Ronna is Better Off

For John, BLUF:  With the NBC news staff following in the wake of those folks at The New York Times, we are seeing the employees telling management how to operate, even if, in the long run, it isn't good for profits or the news.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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NBC News Division Cretins Are So Awful That They're Almost Making Me Like Ronna McDaniel

From PJ Media, by Commentator Stephen Kruiser, 26 March 2024, 3:55 PM.

Here is the lede plus three:

The reports of former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel getting hired by NBC News didn't get much attention from me at first. It was very much a "Let them have each other" situation as far as I was concerned. My overwhelming dislike of Ms. Romney McD's tenure at the RNC has been well documented here.

The NBC News division, however, is far and away the worst of the behemoth disseminators of American leftist propaganda. It didn't take very long for its prevaricating horde of Democratic National Committee lapdogs to make even my icy heart want to side with McDaniel.

Sort of.

The brouhaha among regulars in the NBC News division is being presented as consternation over the fact that McDaniel is, according to them, an "election denier," the Left's grammatically clunky catch-all label for anyone who questions any part of any election. They're beating their cancel culture drums and pretending that they occupy the ethical high ground.

I would say Mr Stephen Kruiser is a little over the top in his comments on Ms Ronna McDaniel, former Republican National Committee Chairwoman.  She may have had a different drift from other Republicans, but she is a Republican and Republicans should have a big tent.  The real issue here is not Ms McDaniel, but the deplorable bigotry of the talking heads at NBC and MSNBC.

Take, for example, this Tweet by News Reader Chuck Todd:

The issue isn’t about ideology, it’s about basic truth. Those trying to make this a left-right issue are being intentionally dishonest. This is about whether honest journalists are supposed to lend their credibility to someone who intentionally tried to ruin ours.
5:49 PM · Mar 25, 2024

In what reality is Mr Todd living?  Why would he think the average Joe Schmoe would take him as the model of Journalism?  I woould not.  He comes from a barn yard of hacks who have only one way of viewing things and who are dismissive of those who do not align with them.

I believe Ms McDaniel is better off not being with NBC, and I suspect she will pocket a nice chunk of change.  In fact, if she is not compensated for this outrageous termination by the executive suite stiffs at NBC, she should sue them for several million dollars.  Now there is some news I could enjoy following.

Good Luck Ronna McDaniel.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Prosecutorial Misconduct

For John, BLUF:  The Department of Justice is working hard to convict Presidential Candidate Donsald J Trump of somesthing.  Maybe too hard.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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If Alleged DOJ Misconduct Is True, A Judge Could Dismiss The Whole Case Against Trump

Here is the sub-headline:

The conduct claimed is perhaps unprecedented and certainly flagrant.  If proven true, the judge would be well within her rights to consider dismissal.

From The Federalist, by Former Federal Prosecutor Will Scharf, 5 July 2023.

Here is the lede plus two:

Lost in the breathless headlines over the indictment of President Trump for alleged violations of the Espionage Act is a story that deserves much more attention than it has received thus far: the allegation that a senior official at the Department of Justice attempted to shake down Trump’s co-defendant’s lawyer.  It is a scandal in the making that could result in the investigation of senior DOJ officials, which should lead to public congressional hearings, and that might even result in the entire case against Trump being dismissed.

Trump’s co-defendant is Waltine “Walt” Nauta, a Navy valet who served in Trump’s White House and who remained a personal aide to Trump after he left office.  Several weeks ago, Nauta’s lawyer, a distinguished, highly-regarded Washington attorney named Stanley Woodward, leveled accusations against senior members of the Department of Justice, including DOJ Counterintelligence Chief Jay Bratt, who is now a part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team of prosecutors.  According to news reports, Woodward claimed in a sealed letter to D.C. District Chief Judge James Boasberg that, in a meeting to discuss Nauta’s case, Bratt indicated that Woodward’s application to be a D.C. Superior Court judge could be impacted if he could not get Nauta to testify against Trump.

