Thread by @themarketswork

1) Once again, I am being asked my thoughts on Dana Boente, currently the FBI general Counsel - having replaced James Baker - who is currently the subject of a criminal leak investigation.

I have referred to Boente in previous articles as The Fixer.

2) Boente held key positions in the early days of Trump Admin - while retaining crucial position as US Attorney for Eastern Dist of VA until early 2018.

Acting AG
Acting Dep AG
Acting Head of DOJ NSD
FBI Gen Counsel

No other Trump official has been placed into so many key roles

3) On Jan. 13, 2017, Obama issued a last-minute executive order that altered the line of succession within the DOJ.

The action was not done in consultation with the incoming Trump administration.

Removed from the succession line by Obama was Boente.

4) Obama’s executive order placed the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia next in line behind the department’s senior leadership.

The US attorney at the time was Channing Phillips.

5) Phillips was first hired by former Attorney General Eric Holder in 1994 for a position in the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office.

Phillips, after serving as a senior adviser to Holder, stayed on after Holder was replaced by Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

6) Acting AG Sally Yates was fired on Jan. 30, 2017, by President Trump for refusing to uphold the president’s executive order limiting travel from certain terror-prone countries.

Yates was initially supposed to serve in her position until Sessions was confirmed as AG.

7) It appears the Obama was hoping the Russia investigation might default to Channing in the event Sessions was forced to recuse himself from the investigation.

Sessions, whose confirmation hearings began three days before the order, was already coming under intense scrutiny.

8) Trump ignored the succession order, as he is legally allowed to do, and instead appointed Dana Boente, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, as acting attorney general on Jan. 30, 2017, the same day Yates was fired.

9) President Trump issued a new executive order on Feb. 9, 2017, the same day Sessions was sworn in, reversing Obama’s prior order.

On March 10, 2017, Trump fired 46 Obama-era U.S. attorneys, including Preet Bharara.

These firings appear to have been unexpected.

10) Not all US Attorneys were affected by the firing.

16 US attorneys had left their posts since the November election.

The other 31 US attorneys were acting or specially appointed US attorneys since before the election — they kept their jobs for the moment.

Phillips included.

11) Phillips did not receive a resignation request, because of the nature of his appointment.

He was never actually confirmed as DC US Attorney and served under a court order.

But he said he expected to be replaced by a Trump appointee. After the EO reversal, he knew.

12) On June 12, 2017 President Trump nominated his first wave of US Attorney replacement candidates.

Jessie Liu, Deputy General Counsel for the United States Department of the Treasury, was nominated by Trump to replace Phillips.

Liu was confirmed on Sept. 25, 2017.

13) On March 5, 2019, President Trump nominated Liu for the 3rd highest post at DOJ - associate attorney general.

The nomination fell through on March 28, 2019 due to her prior role as vp of Ntl Assoc of Women Lawyers - which supported abortion rights.

14) AG Barr expressed his displeasure at Liu's withdrawal:

“She has been an outstanding United States attorney and would have made an outstanding associate attorney general. I have zero doubt she would have faithfully executed my priorities and advanced my rule-of-law agenda.”

15) Barr appointed Liu to lead the AG Advisory Committee, which counsels the AG on policy, procedure and management matters that affect federal prosecutors.

Barr said he gave Ms. Liu the post so she could “play a broader role in the department.”

Barr did NOT have to do this.

16) Of the 46 fired US Attorneys, President Trump ultimately kept five.

Two, Connecticut US Attorney Deidre Daly and Richard Hartunian of the Northern District, were granted an extension and allowed to stay for a few months to reach 20 years of service with the DOJ.

17) The other three US Attorneys whose resignations Trump rescinded were:

1) Rod Rosenstein
2) John Huber
3) Dana Boente

Rosenstein = DAG
Huber = Prosecutor assisting IG Horowitz
Boente = Variety of crucial roles w/Trump Admin.

18) Back to Boente.

He was appointed as Acting AG by President Trump on Jan. 30, 2017 in the midst of political turmoil.

Boente served in this role until Sessions was confirmed.

Notably, Boente retained his role as US Attorney EDVA until early 2018.

19) Boente then took over the Acting Dep. AG role until the confirmation of Rosenstein on April 25, 2017.

Boente then became the acting head of the DOJ’s National Security Division on April 28, 2017, following the sudden resignation of Mary McCord - who took over for John Carlin

20) The NSD was a focal point of problems within the DOJ.

Carlin resigned after misleading the FISA Court and McCord was the one who accompanied Yates in early Jan 2017 to first see WH Counsel McGahn about Gen. Flynn.
themarketswork.com/2018/05/21/joh…

21) Boente stayed in the NSD role until Jan 2018.

Interestingly, Boente retained his role as US Attorney EDVA until this same time - despite some erroneous reports that Boente gave that role up in May 2017.

Boente remained as US Attorney EDVA until Jan '18.

22) On Jan 23, 2018, Boente was tapped for the position of FBI General Counsel by FBI Dir. Chris Wray.

Given the importance of Boente to the Trump Admin. it is likely that Trump was involved in the decision.

23) Boente replaced James Baker who was demoted and reassigned. Baker later left the FBI.

Baker is currently the subject of a criminal leak investigation.

Boente remains in his position as FBI general counsel.

24) Boente and Rosenstein both signed off on the 2nd and 3rd renewals respectively of the Page FISA - the last two FISA extensions.

This has often been referenced in relation to their roles.

Boente's FBI signer was Comey. Rosenstein's was McCabe.

25) Both signings came at critical times.

Comey’s - in the weeks before his firing.

McCabe’s - right around the time of the discovery of the Strzok/Page texts.

26) Rosenstein told Gaetz, "I dispute your characterization of what that FISA is about."

Rosenstein also said: "I’ve reviewed that one in some detail, and I can tell you the information that’s public about that doesn’t match with my understanding of the one that I signed."

27) While we await the Mueller report - and hopefully declassification at some point - we don't know the answer to the signing of the two FISAs.

But given the importance of the two men, I'm waiting for details on this matter.

I strongly suspect there is more to the story.

28) If you think Boente is acting against Trump you should ask yourself why Obama's EO 13775 specifically removed Boente from the AG succession line.

And why did Trump override that EO and name Boente as Acting AG - along with a series of other, highly critical, roles.

29) It appears to me that President Trump trusts Dana Boente implicitly.

No one has served in a greater series of critical roles within the Trump Administration.

No one.

/End

As end date for Boente is somewhat important in relation to other pending matters here is what I found.

Boente announced resignation from EDVA 10/27 but said he would stay until successor named.

McCormick took over as acting on 1-28-18.

G. Zachary Terwilliger appointed 5-25-18