Bull Durham testified before Congress today regarding his report on the Russia Hoax. I haven’t bothered to follow the news reports of his testimony closely, but from the little I’ve seen it appears that it was largely DC theater as expected. The idea seems to be to blame the FBI, as if no other government actors or influential Power Elite members played significant roles in the hoax.
What we need are a few billionaires. No, more than a few, we need dozens.
Billionaires with principles, steel backbones, teams of attorneys, and impeccable backgrounds. We, the people, need people to fund and represent us in lawsuits. We've been harmed in so many ways. Judgment day should come.
Its hard for me to disagree with them...Why were there not more indictments? Why were there not indictments of the criminal conspirators who managed the entire fraudulent operation? I can appreciate the technical difficulties (admissability of evidence, etc.) which a prosecutor might encounter in trying a case against the Deep State and its ingenious Lawfare defense counsel but, as Durham repeatedly said, when a prosecutor finds evidence of criminal misconduct, he has a duty to seek justice. It is hard to say that Durham succeeded in this respect. How can Durham tell the American People that with all of the smoke in the air, and the basically unlimited resources of the federal government, he couldn't find the guy who told Kevin Clinesmith to alter the email? Or he couldn't find the guy who arranged for Joseph Mifsud to set up George Papadopoulos? Or the guy who ordered the FBI to file a FISA warrant application against Carter Page averring that he was a Russian Agent?
The Democrat prosecutors had no problem with technicalities in charging and obtaining pleas and/or convictions from Roger Stone, George Papadopoulos, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn and others on charges that were weak at best...or simply made up. Take Flynn. The prosecutors bullied Flynn into a plea based on what? Lying to the FBI about a phone call that they had listened to and which Flynn must have know they listened to?
It is hard not to conclude that we are watching some kind of grotesque Kabuki theatre where the 'government' dances around exposing the real truth and real justice and real accountability is never done.
Its hard not to conclude they all (both sides) want it this way...
I guess this is all by way of saying I 100% agree with Mark...
Well, I agree that both sides want it this way. I can't find the comment of the person here who quoted Durham's justification for non-prosecution of people like Comey. In essence, he agreed that his investigation had demonstrated gross lapses of extremely basic judgment calls (probable cause) that are, really, inexplicable in persons with enormous prosecutorial experience and education like Comey. Left unstated is that the issue of predication/PC came up repeatedly: case opening, FISA, Congressional testimony, SC decision. It wasn't a one off slip and somehow every lawyer confronted with the question flubbed it. And yet ...
There is actually strong evidence that the decision was based on animus towards Trump. I won't go over that again. However, re Durham's claimed conviction that a prosecutor has a duty to seek justice, I'll say this.
It can be true that justice may sometimes be best served by not going for the jugular, by tempering justice with mercy when the full extent of intent is in doubt, for various reasons. In the case of the Russia Hoax, when that case is seen in its full context of the entire Trump administration over 4 years, it has to be seen as the greatest political crime in US history. The core deception re predication and PC is what, ultimately, fueled the entire witchhunt--when you look at the big picture. And it's still going on. Even now the Russia Hoax narrative is still repeated/hinted/suggested to the public on the MSM. One may well doubt the extent of Durham's commitment to doing justice. Especially when it has been so egregiously delayed. The lack of predication was never in doubt, from the moment Durham took over. There was nothing to prevent an interim report.
But all this came from a guy who considered that a "harshly worded memo" from the FISC fit the case for dealing with highly experienced lawyers and investigators who systematically deceived the FISC in substantive and highly consequential ways. Trust me--that's one of the those things you should never try at home or for yourself. Those persons responsible should have been sanctioned by the FISC, never allowed to submit anything to the FISC, and referred for disciplinary action. Which suggests that the judiciary is in on the fix, too.
Following up...question for the criminal lawyers here:
Durham said persons of interest, like Bill Priestap, declined to be interviewed and so Durham couldn't get their stories. Why couldn't he require Priestap to testify to a grand jury?
I believe that Priestap would have been regarded as a target because he would have had a key role--he was Strzok's immediate superior. It's standard DoJ policy that they don't require a target to go before a GJ just to have him take the 5th on the record.
