton deadwood at the top, and tell the to get compensated for their pensions and salary by the Clinton Foundation. The taxpayers are done
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/08/2017 19:32 Comments ||
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[WND] Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn’s sin was lying to liars, not colluding with Russians.
When he spoke to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, following Donald Trump’s 2016 election, former National Security Adviser Flynn was discharging a perfectly legal and patriotic duty to the electorate.
In a fit of pique, then-President Barack Obama had expelled Russian diplomats from the United States. K.T. McFarland, Flynn’s deputy in the Trump transition team, worried that Obama’s expulsion of the diplomats was aimed at "boxing Trump in diplomatically," making it impossible for the president to "improve relations with Russia," a promise he ran on. For her perspicacity, McFarland has since been forced to lawyer-up in fear for her freedom.
To defuse President Obama’s spiteful maneuver, Flynn spoke to Ambassador Kislyak, the upshot of which was that Russia "retaliated" by ... inviting U.S. diplomats and their families to the Kremlin for a New Year’s bash.
A jolly good diplomatic success, wouldn’t you say?
Present at the Kislyak meeting was Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law. Kushner likely instructed Flynn to ask Russia to disrupt or delay one of the U.N. Security Council’s favorite pastimes: passing resolutions denouncing Israeli settlements. Kushner, however, is protected by Daddy and the first daughter, so getting anything on Jared will be like frisking a seal.
One clue as to the extent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s violations, here, is that Flynn had committed no crime. Laying the cornerstone for the president-elect’s promised foreign policy ‐ diplomacy with Russia ‐ is not illegal.
Perversely, however, lying to the U.S. federal government’s KGB (the FBI), a liar in its own right, is illegal.
[Daily Caller] WASHINGTON ‐ "Throw’em into prison for five years" is what New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez wants for any out-of-state concealed carry permit holder who enter his state with a firearm.
"People violate our law ‐ we are a state that has decided that we are against concealed carry weapons. We have stronger gun laws. We believe we have made the states safer as that," Menendez told The Daily Caller Thursday. "They violate our laws, then whatever is the law, and they are found guilty of it, they should pay the consequence."
When pressed about travelers with concealed carry permits who may be detoured into his state by accident, he replied: "They know what our state’s law is. They should know what our state law is if they want to carry a concealed weapon. I don’t think that they just simply get detoured and they should think in advance when they are traveling."
He continued, "I find it amazing that Republicans who believe in state rights all of a sudden have a problem observing the state rights of those states that think that stronger gun laws is the way to protect citizens and that’s what I have to say about it."
New Jersey has some of the most stringent gun laws in the country. Its state troopers are known to pull over drivers and question them on whether they are carrying concealed firearms.
Posted by: Chris ||
12/08/2017 9:27 Comments ||
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#6
Texas should offer to try anyone from New Jersey for treason against the state and put them on the fast track for the death penalty. Then offer rewards for anyone presenting the gov of NJ to any Texas judge.
#7
Most people who live in NJ that I know are moving out for tax reasons. Denying a person their Constitution rights is just another good reason not to be there. BTW, shouldn't Menendez be in jail? What was that story about corruption and under-age girls in the Caribbean?
[SeattleTimes] Every presidential election is routinely called "the most important election" in history, producing sighs and eye rolls from political-science types. But if you’re fond of democracy in America, the 2018 midterm election makes a stronger case for a superlative label than most presidential elections.
It appears increasingly clear that the Republican majorities in Congress would pose no serious obstacle to presidential lawlessness. True, committees in the House and Senate are looking into Russian sabotage, in the form of support for candidate Donald Trump, during the 2016 campaign. But it’s unclear if Republicans on those committees are willing to blame Russia for wrongdoing, let alone Trump.
As political scientist Jacob T. Levy pointed out at the Niskanen Center blog, in his brief presidential tenure Trump has already "defied, ignored, or shredded the whole previous system of norms about avoiding financial conflicts of interest and the use of public office for private enrichment."
