Moved To Lurid Crime Tales, Page 6: Seedy Politics. This is not a War on Terror story.
-- trailing wife at 1:10 p.m. EDT
[GatewayPundit] It was reported earlier this week that a Secret Service Agent’s laptop was reported stolen from a vehicle.
The laptop contained floor plans to Trump Tower, evacuation protocols and information regarding the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
Via Daily News:
Authorities have been frantically searching for the laptop since it was stolen Thursday morning.
Some items stolen along with the laptop -- including coins and a black bag with the Secret Service insignia on it -- were later recovered.
But the laptop, along with other documents described as "sensitive," were still being sought.
The thief stepped out of a car, possibly an Uber, on a street in Bath Beach and stole the laptop from the agent’s vehicle, which was parked in the driveway of her home.
He was then seen on video walking away from the scene with a backpack.
The agent reported the laptop contained floor plans for Trump Tower, evacuation protocols and information regarding the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
Now the New York Post reported that the stolen laptop was on a Bajaj motorcycle:
A Secret Service laptop containing sensitive information about Trump Tower, details about the Hillary Clinton e-mail probe and other national security secrets was swiped from an agent’s motorcycle in Brooklyn, police sources said Friday.
The computer was taken Thursday morning from the driveway of agent Marie Argentieri’s Bath Beach home, the sources said.
The thief drove up to Argentieri’s home around 8:40 a.m., walked right up to her Bajaj motorcycle and took the items. He was then caught on video fleeing the scene on foot, sources said.
The fact that the laptop was stored on a motorcycle is disturbing.
Was it stolen or left for someone to pick up?
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
03/22/2017 10:53 ||
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Now it's not a 'car', but a smaller street bike. (proudly produced on the Indian subcontinent, no less - no rice-burner, Victory or Harley?)
Would make the laptop/backpack/SS kit bag easier to see, I guess.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
03/22/2017 11:41 Comments ||
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#3
"Never attribute to malice that which is as easily explained by incompetence."
"Once is happenstance, twice coincidence, three times is enemy action."
This and the White House sensor removal the other day make twice; watch for one more.
#5
Assuming, for the sake of argument, that this was a dead drop -- why would we assume that the laptop contained *only* those documents it would normally contain?
Although the Secret Service does not allow agents to carry classified documents on their computers, the computer can be used to access that server. IF someone can get inside.
The Secret Service stated that the information cannot be “remotely erased.” Yet another report in Fox News stated that once the laptop was connected to the internet, it could be erased.
Fortunately, reports say that the laptop is encrypted
#8
Encryption is interesting, but would not the circumstances surrounding the purloinment suggest a password could have been provided? If so, encryption is meaningless, no?
#9
Might have been, Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. Either Ms Argentieri is entirely too careless to be employed by the Secret Service or she needs to spend a long stretch in prison for betraying her sworn duty. At any rate, the Service as a whole has clearly lost its way on the security side over the past eight years. Hopefully they are still competently executing their other responsibilities.
#10
And the ULTIMATE desired result of the dead drop by Argentieri if true?
Posted by: Thraimp Smiter of the Lutherans7058 ||
03/22/2017 15:43 Comments ||
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#11
And why wasn't she fired for stupidity yesterday?
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/22/2017 15:45 Comments ||
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#12
C'mon guys - it is at least reassuring to see that the Secret Service assigns only its best, brightest, and most security-minded agents to the Trump security detail ....
#14
If she's living in NYC, chances are she's not on PPD. Anywho...this thing stinks. I've heard of feds doing really stupid stuff but this one is in the top 5. The US Silly Circus has been on the skyline for years and this one doesn't help.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
03/22/2017 22:29 Comments ||
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[Free Beacon] Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D.) vetoed a bill that would require the state Department of Elections to turn over information to local registrars about individuals who are registered to vote in multiple states simultaneously.
McAuliffe has vetoed a handful of bills in recent weeks intended to prevent voter fraud.
The bill, HB 2343, was introduced by Republican delegate Robert B. Bell and would have required the Department of Elections "to provide to the general registrars a list of registered voters who have been found through list comparisons and data-matching exchanges with other states to be registered in another state."
