One of those signs is the sentencing of the cooperating witnesses. Generally those cooperation sentencing are only processed when you are sure you won't need anything else from those witnesses. By nature, they are part of the investigation endgame.
I think it became clear that once Jeff Sessions rode off into the sunset, that it was more likely than not that someone other than Rod Rosenstein will be supervising Mueller probe. But by all accounts, William Barr is a straight shooter who may play a wildcard in all of this.
If Mueller were to garner any pushback from the Department of Justice over the content of his report, that would be much easier to spin, if we are looking at the current "acting" Attorney General. Obviously, the more involved Rob Rosenstein can remain, the better the chances are that Mueller will have more discretion. Rosenstein will obviously have more influence with an acting A.G. than he would with respected full time Attorney General.
But once William Barr is sworn in, the Department of Justice will be in a better spot politically. Nearly everyone sees Barr as qualified and he will likely be confirmed with large numbers. So if Barr were to be the one to limit the scope of what Mueller writes about, then it would be tougher to play that off as partisanship, or a protection of the President.
If Barr is the straight shooter that everyone says he is, then it's entirely possible that he is going to want a very factual, professional, and objective report coming from Special Counsel. He might frown upon Mueller writing about anything seen as "political". He may want to avoid the sort of criticism a highly subjective, highly creative, or highly political report might create. He may require that Mueller actual stay within the confines of reporting on what he found factually and legally. This would obviously "not" be the sort of report that Mueller (and his fans) would want to see written.
48 comments:
He will not do as you hope.
He's a professional not a Trumpeter like you have become.
Mueller has not been partisan.
Unlike your hero Donald Trump, he's a decorated soldier and patriot.
He will not limit the scope of what Mueller writes about.
Mueller docs released as ordered. They were all partisan. They didn't think Flynn lied then.
Bunch of scumbags.
Flynn is the scumbag.
WASHINGTON — The special counsel’s office rejected on Friday a suggestion from Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, that he had been tricked into lying to F.B.I. agents investigating Russia’s election interference and ties to Trump associates.
Prosecutors laid out a pattern of lies by Mr. Flynn to Vice President Mike Pence, senior White House aides, federal investigators and the media in the weeks before and after the presidential inauguration as he scrambled to obscure the truth about his communications during the presidential transition with Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States at the time.
Neither Mr. Flynn nor his lawyers have explained why he lied. But in a memo this week seeking leniency, they revealed details from the interview that helped stoke an unfounded theory that Mr. Flynn’s relaxed appearance during the F.B.I. agents’ questioning was potential evidence that he did not actually lie, and they blamed the F.B.I. for not informing Mr. Flynn ahead of time that lying to agents is illegal. Prosecutors repudiated the argument.
“A sitting national security adviser, former head of an intelligence agency, retired lieutenant general and 33-year veteran of the armed forces knows he should not lie to federal agents,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. “He does not need to be warned it is a crime to lie to federal agents to know the importance of telling them the truth.”
. They didn't think Flynn lied then.
LOL....They didn't think he showed the signs of lying. and gave him 2 chances to correct his answers and he did not.....sad how little you can read....LOLOLOL
Hey ballz ....why did trump fire flynn?????
I'll wait.....!!!
Mr. Flynn’s disclosure called into question why he waited until just before his sentencing on Tuesday to argue that he was coerced into lying when he had pleaded guilty last year to the charge and said at the time, “I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong.”
It also prompted a quick response from Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, who is presiding over the case. He ordered that lawyers and prosecutors for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, turn over documents related to Mr. Flynn’s Jan. 24, 2017, interview and could question Mr. Flynn during his sentencing about why they decided now to make an issue of the circumstances of the F.B.I. interview.
Judge Sullivan is wary of prosecutorial misconduct. In 2009, he dismissed the ethics conviction of former Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska, and scolded prosecutors, who had withdrawn the charges, for improperly withholding evidence.
Lawyers for Mr. Flynn described his lying to the F.B.I. as an “uncharacteristic error in judgment.” But Mr. Trump fired Mr. Flynn, who briefly served as his national security adviser, for lying to the vice president about the calls with Mr. Kislyak.
President Donald Trump named Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, as his acting chief of staff. He was drafted by the President who was a draft dodger.
One of the outstanding players in the administration..or just the
You got your opinion based on the Fox News article .
Mueller releases Flynn files showing FBI doubts over ‘lying,’ tensions over interview
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mueller-releases-key-documents-of-fbi-interview-with-michael-flynn
Flynn knew that if you lie to an FBI agent that you were committing a crime.
If they didn't tell him that, doesn't mean that they tricked him into lying. He lied repeatedly for his own reasons.
So Mueller defies the court order and apparently doesn't provide the original 302 as ordered. Contempt of court?
This could be real fun next week and not for Mueller.
Washington's mad holiday dash begins.
This week was a blur as political Washington works frantically to clear its plate before hopping on planes, trains and automobiles to head home for the holidays. (Oh, and there's also a partial government shutdown that may or may not happen next Friday.)
