As Twitter cranks tell us the Russia investigation is being overblown and requires no legal experts on social media to analyze and discuss, the ranking Senate Intel Committee Democrat says it's the most important thing he'll ever work on.
I'm with Warner. axios.com/warner-sees-fi…
I'm with Warner. axios.com/warner-sees-fi…
2/ Warner's demand for new testimony tracks with what this feed has discussed:
LVL1: Trump, Pence
LVL2 (may need to access LVL1): Flynn*, Manafort*, Sessions, Kushner, Trump Jr.
LVL3 (may need to access LVL2): Papadopoulos*, Gates*, Page, Clovis, others.
* Charged or pleaded.
LVL1: Trump, Pence
LVL2 (may need to access LVL1): Flynn*, Manafort*, Sessions, Kushner, Trump Jr.
LVL3 (may need to access LVL2): Papadopoulos*, Gates*, Page, Clovis, others.
* Charged or pleaded.
3/ *If* Mueller follows investigative protocol:
1. He'll indict or refer an indictment for at least one man on LVL1.
2. He'll indict or enter a plea agreement with all remaining men on LVL2.
3. He'll seek more LVL3 pleas if he can't yet indict or get pleas from all LVL2 men.
1. He'll indict or refer an indictment for at least one man on LVL1.
2. He'll indict or enter a plea agreement with all remaining men on LVL2.
3. He'll seek more LVL3 pleas if he can't yet indict or get pleas from all LVL2 men.
4/ In this case, "investigative protocol" means charging any person who is chargeable due to a prima facie federal criminal case being present. It also means entering into cooperation agreements with defendants who can deliver key individuals at a higher level in the hierarchy.
5/ LVL4 includes those who may have committed lesser federal offenses without knowledge of the context into which they were contributing their actions.
So McFarland, Priebus, Gordon, Dearborn, Parscale, Ivanka and others who may yet be deemed chargeable are *LVL3*, *not* LVL4.
So McFarland, Priebus, Gordon, Dearborn, Parscale, Ivanka and others who may yet be deemed chargeable are *LVL3*, *not* LVL4.
6/ At LVL3, whether someone does substantial time depends upon the quality of the information they can provide, their prior criminal record, and the seriousness of their offense.
At LVL2, you had a *major* supervisory role in the criminal conspiracy and will be doing real time.
At LVL2, you had a *major* supervisory role in the criminal conspiracy and will be doing real time.
7/ So if you're following this, you should have noted something incredibly telling about the Mueller probe: Flynn is at the second-highest level of culpability, but is getting a way-undercharged *sweetheart* deal.
To me, that signals that he is delivering more than Mike Pence.
To me, that signals that he is delivering more than Mike Pence.
8/ Note: I'm not saying Mueller uses the "LVL" designation by name. I'm saying that he has an investigative hierarchy, and if it's consistent with what I saw in handling 2,000+ criminal cases, it looks like this.
I'm also saying what we've seen so far *confirms* this analysis.
I'm also saying what we've seen so far *confirms* this analysis.
9/ This analysis assumes Ivanka has indeed been shielded from most of the criminal liability that will come out of this administration in order to preserve her business and possibly even political future. But I suspect she knows much more than what our news-watching would imply.
10/ Warner may succeed in getting LVL3 witnesses to Congress for public testimony—and that'd be smart—but I don't know that he'll get another LVL2 witness in public again (except AG Sessions, of course, who is obligated by his job to appear on the command of certain committees).