The bill passed the Virginia House on a 68-30 vote and the Senate on a 23-15 vote. McAuliffe's veto statement called said the bill would make "unnecessary changes to the election system that could improperly disenfranchise qualified Virginians."
This doesn't stop other states from publishing lists of those of their registered voters also registered in Virginia... and forwarding such lists, with proof, to the Feds.
#11
I can remember, not so long ago actually, when California was a red state. My contention for quite some time has been that illegal immigration and voter fraud were the tools Democrats used to turn this state blue.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/22/2017 15:24 Comments ||
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#12
Of course McAwful did. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/22/2017 15:41 Comments ||
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#13
I can't wait for that SOB to be out of office. Fortunately, in Virginia, governors can't succeed themselves.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/22/2017 19:53 Comments ||
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#14
I'm with you, #13 Rambler.
Posted by: Barbara ||
03/22/2017 19:57 Comments ||
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[Breitbart] Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s "Fox & Friends," while commenting on Monday’s House Intelligence Committee hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) said he was troubled that FBI Director James Comey would not confirm there is an investigation into leaks of classified information.
Gowdy said, "I think the most troubling part for me was when Director Comey would not assure us that there’s a leak investigation. He was more than happy to assure us that there’s an investigation into the potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, which may or may not be a crime. Leaking classified information is a crime, but he would not confirm that investigation."
#1
Disinformation and so-called 'Fake News' through 'leaks' are tools of the Left and the Deep State. Disinformation was much easier however, when news media outlets were limited to only CBS, NBC, and ABC.
Comey and McCabe faithfully serve their masters and continue to carry out the night soil of the left. After the Clinton debacle, I can't believe Gowdy is much surprised, but he should be cautious.
#2
Comey carefully leans across the line of credibility but will not cross it. His wording appears as if he wants to be direct but he simply cannot bring himself to transgress some unknown boundary.
#3
Comey is playing both sides against the middle. I'd peg him as playing mostly according to the Donk playbook. He comes across as a very duplicitous guy who has protected HRC, Obama, and the Washington establishment. He weasel words everything. The deep state is committed to taking down Trump. They don't want their comfy arrangement messed with by an outsider. Trump might consider someone for the job who is straight-up with less BS although it would be a fight to replace him.
#4
So how do we get rid of an FBI director? Does Congress have to impeach him? Better get started on that.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/22/2017 13:14 Comments ||
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Abu: Info here.
It has been done one other time since 1908. WJC dismissed William Sessions. The director can also be impeached by the House and tried by the Senate.
[The Hill] Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday criticized President Trump's proposed cuts to the State Department budget, calling them inappropriate. Think of it as addition by subtraction...
"America being a force is a lot more than building up the Defense Department. Diplomacy is important, extremely important, and I don't think these reductions at the State Department are appropriate," McConnell told The Associated Press.
"There are things on the domestic side that are extremely important," he added. Yes, and one of them is putting KY coal miners back to work. Perhaps the Senator has forgotten POTUS' efforts on behalf of KY voters.
McConnell maintained that he will fend off attempts to cut funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission, which sponsors economic development initiatives in Kentucky, and shield the National Institutes of Health, according to the AP.
The Kentucky lawmaker has previously said that he does not support the State Department cuts and predicted last month that they would "probably not" clear the Senate. The fellow that previously ran EXXON should decide that.
"When we get to funding the government, obviously it will be done on a bipartisan basis," he said last month, adding that the "diplomatic portion of the federal budget is very important."
The White House released its budget blueprint last week proposing a 28 percent cut to the State Department budget, among other major agency cuts, while proposing a $54 billion boost to defense spending.
Members of both parties have criticized aspects of the budget and lawmakers typically pass their own budgets.
#2
McConnell otherwise known as Sen. Droopy must be a big government advocate. His wife, Elaine Chao has held various high level positions in the government under 41 and 43 and is currently Trump's Secretary of Transportation. Bigger government ergo more centralized control and more power. What's McConnell's position about EPA cuts in unnecessary regulations?
#4
We have been at war someplace or other nearly since the end of WWII. The last twenty years in the ME being the most egregious example. What has US State Department diplomacy done for us?
'Foreign Diplomacy' is a method to achieve peaceful solutions among civilized nations. It is their job right ?
#6
As far as i can tell nobody has reported what the cuts will do. Will it return us to FDR levels of spending in the State Department. Andrew Jackson levels?