Yes, but that can be tricky. At some point, if a crime has been committed, you want to find some significant player(s) you can successfully prosecute. You need to be cautious about granting immunity or you could find yourself as a prosecutor with nobody to prosecute. I'm not saying that that's a legitimate reason for what happened here, just that it's the rationalization for basically doing nothing.
Why, for example, did Durham not prosecute Comey and McCabe, as well as Sally Yates, Dana Boente, and Rod Rosenstein, for making false statements in the FISA applications and renewals which they certified and approved? Isn't it beyond doubt today that these applications were littered with statements which it has now been shown beyond doubt that the FBI (and presumably, the DOJ) knew to be false? Isn't it a crime to submit an application which the person certifying or approving knows to be false?
Paragraph 2 of the initial application states, "The target of this application is Carter W. Page, a U.S. person, and an agent of a foreign power, described in detail below." Isn't it undeniable at this stage that this was a false statement and the FBI and DOJ officials who signed the application knew it?
Even granting Durham some credit for his concern that a prosecutor must not only believe that the person charged is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and his concern that he can prove his case with evidence admissable in court, wouldn't the American people have benefited from the accountability such a charge would have resulted in, regardless of the outcome of the case?
Especially if the alternative is 'basically doing nothing'?
That's basically my point. All of the stuff that went towards predication--and that's exactly what that Paragraph 2 is pointing towards--was known to be false. As I've written several times, the Russian case in NY that Page was involved in was a very important case. I'd be surprised if Comey did NOT brief Obama on it. Comey certainly knew quite well who Page really was. If you look at the predication statements, with the evidence that these people knew the real fact and in the light of the prejudicial statements, I think you have a strong circumstantial case to support mens rea for a number of different violations, including false statements. Therefore I say this was all theater. Just like we now know that Barr knew all about the Biden Crime family and all the evidence.
Everything about our current times is pretend. Pretend not to know things. Pretend to know things. Pretend elections are legitimate. Pretend Ukraine is “winning.” Pretend justice is blind. Pretend the earth is going to become an uninhabitable fireball. Etc. etc. etc......time to stop pretending.
The "Average American" has no clue what our government really does, or what the various layers of government are designed to do, either. As long as the checks written by governments keep coming all is well. Mushrooms are farmed using similar methods . . . in darkness, using lots of manure.
Hyrsani at the Federalist had a piece called “Biden is not ok.” What any normal person would call senile (can you still say that?), the NYT calls “folksy.” Who was it who said that if the Dems didn’t have double standards, they’d have no standards at all.
Largely DC theater, yes, but "The play is the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King" Do not underestimate Durham or the indictment of Trump or Hunter or J6 or the Mar al Lago raid. The government is mistakenly assuming that these constitute evidence of their absolute power, the public be damned. The idea seems to be to blame the FBI, but nobody is fooled. The 2020 election was risky, and should have been followed by a massive effort to mollify the opposition . No. Gasoline was poured on the fire. Our lives have been made worse, and what is to come is likely to be a catastrophe. All Washington bears responsibility for what has come to pass, and Durham's uncontested testimony, the Hunter sentencing and more than anything the Trump indictments are before the audience of the American people, and the combined content is devastating. No consequences for the perps? That only makes it worse in our eyes.
Except that beyond the few people who read things like this, the vast majority of Americans will never hear anything about any of this. What they hear will at best be massaged and twisted and biased into unrecognizable nothingness. What’s worse they don’t care.
Those who are aware have the intelligence and the ability to help us get through the next crisis. The helpless, the dependent, the low intelligence who depend on government handouts, the illegals and the organizations like BLM and Antifa who like the coddled criminals recognize no authority will only acerbate the crisis. Bread and circuses are needed to prevent them from revolting. In the 1930s Depression people starved. Others like my father adapted, and we were comfortable. FDR made things worse. Our Washington crowd will outdo him in making all the wrong moves. But you are probably right that the inner circle of the Ruling Class, as in "1984", will have all the luxuries and will not care. The masses be damned.
