Bill Barr Hid Evidence of a Bribery for Pardon Investigation During the Election
Beryl Howell just partially unsealed an opinion she wrote on August 28, permitting DOJ to access some attorney’s communications in a bribery-for-pardon scheme. It’s unclear who the targets of the investigation are — though their names are too short to be Rudy Giuliani.
But one thing is clear: Judge Howell asked DOJ to tell her whether the opinion could be unsealed.
The order associated with that opinion directed the government to submit a “report advising whether any portions of the accompanying Memorandum Opinion may be unsealed to the public in whole or in part and, if so, proposing any redactions.”
DOJ did not respond until November 25, and in their response, they asked her to keep the entire thing under seal.
On November 25, 2020, the government submitted a status report requesting that the Court “maintain the Memorandum Opinion under seal” because it “identifies both individuals and conduct that have not been charged by the grand jury” and declining to suggest any redactions for a publicly available version.
She made them go line by line to get the redactions issued with this opinion.
So basically Barr hid that someone tried to bribe Trump for a pardon through the entire election.
Update: Howell gave them 90 days so Barr didn’t intentionally hold it.
This WH needs to be extirpated completely, in order to discourage the others. Even given the proclivities of DJT’s grifting instincts it is remarkable how blatantly repulsive this alleged conduct is. And, I have no doubt more than a few GOP Congresscritters were complicit or actively involved (looking at you, Lindsey) to keep a lid on the pot.
I looked up the meaning of “extirpated” just to make sure I understood it correctly. Oxford dictionary: root out and destroy completely.
“the use of every legal measure to extirpate this horrible evil from the land”
I like it!
My new favorite word for the day
You’re welcome, and I look forward to see what punaise and Savage Librarian will do with it.
Lol.
“Extwerpated”?
At the end of my senior year of HS English, the teacher ran us through a couple of weeks of vocabulary lessons, just to keep us busy. I still remember the day we met “expurgate”, “extirpate”, and “expunge”.
Were rulers involved?
No, just distance!
Only the last day, when we were flying paper airplanes. One landed on the teacher’s desk. While she was there. (Wasn’t mine.)
Yes…great word, and even better context!
[When “Decimate” is just NOT strong enough].
? Extirpate = 10(Decimate) ?
Forget the source, but recall a comment about the bloody-mindedness of the Roman Empire: “How many languages have a term for killing one out of ten people?”
Yes, but everyone thinks decimate means killing 9/10 and leaving 1/10. It makes you wonder whether the Roman Empire themselves were like, “No, you misunderstand. We only plan to kill 1/10.” And the Visgoths were like, “That makes us feel so much better!”
This year, I’m gonna ask Santa (and Rayne and bmaz and Marcy) for a “like” button on the comments section …
Although ~ I have not been especially good this year, so may be too presumptuous an ask.
Folks have remarked before on how much they’d appreciate a Like/Dislike button on comments, but…is the button worth the additional risk to the site’s security along with the cost and hassle to add/maintain? Like/Dislike is a plugin feature; every plugin increases risks as well as maintenance headaches. What if the developer/provider of the plugin goes belly up or stops servicing the plugin? What if adding the plugin exposes every commenter and the site to a new vulnerability?
IMO we need to consider the least invasive tool for expressing appreciation — just Reply and tell the commenter Thanks.
Thank you for the info, Rayne.
Also, this would clutter up the site. And, after all, the comment sections are not meant to be a popularity contest, imho. My 2 cents.
On Twitter, my speculation is that the data from more than 50 devices might be from the haul from Michael Cohen’s home and office. DOJ would have had these materials close to two years by the time of the August filing. And I’m wondering if it relates to Turkey offering to pay for Flynn’s pardon.
Given the back and forth on redaction you document, if it is about Flynn, having the pardon actually happen may have been the final straw for the judge to unseal.
Another possibility for the data source could be the Parnas, et al. searches, but I’m not sure if we get to enough devices there. DOJ would have had those materials just short of a year. In that is the source, though, the bribery may well have been Firtash trying to buy his pardon.
But the Cohen raid was so long ago, I can’t imagine that his devices contained emails discussing this.