If true, and I see no reason why Woodward would make such a threat up — and especially no reason why Woodward would risk his career by making such a representation to a federal judge — Bratt’s alleged misconduct could result in heavy sanctions, and is a potential ground for dismissal of the entire case against Nauta and Trump.  Depending on what exactly was said, Bratt could even face criminal prosecution himself.

Presidential Candidate Donald J Trump has a lot of flaws.  I am reading about some of them in Commander in Cheat, a 2020 book mailed to me by my buddy, Juan.  However, it is up to the Voters to decide if Mr Trump's flaws are greater than those of his opponent.  In 2016 they said no.  In 2020 they said yes.

Comparing candidates is the job of the Voters  It is not the job of the US Department of Justice.  We went through that with Saint James Comey, who took it upon himself to save the nation and the world.  We, the Voters, do not need that kind of help.  If Mr Trump broke some law, fine, go after him.  However, let us have no DOJ intervention to "save" the nation (or President Joe Biden).

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

SPLC Alleged Discrimination

For John, BLUF:  The Southern Poverty Law Center seems to be a Progressive Organization with a penchant for smearing more mainstream organizations.  It once had a mission, but has morphed into a political aggitation activity.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Southern Poverty Law Center Is Racist, Employees Say

From The Washington Free Beacon, by Reporter Patrick Hauf, 28 March 2022, 5:25 pm.

Here is the lede plus two:

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which is best known for its extensive list of hate groups, is racist, according to its employees.

SPLC Union members protested outside of their employer's office Monday in opposition to the legal advocacy group's plan to require certain employees to return to in-person work.  The union, in a statement, claimed the move targets black women because it primarily requires workers in low-level positions to return to the office.

"Staff in more highly regarded job classifications and who are higher-paid employees are being given the flexibility to work remotely, while women, Black, brown, and lower-paid employees are forced back into the office regardless of our work, our needs, and our advocacy for more inclusive treatment," Lisa Wright, a union bargaining committee member, said.  "Forcing employees back into the office isn't about collaboration or cooperation—this is about policing and surveillance of SPLC's lowest-paid employees."

Actually, this seems more class discrimination, which shows itself as racist because of who has which positions.

Benefit of the doubt to the SPLC, but it adds to my suspicion that the SPLC is a corrupt institution.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Irresponsible

For John, BLUF:  While I would like to believe that FBI Director Christopher Wray has cleaned up the FBI, I have my doubts.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Olympic Gymnasts Reveal That Comey's Trump-Hating FBI Was OK With Child Rape

Top O’ the Briefing

From The Morning Briefing, by Writer Stephen Kruiser, 16 September 2021, 8:23 AM ET.

Here is the lede plus four:

Happy Thursday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends.  You will always look ridiculous in a hoop skirt.

This is one of the rare times that I am leading off with something I wrote.  It’s necessary though, and I’m sure you will all agree with me.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has become an unhinged, unchecked state police service that needs to be reined in and overhauled.  In recent times, this was an opinion one found only on the right.

It should be a bipartisan issue now.

All the while it was crafting a hoax about Russian collusion that was designed to destroy the president of the United States, the FBI was deliberately covering for a serial rapist of little girls.

From CNN we have this story lede:

Olympic gymnasts McKayla Maroney and Simone Biles ripped the FBI and the Justice Department in Senate testimony Wednesday for how FBI agents mishandled abuse allegations brought against Larry Nassar and then made false statements in the fallout from the botched investigation.

Here is another extract from the CNN report:

The senators on Wednesday joined the gymnasts in questioning why the Justice Department chose not to prosecute the FBI officials in question.  "It's not only that the FBI failed to do its job, systematically, and repeatedly.  It is also the cover up, the cover up that occurred afterwards," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said.  "When FBI agents made material, false statements and deceptive omission referred by the Inspector General for criminal prosecution those referrals were declined, without explanation. without any public explanation at all."

Strangely, CNN does not name the lying FBI Agent, Mr Jay Abbott, although a subsequent CNN story does.

