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The Robert Mueller Investigation

Hugo Stiglitz

By Hugo Stiglitz
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Goredho
Goredho

Just to make sure I have the alternative facts straight...  Our government -- but I'm guessing only the deep state part of it --- is now guilty of torturing a poor, naive Russian exchange student who

Incredulity
Incredulity

liberals suddenly being terrified of Russia and manic for election integrity is just pure comedy gold.

Chooky
Chooky

I don't believe for a moment that any of this is entertaining to you.  I think it gives you a bit of anxiety knowing that your best weapon against a group who you despise is a bumbling fraud as a busi

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atomheartbevo

atomheartbevo 90665

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1 minute ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

That damage control PR firm he hired a year ago must have been money well spent.

Or he knows that Trump would fire Rosenstein the moment Kush is brought into things, immediately followed by his firing   

Or Kush is spilling as many beans as he can.  

Kush isn’t getting touched until the investigation is nearing the end, at a point where Trump can’t do much harm (because everything is before the courts).  

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yaqdum

yaqdum 182

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9 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

Yeah, anyone in counterintelligence has a natural tendency towards paranoia.

yeah, but the thing about paranoia is that it morphs at some point into good sense.  kinda like one man's rut is another man's groove.

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Hugo Stiglitz

Hugo Stiglitz 23367

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40 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Or he knows that Trump would fire Rosenstein the moment Kush is brought into things, immediately followed by his firing   

Or Kush is spilling as many beans as he can.  

Kush isn’t getting touched until the investigation is nearing the end, at a point where Trump can’t do much harm (because everything is before the courts).  

That reminds me, Kushner was the one pushing Trump to fire Comey.  

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DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt

DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301

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55 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

The most remarkable thing to me in the Mueller investigation is how Jared Kushner has managed to fly under the radar throughout all this.  Kushner is in the middle of almost everyone of these tentacles. 

Digital operation with Cambridge Analytica 

treason meeting in Trump tower 

secret Kremlin backchannel 

dirty Russian money 

Kushner Kushner Kushner

 

That damage control PR firm he hired a year ago must have been money well spent.

what if he's the mole?

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Hugo Stiglitz

Hugo Stiglitz 23367

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1 minute ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

what if he's the mole?

I’ve been saying for over a year Kushner would make a decent double agent for our side because he has all those international financial crime connections, government protection, and he never says a fucking word publicly.

But then Anastasis mocks me for being a crackpot conspiracy theorist. 

For real though, Kushner is absolutely a squealer. 

Mueller’s team briefly met with Kushner the week before Flynn plead guilty over a year ago. 

Who knows where Kushner ends up in all this? 

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triplehorn

triplehorn 2664

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41 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

I’ve been saying for over a year Kushner would make a decent double agent for our side...and he never says a fucking word publicly.

Check out his actual speaking voice and you’ll understand why.  

You see this tall guy in ray-bans and sleek suits with a rude wife on his arm but then he opens his mouth and out comes the sound of a listless cartoon wimp. The disconnect is jarring.  I’m convinced him not talking publicly is to craft an image and minimize ridicule.

i don’t think he skates either.

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Hugo Stiglitz

Hugo Stiglitz 23367

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20 minutes ago, triplehorn said:

Check out his actual speaking voice and you’ll understand why.  

He doesn’t just not speak. He doesn’t do social media like Don Jr. or Ivanka.  He doesn’t release written statements either. His silence is clearly strategic and not about embarrassment. 

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Asithappens

Asithappens 978

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Just now, Hugo Stiglitz said:

He doesn’t just not speak. He doesn’t do social media like Don Jr. or Ivanka.  He doesn’t release written statements either. His silence is clearly strategic and not about embarrassment. 

He's a moron and he knows it and keeps his mouth shut?

If so, that makes him the smartest of the bunch.

Yeah, no.

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triplehorn

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I really like former Asst Dir FBI Counterintelligence, Frank Figliuzzi, and what commentary he offers, especially re stuff squarely in his wheelhouse.

check this from Hill Reporter:

“Last night, the Mueller investigation chugged along as the FBI released Michael Flynn’s sentencing memo. The report, however, was heavily redacted, leading many to speculate about the contents inside.

MSNBC’s Morning Joe called on Frank Figluzzi to come in and help explain the memo. Figluzzi was formerly an Assistant Director for Counterintelligence at the FBI and is familiar with Robert Mueller’s methods.

He began the segment by explaining that the extensive redactions meant that the info inside was sensitive. After stating that redactions are out of character for Mueller, Figluzzi said, “We saw lots of redaction. You do that in the FBI either when you have classified information or you are at such a sensitivity level that you cannot expose it.”

Figluzzi also felt the light sentence and amount of redactions meant the investigation was aiming for convictions at the highest levels. He continued, “I think, in fact, that underneath these redactions, if we were to lift these black magic marker points out, we would see people with the last name Trump or Kushner.”

