JALLEN,

The Reuters article you linked to says

"The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia judge presiding over the criminal case for President Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has been recused from handling the case, a court spokeswoman said

Court spokeswoman Lisa Klem did not say why Contreras was recused, and added that the case was randomly reassigned.

Reuters could not immediately learn the reason for the recusal, or reach Contreras. "

***************

The best we can say right now is that we don't know why Contreras was recused.

I haven't seen any reports that identified the 4 diff FISA judges that approved the warrants against Carter Page

These people have us massively uninformed as they hide behind claims of "national security" and "ongoing investigations"

All the phony uproar about the Nunes memo is an example

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
The change to Sullivan was a few days after the plea was entered. Was there any motion or request for further discovery or was this order from Sullivan just out of the blue, very unusual.

Who would force a recusal? Usually it is the recusing Judge. In state courts, one can challenge an assigned judge and be transferred to another. I’m not sure if there are any other forces that can act to get a recusal. Pulling a judge from a case because you don’t like his handling of the case is not usual.

There may be some basis for the speculation that Judge Sullivan was assigned intentionally, but there is no evidence of it. The Brady order appears normal, not extraordinary.

That could very well be the case - everything may be proceeding perfectly normally with nothing unusual going on - maybe the judge just decided he didn't want to continue on the case and decided to step down, for whatever reason.

However, former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy has his doubts and thinks there may be more going on behind the scenes based on his experience:

quote:

While the move could be simply standard procedure for Sullivan, it was nevertheless notable because Flynn had already pleaded guilty, and, as part of that guilty plea, agreed to "forgo the right to any further discovery or disclosures of information not already provided at the time of the entry of [Flynn's] guilty plea."

"It certainly appears that Sullivan's order supersedes the plea agreement and imposes on the special counsel the obligation to reveal any and all evidence suggesting that Flynn is innocent of the charge to which he has admitted guilt," wrote National Review's Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor.

http://www.nationalreview.com/...ueller-investigation

Maybe all of this will eventually come out, maybe not, since it's all been so secret up to this point. It does appear there is just enough actual info out there to support just about any conclusion at this point.

quote:

There is something close to true insanity on the left, in general. Watch 10 minutes of MSNBC or CNN some time.

Yes. They live in an alternate universe. They have become consumed with hatred. Trump derangement syndrome.
And the worst of it is that there are good people who are watching these networks who become brainwashed by all of it.

quote:

It does appear there is just enough actual info out there to support just about any conclusion at this point.

isn't this a typical preliminary to
justify any/all further legal process in a particular case?

quote:

Originally posted by justjoe:
So, Mueller's "probe" is not over.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news...ollusion-with-russia

This is a so-called investigation that can, apparently, go on forever. He might as well be investigating the existence of an anti-gravity pill that makes the user float. Let's start by interviewing and investigating Americans. What? No evidence? Okay, let's move on to Canada. Then Mexico and South America. Then....

Of course, you can always change the focus of the investigation as well. Anti-Gravity pill not working out? Now we will investigate invisible giraffes.

You can investigate things that never happened or do not exist-- FOREVER!

I think Mueller and the Deep State still cling to the hope that they can install Hillary in the White House. They need her there-- desperately-- to bury all their corruption and crimes, the shit ton of misdeeds they compiled during 8 years of Obama.

Sounds like they need to change the name to the "why / how did trump win and how do we defeat im next time" investigation

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:


That could very well be the case - everything may be proceeding perfectly normally with nothing unusual going on - maybe the judge just decided he didn't want to continue on the case and decided to step down, for whatever reason.

However, former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy has his doubts and thinks there may be more going on behind the scenes based on his experience:

quote:

While the move could be simply standard procedure for Sullivan, it was nevertheless notable because Flynn had already pleaded guilty, and, as part of that guilty plea, agreed to "forgo the right to any further discovery or disclosures of information not already provided at the time of the entry of [Flynn's] guilty plea."

"It certainly appears that Sullivan's order supersedes the plea agreement and imposes on the special counsel the obligation to reveal any and all evidence suggesting that Flynn is innocent of the charge to which he has admitted guilt," wrote National Review's Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor.

http://www.nationalreview.com/...ueller-investigation

Maybe all of this will eventually come out, maybe not, since it's all been so secret up to this point. It does appear there is just enough actual info out there to support just about any conclusion at this point.