Since it isn't added to every media report on the cuts I assume its Clinton levels.
#8
Of course it's 'extremely important', Senator, or you wouldn't have voted for it the last time. But now you will have to make some tough choices, now that the gravy train has derailed.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/22/2017 12:29 Comments ||
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#9
JQC, it all comes down to "Where's the graft in that?" calculations for the inner party of which McConnell is a major member.
[Daily Caller] Rep. Louie Gohmert, an outspoken House Republican from Texas, is calling for a congressional investigation of John Podesta’s role with Rusnano, a state-run company founded by Russian President Vladimir Putin, The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group has learned.
Podesta -- best known as Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign chairman and former President Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff -- first made contact with the Russian firm in 2011, when he joined the boards and executive committees of three related entities: Boston-based Joule Unlimited; Rotterdam-based Joule Global Holdings; Joule Global Stichting, the company’s controlling interest. All are high-tech renewable energy enterprises.
Three months after Podesta’s arrival, Joule Unlimited accepted a 1 billion ruble investment from Rusnano, amounting to $35 million in U.S. currency. The firm also awarded a Joule board seat in February 2012 to Anatoly Chubais, Rusnano’s CEO, who has been depicted as a corrupt figure.
Podesta has attempted to downplay his relationship with Joule and Rusnano, but it could come to haunt him.
#1
Very interesting, now I wonder just how the usually tight-lipped FBI Director Comey knew this?:
Comey said something interesting today that nobody’s picked up on yet because they’re so distracted by this other stuff, which I can understand. He was asked specifically if WikiLeaks was furnished their information on Podesta and the phone calls by the Russians, and Comey said no.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
03/22/2017 3:16 Comments ||
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#3
There is a far better argument to be made for ties with Russia by Podesta, HRC, and WJC's CF than Trump. I wonder how this investigation is going (sarc)?
[FreeBeacon] The Supreme Court ruled that President Obama violated the Constitution when he maintained an acting agency appointment after the Senate refused to confirm him.
The court ruled Tuesday that Obama appointee Lafe Solomon illegally served as acting general counsel to the National Labor Relations Board from 2010 to 2013. Solomon, who once violated the agency's ethics rules, should have vacated the position in accordance with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA) after the Senate refused to take up his nomination to serve as permanent general counsel in 2011, the court found in a 6-2 opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts. The appointment was an "end-run around" the Constitution.
"We cannot cast aside the separation of powers and the Appointments Clause's important check on executive power for the sake of administrative convenience or efficiency," the majority ruled. A legal precedent landmine for President Trump? Listening to "One Piece At A Time" backwards?
#1
Yawn, anything going to happen as the result of "O's" end-a-round of the Constitution? Not even a strongly worded letter condemning such practices sent to French Polynesia? I didn't think so. The worst president ever--hands down. Any reference to him should be removed from history books. Any statues of him should be taken down. Any streets named after this corrupt fraud should be renamed Main St.
#2
Revising history, for whatever reason, is never a good idea JQC. The best safeguard against future Obamas, is meticulous record - widely taught, of this one's deeds.
#3
I agree Grom. I was just being sarcastic. This is the province of the lefties. They are manic about removing and destroying Southern history or any other that does not suit them.
#5
So how was he paid for those 4 years? Will there be a clawback?
You're missing the point of this decision. The liberals voted for the majority because this sets a precedent for Trump, i.e. Trump cannot do what Obama did.
[DailyMail] - FBI had a court-approved warrant to monitor a Russian money-laundering ring operating out of unit 63A in Trump Tower between 2011-2013
- Suspected mastermind of the $50million crime syndicate was notorious Russian mob boss Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov
- Tokhtakhunov, 68, is best known for allegedly trying to fix 2002 Winter Olympics in favor of Russian figure skating teams
FBI's operation resulted in multiple arrests and convictions, but Tokhtakhunov managed to slip away
- He resurfaced months later in VIP section at Miss Universe in Moscow, not far from Donald Trump
When President Donald Trump angrily tweeted earlier this month that there was wiretapping going on in Trump Tower, he was not mistaken, as it turns out.