Finally, Figluzzi ended the segment with a bombshell suggestion; Flynn may have worn a wire. He told the panel, “We see reference here to quick cooperation by Flynn. What does that mean? Did it happen in what we call the golden hour, where you could even wire somebody up and have him share communications in real time?”

—> Im imagining Flynn would have worn a wire between when Acting AG Sally Yates personally warned Trump about concerns Flynn was lying to the FBI (in his first week in office) and weeks later when Flynn finally stepped down.  Trump had full official notice that the FBI was on the case yet retained Flynn until it was untenable.  

You can’t get any more fair warning than that about revealing your state of mind when your true intentions could getting covertly scrutinized.

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 46192

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I know that's a joke, but let's say that really happened.  There were so many people caught up that it would result in a Pelosi presidency.  What would happen?  Would Congress refuse to act?  If they did would there be actual civil war?  I don't think the public could handle it.  

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Blotto

Blotto 24042

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10 hours ago, kevwun said:

The NRA may cease to exist after the Mueller report is released.  How many gun manufacturers are going to give money to an organization that committed some light treason?  They are going to be toxic and some of the their higher ups may be in prison.

 

10 hours ago, Post Oak said:

You're giving these people way too much credit.  Unfortunately. 

The NRA may have to fold, but the gun lobby is worth big bucks, so some other organization will be born that will easily vacuum up that $. Billy Bob Sisterfucker isnt going to stop believing it's his god given right to possess military grade weaponry. Hopefully whatever replaces the NRA wont embrace treason as a core pillar of its philosophy.

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Ted Lange

Ted Lange 16433

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8 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

I know that's a joke, but let's say that really happened.  There were so many people caught up that it would result in a Pelosi presidency.  What would happen?  Would Congress refuse to act?  If they did would there be actual civil war?  I don't think the public could handle it.  

Yes it was a joke, but so many people? It would only take Trump and Pence getting removed.  And why would Congress refuse to follow the constitution?

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Ghost of LL

Ghost of LL 15705

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23 minutes ago, Ted Lange said:

Yes it was a joke, but so many people? It would only take Trump and Pence getting removed.  And why would Congress refuse to follow the constitution?

Presidential succession is not in the Constitution.  It's set forth in the Presidential Succession Act of 1947.  But the Presidential Succession Act may be unconstitutional, because the Constitution only allows "Officers" to fall within the line of succession.  And everywhere else the Constitution talks about "Officers," it's talking about people who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate (i.e., members of the Executive Branch).  And that would be consistent with separation of powers.

So yeah--it would be a clusterfuck.  Pelosi would probably be sworn in, and Pompeo would have to file a quo warrento suit, which would have to be quickly decided by the Supreme Court.

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Tuco

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Yes, I believe SDNY is investigating Podesta.


For context...Manafort set up a US-based NGO that then hired Dem and Rep lobbying groups, including Podesta, to lobby for the pro-Russian Ukrainian government. The NGO made assurances it was not funded by foreign money, but it was unreasonable that anyone actually believed this. So they worked under the guise of plausible deniability, which normally would have been enough. But once this blew up, and Mueller starts investigating treason and shit, suddenly business as usual wasn’t going to work. Podesta has since closed shop, and I’m guessing didn’t play games with Mueller, so I’m guessing he’ll get a slap on the wrist and the Trumpsters will cry about biased prosecution.
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Hugo Stiglitz

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There’s about 300 pages of the Mueller report already written.  Just read the criminal information in all the indictments starting with the Internet Research Agency and ending with the Cohen criminal information.

Then read the Dossier. 

Mind blowing how it’s all starting to come together.

Corgressional Republicans trying to run interference...Mueller=Gumby

gumby-reject.gif

Edited by Hugo Stiglitz
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Tuco

Tuco 5094

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So there’s now a video from July 2015 of a Trump speech in Vegas in which Maria Butina of all people is able to have her question answered about his policies on Russia and sanctions. His answer is what you would expect.

It’s been out there for a while. When everything gets exposed, I think there will be relatively few questions on “what” happened, but the “how bad” might be debatable. Butina operated in plain site, and she was obviously connected. She wrote an article for the Center for National Interest, a think-tank which Richard Burt serves on the executive board. Burt was a paid lobbyist for Gazprom and attended Sessions’ foreign policy dinners. The Center fo NI hosted the Mayflower dinner/speech. None of that is in question. But the “how bad” may get murky, in comparison to how lobbyists normally operate.
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SmokeyTheBear

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1 hour ago, Tuco said:


It’s been out there for a while. When everything gets exposed, I think there will be relatively few questions on “what” happened, but the “how bad” might be debatable. Butina operated in plain site, and she was obviously connected. She wrote an article for the Center for National Interest, a think-tank which Richard Burt serves on the executive board. Burt was a paid lobbyist for Gazprom and attended Sessions’ foreign policy dinners. The Center fo NI hosted the Mayflower dinner/speech. None of that is in question. But the “how bad” may get murky, in comparison to how lobbyists normally operate.

