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More Questionable Behavior from Trump, T Admin, DOJ, and R's vs Dems, Press, Justice

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#173

Exclusive: Obama says in private call that ‘rule of law is at risk’ in Michael Flynn case

Former President Barack Obama, talking privately to former members of his administration, said Friday that the “rule of law is at risk” in the wake of what he called an unprecedented move by the Justice Department to drop charges against former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn.

In the same chat, a tape of which was obtained by Yahoo News, Obama also lashed out at the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as “an absolute chaotic disaster.”

“The news over the last 24 hours I think has been somewhat downplayed — about the Justice Department dropping charges against Michael Flynn,” Obama said in a web talk with members of the Obama Alumni Association.

“And the fact that there is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free. That’s the kind of stuff where you begin to get worried that basic — not just institutional norms — but our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk. And when you start moving in those directions, it can accelerate pretty quickly as we’ve seen in other places.”

The Flynn case was invoked by Obama as a principal reason that his former administration officials needed to make sure former Vice President Joe Biden wins the November election against President Trump. “So I am hoping that all of you feel the same sense of urgency that I do,” he said. “Whenever I campaign, I’ve always said, ‘Ah, this is the most important election.’ Especially obviously when I was on the ballot, that always feels like it’s the most important election. This one — I’m not on the ballot — but I am pretty darn invested. We got to make this happen.”

Obama misstated the charge to which Flynn had previously pleaded guilty. He was charged with false statements to the FBI, not perjury. But the Justice Department, in a filing with a federal judge on Thursday, asked that the case brought by special counsel Robert Mueller be dismissed, arguing that FBI agents did not have a justifiable reason to question the then national security adviser about his conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak — talks FBI agents and Mueller’s prosecutors concluded he had lied about.

Still, Obama’s unvarnished remarks were some of his sharpest yet about the Trump administration and appeared to forecast a dramatically stepped-up political role he intends to play in this year’s election. The comments came during a lengthy chat in which he also sharply criticized the response to the coronavirus pandemic, blaming it on the “tribal” trends that have been stoked by the president and his allies.

“This election that’s coming up on every level is so important because what we’re going to be battling is not just a particular individual or a political party. What we’re fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy — that has become a stronger impulse in American life. And by the way, we’re seeing that internationally as well. It’s part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty. It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset — of ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘to heck with everybody else’ — when that mindset is operationalized in our government.

“That’s why, I, by the way, am going to be spending as much time as necessary and campaigning as hard as I can for Joe Biden,” he added.

Obama’s remarks about Flynn seemed especially pointed in light of the fact that the former Army general had served in his administration as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency — until he was forced out by administration officials who viewed him as a chaotic, insubordinate manager. During the transition, Obama even warned Trump not to hire Flynn — advice that Trump ignored.

Obama also gave some insights into his life during the pandemic. The lack of sports, he said, is “driving me nuts.” But there was a bright side, he added. His daughters, Malia and Sasha, “are stuck having dinner with me” at home.

I don’t know why it displays a video instead of the link :woman_shrugging:t2: Exclusive: Obama says in private call that 'rule of law is at risk' in Michael Flynn case

Update: there’s a little Coronavirus crossover from this story too.

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#174

I am glad to hear straight up what Obama thinks and wants to do. I would not be surprised if this might be an intended leak, that gives Obama some cover as to his vehemently critical remarks against DOJ, Flynn case and the need to “make this happen.” In normal administrations, you never hear a previous President criticize a current President in so many words…but this administration presents a LOT of problems and it is ‘corrupt’ as Obama said earlier in his bid to help Biden.

I am glad to hear him pitch for a ‘sense of urgency,’ and gearing up to get Biden elected. The country is in serious peril, and we have horrible leadership now - that Reality TV strawman.

Ok…let’s hear some more Obama.

Oh…and just thinking out loud here…Barack has a big book coming out, and I was wondering when that was and there is speculation that it is due during campaign season 2020. Shift some momentum over to Biden

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#175

Agreed. I would not be surprised, his messaging has always seemed very intentional.

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#176

Ok…This is propaganda.

Just look at the headlines, you do not have to watch the video…but Sec of State Pompeo is on it, pushing the China conspiracy theory.

OANN - Very pro-Right, T-supported TV network talking about some China conspiracy theory about leaking the virus, George Soros

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#177

I am sure you saw that Trump Jr. is trying to buy OANN with a group’s backing to replace Fox?

