Sidney Powell And K. T. McFarland On: Who Was Involved?
This exchange took place on the Brian Kilmeade Show. Brian is on the video alone , on the line with K. T. McFarland--briefly the top aide to then NSA Michael Flynn--and Brian plays a tape of Sidney Powell. I've done a complete transcript.
As you'll see, Sidney Powell is going for the big Deep State players: Michael Chertoff, Eric Holder, and Lanny Breuer. The excerpt from Powell's taped comments is in the context of Powell's latest filing: MICHAEL FLYNN'S MOTION TO COMPEL AND RESPONSE TO COVINGTON & BURLING’S DISCOVERY CERTIFICATION . On page 6 we read:
Mr. Flynn is entitled to all the notes, records, communications, and phone records of all the partners who consulted or worked on his file —whether billed to him or not. This includes the files of Eric Holder, Lanny Breuer, and Michael Chertoff who are prominent partners in the white-collar practice of the law firm, who are mentioned in the documents that Covington has already produced to Mr. Flynn’s current counsel.2
2 Mr. Chertoff met with Mr. Flynn, is copied on many emails about the Flynn case, and he was an active member of the defense team. Indeed, Mr. Chertoff was messaging firm lawyers in the courtroom on December 18, 2018. Mr. Chertoff billed $24,194.50 to the Flynn file at rates ranging from $1,250 per hour to $1,695 per hour, and there are multiple billing entries by “MF Team” attorneys indicating additional work by Mr. Chertoff (not billed by Chertoff himself) on the Flynn file. Consultations with Mr. Breuer are also mentioned at crucial times during the representation (February, March, April, August and November of 2017). Mr. Holder appeared briefly at a client conference, communicated about the firm’s representation of Mr. Flynn, and made Twitter posts that were a significant problem for the defense and were discussed within the firm.
So, in that context:
Brian Kilmeade: [first plays tape of Sidney Powell discussing current status of Flynn case, for K. T. McFarland to hear]
Sidney Powell: They edited [the Flynn 302] completely. In fact, Strzok talks about trying to keep the previous agent's "voice" in it--he has edited it so much. We still don't have the original 302--we know there's another draft from the Strzok/Page text messages. And from Covington we're still trying to get Eric Holder and Michael Chertoff's emails, phone records, and possible text messages among the Covington lawyers themselves discussing General Flynn and also any communications between Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch or Sally Yates about the Flynn matter.
Whoa!
Brian Kilmeade: [to McFarland] Do you believe they were all involved?
K. T. McFarland: Yes. I think that it wasn't just one or two bad apples. I think it was coming from-- Because, y'know Brian? Government doesn't work that way. It's not like some mid level bureaucrat can decide, "Oh, I'm gonna take down the President's National Security Adviser. I'm gonna try to take down Trump." They don't have that power. It had to be multi-agency, and it had to be approved at the highest levels--or at least known about at the highest levels.
Highest levels? What levels are those? FBI Director, CIA Director, AG, DNI? Those are high levels, sure, but are they the highest levels? Wouldn't POTUS be the highest level--POTUS and closest advisers, but we all know where the buck stops.
There's another example, so, when General Flynn did have this phone call with the Russian ambassador, I talked with Flynn before he had the call and I talked with him right after he had the call. He characterized to me what the call was about--that's what I told the FBI. And, yet, here's something that was very-- the fact that it-- I didn't think it was a big problem, and at the time the Intelligence Community leaked the phone call to the press. *I* never saw the transcript! I doubt if Flynn ever saw the transcript. The only person who saw the transcript was David Ignatius!
With DoJ just now having dropped the Flynn prosecution, Powell will still want those records, but in the context of a civil suit. With dismissal of the prosecution she'll no longer be able to pursue discovery in that case. I'm not sure how that will play out. It's possible that Covington's insurance--and maybe the law firm itself--will simply agree to whatever Flynn demands, to avoid discovery. Then again, John Durham may want those records.