Feds seized as many as 16 cell phones from Donald Trump's lawyer, who once bragged that he was part of the Russian mob.

Courtesy of The New York Post:  

Manhattan federal prosecutors seized as many as 16 cell phones when the FBI raided the home, office and hotel room of President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen. 

Prosecutor Thomas McKay made the ​astonishing revelation wh​ile telling a judge ​Thursday ​that the feds are on track to hand over seized​ ​materials to Cohen’s lawyers by May 11. 

In explaining the process, McKay said the feds have already turned over the contents of four phones and one iPad. 

McKay said the feds will turn over the “remainder of the phones seized” on Friday — before adding that they have “about a dozen” left. 

Among the devices seized are two BlackBerrys, suggesting Cohen has been holding on to his electronics for many, many years. 

The startling revelation promptly attracted the attention of porn star Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, who called Cohen’s phone hoarding “BIGLY bad.”

"Bigly bad" indeed. Because you KNOW that stored on those phones is information which will incriminate Donald Trump. Bigly!

Can you even imagine needing that many phones?

What could be the possible reason?

Wait, this next story might clear that up.

Courtesy of Business Insider:  

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's embattled personal lawyer, once bragged that he was part of the Russian mob, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to The Journal, Cohen once told someone at a former friend's wedding that he belonged to the Russian mob.

Now the Business Insider article also contains a quote from a friend of Cohen's who doubts the veracity of this story, which brings me to this Rolling Stone's article:  

Cohen joined the Trump Organization in 2006, and eventually became Trump's personal lawyer, a role once occupied by Roy Cohn, Senator Joseph McCarthy's heavy-lidded hatchet man during the Red Scare who advised Trump in the 1980s. Michael Cohen's bare-knuckled tactics earned him the nickname of "Tom," a reference to Tom Hagen, the consigliore to Mafia Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather. He grew up on Long Island, the son of a physician who survived the Holocaust in Poland, and like Tom Hagen spent a childhood around organized crime, specifically the Russian Mafiya. Cohen's uncle, Morton Levine, was a wealthy Brooklyn doctor who owned the El Caribe Country Club, a Brooklyn catering hall and event space that was a well-known hangout for Russian gangsters. Cohen and his siblings all had ownership stakes in the club, which rented for years to the first Mafiya boss of Brighton Beach, Evsei Agron, along with his successors, Marat Balagula and Boris Nayfeld. (Cohen's uncle said his nephew gave up his stake in the club after Trump's election.)

So to be clear, the Feds found more than a dozen phones in Cohen's possession, who clearly has ties to the Russian mob, and whose only real client is Donald Trump. a man who is under investigation for Russian collusion during the election. 

Does anybody else see pieces falling onto place here?

Devin Nunes is investigating the State Department because he cannot follow a simple narrative.

Courtesy of Fox Business: 

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said Sunday his review of FBI and Justice Department “electronic communication” documents shows no intelligence was used to begin the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election. 

“We now know that there was no official intelligence that was used to start this investigation. We know that Sidney Blumenthal and others were pushing information into the State Department. So we’re trying to piece all that together and that’s why we continue to look at the State Department,” Nunes told Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.” 

The California Republican said he is now investigating the State Department due to signs of “major irregularities,” in an effort to figure out how information about former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos – who reportedly met with a foreign policy expert and Cambridge professor with connections to the CIA and Britain’s MI6 in London in 2016 – was obtained by the FBI. 

So if Nunes would bother reading the New York Times he would know exactly how the FBI found out about Papadopoulos connections with the Russian Cambridge professor:

During a night of heavy drinking at an upscale London bar in May 2016, George Papadopoulos, a young foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, made a startling revelation to Australia’s top diplomat in Britain: Russia had political dirt on Hillary Clinton. 

About three weeks earlier, Mr. Papadopoulos had been told that Moscow had thousands of emails that would embarrass Mrs. Clinton, apparently stolen in an effort to try to damage her campaign. 

Exactly how much Mr. Papadopoulos said that night at the Kensington Wine Rooms with the Australian, Alexander Downer, is unclear. But two months later, when leaked Democratic emails began appearing online, Australian officials passed the information about Mr. Papadopoulos to their American counterparts, according to four current and former American and foreign officials with direct knowledge of the Australians’ role. 

Okay so yes there was "official intelligence" communicated from the Australian intelligence services to our own FBI.

And as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Nunes HAS to know this.

So WTF?

Yesterday Nunes also suggested the DNC's decision to sue the Trump Campaign, the Russians, and Wikileaks was nothing more than a fundraising scheme, and that they should actually be suing themselves.

Courtesy of the Washington Examiner:  

"This is nothing more than a scam to keep their base fired up," Nunes, who is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said during an interview Saturday with Fox News' Judge Jeanine Pirro.

"This is about the extreme left, the socialist left, wanting to never accept that the president of the United States was rightfully and duly elected, carried a number of states that nobody expected him to carry," the congressman said. "So this is a fundraising scheme. It's nothing more, nothing less. It's a fundraising scheme because the Democrats are out of money, and that's what this is about."

The lawsuit Nunes was asked to comment on alleges a conspiracy between the trio to disrupt the 2016 presidential campaign in order to get Donald Trump elected. The DNC's complaint was filed Friday in a federal district court in Manhattan, N.Y. 

Nunes started out his answer quipping, "Well, they ought to be suing themselves." 

