Emma Loop Profile picture
Feb 3, 2020 14 tweets 5 min read Read on X
In another bit of good luck, we just got the next batch of #Muellermemos 35 minutes earlier than we usually do! We’re going to start reading through. You can read them here: buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
I’m starting with a June 2017 summary of an interview with James Rybicki, former FBI Director James Comey’s chief of staff.

The interview recounts what happened the day before Comey testified before the Senate Intel Committee that month. Image
Earlier that day, FBI agents had visited Comey’s home to provide him materials to review before his testimony. More on that from a previous batch:
Rybicki 302: "Sometime later, Rybicki remembered a personal e-mail he received from Corney via Rybicki's personal e-mail address. In this e-mail, Corney listed the interactions Comey had with Trump.”
Comey was criticized by the DOJ IG for his personal email usage while FBI director. It’s unclear to me when this email was written, but it’s not cited in the IG report.

If during his tenure, could be a new example of Comey using personal email for work.

buzzfeednews.com/article/talala…
New colour on Comey’s firing: It’s been reported that the day after, Trump called Andrew McCabe, upset that Comey had been allowed to fly back to DC on the FBI plane.

Rybicki said McCabe told him on the night of the firing itself that "Trump was upset” about the plane. Image
Here’s that story: nbcnews.com/politics/donal…
It’s mentioned in the Mueller report, but sourced largely to McCabe, who seems to recount it a bit differently — saying Trump called him the next day — or maybe Trump said he was mad about the plane twice. ImageImage
What’s great about the 302s is the additional detail we get — the Rybicki 302 says Trump was “upset," while the Mueller report states only that Trump "told McCabe that Comey should not have been permitted to travel back to Washington, D.C. on the FBI's airplane."
Next Rybicki 302: "It would be very difficult for someone to inform the President a topic of conversation was inappropriate, such as the conversation during which Corney informed the President Flynn was a good guy." Image
After Trump met with Comey alone in the Oval to talk about Flynn, Comey and Rybicki met with AG Sessions about preventing further meetings like that.

After, "Rybicki expressed to Corney his concern that he didn't think Sessions really understood the point of Corney's message" ImageImage
Rybicki told then-acting AG for the Russia investigation Dana Boente in April 2017 that WH counsel might call about the probe.

"Boente said something along line of, 'I was hoping he had forgotten about that', or words to that effect." Image
Here’s the 302 where lawyers for Michael Flynn inform Mueller’s team of a voicemail from Trump attorney John Dowd that Mueller later investigated as part of the obstruction probe. ImageImage
This 302 mentions Cobb — I don’t think we’ve seen him linked to this incident yet.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Emma Loop

Emma Loop Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @LoopEmma

Mar 16, 2021
New: @ODNIgov has released a declassified report on foreign interference in the 2020 elections.

Read it here:

dni.gov/index.php/news…
@ODNIgov Highlights:

- Putin authorized Russian government to attack Biden and help Trump, and to sow divisions/undermine faith in elections

- Iran went after Trump and also tried to sow divisions/undermine faith in elections

- NO “indications” that vote tallies were targeted
@ODNIgov Senate Intel Committee Chair @MarkWarner:

"[T]he problem of foreign actors trying to influence the American electorate is not going away and, given the current partisan divides in this country, may find fertile ground in which to grow in the future.”
Read 4 tweets
Dec 16, 2020
Sen. Chuck Grassley just tried to pass his bipartisan bill to update the Foreign Agents Registration Act by unanimous consent in the Senate, but Sen. Bob Menendez objected.

Menendez, the ranking member on the Foreign Relations Committee, said they need to study the issue more.
Grassley's been working for years on updating FARA to help the Department of Justice enforce the 1930s-era law, which hasn't been updated since the 1960s.

Here's the most current bill text:

congress.gov/bill/116th-con…
In a speech before he asked for UC, Grassley noted that the bill’s bipartisan cosponsors — Sens. Feinstein, Cornyn, Shaheen, Rubio, and Young — sit on the Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, and Intelligence Committees, all relevant to FARA.
Read 25 tweets
Dec 14, 2020
Some personal news: A little while ago, I decided to begin the application process for a new US work visa. If all goes well, I’ll be able to work in the US again in a couple months.

So if you’re an editor looking to expand your team, please get in touch! My email is in my bio.
A little about me: I’ve covered national security, federal law enforcement, politics (including Congress), and more in the US. I’ve also covered Canadian governments and news.

I love scoops and doing original, investigative reporting. And I'm bilingual in French and English.
When I was laid off this summer, I lost my previous work visa and came back to Canada to figure out my next steps: either apply for a new visa to return to DC long-term or fly back to DC to pack my things and move back home. After a lot of thought, I chose the former.
Read 6 tweets
Dec 4, 2020
It's official: the final version of the NDAA contains major reforms to the United States' anti-money laundering regime. Most notably, shell companies will be forced to disclose their true owners to Treasury -- a major gap in the regime that has been criticized for years.
Statements from @MarkWarner, @SenatorRounds, and @SenDougJones applauding the inclusion of their Illicit Cash Act -- the Senate version of the beneficial ownership legislation -- in the final NDAA:
Read 7 tweets
Sep 21, 2020
NEW: Remember when HSBC avoided criminal charges for allowing drug kingpins to to launder millions by promising the US DOJ it would clean up its act?

Well, the #FinCENFiles reveal the bank kept facilitating and profiting from suspect transactions:

buzzfeednews.com/article/anthon…
The #FinCENFiles show that the bank continued to do business with companies that its own employees raised red flags about. Here are some examples:

buzzfeednews.com/article/anthon… Image
The DOJ has increasingly relied on deferred prosecution agreements to fight high-level corporate crime — ie, no criminal charges.

But the approach has produced an ineffective cycle of accusations and inaction, apologies and broken promises.

#FinCENFiles
buzzfeednews.com/article/anthon…
Read 7 tweets
Sep 20, 2020
Finally, I can share the project I worked on for nearly two years at @BuzzFeedNews:

The #FinCENFiles — 1000s of SARs & other docs — offer an unprecedented view of global financial corruption, the banks enabling it & the govt agencies that fail to stop it. buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
This was a massive team effort -- it's been a privilege to work with @JasonLeopold, @MikeSallah7, @TomBWarren, @a_cormier_, @scottpham, @jtemplon, @jsvine, @TanyaKozyreva, @Richard_AHolmes, as well as @ICIJorg & all the partner organizations.
Read 19 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(