I’ll place the two other good reads first, without commentary. They’re both good discussions of important topics.Thanks for reading Meaning In History! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. First up is Jonathan Turley: Was Overturning Roe a “Blessing”? Only if Democrats Can Avoid the Details of the Right to Abortion
>>> NEW: During questioning from Special Counsel John Durham, Brian Auten, a supervisory counter intelligence analyst with the FBI, revealed the FBI offered Christopher Steele one million dollars if he could corroborate allegations in the Dossier, but that Steele could not do so."
"Auten repeatedly admitted under questioning from Durham that the FBI never got corroboration of the information in the Steele Dossier but used it in the initial FISA application and in the three subsequent renewals. - via @davidspunt & @JakeBGibson" <<<
COMMENT: Why would Durham be asking witnesses questions like this if he was just "covering up" the bad behavior of the FBI?
BTW, this is the first I've heard of the payment scheme details for Steele to act as a CHS for the FBI. A cool $1 million? And all he had to do to collect was keep his mouth shut and not leak to the MSM. That he didn't speaks volumes about what his objectives were (hint: it wasn't about making money.)
If this is what Durham is dragging out of witnesses on day ONE of the trial, I suspect we are in for other interesting revelations in the subsequent days of the trial.
reminder: how many witnesses did Durham say he wanted to present?
ANS: 30+.
Think about what that means, in light of today's testimony. And then consider that Durham is personally conducting the questioning of prosecution witnesses. My read is he's putting his reputation on the line at this trial. If the case sucked, he'd let someone else take the loss. Ergo, he appears to be on a mission, and covering up FBI/DOJ bad acts doesn't appear to be part of that mission.
Yes, it's interesting, I read about it, but it simply raises the question: Who authorized that $1million payment, why isn't Durham going after FBI officials?
Some wrong-doing is not criminal. For example, errors of judgment are not criminal.
Some people -- inside and outside the FBI -- became too convinced that Donald Trump was colluding with the Russia Government. The FBI investigation of that suspicion was not inherently wrong.
The FBI should have terminated that investigation, however, no later than Election Day 2016. Continuing that investigation was an error in judgment.
Durham is indicting various people for various process crimes. He is making mountains out of molehills.
Instead, Durham should write a report explaining to this public how the FBI's mistaken investigation of Trump was initiated, was conducted, and then was continued too long.
So...”From my perspective,” Barr added, “the idea of resisting a democratically elected president and basically throwing everything at him and, you know, really changing the norms on the grounds that we have to stop this president, that is where the shredding of our norms and our institutions is occurring.” So, seeing that our “country was headed toward a constitutional crisis,” and that the Russiagate narrative was “being used to cripple his administration and drive him from office,” Barr accepted the position, believing the president.”
Fine, Barr. Then why has all of it been swept under the rug? Barr was all, “There’s treason afoot.” But now it’s “He has no right to complain.”
None of this makes sense unless you go full conspiracy and make the bottom line assumption that bigger forces are at play. I.e., it’s not just the FBI or CIA, or Biden or Putin. Then again, the thing that really bothers me is lack of motive. I’ve heard it said the people driving this want power or money. But everything being done is destructive. When everything is destroyed, money means nothing. And power? Over what remnants? It makes no sense.
Trump hit back, and the reaction of sjw types is to double down. They are on pre-ordained side of history. And any deviation from that is evil, and must be crushed. And take no prisoners method, ruthlessness has worked well for them. After all their opponents are racist, homophobe, sexist, Christian uneducated, White etc types. And any that oppose their viewpoint that don’t fit those categories are traitors, as Black Conservatives can testify.
Trump also threatened the status quo of the uniparty, of a huge amount of grifting by the elites, at the expense of the middle class.
I’m still surprised at the over the top, salt the earth, reaction to Trump. And the back stabbing by the eGOP and anti Trumpers.
Your last paragraph is key. He hadn’t even taken office and the knives were out. Jonah Goldberg of all people -- I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that the author of “Liberal Fascism” went against normal Constitutional Americans. Salt the Earth captures it perfectly.
Couple of things. This is war. One side fights with deadly weapons, the other tries to prove how reasonable it is.
Second, know your enemy. As I am learning, I have not known the enemy very well. Today I watched Enemy Within, From
Turning Point USA on Rumble. Yet another former FBI agent telling what he knows. And it’s a lot. Well worth watching. Mark probably knows much of this, but some of it, like his take on the Las Vegas shooting was very different from what an formerly understood.
