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A Tale of Two GRU Indictments

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emptywheel
A comparison of the DNC and WADA GRU indictments suggsets a lot of commonality between the operations -- potentially including shared bitcoin infrastructure. But there are some interesting differences, perhaps the different treatment of InfoOps, between the two.
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Three Things: Russia and China Spying, Kavanope

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Rayne
Big story about hardware-based hacks by China; Russians indicted for hacking anti-doping entities, athletes, and more; update on Kavanope.
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In Dismissing Ricin Charge Against White Supremacist, Judge Throws Enforcement of Bioterrorism Law into Chaos

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Jim White
As pointed out first by Nick Watson in the Gainesville (Georgia) Times and then fleshed out further by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, US District Judge Richard Story on September 21 dismissed a charge of possession of the…
Photo: Pavan Trikutam via Unsplash
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Three URGENT Things: POTUS' Alert Text, Facebonked, Kavanuh-uh

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Rayne
Item One needs immediate attention — like NOW. Tell your friends and family, too. The next two items are pretty urgent, too.
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Mueller's Inquiry Expands and Contracts: The Rat-Fucking Is More Interesting than the Manafort Plea

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emptywheel
I find the referral to Mueller of Corey Lewandowski's attacks on Republican operative Cheri Jacobus far more intriguing than the move of Kyle Freeny and Brandon Van Grack back to their regular jobs elsewhere in DOJ.
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Food for Thought

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Jim White
Volunteering for Operation BBQ Relief to help feed flood victims in Wilmington, NC prompted some thoughts on whether it is too late for empathy and compassion to ever reunite a country riven by opposing ideals.

In the Most Cowardly Possible Decision, Ninth Circuit Upholds Gartenlaub Conviction

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emptywheel
The Ninth Circuit just punted in one of the most important FISA cases it has reviewed recently.

One Question: Why Kavanaugh?

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Rayne
There's one really important question. It'd be nice if we could get an answer.

Rachel Mitchell Is Not Very Good at Propaganda

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emptywheel
Rachel Mitchell released a report declaring the Ford allegations a case of she said he said dispute. To make that claim, however, she hides just how damning her questioning of Kavanaugh was.
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Kavanaugh's Tell: "Revenge on Behalf of the Clintons," Plural

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emptywheel
Kavanaugh, wrongly, thinks the challenge to his nomination is revenge for tactics he pioneered long ago. And having faced those tactics and discovered how painful they are, he has doubled down. 
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The DNC-Centric Focus of the HPSCI Investigation

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emptywheel
Reviewing the scope of the HPSCI Russian investigation interviews shows how assiduously the committee avoided learning about some of the ways most helpful to Republicans that Russia targeted Democrats.
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Jeff Flake's "Investigation" Is A Predicable Trumpian Sham

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bmaz
This was about the easiest thing in the world to predict. Jeff Flake issues some hollow self indulgent bullshit to make himself look like the last great reasonable man, and it is all garbage being run as cover for a complicit Trump White House…
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The End Of The Airplane Trash Talk

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bmaz
Okay, after a week of hijacking by Rayne (just kidding if you don't get our humor here), we return you to your normal Trash Talk programming. This week is going to be a little different of format. We'll talk sports in a bit, but the lead today…

On Squi and the 65-Lady Letter

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emptywheel
Given the mutual ties each had to "Squi" the summer in question, the fact that Christine Blasey Ford was (presumably) not asked to sign a letter attesting that Brett Kavanaugh treated women well during the summer of 1982 is evidence it cannot be said to represent the sample you'd need to ask to learn how Kavanaugh treated women at the time.

The Record Supports Christine Blasey Ford

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emptywheel
This may sound counterintuitive. But the Republican-led whitewash hearing into allegations that Brett Kavanaugh assaulted Christine Blasey Ford actually ended up supporting her case, not Kavanaugh's. Ford withstood Rachel Mitchell's interrogation As…

Kavanaugh Hearing: The Aftermath

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Rayne
It was a disaster, no matter how Republicans spin it. As after a disaster, damage continues.
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Contra Kavanaugh, Redux

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Rayne
Here's an open thread to accompany today's political theater -- I mean, the next Kavanaugh hearing.

The Two Legitimacy Problems with the Nghia Pho Sentence

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emptywheel
The government continues to have to explain why David Petraeus got probation when others get 5 year sentences for the same actions.
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Can Senator Feinstein Block The Appointment of Rachel Mitchell?

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bmaz
As you know by now, Maricopa County (Arizona) sex crimes unit chief Rachel Mitchell has been deemed by Chuck Grassley and the Senate Judiciary Republicans as their front person to examine Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. From NBC News: The woman…
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