The document mentions something about “after [redacted] surrendered to the [Bureau of Prisons]” so it could well be him. However, George Nader seems a likely candidate, also. He has access to a lot of money, and knows something about lobbying the right people.
Giuliani is probably involved, too, imho. Probably the bag man. We know there’s an open investigation into him; don’t know whether he’s had any of his devices seized.
Marcy retweeted a screenshot posted by
https://twitter.com/SollenbergerRC/status/1333922573881630720
showing that the convict’s last name seems to end with an “s”, but also says it can’t be Parnas because he’s not in BOP custody.
It might also be interesting to know the approx 13-space name of the person “who is not an attorney” to whom each of the e-mails was “directed, copied or forwarded”. [see page 14]
Gates? He pled guilty and served 45 days, so it’s not like he’s rotting away in prison, but if Manafort was the one pushing for a pardon, Gates’ name would have come up in the course of things.
Per Gates’ wiki, here’s the timeline (reordered here to put them in chronological order)
Note, too, that the initial case against Gates was before Amy Berman Jackson in DC, while these charges were filed in EDVA. Howell is in the DC circuit, so if this information against Manafort came in the course of a DC-based case, it makes sense that they’d bring this pardon/bribery information to a DC judge. (Insert IANAL disclaimer here.)
Note, too, that IIRC, between Manafort and Gates, they had a ton of devices seized.
Note as well that “Paul Manafort” has thirteen characters.
“The president knows how much those of us who worked for him have suffered, and I hope he takes that into consideration if and when he grants any pardons,” Gates told the New York Times last week.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/01/giuliani-manafort-himself-heres-who-lame-duck-trump-could-pardon/
The name could end in S, Z, or X. But S is the most common.
“How to Use Apostrophes with Words Ending in ‘S’, ‘Z’ or ‘X’ | by Amelia | Write to Edit | Medium”
https://medium.com/writetoedit/how-to-use-apostrophes-with-words-ending-in-s-z-or-x-637715f275f0
Leave it to a librarian . . .
*g*
:-)
I was taught to use apostrophe-and-s with singular names ending in s, and apostrophe-only with plurals ending in s.
Me too.
FWIW, Ellis ends in S. Jenna Ellis is an attorney. Whether she fits any of the other clues . . . uh, er . . .
Was it the redacted client who got the possessive apostrophe S?
Uh-oh. Davis also ends in S.
I’m ready for my electro-shock now.
It is hard to tell how many characters are used. The document is written in a variable-space font (Georgia, I think) and it the name was in all capitals, it may be only 10 or 11 letters long.
Thank you!
Was there kerning? We have to know if there was kerning and then we can see whether it all tracks back to George W Bush too.
Someone on Twitter mentioned Joe Exotic. Wikipedia has his 2018 mugshot.
Exotic’s birth name is approximately 13 characters: Joseph Allen Schreibvogel
March 5, 1963 (age 57)
Garden City, Kansas, U.S.
Trump has already weighed in; opining: “… what did he do?”…
Trump’s all in on killing; but the coward will never get his own hands dirty. There will always be someone carrying the wipes.
This is the 12 letter + 1space name I was thinking of:
J-A-R-E-D K-U-S-H-N-E-R
[via Justin Hendrix]:
https://twitter.com/ilyamarritz/status/1334277041856897024
6:23 PM · Dec 2, 2020·
Chris Collins, the incarcerated Republican Congressman, seems a reasonable for. I don’t understand the jargon or context of the rest of that document to say if Collins fits. But he does have motive and means, i guess.
[Welcome back to emptywheel. Please use the same username each time you comment so that community members get to know you. This is your second user name since your first comment on November 22. Thanks. /~Rayne]
I popped in here about an hour ago to ask if all of today’s news might somehow be the same news, which is to say, to ask if the pardon was for Flynn, but it just doesn’t quite make sense, so I didn’t follow through. But as you subsequently noted on Twitter, the Nov. 25 timing is remarkable!
Could this be someone from Trump’s pre-POTUS past?
Ghislaine?
