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Three Things: The Well-Qualified K. B. J.

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Rayne
Confirmation hearings begin today before the Senate Judiciary Committee for Biden's Supreme Court justice nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
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Imagine if DOJ Used the Hunter Biden Inquiry to Get Testimony against Rudy Giuliani...

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emptywheel
A key time period in Rudy Giuliani's solicitation of The Laptop happens to be the primary focus of SDNY on Rudy's own Ukrainian influence peddling.
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"The Laptop" Is the Functional Equivalent of The Steele Dossier, 1: Rudy Is the Real Scandal

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emptywheel
As we fight about The Laptop again, based on a reference to verified emails in a NYT article bylined by serial Rudy Giuliani mouthpiece Ken Vogel, the first thing we should keep in mind is that there's far more evidence that Rudy Giuliani was a secret agent of Ukraine influencing the President or Vice President than Hunter Biden. 

Playing Jenga the Russian Trade Edition

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Rayne
Now that Russia's economy is heavily sanctioned, let's play Jenga with Russian commodities. Which export commodities will be most affected? Which importing countries might be most affected?
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Five Years after WikiLeaks Exposed CIA Identities in Vault 7, UK Moves Closer to Assange Extradition

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emptywheel
Julian Assange's attempt to appeal Vanessa Baraitser's ruling that his elicitation of hacking makes him different from journalists would be a lot harder to argue if the US superseded with Vault 7/Vault 8 charges.

A Brief Introduction To The History Of Early Humans

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Ed Walker
Posts on The Dawn Of Everything: Link Posts on Pierre Bourdieu and Symbolic Violence: link Posts trying to cope with the absurd state of political discourse: link Posts on Freedom and Equality. link Chapter 3 of The Dawn Of Everything…
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DOJ Unseals 18-Month Old Indictment against Lev Parnas' Financial Backer

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emptywheel
The indictment unsealed against Andrey Muraviev yesterday was otherwise identical to one obtained on the same day in September 2020, except that it charged Muraviev.

Wheat Exporter Russia Begs China for Food

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emptywheel
At the moment that Russia is destabilizing both Europe and much of the world (in part because a key food producer will be harvesting tanks and cluster bombs instead of grain), Russia has asked China for help feeding its soldiers. 
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The Lesson Marina Ovsyannikova Offers to Chuck Todd and Lester Holt

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emptywheel
The lesson Marina Ovsyannikova offers journalists like Chuck Todd and Lester Holt as democracy is under attack is that you cannot wait until authoritarians take power to speak up.
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A White Board of the Sedition-Curious

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emptywheel
Recent reports ties the Roger Stone - Oath Keeper sedition activities much closer to the Mike Flynn - Sidney Powell conspiracies.

On the Benefits of Having a Career Diplomat Run CIA: "This Is One Information War that I Think Putin Is Losing"

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emptywheel
In the Threat Reports Hearing last week, CIA Director William Burns talked about all the information wars he has lost against Vladimir Putin in the past and how, under his tenure as CIA Director, selective declassification has changed that.

Another Report from an Unidentified Russian Operative

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Rayne
This most recent one is painful, knowing what we know now about some areas under Russian control in Ukraine.

Reports from an Unidentified Russian Operative

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Rayne
Here are Letters 2-4 allegedly from an FSB insider. They're worth reading as alternatives to U.S. perspective. What about these letters rings true, what doesn't? Is this all a massive psyop? What if it's not?

Putin's FSB: Failed Straightforwardness and Benevolence

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Rayne
How can spies and analysts obtain and present the truth when they're under tight political restrictions to report only what a volatile president wants to hear?

Now that DOJ Has Rudy Giuliani's Phone Contents, Lev Parnas Prepares to Plead

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emptywheel
After failing to forgoing really onerous plea deal in the past, now that SDNY has obtained the content of Rudy Giuliani's devices, Lev Parnas is preparing to plead guilty.
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Steve Bannon's Phantom Executive Privilege

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emptywheel
When Robert Costello sat down with the DOJ and FBI on November 3, 2021 to try to talk them out of indicting Steve Bannon, he claimed he had a letter from Trump's lawyer invoking Executive Privilege. But when they asked for that letter, he changed his story.
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"Problem:" SDNY Charges Elena Branson as Unregistered Agent of Russia

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emptywheel
The complaint against Elena Branson unsealed yesterday raises questions about how forthright Donald Trump was when asked about the World Chess Championship staged in New York the day after he won the presidency.
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Questions about the Proud Boys Superseding Indictment

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emptywheel
DOJ has finally added Enrique Tarrio to the Proud Boys indictment and showed clear premeditation to focus on the Capitol. But the indictment provides few clues about where DOJ is headed from here.
Pezzola
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Enrique Tarrio Gets His Chance to Fit In or Fuck Off

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emptywheel
Enrique Tarrio has finally be included in the Proud Boy conspiracy indictment.
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Judge Carl Nichols Upends DOJ's January 6 Prosecution Strategy

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emptywheel
On Friday, I argued that both the January 6 Committee and TV lawyers wailing about DOJ's slow pace of prosecution needed to look more closely at the litigation surrounding DOJ's use of 18 USC 1512(c)(2) to prosecute January 6 defendants. [U]ltimately…
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