"They are the ones that colluded with the Russians. So they're the ones that have an FEC violation, they didn't report that they were paying Fusion GPS, right? That they were digging up dirt on the trump campaign. None of that was reported, so they ought to be suing themselves. This is nothing more than a scam to keep their base fired up."

The "extreme left?"

The "socialist left?"

If that he who is identifying as those never wanting to accept Donald Trump as their president then I think that about 70% of the country is now identified as the "extreme socialist left."

And if true that sounds pretty good for the Democrats heading into the 2018 election cycle.

Donald Trump welcomed the book by James Comey with open arms. Just kidding, it inspired this unhinged Twitter rant.

James Comey just threw Andrew McCabe “under the bus.” Inspector General’s Report on McCabe is a disaster for both of them! Getting a little (lot) of their own medicine?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2018

I watched Rachel Maddow talk about the release of the Comey memos last night with James Comey, AS they were being released.

Comey did not necessarily defend Andrew McCabe, he suggested that the process needed to play out, but he also did not "throw McCabe under the bus."

Comey: McCabe had authority to speak to press but did not consult me, which I would have expected pic.twitter.com/aQIseJeV9u

— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) April 20, 2018

"Under the bus" is where Trump associates tend to end up.

James Comey Memos just out and show clearly that there was NO COLLUSION and NO OBSTRUCTION. Also, he leaked classified information. WOW! Will the Witch Hunt continue?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 20, 2018

Yeah about those memos.

Courtesy of the NYT:  

The memos are exacting in their specificity, including details about who was sitting where, the precise times that conversations began and their durations. In some cases, Mr. Comey shared his accounts with others immediately afterward. 

These details add credibility to Mr. Comey’s account of events. Mr. Trump has disputed some parts, including asking Mr. Comey to shut down an investigation into Mr. Flynn.

Exactly! Rather than indict James Comey for wrongdoing, these memos actually back up the testimony that he provided to the Senate and the details that he wrote about in his book.

So General Michael Flynn’s life can be totally destroyed while Shadey James Comey can Leak and Lie and make lots of money from a third rate book (that should never have been written). Is that really the way life in America is supposed to work? I don’t think so!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 20, 2018

Okay well first off Michael Flynn confessed to lying to the FBI and is now cooperating with the Mueller investigation.

The only one who destroyed Michael Flynn's life, is Michael Flynn.

Now back to those memos.

Exactly WHEN did Vladimir Putin brag to Donald Trump about the quality of Russian hookers?

Donald Trump vomits forth another early morning Twitter tantrum. Target: James Comey.

Unbelievably, James Comey states that Polls, where Crooked Hillary was leading, were a factor in the handling (stupidly) of the Clinton Email probe. In other words, he was making decisions based on the fact that he thought she was going to win, and he wanted a job. Slimeball!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2018

Yes, the best way to secure a job with a new President is to announce there is an open investigation against them a week before the election.

If Comey were trying to curry favor with Hillary he would have announced that the FBI had been investigating the Trump campaign almost since its inception.

The big questions in Comey’s badly reviewed book aren’t answered like, how come he gave up Classified Information (jail), why did he lie to Congress (jail), why did the DNC refuse to give Server to the FBI (why didn’t they TAKE it), why the phony memos, McCabe’s $700,000 & more?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2018

That is a LOT of misinformation in just one tweet.

Comey throws AG Lynch “under the bus!” Why can’t we all find out what happened on the tarmac in the back of the plane with Wild Bill and Lynch? Was she promised a Supreme Court seat, or AG, in order to lay off Hillary. No golf and grandkids talk (give us all a break)!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2018

Loretta Lynch? Are we seriously dredging that up again?

I never asked Comey for Personal Loyalty. I hardly even knew this guy. Just another of his many lies. His “memos” are self serving and FAKE!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2018

They are also CONFIRMED by other members of the FBI and Justice Department that Comey talked to directly after his meetings with Trump.

Slippery James Comey, a man who always ends up badly and out of whack (he is not smart!), will go down as the WORST FBI Director in history, by far!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2018

Just in case you are thinking "WTF?" keep in mind that Comey's big interview with ABC is being broadcast tonight.

Apparently somebody is a little agitated.

But it was not all Comey all the time this morning, Trump had a few other things to bitch about as well.

Attorney Client privilege is now a thing of the past. I have many (too many!) lawyers and they are probably wondering when their offices, and even homes, are going to be raided with everything, including their phones and computers, taken. All lawyers are deflated and concerned!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2018

I did not even realize that lawyers came with an air release valve.

However of course not ALL lawyers are worried about being raided by the FBI.

Only the ones who lied, and paid off porn stars, for Donald Trump.

Then there was this tweet.

The Syrian raid was so perfectly carried out, with such precision, that the only way the Fake News Media could demean was by my use of the term “Mission Accomplished.” I knew they would seize on this but felt it is such a great Military term, it should be brought back. Use often!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 15, 2018

I have only one response to this:

 All Trump did with that statement was to remind us that our last completely incompetent president was so much MORE competent than this one.

And he never tweeted like a middle school girl who just found out her best friend was making out with the boy she likes behind the gym either.

Just saying.

James Comey's book falls into the hands of reporters days before publication. And here we go.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

Donald J. Trump asked Director James B. Comey of the F.B.I. to investigate and knock down a lurid but unverified report that placed Mr. Trump years earlier in a Moscow hotel suite with prostitutes, explaining to Mr. Comey that the fantastic story was untrue and was painful and distressing to his wife, Melania Trump.