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#178

:weary:

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#179

Judge Sullivan has not weighed in on whether Flynn case will be dropped…lack of correct signature may mean more than a technical error.

The court filing on Thursday to drop former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s criminal case used the attorney identification number for the previous US attorney, a technical error that adds to the twists of the dramatic reversal by the government.

The bombshell court filing was signed only by interim DC US attorney Timothy Shea, a political appointee who used the court identity number of his ousted predecessor Jesse Liu. The incorrect ID number is a technical error that may need to be fixed before the judge weighs in.

Shea’s filing on Thursday – undoing more than two years of work from special counsel Robert Mueller’s team and his own office’s work on the case – shocked lawyers across the country, who alleged the undermining of the rule of law for President Donald Trump’s political gain. Shea’s signature on the document already raised questions about who within the Justice Department prepared it, why other prosecutors didn’t sign the filing, and why the lead prosecutor on the case withdrew from it an hour before its submission.

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#180

Trump has been on a tear all weekend and is still going strong today.

Trump to claim ‘absolute immunity’ from subpoenas in Supreme Court appeal: ‘It would literally put the president above the law’

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#181

Nearly 2000 former DOJ officials call for AG Barr to resign over Flynn case


Sadly, this just another letter to frame on a wall with dozens of groups who have called Bill Barr out for his corruption of our federal law enforcement system.

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#182

If you thought warrant-less wiretaps were bad, McConnell wants to make it harder for us to surveil politicians but allow the FBI to literally look through the browsing habits and searches of EVERY OTHER CITIZEN AND ORGANIZATION without a warrant.

Mitch McConnell Moves to Expand Bill Barr’s Surveillance Powers

Welcome to the Trump-era Patriot Act: a law that protects politicians while giving the government greater knowledge of the websites you searched for and visited.

Days after the Justice Department controversially dropped charges against Mike Flynn, Senate GOP Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is set to expand a highly politicized Justice Department’s surveillance authority during a vote this week to renew the 2001 PATRIOT Act.

Under cover of redressing what President Donald Trump and his allies call the FBI’s “witch hunt” over collusion with the Kremlin, McConnell, via an amendment to the PATRIOT Act, will expressly permit the FBI to warrantlessly collect records on Americans’ web browsing and search histories. In a different amendment, McConnell also proposes giving the attorney general visibility into the “accuracy and completeness” of FBI surveillance submissions to the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court. Versions of the amendments circulating Monday were shared with The Daily Beast.

Taken together, privacy advocates consider McConnell’s moves an alarming expansion of Attorney General Bill Barr’s powers under FISA, a four-decade-old process that already places the attorney general at the center of national-security surveillance. It also doesn’t escape their notice that McConnell is increasing Barr’s oversight of surveillance on political candidates while expanding surveillance authorities on every other American. One privacy activist called McConnell’s efforts “two of the most cynical attempts to undermine surveillance reform I’ve ever seen.”

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said that Barr, who has been deeply involved in investigations of interest to Trump, could authorize an investigation into a political rival, which could then unlock the internet-spying powers McConnell wants to grant the FBI.

“Under the McConnell amendment, Barr gets to look through the web browsing history of any American—including journalists, politicians, and political rivals—without a warrant, just by saying it is relevant to an investigation,” said Wyden, who has been trying to ban warrantless surveillance on such records.

A vote to restore expired provisions of the Patriot Act, the vehicle for McConnell’s amendments, could come as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.

Barr has come under withering criticism from ex-Justice Department officials for corrupting his office on Trump’s behalf, starting with Robert Mueller last year. On Sunday, Mary McCord, a former senior department national-security official, accused Barr ally Timothy Shea of misrepresenting her position on the Flynn investigation in his brief for dropping the charges. A day later, former Roger Stone prosecutor Jonathan Kravis, a public-corruption expert, wrote that Barr had “betray[ed] the rule of law” by “directly intervenin[ing] to benefit the president’s associates.”

McConnell’s amendment blocks the FBI from seeking the “content” of web browsing and searching conducted by Americans. But it explicitly permits the warrantless collection of “Internet website browsing records or internet search history records.” Barr and other attorneys general approve guidelines for conducting such surveillance.