I wondered about Cohen (for the seizure), Parnas and Sater, as well as Flynn and Stone. On page 15, at the bottom, it mentions that the person had already reported to BOP custody. Doesn’t that eliminate Flynn? I may have missed something (and perhaps conditions of his release on bail still required that BOP surrender?). I’m sure someone smarter and more qualified than I has an answer!
And Flynn surely wouldn’t need to offer “a substantial political contribution” for his pardon.
Judge Howell presided over Roger Stone’s case. It seems doubtful that Stone (or Flynn) had access to enough ca$h to make meaningful political contributions. OTOH, they likely had information and knowledge of political embarrassment but that would lead more towards extortion rather than bribery.
It’s not clear whether the “pardon” was enacted or only brought to consideration. It’s not known who was involved at the “White House” or how high it went.
For sure this info wasn’t brought to the public in August. Heck, it might not be any worse than firing Comey to stop the “Russia thing” or extorting the President of Ukraine.
The only bet I would make is that someone will be thrown under the bus (and might need a pardon later and proclaimed to be a hero after this fiasco is pronounced a “hoax”) (but with 6 weeks left, time isn’t on the side of culprit/hero or the Prez).
“Time, time, time is on *our* side” (l’ll go with the Stone’s cover)
Oh wait. Judge Howell was also over Mueller’s Grand Jury. There would certainly be a lot more money in the bigger scheme. Big Russian money.
Later reports show that the individual is in custody of prison bureau. I would assume that negates of Flynn and Stone? Most likely, someone not involved in Mueller investigation. Just been spit balling this.
Someone on Twitter mentioned Joe Exotic. Wikipedia has his 2018 mugshot.
Exotic’s last name at birth is approximately 13 characters: Joseph Allen Schreibvogel
Schreibvogel is incarcerated; sentenced to 22 years!
Wikipedia’s account of his crimes include murder for hire, violations of Endangered Species Act, animal cruelty.
All areas that Trump does not **give a fuck** about.
Trump has already weighed in; opining: “… what did he do?”…
Who in the Russia scandal would need to *pay* DT for a pardon? DT is desperate to grant enough of them to cover *his* own arse. How many convicted high rollers in DTs circle *not* involved in the scandal are there floating around?
I am astounded Barr let this investigation go forward. Is a Trump “enemy” involved?
My guess is that it relates to George Nader, the pedo arrested at Dulles in the spring. He is extremely wealthy and has many connections in the Middle East. He was also present at the meeting in the Seychelles. The same meeting Eric Prince perjured himself in front of Congress during his house testimony. Nader was a witness in the Russia investigation, and was in deep with the DJT administration. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. I would guess he’s not wanting to spend 10 in federal prison.
If Rudy Giuliani is too long, I suppose Elliott Broidy is as well, right? Or is it just the last name? This makes Blago seem tame.
Ooops, have to refine my thoughts.
But, THANK YOU JUDGE HOWELL.
The old man thinks it might be about the coal guy down in WV who make big campaign donations. Unfortunately I can’t remember his name. Anybody remember who that was?
Aha, that was don blakenship but that doesn’t fit. Hmmm.
Donald Leon Blankenship??
Yeah Mitch, I know it doesn’t fit.
Nadar fits all the unredacted information. He also has access to millions of dollars through his Putin contacts.
Footnote 6 suggests that the someone has previously made substantial campaign contributions.
Footnote 9 mentions free work undertaken on behalf of someone’s case whether it be the same someone as footnote 6 or another party (in footnote 9 the apostrophe being used without the ‘s’ would indicate a name ending with the letter s as Savage Librarian has previously pointed out and Peterr has already speculated could be Gates) So speculating who provided free advice to Gates might be another lead.
Better than an Xmas 1000 piece puzzle.
Wendy Siegelman ideas [so far] in a thread here:
https://twitter.com/WendySiegelman/status/1333957730722328577
9:14 PM · Dec 1, 2020
[so far she’s looking at Gates AND
“Elliott Broidy associate Nickie Lum Davis who later pleaded guilty.”