Yes we are definitely into "kill baby Hitler" territory, very well put:
"The activists carrying badges have convinced themselves that they’re fighting the next Hitler. Anything goes because if they lose, baby Hitler will bring about a “Handmaid’s Tale” dystopia of forcing women into knock-off puritan cloaks tailored for forced maternity."
With unchecked power and gleeful cruelty, the FBI has devolved into thuggery. It stages and invents crimes more often than it solves them."
Yes. I would also recommend Lee Smith's "The War on Trump Is a War on Millions" in Tablet. He ends:
It’s no small thing to arrange for two sides that bled each other to live side by side again. Look at the last half century alone, from Lebanon and Somalia to the former Yugoslavia and Syria—many countries never find a way to get along after blowing each other’s brains out. America is an exception. Indeed it is an astonishing fact that after our own fratricidal conflict, America became the most powerful nation in world history. And yet the fabric of our domestic peace is fragile and now we are tempting fate: Brother calling brother traitor may be the prelude to a renewed nightmare.
Because once the thread is pulled upon, the whole rug will unravel --> the % of DC-dwellers who are corrupt and count on shady sources of largess and rotten revolving doors must be very high
From what I've read over these past months is that Russia is gaining influence:
"No sanctions against Russia
"Since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine, the BRICS countries have only distanced themselves further from the so-called West. Neither India, Brazil, South Africa or China are taking part in sanctions against Russia. This has become increasingly clear with near-historic levels of trade between India and Russia, or in Brazil's dependence on Russian fertilizer."
What we need are a few billionaires. No, more than a few, we need dozens.
Billionaires with principles, steel backbones, teams of attorneys, and impeccable backgrounds. We, the people, need people to fund and represent us in lawsuits. We've been harmed in so many ways. Judgment day should come.
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/06/22/huge-transcript-shows-joe-biden-in-the-room-while-hunter-biden-threatened-chinese-officials-to-pay-them-doj-sunk-the-investigation-into-the-matter-n765438
Matt Gaetz, Chip Roy and Andy Biggs aren't necessarily buying what John Durham is selling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCVV_CF25MU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFJIm9jZiEM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW4HsVdzmTw&t=30s
Its hard for me to disagree with them...Why were there not more indictments? Why were there not indictments of the criminal conspirators who managed the entire fraudulent operation? I can appreciate the technical difficulties (admissability of evidence, etc.) which a prosecutor might encounter in trying a case against the Deep State and its ingenious Lawfare defense counsel but, as Durham repeatedly said, when a prosecutor finds evidence of criminal misconduct, he has a duty to seek justice. It is hard to say that Durham succeeded in this respect. How can Durham tell the American People that with all of the smoke in the air, and the basically unlimited resources of the federal government, he couldn't find the guy who told Kevin Clinesmith to alter the email? Or he couldn't find the guy who arranged for Joseph Mifsud to set up George Papadopoulos? Or the guy who ordered the FBI to file a FISA warrant application against Carter Page averring that he was a Russian Agent?
The Democrat prosecutors had no problem with technicalities in charging and obtaining pleas and/or convictions from Roger Stone, George Papadopoulos, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn and others on charges that were weak at best...or simply made up. Take Flynn. The prosecutors bullied Flynn into a plea based on what? Lying to the FBI about a phone call that they had listened to and which Flynn must have know they listened to?
It is hard not to conclude that we are watching some kind of grotesque Kabuki theatre where the 'government' dances around exposing the real truth and real justice and real accountability is never done.
Its hard not to conclude they all (both sides) want it this way...
I guess this is all by way of saying I 100% agree with Mark...
Well, I agree that both sides want it this way. I can't find the comment of the person here who quoted Durham's justification for non-prosecution of people like Comey. In essence, he agreed that his investigation had demonstrated gross lapses of extremely basic judgment calls (probable cause) that are, really, inexplicable in persons with enormous prosecutorial experience and education like Comey. Left unstated is that the issue of predication/PC came up repeatedly: case opening, FISA, Congressional testimony, SC decision. It wasn't a one off slip and somehow every lawyer confronted with the question flubbed it. And yet ...
