By Paul Sperry, RealClearInvestigations May 9, 2019
Special Counsel Robert Mueller spent more than $732,000 on outside contractors, including private investigators and researchers, records show, but his office refuses to say who they were. While it’s not unusual for special government offices to outsource for services such as computer support, Mueller also hired contractors to compile “investigative reports” and other “information."
The arrangement has led congressional investigators, government watchdog groups and others to speculate that the private investigators and researchers who worked for the special counsel’s office might have included Christopher Steele and Fusion GPS, the private research firm that hired Steele to produce the Russia collusion dossier for the Clinton campaign.
They suspect the dossier creators may have been involved in Mueller’s operation – and even had a hand in his final report – because the special counsel sent his team to London to meet with Steele within a few months of taking over the Russia collusion investigation in 2017. Also, Mueller’s lead prosecutor, Andrew Weissmann, had shared information he received from Fusion with the media.
Certainly these are some questions for Mueller to be asked when (and if) he goes in front of Congress. Did Mueller and his probe actually use any of the same Fusion GPS group to fact check the original dossier that they paid for? While there may be an explanation for why Special Counsel would want to interview some of these people, if there was any other involvement (especially paid involvement) by anyone associated with Steele or Fusion GPS it puts the entire credibility of the Special Counsel probe (and report) at risk. Certainly whatever information they would have been able to gather, would not have been worth the possible blowback.
So a simple yes or no question, with Mueller under oath would be sufficient. Certainly Bill Barr knows the truth and would likely not allow Mueller to stake under the law if he knew Special Counsel was lying under oath to Congress (especially considering how many people Mueller charged with that). Even a refusal to answer the question will place the assumption on the positive, and Mueller's probe will be even more damaged than it already is.
This might be another one of those reasons that the President is pretending he doesn't want Mueller to testify, when in fact he actually does. While Democrats would spend much of their time trying to engage questioning of Mueller into areas of disagreement with Barr (who did what Mueller didn't in regards to obstruction) that is a known area from the report and an assumed disagreement. Not much to gain if Mueller says he doesn't necessarily agree with Barr's decision as that it the assumption already, whereas the Democrats will end up with egg on their face if Mueller does not strongly rebuke Barr and his decisionmaking. A Mueller deferral answer is the worst case scenario.
On the flip side, if we find out something otherwise not known (like perhaps Mueller and his special counsel did employ Fusion GPS or even Christopher Steele himself), then that would be a bombshell hard for people to ignore. Of course, that it only one of dozens of questions that could be asked of Mueller that could further undermine Mueller and his probe's credibility.
40 comments:
President Trump is taking it to the Media and the Socialist Democrats .
If you watched that press conference and and still believe that the President is sane, you're crazy
and you would know insane, Roger
Hey Rog...
You know what they say! It takes one to know one!
Every Canidate from the Socialist Democrats are far left.
"“I think that anyone who is in a situation where they’re in need of health care, regardless of whether they are documented or undocumented, we have an obligation to see that they are cared for,” Biden said.
California had a single home with over 1000 Guns in it. It was in a left wing High Income Area.
I saw a President/Dad defending his children.
He took it to the Media and the Socialist Democrats.
Roger please provide a verbatim quote from today's presser that supports you chicken little b.s..
Ty.
Ghostwriter Says ‘Art of the Deal’ Should Be Fiction
Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter for Donald Trump’s bestselling book, The Art of the Deal, tweeted that he would be fine if the book was “taken out of print” or “recategorized as fiction” after the New York Times detailed Trump’s $1.2 billion in business losses from 1985 to 1994.
Hillary is in NH. I so love that she won't get off the stage.
She needs the money. Her and bill are broke, again.
She is more bitter then Algore at their loss.
Oakland, .CA is going broke. Using gas tax to pay city pay to workers.
No bailout.
Before I wrote "The Art of the Deal" I wrote "The Art of the Comeback" This was many years ago and I wrote all about what the NY Times is just now reporting. Only person I know who lost more than me was Warren Buffet who lost over 11 billion during the real estate bubble. Can't be the best or biggest of everything.
The Times is over 20 years too late, typical FAKE NEWS for their TDS minions who breathlessly absorb it and spread it as something new.
Will come out with my next book "The Art of the Presidency" after my second term. Will donate all proceeds to charity, just not the Clinton charity.
As a person who believes that there is a deep state conspiracy against Trump is certainly not sane.