By Mr. Comey’s accounts, Mr. Trump, then the president-elect, disputed the so-called Steele dossier, a document compiled by a former British intelligence officer that detailed an allegation in which Mr. Trump watched prostitutes urinate on each other. Mr. Comey writes that Mr. Trump insisted that “there’s no way I would let people pee on each other around me” in part because he is a self-professed germophobe. “No way.”

Here was Comey's take on Trump's overall personality: 

“This president is unethical, and untethered to truth and institutional values,” Mr. Comey writes in the book, saying his service to Mr. Trump recalled for him the days when he investigated the mob in New York. “The silent circle of assent. The boss in complete control. The loyalty oaths. The us-versus-them worldview. The lying about all things, large and small, in service to some code of loyalty that put the organization above morality and above the truth.”

Nothing startling about this revelation, we have all seen evidence of that ourselves.

Comey also makes a few other observations:  

“His face appeared slightly orange, with bright white half-moons under his eyes where I assumed he placed small tanning goggles,” Mr. Comey writes of his impressions during that first in-person session. He said Mr. Trump had “impressively coifed, bright blond hair, which upon close inspection looked to be all his.”

Comey also mentions that Trump is smaller in stature than he first thought, and had smallish hands.

He also writes that Trump  builds a “a cocoon of alternative reality” around himself and those who serve him.

Much of the book is devoted to Comey's fear about how the Trump  presidency is damaging the country: 

“We are experiencing a dangerous time in our country,” he writes, “with a political environment where basic facts are disputed, fundamental truth is questioned, lying is normalized and unethical behavior is ignored, excused or rewarded.”

Comey also touches on why he felt he had to announce that the Hillary Clinton email case was reopened only a little over a week before the election.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

Comey has said that he made the public announcement in part because he was concerned concealing the FBI's investigation would imply bias. However, in the book Comey acknowledges that he assumed at the time that Clinton would win the election. 

“Certainly not consciously, but I would be a fool to say it couldn’t have had an impact on me,” he wrote of the assumption, according to ABC News. "It is entirely possible my concern about making her an illegitimate president by concealing the restarted investigation bore greater weight than it would have if the election appeared closer or if Donald Trump were ahead in all polls. But I don’t know.”

So it appears that Comey was concerned about protecting the FBI's reputation, and felt that Clinton was far enough in the lead that his announcement would not change the outcome.

If only that had been true.

There were reports that the Trump team was coming up with a strategy to deal with Comey's book, but it appears that Trump himself went with "unhinged."

James Comey is a proven LEAKER & LIAR. Virtually everyone in Washington thought he should be fired for the terrible job he did-until he was, in fact, fired. He leaked CLASSIFIED information, for which he should be prosecuted. He lied to Congress under OATH. He is a weak and.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018

....untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI. His handling of the Crooked Hillary Clinton case, and the events surrounding it, will go down as one of the worst “botch jobs” of history. It was my great honor to fire James Comey!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018

Trump might be right about that "botch jobs" comment as anything that might have helped to get HIM elected is likely going to be seen as a humongous mistake.

Devin Nunes threatens to "impeach" the head of the FBI and Rod Rosenstein, while Donald Trump just wants to fire everybody.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said Tuesday that he will seek to "impeach" FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein if they decline to hand over the document used to launch the FBI's probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election. 

"I can tell you that we're not going to just hold in contempt, we will have a plan to hold in contempt and impeach," Nunes said on Fox News's "The Ingraham Angle." 

Asked host Laura Ingraham if he was serious about impeaching Wray, Nunes replied: "Absolutely."

Of course as we know Nunes is essentially Trump's lap dog, and he is desperate to earn his Scoobie snack from his master.

However Trump may not even bother to go through that process as he is still talking about firing Rosenstein on his own: 

President Donald Trump is considering firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, multiple people familiar with the discussions tell CNN, a move that has gained urgency following the raid of the office of the President's personal lawyer. 

Such an action could potentially further Trump's goal of trying to put greater limits on special counsel Robert Mueller. 

This is one of several options -- including going so far as to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions -- Trump is weighing in the aftermath of the FBI's decision Monday to raid the office of Michael Cohen, the President's personal lawyer and longtime confidant. Officials say if Trump acts, Rosenstein is his most likely target, but it's unclear whether even such a dramatic firing like this would be enough to satisfy the President.

In other news Mitch McConnell refused to allow a vote to protect Robert Mueller and his investigation:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he doesn't think the Senate needs to pass legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller, arguing President Trump won't fire him. 

"I haven't seen a clear indication yet that we needed to pass something to keep him from being removed because I don't think that's going to happen, and that remains my view," McConnell told reporters. The GOP leader, asked what the Senate would do if Trump fired the special counsel, declined to speculate. 

"It's still my view that Mueller should be allowed to finish his job. I think that's the view of most people in Congress," he said. 

There is NO way that McConnell actually believes that Trump is not capable of trying to fire Mueller, or of firing Rosenstein and forcing his successor to fire Mueller.

Especially since he actually had to be talked down from doing so by his lawyers back in December.

Jesus what a shit show!

Per Trump's request Jeff Sessions speeds up investigation into Hilary Clinton's e-mails. Can you say "distraction?"

Courtesy of Newsweek:  

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has answered President Donald Trump’s demands for America’s top law enforcement agency to speed up the delivery to Congress of more than a million documents about an FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email server. 