There is actually strong evidence that the decision was based on animus towards Trump. I won't go over that again. However, re Durham's claimed conviction that a prosecutor has a duty to seek justice, I'll say this.
It can be true that justice may sometimes be best served by not going for the jugular, by tempering justice with mercy when the full extent of intent is in doubt, for various reasons. In the case of the Russia Hoax, when that case is seen in its full context of the entire Trump administration over 4 years, it has to be seen as the greatest political crime in US history. The core deception re predication and PC is what, ultimately, fueled the entire witchhunt--when you look at the big picture. And it's still going on. Even now the Russia Hoax narrative is still repeated/hinted/suggested to the public on the MSM. One may well doubt the extent of Durham's commitment to doing justice. Especially when it has been so egregiously delayed. The lack of predication was never in doubt, from the moment Durham took over. There was nothing to prevent an interim report.
But all this came from a guy who considered that a "harshly worded memo" from the FISC fit the case for dealing with highly experienced lawyers and investigators who systematically deceived the FISC in substantive and highly consequential ways. Trust me--that's one of the those things you should never try at home or for yourself. Those persons responsible should have been sanctioned by the FISC, never allowed to submit anything to the FISC, and referred for disciplinary action. Which suggests that the judiciary is in on the fix, too.
Following up...question for the criminal lawyers here:
Durham said persons of interest, like Bill Priestap, declined to be interviewed and so Durham couldn't get their stories. Why couldn't he require Priestap to testify to a grand jury?
I believe that Priestap would have been regarded as a target because he would have had a key role--he was Strzok's immediate superior. It's standard DoJ policy that they don't require a target to go before a GJ just to have him take the 5th on the record.
What if he were offered immunity? Could he then be required to testify and not take the 5th?
Yes, but that can be tricky. At some point, if a crime has been committed, you want to find some significant player(s) you can successfully prosecute. You need to be cautious about granting immunity or you could find yourself as a prosecutor with nobody to prosecute. I'm not saying that that's a legitimate reason for what happened here, just that it's the rationalization for basically doing nothing.
Why, for example, did Durham not prosecute Comey and McCabe, as well as Sally Yates, Dana Boente, and Rod Rosenstein, for making false statements in the FISA applications and renewals which they certified and approved? Isn't it beyond doubt today that these applications were littered with statements which it has now been shown beyond doubt that the FBI (and presumably, the DOJ) knew to be false? Isn't it a crime to submit an application which the person certifying or approving knows to be false?
Paragraph 2 of the initial application states, "The target of this application is Carter W. Page, a U.S. person, and an agent of a foreign power, described in detail below." Isn't it undeniable at this stage that this was a false statement and the FBI and DOJ officials who signed the application knew it?
Even granting Durham some credit for his concern that a prosecutor must not only believe that the person charged is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and his concern that he can prove his case with evidence admissable in court, wouldn't the American people have benefited from the accountability such a charge would have resulted in, regardless of the outcome of the case?
Especially if the alternative is 'basically doing nothing'?
That's basically my point. All of the stuff that went towards predication--and that's exactly what that Paragraph 2 is pointing towards--was known to be false. As I've written several times, the Russian case in NY that Page was involved in was a very important case. I'd be surprised if Comey did NOT brief Obama on it. Comey certainly knew quite well who Page really was. If you look at the predication statements, with the evidence that these people knew the real fact and in the light of the prejudicial statements, I think you have a strong circumstantial case to support mens rea for a number of different violations, including false statements. Therefore I say this was all theater. Just like we now know that Barr knew all about the Biden Crime family and all the evidence.
Everything about our current times is pretend. Pretend not to know things. Pretend to know things. Pretend elections are legitimate. Pretend Ukraine is “winning.” Pretend justice is blind. Pretend the earth is going to become an uninhabitable fireball. Etc. etc. etc......time to stop pretending.
Yup, exactly. The Dems: the party of the great pretenders!
Gaetz did an OK job. I'd like to see him get into predication: Is it a crime to open a full investigation when you know there's no predication?
https://youtu.be/nCVV_CF25MU
So, did anyone ask Bullpaddy Durham who Joseph Mifsud was?