I'll add, "how cognitively involved marks were" is going to be a tight rope people walk. Some of these people might have been unwitting accomplices and will argue that to get out of scrutiny. 

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atomheartbevo

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From above, keep in mind this is a major Fox News personality saying this, so I’d say it was definite.  He could have Donnie Jr’s girlfriend on the phone within 5 minutes to verify it, assuming that she and Donnie Jr weren’t the ones who told him.

https://www.mediaite.com/online/judge-napolitano-i-expect-donald-trump-jr-to-be-indicted/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

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Fox News’ Judge Andrew Napolitano thinks things aren’t looking that great for Donald Trump Jr.

Napolitano joined Mediaite founder and ABC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams on his SiriusXM show today to discuss the big news from the Michael Flynn sentencing memo last night, in which it’s revealed that the former national security adviser has provided “substantial assistance” to the special counsel’s office and in other investigations.

Napolitano––who hosts the new Fox Nation program Liberty File––said it’s a “huge deal” and noted that Flynn has been cooperating with Mueller’s office for quite a while now. He brought up the possibility of a connection between the Trump investigations and the Deutsche Bank raid, before saying “the President himself should be extremely uncomfortable about this.”

Abrams asked if he expects anyone in the President’s inner circle is going to get indicted.

“Yes,” Napolitano said. “I don’t know who, but I do know that Donald Jr. has told friends he expects to be indicted.”

“Do you expect he’d be indicted?” Abrams asked.

“Yes,” Napolitano answered.

He’s less sure about Jared Kushner, but he thinks Jerome Corsi is probably going to be indicted too.

You can listen above, via The Dan Abrams Show.

 

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Chooky

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3 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

From above, keep in mind this is a major Fox News personality saying this, so I’d say it was definite.  He could have Donnie Jr’s girlfriend on the phone within 5 minutes to verify it, assuming that she and Donnie Jr weren’t the ones who told him.

https://www.mediaite.com/online/judge-napolitano-i-expect-donald-trump-jr-to-be-indicted/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

 

Later on Fox News that night:  "Is the caravan carrying the plague?"  "Are raccoons turning feminist?"

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Francisco 2.0

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https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/12/trump-white-house-has-no-plan-counter-mueller-report/577417/

 

Quote

Nobody knows how the White House plans to respond to the Mueller report—including the people who work at the White House.

The special counsel is reportedly nearing the end of his probe. Sentencing memos are dropping. Plea deals are being struck. The president’s legal team expects a response to his written interview “soon.”

When the report will hit is the question. That it will hit, and that it will contain at least some new problems for President Donald Trump and those close to him—especially as House Democrats take the majority—seem certain.

Quote

But while most organizations, political or otherwise, might take the time to prepare for this kind of slow-moving train, the Trump White House is all but winging it. According to a half-dozen current and former White House officials, the administration has no plans in place for responding to the special counsel’s findings—save for expecting a Twitter spree.

The one thing they do know, Rudy Giuliani told me, is that they’re going to fight.

If Robert Mueller’s team tries to subpoena the president, “we’re ready to resist that,” Trump’s attorney said.

 

Quote

Giuliani said it’s been difficult in the past few months to even consider drafting response plans, or devote time to the “counter-report” he claimed they were working on this summer as he and Trump confronted Mueller’s written questions about the 2016 campaign.  Answering those questions was a nightmare,” he told me. “It took him about three weeks to do what would normally take two days.”

Spoiler

There are numerous other reasons no response plan has been produced, White House sources said, including the futility of crafting a strategy that Trump will likely ignore anyway. There have also been few frank conversations within the White House about the potential costs of Mueller’s findings, which could include impeachment of the president or the incrimination of his inner circle. Those close to Trump have either doubled down on the “witch hunt” narrative, they said—refusing to entertain the possibility of wrongdoing—or decided to focus on other issues entirely. Former Press Secretary Sean Spicer has even taken to treating the probe like a game: On Wednesday he tweeted a (quickly deleted) link where followers could place bets on “how many tweets containing #mueller” the president will send “before the investigation is up.”

Attempting to plan “would mean you would have to have an honest conversation about what might be coming,” a former senior White House official, who requested anonymity to speak freely, told me.

The lack of planning for potential outcomes of one of the highest-stakes investigations of the past two years illuminates many of the key operating principles of this White House—a follow-the-leader approach, a frequent resort to denial, and a staff constantly in flux. Many of those tactics have allowed Trump to maintain favor with his base, but Mueller’s report will represent the biggest test yet of how they fare against legal, rather than political, challenges. And that test was likely sharpened on Tuesday night, when Mueller revealed in a court filing that former National-Security Adviser Michael Flynn had cooperated extensively with his investigation.