The Department of Justice and the FBI asked Chicago prosecutor John Lausch to oversee the redaction and production of documents over the weekend. Many of these concern the FBI’s investigation of Clinton’s use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state.

This March, the House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena for 1.2 million documents connected to the investigation and other matters—including potential abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act during the investigation of the Trump campaign and the firing of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. The committee’s chairman, Republican Representative Robert Goodlatte of Virginia, said last month that just a few thousand documents have been delivered following his original requests last year. The subpoena is part of a joint investigation with the House Oversight Committee.

Trump took to Twitter (of course) to bitch about how long this process was taking.

What does the Department of Justice and FBI have to hide? Why aren’t they giving the strongly requested documents (unredacted) to the HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE? Stalling, but for what reason? Not looking good!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 7, 2018

Hey as far as I am concerned fucking go for it!

How many times have they investigated Hillary now?

And there is NEVER anything revealed which would constitute criminal or unethical behaviors.

My assumption is that either Donald Trump is too deep inside the Right Wing bubble to see how transparent all of this looks to most Americans, or he is so desperate for something he can use to distract attention that he just doesn't care anymore.

NONE of this is going to slow Robert Mueller down by the way, NOR convince the media not to report on the things he uncovers during that investigation.

Trump is pissing into the wind here, and it is splashing back all over him.

Donald Trump throws a Twitter tantrum over the FBI raid of his attorney's home and office.

Attorney–client privilege is dead!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 10, 2018

A TOTAL WITCH HUNT!!!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 10, 2018

This of course follows Trump's total meltdown yesterday after learning of this raid.

Courtesy of CNN:

"I just heard that they broke into the office of one of my personal attorneys. Good man. And it's a disgraceful situation. It's a total witch hunt," Trump said Monday, referring to a lawful FBI raid. 

"It's an attack on our country," Trump said. "It's an attack on what we all stand for." 

Trump lamented what he called a "witch hunt" that has dogged his term in office, slammed Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia probe and argued that investigators on Mueller's team are "just about" all Democrats -- which is false. 

"This is ridiculous. This is now getting ridiculous," Trump said, pointing to a "whole new level of unfairness." 

Asked why he hasn't moved to fire Mueller, Trump again said the situation is a "disgrace." 

"Why don't I just fire Mueller? Well, I think it's a disgrace what's going on. We'll see what happens," Trump said. "Many people have said you should fire him. Again, they found nothing. And in finding nothing, that's a big statement." 

Oh yeah, somebody's about to snap.

For the record the attorney-client privilege is NOT dead.

It just does not apply if your lawyer is breaking the law on your behalf. 

FBI raids Donald Trump's lawyer, Michael, Cohen's, office.

Wait, where are they?

Courtesy of the New York Times:

The F.B.I. on Monday raided the office of President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, seizing records related to several topics including payments to a pornographic-film actress. 

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan obtained the search warrant after receiving a referral from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to Mr. Cohen’s lawyer, who called the search “completely inappropriate and unnecessary.” The search does not appear to be directly related to Mr. Mueller’s investigation, but likely resulted from information he had uncovered and gave to prosecutors in New York. 

“Today the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York executed a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications between my client, Michael Cohen, and his clients,” said Stephen Ryan, his lawyer. “I have been advised by federal prosecutors that the New York action is, in part, a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.”

Mr. Cohen plays a role in aspects of the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He also recently said he paid $130,000 to a pornographic-film actress, Stephanie Clifford, who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. Ms. Clifford is known as Stormy Daniels.

Here is more from NBC News:

The FBI on Monday raided the office of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, seeking information about a $130,000 payment the attorney made to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election, sources said. 

Several law enforcement officials confirmed the search of Cohen's office was not the work of Mueller's prosecutors. It involves a matter that the Mueller team came across, concluded did not fall under their mandate and passed on to the U.S. Attorney's office in New York. 

Legal sources familiar with the nature of the search said it involved the $130,000 payment to Daniels, who alleges that she had an affair with Trump. The sources did not say whether it might have also involved other matters. 

So the Mueller team found some incriminating information about this payoff to Stormy Daniels during their investigation of Trump and his associates, decided it did not fit comfortably with the focus of their investigation so they handed it off to the New York Attorney General, who was convinced that the evidence was sufficiently concerning enough to get a warrant to raid Cohen's office.

And that is not all. According to Vanity Fair the FBI also raided Cohen's hotel room.

And whatever is in that office clearly has Trump concerned.

Trump has been watching TV reports of the FBI raiding Cohen's office, per @jeffzeleny.

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) April 9, 2018

And here is how Trump responded publicly to questions about the raid.

Trump comments responding to Cohen Raid pic.twitter.com/vNhZGsqCv5

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 9, 2018

Did I not say earlier that today was going to be stressful for Donald Trump?

That might have been an understatement.

Now the question is will this be the thing that freaks Trump out so much that he finally fires Rod Rosenstein and starts working to close down the Mueller investigation?

Devin Nunes continues in his attempts to obstruct the Russia investigations.

Courtesy of TPM:

In his latest round of anti-FBI shenanigans, House Intel Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) is threatening legal action against the Justice Department for refusing to show him unredacted versions of materials documenting the launch of the FBI’s Russia probe. 