Wyden and GOP colleague Steve Daines of Montana have been pushing to restrict warrantless web-browsing data collection by the intelligence agencies. Wyden considers McConnell’s amendment egregious.

“The reference to ‘content’ in the McConnell amendment is meaningless, since its application to web browsing has never been settled in the courts,” Wyden told The Daily Beast. “That’s just an invitation to Barr to engage in more secret interpretations of the law, which have led to abuses again and again.” That’s a reference to how the NSA and Justice Department, from 2006 until 2015, shoehorned the bulk collection of Americans’ phone records into part of the Patriot Act.

It’s not the limit of McConnell’s changes to FISA through the Patriot Act vote.

McConnell would mandate that Barr perform an annual review of the FBI’s FISA submissions for “accuracy or completeness,” speaking to the now-documented withholdings FBI officials made for re-upping surveillance on Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Barr and his successors would present the congressional committees on judiciary and intelligence with a report on his findings each April.

Additional oversight of the FBI has merit to it, considering that Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz recently found widespread flaws in the FBI’s FISA applications, far beyond those relevant to Trump or his allies.

But there’s a competing proposal, from the civil libertarian Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), that puts oversight and review of those FBI surveillance applications in the hands of the comparatively neutral FISA Court and its amicus, an attorney who challenges the government’s surveillance submissions. They, rather than the attorney general, would get to review exculpatory evidence on a proposed surveillance target.

McConnell would also block expansion of the amicus’ authority. Lee and Leahy propose to involve the adversarial attorney in proposed surveillance on “a domestic religious or political organization”; a “domestic public official or political candidate” or their staff; or the news media. McConnell instead authorizes an amicus before the court only in cases that “targe[t] a campaign for Federal office or an application that targets a United States person when the application relies for its criminal predicate on only the provisions of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.”

Neema Singh Giuliani of the ACLU said it was bizarre to “create an amicus to participate when targeting political candidates, but we’re not going to provide that same oversight in cases involving religious organizations, domestic news media or everyday individuals who are facing new or significant civil rights concerns. It’s hard to look at that amendment and conclude it’s intended to really address not just problems exposed by the Carter Page report but the subsequent IG audit.”

“McConnell is literally trying to take a privacy safeguard designed for the press and religious groups and instead give it only to politicians and people suspected of being foreign agents. He’s also trying to sneak warrantless surveillance of internet and search histories into an amendment that claims to prohibit it,” added Sean Vitka, the senior policy council with activist group Demand Progress. “These are two of the most cynical attempts to undermine surveillance reform I’ve ever seen, and they threaten to make a Patriot Act reauthorization even worse, after a process that has so far successfully prevented any member of Congress from fixing the underlying bill.”

Section 215 of the 2001 Patriot Act mandates records providers turn over “tangible things” “relevant” to an ongoing investigation–which McConnell’s amendment would extend to web-browsing and search-history records. It and other provisions of the Patriot Act expired last month after McConnell couldn’t reach an agreement to pass a House-approved Patriot reauthorization that many privacy advocates hated.

Giuliani said McConnell’s amendment “can be read that some type of collection [on internet records] is appropriate, and leaves it up to leadership at the Justice Department. But the goal is not to leave this up to a DOJ determination, regardless of what administration you’re in, but giving the sense that search and browsing history is something you can’t collect under 215.”

McConnell’s Senate office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did a Justice Department representative.

On Monday, a coalition of left and right civil-rights groups, including the NAACP and FreedomWorks, circulated a letter to lawmakers urging restraints on surveillance in line with what Lee, Leahy, and Wyden are proposing. The groups agreed that Horowitz’s report laid bare “systemic deficiencies” within the FBI’s surveillance practices.

“The McConnell amendment hands vast surveillance powers to Attorney General Barr at a moment when he is accelerating the corruption of the Department of Justice to serve Donald Trump’s political whims,” said Wyden.

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#183

More meltdowns from T today…past three days, today - attacking and more bullying with unfounded evidence via tweets.

President Donald Trump’s ongoing Twitter meltdown has now entered its third day — and featured not just his usual spurious claims about the government’s Covid-19 response, but also ugly, nonsensical attacks on his perceived enemies.

