James Comey seems to be offering the Senate today a series of shrugs over troubling evidence of false evidence and possible Russian disinformation in the Russian investigation. Despite his signing off on secret surveillance, Comey is dismissing questions ...
...on the basis that he never knew of any of the memos indicating that the information in the investigation was false or even Russian misinformation. He was under a duty to confirm such facts. As someone who has billed himself as a strong leader, he is now portraying himself...
...as a passive player in these decisions. However, while he would not answer questions on the new evidence of possible Russian misinformation used by the FBI, he had no problem discussing new evidence on Trump's debt that might suggest Russian control over him.
After saying that he could not comment on the new evidence on possible Russian misinformation used by the FBI, Comey just had no problem is saying that he has read material on the Flynn case and give his conclusions on their meaning.
Comey did say that, knowing what he knows today, that he would not have signed off on the Page surveillance. That makes it unanimous with Yates and Rosenstein. Nobody now supports the surveillance request but no one takes real responsibility.
Comey just said that he was wrong to previously call the abuse of the FISA process as "nonsense." He said that he should not have had confidence in the process. However, he had no problem dismissing these concerns repeatedly and publicly until confronted with the evidence.
...Comey bizarrely just said that he was not sure if it was relevant that he should have been told that the subsource used for the Steele material was a suspected Russian agent even when he was briefed on the Steele material. He just signed the application.
...Comey previously in his book on "ethical leadership" criticized Trump and said “a leader needs the truth, but an emperor does not consistently hear it from his underlings.” That apparently does not apply to being informed that secret surveillance ...
...targeting aides of the opposing presidential candidate might be Russian intelligence disinformation. Even when being briefed on the Steele information, Comey said that he was not sure that he had to be informed of that fact before signing off on the FISA application.
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If Trump wanted to defibrillate the Justice Department, the Matt Gaetz nomination is the 100,000-volt option. The President-elect clearly wants an outsider without cultural or professional ties to DOJ. However, securing confirmation will be a monumental challenge...
...The nomination may have a curious effect on the nomination fights. It will likely draw fire and resources from other nominees. Indeed, other nominees may appear less controversial by comparison. However, it will also serve as a rallying point for a party left in disarray...
...The President-elect has a legitimate grievance with the Justice Department and a mistrust in the ability of that department to reform itself. Gaetz nomination strips away the surge protectors and pads to deliver a shock to the system...
The Manhattan case is delayed for a week. My friend Andy McCarthy has suggested that the delay could lead to a suspension for the next term. If so, that would hardly be welcomed by the Trump team. It would be a curious resolution to keep it unresolved...
...The other possibility is that in roughly a week, the court could dismiss the case. That would be warranted in my view. In any case, whatever the ruling, the ability of the Trump team needs to be able to appeal any case that is not dismissed. This case is riddled with reversible errors in my view. The one option that should be rejected, in my view, is suspending during the pendency of the new administration...
...reversible errors. I would be surprised if the option is suspension for the pendency of the coming term. It would produce the absurd status of a Damocles Sword dangling over the head of the president...
Roughly ten minutes ago, the "end of the filibuster" movement suddenly went silent. In the morning, the rights of the minority will suddenly become the cause célèbre of Washington...
...At the same time, the push to expand the Supreme Court fell silent as pundits and politicians embraced the nine-member court as sacrosanct.
...At the same time, the push to get Justice Sotomayor to resign became a campaign for the need fo continuity and longevity on the Court...
Musk appears to have prevailed in the litigation in Philadelphia against Larry Krasner. He will be allowed to continue his promotion to get people to sign petitions to support the first and second amendment rights...
... As I stated earlier, I do not believe that Musk's promotion violates federal law as paying for votes or registrations. Krasner seemed eager to pull Musk into court, but appears to have failed to convince the court. We are awaiting an order.
...We have the footage of Musk bringing in his sweepstake promotion for a successful landing in Philadelphia:
We are having a repeat from the Biden-Harris campaign in 2020 as Harris refused to say whether she voted for Proposition 36 in California for tougher criminal sentencing. In 2020, Biden refused to say how he felt about court packing before the election... dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…
...Crime is one of the top issues this election, but Harris insisted that it was too close to the election to make her views known. That rather counterintuitive argument flips the entire point of an election to hash out the positions on major issues...
...If you are running on saving democracy, it would be reassuring to give democracy a chance by being open with voters about your position on major issues like criminal justice.
DA Mike Mancuso has confirmed that suspicious registrations have been traced to "Field and Media Corps” of Fieldcorps. facebook.com/MikeMancusoDis… Fieldscorps is reportedly linked to Democratic campaigns, though this is a developing story. wgal.com/article/pennsy…
...Local media reported that the company's "website listed a number of Democratic campaigns as clients including Biden-Harris, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Arizona Democrats."...
...The good news is that these forms were flagged before the election. The question is the number of affected registrations. We still do not know many details, including confirming which campaigns retained FieldCorps. Since these companies work in many states, transparency is key on the patterns found in Pennsylvania.