Look in the mirror for once, and look yourself in the eye and swear that I am normal.
You won't like what you see.
Roger - it's like the difference between calling something surveillance and calling it spying. The wording only matters to those who quibble with the details.
But what you have is simple and factual:
1) The FBI opened a probe into the President's campaign that we now know had no good basis to be started
2) They put one his members under FISA warrant and possibly mislead the judge
3) They used FBI informants to infiltrate his camp and attempt to engage members of his campaign
4) The FBI director refused to tell the public that the President was not under investigation, and allowed media to continue to report that he was
5) The FBI acting director declared that the President might be a Russian agent and started an investigation into him as such
6) Members of the FBI started what has been called an "insurance plan" against Trump being elected.
7) Member of the FBI, DOJ, and others discussed trying to get Trump tossed out of office on some 25th amendment claim
6) The FBI director had privileged (and possibly classified) information leaked by a friend in order to push the DOJ to open a Special Counsel probe
It is whatever you want to call it in one word. But make no mistake, it was unelected members of the executive branch trying their best to discredit, undermine, and possible remove Trump from his post as President.
No matter how hard the Obama/Biden/Lynch/Comey and other Intelligence Agencies tried to spy and trap the Trumps they all failed.
The director of the FBI said that they didn't spy on Trump.
This is going to make Scott angry again.
Congress and Donald Trump's fight over his financial records is now on the fast track.
Judge Amit Mehta plans next week to weigh the major legal issues raised in President Donald Trump's challenge of a congressional subpoena for his accounting firm's records, according to an order issued Thursday -- putting the case on an even faster track than it previously looked to be.
Congress has subpoenaed Trump and his business' accounting records from the firm Mazars USA, and Trump's personal legal team sued to stop the records from being turned over.
A hearing is now scheduled for May 14.
Previously, the case was set up so that Mehta, a nominee of President Barack Obama, would consider it in multiple stages, beginning next week -- which could have lengthened out the legal fight and held off Congress from getting the records.
The court case comes as the Democratic-led House of Representatives continues to investigate Trump, his administration and his businesses.
Shut up kput'z.
NPR May 9, 2019
"Federal agents have arrested a former intelligence analyst and charged him with giving classified information to a reporter. The Justice Department says Daniel Everette Hale, 31, of Nashville, Tenn., used his top-secret computer to print out dozens of documents related to counterterrorism operations while working as a contractor for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or NGA.
The instances in question occurred nearly five years ago, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday. Hale first met the reporter in question in April 2013, when he was still in the U.S. Air Force and working for the National Security Agency, according to the court documents. He began sharing information the next year, when he had left the military and was working for defense contractor Leidos at the NGA.
The Justice Department said in a statement that Hale met with the reporter "on multiple occasions, and, at times, communicated with the reporter via an encrypted messaging platform."
Starting in February 2014, according to the department, Hale printed six classified documents that were later published by the reporter's news outlet."
Trump.cleaning up after The Lost Years Pres.
Laughing at Roger everyday.
So a judge is going to make a ruling, yawn.
But what you have is simple and factual:
1) The FBI opened a probe into the President's campaign that we now know had no good basis to be started. in your opinion.
2) They put one his members under FISA warrant and possibly mislead the judge. in your opinion.)
3)They used FBI informants to infiltrate his camp and attempt to engage members of his campaign. in your opinion.
4) The FBI director refused to tell the public that the President was not under investigation, and allowed media to continue to report that he was. in your opinion.)
5) The FBI acting director declared that the President might be a Russian agent and started an investigation into him as such.
in your opinion.
6) Members of the FBI started what has been called an "insurance plan" against Trump being elected.
in your opinion and certifiably insane
7) Member of the FBI, DOJ, and others discussed trying to get Trump tossed out of office on some 25th amendment claim They never seriously considering using the 25th amendment.
6) The FBI director had privileged (and possibly classified) information leaked by a friend in order to push the DOJ to open a Special Counsel probe. in your opinion. And totally insane
Your no smarter than kput'z.
Alzheimer's disease is becoming increasingly evident in your irrational thoughts.
The director of the FBI said that they didn't spy on Trump.
Well his boss said they did!
No matter how hard Obama/Biden/Lynch/Comey and other Intelligence Agencies tried to spy and trap the Trumps they all failed.
The Hillary Purchased Dossier is unprovable , so said the Author and FBI confidant British Spy Steele.
The more we know, those that got fooled was the entire Obimbo team, fooled by the Russians.