It is flat out corruption when the FBI goes after Retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn on a technicality for "lying to the FBI" but yet allows a lying FBI Agent to retire with no repercussions.♠  The fact that there were patterns of corruption at this time, not just the problem with the Dr Larry Nassar sexual abuse issues, is a blot on the Directorship of Mr James Comey.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Yes, the FBI did fire a lower level agent, Mr Michael Langeman, but the corruption went higher, as the Senate testimony yesterday, and the DOJ IG Report, demonstrated.

Self-Confused

For John, BLUF:  The apparent lack of internal integrity on the part of the Media is something to behold.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

You Have to See This NBC Hunter Biden Subheadline to Believe It.  It's Real and It's Really That Awful.

From PJ Media, by Bryan Preston, 11 December 2020.

Here is an excerpt:

NBC has stirred itself to write about Hunter Biden’s investigation. Here’s its hot take.

Eddie Zipperer
@EddieZipperer ·
Dec 11 This @NBCNews drop head is absolutely stunning:

I am not sure what NBC is trying to say.  Are they saying that the Trump Campaign made it up in the Summer, and lucked out in that it was true?  Or are they saying that the Trump Campaign was clairevoynt?

If the Trump Campaign was correct about Mr Hunter Biden, what else might they be correct about?  Voter fraud?  Dominion?  Other?

One thing fore sure is that the drones at NBC appear to not have a nose for news and thus missed a big story.  The alternative explanation, that they were in the tank for the Democrtic Ticket, is enough to get them banned by viewers for life.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Streisand Effect

For John, BLUF:  Sometimes the knee jerk reaction is not the best in a sticky situation.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

MIT:  Twitter Ban ‘Nearly Doubled’ The Visibility Of Hunter Biden Laptop Story

From Wired, by Ms Emily Zanotti, 19 October 2020.

Here is the lede plus three:

Twitter’s crackdown on a controversial New York Post story that “purported to show new emails from Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, about his business dealings while Joe Biden was the vice president in the Obama administration,” “nearly doubled” the story’s visibility and triggered the so-called “Streisand Effect,” amplifying the Post’s claims, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a high-profile media intelligence firm.

“When Twitter banned, and then unbanned, links to a questionably sourced New York Post article about Joe Biden’s son Hunter, its stated intention was to prevent people from spreading harmful false material as America heads into the final stretch of the election campaign,” MIT’s Technology Review reported Monday.  “But thanks to the cycle of misinformation—and claims from conservatives that social-media platforms are deliberately censoring their views—Twitter managed to do the opposite of what it intended.”

In fact, Twitter’s efforts triggered a massive spike in interest in the story.  “According to Zignal Labs, a media intelligence firm, shares of the Post article ‘nearly doubled’ after Twitter started suppressing it,” MIT noted.

The incident was a real-time example of what Zignal Lab’s calls the “Streisand Effect” — a “social phenomenon that occurs when an attempt to hide, remove or censor information has the unintended consequence of further publicizing that information, often via the Internet,” according to Wikipedia.  The name comes from singer Barbra Streisand’s efforts, in 2003, to suppress a photo of her Malibu, California, residence over security concerns.

That is the good news.  And why we have to fight every attempt to "control" the World Wide Web.

As to the issue of if The New York Post was spreading false information, evidence indicates that this Hunter Biden EMail trove is being verified as true from more than one source.

For those who think they are not getting the full sweep of information when they do on-line searchs, consideration might be given to replacing the "Google" Search Engine with an alterntive, such as "DuckDuckGo" or "Bing" (a Microsoft alterntive).  And, there are others.

It may be interesting to follow the Senate Hearings on Twitter's intervention in the Election Campaign.  Don't expect much from the House of Representatives.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Suppressing the Bad News

For John, BLUF:  Washington does not speak with a single voice, so who to believe?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

DNI Ratcliffe Debunks Adam Schiff's Latest Russia Conspiracy Theory Regarding Hunter Biden

From PJ Media, by Writer Tyler O'Neil, 19 October 2020.