Thanks for the link to the McCarthy article. He sheds light wherever he goes.

Notice in the Order that the cases cited appear to require the government to disclose all exculpatory information known to it, material to either guilt or punishment, etc. Even after a guilty plea, there is a continuing requirement for due process, and maybe that ought not be waivable.

We don’t know which FISA judge issued the warrant or authorized extensions. Since the judges sit on a one week rotation, it may be that 4 judges were involved. It may be that the duty judge who hears a particular matter is stuck with that until it is concluded. My guess is not, since some judges are a long way from DC. My guess (only that) is that whoever is on duty that week handles whatever comes in. Unlike District Court cases, FISA probably has no trials or lengthy proceedings, more like a law and motion calendar, or ex parte hearing judge.

As a guess, it may be that Judge Contreras handled some FISA stuff that might come up as part of sentencing Flynn, and that would necessitate, or risk, making it public. There are a good deal of “abundance of caution” factors here.

for what it is worth,

WSJ article

https://www.wsj.com/articles/h...ance-memo-1517592392

"A person familiar with the matter said that four separate federal judges approved the surveillance of Mr. Page"

full article behind pay wall

Meanwhile, the anti-Trump news rolls on in their never ending quest for anything spin-able.

Keep digging that hole you commie fucks:


http://www.foxnews.com/opinion...nalistic-biases.html

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
for what it is worth,

WSJ article

https://www.wsj.com/articles/h...ance-memo-1517592392

"A person familiar with the matter said that four separate federal judges approved the surveillance of Mr. Page"

full article behind pay wall

Thanks, pal. Good catch.

There are several things in the Steele dossier that indicate major parts of it are completely false.

I read the whole dossier once in a while because so much has come out in the last few months that you get new insight into how Steele lied.

Here is an example.

Michael Cohen is a lawyer for Donald Trump.
From page 18 of the dossier (from a 20 October 2016 report):



So Steele is saying that Michael Cohen is meeting with the Russians to clean up a mess. One piece of the mess is “western media revelations” that Carter Page had secret meetings in Moscow.

Think about that for a minute.
The only western media report (at that time) on Carter Page was Isikoff’s 23 Sept 2016 news story from Yahoo News.

But now we know that Steele gave that “info” on Page directly to Isikoff in Sept for Isikoff to publish.

So here we have Steele reporting about western media stories where Steele had planted the story.

BTW, this is exactly what Grassley said the FBI did in the FISA warrant application on 21 October 2016. The FBI falsely said the Isikoff story was not sourced by Steele and was verification of the dossier.

This is proof positive that Steele is a liar and he used the dossier to falsely “verify” his phony reports.

There is more, but let that one sink in.

20 Oct and 21 Oct quite a coincidence deleting that because it detracts from the main point

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

Right, plus Cohen couldn't have possibly been in EU in August as he cleared customs back into the US in July, was at his son's college in CA in Aug and never traveled back to any EU country.

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
for what it is worth,

WSJ article

https://www.wsj.com/articles/h...ance-memo-1517592392

"A person familiar with the matter said that four separate federal judges approved the surveillance of Mr. Page"

full article behind pay wall

There is no need to tunnel underneath the pay wall. Just email a WSJ article to yourself, click on the URL in the email, copy it, and then share it for all to read. WSJ would be OK with this since they encourage sharing articles on Facebook and Twitter.

Memo’s Release Escalates Clash Over Russia Probe; Trump Says It ‘Totally Vindicates’ Him

Does Mueller Indictment Mean Clinton Campaign Can Be Indicted for Chris Steele?

https://lawandcrime.com/opinio...ed-for-chris-steele/

Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted foreign citizens for trying to influence the American public about an election because those citizens did not register as a foreign agent nor record their financial expenditures to the Federal Elections Commission.

By that theory, when will Mueller indict Christopher Steele, FusionGPS, PerkinsCoie, the DNC and the Clinton Campaign? Mueller’s indictment against 13 Russian trolls claimed their social media political activity was criminal because: they were foreign citizens; they tried to influence an election; and they neither registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act nor reported their funding to the Federal Elections Commission.

