Monday, December 18, 2017

Here is the official memo regarding the Trump Transition team records:

Sorry to not rely on opinions here: But this objectively explains the legal status of the transition team records based on Transition Team statute. As stated in the memo (and highlighted):

  • Certain portions of the records are considered Private. 
  • Certain portions of the records would be considered Federal Records. 

This suggests that under the current record keeping statutes, that the GSA did not have blanket authority to simply turn over everything. The information should have been separated between what was considered private materials, and what would be considered Federal documents.

___________________________

AC 09.2017


November 16, 2016

MEMORANDUM TO FEDERAL AGENCY RECORDS OFFICERS: Guidance Relating to President-Elect Transition Team Materials

The President-elect’s Transition Team (PETT) represents the President-elect during the 2016-2017 Presidential transition. The materials that PETT members create or receive are not Federal or Presidential records, but are considered private materials.  However, transition briefing materials created by a Federal agency and agency communications with the PETT are Federal records and must be managed in accordance with an approved agency records schedule.

If a PETT member is appointed to an agency position as part of the new Administration, the status of PETT materials that the individual brings to the agency may change at that time.  If PETT materials are incorporated as agency working files, they become records under either the Federal Records Act (FRA), for individuals working at Federal agencies, or the Presidential Records Act (PRA), for individuals working in PRA creating entities of the Executive Office of the President.  If the PETT materials are kept separate from Federal agency files or from files of a PRA entity, then they remain private materials.

If you have any questions concerning this guidance, please contact the  appraisal archivist assigned to work with your agency.

LAURENCE BREWER
Chief Records Officer
for the U.S. Government

132 comments:

wphamilton said...

Something tells me that this Memorandum doesn't mean what you think it means.

Trump's transition team was informed that using the GSA devices meant that communications would be available to Law Enforcement operations. This memo does not countermand that.

Commonsense said...

It definitely doesn't mean what you think it means WP. Give it up. Obstinance is not a successful argument.

wphamilton said...

What I think it means, AND the GSA, AND the special counsel.

You guys are parroting the Trump lawyer, a dubious peg to hang your hat on.

"Both the GSA and special counsel said they carried out the process as required by law.

In a Saturday interview with BuzzFeed, Loewentritt, a career GSA employee, explained that all transition staff using GSA devices had to sign agreements

asserting that “no expectation of privacy can be assumed.” They were explicitly warned, Loewentritt said, that information “would not be held back in any law enforcement” investigation.

Loewentritt also denied Langhofer’s claim that former GSA general counsel Richard Beckler, who died in September, promised the Trump transition’s legal team that they would be told of any requests made to the agency for document production.

Special counsel spokesman Peter Carr said in a statement that Mueller did not require a subpoena or warrant to obtain the documents."

wphamilton said...

Folks this complaint is realistically laughable, not only because it's legally unfounded but the way it's taken up with such alacrity.

C.H. Truth said...

WP...

The letter stands by itself. It is also based on specific transition team statutes. If the law states that certain Transition Team correspondences are considered private materials, then that is the law.

I am curious WP...

Is your argument really that if the GSA told the Trump campaign that they have no intention of actually following the law in this case (and then had them "sign something")... that the GSA is then not obligated to follow the law?

James said...

meanwhile,

FBI Warned Trump About Russian Infiltration

In the weeks after he became the Republican nominee, Donald Trump was warned that foreign adversaries, including Russia, would likely try to spy on and infiltrate his campaign, NBC News reports.

“The warning came in the form of a high-level counterintelligence briefing by senior FBI officials, the officials said. A similar briefing was given to Hillary Clinton, they added. They said the briefings, which are commonly provided to presidential nominees, were designed to educate the candidates and their top aides about potential threats from foreign spies.

“The candidates were urged to alert the FBI about any suspicious overtures to their campaigns.”

C.H. Truth said...

Sure James...

They offered that to both campaigns.

Only one was dumb enough to be hacked.

If Clinton's team heeded the warnings like the Trump team did, then their emails would not have ended up on Wikileaks.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Even if they were considered private, a grand jury, a federal judge and the department of justice, .can legally obtained these documents.

Commonsense said...

They would have to obtain a warrant and justify to a judge why it was necessary.

Mueller skipped that part.

C.H. Truth said...

Even if they were considered private, a grand jury, a federal judge and the department of justice, .can legally obtained these documents.

Exactly my point Roger.

First, the GSA should have separated (as they were asked to do - and required by law) out those records that would have been considered private, and those that would have been considered Federal records.

They could have then legally turned over any of the Federal records to Mueller and probably not been required to tell the Trump transition team (although that seems a bit underhanded).

Mueller could have then gone to the Trump transition team (who seemed more than willing to cooperate) and asked for those that would be considered private documents... and possibly (with due cause) gotten a subpoena for them if they refused.


The question I would ask you Roger... is why such an objective, fair minded prosecutor, who is in the business of providing the broad public with an independent summary of events that everyone could feel comfortable accepting... decide to muscle his way to everything and not tell the Trump team that he had that information?


Do you not see how this "feels" like a process crime trap. That they started interviewing people with the sole intent to get them to say something under oath that was different from what they found in these emails?

wphamilton said...

s your argument really that if the GSA told the Trump campaign that they have no intention of actually following the law in this case

Obviously not, since I'm telling you that they did follow the law, and you're simply repeating the bogus complaint from the Trump lawyer trying to impugn evidence in public opinion.

Is it really your position that anything that is "not Federal or Presidential records" requires a warrant? I'm not sure, but I doubt that even very many lawmen would believe that.

wphamilton said...

laymen, that is. "lawmen" (typo) is probably confusing. Even people with a very casual understanding of the law on these matters, could likely see that it's a bogus argument. Give it up, wait for the next talking point from the Trump defense team, because this one has no legs.

C.H. Truth said...

Obviously not, since I'm telling you that they did follow the law, and you're simply repeating the bogus complaint from the Trump lawyer trying to impugn evidence in public opinion.

