[HOT AIR] "The early accounts of the report suggest that it is likely to stoke the debate over the investigation without definitively resolving it, by offering both sides different conclusions they can point to as vindication for their rival worldviews," says the NYT of what its sources are telling them.
There is some anti-Trump bias in the mix of misconduct here, according to those sources. Allegedly that came from FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, whom the NYT identifies as the subject of the criminal investigation that John wrote about last night. Clinesmith supposedly altered an email written by an official at another agency, adding a factual assertion at the end to make it look like it had been written by the author. That altered email was then given to an FBI official to read before signing an affidavit that was part of the FISA submission against Carter Page. Clinesmith was also known to text things to friends like "viva la resistance" when asked if he planned to stay in government despite his disdain for Trump.
He’s resigned from the FBI and is now in a heap of legal trouble, as he should be. This solves the mystery, it seems, of why the Durham investigation is now a criminal probe. Maybe not the whole mystery ‐ Durham could be looking at other people ‐ but at a minimum Clinesmith has been pinched for altering the form.
The Times claims that Clinesmith was "low-level." What about the high-level Russiagate personnel: Comey, McCabe, and Peter Strzok? According to the sources, there’s no allegation made that their work was influenced by antipathy to Trump. I’ve never understood why, if they were out to wreck POTUS, they wouldn’t have leaked something damaging during the campaign to try to blow him up on Election Day, but oh well. The IG did apparently find "sloppy and unprofessional" work in parts of the FISA application, including "errors and omissions in documents" ("the renewal applications contained information that should have been left out, and vice versa"), but no abuse of power. As for the other core conspiracy suspicions about Russiagate, no dice:
#3
Because nobody but a fool really sh@ts where they eat. Being genuinely critical and damaging future opportunities in the swamp is often injurious in so many ways.
#5
Clinesmith supposedly altered an email written by an official at another agency, adding a factual assertion at the end to make it look like it had been written by the author.
So f---ing stupid.
How do such people get hired?
What has happened to our government?
[Zero via WND] Rudy Giuliani claims that US diplomats have been acting to further the interests of billionaire George Soros in Ukraine in what he described as a "massive pay-for-play" scheme which included falsifying evidence against President Trump.
"The anti-corruption bureau is a contradiction," Giuliani told Glenn Beck, regarding Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), which Joe Biden helped establish when he was the Obama administration's point-man on Ukraine.
As a bit of background, in December of 2018, a Ukrainian court ruled that NABU director Artem Sytnyk "acted illegally" when he revealed the existence of Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's name to Journalist and politician Serhiy Leschenko in a "black ledger" containing off-book payments to Manafort by Ukraine's previous administration. The ruling against Sytnyk and Leshchenko was later overturned on a technicality.
I read that as "monkey laundering". Damn speed reading!
Seems the Dems are playing with fire here. No way can they keep banging on this without exposing Biden & Son, no matter how much the media cover for them.
[Babylon Bee] ATLANTA, GA‐Chick-fil-A corporate headquarters announced Friday that the restaurant will be getting a new mascot in place of the traditional Chick-fil-A cow: a golden calf.
Restaurant patrons will be asked to dance around and worship the golden calf when they enter the restaurant to show their submission to the LGBTQ agenda.
"Take off the body piercings that your LGBTQ+ same-sex partners are wearing, and bring them to me," said Dan Cathy in a solemn ceremony while creating the restaurant's first-ever golden calf this morning. So all the people did so and brought them to Cathy. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a plastic fork. "This is your god, people of Chick-fil-A, who brings you great business and allows you to expand into other markets."
Then the people worshiped in a mighty dance. And there was much rejoicing.
At publishing time, an angered Kanye West had entered the restaurant, and, spotting the golden calf, immediately threw down his copies of Jesus Is King and Jesus Is King II, shattering them to bits.
But “activists” are liars. Remember, they aren’t good people who got carried away by a passion for justice. They’re awful, horrible, garbage people motivated by a desire to harm.
