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2020 Presidential Election, emptywheel, January 6 Insurrection

Trump's Shaky Privilege to Hide His Pence Pressure

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September 26, 2022

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Since January, both investigations into January 6 have focused on the pressure Trump and the mob put on Mike Pence. And we know from public privilege invocations, that's what Trump is fighting to keep away from a grand jury with invocations of Executive Privilege.

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

When Steven Engel and Ed O'Callaghan Said It Was Legal for Russia to Hack Hillary

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September 25, 2022

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The Barr memo drafted by Steven Engel and Ed O'Callaghan is so sloppy it even suggests it was legal for Russia to hack Hillary.

Culture, Football

Trash Talk: Not Exactly Favre-nügen

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September 25, 2022

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Notes from a golf widow on the third week of the NFL season. This is an open thread.

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

John Durham Wants to Lecture EDVA Jurors about Being Played by Foreign Spies

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September 24, 2022

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John Durham says that "it is appropriate and necessary for the FBI to consider whether information it receives via foreign nationals may be a product of Russian intelligence efforts or disinformation." Yet he himself never made that same consideration.

2020 Presidential Election, Biden Administration, Department of Justice, Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Trump Administration

Three Questions at the Start of an Intelligence Review

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September 23, 2022

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The intelligence review of of the Mar-a-Lago documents begins with three questions: Why did Trump take documents in the first place? Why these documents? Why not those?

2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations

Just Following Orders: Raymond Dearie's Strict Compliance with Aileen Cannon's Orders

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September 23, 2022

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By strictly following Aileen Cannon's order, Special Master Raymond Dearie may well make Trump's attempt to dodge the law more difficult.

2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations

Cause the Harm, and Then Say Nothing: Trump Has Had Aileen Cannon's Proof of His Injury for a Week and Said Nothing

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September 22, 2022

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Trump has had the documents that Aileen Cannon used to claim he was harmed by the government seizure for a week, with no protective order prohibiting him from speaking about them. And he has been silent.

2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations

Granting Stay, 11th Circuit Scolds Aileen Cannon for Ignoring Executive Assertions on National Security

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September 22, 2022

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In rebuking Aileen Cannon for her injunction on DOJ's investigation into the classified files Trump stole, the 11th Circuit reminded her that courts grant the [current] Executive great deference on matters pertaining to classification and national security.

2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations

DOJ Raises Prospect that Trump Continues to Obstruct Investigation, Including of Empty Folders

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September 21, 2022

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With each new filing, the government gets closer to suggesting they need to execute additional search warrants to find the contents of the empty folders found at Trump's beach resort.

2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations

Trump Sweeps Evidence of Obstruction under the Appellate Rug

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September 20, 2022

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Trump's response to the government's motion for a stay of some of Judge Cannon's order ignores (or misrepresents) a bunch of factual issues. But it also makes an appellate claim DOJ did not address.

2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations

Don't Analyze Trump Legal Filings Based on the Law, Analyze Them Based on Power

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September 20, 2022

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Seven years into the Trump phenomenon, commentators are still treating Trump and his advocates as if they care about the law or the truth. They don't. They care about sustaining a narrative of grievance that might allow him to resume power.

2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations

Trump Wants Two Weeks to Review 64 Documents; DOJ Expects Review of 500 Documents a Day

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September 20, 2022

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Trump's team is wailing that Raymond Dearie is going to adhere to the law during his Special Master Review.

2020 Presidential Election, EO 12333, Leak Investigations

"The Rule of Law is not assured:" The Cascading Constitutional Crisis Judge Aileen Cannon Deliberately Created

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September 19, 2022

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By ordering Raymon Dearie to prioritize documents marked as classified in his Special Master review, Judge Aileen Cannon hastened the moment where we'll have a series of contentious fights about the Separation of Powers.

2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe

On the Belated Education of John Durham

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September 18, 2022

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The education of John Durham as he has struggled to provide discovery to first Michael Sussmann and now Igor Danchenko has been painful and damaging for those charged. But along the way he's debunking many of the conspiracy theories he was hired to sustain.

2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection

Only Eric Herschmann (and Maybe Christina Bobb) Learned the Steve Bannon Lesson

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September 17, 2022

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Even after Evan Corcoran's legal advice about Executive Privilege led Steve Bannon to be found guilty for contempt, he continued to try to push others, including Eric Herschmann, to follow the same advice.

2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations

In Motion for a Stay, DOJ Raises Prospect that Trump Leaked Classified Documents

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September 17, 2022

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In its motion for a stay before the 11th Circuit, the government hinted that the investigation into Trump's document theft has expanded to consider whether and to whom he leaked these documents.

[Photo: National Security Agency, Ft. Meade, MD via Wikimedia]

2020 Presidential Election, Cybersecurity, Leak Investigations

Trust: In Bid for Stay, DOJ Likened Trump to Catastrophic Intelligence Compromise

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September 16, 2022

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In a footnote of their motion for a stay, DOJ analogized Trump to Nghia Pho, who by bringing files home from work is believed to have contributed to two global malware attacks.

2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection, Leak Investigations

That Other Bitter Jan6er about to Start Trial for Bringing Classified Documents Home from Work

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September 16, 2022

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The trial for a different embittered former government employee who allegedly brought classified documents to his home in Florida, Oath Keeper Jeremy Brown, is due to start in October. It provides a glimpse at the kinds of issues that come up in Espionage Act prosecutions.

2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations

Aileen Cannon's Special Master Is Designed to Preempt Decisions Reserved for a Jury

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September 16, 2022

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A number of details about Judge Aileen Cannon's plans for a Special Master provide ways to pre-empt decisions a jury in a Trump trial would make.

2020 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations

Judge Aileen Cannon Deems Grand Jury Subpoenas Toilet Paper

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September 15, 2022

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Judge Cannon makes no mention of the specific crimes under investigation in her order denying a stay of her Special Master order. That's telling, because the documents marked as classified at issue are either evidence of a violation of the Espionage Act or evidence of obstruction.