Mark, FBI seems to have used (over-)classification as a shield to prevent Durham from accessing documents. Whereas Mueller had complete access to FBI records because he was serving their interests, Durham seems to have been more or less totally stonewalled. Even (And maybe especially) the very fundamental information that FBI granted CHS status to Danchenko appears not to have been known to Durham until summer 2022. I presume that a document disclosing that grant was in mid-June 2022 dump of classified documents and discovered by Durham team during the summer. Leaving their prosecution of Danchenko, which was ill-considered in first place, in total and suicidal disarray.
In my opinion, FBI was not misled by Danchenko in the slightest and the whole schtick about 2011 investigation was some sort of (successful) effort to throw Barr and Graham off the track of Beltway disinformation by feeding them some irrelevant chickenfeed about the 2011 investigation of Danchenko, without telling them about Danchenko as CHS or that the 2011 allegations had been examined in connection with Danchenko validation as CHS. The Sept 2020 FBI memo to Barr on the 2011 investigation was so deceptive as to be fraudulent. The authors of that memo need to be put in the barrel. As do whoever granted CHS status to Danchenko in March 2017.
I strongly think that it's time for Durham to cut his losses on Danchenko prosecution. I think that he should immediately drop the charges against Danchenko in the course of issuing a savage press release about how the FBI concealed vital information from him, thus obstructing justice.
But doesn't that leave Cleveland's main point--that Barr and Durham should have been focusing on FBI wrongdoing over and above everything else? Because that enabled the wrongdoing of the private actors? Of course I agree that the FBI wasn't misled by Danchenko, but that should be totally obvious to Durham just as in the case of Sussmann/Baker.
I'm not disagreeing with Margot on that point in the slightest. I've been beating that drum for a long time.
I disagree with gloss in your second sentence: "because that enabled the wrongdoing of the private actors". The private actor wrongdoing was mostly or entirely in 2016 and IMO would have receded with little impact if the FBI/DOJ/IC program of lawfare insurrection hadn't taken place in post-election 2016/2017. It should have focused on 2017 lawfare insurrection by public actors BECAUSE that was the most grievous and sinister activity, not "because [it] enabled the wrongdoing of the private actors".
I don't think we disagree. What I meant is that none of the private party wrongdoing would have had any impact had not the FBI enabled it. So, if the FBI hadn't opened Crossfire Hurricane, knowing it was all BS, there would not have been the possibility for leaks. Same goes for Alfa Bank. Had not the FBI acted there would not have been the flurry of stories. All that happened before the election, and continued after. The FBI had it within its power to shut it all down, shut down the hoax, but chose to enable it.
The AFPI is a heavy-handed joke. I mean, really? How about the "Antic Farcical Political Interlopers"? Does anybody ANYWHERE actually believe that Miss Lindsey Graham is America First? And what if they ARE able to pull off the subterfuge? To me it would just mean that at my advanced age I could finally hang up my cleats and maybe check out just what is so addictive about heroin.
As regards Barr/Durham: obviously neither man was capable of internalizing that Holder / Obama had completely corrupted the DoJ-FBI, turning them into weapons of war. And then they declared war on Trump and the GOP in general. Is it plausible that Barr had no idea what kind of rot had infected the two organizations a few levels below him? I doubt it. My (un-educated) guess is that when he realized just how FUBAR they were he decided that he wanted to collect his book deal millions and live out his life in peace.
Miss Lindsey is Lindsey first. John Cornynholio III is J. C. III first. Rafael (Ted) Cruise is Ted first. Is there one senator or congresscritter that is anything other than (insert name) first?
You make the most sense and go to the heart of it ... Barr knew. Remember his smiling face at Rosenstein's resignation party? They were all smug and smiling, filled with their success at thwarting Trump. Look to where it's led us -- the open border, crime-infested major cities, and Green policies that promise energy, fuel, and food shortages. Just look at the cars lined up on highways filled with families desperately trying to evacuate this latest hurricane moving into Florida. How will our supposed big government help those drivers find and/or afford fuel and food in a year or so when the projected Green New Deal policies totally rule? Will Americans be told to 'hunker down' in their homes as the hurricane advances?
From Day ONE of Danchenko trial:
>> https://twitter.com/SeanLangille/status/1579933058123575297 <<
>>> NEW: During questioning from Special Counsel John Durham, Brian Auten, a supervisory counter intelligence analyst with the FBI, revealed the FBI offered Christopher Steele one million dollars if he could corroborate allegations in the Dossier, but that Steele could not do so."