[Hot Air] Total idiocy, although in their defense this may be something they’re putting out as a morale booster for Trump, not because they believe it themselves. Kellyanne Conway did something similar a few weeks ago. The president’s angry and depressed that he’s going to be impeached, so his staff is lifting his spirits by telling the public that it might not happen.
And hey ‐ they’re right that impeachment must look worse to Pelosi today, given the polling, than it did a month ago.
But be that as it may, ain’t no way no how no chance that the Speaker who got ObamaCare passed is going to whiff on a vote this big. She never would have proceeded with the impeachment inquiry if she had reason to fear a cave-in in the end. Whatever arms need to be twisted, or broken, to get to 218 will be twisted or broken.
#1
I have always said that they will not impeach, but they will give a couple hundred censures on him and drag each one out for the next year as fodder on CNN.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
11/23/2019 12:28 Comments ||
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#2
At this point I'd say it's even money either way, and that will make some reps in red districts nervous. They may not have much leeway for the vote against that does not matter.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/23/2019 12:47 Comments ||
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#3
There have been too many instances in the last few years of "Surely they wouldn't..." followed by "Welp, they did" for me to buy this.
The Dems will double down until it costs them heavily and persistently; that hasn't happened yet.
#4
In a way, I'm almost hoping they actually do impeach. Although many people feel that when a president is impeached, he is automatically removed from office, the actual trial takes place in the Senate. To remove the President, it takes a 2/3 majority in the Senate. Unless many Republicans vote for removal, it won't happen.
On the other hand, Trump will be able to call witnesses in his defense. On my short list of witnesses would be the leaders in the deep state, the Bidens, Vindman, Schiff, and others. It should almost be fun.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/23/2019 13:19 Comments ||
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#8
My personal favorite conspiracy theory. RBG is dead or dying. Impeachment is a desperate ploy to de-legitimize the president before a replacement can be named. Idiots like Romney will go along with it.
[SultanKnish] Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the latest star of the Democrat effort to undo the 2016 election, is still at work on the National Security Council. While Trump supporters on the NSC like Rich Higgins and Ezra Cohen-Watnick were forced out, Vindman won't be. NSC staffers who criticized Obama holdovers or sought to expose their misbehavior are gone, but Vindman is still there while undermining Trump.
And that's the SNAFU of things on the NSC.
The National Security Council has been ground zero in the campaign against President Trump from the beginning. General Flynn's appointment as National Security Advisor had touched the third rail because the NSC had been used to coordinate anti-Trump operations in the Susan Rice era.
Continued on Page 49
#2
"Praetorian guard": exactly. The kind of thing you associate with Roman intrigue and assassinations, or with banana republics and Pakistan in our own time.
The very worst example of this was Ben Rhodes, an aspiring novelist who evolved from a speechwriter to deputy national security adviser for communications, and, in that capacity ran our foreign policy. War and diplomacy weren't run by the cabinet members accountable to Congress, but by political operatives.
Pajama Boy making foreign policy = the height, or nadir, of The Shitshow
#4
An unnecessary level of bureaucracy ... as superfluous as the Department of Homeland Security . But it does provide employment for high salary pundits.
#6
Since the NSC was created by statute, it's not going away anytime soon. Thus we'll have to wait until a serious Federal budget's proposed by Trump that'll defund this and other clusterf&cks.
#8
In the meantime, I'm sure there's an island up near Alaska they could all be transferred to. In order to concentrate their efforts on why they should keep their jobs. And make sure there's no distraction, like phones, internet or TV. For entertainment, they can play truth or dare.
#10
Send them to that island at the very end of the Aleuitian chain which is only a few hundred miles from Russia. Mission: Watch for Russian Collusion.
#11
You will disagree with me but I found Fiona Hill a competent and impressive witness. This badass lady knows her stuff. But then again I have read her book about Putin which is the best there is.
Sondland instead is a joke, sorry.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
11/23/2019 13:39 Comments ||
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#12
Agree that Fiona Hill is a superb analyst and an honest individual. Baby in the NSA bath water.
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
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Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
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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.