The week started out with a White House chief-of-staff search that went off the rails -- it was unclear who would replace John Kelly after the presumptive successor, Nick Ayers, announced he wouldn't take the job.
But Trump ended speculation late Friday afternoon, tweeting that OMB head Mick Mulvaney would become "acting" chief of staff.
Meanwhile, former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen was sentenced to 36 months in prison (a swanky one, at that) on Wednesday, and he's not keeping quiet about his ex-boss anymore. Trump, true to form, hit back at Cohen, saying he never directed Cohen to break the law.
Cohen responded in a TV interview this morning, saying the President wanted him to conceal his actions because Trump "was very concerned about how this would affect the election."
But you know who probably had the best week in Washington? Nancy Pelosi.
Not only did she flip a key constituency of opponents to her future House speakership, but she won plaudits for her composure in a televised, fiery meeting with Trump in the Oval Office. AND the fanfare around the rust-colored Max Mara coat she wore while walking out of the West Wing inspired the fashion house to re-issue the coat five years after taking it off the racks. I'd consider that an early Christmas present for the likely soon-to-be speaker.
There's still a rough road ahead before lawmakers leave town. One major speed bump is a possible government shutdown over funding for Trump's border wall, which will come to a head at the end of next week.
The Point: Unlike Michael Cohen and Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi had a VERY good week. But 2018 isn't over, and some of the biggest squabbles are still to come.
Now, a recap of the week, in 21 headlines:
Monday:
Trump concerned about being impeached, sees it as a 'real possibility,' source says
GOP shrugs at Trump's involvement in Cohen crimes
Tuesday:
Trump clashes with Pelosi, Schumer in Oval Office over border wall
Trump still searching for chief of staff
Department of Education reorganization set for January
Trump expresses openness to using Huawei CFO as bargaining chip in China trade talks
Trump privately brags that Mexico will still pay for border wall
Judge orders Stormy Daniels to pay nearly $300,000 in legal fees to Trump's attorneys in defamation case
Wednesday:
Michael Cohen sentenced to three years in prison
Trump dismisses Russia contacts as 'peanut stuff' after denials
Nikki Haley: Trump's 'unpredictable' behavior advantageous at UN
Trump seizes on France attack to push border wall
Thursday:
Alleged Russian spy Maria Butina pleads guilty to engaging in conspiracy against US
Trump says he never told Michael Cohen to break the law
Pelosi's meme-tastic coat so popular it will be re-issued
Friday:
Trump inaugural committee under criminal investigation: sources
Cohen says Trump knew hush payments were wrong
Christie takes himself out of running for White House chief of staff
Trump keeps everyone guessing over shutdown
Hatch says he regrets his 'I don't care' comment about Trump allegations
Trump names Mulvaney 'acting' chief of staff
Yep, you got him.
Remove the President Roger.
When?
The Democrats are going to get Medicare for everyone because of this shit.
(Bloomberg) -- Obamacare was struck down by a Texas federal judge in a ruling that casts uncertainty on insurance coverage for millions of U.S. residents.
The decision Friday finding the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional comes at the tail end of a six-week open enrollment period for the program in 2019 and underscores a divide between Republicans who have long sought to invalidate the law and Democrats who fought to keep it in place.
The White House said the ruling will be put on hold during an appeals process that’s destined to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth agreed with a coalition of Republican states led by Texas that he had to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act, the signature health-care overhaul by President Barack Obama, after Congress last year zeroed out a key provision -- the tax penalty for not complying with the requirement to buy insurance.
Cortez and Sanders are in your corner Alky.
Problem are people like you and you leach. $1.5 million suck out of the wallets of the workers who pay taxes.
Good thing the USSC will be hearing this case in 2019.
You don't know how insurance works.
Mueller "bleach Bit" phones.
Learned that from Hillary.
Flynn knew that if you lie to an FBI agent that you were committing a crime.
If they didn't tell him that, doesn't mean that they tricked him into lying. He lied repeatedly for his own reasons.
Except Flynn didn't lie according to the original FBI agents and if the FBI said he didn't need an attorney present that's a gross violation of his 5th amendment rights as outline by Miranda v. Arizona
Somebody is going to jail but I don't think it will be the people Roger is hoping for.
loomberg) -- Obamacare was struck down by a Texas federal judge in a ruling that casts uncertainty on insurance coverage for millions of U.S. residents.
Took 12 years of misery. Ironey of course is that healthcare reform has landed squairly back into the lap of the New Democrat house.
Except Flynn didn't lie according to the original FBI agents and if the
That's not what the report said,,,,,try again
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mueller-releases-key-documents-of-fbi-interview-with-michael-flynn
landed squarely back into the lap of the New Democrat house.
Good things come to those who wait....ironic ain't it cramps.....
Not an activist decision.......LOLOLOLOL!!!!
Another thing that isn’t a mystery? The genesis of this latest attack on Obamacare. Disenchanted that a Republican-controlled federal government wouldn’t repeal every word of the law, Texas and a coalition of states tried a sleight of hand: They leaned on President Trump’s 2017 tax bill, known officially as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — which zeroed out the tax penalty of the health care law’s individual mandate — and argued that the mandate itself was unconstitutional.
