1. "Russian Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Mariya Zakharova said Turkey's presence in Afghanistan would be contrary to an agreement reached between the United States and the Taliban." tr.sputniknews.com/rusya/20210617… via @sputnik_TR
2. I couldn't figure out why Putin is acting like the Taliban's jailhouse lawyer. Then it hit me. IMO Putin is planning to again flood Europe with desperate Moslem refugees as part of his long-range plan to destabilize the Western democracies.
3. @POTUS Joe Biden may think the US has no need to stay in Afghanistan but when the slaughter starts Europe is where the flood of refugees will head not the US. @GermanyDiplo and others in Europe may want to consider if they have an interest in in avoiding a repeat of
4. what Putin and his pupet Assad did in Syria. He's banking on the Taliban to create a flood fleeing the slaughter. He wants no remaining force to ensure the Taliban have clear killing fields so Putin can move a bit closer to his goal of
5. destroying @NATO without firing a shot. And NB I don't think Turkey is the force that should stay. But whatever happens, Putin doesn't want any interference with the slaughter. Or witnesses. @JakeSullivan46@SecBlinken
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1. On religious free exercise case, all 9 agreed on the result but they were far from in agreement. This is not the end of this push towards a SCOTUS-created National Religion. And news flash to Evangelicals who think they won: Your National religion is going to be Catholic.
2. ROBERTS, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BREYER, SOTOMAYOR, KAGAN, KAVANAUGH, and BARRETT, JJ., joined. BARRETT, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which KAVANAUGH, J., joined, and in which
BREYER, J., joined as to all but the first paragraph.
3. ALITO, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which THOMAS and GORSUCH, JJ., joined. GORSUCH, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which THOMAS and ALITO, JJ., joined.
"Justice Department officials say that all appropriate approvals were given for those orders, meaning that the attorney general at the time, not Mr. Demers, signed off."
For what it's worth, I think Demers is one of the good guys.
2. Jeff Sessions was AG in February 2018. IMO they know what happened. Now they need to know why. I think it was the leak. I recall among my first impressions when Flynn was outed in February 2017, that someone might pay for the leak but my suspicion
3. was and remains that Flynn and Trump were involved in Special Nuclear Material proliferation. The FISA wasn't specifically about Russia though Russia was involved. It was about nukes. And FISA wasn't being used for foreign agents, it also covers proliferation.
1. It may be some dark conspiracy but pen register orders that swept up members of intelligence committee also appear to have gone after McGahn who was at the White House and Sally Yates told him about Flynn. I'm guessing she briefed Schiff and Swalwell. If that is true, it
2. looks like a leak investigation. Congress is not immune but DOJ would normally have a very high level of authorization for it. But if they just pulled the numbers from the @washingtonpost reporters' phones and instead of doing some research just dropped them in a pen register
3. order they may have not known whose phones they were and if and when they found out, and not wanting to take the heat, just decided to keep it secret and continue to reauthorize the gag orders.
Garland is meeting with CNN tomorrow. He may know everything by then.
1. Took a quick look at the docket. They're facing serious charges. Way the case went is interesting.
3/4/21 Sealed complaint, arrest, release on recog, retain counsel. No detention litigation. At a hearing with magistrate cousel waives right to discovery. Demands speedy trial.
2. two weeks later an information is filed and prelim hearing taken off calendar. justice.gov/usao-dc/case-m…
About two weeks pass and USA moves provide grand jury secret material to the defendants and moves for a protective order.
3. Next day April 6 district judge Hogan 😎 arraigns on the information. Defendants waive jury trial and discovery. Motions held in abeyance. Then judge Hogan grants the motions but also enters two orders that read the AUSA's riot act about Brady disclosures.
1. I am constantly the lone voice on issues like leaks. I grew up an @AP brat. My sister who spoke Russian was considered by Nixon to be his NSA GC. My brother ran FISA under Reno. A leak of a FISA intercept is a serious federal crime and will be investigated. Nobody is immune.
2. So I expect the original orders were part of a National Security Division investigation. Because it was part of a SCI related investigation, it would be classified as top secret with SCI limited access. It's possible but not likely that the AG Sessions did not know.
3. But the Deputy would almost certainly know. Rosenstein became the Deputy on April 26, 2017. By May 17, 2027, Rosenstein appointed Mueller as Special counsel. We know that Mueller did not do the counterintelligence investigation but was aware of it and his team was in contact
1. It's important to remember the timeline in the leak investigation. The reports say the orders were issued in Feb 2018. Sessions was AG at the time. His Chief of Staff was Toby Hunt a career DOJ person. At the time the National Security investigation was deep under the radar.
2. That's all I really care about at this point. Mueller was appointed on May 17, 2017. It's unlikely that his remit included the task of running down who leaked the story to the @washingtonpost that was first reported on February 9, 2017 and followed up on February 13, 2017.
3. But I presume that the investigation into Russian influence on Trump did not disappear. My investigation still concludes that the Obama administration tricked Trump by appointing a black US Attorney in DC in the final days to be the AG if the AG was removed. Knowing Trump is a