In an April 4 letter sent to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (who’s overseeing the investigation because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself) and FBI Director Christopher Wray, Nunes accuses the Justice Department of “arbitrary resistance to legitimate oversight.”‘ 

“Be advised that failure to comply in a satisfactory manner will result in the Committee pursuing all appropriate legal remedies, including seeking civil enforcement of the August 24 subpoenas in federal district court,” Nunes’ letter said.

Nunes is seeking an unredacted version of a document known as an electronic communication “related to the opening of an FBI counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign.” The document falls under subpoenas issued by the committee in August, Nunes said, and his committee has only been able to view “heavily redacted” versions of the electronic communication.

I actually do not blame the FBI for keeping Nunes away from sensitive data.

The guy is clearly focused on finding information that he can use to obstruct the Mueller investigation and has no desire to perform the duties for which he was elected.

Fortunately for everybody concerned it looks quite likely that his days in office may be numbered.

Donald Trump's unrelenting attacks on the FBI and American law enforcement is providing aid for terrorists in court.

Courtesy of HuffPo:  

Three anti-Muslim militia members, on trial for plotting to slaughter Somali refugees in southwest Kansas, have adopted a defense strategy that could’ve been culled directly from President Donald Trump’s Twitter feed: suggesting that a biased FBI conspired against them in the lead-up to the 2016 election due to their political beliefs. 

Curtis Allen, Patrick Stein and Gavin Wright are on trial in connection with their arrest in a FBI domestic terrorism sting just weeks before the 2016 election. Their defense attorneys, in turn, are putting the FBI on trial ― accusing the nation’s premier law enforcement agency of improperly targeting the three men due to their conservative ideology. 

It’s common for defense attorneys to suggest their clients were wrongfully singled out by biased law enforcement officials. And to be sure, there’s nothing wrong with healthy skepticism about law enforcement and the FBI. 

But the situation here is striking: A U.S. president has taken pains to undermine the FBI (declaring that the bureau’s reputation is “in Tatters—worst in History!”), and defense attorneys for accused terrorists are seeking to capitalize on that reality. This is happening as the president is trying to neuter a special counsel probe that’s already resulted in multiple charges against and guilty pleas from a variety of his associates. The government, meanwhile, will have to deal with jurors primed to believe a conspiracy theory fundamentally at odds with the facts ― namely, that the FBI is a hotbed of liberalism that worked behind the scenes to somehow try to stop Trump’s election.

You know the really troubling part is that Trump and his supporters would probably find nothing wrong with this.

After all these planned attacks were against Muslims, not REAL Americans.

You know, white people.

Recently fired deputy director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe, writes op-ed for the Washington Post.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

I have been accused of “lack of candor.” That is not true. I did not knowingly mislead or lie to investigators. When asked about contacts with a reporter that were fully within my power to authorize as deputy director, and amid the chaos that surrounded me, I answered questions as completely and accurately as I could. And when I realized that some of my answers were not fully accurate or may have been misunderstood, I took the initiative to correct them. At worst, I was not clear in my responses, and because of what was going on around me may well have been confused and distracted — and for that I take full responsibility. But that is not a lack of candor. And under no circumstances could it ever serve as the basis for the very public and extended humiliation of my family and me that the administration, and the president personally, have engaged in over the past year. 

Not in my worst nightmares did I ever dream my FBI career would end this way. 

The next day I woke to find the president of the United States celebrating my punishment: “Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI — A great day for Democracy.” I was sad, but not surprised, to see that such unhinged public attacks on me would continue into my life after my service to the FBI. President Trump’s cruelty reminded me of the days immediately following the firing of James B. Comey, as the White House desperately tried to push the falsehood that people in the FBI were celebrating the loss of our director. The president’s comments about me were equally hurtful and false, which shows that he has no idea how FBI people feel about their leaders.

Towards the end of the 2016 election cycle The Guardian reported that the FBI was essentially "Trumpland," and that Hillary was seen as "the antichrist personified" to a large swath of FBI agents.

That was seen as part of the reason why the FBI's investigation into Trump's ties with Russia were kept on the down low while Clinton's email kerfuffle was featured on the front pages virtually every single day.

One has to wonder now if the FBI is happy with their performance, and in some cases lack of performance, during the 2016 elections?

I am not at all sure what they thought they would gain having Donald Trump as president, but if it was to be attacked on an almost weekly basis, have their top people humiliated and fired, and to have their entire agency undermined, well I guess they certainly got that, didn't they? 

Trump hires lawyer who embraces conspiracy theory that FBI and Justice Department worked together to frame him.

Courtesy of the New York Times: 

President Trump hired the longtime Washington lawyer Joseph E. diGenova on Monday, adding an aggressive voice to his legal team who has pushed the theory on television that the F.B.I. and Justice Department framed Mr. Trump.

“Former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia Joe DiGenova will be joining our legal team later this week,” said Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s personal lawyers. “I have worked with Joe for many years and have full confidence that he will be a great asset in our representation of the President.” 

Mr. diGenova has endorsed the notion that a secretive group of F.B.I. agents concocted the Russia investigation as a way to keep Mr. Trump from becoming president. “There was a brazen plot to illegally exonerate Hillary Clinton and, if she didn’t win the election, to then frame Donald Trump with a falsely created crime,” he said on Fox News in January. He added, “Make no mistake about it: A group of F.B.I. and D.O.J. people were trying to frame Donald Trump of a falsely created crime.” 

Little evidence has emerged to support that theory.