Continued on Page 49
#1
where he doubled the fee to $200,000 after his election, thereby putting an explicit dollar value on presidential access
He's still running those? I thought he had to relinquish control to a trustee or something? And wouldn't a $100,000 upcharge fee for major political access be a bagain price these days?
#4
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Who needs law? Its all about power to impose your will.
[CNBC] Leon Cooperman: If Hillary Clinton won, we'd be in a recession today
If Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 presidential election, the U.S. would be experiencing a recession today, billionaire hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman told CNBC on Thursday.
The nation is better off with President Donald Trump in the White House than it would have been under Clinton or her 2016 rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders, contended Cooperman.
The chairman and CEO of Omega Advisors said his thinking heading into the election was, "'I don't know what I'll get with Donald Trump, but I'll take my chances.'" Cooperman said he's a registered independent. "I think personally if Hillary Clinton had won, we'd be in a recession today," he said on "Fast Money Halftime Report."
Cooperman said he'd vote for Trump again over Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is speculated to run in the 2020 election.
We haven’t heard much from her since some Native Americans accused her of cultural appropriation.
Trump deserves "a lot" of the credit for the stock market run since the November election, he added. "The intelligent people who voted for Donald Trump a year ago, 'said I know what I'll get when I get Hillary. I don't want it.'"
Cooperman also on commented Barack Obama, saying the 44th president had a "foot on the throat of the economy."
The biggest risk to Trump and the Republican Party is not passing a tax bill before the 2018 midterm elections, he said. Trump and the GOP leaders in the House and Senate hope to have the tax cuts package signed into law by Christmas.
Most likely. People love to say Trump's vindictive & crazy, but anyone who follows politics would realize Hillary! is 100 times worse in the behavior department. There's also the Alinsky angle, so the only question would be whether she'd be as bad or worse than Obama.
[Daily Caller] Like a headless turkey running around in circles, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s anti-Trump investigation is dead, even if he does not yet realize it. While his investigation stumbles onward, with life support provided by the biased media, from a legal perspective the viability of any criminal case that Mueller could possibly bring has been effectively gutted thanks to the news (suppressed for months by Mueller’s team) that the FBI’s "key agent" in both the Russia investigation and the Clinton email probe was an ardent Hillary supporter with an anti-Trump bias.
Under federal law, a prosecutor is required "to disclose exculpatory and impeachment information to criminal defendants and to seek a just result in every case." Specifically, pursuant to Giglio v. United States, prosecutors are obligated to provide defendants with impeachment evidence, which includes, according to the DOJ’s guidelines, evidence of a witness’s biases, "[a]nimosity toward defendant," or "[a]nimosity toward a group of which the defendant is a member or with which the defendant is affiliated."
As a result, in any prosecution brought by Mueller against a Republican target, defense counsel would be entitled under the Constitution to all evidence in the government’s possession relevant to exploring the apparent biases of FBI agent Peter Strzok and his animosity toward Trump and the Republican Party. This, in and of itself, could be a case-killer because it is very unlikely that Mueller or the DOJ would want defense counsel poring through all the records and documents, emails, and texts in the DOJ’s and Strzok’s possession revealing the agent’s biases since this could fatally undermine any other cases or investigations the agent has worked on‐such as the FBI’s decision to recommend charging General Flynn with lying to federal agents even though Hillary Clinton’s besties, Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin, were given a free pass despite apparently doing the same thing. Emphasis added.
#1
it is very unlikely that Mueller or the DOJ would want defense counsel poring through all the records and documents, emails, and texts
Or (as the onion continues to be peeled) examining electronic monitoring... or discovering how electronic monitoring was authorized.
I doubt FBI's Peter Strzok or his recently discovered accomplice, associate attorney general Bruce Ohr were involved in too many other cases. I suspect their (and possibly many others) primary area of interest was the Trump Campaign.
#3
Why does Mueller's team keep protecting that worthless former candidate and corrupt scumbag. The Clinton Foundation has effectively been shut down hasn't it? Hasn't the money dried up (or are they still living on the pilfered $12Bil from Haiti)? She's not going to be president.
[SmokeRoom] The first trailer was released Thursday for the upcoming movie "7 Days in Entebbe."