Between 2011 and 2013, the FBI had a court-approved warrant to monitor a Russian money-laundering ring that was operating out of unit 63A in Trump Tower, just three floors below the real estate mogul's gilded penthouse, reported ABC News.
The federal investigation led to an indictment of 30 suspects, many who whom were captured during a raid on their swanky Manhattan hideout, but the alleged mastermind of the criminal organization, notorious Russian mafia boss Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov, was able to slip away. Scroll down for video
#1
Comey did confirm in the course of the bruising hearing, however, that the FBI has been investigating since the summer whether Trump's associates coordinated with Russian officials in an effort to sway the 2016 presidential election.
Investigation? Does that involve wiretapping or electronic surveillance?
Comey also said in the hearing that a POTUS cannot unilaterally order a wiretap. However, in looking at another story posted at the Burg today re denaturalization of citizenship for Iyman Faris, I came across a wiki entry that contradicted Comey's assertion. It stated: Faris' new lawyer David B. Smith announced that he was looking into a lawsuit against George W. Bush, who personally authorized the wiretaps. So, WTF?
#4
Nunes said the surveillance appears to have been legal, incidental collection and that it does not appear to have been related to concerns over collusion with Russia.
Did Nunes really say this or is this just Politico injecting their biases?
[FOXNEWS] The "Borking" of Judge Robert Bork may have forever altered the way nominees approach their confirmation hearings. Faced with uncomfortable questions about their views on abortion, religious liberties, gay rights, gun rights, free speech, federalism and the separation of powers, most nominees now strain to yield as little information as possible. Sincerity gives way to prevarication. Probity takes a back seat to guile. They bob and weave.
It’s like watching a legal version of boxing's famous "rope-a-dope" in the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle. Senators on the Judiciary Committee resemble George Foreman swinging away endlessly, hoping to land a knockout blow. Nominees play the role of Muhammad Ali, leaning against the ropes with gloves raised to deflect the many punches until the opponent drops, inexorably, from fatigue.
An expected contest of judicial philosophies, like the fight, becomes a farce. Any hope of honesty and transparency in the confirmation hearing is lost to the trick of an evasive technique. Blows (competing ideas) are absorbed and soon dissipate. And everyone departs the arena none the wiser. Least of all, the American public.
And so it is that nearly all Supreme Court nominees since Bork have volunteered precious little about what they may believe or how they might decide cases that affect, sometimes dramatically, the lives of citizens everywhere. It is the unfortunate legacy of Robert Bork.
To his credit, Gorsuch faced many of the hard questions with a forthright mien and manner uncommon among recent confirmation hearings. He sought not to deflect or demur whenever an response might pose a risk. Perhaps it is because his rectitude is beyond reproach. Maybe it is because the vast majority of his rulings are justified under the law and, therefore, correct.
Inevitably, some in the Senate chamber will vote against Gorsuch. They will do so not because he is unqualified, because surely he is. They will do it because it is politically prudent or electorally expedient. And in Washington, after all, partisan politics is king these days.
But when Neil Gorsuch is confirmed to the Supreme Court, he will bring with him the potential to become one of its giants. He appears beholden to no one and cares only about following the law, wherever it may take him, as he made plain in response to one Senator’s question:
"A good judge doesn’t give a wit about politics or the political implication of his decision," he said. "My job is not to write the laws, but to apply and interpret those laws. Whether mighty or meek, rich or poor...everyone is protected by our laws equally."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Gorsuch comes across as a solid guy for SCROTUS. Described as a literalist, "originalist" (Constitutionalist) in the mold of Scalia. Feinstein and Schumer and other Donks do not like Gorsuch. They view him as the enemy of their Prog. agenda.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Free Beacon] Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D.) vetoed a bill that would require the state Department of Elections to turn over information to local registrars about individuals who are registered to vote in multiple states simultaneously.
[Breitbart] Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s "Fox & Friends," while commenting on Monday’s House Intelligence Committee hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) said he was troubled that FBI Director James Comey would not confirm there is an investigation into leaks of classified information.
[The Hill] Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday criticized President Trump's proposed cuts to the State Department budget, calling them inappropriate.
[Daily Caller] Rep. Louie Gohmert, an outspoken House Republican from Texas, is calling for a congressional investigation of John Podesta’s role with Rusnano, a state-run company founded by Russian President Vladimir Putin, The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group has learned.