On the heels of a Sunday and Monday in which Trump amplified a number of accounts that have promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory about Democrats being involved in a pedophilia cult, posted tweets baselessly accusing former President Obama of crimes, demanded NBC fire Chuck Todd, and promoted a business he still owns and profits from, Trump managed to take things up a notch on Tuesday morning by suggesting Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough is guilty of murder.

“When will they open a Cold Case on the Psycho Joe Scarborough matter in Florida. Did he get away with murder? Some people think so,” Trump wrote. “Why did he leave Congress so quietly and quickly? Isn’t it obvious? What’s happening now? A total nut job!”

When will they open a Cold Case on the Psycho Joe Scarborough matter in Florida. Did he get away with murder? Some people think so. Why did he leave Congress so quietly and quickly? Isn’t it obvious? What’s happening now? A total nut job!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2020

Suffice it to say that there is no evidence that Scarborough, who used to be friendly with Trump but in recent years has become sharply critical of him, is guilty of murder.

The president’s tweet refers to the accidental 2001 death of an intern who worked in Scarborough’s office in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, back when he was a member of Congress. The New York Post’s Yaron Steinbuch provided the relevant details in a piece published earlier this month, on an earlier occasion when Trump alluded to this conspiracy theory on Twitter:

The president appeared to be referring to the case of Lori Klausutis, a 28-year-old intern who was found dead in Scarborough’s Fort Walton Beach office in Florida when he was a congressman.

The medical examiner ruled the death accidental, saying Klausutis had passed out because of an undiagnosed heart condition and hit her head on a desk.

No evidence has ever been found linking Scarborough to her death.

The president casually suggesting — without evidence — that a cable news host is guilty of murder is obviously wild, but Trump seems to have somewhat numbed the country to this sort of thing.

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#184

Judge Sullivan is pumping the brakes on the dropping of the Flynn case, as he has final say.

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Judge Emmet Sullivan said he’ll receive written arguments that are likely to oppose Justice’s bid to abandon the high-profile prosecution.

The judge presiding over the tumultuous case of Michael Flynn pumped the brakes Tuesday on an effort by the Justice Department to drop the case against the former national security adviser and ally of President Donald Trump.

Minutes after lawyers for Flynn urged Judge Emmet Sullivan to “immediately” toss the matter, Sullivan indicated he wasn’t ready to act just yet, instead signaling he’ll set a schedule to accept briefs from outside parties who might have an interest in the case.

[A]t the appropriate time, the Court will enter a Scheduling Order governing the submission of any amicus curiae briefs," Sullivan wrote in an order posted Tuesday afternoon. He said that “given the posture of the case” he anticipates that many outside parties will have an interest in weighing in.

Sullivan did not say whether he plans to hold a hearing on the government’s unusual motion to abandon the two-and-a-half year old case, but his announcement Tuesday signals that he plans to entertain arguments — at least in writing — against the unified front in favor of dismissal being advanced by the prosecution and defense.

The prospect of the case dragging on with lawyers presenting arguments for Flynn’s continued prosecution met with quick resistance from Flynn’s defense.

“A criminal case is a dispute between the United States and a criminal defendant,” Flynn defense lawyer Sidney Powell and her co-counsel wrote in a court filing later Tuesday. “There is no place for third parties to meddle in the dispute, and certainly not to usurp the role of the government’s counsel.”

Powell argued that such friend-of-the-court briefs are not permitted in criminal cases under local court rules and Supreme Court precedent.

“This travesty of justice has already consumed three or more years of an innocent man’s life — and that of his entire family,” she wrote. “No further delay should be tolerated or any further expense caused to him and his defense.”

Just prior to Sullivan’s order, Flynn’s lawyers sent the court a short notice confirming that he consents to the case against him being dropped. His lawyers had not directly said that to the judge, although last week they filed a motion seeking to withdraw all their other pending motions in the case in light of the government’s change of heart.

“Mr. Flynn agrees that the dismissal of this case meets the interests of justice and requests that this matter be dismissed immediately, with prejudice,” Powell wrote.

Sullivan’s move on Tuesday appeared to have been prompted at least in part by a group of former Watergate prosecutors asking the judge’s permission to file an amicus brief challenging the government’s attempt to dismiss the case.

In a filing on Monday not immediately posted on the court’s docket, lawyers representing the 16 ex-prosecutors suggested Flynn’s conviction was final when he entered his guilty plea, disputed some of the Justice Department’s factual assertions and suggested political influence might be at work.