That argument has a certain flair to it, but the states didn’t stop there. Their lawyers suggested that, because the individual mandate is a linchpin of the A.C.A. as a whole — in fact, the one thing that holds the law together — the law cannot stand without it. If the mandate falls, the logic went, the entire statute falls with it.
Shocking even conservative legal experts, the Trump administration fell for this spurious argument and lent its support to the Texas lawsuit — which, if successful, would render all of the marquee provisions of Obamacare, like protections for patients with pre-existing conditions, null.
This all-out assault on health care is one reason Democrats did so well in the midterm elections, as voters rejected anti-Obamacare candidates at the polls. They included several lawmakers who had gleefully voted for Mr. Trump’s tax bill less than a year earlier.
Except the tax bill did not invalidate the Affordable Care Act — it did away only with the penalty for not being insured. Congress left the rest of the law intact.
Judge's ruling threatens loss of health care to 20 million.
WOW. Great News for America, Trump tweets.
Flashback Quote of the Day
December 15, 2018 at 7:09 am EST
“Yes, I am supporting Donald Trump, but I’m doing so despite the fact that I think he’s a terrible human being.”
— Interim White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, quoted in The State in November 2016.
Except Flynn didn't lie according to the original FBI agents and if the
That's not what the report said,,,,,try again
FBI’s questioning of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, confirming agents did not believe at the time Flynn intentionally lied to them -- though he was later charged with making false statements in that interview.
I don't know how it get's any clearer than that shit for brains.
WOW. Great News for America, Trump tweets.
Getting out from under the yoke of Obamacare? You betcha.
at the time...did not bdlieve...at the time...later charged with making false statements...
Yep, pretty clear.
At the cost of 20 million losing coverage. Yep. Try to live that one down, Trumpistas.
Mueller Still Wants to Interview Trump
December 15, 2018 at 7:49 am
“Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team continues to be interested in interviewing the President Trump,” CNN reports.
“Mueller’s interest in talking with the President is believed to include asking questions about the Trump’s state of mind in regard to actions under scrutiny in the obstruction of justice probe.”
_________________
And Trump has repeatedly said how delighted he would be to be interviewed...
You can't make this stuff up.
Yeah Muller threw a bogus charge against Flynn just to get Trump. He then threaten Flynn and his family.
Muller is going to jail. That is clear.
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team continues to be interested in interviewing the President Trump,
They already had their one bit at the apple.
Mueller was really put in place to investigate anything related to trump except for Russia collusion it would seem.
Commonsense said...
Yeah Muller threw a bogus charge against Flynn
SURE BOYS....AND HE PED GUILTY BECAUSE WHY????? What was the reason trump fired Flynn...he was truthful.....dumb and dumbest still slurping....idiots...
. Yep. Try to live that one down, Trumpistas.
They don't give a shit....trump is boasting it as a huge victory....sad!!
Blogger Roger Amick said...
Flynn is the scumbag.
says the piece of shit, alcoholic draft dodger.
Blogger Roger Amick said...
You don't know how insurance works.
cali knows, and he's cleaned your clock on this topic on countless occasions.
it will be fun to watch him do it again, mr. milk cattle rancher.
AND HE PED GUILTY BECAUSE WHY?????
Because Mullier threaten his family if he didn't plead guilty. Mueller is a real sleaze bag.
Another crook bites the dust....Zinke quits amongst allegations of fraud in land deals.....FUCK HIM>>>.. Trump sure knows how to pick leaders of fraud and cheats!!!! And you all will slurp and swallow like good little assholes you are...
Because Mullier threaten his family if he didn't plead guilty.
BWAAAAAAAAA!!!! LOL AT YOU AGAIN....And trump fired him because he didn't lie to Pence????? Idiot
The next shoe....
Schiff says House Intelligence panel will examine possible foreign funding of Trump’s inaugural committee
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), the committee's incoming chairman, said the topic remains “a matter of interest and concern.”
Yep...every where you look, trump is fucked!!!!!
Schiff thinks it's only legal to use taxpayer money for hush money payments.
Schiff thinks it's only legal to use taxpayer money for hush money payments.
That's what you say....he never put that out !!! You making shit up again...a trait you do very well!!!
"You don't know how insurance works.
cali knows, and he's cleaned your clock on this topic on countless occasions.
it will be fun to watch him do it again, mr. milk cattle rancher."
Yep. Always fun to watch.
Oh I know how it works .
This is how Medicaid and Medicare are both broke.
Because you and your parasite wife suck 1.5 million out of it.
Alky you are all in on the Medicaid for all. Are you for a payroll tax?
Schiff thinks it's only legal to use taxpayer money for hush money payments.
That's what you say....he never put that out !!! You making shit up again...a trait you do very well!!!
As a Congressman Schiff voted for creation of the slush fund to pay off the victims of sexual harassment perpetrated by Congressman.
Yeah he's all for using the taxpayers to fund congressional hush money.
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