The coup attempt never ended.

At what point did the Media move from reporting a story to actively participating in the Coup?

How culpable are they for "collusion" in the attempted coup?

At what point does it become a "Conspiracy"?

Was all this just organic and natural or was it organized?

This is a strange story that is hard to take too seriously.

But it is where the FBI has put us.

The FBI, including Comey and the Mueller report, has continuously told us that the dossier did not start the counterintelligence operation in the summer of 2016. They say it was started because of what Joseph Mifsud told George Papadopoulos on 26 April 2016. (Mifsud told Papadopoulos that the Russians had thousands of Clinton emails).

Mifsud has disappeared and his location is unknown.

So what is Geo Papadopoulos now saying about Mifsud:

https://www.startmag.it/mondo/...mpiano-papadopoulos/

"In my opinion, Mifsud is protected by Italian intelligence because Italy has realized that it made a big mistake in 2016 working with the FBI and the Obama administration using Mifsud to create a false conspiracy.

I believe that Mifsud has changed identity, and lives under a false name. This means he was helped by the government. Let us therefore ask ourselves: why does the Italian government protect Mifsud? For me, the reason is that the Italians have acted in collusion with the Obama administration and are now trying to hide their role.

I think it's in the interest of the current Italian government, which has more friendly relations with Donald Trump, to explain what really happened in 2016 under the Renzi government. The Italian government should make Mifsud available to the American authorities"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Is any of that true ? We don't know. But that is what Papadopoulos is saying, and he is supposedly at the center of the origination of the FBI investigation.

I searched the Mueller report for "Mifsud". The report discusses Mifsud's interaction with Papadopoulos.

Papadopoulos was first interviewed by the FBI on 27 January 2017.

The FBI interviewed Mifsud on 10 Feb 2017. Mifsud denied he had advance knowledge that Russia had emails damaging to Clinton.

I searched the Mueller report twice more for "Mifsud". I didn't find any mention that Mifsud had subsequently disappeared. No mention of the FBI looking for Mifsud.

What is wrong w this picture ? Mueller says Mifsud was the trigger to starting the investigation.

But Mifsud told the FBI he had no advance information about Clinton.

Mifsud disappears. Mueller never mentions trying to locate Mifsud after the Feb 2017 interview.

There is more to the story that is not on the table.

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adding: CTH seems to believe something might be here

https://theconservativetreehou...urfaces/#more-163108

The CIA track took place between March and July 2016, and consisted of using foreign intelligence allies in Italy , the U.K and Australia to create a background illusion of Russian involvement with the Trump campaign

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sdy,

Rosenstein may be the first rat in this cabal to begin eating his own kind.


https://hotair.com/archives/20...azzcVGdjwfBPdLEFlw9I

----------------------

Rosenstein: The “Previous Administration” Didn’t Tell Us The Whole Truth, And Don’t Get Me Started On Comey


Rod Rosenstein won’t stick around much longer at the Department of Justice, but the deputy Attorney General will make his departure memorable. At a dinner hosted by the Armenian Bar Association, Rosenstein took aim at critics, the media, and especially Russia, whose aims at destabilizing the US remain vastly underappreciated, he warned. However, when describing his last two years at the center of the Russiagate maelstrom, Rosenstein took veiled shots at the Obama administration, James Comey, and Congress for their roles in stoking those fires:

SEE ALSO: Barr may skip House committee appearance

At my confirmation hearing in March 2017, a Republican Senator asked me to make a commitment. He said: “You’re going to be in charge of this [Russia] investigation. I want you to look me in the eye and tell me that you’ll do it right, that you’ll take it to its conclusion and you’ll report [your results] to the American people.”

I did pledge to do it right and take it to the appropriate conclusion. I did not promise to report all results to the public, because grand jury investigations are ex parte proceedings. It is not our job to render conclusive factual findings. We just decide whether it is appropriate to file criminal charges.

Some critical decisions about the Russia investigation were made before I got there. The previous Administration chose not to publicize the full story about Russian computer hackers and social media trolls, and how they relate to a broader strategy to undermine America. The FBI disclosed classified evidence about the investigation to ranking legislators and their staffers. Someone selectively leaked details to the news media. The FBI Director announced at a congressional hearing that there was a counterintelligence investigation that might result in criminal charges. Then the former FBI Director alleged that the President pressured him to close the investigation, and the President denied that the conversation occurred.

So that happened.
There is no mistaking Rosenstein’s meaning, even if he didn’t attach names to those allegations. Until now, many just assumed that Rosenstein would have a lot to say about Donald Trump once he left the Department of Justice. That impression has some reasonable basis; Trump occasionally took public potshots at Rosenstein, and at one point seemed on the verge of firing him. Rosenstein only mentioned Trump once by name in the whole speech, however, and that was a positive reference to a Trump quote about the rule of law. One gets the impression from this passage that he will have much more to say about the actions and inactions that took place before Trump ever got to the White House.