Scott Stedman thread linking to
https://twitter.com/ScottMStedman/status/1333930419029372928
Andrew Prokop
AND Josh Rudes [Fellow for Malign Finance at @SecureDemocracy and @GMFUS. Alumnus of @IMFNews, @WHNSC, @USTreasury, @jpmorgan, @Harvard, and @babson. Biden Democrat.]
https://twitter.com/JoshRudes/status/1333938951183327234
8:00 PM · Dec 1, 2020
That’s quite a job title!: Fellow for Malign Finance at Secure Democracy
Any mileage with Chris Collins?
Andrew Prokop via Marcy:
https://twitter.com/awprokop/status/1334683553649528833
9:18 PM · Dec 3, 2020
Here’s Dan Friedman [via Laura Rozen] with some of the pretty SWAMPY DETAILS:
https://twitter.com/dfriedman33/status/1334718076756103169
11:36 PM · Dec 3, 2020
Oh, yeah, and Abby Lowell is a KUSHNER lawyer:
https://twitter.com/lrozen/status/1334696565496303616
10:10 PM · Dec 3, 2020
That’s 12 letters + 1 space JARED KUSHNER
https://www.emptywheel.net/2020/12/01/barr-hid-evidence-of-a-bribery-for-pardon-investigation-during-the-election/#comment-869756
EW has a comment up at the bottom of her Durham Special Counsel essay, (12-2-20@815am), reporting “some” are suggesting it is Elliott Broidy and ruling out several others. Makes sense.
Could be a useful formal addendum to this essay.
Reading the tea leaves here.
DOJ’s initial response shows their people hoping Howell would just let the whole thing remain under seal and forget about it. When she made it clear that she wouldn’t do that, they grudgingly did the redactions.
She must have then concluded releasing this to the world was in the public interest, even with all the massive redactions.
There has to be a good chance this was a scam, operated by someone who claimed to have much more influence with Trump than they really had. Trump has been surrounded by grifters all along.
That makes sense out of my original question, why would Barr’s DOJ pursue this suit? Supposedly nothing makes Trump madder than someone trying to grift off his grift.
Quick question, if a pardonee (Rudy or Kids) continue the criminal behavior that they have been pardoned for, would that not unravel the underlying pardon? The three precedents for pre-emptive pardons all assumed the criminal activities had ended. I think all of them would be unable to immediately untangle themselves from the criminal behavior and would continue immediately following pardon. Thoughts?
No, and I do not know how to emphasize this enough…It does not except future criminal activity,
searching for “Trump pardons pending” on Twitter yields many hits.
Also led to this story out of Cleveland, “FBI raids offices at downtown One Cleveland Center building tied to Ukrainian oligarch
Updated Aug 05, 2020; Posted Aug 04, 2020”
Could this be the donor?
Since Joe Exotic has been openly lobbying loudly and kissing Trump’s rumpy-bumpy over and over; also this is type of thing Don Jr. would hop in on too! (One can’t really describe Don Jr. discreetly as a connected son of political big-wig.)
So glad there is bribery involved so this horrible dirt bag stays in a cage for 22 years. Throw him a bone.
Honestly never thought I would ever see “Joe Exotic” bullshit on this blog. No kudos for bringing it.
Agree that the J.E. persona, etc. is BS; never spent a millisecond looking into him or watching the documentary.
*What does interest me* is someone who conceived and executed these crimes, was charged, tried, convicted, sentenced now happily maneuvers to avoid the consequences of his actions!
I’ll go now.
Trump is raking in $50-60 million a week for his Super PAC(s) by continuing his theater of the absurd, claiming he was stabbed in the back by the Deep State and that he really won the election.
Since he’s using Super PAC(s), he can legally use the money for personal expenses and even take it as income, so long as he discloses and declares it (a sequoia-size loophole Congress should shut). WTF would he ever stop making those claims and concede or admit he’s not going to run again? It’s his best grift yet.
With all due respect, Trump’s “best” grift may have been convincing the IRS to grant him a $900 million tax offset after his casino empire went bust in the mid-1990’s. But I take your point. The man is truly the Warren Buffet of abject failure.
I suspect he’s never made $50-60 million a week for any stretch of time in his life. If he riles up his base enough to keep the money coming in for several months, he’ll beat the tax grift. Besides, tax grift avoids an expense. It often takes years to realize the nominal amount. The Super PAC grift is cash money.