Thank you
How will you react when Trump/GOP scraps the investigation?
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https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/571285/?__twitter_impression=true
A Supreme Court Case Could Liberate Trump to Pardon His Associates
Gamble v. United States isn’t related to the Russia investigation. But the outcome—which one senior Republican senator has tried to influence—could still have consequences for the probe.
Within the context of the Mueller probe, legal observers have seen the dual-sovereignty doctrine as a check on President Donald Trump’s power: It could discourage him from trying to shut down the Mueller investigation or pardon anyone caught up in the probe, because the pardon wouldn’t be applied to state charges. Under settled law, if Trump were to pardon his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, for example—he was convicted last month in federal court on eight counts of tax and bank fraud—both New York and Virginia state prosecutors could still charge him for any crimes that violated their respective laws. (Both states have a double-jeopardy law that bars secondary state prosecutions for committing “the same act,” but there are important exceptions, as the Fordham University School of Law professor Jed Shugerman has noted.) If the dual-sovereignty doctrine were tossed, as Hatch wants, then Trump’s pardon could theoretically protect Manafort from state action.
https://utahpolicy.com/index.php/fe...ase-that-could-hamper-mueller-s-investigation
Hatch files amicus brief in Supreme Court case that could hamper Mueller's investigation
A Supreme Court Case Could Liberate Trump to Pardon His Associates
Gamble v. United States isn’t related to the Russia investigation. But the outcome—which one senior Republican senator has tried to influence—could still have consequences for the probe.
Within the context of the Mueller probe, legal observers have seen the dual-sovereignty doctrine as a check on President Donald Trump’s power: It could discourage him from trying to shut down the Mueller investigation or pardon anyone caught up in the probe, because the pardon wouldn’t be applied to state charges. Under settled law, if Trump were to pardon his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, for example—he was convicted last month in federal court on eight counts of tax and bank fraud—both New York and Virginia state prosecutors could still charge him for any crimes that violated their respective laws. (Both states have a double-jeopardy law that bars secondary state prosecutions for committing “the same act,” but there are important exceptions, as the Fordham University School of Law professor Jed Shugerman has noted.) If the dual-sovereignty doctrine were tossed, as Hatch wants, then Trump’s pardon could theoretically protect Manafort from state action.
https://utahpolicy.com/index.php/fe...ase-that-could-hamper-mueller-s-investigation
Hatch files amicus brief in Supreme Court case that could hamper Mueller's investigation
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marina...enge-to-muellers-power-prevails/#7ca569d14791
A constitutional law attorney has challenged the legitimacy and powers of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller in a federal court of appeals. "This challenge will go to the Supreme Court of the United States," attorney Paul Kamenar predicts.
What will happen if the arguments prevail in the Supreme Court and Mueller's authority is ruled unconstitutional? "The other pending Special Counsel prosecutions or convictions on appeal would have to be invalidated," Kamenar explains.
A constitutional law attorney has challenged the legitimacy and powers of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller in a federal court of appeals. "This challenge will go to the Supreme Court of the United States," attorney Paul Kamenar predicts.
What will happen if the arguments prevail in the Supreme Court and Mueller's authority is ruled unconstitutional? "The other pending Special Counsel prosecutions or convictions on appeal would have to be invalidated," Kamenar explains.
I wonder who else has flipped. I wonder what Baker told the secret grand jury.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/to...of-russia-probe-into-trump-campaign-lawmakers
Top FBI lawyer Baker offers 'explosive' testimony on 'abnormal' handling of Russia probe into Trump campaign: lawmakers
Former top FBI lawyer James Baker gave "explosive" closed-door testimony on Wednesday detailing for congressional investigators how the Russia probe was handled in an "abnormal fashion" reflecting "political bias," according to two Republican lawmakers present for the deposition.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/to...of-russia-probe-into-trump-campaign-lawmakers
Top FBI lawyer Baker offers 'explosive' testimony on 'abnormal' handling of Russia probe into Trump campaign: lawmakers
Former top FBI lawyer James Baker gave "explosive" closed-door testimony on Wednesday detailing for congressional investigators how the Russia probe was handled in an "abnormal fashion" reflecting "political bias," according to two Republican lawmakers present for the deposition.
