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Congress, Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Trump Administration

ODNI Whistleblower Complaint: Shoes Dropping All Over the Place [UPDATE]

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September 19, 2019

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After a new report in Washington Post about the ODNI whistleblower's complaint, we're still wondering what the complaint is about. Is it a Trump-Russia issue alone, or does it also include a promise related to another country — like North Korea or Iran?

2020 Presidential Election, Domestic Policy, Health Policy

Biden’s Opposition to Medicare for All: It’s All About the Billionaires, Baby

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September 18, 2019

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Joe Biden has lots of reasons why he opposes the Medicare for All plan favored by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. But it's all about the money.

2016 Presidential Election, Informants, Mueller Probe

The Implications of Russia's Identification of FBI's Assets

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September 16, 2019

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A big Yahoo scoop includes the detail that Russia seemed to have identified FBI assets as part of a larger compromise. That's particularly interesting given that at least two former FBI assets floated dangles from Russia during the 2016 operation.

[Photo: Emily Morter via Unsplash]

Energy Policy, Foreign Policy, State Department, Trump Administration

Something Smells — and It's Not Burning Oil

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September 16, 2019

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Things don't add up when looking at images of the aftermath from this weekend's attack on Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq oil processing facility.

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

Mike Flynn and Jared Kushner Had Remarkable Success at Avoiding the CIA Asset

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September 15, 2019

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Given what we know about the defector Oleg Smolenkov, it's remarkable that both Mike Flynn and Jared Kushner appear to have ignored advise to reach out to his boss, Yuri Ushakov. Because Kushner and Flynn did not (apparently) communicate with Ushakov, they did not alert CIA in real time to their efforts to set up back channels.

Three Things: Kavanaughhh

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September 15, 2019

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We're revisiting this dreadful wretch Brett Kavanaugh because The New York Times published an article this weekend about him. Too bad Kavanaugh is still a repeated liar and a serial abuser.

Congress, Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Trump Administration

Crowdsource: Build a Timeline on ODNI Whistleblower Complaint [UPDATED-4]

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September 14, 2019

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The ODNI is withholding a whistleblower complaint; what could it have been about, assuming there are other related matters in the public eye? A timeline might help--let's build one.

Congress, Impeachment, Trump Administration

History's Rhyme, Part 5: Bad Faith, Unauthorized Acts and Crimes Against Humanity

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September 11, 2019

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Next entry in a series examining the Nixon impeachment inquiry and a possible parallel today -- Nixon's covert bombing of Cambodia and Trump's unauthorized attacks on human rights.

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

The Giglio Brady Head Fake in Sidney Powell's Latest

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September 11, 2019

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Sidney Powell says she's asking for Brady material. But she's actually asking for Giglio material. It'll be interesting to see whether Emmet Sullivan will consider that to be included in the scope of his standing Brady order.

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

The January 30 Memo Doesn't Help Flynn Like the Frothy Right Thinks It Does

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September 10, 2019

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The frothy right is excited that, six months before Rod Rosenstein scoped Mueller's investigation to include four allegations against Mike Flynn, the FBI decided he didn't commit a crime that may or may not have been included among those four.

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

Sidney Powell Gets Caught Lying in Hearing before Emmet Sullivan

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September 10, 2019

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Sidney Powell told several lies in court today. Remarkably, Emmet Sullivan didn't call her on it. Yet.

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe, Treasury, Trump Administration

Scotland: A Nexus for Trouble?

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September 9, 2019

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This post is a bit clunky, composed of bits and pieces accumulated for nearly 18 months. But whatever is going on in Scotland is just as clunky and badly in need of sorting.

Congress, Trump Administration

Three Things: Corrupt, More Corrupt, and Stumbling Naifs

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September 8, 2019

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Republicans continue sucking up to Russia and Trump while Democratic freshmen drag their feet about doing the right thing. This is an open thread.

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

Donald Trump Was "Colluding" with Roger Stone on Four Different Direct Lines

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September 6, 2019

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Trump claims to have no memory of the times he spoke to Roger Stone about optimizing the WikiLeaks releases. That's funny, because seven different ways to communicate with him directly will be discussed at Stone's trial.

2016 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Mueller Probe

Flynn Steps in It 2.0: Emmet Sullivan Will Make Sidney Powell Explain Why She Asked to Declassify Totally Irrelevant Secrets

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September 6, 2019

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Judge Emmet Sullivan is going to make Sidney Powell explain why she asked for access to totally irrelevant classified information the other day. That may not go well for her.

Football, Formula One, Trash Talk

Packers At Bears - The NFL Sun Comes Out Again Trash Talk

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September 5, 2019

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Trash Talk is back baybee! The NFL season starts for real tonight with the first game of the league's centennial season. And, proving that even Roger Goodell and the NFL can occasionally get something right, the season starts with the Packers…

2016 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Mueller Probe

Remember Roger the Rat-Fucker?

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September 5, 2019

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The government may introduce Andrew Miller's testimony to explain Roger Stone's motive for lying to Congress.

2016 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Intelligence, Mueller Probe

Matt Taibbi Attempts to Reinflate Patrick Byrne's Maria Butina Story

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September 4, 2019

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Matt Taibbi tries to reinflate Patrick Byrne's story about Maria Butina, but only provides more reasons why Byrne's story actually makes the case against her more damning.

Horowitz

2016 Presidential Election, FISA, Mueller Probe

What a Properly Scoped FISA Abuse Inspector General Report Would Look Like

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September 4, 2019

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Michael Horowitz keeps focusing DOJ Inspector General reports on past harms, while ignoring ongoing existing harms stemming from the same evidence or practices. That is turning him into an instrument serving the President's grievances, not DOJ.

Cybersecurity, Leak Investigations, WikiLeaks

Government Confirms that WikiLeaks Didn't Release All the Vault 7 Files

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September 3, 2019

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One reason why the government wants to try accused Vault 7 leaker Joshua Schulte on charges for leaking from the CIA and leaking from jail together is that his jail writings reflects a file WikiLeaks got, but hasn't published.