Here is the lede plus four:

Democrats have been working overtime to discredit the newly released emails ostensibly showing that Hunter Biden introduced his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, to an executive at the corrupt Ukrainian gas firm Burisma one year before Joe Biden pressured the Ukrainian president to fire a prosecutor investigating Burisma.  On Sunday, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) cooked up yet another Russia conspiracy theory in order to dismiss evidence of Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s corruption.  On Monday, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe debunked Schiff’s claim.

Schiff, notorious for pushing the narrative that Trump colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, seems intent to vindicate his Russia conspiracies.

“We know that this whole smear on Joe Biden comes from the Kremlin,” Schiff said on CNN.  “That’s been clear for well over a year now that they’ve been pushing this false narrative about this vice president and his son.”

Ratcliffe emphatically denied this assertion.

“It’s funny that some of the people who complain the most about intelligence being politicized are the ones politicizing the intelligence,” Ratcliffe quipped.  “Unfortunately, it is Adam Schiff who said the intelligence community believes the Hunter Biden laptop and emails on it are part of a Russian disinformation campaign.”

In choosing between Representative Adam Schiff, originally from Framingham, Massachusetts, the head of the House Intelligence Committee, and Director of National Intelligence John Radcliffe, one might ask who is most partisan, or one might ask who has access to the latest intelligence product.  In terms of partisanship I think Rep Schiff has the lead.  On the other hand, Director Radcliff is the one with a string of intelligence assets.

This all from a New York Post article last week, talking about incriminating EMails from Vice President Joe Biden's Son, Hunter Biden.  The article, titled "Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad", was banned for almost a week by Twitter.

The larger issue for Americans may be the action that Facebook and Twitter took to suppress information on one candidate during an active election campaign.  We, as Americans, can survive corrupt politicians, but we might not be able to survive the loss of the free echange of information inherent in a Free Press.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Corruption Lives Down Through History

For John, BLUF:  This is old, but worth a glance.  It represents the view that the FBI is not much better than it was 70 years ago, when we thought it was a wonderful institution, and were deceived.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Mueller shows the FBI needs disbanding

From the Don Surber Blog, by Himself, 28 May 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

He was for a decade following 9/11 the federal government's police chief as FBI director. Thanks to fawning by the Washington press, Bob Mueller retired with a sterling reputation despite blowing the anthrax case.

In 2017, he came out of retirement and tried to frame President Donald John Trump.  John Dowd, Trump's lawyer, provided the details to Gregg Jarrett of Fox.

While I accept that FBI Director J Edgar Hoover was a bad egg, he is long gone.  I wonder if it all now falls to someone else.  I would nominate Former DOJ Attorney Andrew Weissmann.

Cleaning up corruption is a never-ending task.  Part of the problem is that a lot of folks, in the name of curing some ill, embark upon paths that are, or evolve to be, corrupt.

Just saying.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

The FISA Court Awakens

For John, BLUF:  That someone else might be evil is always justification for violating the civil rights of others, from time out of memory.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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FISA Judge Says FBI Officials Involved in Carter Page Wiretaps Cannot Seek Other Surveillance Orders

From PJ Media, by Reporter Rick Moran, 6 March 2020.

Here is the lede plus two:

A FISA court judge issued an order banning DoJ and FBI officials who were involved in warrant applications to spy on Carter Page from seeking other surveillance orders from the court.

Judge James Boasberg ordered that “no DOJ or FBI personnel under disciplinary or criminal review relating to their work on FISA applications shall participate in drafting, verifying, reviewing, or submitting such applications to the Court.”

Justice Department IG Michael Horowitz issued a scathing report on FISA abuses by the FBI last December, citing at least 17 "errors and omissions" on the part of officials involved in the Page warrant application, including placing too much reliance on the spurious and unverified Steele dossier.

And rightfully so.