"Auten repeatedly admitted under questioning from Durham that the FBI never got corroboration of the information in the Steele Dossier but used it in the initial FISA application and in the three subsequent renewals. - via @davidspunt & @JakeBGibson" <<<
COMMENT: Why would Durham be asking witnesses questions like this if he was just "covering up" the bad behavior of the FBI?
BTW, this is the first I've heard of the payment scheme details for Steele to act as a CHS for the FBI. A cool $1 million? And all he had to do to collect was keep his mouth shut and not leak to the MSM. That he didn't speaks volumes about what his objectives were (hint: it wasn't about making money.)
If this is what Durham is dragging out of witnesses on day ONE of the trial, I suspect we are in for other interesting revelations in the subsequent days of the trial.
reminder: how many witnesses did Durham say he wanted to present?
ANS: 30+.
Think about what that means, in light of today's testimony. And then consider that Durham is personally conducting the questioning of prosecution witnesses. My read is he's putting his reputation on the line at this trial. If the case sucked, he'd let someone else take the loss. Ergo, he appears to be on a mission, and covering up FBI/DOJ bad acts doesn't appear to be part of that mission.
Yes, it's interesting, I read about it, but it simply raises the question: Who authorized that $1million payment, why isn't Durham going after FBI officials?
Some wrong-doing is not criminal. For example, errors of judgment are not criminal.
Some people -- inside and outside the FBI -- became too convinced that Donald Trump was colluding with the Russia Government. The FBI investigation of that suspicion was not inherently wrong.
The FBI should have terminated that investigation, however, no later than Election Day 2016. Continuing that investigation was an error in judgment.
Durham is indicting various people for various process crimes. He is making mountains out of molehills.
Instead, Durham should write a report explaining to this public how the FBI's mistaken investigation of Trump was initiated, was conducted, and then was continued too long.
So...”From my perspective,” Barr added, “the idea of resisting a democratically elected president and basically throwing everything at him and, you know, really changing the norms on the grounds that we have to stop this president, that is where the shredding of our norms and our institutions is occurring.” So, seeing that our “country was headed toward a constitutional crisis,” and that the Russiagate narrative was “being used to cripple his administration and drive him from office,” Barr accepted the position, believing the president.”
Fine, Barr. Then why has all of it been swept under the rug? Barr was all, “There’s treason afoot.” But now it’s “He has no right to complain.”
None of this makes sense unless you go full conspiracy and make the bottom line assumption that bigger forces are at play. I.e., it’s not just the FBI or CIA, or Biden or Putin. Then again, the thing that really bothers me is lack of motive. I’ve heard it said the people driving this want power or money. But everything being done is destructive. When everything is destroyed, money means nothing. And power? Over what remnants? It makes no sense.
Trump hit back, and the reaction of sjw types is to double down. They are on pre-ordained side of history. And any deviation from that is evil, and must be crushed. And take no prisoners method, ruthlessness has worked well for them. After all their opponents are racist, homophobe, sexist, Christian uneducated, White etc types. And any that oppose their viewpoint that don’t fit those categories are traitors, as Black Conservatives can testify.
Trump also threatened the status quo of the uniparty, of a huge amount of grifting by the elites, at the expense of the middle class.
I’m still surprised at the over the top, salt the earth, reaction to Trump. And the back stabbing by the eGOP and anti Trumpers.
Your last paragraph is key. He hadn’t even taken office and the knives were out. Jonah Goldberg of all people -- I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that the author of “Liberal Fascism” went against normal Constitutional Americans. Salt the Earth captures it perfectly.
Right. I read that book and it was a good book.
Couple of things. This is war. One side fights with deadly weapons, the other tries to prove how reasonable it is.
Second, know your enemy. As I am learning, I have not known the enemy very well. Today I watched Enemy Within, From
Turning Point USA on Rumble. Yet another former FBI agent telling what he knows. And it’s a lot. Well worth watching. Mark probably knows much of this, but some of it, like his take on the Las Vegas shooting was very different from what an formerly understood.
Mark, FBI seems to have used (over-)classification as a shield to prevent Durham from accessing documents. Whereas Mueller had complete access to FBI records because he was serving their interests, Durham seems to have been more or less totally stonewalled. Even (And maybe especially) the very fundamental information that FBI granted CHS status to Danchenko appears not to have been known to Durham until summer 2022. I presume that a document disclosing that grant was in mid-June 2022 dump of classified documents and discovered by Durham team during the summer. Leaving their prosecution of Danchenko, which was ill-considered in first place, in total and suicidal disarray.