Actually I am providing you with the letter (based on the statute) from the Chief Records Officer.

The legal guidance sent out specifically states that some of the records will be considered private materials, and some are going to be public records.


You can keep up with the "head in the sand" argument... and pretend that I didn't post the legal guidance letter from the Chief Records Officer if you want.

But it only makes you look stupid.

C.H. Truth said...

WP...

There would have been a time when "you" would have been the one to find the statutes regarding the transition team, and found the letter of instruction as to how to keep those records.

Back when you made tangible factual logical arguments.

Or perhaps you did, but realized that they didn't support your argument?

C.H. Truth said...

Is it really your position that anything that is "not Federal or Presidential records" requires a warrant?

If something is considered to be "private material" to a particular group or an individual (and the Presidential Transition Team guidelines declare portions of this information to be "private material").

Then yes, if a prosecutor wants that material they have to either get that individual to agree to give it to them, or they need a subpoena to get it.

Law enforcement cannot simply decide to take "private material" just because they might have access to it.

wphamilton said...

You want to find and post that legal definition of "private material" that you're relying on?

You did provide a "letter (based on the statute) from the Chief Records Officer". But the letter you provided does not support your (eccentric) legal argument. It's doesn't make me "look stupid" - legal experts and the GSA itself agrees with me. Trump's lawyer agrees with you. The reader may choose who "looks stupid".

wphamilton said...

I'll give you a hint. The primary focus of that memo has to do with the handling of that information with respect to statutes related to government information. FOIA requests, retention, etc. What it is NOT, is a definition of the legal access that a Law Enforcement inquiry may have.

Anonymous said...

Blogger Roger Amick said...

Even if they were considered private, a grand jury, a federal judge and the department of justice, .can legally obtained these documents.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


that's the fucking point, genius.

sharp as a fucking billiard ball, you are.

Anonymous said...

What it is NOT, is a definition of the legal access that a Law Enforcement inquiry may have.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


sweet!

mueller and his minions get to dispense with the 4th amendment on a whim, tell no one, and do whatever they please.

warrants? we don't need no stinkin' warrants.

C.H. Truth said...

So far WP...

You haven't quoted a single person who has even acknowledged that there are separate statutes that govern the retention of Transition team communications. When you find one that acknowledges those separate statutes, and still agrees that the GSA and Special Counsel were legally correct... then I will take notice.

In the meantime...

I provide documentation from objective government officials that explained the procedure long before there was an issue with the GSA or Special Counsel. It would be impossible for this official to be providing us with a "partisan" description of the procedures governing this... back in Nov of 2016.

You reply with the responses from.... the GSA and Special Counsel,... as if they otherwise are not going to try to justify their actions.


A Simple Description. I quote statutes and objective officials. You quote the response from the accused.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

The Emails will all from Government computers, As you sign on it states that ANYTHING is property of the United States Government.

Anonymous said...

Blogger Roger Amick said...
The Emails will all from Government computers, As you sign on it states that ANYTHING is property of the United States Government.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


well, in that case comey is in big trouble. bigger than any piss-ant process crime mueller has cobbled together so far. his trump memo was written on a government computer.



Coldheartedtruth Teller said...


The question I would ask you Roger... is why such an objective, fair minded prosecutor, who is in the business of providing the broad public with an independent summary of events that everyone could feel comfortable accepting... decide to muscle his way to everything and not tell the Trump team that he had that information?

Unless there is a legal requirement to inform the President, he did not need to inform him. And to (muscle) his way to everything, and tell the Trump team, the information, there is no reason to inform him. If you don't like it, or if the Dictator errr.. President likes it, so what? He has no reason to do that.

C.H. Truth said...

Roger

Under the law, any "specific" statute supersedes a "generic" statute.

So if there is a "specific" statute regarding the transition team communication, it would take precedent over any "general" statutes regarding government communication.

The reason (if you read the statutes) is that the transition team is "not" considered a Government agency, and therefor the team itself is not covered by the same laws as other Government acencies. According to the statutes (and the guidance from the Records office), only the correspondence between the transition team and other agencies are considered Government property. The rest (very specifically) is considered "private materials".

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Would someone translate this into English.

well, in that case comey is in big trouble. bigger than any piss-ant process crime mueller has cobbled together so far. his trump memo was written on a government computer.

Mueller is not a partisan, he's just investigator. He will find the truth no matter where it takes him.


Anonymous said...

Unless there is a legal requirement to inform the President, he did not need to inform him. And to (muscle) his way to everything, and tell the Trump team, the information, there is no reason to inform him. If you don't like it, or if the Dictator errr.. President likes it, so what? He has no reason to do that.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


huh?

C.H. Truth said...

Moreover, Roger...

It appears that the Mueller team understood this (at least according to the claims of the Trump attorneys). The timing suggests that they did, in fact, ask for this material after the General Counsel ended up in the Hospital. Why wouldn't they have just asked for and received this information up front (if indeed they were entitled to it). Why did they otherwise wait? It seems more than a bit "fishy" that they did so once the General Counsel was no longer available.


Of course, it's really sort of a moot point. Mueller has the information and you can't simply "unknow" it. But it does cause problems if Mueller decides to charge someone with something that had to do with anything within the transition.

For example:

Anyone caught up in any "process crimes" based on a difference between what they testified to and what these communications claim (if there are any process crimes) would be fought in court over the legality of the information. Even if a Judge allowed the use of it, there is more than enough incentive (and political cover) for Trump to commune or pardon anyone Mueller wants to hassle over the post transition activities.

In fact, this probably provides Trump with the political cover to pardon Flynn, it it turns out that any of the information used against him was part of the transition team communications.

It was a bone head move by Mueller, no matter how you cut it.

Anonymous said...