The article also mentions that the President has said he is not interesting in signing a clean reauthorization of the FISA Act.  I hope he sticks to this.  The Bureaucracy continues to tend toward ignoring the rights of citizens.  It was so with FBI Director J Edgar Hoover and it is true of FBI Director James Comey.  Power corrupts and absolute power corrects absolutely, as Lord Acton told us.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Rudy Goes on Offense

For John, BLUF:  This whole Ukraine imbroglio is sticking to everyone.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Rudy Giuliani says US diplomats were doing the bidding of George Soros in Ukraine, in interview with Glenn Beck

Here is the sub-headline:

Giuliani also says he knows Ukrainian prosecutors who can back his claims.

From The Blaze, by Reporter Carlos Garcia, 20 November 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

Rudy Giuliani told Glenn Beck during an exclusive interview that U.S. diplomats were doing the bidding of billionaire philanthropist George Soros in Ukraine in a "massive pay-for-play" scheme that included falsifying evidence against President Donald Trump.

Giuliani, the president's personal attorney, spoke to Beck on his program Wednesday about the claims being made against him by Democrats in their ongoing impeachment inquiry.

Of course it could be as dishonest as Representative Adam Schiff.  On the other hand, I cast a dubious glance in the direction of Mr Soros.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Redress

For John, BLUF:  Not The Cisco Kid, but Robin Hood.  Robin Hood represents an oppressed group of Anglo-Saxons being lorded over by Conquering Romance Language speaking invaders.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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'Robin Hood' Mexican president says to return stolen wealth to the people

From Reuters, by Reporters Daina Beth Solomon and Sharay Angulo, 15 April 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday he will create a “Robin Hood” institute to return to the people the ill-gotten wealth seized from corrupt politicians and gangsters.

His administration is drawing up a bill to create an independent “Robin Hood” institute “against the corrupt” that would put confiscated goods such as real estate, jewelry and cars into the public’s hands, the president told reporters.

I have my doubts about the execution, but it sets the right tone.  Good on AMLO.

My main question, however, is with regard to if this is "cultural appropriation".

Hat tip to the Drudge Report.

Regards  —  Cliff

Corruption Up North

For John, BLUF:  Probably being driven by the politics of Quebec.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Unlike Trump, Trudeau Is In Real Trouble

Here is the sub-headline:

Just three weeks after the scandal broke, a former member of the Canadian PM's cabinet has testified that he tried to interfere in a criminal investigation.

From The Federalist, by Correspondent David Marcus, 28 February 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

While Americans were transfixed on Wednesday with the salacious, but not legally damning, testimony of Michael Cohen before Congress, a bombshell went off in the Canadian Parliament.  Former Canadian Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould testified before the House Justice Committee alleging that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others in his administration pressured her in “inappropriate” ways to reach a settlement with an engineering company that has been charged with crimes.

The company, SNC-Lavalin, is facing charges that it sent bribes to Libya, then under the rule of Gadhafi, in defiance of Canadian law.  If found guilty, the Quebec-based company will face severe sanctions, including a ban on working with the Canadian government. This would be a severe economic blow, especially in Trudeau’s home province of Quebec.

I believe Prime Minister Trudeau is in trouble.  Maybe not as much as Bibi, but more than The Donald.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Grifters From All Directions

For John, BLUF:  I am not as pessimistic as is Mr Dreher, including about President Trump, but he has his finger on a long term problem in the Western political scene.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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What Happens When Trump Falls?

Here is the sub-headline:

From The American Conservative, by Mr Rod Dreher, 2 December 2018.

Here is the lede plus five:

Ross Douthat has a good column today, about how Trump’s grift has been paradoxically cleansing.  He argues that Trump’s claim that he would go to Washington and “drain the swamp,” while only ever plausible to those eager to be a mark, is now impossible for anyone to take seriously:

But the more common reason a certain kind of Trump supporter accepted his anti-corruption pitch was less conspiratorial and more cynical.  He’s bad but they’re all like that, the whole elite class is rotten, so why not send a grifter to catch a bunch of grifters?

That hasn’t worked out; it turns out that when you send a businessman-grifter into the world of political grifters he hires some of the worst of them to help him with the fleecing.

