
Time to Start Calling Bill Barr "Prosecutor General"
It's time to stop calling Bill Barr the Attorney General -- a title he has sold out -- and instead use the title we use for political hacks covering up for the self-dealing of Oligarchs, Prosecutor General.

The 900 Pages of George Nader Testimony the Government Wants to Keep Hidden
The transcripts memorializing George Nader's grand jury appearances are 900 pages long and include questions about ongoing investigations.

Loose Ends as the Stone Trial Moves to Closing Arguments
Some loose ends from the Stone trial.

Trump Team's Extortion Demands To Ukraine Started Before The April 21 Call To Zelensky
Even if a "transcript" from the April 21 call from Trump to Zelensky is released and contains no extortion demand from Trump for Zelensky to investigate the Bidens, such a demand was indeed delivered to a Zelensky associate less that a month later by Parnas and Fruman. The threat was then carried out when Pence did not attend Zelensky's inauguration since no investigation was announced.

Private Government By Corporations
Corporations as Communist Dictatorships: great for masters but infringes on freedom of workers.

It Doesn't Matter for Prosecutors' Case that Randy Credico Was Bragging or (Purportedly) Drunk
Reporters who claim that Randy Credico's credibility (or lack thereof) in any way affects the abundant evidence proving the case against Stone seem to have missed that Stone's current defense strategy amounts to pleading guilty to four of the false statements charges against him.

Why Won't Sean Hannity Defend Trump against Impeachment Under Oath?
For some reason, Sean Hannity seems uninterested in defending the President against impeachment under oath.

Rick Gates Got Sent Two Key Jerome Corsi Posts
Two Jerome Corsi posts that are central to a theory I proposed about what Corsi and Stone were up to in 2016 got sent to the Trump campaign.

Trash Talk
So, in a bit of frivolity, Pete T and Jim White tried to get me to feature the Mike Huckabee Band for Trash Talk. That is just not going to happen. And, yes, there may have been a bit of extra attention paid to Little Feat lately. Sorry!
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Three Questions Not Asked of Steve Bannon
The questions Steve Bannon did not get asked today at Roger Stone's trial are as interesting as the questions he did get asked.

Why Did Gucciardo Pay Giuliani Partners For His "Loan" To Fraud Guarantee?
So, Parnas had to be careful about funds flowing through entities he controlled, because the Pues Family attorneys were watching carefully (and in fact pounced on the news of the America First Action donation) and Rudy had to be careful about not having the money go directly to him or his ex-wife would seek the funds. Shouldn't Gucciardo have asked why the money didn't just go to Fraud Guarantee? Shouldn't he have asked why he had to divert funds to Rudy's consultancy? This just doesn't add up. Given his deep involvement with these same players, it seems much more likely Gucciardo understood the winks and nudges involved in getting funds to Giuliani in return for his "pro bono" representation of Donald Trump.

Snowden Needs a Better Public Interest Defense, Part I: Bildungsroman
I was really disappointed in Snowden's book. One big reason why is that his narrative -- a classic Bildungsroman -- undermines his public interest defense.

The Cognitive Dissonance of Learning about Roger Stone's "Collusion"
The confusion many people are expressing about how all Roger Stone and Donald Trump's efforts to optimize the release of Hillary's stolen emails is best addressed by reminding that the Mueller Report only addressed prosecutions and declinations, and "collusion" is not a crime. Per Mark Meadows' definition, Trump colluded.

After Engaging in Multiple Overt Acts Benefitting a Conspiracy, Bill Barr Had Kerri Kupec Commit the Most Overt Act
When Bill Barr had DOJ spox Kerri Kupec issue a statement exonerating the President rather than doing so himself, it was not a sign of any distance between Barr and the White House. Rather, it's evidence that Barr recognizes his own risk of becoming an active member of the conspiracy his DOJ went to great lengths to avoid investigating.

The Narrative and Legal Tensions Set on Day One of Roger Stone's Trial
Here are three narrative and legal gaps that I think will end up being unexpected plot twists in Roger Stone's trial.

emptywheel Fact Check Service -- DOJ, 1-1 // Sidney Powell, 0-29
emptywheel fact check department has had far better success getting DOJ to fix errors than getting Powell to fix any of hers!

What Prosecutors Need to Show to Prove Roger Stone Guilty
Here's a primer on how much evidence the government has to prove that Roger Stone lied to Congress.

When Your Joint Defense Agreement with the Russian Mob Blows Up in Your Face
Lev Parnas seems to be preparing to put the screws to Trump.

What the Exhibit Decisions and the Witness List Say to Expect from Roger Stone's Trial (Updated)
A list of witnesses for the Roger Stone trial.

Sidney Powell Complains That Peter Strzok Is Too OCD to Investigate Her Client
Along with the normal froth-bait, SIdney Powell includes a new accusation against Peter Strzok in her sur-surreply pretending to ask for Brady materials: Peter Strzok is too OCD to prosecute her client.