Mueller is not a partisan, he's just investigator.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

oh so THAT'S why he has more clinton fan boi's on his team than chelsea had in her wedding party.

because he's so impartial and non-partisan.

tell us again why he broke the law to get trumps' transition team emails?

also, why was the FBI allowed to use the golden pee pee dossier to get a FISA warrant to spy on trump? THAT issue remains unresolved.

and finally... again, the memo that comey wrote ON HIS GOVERNMENT COMPUTER that summarized his meeting with trump... he gave this memo to a law school prof buddy. clearly government property and classified by default. mr. comey remains not under indictment.

so, after a fucking year of the mueller circle jerk we have manafort wearing an ankle bracelet in florida on UNRELATED charges, and we have flynn in trouble for a piss ant process crime.




Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

CH

If there is no connection or collusion with the Trump campaign, why is the President fighting this investigation with all his power, short of firing him yet? If he's innocent, then so what? Or he's using it to keep his base happy?

The investigation was given the task to see if the Russian government got involved in altering the outcome of the election, they want it to go. Into the Trump campaign or not. Muller is not partisan, no matter what Fox "News" says.

Anonymous said...

Mueller has the information and you can't simply "unknow" it. But it does cause problems if Mueller decides to charge someone with something that had to do with anything within the transition.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

i don't see how mueller charges anyone for anything derived from those ill-gotten emails.

any non-0linsky appointed judge throws that out of court in a heartbeat, no/


Anonymous said...

If there is no connection or collusion with the Trump campaign, why is the President fighting this investigation with all his power, short of firing him yet? If he's innocent, then so what? Or he's using it to keep his base happy?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


when you stand accused of something, especially something you insist you did not do, you fight the charges/accusations, genius.

trump doesn't need to fire mueller. mueller is doing a fine job of beclowning himself.

if mueller really wanted to regain some lost credibility he'd have comey in handcuffs.

this is a circle jerk and mueller is the pivot man.


Coldheartedtruth Teller said...


tell us again why he broke the law to get trumps' transition team emails?

The core if your hate filled rant, is a lie. A lie lie lie, Lie.

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000160-616c-dcd4-a96b-756de2a90000

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

any non-0linsky appointed judge throws that out of court in a heartbeat, no/

You have the brain of a cricket.

C.H. Truth said...

If there is no connection or collusion with the Trump campaign, why is the President fighting this investigation with all his power, short of firing him yet? If he's innocent, then so what? Or he's using it to keep his base happy?

So is that why you keep denying that you are still a drunk?

Because you are actually guilty of being a drunk?


But factually, your entire statement is B.S. Trump has never threatened to fire Mueller, the Trump team has responded to every request made of them, they have remained patient through all of this...

In spite of the fact that we are now 19 months into four separate investigations and not a one has uncovered any evidence that Trump or his team "colluded" with the Russians.

At what point, you you personally become upset if you were accused day after day of doing something you didn't do, and day after day the media pretty much just "makes things up" and then retracts them after the damage is done?

commie said...

The funny thing is that anyone with a brain would not be using e-mails or text messages at all...Once written they are forever and become a real pain...I was disciplined for receiving an e-mail that contained the phrase "kill aa commie for christ" from a co worker.. A very valuable lesson....

wphamilton said...

You haven't quoted a single person who has even acknowledged that there are separate statutes that govern the retention of Transition team communications.

The memo in your blog post acknowledges the distinction.

Unless you want to claim that the transition team communications are government documents, there is no statute. Retention of documents is addressing ... government documents. I'm getting the feeling that you're a little lost about all of this.

wphamilton said...

A Simple Description. I quote statutes and objective officials.

You haven't quoted any statutes.

You haven't quoted any officials regarding FBI access to these emails.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

His lawyers are not taking them to court.

"I hope you can find the 30,000 emails the FBI can't find."

So he wanted the Russians and WikiLeak to steal the email.

C.H. Truth said...

Roger...

Thanks for bringing that up.


Come back to me when Trump deletes 30,000 emails while being investigated, or wipes a server clean after it was subpoenaed by the FBI, or refuses to answer questions under oath. Then you can talk to me about how Trump isn't cooperating with an investigation.


Your hypocrisy is staggering.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

A ‘coup in America?’ Fox News escalates anti-Mueller rhetoric.

President Trump and his supporters at Fox News have used many words to describe the investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into the possible collusion between his campaign and Russian operatives to influence the 2016 presidential election.

There’s Trump’s personal favorite: “witch hunt.” Fox News commentators have called the investigation “illegitimate” and “corrupt.” Sean Hannity charged earlier this month that Mueller has put the country “on the brink of becoming a banana republic.”

I have to wonder how the Host would react if the President would declare martial law because the enemies of the President do not have the right to speak against the President who was duly elected and sworn into office of the President of the United States of America on January 20, 2017. Since the first day they accused me of lying about the number of the people at my inauguration and they have not stopped. We must restore order to the country.

Anonymous said...

Sen. Susan Collins is BIGLY YES for the Tax Cut.

US Housing Index soars 5 points.

Anonymous said...

Is HB the last person on Mother Earth that still does NOT get the Trump joke on getting the Russians to find the deleted Hillary Emails?

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

This is another of your "assumptions" based on your opinion. I won't use the obscene description of it.

First, I don't believe the FBI is partisan.

Second, If Secretary Clinton had been subpoenaed. she would have been required to testify.

Third, if the FBI thought it was a crime, after their investigation there was reason to indict her.

C.H. Truth said...

Boy oh boy Roger...

It would help a little if Mueller behaved more like an objective investigator looking for the truth... and less like an anti-Trump partisan, bull in a china shop, with little regard to the optics of how he is going about things.


We are both old enough to remember how the Clinton administration dealt with Ken Starr. And he found 40 criminal acts, jailed 15 people, and didn't stoop to any "process" or "unrelated" crimes in the process.

How did you feel about Ken Starr back in the 90s, Rog?

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/12/18/a-coup-in-america-fox-news-escalates-anti-mueller-rhetoric/?utm_term=.767b7a5b68e2

Conservative commentators on Fox have compared the FBI to the KGB, the notorious Soviet-era spy organization that routinely employed torture and summary executions. Fox News legal commentator Greg Jarrett argued on a segment of “Hannity” earlier this month that Mueller “has been using the FBI as a political weapon. And the FBI has become America’s secret police.