True. We are very close to the point, if not past it, where any good that Trump’s election might have done in terms of breaking up a corrupt aristocracy, in spite of Trump’s own corruption, is now exceeded by that corruption.  David Brooks articulated on NPR on Friday something that has been on my mind lately, but I hadn’t put into words.

And the final question I have is, what are our standards? Behind the legal standards, what’s our political standards.  President Nixon could be really removed from office for obstruction from justice — of justice.  Are we at a state in this country where we no longer really mind?  And that actually could be the case. I’m just reminded The New York Times had a story of tax fraud in the Trump family, and that story went away in about 35 seconds.  And so we’ve become — may have become inured to corruption.

Yes, I think we are.  Do you really believe that Michael Cohen, not Donald Trump, is lying about the Trump organization’s business dealings with Russia? Seriously?  I said here after the shocking final Kavanaugh hearing that seeing the behavior of the Democrats and the liberal industrial complex in their attempt to destroy Kavanaugh by any means necessary shocked me into the realization that as much as I can’t stand Trump, I would probably have to vote for him only out of self-protection.

Note the last sentence of the above quote.

The Author, Mr Dreher, does a discussion of the situation in France, where the mobs in the streets of Paris have forced the Government to back down from a proposed gasoline tax increase.  Then he ends up as follows:

What I’m getting at is asking what comes politically when most Americans lose faith in the ability of our elites to make things better?  I fear that on the Right, we’re going to have to deal with the myth that Trump would have succeeded had the swamp not stabbed him in the back.

This is a tricky question, because it asks if the People are so upset that they are prepared to take to the streets, as the "Yellow Vests" did in Paris the last three weekends.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Happenings in Mexico

For John, BLUF:  PAN stands for National Action Party (Partido Acción Nacional) of Mexico.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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A town in Mexico overthrew their local government. Things couldn’t be going better.

The big news is that Mexicans elected leftist Lopez Obrador as President in the largest landslide in the country's recent history.  Heck, it would have been News if he has just beaten the PRI Candidate.

But the local news is also important.

The original headline is from Vice, by Mr David Noriega, 28 June 2018.

Here is the lede plus one:

Seven years ago, the people of Cherán — a town of some 20,000 inhabitants in the highlands of Michoacán, one of the Mexican states worst-affected by the drug wars of the last decade — decided it was time to start over. And now, after they've kicked out all the criminals, cops, and politicians, things couldn't be going better.

The town had been terrorized for years by an organized crime syndicate devoted to illegally logging the surrounding forests. So after mobs drove out the criminals, they disarmed and drove out the corrupt cops who had protected them. Then they banned the politicians, along with the parties that put them in power.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Who Else Has Been Exposed by the McCabe Investigation?

For John, BLUF:  There will always be corruption.  How much is acceptable?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

The Reckoning of the FBI Has Begun

From PJ Media, by Mr Roger L Simon, 16 March 2018.

Here is the lede plus one:

Friday's firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, based on a report from the Office of Professional Responsibility, is only the beginning of what is likely to be the most explosive series of revelations in American history.

Forget Watergate. It will be the distant past once the Inspector General's reports—there apparently will be more than one—start to come out. This will be the "Gate of Gates."

From the FBI and across the intelligence agencies an astonishing number of people are going to find themselves accused, one can safely predict at this point, of some atrocious behavior in a free republic.  And it will not just be the small change of Peter Strzok (the dimwitted director of counter-intelligence) and his gal pal Lisa Page.  It will include—on one level or another—James Comey, Loretta Lynch, John Brennan, James Clapper, Susan Rice and, almost inevitably, Barack Obama, not to mention others known and unknown.

Maybe Roger Simon is right, but maybe the Swamp will protect all those people named above.  Only time will tell.  That said, since we didn't really get a fire break with Mr Andrew McCabe, perhaps the fire needs to consume more territory before we can get it under control.  At the end of the day it is about cleansing and strengthening the Republic.