In my opinion, FBI was not misled by Danchenko in the slightest and the whole schtick about 2011 investigation was some sort of (successful) effort to throw Barr and Graham off the track of Beltway disinformation by feeding them some irrelevant chickenfeed about the 2011 investigation of Danchenko, without telling them about Danchenko as CHS or that the 2011 allegations had been examined in connection with Danchenko validation as CHS. The Sept 2020 FBI memo to Barr on the 2011 investigation was so deceptive as to be fraudulent. The authors of that memo need to be put in the barrel. As do whoever granted CHS status to Danchenko in March 2017.
I strongly think that it's time for Durham to cut his losses on Danchenko prosecution. I think that he should immediately drop the charges against Danchenko in the course of issuing a savage press release about how the FBI concealed vital information from him, thus obstructing justice.
But doesn't that leave Cleveland's main point--that Barr and Durham should have been focusing on FBI wrongdoing over and above everything else? Because that enabled the wrongdoing of the private actors? Of course I agree that the FBI wasn't misled by Danchenko, but that should be totally obvious to Durham just as in the case of Sussmann/Baker.
I'm not disagreeing with Margot on that point in the slightest. I've been beating that drum for a long time.
I disagree with gloss in your second sentence: "because that enabled the wrongdoing of the private actors". The private actor wrongdoing was mostly or entirely in 2016 and IMO would have receded with little impact if the FBI/DOJ/IC program of lawfare insurrection hadn't taken place in post-election 2016/2017. It should have focused on 2017 lawfare insurrection by public actors BECAUSE that was the most grievous and sinister activity, not "because [it] enabled the wrongdoing of the private actors".
A nuance, but, I think, a relevant one.
I don't think we disagree. What I meant is that none of the private party wrongdoing would have had any impact had not the FBI enabled it. So, if the FBI hadn't opened Crossfire Hurricane, knowing it was all BS, there would not have been the possibility for leaks. Same goes for Alfa Bank. Had not the FBI acted there would not have been the flurry of stories. All that happened before the election, and continued after. The FBI had it within its power to shut it all down, shut down the hoax, but chose to enable it.
yes, we totally agree
Barr is a Bushie, and is protecting the institution.
He is also playing by the usual eGOP marques of queensberry rules.
Barr was probably the best that could get confirmed by McConnell’s senate, sigh.
Most folks forget the traitorous McConnell would not let the Senate go into recess. This boxed in President Trump.
It would have taken only 1 Senator objecting to allow Trump to do recess appointments…
It requires unanimous consent.
Maybe Barr/Durham missed the old adage that says basically, justice consists of undesirable consequences for bad behavior.
The AFPI is a heavy-handed joke. I mean, really? How about the "Antic Farcical Political Interlopers"? Does anybody ANYWHERE actually believe that Miss Lindsey Graham is America First? And what if they ARE able to pull off the subterfuge? To me it would just mean that at my advanced age I could finally hang up my cleats and maybe check out just what is so addictive about heroin.
As regards Barr/Durham: obviously neither man was capable of internalizing that Holder / Obama had completely corrupted the DoJ-FBI, turning them into weapons of war. And then they declared war on Trump and the GOP in general. Is it plausible that Barr had no idea what kind of rot had infected the two organizations a few levels below him? I doubt it. My (un-educated) guess is that when he realized just how FUBAR they were he decided that he wanted to collect his book deal millions and live out his life in peace.
Miss Lindsey is Lindsey first. John Cornynholio III is J. C. III first. Rafael (Ted) Cruise is Ted first. Is there one senator or congresscritter that is anything other than (insert name) first?
You make the most sense and go to the heart of it ... Barr knew. Remember his smiling face at Rosenstein's resignation party? They were all smug and smiling, filled with their success at thwarting Trump. Look to where it's led us -- the open border, crime-infested major cities, and Green policies that promise energy, fuel, and food shortages. Just look at the cars lined up on highways filled with families desperately trying to evacuate this latest hurricane moving into Florida. How will our supposed big government help those drivers find and/or afford fuel and food in a year or so when the projected Green New Deal policies totally rule? Will Americans be told to 'hunker down' in their homes as the hurricane advances?