First, if Mueller’s theory is correct, three things make Steele a criminal: first, he is a foreign citizen; second, he tried to influence an election, which he received payments to do (including from the FBI itself); and third, he neither registered as a foreign agent nor listed his receipts and expenditures to the Federal Election Commission. Also, according to the FBI, along the way, Steele lied…a lot, while the dossier he disseminated contained its own lies based on bought-and-paid for smears from foreign sources reliant on rumors and innuendo.

Second, if Mueller’s theory is correct, three things make FusionGPS a criminal co-conspirator: it knew Steele was a foreign citizen; it knew, and paid, Steele to influence an election; and it knew, and facilitated, Steele neither registering as a foreign agent nor reporting his funding from the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign to the Federal Election Commission.

Third, if Mueller’s theory is correct, then three things make PerkinsCoie a potential target: it knew Steele was a foreign citizen; it knew, and paid, Steele to influence an election; and it knew, and facilitated, Steele neither registering as a foreign agent nor reporting his funding from the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign to the Federal Election Commission, by disguising its receipt of payments from the Clinton campaign as a “legal expense.”

Fourth, if Mueller’s theory is correct, then three things make the DNC a potential target: it knew Steele was a foreign citizen; it knew, and paid, Steele to influence an election; and it knew, and facilitated, Steele neither registering as a foreign agent nor reporting his funding from the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign to the Federal Election Commission, by disguising its payments to Steele as laundered legal expenses to a law firm.

Fifth, if Mueller’s theory is correct, three things make the Clinton Campaign a potential target: it knew Steele was a foreign citizen; it knew, and paid, Steele to influence an election; and it knew, and facilitated, Steele neither registering as a foreign agent nor reporting his funding from the Clinton campaign to the Federal Election Commission, by disguising its funding of payments to Steele laundered through a law firm as a “legal expense.”

Don’t expect such an indictment. Mueller chose his targets because he knows they will never appear in court, never contest the charges, and cannot be arrested or extradited as Russian citizens.

Mueller’s unprecedented prosecution raises three novel arguments: first, that speaking out about American politics requires a foreign citizen to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act; second, that speaking out about American politics requires a foreign citizen list their source and expenditure of funding to the Federal Election Commission; and third, that mistakes on visa applications constitute “fraud” on the State Department. All appear to borrow from the now-discredited “honest services” theories Mueller’s team previously used in corporate and bribery cases, cases the Supreme Court overturned for their unconstitutional vagueness. The indictment raises serious issues under the free speech clause of the First Amendment and due process rights under the Fifth Amendment.

I read the news releases and get excited. Then the talking heads spin the news and it's depressing.

This cheered me up and showed how out of touch the Media is. Worse than out of touch- Delusional since they believe their own tripe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRkGpDB7Xf8

What exactly did the Russians do which I should be outraged by?

They meddled in the election by organizing rallies where Americans held signs in support or against a candidate. They said bad or good things on Facebook and Twitter about a candidate.

I understand abut Chris Steel and the dossier, but I don't understand this Russia meddling.

The news labels it as spreading "miss-information" but I seem to be missing what this miss-information was.

Did the Russians lie about someone or create fake news?

What is it specifically about this meddling that I an to be outraged by?

quote:

Originally posted by kimber1911:
What exactly did the Russians do which I should be outraged by?

They meddled in the election by organizing rallies where Americans held signs in support or against a candidate. They said bad or good things on Facebook and Twitter about a candidate.

I understand abut Chris Steel and the dossier, but I don't understand this Russia meddling.

The news labels it as spreading "miss-information" but I seem to be missing what this miss-information was.

Did the Russians lie about someone or create fake news?

What is it specifically about this meddling that I an to be outraged by?

Don't ask questions about the Russians you are just supposed to hate Trump! That's all you need to know!

Our President has now Tweeted what I wanted to post about earlier, but refrained:



Russia succeeded in creating disharmony and discord in the USA before our now, elected by the People, President Trump was ever Candidate Trump. And Russia continued after the election. I speculate that Putin would not be foolish and continue his foray now.