Sullivan’s order addressing amicus briefs was his first public action since the extraordinary development five days ago in Flynn’s fight to undo his decision to plead guilty to lying to the FBI in 2017. Flynn admitted then that he lied to FBI agents who visited him at the White House in an interview that took place just days after Trump took office. The FBI agents reported that Flynn denied having any substantive discussions with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during pre-inauguration conversations between the two, contradicting intercepts of those conversations captured by the intelligence community.

Prior to the FBI interview, Flynn had already offered a similar denial to Vice President Mike Pence. Trump cited Flynn’s lies to Pence and the FBI as grounds for firing Flynn after only about three weeks on the job.

In a bid for leniency, Flynn cooperated extensively with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation as part of his plea agreement.

But Flynn reversed his posture over the past year, first accusing the government of widespread misconduct and later moving to withdraw his guilty plea.

Amid efforts to unravel the plea, Justice Department leaders reversed course and decided to drop the case against Flynn, citing improper actions by the FBI in its decision to interview Flynn in the first place.

A career prosecutor assigned to the case while working in Mueller’s office, Brandon van Grack, withdrew, and the department’s notice to Sullivan was signed only by the top prosecutor for Washington, DC., who is a former aide to Attorney General William Barr.

The move was hailed by Trump and his supporters, but sparked outrage among hundreds of FBI and Justice Department alumni, who accused Barr of orchestrating a political favor for a close ally of Trump.

Sullivan is now weighing the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the case, and his decision to accept new information could upend hopes for a quick resolution by Flynn and his allies.

In addition to the smattering of formal legal filings, a tussle over the Flynn case has played out in public over the past few days, through op-eds, news reports, cable TV appearances and social media posts.

President Barack Obama reportedly lamented the Justice Department’s decision last week, declaring that it showed “our basic understanding of rule of law is at risk” in the U.S… That prompted Flynn lawyer Powell to push back Tuesday with a public memo faulting Obama’s claim that the move to drop the Flynn case was without precedent.

“You need more help than you realize as your statement is entirely false. However it does explain the damage to the Rule of Law you allowed throughout your administration,” Powell wrote.

In her open letter to Obama, Powell also hawked her book about Sullivan’s decision to dismiss the corruption-related prosecution of late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) after the government admitting withholding evidence favorable to Stevens’ defense.

“As horrifying as the facts of the Stevens case were, they pale in comparison to the targeted setup, framing, and prosecution of a newly elected President’s National Security Advisor and the shocking facts that surround it,” she wrote. “Only the FBI agents lied—and falsified documents. The crimes are theirs alone.”

Powell also buttered up Sullivan, calling him a “judicial hero,” and she seemed to offer a veiled suggestion that Obama or his allies may soon wind up imprisoned themselves. “Perhaps you will soon find some remarkably good ‘jailhouse lawyers’ to consult for further assistance on your search for precedent,” the defense attorney wrote.

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#185

The DIO, I LIKE it, it’s CATCHY!

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#186

Well, just because collusion wasn’t proved, it doesn’t mean it’s not there.

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#187

Paul Manafort has been released to his home due to the pandemic, even though there are thousands in more dire situations, and more deserving.

And Michael Cohen has not been, apparently on the direct order of Trump.

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#188

Hell.







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#189

OK…this is some action against selling stocks…

WASHINGTON —

Federal agents seized a cellphone belonging to a prominent Republican senator on Wednesday night as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into controversial stock trades he made as the coronavirus first struck the U.S., a law enforcement official said.

Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, turned over his phone to agents after they served a search warrant on the lawmaker at his residence in the Washington area, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a law enforcement action.

The seizure represents a significant escalation in the investigation into whether Burr violated a law preventing members of Congress from trading on insider information they have gleaned from their official work.

Burr sold a significant percentage of his stock portfolio in 33 different transactions on Feb. 13, just as his committee was receiving daily coronavirus briefings and a week before the stock market declined sharply. Much of the stock was invested in businesses that in subsequent weeks were hit hard by the plunging market.

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#190




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#191

He could not be more predictable.
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#192

Yes, very suspicious the actions just taken by FBI…and I am certain, there’s way more to getting Sen Burr, Co-head of the Senate Intell Committee out of the way, delegitimize Burr’s opinion that the Russians aided T’s election, and the Intell report which confirms this theory as well.

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