Yep.
As much as this DOJ/FBI thing and the cast of characters have been discussed, there are still key players who bailed out without being fired but are under extreme scrutiny for their own actions and/or their knowledge of other bad actors. Baker has always been one. And another is Rybicki who was Comey's chief of staff or something. As with Baker, he will become a household name before it is over.
Some of them are not under "extreme scrutiny" because the FBI/swamp is good at going after them. It is more a matter of the rats outing others to save themselves. McCabe and Page and Strzok being among them, and of course Rosenstein is hoping - as always and he is good at it- to maintain a firewall around himself by incriminating everyone else. He did not start out there but he ended out there. If Hillary had been elected he could have protected himself and the others too but the firewall has been breached.
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/4...ll-dnc-lawyers-met-with-fbi-on-dossier-before
RUSSIA COLLUSION BOMBSHELL: DNC LAWYERS MET WITH FBI ON DOSSIER BEFORE SURVEILLANCE WARRANT
“This is a bombshell that unequivocally shows the real collusion was between the FBI and Donald Trump’s opposition — the DNC, Hillary and a Trump-hating British intel officer — to hijack the election, rather than some conspiracy between Putin and Trump,” a knowledgeable source told me.
RUSSIA COLLUSION BOMBSHELL: DNC LAWYERS MET WITH FBI ON DOSSIER BEFORE SURVEILLANCE WARRANT
“This is a bombshell that unequivocally shows the real collusion was between the FBI and Donald Trump’s opposition — the DNC, Hillary and a Trump-hating British intel officer — to hijack the election, rather than some conspiracy between Putin and Trump,” a knowledgeable source told me.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...used-about-choking-off-robert-muellers-funds/
Trump’s potential new attorney general once mused about a new attorney general defunding Mueller
President Trump declined Thursday to deny that he was eyeing Matthew Whitaker as a replacement for Attorney General Jeff Sessions. And suddenly, Whitaker’s past skepticism about the Russia investigation has taken on new significance.
Whitaker’s Russia commentary first cropped up when he was reported to be a likely replacement for Sessions’s No. 2, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, a few weeks ago. Installing him as the No. 1, though, would give Whitaker even more power. It’s not clear he would take oversight of the Russia investigation, but there are other ways in which he could influence it.
“So I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced with a recess appointment,” Whitaker said, “and that attorney general doesn’t fire Bob Mueller, but he just reduces his budget to so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt.”
It was the second time in the same interview that Whitaker brought up the defunding idea. He said Rosenstein could also be pressured to do it.
“I think what ultimately the president is going to start doing is putting pressure on Rod J. Rosenstein, who is in charge of this investigation, is acting attorney general, and really try to get Rod to maybe even cut the budget of Bob Mueller and do something a little more stage crafty than the blunt instrument of firing the attorney general and trying to replace him,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker has made it clear he doesn’t particularly like how far Mueller has gone. He wrote an op-ed in August 2017 titled, “Mueller’s investigation of Trump is going too far” that urged Rosenstein to “limit the scope of this investigation.”
“The President is absolutely correct,” Whitaker said after Trump suggested that Mueller investigating his finances would cross a red line. “Mueller has come up to a red line in the Russia 2016 election-meddling investigation that he is dangerously close to crossing.”
He has also downplayed the idea that anything illegal was done at the Trump Tower meeting, saying, “You would always take the meeting."
Trump’s potential new attorney general once mused about a new attorney general defunding Mueller
President Trump declined Thursday to deny that he was eyeing Matthew Whitaker as a replacement for Attorney General Jeff Sessions. And suddenly, Whitaker’s past skepticism about the Russia investigation has taken on new significance.