Look at how Russia preyed upon the weak POS Obama: https://www.politico.com/story...ricans-to-see-244423

Here are some timely articles from WSJ which can read by all:

Russian Influence Operation Allegedly Ran Like a Propaganda Startup

For Tech Giants, Halting Russian Meddling in U.S. Politics Won’t Be Easy

In summary, I think that we are OK. Our President can and will handle problems created by prior administrations.

This is an article by Andrew Klavan about the poisonous culture the left created. This is the moral atmosphere of Trump's presidency:


The Left Is Reaping the Whirlwind of the Culture They Made

by Andrew Klavan

"For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." Hosea 7:8

It was after a school shooting near Spokane last September that Spokane Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich addressed a clutch of reporters:

When I was in high school, every one of those rigs in the high school parking lot had a gun in the gun rack. Why? We went hunting on the way home. None of those guns ever walked into a school, none of those guns ever shot anybody... Did the gun change or did you as a society change? I'll give you odds it was you as a society. Because you started glorifying cultures of violence. You glorified the gang culture, you glorified games that actually gave you points for raping and killing people. The gun didn't change, we changed.

It seems clear to me the sheriff was speaking about rap music with its hateful, violent and misogynistic lyrics, and video games like Grand Theft Auto, where you can have sex with a prostitute then strangle her or pull an innocent person out of a car, beat him, then steal his vehicle.

I am a First Amendment purist and don't want to see expression censored in any way. And I don't argue that there's a straight line between any specific cultural creation and bad acts. But surely, a culture in which those in authority approve of and argue for things like gangsta rap and GTA — and indeed for the use of violence to silence speech that offends them — well, such a culture becomes a machine for transforming madness into murder.

It reminds me of some wisdom from another two sheriffs, the fictional sheriffs from the Coen Brothers movie of Cormac McCarthy's novel No Country for Old Men discussing the mindless violence that has taken over society.

"Once you stop hearing 'sir' and 'ma'am' the rest is soon to follow," says one.
"It's the tide, the dismal tide," says the other. "It's not the one thing."

The left wants to defend gangstas and "transgressive" art and antifa thugs — but when the shooting starts, they blame the guns.

The left wants to get rid of feminine modesty and masculine protectiveness and social restrictions on sex — but when the abuse and rape and harassment rise to the surface, they start whining about toxic manhood. Perhaps they should have listened to the Catholic apologist G.K. Chesterton, who wrote about the difference between reforming society and deforming it — a passage that was neatly paraphrased by John F. Kennedy: "Don't ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up."

Now the left wants to legitimize disrespect for the flag and for Christianity. They want to ignore the rule of law at the border and silence protests against Islamic ideas that are antithetical to every good thing the west stands for. They should look to Europe where all that's been accomplished. And now, when European women are molested in the public square, the gormless authorities advise them to behave more modestly lest immigrants get the wrong idea. When Islamic knives come out and Islamic bombs go off, the police rush to harass — who? Those who question the dictates of the Koran.

The left wants us to reel in shock that Donald Trump chased women or praised Russian strong men? Who was it who defended the infidelities and possible rapes of Bill Clinton? Who was it who turned a blind eye to Barack Obama consorting with terrorists and hate-mongers like Farrakhan?

For fifteen years and more, I have been complaining that the right is silenced in our culture — blacklisted and excluded and ignored in entertainment, mainstream news outlets, and the universities. But the flip side of that is this: the degradation of our culture is almost entirely a leftist achievement. Over the last fifty years, it's the left that has assaulted every moral norm and disdained every religious and cultural restraint.

The left owns the dismal tide. They don't like the results? They're looking for someone or something to blame? Maybe they should start by hunting up a mirror.

https://pjmedia.com/andrewklav...rlwind-culture-made/

Thanks for posting this. Very accurate and well stated.

Rob Goldman is VP of ads for Facebook



I would strongly disagree w Goldman that the Russian misinformation is why we are divided as a nation.

Profoundly more important than Russia has been the misinformation from NYT, Wash Post, Yahoo News, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, etc. Our own MSM has been the primary source of misinformation to divide us as a nation.