Of course as we know Trump loves him some conspiracy theories, after all it was the Obama birth certificate conspiracy that brought him such national attention in the first place. And a conspiracy theory that suggests that he did nothing wrong and is being framed he would love that most of all.

Bringing this bomb thrower into the mix indicates to me that Trump has NO intention of agreeing to that interview with Robert Mueller.

A total WITCH HUNT with massive conflicts of interest!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 19, 2018

I think all signs point to Trump tripling down and stonewalling the Mueller investigators while tweeting out that he is being framed by his own Justice Department, and is the victim of a massive liberal conspiracy to remove him from office without cause.

Just when you thought this whole thing could not possible get any crazier.

P.S. Just a reminder that there is a tweet for EVERYTHING.

The Failing New York Times purposely wrote a false story stating that I am unhappy with my legal team on the Russia case and am going to add another lawyer to help out. Wrong. I am VERY happy with my lawyers, John Dowd, Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow. They are doing a great job and.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2018

Stupid New York Times being a week too early.

After Donald Trump attacked him on Twitter James Comey's book moves to number one on Amazon.

Courtesy of The Hill:

Former FBI Director James Comey’s unreleased book has landed at the No. 1 spot on the Amazon best-sellers list just one day after he told President Trump that “the American people will hear my story very soon.” 

Comey’s book, “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership," rocketed up the list over the weekend, after starting at No. 15 on Saturday. 

The book is scheduled to be released on April 17. 

The fired FBI director is expected to use the upcoming book tour to challenge attacks on him and the FBI by Trump and some Republicans.

Speaking of attacks it appears that Comey's book got a boost after this tweet from Trump.

Wow, watch Comey lie under oath to Senator G when asked “have you ever been an anonymous source...or known someone else to be an anonymous source...?” He said strongly “never, no.” He lied as shown clearly on @foxandfriends.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2018

In response Comey tweeted this out.

Mr. President, the American people will hear my story very soon. And they can judge for themselves who is honorable and who is not.

— James Comey (@Comey) March 17, 2018

You know I am going to go broke trying to keep up with all of these new must read books. 

Even after he got him fired Donald Trump cannot stop attacking former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

As the House Intelligence Committee has concluded, there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump Campaign. As many are now finding out, however, there was tremendous leaking, lying and corruption at the highest levels of the FBI, Justice & State. #DrainTheSwamp

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2018

The Fake News is beside themselves that McCabe was caught, called out and fired. How many hundreds of thousands of dollars was given to wife’s campaign by Crooked H friend, Terry M, who was also under investigation? How many lies? How many leaks? Comey knew it all, and much more!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2018

By the way according to McCabe Trump was obsessed with his wife: 

McCabe also opened up about how the President appeared fixated on his wife's failed campaign, recalling at least four occasions in which Trump taunted him with it as a "mistake" or "problem" and calling her a "loser." 

Trump raised the issue with Comey "out of the blue," according to McCabe, saying things "like, 'What's wrong with that deputy director of yours?' " insinuating that he was somehow politically motivated against the President, which, McCabe says is "absolutely not true." 

"In May, when Director Comey was fired and I had my own interactions with the President, he brought up my wife every time I ever spoke to him," McCabe told CNN, emphasizing that he pushed back. "Of course, I disagreed with him. I don't see my wife's decision to try to enter public life to help her community (have) greater access to healthcare as a mistake or a problem."

Trump also asked McCabe who he voted for in 2016, apparently to gauge his loyalty.

These are the rantings of a VERY insecure and frightened man.

And perhaps he should be because McCabe has something else in common with his former boss James Comey. Copious note taking.

Courtesy of the AP:  

Andrew McCabe — the former FBI deputy director just fired by the attorney general — kept personal memos regarding President Donald Trump. 

That’s according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation who wasn’t authorized to discuss the memos publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. 

This person says the memos are similar to the ones maintained by former FBI Director James Comey, who Trump fired last May. 

Comey’s series of notes detailed interactions with Trump that Comey said unnerved him. 

The person with knowledge of McCabe’s situation says McCabe’s memos include details of interactions with the president, among other topics. 

It’s not immediately clear whether any of the McCabe memos have been turned over to special counsel Robert Mueller or requested by Mueller.

Well Mueller certainly has them now.

It's a damn good thing that Donald Trump does not accompany his children when they go hunting. Because he would definitely shoot himself in the foot every single time.

Andrew McCabe's statement after being fired by Jeff Sessions.

Courtesy of CNN: 

I have been an FBI Special Agent for over 21 years. I spent half of that time investigating Russian Organized Crime as a street agent and Supervisor in New York City. I have spent the second half of my career focusing on national security issues and protecting this country from terrorism. I served in some of the most challenging, demanding investigative and leadership roles in the FBI. And I was privileged to serve as Deputy Director during a particularly tough time. 

For the last year and a half, my family and I have been the targets of an unrelenting assault on our reputation and my service to this country. Articles too numerous to count have leveled every sort of false, defamatory and degrading allegation against us. The President's tweets have amplified and exacerbated it all. He called for my firing. He called for me to be stripped of my pension after more than 20 years of service. And all along we have said nothing, never wanting to distract from the mission of the FBI by addressing the lies told and repeated about us. 

No more. 