Whitaker’s Russia commentary first cropped up when he was reported to be a likely replacement for Sessions’s No. 2, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, a few weeks ago. Installing him as the No. 1, though, would give Whitaker even more power. It’s not clear he would take oversight of the Russia investigation, but there are other ways in which he could influence it.
“So I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced with a recess appointment,” Whitaker said, “and that attorney general doesn’t fire Bob Mueller, but he just reduces his budget to so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt.”
It was the second time in the same interview that Whitaker brought up the defunding idea. He said Rosenstein could also be pressured to do it.
“I think what ultimately the president is going to start doing is putting pressure on Rod J. Rosenstein, who is in charge of this investigation, is acting attorney general, and really try to get Rod to maybe even cut the budget of Bob Mueller and do something a little more stage crafty than the blunt instrument of firing the attorney general and trying to replace him,” Whitaker said.
Whitaker has made it clear he doesn’t particularly like how far Mueller has gone. He wrote an op-ed in August 2017 titled, “Mueller’s investigation of Trump is going too far” that urged Rosenstein to “limit the scope of this investigation.”
“The President is absolutely correct,” Whitaker said after Trump suggested that Mueller investigating his finances would cross a red line. “Mueller has come up to a red line in the Russia 2016 election-meddling investigation that he is dangerously close to crossing.”
He has also downplayed the idea that anything illegal was done at the Trump Tower meeting, saying, “You would always take the meeting."
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/02/mueller-probe-noel-francisco-ethics-waiver-959425
Next-in-line Mueller supervisor got White House ethics waiver in April
Solicitor General Noel Francisco has been dogged by conflict of interest concerns related his potential role overseeing the the Mueller probe.
A senior Trump administration official in line to become special counsel Robert Mueller’s new supervisor if there’s a Justice Department shakeup secured White House approval earlier this year on what critics say is a potential ethics hurdle that could have kept him from assuming the high-profile role.
Solicitor General Noel Francisco has long been considered a likely candidate to oversee Mueller’s Russia probe if Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is fired or quits. But the 49-year-old conservative lawyer has also been dogged by conflict of interest concerns because he previously worked as a partner at Jones Day, the same law firm that represents Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in the Russia probe.
Officials at the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have been arguing for months that to oversee the Mueller probe, Francisco would require a White House waiver to circumvent a Trump executive order that decreed employees must recuse themselves from work on any matters involving previous employers going back two years.
Turns out, Francisco actually got a White House waiver of that type in April. It’s not clear what triggered the waiver or if it had anything to do with Mueller’s investigation, but a senior Justice official on Friday downplayed its significance and insisted the department isn’t aware of any impediments to Francisco taking over responsibility for managing the Mueller probe if Rosenstein left his position.
Next-in-line Mueller supervisor got White House ethics waiver in April
Solicitor General Noel Francisco has been dogged by conflict of interest concerns related his potential role overseeing the the Mueller probe.
A senior Trump administration official in line to become special counsel Robert Mueller’s new supervisor if there’s a Justice Department shakeup secured White House approval earlier this year on what critics say is a potential ethics hurdle that could have kept him from assuming the high-profile role.
Solicitor General Noel Francisco has long been considered a likely candidate to oversee Mueller’s Russia probe if Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is fired or quits. But the 49-year-old conservative lawyer has also been dogged by conflict of interest concerns because he previously worked as a partner at Jones Day, the same law firm that represents Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in the Russia probe.
Officials at the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have been arguing for months that to oversee the Mueller probe, Francisco would require a White House waiver to circumvent a Trump executive order that decreed employees must recuse themselves from work on any matters involving previous employers going back two years.
Turns out, Francisco actually got a White House waiver of that type in April. It’s not clear what triggered the waiver or if it had anything to do with Mueller’s investigation, but a senior Justice official on Friday downplayed its significance and insisted the department isn’t aware of any impediments to Francisco taking over responsibility for managing the Mueller probe if Rosenstein left his position.
Too lengthy and meaningless to read