Rosenstein offered this metaphor as a hint:

There is a story about firefighters who found a man on a burning bed. When they asked how the fire started, he replied, “I don’t know. It was on fire when I lay down on it.” I know the feeling.
The outgoing DAG had a few words for the media too, especially those he termed “mercenary critics”:

Then there are the mercenary critics, who get paid to express passionate opinions about any topic, often with little or no information. They do not just express disagreement. They launch ad hominem attacks unrestricted by truth or morality. They make threats, spread fake stories, and even attack your relatives. I saw one of the professional provocateurs at a holiday party. He said, “I’m sorry that I’m making your life miserable.” And I said, “You do your job, and I’ll do mine.” …

In our Department, we disregard the mercenary critics and focus on the things that matter. As Goethe said, “Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.” A republic that endures is not governed by the news cycle. Some of the nonsense that passes for breaking news today would not be worth the paper was printed on, if anybody bothered to print it. It quickly fades away. The principles are what abide.
On a more philosophical note, Rosenstein warned about the dangers of news-cycle governance. He related remarks from a retiring Congressman about why he decided not to run for another term:

Last year, a congressman explained why he decided not to run for reelection. He said, “I like … job[s] where facts matter. I like jobs where fairness matters. I like jobs where, frankly, … the process matters.”

He was describing an American courtroom. “I like the art of persuasion,” he said. “I like finding 12 people who have not already made up their minds and … may [let] the facts prevail. That’s not where we are in politics.”

That congressman spoke the truth. It may never be where we are in politics. But it must always be where we are in law.
That was almost certainly Trey Gowdy speaking, although Rosenstein doesn’t mention the name. It sounds like a mission statement for Rosenstein’s post-DoJ life. He may never achieve the same level of public notice as he currently enjoys in his position, but it seems doubtful that Rosenstein ever plans to fully retire and refrain from commentary. If this valediction is any hint of what might come in the future, then a whole new set of people should be concerned about what he’ll say once freed of the constraints of his current office.


.

quote:

Rosenstein may be the first rat in this cabal to begin eating his own kind.

I suspect this has been the case for awhile now, and exactly why he remained until the conclusion of the Mueller report.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:

quote:

Rosenstein may be the first rat in this cabal to begin eating his own kind.

I suspect this has been the case for awhile now, and exactly why he remained until the conclusion of the Mueller report.

I am sure he's cut a deal, but if it lands the biggest fish, I am fine with it.



.

I'm fine with Rosenstein being the one who successfully walks the tightrope. He was appointed by Trump and handed the mess when Sessions recused out of nowhere. Yes; he was a part of it, but his nominal appointed by Trump cover gives him credibility that can be leveraged when he spills the beans on the rest. Just like it was leveraged by Barr in his no obstruction determination.

Pump him for all the info he is good for, use it to prosecute the rest and then after that he can retire and we'll pretend he did the best he could.

I believe it will all work out for the best. A special counsel never should have been appointed. After that happened, it had to run it's course and now it is time to go on the offense.

^^^^^^^^
Re: “I'm fine with Rosenstein being the one who successfully walks the tightrope.”

I’m not. Rosenstein chose Mueller for Special Counsel.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has submitted his resignation to President Trump, effective May 11.

https://www.foxnews.com/politi...-submits-resignation

Now after the Mueller report, even Buzzfeed calls the Steele dossier a “f—ked-up document,”


https://www.washingtontimes.co...ssier-f-ked-documen/

Reporter Anthony Cormier made the blunt assessment at a investigative journalism symposium. He is a prominent player in the BuzzFeed investigative unit that obtained the dossier but wasn’t a story author.

His remark came after Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report discredited all of the dossier’s Trump charges

Steele asserted there was an “extensive conspiracy” between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin to interfere in the 2016 election. Mr. Mueller said he found no such conspiracy.

“That f—ked up document,” Mr. Cormier said. “I’m going to say that. It was a f—ked-up document. I think we need to know more about where it came from . Why it is. What it means. But I still defend the right and decision to publish it because I believe in radical transparency. And if the U.S. government is passing that kind of intel to the president and president elect, I think you guys deserve to know.”

Mr. Cormier was the co-author of a January story that asserted that Mr. Trump directly ordered his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress about the timing of a proposed Moscow Trump Tower.

Mr. Mueller disputed the story at the time and his 448-report contains no such charge. It quotes Mr. Cohen as saying Mr. Trump told him to cooperate with Congress.

