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The Oligarch "Peace" of the Pie Plan

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emptywheel
Mueller seems to be closely investigating the overlap between oligarch bribery and foreign policy. Otherwise known as the Jared peace plan.
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Gina Haspel Destroyed the Tapes in 2005 to Hide What She Destroyed in 2002

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emptywheel
The best way to explain apparent dishonesty in Gina Haspel's testimony the other day is that she was the ultimate target of the Durham investigation, the person who had been involve in destroying the tapes in a first round, in 2002, and in a second round to hide the first round of destruction, in 2005.
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The Sekulow Questions, Part Six: Trump Exacerbates His Woes

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emptywheel
In the year since Trump has fired Comey, he has just exacerbated his woes with his repeated public efforts to obstruct the investigation. But his involvement in the messaging about the June 9 Trump Tower meeting is probably the most damning thing he did in the last year, one backing real "collusion," not a cover-up.
[Photo: Annie Spratt via Unsplash]

Marxian Tools and Conservative Caterpillars

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Ed Walker
Marx gave us tools to think about capitalism. Movement Conservatives gave us neoliberalism. Marx is still relevant. Conservatives aren't

Greenberg Traurig Fires Rudy on the One Year Anniversary of the Comey Firing

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emptywheel
Greenberg Traurig just made Rudy quit the firm. The best part of that is the timing: the one year anniversary of Comey's firing.

Gina Haspel Seems to Admit Knowing Jane Harman Opposed Torture Tape Destruction -- Just Not Caring

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emptywheel
Gina Haspel's different treatment of Jane Harman's opposition to destroying the torture tapes and Carl Levin's moves to conduct an inquiry into torture suggest she really didn't care about Congressional concerns about retaining the tapes.

Did Trump Modify PPD-28 Last Year before Retaining It?

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emptywheel
Gina Haspel's answers about PPD-28 are consistent with a possibility that the Trump Administration made minor changes last year without publicly noting them.

The FBI Has No Idea What Time MalwareTech Waived Miranda

In addition to not memorializing whether they asked Marcus Hutchins if he was drunk during his interview, agents also didn't try to correct the time of his Miranda warning until a week after that interview.
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Ron Wyden Makes It Clear Gina Haspel Pushed for Torture to Continue in 2005

One of Ron Wyden's questions of Gina Haspel makes it clear she was part of a successful effort to force DOJ and the White House to reauthorize torture in 2005 by torturing a detainee before approval had been finalized.

Gina Haspel's Fluid Moral Compass

Gina Haspel's testimony was remarkably damaging for her.
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The Gaping Holes in the SSCI Voting Security Report: Vendors and Mitch McConnell

Among the weaknesses of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on election tampering are that it remains silent about Congress' past and future role -- including that of Mitch McConnell -- but it also never considered Russian compromise of vendors.
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Roger Stone, Rick Gates, and Michael Caputo Met Right Around DNC/Podesta Hack

Roger Stone insists there's an innocent explanation for why he, Rick Gates, and Michael Caputo were meeting around the same time as the Russians hacked the DNC and then offered emails as dirt to the campaign.
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With the Upcoming Concord Consulting Not Guilty Plea, Russians Continue to Win the Lawfare Hockey Title

The Putin crony whose companies and person got charged in the Internet Research Agency indictment has made it clear he's going to inflict a cost on DOJ for doing so. It may have repercussions on how Mueller will proceed with other legal cases, not to mention similar cases in the future.
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Did Mueller's Team Decide They No Longer Need Manafort to Flip?

Given TS Ellis' focus on the probability Mueller charged Paul Manafort with tax charges only to get him flip in the investigation against Trump, I find it notable that Mueller's EDVA brief did not include language the DC brief did on doing just that.
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On the TS Ellis Show and the Lies about Lying

TS Ellis may have ripped Mueller's prosecutors a new one on Friday. But that came amid several signs that he thinks Mueller's team is operating within normal bounds of prosecutorial discretion.
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Mueller Homing in on Trump's Inauguration Graft

While it has been known for some time Mueller is investigating Trump's inauguration committee, the twin scoops that Mueller questioned Tom Barrack and Viktor Vekselberg suggest it's a very key part of the current inquiry.
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The Quest: Trump Learns of the Investigation (Part Four)

When Trump learned the FBI was investigating Mike Flynn for actions that would disclose his effort to pay off his election debts to the Russians, he fired Mike Flynn.

Contrary to Reports, We Cannot Say FISC Rejected a Record Number of FISA Applications Last Year

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emptywheel
The DOJ has released its numbers for FISA approvals. It shows that DOJ's numbers remain pretty useless, even in the fact of FISC numbers that show real concerns from the court.
[Photo: Annie Spratt via Unsplash]

What Happened To The Cultural Elites: Conclusion

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Ed Walker
The Cultural Elites benefit from neoliberalism. Of course they don't oppose it.
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