The investigation by the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has to be understood in the context of the attacks on my credibility. The investigation flows from my attempt to explain the FBI's involvement and my supervision of investigations involving Hillary Clinton. I was being portrayed in the media over and over as a political partisan, accused of closing down investigations under political pressure. The FBI was portrayed as caving under that pressure, and making decisions for political rather than law enforcement purposes. Nothing was further from the truth. In fact, this entire investigation stems from my efforts, fully authorized under FBI rules, to set the record straight on behalf of the Bureau, and to make clear that we were continuing an investigation that people in DOJ opposed. 

The OIG investigation has focused on information I chose to share with a reporter through my public affairs officer and a legal counselor. As Deputy Director, I was one of only a few people who had the authority to do that. It was not a secret, it took place over several days, and others, including the Director, were aware of the interaction with the reporter. It was the type of exchange with the media that the Deputy Director oversees several times per week. In fact, it was the same type of work that I continued to do under Director Wray, at his request. The investigation subsequently focused on who I talked to, when I talked to them, and so forth. During these inquiries, I answered questions truthfully and as accurately as I could amidst the chaos that surrounded me. And when I thought my answers were misunderstood, I contacted investigators to correct them. 

But looking at that in isolation completely misses the big picture. The big picture is a tale of what can happen when law enforcement is politicized, public servants are attacked, and people who are supposed to cherish and protect our institutions become instruments for damaging those institutions and people. 

Here is the reality: I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey. The release of this report was accelerated only after my testimony to the House Intelligence Committee revealed that I would corroborate former Director Comey's accounts of his discussions with the President. The OIG's focus on me and this report became a part of an unprecedented effort by the Administration, driven by the President himself, to remove me from my position, destroy my reputation, and possibly strip me of a pension that I worked 21 years to earn. The accelerated release of the report, and the punitive actions taken in response, make sense only when viewed through this lens. Thursday's comments from the White House are just the latest example of this. 

This attack on my credibility is one part of a larger effort not just to slander me personally, but to taint the FBI, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals more generally. It is part of this Administration's ongoing war on the FBI and the efforts of the Special Counsel investigation, which continue to this day. Their persistence in this campaign only highlights the importance of the Special Counsel's work. 

I have always prided myself on serving my country with distinction and integrity, and I always encouraged those around me to do the same. Just ask them. To have my career end in this way, and to be accused of lacking candor when at worst I was distracted in the midst of chaotic events, is incredibly disappointing and unfair. But it will not erase the important work I was privileged to be a part of, the results of which will in the end be revealed for the country to see. 

I have unfailing faith in the men and women of the FBI and I am confident that their efforts to seek justice will not be deterred.

Even if McCabe deserved to be let go, which from this statement does not seem at all clear, the fact that they did it just two days before he was eligible for his pension, is simply indefensible.

There are many who are suggesting that Trump had Sessions do this in order to damage his reputation and make it easier to fire him, thus allowing him to appoint an Attorney General who could oversee or fire Robert Mueller.

If that turns out to be the case it will identify Jeff Sessions as the biggest schmuck in Justice Department history.

As it is Trump has really crossed a red line of his own, and influential people are now coming forward to say the things we all have been saying for over a year now.

Such as this from former CIA chief John Brennan.

When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history. You may scapegoat Andy McCabe, but you will not destroy America...America will triumph over you. https://t.co/uKppoDbduj

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) March 17, 2018

And this from a retired four star general.

Reluctantly I have concluded that President Trump is a serious threat to US national security. He is refusing to protect vital US interests from active Russian attacks. It is apparent that he is for some unknown reason under the sway of Mr Putin.

— Barry R McCaffrey (@mccaffreyr3) March 16, 2018

Donald Trump might believe he is keeping the true motivations for his actions secret, but obviously that is not the case.

Former FBI Director Andrew McCabe fired just days before he was to retire with his pension intact. Update!

Courtesy of thew New York Times:

Andrew G. McCabe, the former F.B.I. deputy director and a frequent target of President Trump’s scorn, was fired Friday after the Attorney General Jeff Sessions rejected an appeal that would have let him retire this weekend. 

Mr. McCabe promptly declared that his firing, and Mr. Trump’s persistent needling, were intended to undermine the special counsel’s investigation in which he is a potential witness. 

Mr. McCabe is accused in a yet-to-be-released internal report of failing to be forthcoming about a conversation he authorized between F.B.I. officials and a journalist. 

In a statement released late Friday, Mr. Sessions said that Mr. McCabe had shown a lack of candor under oath on multiple occasions. 

“The F.B.I. expects every employee to adhere to the highest standards of honesty, integrity and accountability,” he said. “I have terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe effective immediately.”

McCabe however disputes that explanation:

McCabe in a statement: "Here is the reality: I am being singled out and treated this way because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey."

— Tara Palmeri (@tarapalmeri) March 17, 2018

McCabe was even more blunt in another interview: 

“The idea that I was dishonest is just wrong,” he said, adding, “This is part of an effort to discredit me as a witness.”

It should be pointed out that a Fox News draft of their article on this firing was leaked on Twitter hours before anybody else knew it was happening.

Someone at Fox News accidentally published the draft of a "McCabe fired" story, even though the firing hasn't happened. Twitterers are starting to share the link, thinking it's real. pic.twitter.com/QZPkLcyFLN

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 16, 2018

So clearly Trump's favorite "news" outlet was given a heads up well before the rest of the media was informed about this unprecedented decision.

By the way we should also remember that Trump has been trolling McCabe about this possibility for months now.

This is how the president of the United States treats a man who gave over 20 years in service to his country.

Update: Check this shit out.

Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy. Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2018

God he's a prick!