Mr. Steele’s allegations became fodder not just for the FBI but also for books and news stories.

The Washington Times reviewed 12 of Mr. Steele’s anti-Trump conspiracy charges. It found that none was substantiated by Mr. Mueller and most were rejected.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Buzzfeed spent millions of dollars on teams to verify the dossier.

Their position now is if presidents are getting fed such f—ked up intel, we should all know.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:

quote:

Rosenstein may be the first rat in this cabal to begin eating his own kind.

I suspect this has been the case for awhile now, and exactly why he remained until the conclusion of the Mueller report.

RR better be watching his back. Or someone should if he’s going to rat some of these people out.
I can’t help but believe that maybe Nader or Schiff are involved somehow. Thou doth protest too much, you know.

quote:

maybe Nader or Schiff are involved somehow.

they can't be such total psycho-loonies without some kind of cause?

Wash Post and NYT are attacking AG Barr.

They both put out articles that Mueller wrote a ltr to Barr that his note (that provided the high level report conclusions) did "not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office’s work and conclusions"

A day after Mueller sent his letter to Barr, the two men spoke by phone for about 15 minutes

When Barr pressed Mueller on whether he thought Barr’s memo to Congress was inaccurate, Mueller said he did not but felt that the media coverage of it was misinterpreting the investigation, officials said.

Throughout the conversation, Mueller’s main worry was that the public was not getting an accurate understanding of the obstruction investigation , officials said.

AG Barr will testify tomorrow to the Sen Judiciary Comm.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...ump-probe/ar-AAAKJB8


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Personal note:

I had to take a break from reading Volume II of the Mueller report. It is so depressing to read. If you didn’t know much about the Russia/Trump campaign coordination investigation, the report would read as bad news for President Trump.

But if you are generally familiar with the information and documents that have been continuously coming out for the last 2.5 years, the report (especially Vol II) is a dramatic political hit job. Robert Mueller is a political hack. Throughout the report Mueller cherry picks information that puts President Trump in a bad light. Mueller takes things out of context, some of the things are gross distortions and exaggerations. There is almost a complete absence of fairness and objectivity. The bias against the President drips on each page.

Mueller writes about Donald Trump’s anger and frustration at the investigation as being “obstruction of justice” issues. Those outbursts were the righteous reactions to the conspiracy to frame the President.

Comey is portrayed as the honest straight shooter. Donald Trump as the one who always lies. You can bet that the interview Mueller wanted with the President was a perjury trap. I’ll put together a few examples in another post.

I hope the media and Dems keep attacking Barr, its a good strategy for them!

Lyndsey Graham dropping the "F" bomb for effect in the Barr Judiciary Committee Hearing. That took me by surprise.

Feinstein leads off w the Wash Post article about Mueller complaining to Barr

Several weeks ago I read that some Senate committee was going to investigate the FBI’s role in spurring the (fake) Russia-Trump collusion reports and Steele, etc. But I haven’t heard a word about it since.

Is that Senate investigation still planned? If so, it ought to proceed ASAP. 2020 draws near.

So far Feinstein hasn't mentioned having a Chinese spy on her own staff for 18 years.

Barr nails Mueller for not putting the report in a form suitable for rapid redaction (as requested)

Barr is very impressive. He told Feinstein that President Trump thought he was innocent and he was challenging a persecution that was driven by political motivation.

The dems are as usual being awful. They are deeply disrespectful towards Barr.

Here is the Mueller ltr to AG Barr




The DEM senators keep pounding Barr about this ltr. All Mueller asked for was more material from the report be released immediately.

The DEMS keep saying that Barr previously told Congress that he didn't know what the issues were. Barr explained that the earlier question was about unidentified people on the Mueller team who said the first Barr memo disagreed w the Mueller report findings. That is what Barr still doesn't understand.

Barr is handling these DEM senators very well.

BTW, I was initially concerned that Barr has known Mueller for 30 years and they are friendly. Barr hasn't given the slightest indication that is biasing his thoughts. Barr actually seems annoyed at Mueller on a number of issues.

Barr said he was very surprised there were no defensive briefs provided by the FBI to the Trump campaign from late spring thru the summer when the FBI thought campaign members were working w Russians.

It is a strange feeling to recognize that we have a true, honest, and very smart AG of the United States. It has been a long long time.


Barr: I can't say with any confidence that the Steele dossier wasn't Russian disinformation, and that's not just idle speculation.

Barr: “We have multiple criminal leak investigations under way”



DEM Sen Whitehouse: “Spying is not a commonly used term in the department, correct?”

AG Barr: “It’s commonly used by me.”