“Secret surveillance, wiretapping, intimidation, harassment and threats. It’s like the old KGB that comes for you in the dark of the night banging through your door.”

Hannity assured viewers, “This is not hyperbole you are using here.”

Tom Fitton, president of the conservative organization Judicial Watch, made the same comparison on Fox News on Wednesday, saying, “Forget about shutting down Mr. Mueller. Do we need to shut down the FBI because it was turned into a KGB-type operation by the Obama administration?”

Apparently these strong words weren’t strong enough. Saturday night, Fox suggested that the Mueller probe might be “a coup in America.”

C.H. Truth said...

Second, If Secretary Clinton had been subpoenaed. she would have been required to testify.

Why wasn't she required to testify under oath, Roger?

She was the subject of the investigation. She had deleted 30,000 emails. Wiped a server clean. Lost about a half dozen different Blackberries.

Tell me... objectively... how can you honestly say that there was no reason for her to testify under oath?

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

CH

If there is no connection or collusion with the Trump campaign, why is the President fighting this investigation with all his power, short of firing him yet? If he's innocent, then so what?

Myballs said...

Because it's a bullshit investigation.

Clearly it's been compromised.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

If you were asked to testify under oath, when you are not under indictment, your lawyer would advise the client to refuse. It's a smart and legal move.

They don't have any evidence that laws were broken, and using her to perhaps get herself indicted, she would be stupid to testify. Now answer my question.

Tell me... objectively... how can you honestly say that there was no reason for her to testify under oath?

Loretta said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Muller files charges against Democrats and the hillary yes when?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Because it's a bullshit investigation.No, because we need to find out what and how the Russians did in our 2016 election.

Clearly it's been compromised. No he's not. He has run a tight ship, and if there was a problem member he was fired.

Myballs said...

You're a stupidass.

It was dems hacked, not gop.
It was dems who rigged the election, not gop
It was dems funding false reports, not gop
Its a gaggle of dems on Mueller's team not gop

He's investigating the wrong campaign

Anonymous said...

HB, Give us your best outcome to the mueller investigation.

Loretta said...

"Clearly it's been compromised."

Clearly, it wasn't compromised.

The collusion hole is drying up right before your very eyes.

You're just too stupid to know it.

Anonymous said...

Chris Mathews 7th accuser comes forward, what a scummy liberal.

PNC said...

Transition team materials in general are private. HOWEVER, the Trump transition team chose to distribute those materials internally via GSA servers. Anything on GSA servers is subject to access by law enforcement.

C.H.'s argument is on the same level as someone sharing their Java code, open source, on the internet and then trying to get copyrights after the fact.

Once again, your argument is invalid, and stupid.

But this is what desperation does to people.

PNC said...

If Trump's transition team dropped documents onto New York City from a plane, they would have no expectation of privacy, regardless of whether or not the documents were considered private before they airdropped them.

Likewise, if Trump's transition team stored data on GSA servers, they had no guarantee of protection from access by law enforcement, regardless of whether or not the documents were considered private before they used the GSA servers.

You forfeit any claim to privacy when you transmit information through a medium that is legally public record or subject to access by law enforcement.

PNC said...

In other news...

Trump's new "security strategy", while not an actual strategy at all, does finally get across what the Trump Doctrine really is. Unfortunately, it also makes it clear that the Trump Doctrine is neither rational nor good for America.

For all practical purposes, the Trump Doctrine holds that America has no allies. Everyone is out to get us, even our friends. This is a level of paranoia matched only by North Korea and Venezuela.

wphamilton said...

PNC I tried to explain that in the other thread, but counter-narrative is disregarded. He'd been confusing 4th Amendment arguments with privacy issues so I wrote:

Data protection laws governed by the fourth amendment apply to information about and concerning an individual. Period. Your company emails do not require a warrant if your employers are cooperating, even though you may have sent "private emails" on those systems. The same, for government emails systems. There is no 4th Amendment argument in this respect.

If you wanted instead to argue from a constitutionally guaranteed privacy basis, then you would need to show a reasonable "expectation of privacy". This is why credible legal experts have pointed out that Trump Transition were informed that using government email allowed Law Enforcement to examine the communications. Not for any 4th reasons, but because they have no reasonable expectation of privacy.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Well well, this is another good reason to continue this investigation, despite the beliefs that it's all just partisan b. s. First, it never was, and then there is this, from your least favorite 'fake News" source that does not want to have a coup to overturn the duly elected President. "
FBI warned Trump in 2016 Russians would try to infiltrate his campaign


WASHINGTON — In the weeks after he became the Republican nominee on July 19, 2016, Donald Trump was warned that foreign adversaries, including Russia, would probably try to spy on and infiltrate his campaign, according to multiple government officials familiar with the matter.

The warning came in the form of a high-level counterintelligence briefing by senior FBI officials, the officials said. A similar briefing was given to Hillary Clinton, they added. They said the briefings, which are commonly provided to presidential nominees, were designed to educate the candidates and their top aides about potential threats from foreign spies.

The Trump team had contacts with Russians throughout the campaign.

n May 2016, Trump Jr. met at a National Rifle Association dinner with a Russian central banker with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin who had previously contacted the campaign saying he wanted to pass on a message from the Russian president to Trump.

Also in May, Trump was told by campaign aide George Papadopoulos that he had connections with people who could facilitate a meeting between the candidate and Putin, according to a court filing. Papadopoulos had met with a London-based professor two weeks earlier who claimed to have connections to Russian officials, according to court documents.

In June 2016, Trump Jr. hosted a meeting in Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin, and a Russian-American lobbyist. Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner also sat in. An email to Trump Jr. setting up the meeting promised incriminating information about Clinton as part of a Russian government effort to help the Trump campaign.


It's unclear whether the FBI gave any other counterintelligence warnings to the Trump team before the election.

In September 2017, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked the FBI whether it ever briefed or warned Trump campaign officials about alleged attempts by the Russian government to infiltrate the campaign.