It’s not that White House officials are altogether unwilling to confront the topic. But many current and former White House staffers I spoke to stressed the problem that has plagued them since the beginning of Trump’s presidency: making plans and sticking to them when the “communicator in chief” will, inevitably, prefer his own approach.

“We would always put together plans with the knowledge that he wouldn’t use them or they’d go off the rails,” one recently departed official told me. “And at this point, with Mueller, they’ve decided they’re not even going to do that.”

“It’s like, ‘Jesus, take the wheel,’” the source added, “but scarier.”

Nevertheless, the thinking is that it’s “safer to follow potus’s lead,” the former senior official said. This has allowed staffers to “focus on other pressing matters,” the official allowed, “but leaves you naked when it comes to the final scene of this play.”

Giuliani initially pushed back on the prediction that Trump would take center stage after the report drops. “I don’t think following his lead is the right thing. He’s the client,” he told me. “The more controlled a person is, the more intelligent they are, the more they can make the decision. But he’s just like every other client. He’s not more … you know, controlled than any other client. In fact, he’s a little less.”

For Giuliani, letting Trump guide the response post-report may not be ideal, but “I don’t think there’s anyone in the world that can stop Donald Trump from tweeting,” he acknowledged. “I’ve tried.”

The dearth of communication about the probe has left the president’s top lieutenants on Capitol Hill anxious about the fallout, according to multiple congressional GOP sources. “We haven’t heard from the White House at all on this. You’d think there’d be more of an effort to have a coordinated response,” one senior Republican aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to damage the aide’s relationship with the White House, told me. “Members want to help, but can’t if they’re not getting any information.”

There was the sheer problem of finding time—Giuliani recalled one instance when they were working on the list and Chief of Staff John Kelly broke in to tell Trump about the migrant caravan, which grabbed the president’s attention immediately. And there was the specificity of the questions themselves: “He’s got a great memory,” Giuliani said. “However, basically we were answering questions about 2016, the busiest year of his life. It’s a real job to remember.”

The president has also devoted much of his energy to following Paul Manafort’s case rather than prepping for the full report. “The thing that upsets potus the most is the treatment of Manafort,” Giuliani said. When Trump learned that the former campaign chairman was in solitary confinement, Giuliani said, “he said to me, ‘Don’t they realize we’re America?’”

Throughout it all, West Wing officials have been hamstrung by a vacant White House counsel’s office. In October, Trump appointed Pat Cipollone to replace Don McGahn for the top post. But according to Politico, a “longer-than-expected security clearance process” has prevented Cipollone from taking over and building out his team over the past two months, a frustrating situation as the Mueller report nears and House Democrats prepare their oversight demands. Yet even with McGahn, who focused the bulk of his tenure on shuttling through Trump’s judicial picks, prepping for the Mueller probe was not top of mind.

The Trump team’s strategy in advance of the Mueller report is a far cry, for instance, from how the Clinton White House prepped for the Starr Report. “I’m not trying to argue retroactively that we were geniuses,” former Clinton Press Secretary Joe Lockhart told me. “But our strategy was very clear: We were never going to have the president talk about the investigation, ever. He was never going to portray himself as a victim, that he was being treated unfairly, even though, yes, he thought that privately.”

Lockhart said the team focused extensively on a counter-report so that it could deliver a robust rebuttal immediately. “We wanted people to look at the reports side by side, as a he-said-she-said, instead of have just one bombshell, unrefuted report.”

Yet Lockhart and a former George W. Bush communications official, who asked for anonymity to speak freely, both suggested that the Trump White House may struggle more with a variable that they, in their respective administrations, didn’t: honesty. “We would’ve been able to make some set of contingency plans,” the former Bush official told me, “because there at least would have been a circle of people who knew what was possibly coming.”

“If there’s no sense in the White House and legal team of what really happened [during the election],” Lockhart echoed, “you have to have maximum flexibility in your response.”

Perhaps, he suggested, leaving it to Trump—and his Twitter feed—is the best way to accomplish that.

And for now Trump’s allies, even those caught up in the investigation themselves, are fine with that. With this president, there’s “not really” a need for a plan, Roger Stone told me. “Trump holds all the cards.”

Asked whether the White House had a plan in place for when Mueller closes in, the spokesman Hogan Gidley declined to comment.

 

 

 

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BrickHorn

BrickHorn 18447

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2 minutes ago, Chooky said:

"Does Elizabeth Warren have a penis?  Up next is Twitter user @ElizabethWarrenHasPenis to tell us more."

“An activist 9th Circuit judge orders your daughter to use the same bathroom as transgender Elizabeth Warren. Is this a possible break in the Seth Rich murder case?”

 

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