The FBI has been trying to contact the two prisoners in Thailand who claim to have evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Courtesy of CNN: 

FBI agents have tried to meet a pair of self-styled "sex coaches" detained in a Bangkok jail who claim to have evidence of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, a senior Thai official told CNN. 

Belarussian citizens Anastasia Vashukevich and Alexander Kirillov sent a handwritten letter last month to the US Embassy in Bangkok asking for help in getting them released in exchange for information on alleged meddling in the US presidential election. 

The FBI agents contacted Thailand's Immigration bureau last week to try to organize the meeting, the highly placed source in the department said. 

The request was refused by Thai officials because only legal representatives and family members of the detainees are permitted access to the detainees, added the source, who is not authorized to speak to media.

As I reported before this Anastasia Vashukevich claims to have taped evidence that Russian oligarch Oleg V. Deripaska participated in the meddling. Deripaska also has close ties to Paul Manafort.

A number of people have tried to dismiss these women out of hand as simply saying anything to get out of that Thai prison, but it appears that the FBI might be taking their claims seriously.

We shall see.

Russian politician claims his close ties to the NRA provided him access to Donald Trump.

Courtesy of NPR: 

A prominent Kremlin-linked Russian politician has methodically cultivated ties with leaders of the National Rifle Association, and documented efforts in real time over six years to leverage those connections and gain access deeper into American politics, NPR has learned. 

Russian politician Alexander Torshin claimed his ties to the National Rifle Association provided him access to Donald Trump — and the opportunity to serve as a foreign election observer in the United States during the 2012 election. 

Torshin is a prolific Twitter user, logging nearly 150,000 tweets, mostly in Russian, since his account was created in 2011. Previously obscured by language and by sheer volume of tweets, Torshin has written numerous times about his connections with the NRA, of which he's a known paid lifetime member. NPR has translated a selection of those posts that document Torshin's relationship to the group.

These revelations come amid news that the FBI is investigating whether Torshin, the deputy governor of the Bank of Russia, illegally funneled money to the National Rifle Association to assist the Trump campaign in 2016, McClatchy reported in January. 

In a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a member of the Senate intelligence committee, the NRA denied any wrongdoing and suggested the FBI is investigating Torshin, not the NRA. Neither the NRA nor Torshin responded to inquiries from NPR.

Here's a question.

If the NRA helped to facilitate the Russian influence over Donald Trump, does that not make them a terrorist organization, or at the very least guilty of some form of treason?

And by the way despite what Trump said recently the NRA clearly has him in their pocket.

I had a great meeting tonight with @realDonaldTrump & @VP. We all want safe schools, mental health reform and to keep guns away from dangerous people. POTUS & VPOTUS support the Second Amendment, support strong due process and don’t want gun control. #NRA #MAGA

— Chris Cox (@ChrisCoxNRA) March 2, 2018

Chris Cox is a top NRA lobbyist by the way, and this was posted AFTER Trump ridiculed some of his fellow Republicans for being afraid of the NRA.

Trump before NRA meeting: “We should have comprehensive gun control.”

Trump hours after NRA meeting: “Video games. Video games are the problem. And mental health, too.” https://t.co/TqcHBGLIim

— Ned Price (@nedprice) March 2, 2018

Well if the NRA is a terrorist organization, they have managed to place one of their suicide bombers into the White House.

Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee is apparently behind attempts to sabotage investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee. Has this ever happened before?

Burr and Warner

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

The Senate Intelligence Committee has concluded that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee were behind the leak of private text messages between the Senate panel’s top Democrat and a Russian-connected lawyer, according to two congressional officials briefed on the matter. 

Senator Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, the committee’s Republican chairman, and Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat, were so perturbed by the leak that they demanded a rare meeting with Speaker Paul D. Ryan last month to inform him of their findings. They used the meeting with Mr. Ryan to raise broader concerns about the direction of the House Intelligence Committee under its chairman, Representative Devin Nunes of California, the officials said. 

To the senators, who are overseeing what is effectively the last bipartisan investigation on Capitol Hill into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, the leak was a serious breach of protocol and a partisan attack by one intelligence committee against the other. 

The messages between Mr. Warner and Adam Waldman, a Washington lawyer, show that the senator tried for weeks to arrange a meeting with Christopher Steele, the former British spy who assembled a dossier of salacious claims about connections between Mr. Trump, his associates and Russia. The Senate committee has had difficulty making contact with Mr. Steele, whom it views as a key witness. And Mr. Waldman, who knew Mr. Steele, presented himself as a willing partner.

Those texts, which were sent via a secure messaging application, were then leaked to Fox News who quickly used them in an attempt to discredit Senator Warner.

And they even called in a little help to do so.

Wow! -Senator Mark Warner got caught having extensive contact with a lobbyist for a Russian oligarch. Warner did not want a “paper trail” on a “private” meeting (in London) he requested with Steele of fraudulent Dossier fame. All tied into Crooked Hillary.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2018

So to be clear, Devin Nunes revealed private correspondence between a sitting Senator and his source to a national media outlet, and then the president of the United States used that information to publicly attack a fellow Republican and attempt to discredit an investigation into his own wrongdoing.

And all of this happened only weeks after the House Republicans published that erroneous memo claiming that the FBI relied only on the dossier and some media reports in order to get a FISA warrant to put Carter Page under surveillance.

Which of course is also a lie. 

We are so far down the rabbit hole now.