Gaetz
The "Average American" has no clue what our government really does, or what the various layers of government are designed to do, either. As long as the checks written by governments keep coming all is well. Mushrooms are farmed using similar methods . . . in darkness, using lots of manure.
I will add this:
Our demented President*, Zhou R. Stolen, ended a speech the other day with "God save the Queen", has he began a speech with "my fellow mushrooms" yet?
Hyrsani at the Federalist had a piece called “Biden is not ok.” What any normal person would call senile (can you still say that?), the NYT calls “folksy.” Who was it who said that if the Dems didn’t have double standards, they’d have no standards at all.
Largely DC theater, yes, but "The play is the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King" Do not underestimate Durham or the indictment of Trump or Hunter or J6 or the Mar al Lago raid. The government is mistakenly assuming that these constitute evidence of their absolute power, the public be damned. The idea seems to be to blame the FBI, but nobody is fooled. The 2020 election was risky, and should have been followed by a massive effort to mollify the opposition . No. Gasoline was poured on the fire. Our lives have been made worse, and what is to come is likely to be a catastrophe. All Washington bears responsibility for what has come to pass, and Durham's uncontested testimony, the Hunter sentencing and more than anything the Trump indictments are before the audience of the American people, and the combined content is devastating. No consequences for the perps? That only makes it worse in our eyes.
Except that beyond the few people who read things like this, the vast majority of Americans will never hear anything about any of this. What they hear will at best be massaged and twisted and biased into unrecognizable nothingness. What’s worse they don’t care.
Those who are aware have the intelligence and the ability to help us get through the next crisis. The helpless, the dependent, the low intelligence who depend on government handouts, the illegals and the organizations like BLM and Antifa who like the coddled criminals recognize no authority will only acerbate the crisis. Bread and circuses are needed to prevent them from revolting. In the 1930s Depression people starved. Others like my father adapted, and we were comfortable. FDR made things worse. Our Washington crowd will outdo him in making all the wrong moves. But you are probably right that the inner circle of the Ruling Class, as in "1984", will have all the luxuries and will not care. The masses be damned.
Hard to believe that Obama Biden and Clinton all knew - but that McConnell Ryan Graham and McCain were in the dark. My opinion is that they all knew.
My view, pretty much, too. There may be some additional facts and nuances, but I think that's what it comes down to.
I suggest Adam Mill’s piece in American Greatness today re: today’s FBI.
Yes we are definitely into "kill baby Hitler" territory, very well put:
"The activists carrying badges have convinced themselves that they’re fighting the next Hitler. Anything goes because if they lose, baby Hitler will bring about a “Handmaid’s Tale” dystopia of forcing women into knock-off puritan cloaks tailored for forced maternity."
With unchecked power and gleeful cruelty, the FBI has devolved into thuggery. It stages and invents crimes more often than it solves them."
Yes. I would also recommend Lee Smith's "The War on Trump Is a War on Millions" in Tablet. He ends:
It’s no small thing to arrange for two sides that bled each other to live side by side again. Look at the last half century alone, from Lebanon and Somalia to the former Yugoslavia and Syria—many countries never find a way to get along after blowing each other’s brains out. America is an exception. Indeed it is an astonishing fact that after our own fratricidal conflict, America became the most powerful nation in world history. And yet the fabric of our domestic peace is fragile and now we are tempting fate: Brother calling brother traitor may be the prelude to a renewed nightmare.
WDC Delenda Est.
Dark Journalist goes into this if you've ever watched him. He's very good.
Because once the thread is pulled upon, the whole rug will unravel --> the % of DC-dwellers who are corrupt and count on shady sources of largess and rotten revolving doors must be very high
From what I've read over these past months is that Russia is gaining influence:
"No sanctions against Russia
"Since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine, the BRICS countries have only distanced themselves further from the so-called West. Neither India, Brazil, South Africa or China are taking part in sanctions against Russia. This has become increasingly clear with near-historic levels of trade between India and Russia, or in Brazil's dependence on Russian fertilizer."
https://www.dw.com/en/a-new-world-order-brics-nations-offer-alternative-to-west/a-65124269
That's what is so sickening about it all.