Personally, I wish he had gone quietly, with his pension in tact, but with the word out to others that it was time to stand down.  Didn't seem to happen.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

DOJ Finally Moving on Democratic Controlled States With Pre-Civil War Thinking

For John, BLUF:  As the AG says, the actions of California and other "sanctuary" entities creates open borders.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

The Resurrection of Jeff Sessions

From Pajamas Media and Mr Roger L Simon, 7 March 2018.

The story is about Attorney General Jeff Sessions moving forward.♠  Mr Simon talks about the larger issues, but I liked this Attorney General Jeff Sessions quote in the article:

I understand that we have a wide variety of political opinions out there on immigration.  But the law is in the books and its purpose is clear.

There is no nullification.  There is no secession.  Federal law is "the supreme law of the land."  I would invite any doubters to Gettysburg, and to the graves of John C. Calhoun and Abraham Lincoln.

A refusal to apprehend and deport those, especially the criminal element, effectively rejects all immigration law and creates an open borders system.  Open borders is a radical, irrational idea that cannot be accepted.

The United States of America is not "an idea;" it is a secular nation-state with a Constitution, laws, and borders, all of which are designed to protect our nation's interests.  Surely, we should be able to agree on this much.

The other thing touched on was a Fox News interview with Ms Shannon Bream, which included this comment by the AG on calls from the House of Representatives for a second Special Counsel:

I have appointed a person outside of Washington, many years in the Department of Justice, to look at all the allegations that the House Judiciary Committee members sent to us and we're conducting that investigation.

Sounds like General Sessions is moving along in a workman like manner. Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  As we know, the President takes jibes at the Attorney General, because he is unhappy with him recusing himself from the Russiagate imbroglio.  I think General Sessions was right to recuse himself from involvement in the Russiagate imbroglio.

Where are the Antifa?

For John, BLUF:  The People need to be ever vigilant, and never cut corners with regard to justice.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Wisconsin, the Surveillance State

From The Weekly Standard, 15 December 2017, by Reporter Christian Schneider.

It is more on the John Doe Investigation and corrupt Democratic Party Operatives in Wisconsin.  I wonder why Prosecutor Shane Falk doesn't yet have a wikipedia page.

If you want the Democratic Party side of this, go to Wikipedia, here.

Still, it is Fascism.  The Stasi here in the United States.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Main Justice

For John, BLUF:  This is NOT about Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but about the Department of Justice, or "Main Justice".  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Trump Lawyers Want A Second Special Counsel

The sub-headline:

They want a probe into “obvious conflicts of interest” in the Department of Justice.

From The Huffington Post, By Ms Willa Frej, 12 December 2017.

Here are two key paragraphs:

″The Department of Justice and FBI cannot ignore the multiple problems that have been created by these obvious conflicts of interests,” Jay Sekulow, one of Trump’s lawyers, told Axios on Monday night after the Fox report.  “These new revelations require the appointment of a special counsel to investigate.”

. . .

Nevertheless, the president’s legal team said they trust Mueller and want to “get to the finish line” with him.  They said they plan to fully cooperate with Mueller’s investigation, confident that Trump will be cleared of wrongdoing.

So, is the Department of Justice living up to its English Motto.

THE UNITED STATES WINS ITS POINT WHENEVER JUSTICE IS DONE ITS CITIZENS IN THE COURTS

Not everyone things so.  There is a concern about a Conan the Barbarian desire on the part of the people in Main Justice to win, whatever it takes.  A view that if you weren't inherently a criminal you would never have come to our attention, so we have to deal with you for being the criminal you are.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Lessons to be Learned

For John, BLUF:  When you think the other party is pure evil you need to check your assumptions, because you are probably wrong.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Governmental accountability board? More like Wisconsin's Secret Police

The sub-headline:

It was a partisan witch hunt masquerading as an inquiry into campaign irregularities. And it might presage the outcome of the Mueller investigation.

An OpEd from USA Today, by Law Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds, 11 December 2017.