"The FBI has reportedly given `defensive briefings' during previous presidential campaigns to warn candidates and campaign staff of potential foreign influence and counterintelligence concerns," Grassley's office said in a statement. "Such warnings allow unwitting organizations and individuals to take defensive actions to protect themselves."

After Trump took office, The New York Times reported that the FBI warned Hope Hicks, Trump's communications director, about what they deemed suspicious emails from Russians.

Senior F.B.I. counterintelligence agents met with Hicks in the White House Situation Room at least twice, gave her the names of the Russians who had contacted her, and said that they were not who they claimed to be, The Times reported.

The Times said there is no evidence that Hicks did anything improper, but that intelligence officials became alarmed by introductory emails that she received from Russian government addresses in the weeks after Trump's election.
The bottom line. Whether or not there was "collusion" by the definition of the word. But the Russians and the Trump campaign and transition team and the President had contact with Russians who wee not just casual observers of the American election. Trump has something to hide, and he's doing anything, and has gotten all of you, to stand with him, because he knows how to use your hate of the MSM and the deep distrust of many government departments, that you believe are all partisan hacks. Most of them are decent honest Americans, not hate filled people.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Trummpism stage Four. Incurable, even a drink of W's bath water that he had by the gallons 12 years ago.

It was dems hacked, not gop.
It was dems who rigged the election, not gop
It was dems funding false reports, not gop
Its a gaggle of dems on Mueller's team not gop

He's investigating the wrong campaign

Anonymous said...

Lookin how deeply the left want it all to be so very true.

A true comedic tragedy.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Robert Karr
Spokesman to special prosecutor Robert Muller

When we have obtained emails i the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have secured either the account owner's consent or appropriate criminal process.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

The major reason for the outrage over the emails, is that there may be evidence that the transition members lied to the FBI interrogations.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

The Trump administration did not acknowledge that they received the alert on the Russians.

Anonymous said...

CA 4.9 percent unemployment a drag on the US Economy.

Lazy ass scum.

Anonymous said...

Trump team did not use "Bleach Bit" to wipe clean " like with a cloth" any hard drives. They did not take "hammers to mobile devises.

Anonymous said...

Senator Dimocrap DiFi, defended millionaires and billionAires on thier purchase of million dollar mansions. She want them to get unlimited tax brakes.

Anonymous said...

The bottom line. Whether or not there was "collusion" by the definition of the word. But the Russians and the Trump campaign and transition team and the President had contact with Russians who wee not just casual observers of the American election. Trump has something to hide, and he's doing anything, and has gotten all of you, to stand with him, because he knows how to use your hate of the MSM and the deep distrust of many government departments, that you believe are all partisan hacks. Most of them are decent honest Americans, not hate filled people.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


back on the sauce, eh alky?

what other excuse could there be for such an incoherent rant?


oh, and rog...

i disagree with fox news. the FBI is not like the KGB. they're more like the east german stasi in my opinion.

Anonymous said...




hey alky, you lied again:


"The assertion that HHS has 'banned words' is a complete mischaracterization of discussions regarding the budget formulation process," HHS spokesman Matt Lloyd told The Hill on Saturday.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/365268-hhs-pushes-back-on-report-is-blocking-cdc-from-using-words-like


oh and alky? we heard nary a peep out of you when 0linsky banned the words "islam" and "jihad" from official givernment documents.

Anonymous said...

Blogger Roger Amick said...
The Trump administration did not acknowledge that they received the alert on the Russians.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

you mean those anonymous sources never alerted trump?

well perhaps they should've identified themselves instead of remaining anonymous.



LOL.


alky, you fall for anything.



Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

In August of 2016 the Trump campaign was warned by the FBI that the Russians would try and infiltrate the election problem.

The Trump campaign ignored the warning and had multiple times where they had dozens or more contacts with various Russian entities.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...


i disagree with fox news. the FBI is not like the KGB. they're more like the east german stasi in my opinion.


Another reason why you can never be taken seriously.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

I want to see CH take down his ridiculous timer when Senator Al Franken retracts his resignation from the United States Senate.

Anonymous said...

Roger Amick said...
In August of 2016 the Trump campaign was warned by the FBI that the Russians would try and infiltrate the election problem.

The Trump campaign ignored the warning and had multiple times where they had dozens or more contacts with various Russian entities.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


uh huh.

trump also called bullshit on the democrats infamous golden pee pee dossier which comey presented to trump without properly vetting.

what we're seeing here alky is that when it comes to things both foreign and domestic, trump is almost always right while those advising him are almost always wrong.


btw, smooth move by 0linsky to appease the iranians by helping hezbollah run cocaine into the country. looks like he kept that old choom gang spirit alive. oh, and alky, please be careful when tongue bathing 0linsky's nutsack. your second hand liver might not be able to handle the effects of that cocaine residue.





Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

The Trump administration has not denied the NBC story of the FBI warning. There is irrefutable evidence that the story is correct.

It has been the policy of the FBI to give the candidate of the major parties secret information from the American intelligence services.

No one believes that the NBC story is incorrect. Except for the Fox News junkies who believe that the reports on the President is a Coup against the President, accept that the Trump campaign was warned by the FBI that the Russians were involved in an attempt to infiltrate the election of 2016.

Commonsense said...

I want to see CH take down his ridiculous timer when Senator Al Franken retracts his resignation from the United States Senate.

When Franken retracts his resignation it will be a permanent monument to the hypocrisy of the Democrats.

Anonymous said...

Blogger Roger Amick said...
I want to see CH take down his ridiculous timer when Senator Al Franken retracts his resignation from the United States Senate.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


better to leave it up to celebrate al's AND gillibrands epic hypocrisy.


hey alky, do you think my junior senator kirsten ever serviced the big dog? we have some anonymous sources here in NY that are alluding to that fact.

think we can get the ny times or the wapo to pick up the story? i mean it has all the hallmarks of something they'd report - conjecture, innuendo, anonymous sources, sex, palace intrigue, and absolutely no known basis in fact.

i mean, come on. that has to be worth a 10,000 word spread in the sunday edition at the very least, no?

Anonymous said...

No one believes that the NBC story is incorrect. Except for the Fox News junkies
_______________________________________________________________________________________



except for those of us who prefer our news from named sources with actual identities that can be presented as fact, not rumor.


btw alky, i see that nbc had to throw a $40,000 bone to some young lady accusing chris matthews of sexual harassment.

ain't that some shit?

it looks like 0linsky wasn't the only one giving ol' chrissy a thrill up his leg.










Commonsense said...

The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook
An ambitious U.S. task force targeting Hezbollah's billion-dollar criminal enterprise ran headlong into the White House's desire for a nuclear deal with Iran.


In its determination to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, the Obama administration derailed an ambitious law enforcement campaign targeting drug trafficking by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, even as it was funneling cocaine into the United States, according to a POLITICO investigation.

This is actual evidence Obama's collusion with the Iranians.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Hilarious and perhaps beyond belief that the author of this is mentally disabled.

"alky, please be careful when tongue bathing 0linsky's nutsack. your second hand liver might not be able to handle the effects of that cocaine residue."

Cocaine doesn't have long-term effects. It was approximately in 1984 that I used it. And because it was very expensive I ra rarely used it. I never did crystal meth.

In regards to my liver transplant at UCLA on June 2nd 2016 has been successful. My blood test results are right down the line every single one of them where they should be. Six months after the transplant surgery I am considered completely recovered.

My lovely wife and our family is a gift from God. So is the liver transplant. I will never dishonor the donor. I am living proof that organ donors save lives.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Iran Contra is alive and well!

Loretta said...

"I want to see CH take down his ridiculous timer when Senator Al Franken retracts his resignation from the United States Senate."

Send him a message on Facebook.

Loretta said...

No

One

Cares

Anonymous said...

Send him a message on Facebook.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


as emeril lagasse' would say - "BAM!"

hey alky, you better put some ice on that.

Loretta said...

"btw alky, i see that nbc had to throw a $40,000 bone to some young lady accusing chris matthews of sexual harassment"

Ewe.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

I had my biweekly blood test.

Every single result was in the normal range. Every single one. My transplant was at UCLA on June 2nd 2017. I had one "crisis " when my white blood cell numbers weren't right. So my immune system was weakened. But they changed my medications and it worked.

Many

Do

Care


Twit

Loretta said...

No

One

Cares

Creeper

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

I would tweet my support. If rrb tweeted @Alfranken he would get laughed at by hundreds.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Sorry folks but my family and friends and literally dozens more on Facebook.

Loretta said...

LOL.

THAT isn't true either.

You can't even get your Twitter followers to comment on the trash blog.

Commonsense said...

"btw alky, i see that nbc had to throw a $40,000 bone to some young lady accusing chris matthews of sexual harassment"
Ewe.


Apparently Obama wasn't the only one giving him tingles up his leg.

Anonymous said...

Blogger Roger Amick said...
Sorry folks but my family and friends and literally dozens more on Facebook.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


and exactly no one here, alky. that's the fucking point. it's also why i strongly suspect you have some serious self esteem issues.

no mentally healthy person combines constantly bragging about themselves with constantly informing complete strangers about their personal life, illnesses, personal failures like substance abuse and addiction, etc.

and to cap it all off you cyber stalk someone in the middle of the fucking night to the point they have to block your creeper ass on facebook?

you are fucked up on so many levels it's not funny.



Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

If I could have my way every congressperson who calls Social Security an "entitlement" would have their tongue ripped out!

Anonymous said...

Every single result was in the normal range. Every single one.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


good for you, alky.

so were mine. with the liver God gave me.

embrace the suck of your own personal failures.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Coming from a racist rodent bastard is just stupid because he's not mentally stable or worse.

I just have to laugh.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Inherited condition isn't a personal failure.

I am not a failure by any measure.

Loretta said...

"you are fucked up on so many levels it's not funny."

I disagree.

It's funny as hell.

Anonymous said...

Blogger Roger Amick said...
If I could have my way every congressperson who calls Social Security an "entitlement" would have their tongue ripped out!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


so what you're saying is that the truth hurts you so much, you feel the need to inflict harm on those that speak it.

typical liberal.

social security IS an entitlement, alky. and it's basically welfare. and it's most certainly a fucking ponzi scheme. AND it's arguably our most egregious example of liberals forcefully addicting our citizens to government, the great society not withstanding.





commie said...

Loretta said...
"btw alky, i see that abc had to throw a $40,000 bone to some young lady

Jealous loretta that no one ever bothered to harass you? There is probably a good reason.....LOLOLOL Maybe you should have worked at state TV, you would have fit right in.

Loretta said...

"Inherited condition isn't a personal failure."

Alcoholism sure as hell IS a personal failure of gigantic proportions.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

The numbers are correct because of proper medications and behavior.

Not a failure.

Loretta said...

Roger would be fucked without his monthly entitlement checks.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Alcoholism is a disease. The only cure is to successfully quit consuming alcohol.

Successfully ceasing to drink is not a failure by any measure.

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Social Security is a low percentage of my retirement income for life.

Loretta said...

"so what you're saying is that the truth hurts you so much, you feel the need to inflict harm on those that speak it."

Sounded like a threat to me.

Appears the drunken creeper is no different than the piece of shit who shot Scalise.

caliphate4vr said...

It’s not a disease that’s horseshit

Cancer patients can’t decide to quit cancer

Loretta said...

A self-inflicted disease.

Anonymous said...

Blogger Roger Amick said...
Social Security is a low percentage of my retirement income for life.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


and that's the PROBLEM, genius.

the ROI on SS is so BAD, it's a low percentage of EVERYONE'S income for life.

commie said...

Once again the trump regime's hypocrisy is just astounding....Sure, he's a whole lot worse off with this gem added secretly to the bill behind closed doors...yep, you all are just tools of trump....LOLOL

To understand the cynicism and mendacity underlying the Republican tax bill, look no further than a provision that would benefit President Trump and other property tycoons that is in the final legislation Congress is expected to vote on this week.

The provision would allow people who make money from real estate to take a 20 percent deduction on income they earn through limited liability companies, partnerships and other so-called pass-through entities that do not pay the corporate tax. The beneficiaries would also include members of Congress like Senator Bob Corker, who last week decided he would vote for the bill even though Republican leaders did nothing to address his concerns about an exploding federal deficit.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous caliphate4vr said...
It’s not a disease that’s horseshit

Cancer patients can’t decide to quit cancer
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


yeah, i was talking to a former neighbor of mine back in olathe the other night. she's battling lung cancer. i should've told her to just 'quit it' and everything would be fine.

sad to say this is probably her last christmas.

Loretta said...

"sad to say this is probably her last christmas."

Oh dear Lord, I'm so sorry.

Anonymous said...



thanks 'ette. she's a tough as nails gal, well into her 70's and blames no one but herself for her predicament since she did enjoy her cigs right up until she received the diagnosis.

st. peter had better have his shit together when she comes roaring up to the pearly gates because she will give him 'what for'. and with one of the sharpest tongues i've ever known.



commie said...

And the heat goes on and on and on....More fake science for the deniers.....

November 2017 was Earth's fifth warmest November since record keeping began in 1880, said NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) on Monday. NOAA rated the five warmest Novembers since 1880 as being 2015, 2013, 2010, 2004, and 2017 (tied with 2016.) NASA rated November 2017 as the planet’s third warmest November on record, with the only warmer Novembers coming in 2015 and 2016. Minor differences can occur between the NASA and NOAA rankings because of their different techniques for analyzing data-sparse regions such as the Arctic.

Global ocean temperatures last month were the fourth warmest on record for any November, according to NOAA, and global land temperatures were the ninth warmest on record. Global satellite-measured temperatures for the lowest 8 km of the atmosphere were the second or third warmest for any November in the 39-year record, according to the University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH) and Remote Sensing Systems (RSS), respectively.

Loretta said...

"st. peter had better have his shit together when she comes roaring up to the pearly gates because she will give him 'what for'. and with one of the sharpest tongues i've ever known."

Awwww! Good for her.

Anonymous said...

More fake science for the deniers.....
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


speaking of fake science and deniers...

how many genders are there again?

still two?

i read somewhere the other day that we're up to around 57.

glass houses and throwing stones d0pie. don't do it.



Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

Where in hell did you find this?

""so what you're saying is that the truth hurts you so much, you feel the need to inflict harm on those that speak it."

Coldheartedtruth Teller said...

The AMA disagrees with Trumpism stage four mentality idiots here.

Anonymous said...


Blogger Roger Amick said...
Where in hell did you find this?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


here:


Blogger Roger Amick said...
If I could have my way every congressperson who calls Social Security an "entitlement" would have their tongue ripped out!


looks like physical harm to me, alky.

Anonymous said...

Blogger Roger Amick said...
The AMA disagrees with Trumpism stage four mentality idiots here.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


of course they do, alky. as long as it's classified as a disease, uncle sugar keeps the gubmint $$$ rolling in to "study and combat" it.

i can only imagine how much of our $$$ the CDC pisses away studying YOUR personal failure:

https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/about.htm


Anonymous said...

Sorry RRB

C.H. Truth said...

If you wanted instead to argue from a constitutionally guaranteed privacy basis, then you would need to show a reasonable "expectation of privacy". This is why credible legal experts have pointed out that Trump Transition were informed that using government email allowed Law Enforcement to examine the communications. Not for any 4th reasons, but because they have no reasonable expectation of privacy.

Actually the "expectation of privacy" is "sort" of the opposite of what you have been arguing. Or perhaps you are simply ignoring reality when you decide to read the minds of the Trump transition team and their attorneys.

But it's good you brought this up, because it has been used by people condemning the Mueller heist.

The law does not state (anywhere) that doing business on a Government server makes the government control privilege. The law does in fact have deal with many factors, all with the concept of whether or not the individual believes that there is a right to privacy.

So what did the Trump team expect?

1) They were told up front that the GSA would eventually reset all of the devices used, and that items that were not otherwise part of official Government records (such as correspondences with Government agencies) would not be archived.

2) They would have understood that none of the emails of that nature from the previous Administration had been archived.

3) They would have known that the statutes and guidance determines that much of their email correspondence would have been considered private materials, not federal records.

4) They would have understood that all correspondences with attorneys are always considered privileged, and could not just be taken (with or without warrant).

Also... look at their actions. They requested a copy of the database so that they would be allowed to look through and separate out emails that would be considered privileged or otherwise outside of what they were required to turn over. They simply would not have done that without having some expectation that Special Counsel would come to "them" not the GSA for the information.

All of their actions seem to indicate that they had a very very strong expectation that they owned those emails (as the Obama transition team did) and that therefor they had an expectation of privacy.

On the flip side...


Your argument seems to be that you believe that the GSA informed the Trump administration that those rights didn't really exist... and then presented the Trump team with something to sign that would basically do away with all of the rights that are generally provided to a transition team (by statute, by precedent, by guidance) - and did so without notifying anyone else (such as the Records Officer who made official guidance that conflicted with what your suggestion is) ...

and your argument is that the Trump legal team happily signed off on it, but then acted as if they didn't?

wphamilton said...


Actually the "expectation of privacy" is "sort" of the opposite of what you have been arguing. Or perhaps you are simply ignoring reality when you decide to read the minds of the Trump transition team and their attorneys.


You don't have to read their minds CH. REASONABLE expectation of privacy (don't leave that out) means that after they were informed that Law Enforcement could review the emails, they aren't entitled to it, regardless of what's on their minds. Regardless of their misunderstandings. Regardless of what their attorneys want to be true.

I thought I was explicit in differentiating that from your 4th Amendment arguments CH. Not "sort of the opposite" but two different things entirely. Should we go into it in more depth?