Your no smarter than kput'z.
Considerably smarter than you!
CHT , we need to be gentle with Roger. His raw Emotions are exposed.
The Mueller epic Fail is one of Historic Proportions .
"Your no smarter than kput'z. "
"Your"
Roger is that mistake due to your inability to understand your technology you are attempting to use?
Oh I understand a lot more than you think.
If we get to the point where the Supreme Court rules that the President must respond to the subpoenas will not let his Attorney General and obey the subpoenas requested by the house of Representatives, Scott will support the President, and oppose #impeachment indictment and conviction. And even if the Senate does convict him, Scott will support him when he refuses to vacate the White House.
Criminal Death Treat Against the Sitting President of the United States .
"Dem Rep. Al Green to Trump: ‘If No One Else Will Bring You to Justice, I Will’
Broken projector Roger.
Roger, the Supreme Court may or may not rule that Trump has to turn over financial records.
The IRS laws make it extremely difficult for the House Democrats to win the tax return argument (especially using the law they are using to justify the subpoena). The court may rule they can get them in a closed session (like the law states), but they will never let them release them.
But in a million years the USSC will not side with the House over Barr on the issues of the redacted report that Congress has no legal right to in the first place. First and foremost, they would have to overturn the recent D.C. Court of Appeals decision prior to the case in order for them to even consider it.
That is why the House Democrats will never even take Barr to court. They will eventually vote to hold him in contempt as little more than a political ploy. A ploy that only the dumbest of the dumb will fall for.
Nancy Polosi fails to set a date for a vote on AG Barr vote on contempt, but Why?
Come on, drop the freaking hammer Granny.
When will the Brave Fairminded Democrat Patriots in the US House stand up and stop Polosi?
@GeorgePapa19
Flynn and I were threatened with Logan act violations. Why wouldn’t Kerry also be? I was because I was promoting US energy companies and set up a meeting between Trump-Egypt’s President, nothing nefarious there. Kerry wants the Iranians to stonewall America. Big difference.
@RudyGiuliani
The evidence is mounting that Comey deceived the FISA court concerning the Steele dossier. State did a quick verification and threw Steele out. Comey did no verification for 5 months and conducted an illicit SPYING OPERATION. Let’s see how long Dem media protects Comey.
@NolteNC
As soon as the latest school shooters’ leftist politics became apparent, our useless media sure dropped that story in record speed.
But if a guy in a MAGA hat smirks at an Indian....
Waiting for the media to compare business deals of Don Jr and Hunter Biden.
Crickets...
Roger Amick said...
But what you have is simple and factual:
this is why i'm convinced that you're mentally ill alky.
everything you claim is "opinion" is factual. every fucking thing. the delusions from which you suffer are not normal, and to deny reality in the manner you do every day indicates a complete absence of sanity.
mail order probably fled out of fear for her safety. you're the kind of trump-fueled nuts that we've been reading about since his election, with stories of the spike in psychiatrist visits.
Barr restricted access to the 98 percent disclosed report, as opposed to the 92 percent public report, due to the inclusion of evidence impacting ongoing prosecutions. He has offered to expand the number of members and staff to review that material but insists on it remaining protected. But this has nothing to do with the redactions. It is the 2 percent solution to a major political dilemma of the left. Faced with a report that rejected the collusion theories of their running narrative, Democrats want to focus on those 2 percent of redactions rather than over 400 pages of findings.
So Congress now will ask a court to find civil contempt for Barr refusing to release grand jury information. The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals recently rejected a district court claim to have the “inherent supervisory authority” to disclose grand jury matters because of great public interest. To make matters worse, the Justice Department has now said the president has invoked executive privilege over the entire report, making this contempt claim even less likely to prevail over the long run.
Democrats are launching the weakest possible contempt claim against the administration in a civil action with a long track through the courts. In the end, there is utter contempt in this action, but not in the case of Barr.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and represented the House of Representatives in its successful challenge to executive actions under the Affordable Care Act.
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/442732-democrats-showing-contempt-by-holding-william-barr-in-contempt
Great source for your POS there Lil Scotty.....an opinion writer who worked for the Hoover Inst that has zero creds......LOLOLOLOLOL
Paul Sperry has previously been the Washington Bureau Chief at Investor's Business Daily and WorldNetDaily.
He wrote pieces in The Wall Street Journal and made regular appearances on Fox News and other media outlets. He currently regularly writes op-ed pieces for the New York Post
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