Here is the lede plus one:

The “Cheesehead Stasi.”  That’s what Twitter humorist IowaHawk called a long-running and politicized investigation organized by Democratic politicians in Wisconsin, targeting supporters of Republican Gov. Scott Walker.  The mechanism for this investigation was an allegedly nonpolitical, but in fact entirely partisan, “Government Accountability Board.”

In the course of its secretive “John Doe” investigation, the GAB hoovered up millions of personal emails from Republican donors and supporters, and even raided people’s homes, while forbidding them to talk about it:

The line "raided people’s homes, while forbidding them to talk about it" sounds very UnAmerican.  But it does sound like Eastern European Secret Police, like the Stasi.

This is like IRS Official Lois Lerner, but with the power to take records from your home.

This is a warning to Special Counsel Robert Mueller to keep it clean and above board.  Back to Wisconsin, I think, at this point the Cheeseheads need to vote to keep Stasi like Democrats out of office for the next fifty years.

By the way, the OpEd is a pretty quick read and well worth it.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

John Doe Exposed

For John, BLUF:  This was a cynical attempt by Democrats in Wisconsin to use the force of secret investigations to beat back Republicans in State Government.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Wisconsin Department of Justice finds that the John Doe investigation was "on a mission to bring down the Walker campaign and the Governor himself."

The author of this purloined Blog Post is Emeritus Law Professor All Althouse, on 8 December 2017.  If she sounds angry it may be because she is.

Here is how the blog post lays out, with a link to the original article:

The Wisconsin State Journal covers the Wisconsin Department of Justice report on the leaking of records from the John Doe investigation into Gov. Scott Walker’s 2012 recall campaign.

In an 88-page report, Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel lays bare the actions of staff at the former Government Accountability Board as they dug into what is described as a previously unknown, secret “John Doe III” investigation into several GOP officials and staffers who were [absolved of the suspicion that they] campaign[ed] out of taxpayer-funded offices….

[T]he report criticizes the “breathtaking” sweep of the three John Doe investigations, which included 218 warrants and subpoenas.  DOJ found the John Doe investigators obtained and categorized several private emails unrelated to campaigns, including 150 personal emails between Sen. Leah Vukmir and her daughter that included health information, and placed them in a folder labeled “Opposition Research” — a term that refers to political dirt collected on opponents….

Schimel concluded the GAB staff didn’t act in “a detached and professional manner” and that it was reasonable to infer “they were on a mission to bring down the Walker campaign and the Governor himself.”  He pointed to a November 2013 email in which [former GAB lawyer Shane] Falk encouraged Schmitz, who was having doubts about the GAB’s legal theory, to “stay strong.”

“Remember, in brief, this was a bastardization of politics and our state is being run by corporations and billionaires,” Falk wrote.  “This isn’t democracy to say the least, but due to how they do this dark money, the populace never gets to know.  The cynic in me says the sheeple would still follow the propaganda even if they knew, but at least it would all be out there so that the influences on our politicians is clearly known.”

I wonder how the cynic in Shane Falk feels about us sheeple getting all of this out here where it can be clearly known.

For those interested in the document, "REPORT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING VIOLATIONS OF THE JOHN DOE SECRECY ORDERS," it can be found here.

Herre is a key paragraph:

As this report describes in detail, the systemic and pervasive mishandling of John Doe evidence likely resulted in circumstances allowing the Guardian leak in the first place, and now prevents prosecutors from proving criminal liability beyond a reasonable doubt.  Moreover, DOJ is deeply concerned by what appears to have been the weaponization of GAB [Government Accountability Board] by partisans in furtherance of political goals, which permitted the vast collection of highly personal information from dozens of Wisconsin Republicans without even taking modest steps to secure this information.

In case you are missing it, Democrats embedded deep in the Wisconsin State Government used their John Doe powers to conduct a broad and secret investigation of Republicans, who they saw, not as an opposition political party, but as enemies of the People.

When one party or another feels it can and should engage all the levers of Government to beat back the political successes of its opposition we have slipped into being a third rate Banana Republic.

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff