Thread by @realjusthuman

The DOJ and FBI have given @ChuckGrassley some 'dasting emails and internal memos re: Clinton Campaign/Fusion GPS/Steele Dossier/DNC nexus of corruption.

The emails "appear to show that Cooney [of USADC] and Pilger [of DOJ-PIN] stopped investigative steps into the matter."

Exchanges occurred between June 5, 2019 and June 21, 2019.

The parties are an FBI Agent, Richard Pilger of DOJ's Public Integrity Section, J.P. Cooney of the U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C., and AnnaLou Tirol of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

"the FBI agent asked questions as to why the Clinton Campaign/Fusion GPS/DNC matter did not make a “good candidate to open an investigation” given there appeared to be “unambiguous concealment” by the DNC and Clinton Campaign for payments related to the production of the Steele Dossier."

In one response, Pilger accused the FBI agent of “creating Jencks [material]” and threatened to turn them “over in other matters to cross [them] for bias/rush-to-judgement, yada yada.”

one FBI agent noted that, “Rich[ard] [Pilger] has finally acknowledged my questions, his answers usually contain some veiled threat I believe is intended to have a chilling [effect] and stop me from asking questions…I have never been met with such suspicion or responses intended to have me go away.”

@ChuckGrassley is requesting DOJ and FBI provide more records, in unredacted form, related to

1. “DNC and Fusion GPS FEC violations.”

2. Communications to, from, or cc’ing Richard Pilger, J.P Cooney, and/or AnnaLou Tirol related to Question 1.

3. Records from Exhibit 1

First email, June 5, 2019
From a Special Agent with FBI, WFO

An FEC complaint Oct 2017

There's also a "Suspicious Activity Report" from FinCEN👀

The FBI agent got no response, so on June 14, 2019, he resent it.

~40 mins later, Cooney responds

Cooney says he "[does not] think this is a good candidate to open for a false reporting case."

"I think that we would have an exceedingly difficult time proving it was a willfully false report."

He then goes over a previous case of a similar nature and details what made it successful.

Re: Clinton Campaign/Perkins/Fusion GPS "we just don't have the type of direct concealment and purposeful use of a pass through...which [would be] essential to carrying our high burden of willfulness."

June 18, 2017

The FBI agent emails back and has more to say on the matter.

"I’m trying to better understand three topics as they relate to FECA and this matter, so I can work these cases smarter. All three topics have the same theme, which is, what is the standard for opening a FECA investigation NOT prosecuting a FECA violation."

"From my experience with all violations, to find those “compelling facts” for a prosecution, you have to do some investigating."

"Why [Clinton Campaign/Perkins/Fusion matter] not a good candidate to open an investigation?"

1. Apparent unambiguous concealment
2. "Concealment appears to bring on a new meaning" thanks to reporting on events re: Fusion GPS these past three years and provides a "viable path"

Yes, Marc Elias, when questioned, disclosed that Perkins and Fusion contract, "but it is obvious this occured after many people at the DNC and HFA either denied it or avoided answering it"

Great questions

"This is a complex violation and so far what is opened and what is declined makes very little consistent sense to me."

The next day, Richard Pilger responds, backing up JP Cooney's position on the matter.

"As JP explained, we don’t have that stable regulatory base and unambiguous factual predication for your matter. Taking a case off an administrative track at the FEC and into the criminal lane without unambiguously false and uncounseled reporting is a" risky course.

"these expenditure cases tend to turn on magic words— in this context, the words of the Form 3."

"If it’s facially a total lie (“catering”), we can discuss further. If it’s mushy, like “consulting” or “legal services,” I agree with JP"

Pilger has some thoughts on the agent's metaphors and comments re: Marc Elias.

"To my certain knowledge, no such influence exists, as one can see from how often and how recently the Department has indicted that lawyer’s clients in my lane."

He then lets the agent know that "no consult with PIN is required of you when you take a matter to DC or EDVA, which is why I left this to JP previously."

The FBI agent responds three days later, plucky as ever.

Pilger was unamused.

The final email in the batch is between redacted parties, but our plucky FBI agent is the sender.

Aside from the emails, there's also FBI EC titled:

USADC and PIN Prosecutorial consultation for Investigation: DNC and Fusion GPS FEC violations

"a publicized and well-known allegation against the Democrat National Committee was articulated by the Campaign Legal Center (A well-known Government watchdog) and provided to PIN and USADC (Richard Pilger, PIN Election Crimes Director and Joseph "JP" Cooney's, Chief of Public Corruption, US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia) in an effort to obtain a prosecutorial opinion."

Our plucky FBI agent took out an EC on this.

"In the email providing the official complaint to PIN/USADC, and requesting a prosecutorial consultation, the writer explained that it appears the facts support an unambiguous concealment of a disbursement, in this case a very material disbursement (The payment to Fusion GPS for opposition research)."

When he got shut down on it by Cooney and Pilger, he included the emails in the record.

grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/…

Know what all of this reminds me of?

This.

Why was this document created?

justthenews.com/sites/default/…