C.H. Truth said...

after they were informed that Law Enforcement could review the emails

Actually WP...

I have not seen any document informing the Trump administration of that.

Have you?


I have, however, seen (and posted) the memorandum that explained that not all of the communications of Presidential Transition team was considered Federal records, but that any materials created by the PETT members are considered Private Materials.


Again, you are suggesting (without evidence) that the GSA informed the Trump transition team of something that runs counter to the statutes and to the guidance provided them at the beginning of the transition.

Even if they "had" decided to tell them that they would be making everything they did available to special counsel, it would still be in violation of the statutes. Just warning someone that you are about to commit a criminal act, does not excuse the criminal act or otherwise make it legal.

C.H. Truth said...

Or to put it in a better perspective.

The GSA had no authority to bypass the statutes, or ignore the guidance from the Records Officers. The GSA is obligated to follow the law, and treat the Trump transition team records the same way they treated the Obama transition team records.

wphamilton said...

It's not counter to or bypassing any statutes and therefore the argument that they "had no authority" fails. You haven't shown any statutes that you insist that they've abrogated, but I have shown you several court cases where these questions were addressed and decided to the contrary.

I think that you mean to say that the GSA is at fault if nothing else, that even if the Special Investigation did nothing wrong maybe the GSA did. If so, it might surprise most people but legally speaking that doesn't necessarily make it inadmissible.

C.H. Truth said...

but I have shown you several court cases where these questions were addressed and decided to the contrary

Actually...

Unless your court cases are directly related to Presidential transition teams, they would be completely irrelevant.

The guidance (supplied in the post itself) is based on the statutes surrounding the transition team. The transition team (by statute) is not considered a government agency, they are not considered government employees... and therefor the materials that they create (which do not otherwise interact with federal agencies) are not Federal Records.

If so, it might surprise most people but legally speaking that doesn't necessarily make it inadmissible.

Generally speaking, if any of what they took would be legally inadmissible, then it would all be inadmissible. Poisonous fruit and all that. If they opened up and looked at even one piece of information that was privileged (an attorney client deal) then it could all be tossed out.

But politically speaking... if Mueller attempts to toss around a few more warrants over process crimes, using these documents as his proof of misleading statements, I would fully expect that Trump would simply step up and Pardon anyone involved.

As much as I don't believe Trump should or will pardon Manafort. I would be 100% supportive of any pardon's issued over process crimes that were obviously part of a perjury trap.

wphamilton said...

Unless your court cases are directly related to Presidential transition teams, they would be completely irrelevant.

Now you know that's not true. The court cases have relevance in establishing standards, just like any other court precedent. They don't have to be related to the exact same situation (court cases seldom are, yet precedents are applicable).

The Guidance memo does not guarantee privacy of emails. The use of the word "private" fails to establish that.

It does distinguish between the Transition records and Federal records. But, as I've told you several times, even "private" emails are subject to monitoring and Law Enforcement, without a warrant, under certain conditions. Which has been established by the Court Precedents (aka "Law") that I've cited here.

For your edification, "Poisonous fruit" refers to the Law Enforcement action of obtaining evidence through illegal means, not the third party. Actually, all three statutory exceptions likely apply. It's a shot in the dark, and almost certainly misses.

Trump can't start pardoning everyone involved, because even the Republican Congress would initiate Impeachment proceedings. What he WILL do however, is allow his lawyers to continue to make specious legal arguments in an attempt to shift it to "trial by public opinion."

C.H. Truth said...

Now you know that's not true. The court cases have relevance in establishing standards, just like any other court precedent

The logic of the court system is to always follow the most specific statutes to the situation in question.

So when there are statutes surrounding Presidential Transition teams, the courts are not going to ignore those statutes in favor of less specific "precedents" that have nothing to do with Presidential Transition teams.

But, as I've told you several times, even "private" emails are subject to monitoring and Law Enforcement, without a warrant, under certain conditions.

No... private correspondences of private citizens (which the Presidential transition team was at the time) is NEVER subject to monitoring by Law Enforcement without warrant, and private information of private citizens is NEVER subject to seizure without warrant.

_____

You're argument still appears to be that the Government had a right to take the Presidential Transition Team information because the Transition team was using Government equipment and because you believe that somewhere along the lines that the PTT signed off on something that gave up the privacy rights that the law provides (and that was given to previous administrations).

I have still seen nothing but a suggestion that this actually the case.

The only actual documentation either of us has seen in regards to the status of the correspondence is the law (which you appear unwilling to read) and the official guidance from the office of record keeping.

Both of which, directly conflict with the suggestion that there was other guidance provided to them, telling them that the transition team information was not private.


Excuse me, if I continue to go with what I can actually tangible read, see, quote, link, and copy.... rather than some "suggestion" that something else (that nobody can provide any documentation for) that overrides all of that.

wphamilton said...

So when there are statutes surrounding Presidential Transition teams, the courts are not going to ignore those statutes in favor of less specific "precedents" that have nothing to do with Presidential Transition teams.

Yet the "specific statutes" are the Presidential Transition Acts of 1963 and 2015, and they provide for the segregation of Transition records as "Presidential records" as opposed to "Federal Records".

Which is exactly what I've told you that the Memo does in your blog post. It is NOT "ignoring those statutes", but it IS something other than you seem to think. Presidential Records are governed by the "Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978", and THAT statute provides that Presidential Records are NOT private. It explicitly changes the legal ownership of the records from private to public.

Excuse me, if I continue to go with what I can actually tangible read, see, quote, link, and copy.... rather than some "suggestion" that something else (that nobody can provide any documentation for)

Here you go:

from the GSA:
"(44 U.S.C. 2201(2).) These records can be in a variety of formats, including paper documents, photographs, motion picture film, tape recordings and electronic records. Presidential records are governed by the Presidential Records Act and are not subject to the Federal Records Act."


and the Presidential Records Act itself.

Why do you believe that the Transition Team are "private individuals" conducting "private business"? The statutes that you insist on, do not support that notion.