The plot of the film, according to the YouTube description, is, "A gripping thriller inspired by the true events of the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight en route from Tel Aviv to Paris, the film depicts the most daring rescue mission ever attempted."
The Entebbe raid is one of the most famous moments in military history in the past 100 years. It was also the place that current Israeli prime minister Bibi Netanyahu’s brother Yonatan was killed as part of the rescue team.
Judging from the trailer, this movie is going to be awesome. Of course, it shouldn’t be hard to write an awesome movie script for this story. The details of the Entebbe Raid are almost to unbelievable for real life. Israeli commandos invaded Uganda, bang it out at an airport and rescue dozens of hostages. It doesn’t get much crazier than that.
The movie is currently scheduled to be released March 16.
I thought there was an understanding to not re-do Charles Bronson movies, and I have been known to sing along with the raiders when they break out in song. The Idi Amin character (Yafet Kotto) was awesome. The tension build is great, action scene fantastic.
By Silentbrick
I looked around at a variety of websites today, including many conservative ones and found nothing on Pearl Harbor. It seems even they are caught up in the endless 2 minute news cycle. So few today remember any of America's history, much less anything more than a decade ago. Now it's far more important that Al Franken groped more people and may or may not resign or end up in Fort Marcy Park. Or that a porn star killed herself after being bullied for not want to have sex with a male gay porn actor given he might have aids or other diseases.
To many people today, they believe their lives are just so difficult and so important that they think little of those who came before them and how this nation became great. To them sacrifice is bothering to text someone that the plans you made to have dinner with them are off cause you changed your mind. Most of these kids today can't be bothered to have such courtesy. Their idea of charity is paying for whoever is behind them in line at Starbucks as opposed to actually having to do something for others.
Now not everyone is so bad. Harvey proved that in Texas. I saw many of my neighbors donate time and goods to the emergency shelter set up at a local school because it was all that many of the flooded could reach. I recognize this but I also see how that selfishness creeps back in on the road when I turn on my blinker which is apparently a sign saying "Hurry up and dart into the space I was trying to move into. Or they blow past me in heavy rains and doing at least 85+ mph.
But most importantly, I see that tweeting or posting something has become the norm. If they see someone being attacked on the street, they record video and post it rather than rushing forward to help. They leave injured people lying on the street or take a 'selfie' with them, rather than getting them help or at the very least calling 911. I have to wonder sometimes, if this country was invaded, would they even notice until someone sank a bayonet in their stomach?
There are many dates and names and events in our history that people used to remember and be inspired by. "Give me Liberty or Death!" has been replaced by kneeling during our national anthem and standing for the country to our south that has effectively invaded us. Few of them even seem to understand what a nation is. Days like today I despair that we can avoid a long slow slide into destruction. Days like today I cringe at the prevailing attitude of morals being equated to bigotry. You have do wonder, do they even understand what morality is? Or how it forms the basis of civilized humans interacting with each other? You cannot have laws without morality, because as we see with the Clintons, they aren't really laws if they're not enforced.
Despite all these moments of quiet despair, I will not change. I hold firm belief in our constitution being the basis of the greatest nation on Earth. Just because others will flaunt the law or the rules, I will not. Just because others stand aside and video, I will not. I will be the best citizen I can be, not for them, but for those who came before me and set the standard to follow. I hope I can raise my son to be the same, though it is a daunting task I fear. But I will try. I can do nothing else but try, because I refuse to become one of them.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[FOX] By Kimberley A. Strassel, The Wall Street Journal
[CNBC] 
[Daily Caller] Like a headless turkey running around in circles, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s anti-Trump investigation is dead, even if he does not yet realize it. While his investigation stumbles onward, with life support provided by the biased media, from a legal perspective the viability of any criminal case that Mueller could possibly bring has been effectively gutted thanks to the news (suppressed for months by Mueller’s team) that the FBI’s "key agent" in both the Russia investigation and the Clinton email probe was an ardent Hillary supporter with an anti-Trump bias.
[SmokeRoom] The first trailer was released Thursday for the upcoming movie "7 Days in Entebbe."
