Briefly Noted: The Devin Nunes Interview With Laura Ingraham

Yesterday Devin Nunes was interviewed by Laura Ingraham. As summarized at CTH, Nunes began by listing three areas of particular concern (my comments follow each numbered item:

(1) The targeting/framing of Michael Flynn ...

That Flynn was targeted and framed by holdover Obama operatives, including Sally Yates at DoJ and James Comey and Andrew McCabe at the FBI is clear enough. Apparently Flynn's guilty plea was motivated by family concerns, especially the threatened prosecution of his son. However, there have been persistent credible reports that McCabe persuaded the two agents who interviewed Flynn--Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka--to change their 302 report to make it more damaging to Flynn. While Team Mueller was still operative they were able to keep Strzok and Pientka insulated from inquiries by IG Horowitz, but now Pientka is being interviewed by Horowitz's investigators. Flynn's sentencing has been repeatedly delayed, but these new developments could impact even the guilty plea itself. Stay tuned.

(2) The use of Joseph Mifsud as an asset by the CIA/FBI running a counterintelligence operation against the Trump campaign.

In the interview, Nunes is adamant about the need to learn more about Mifsud--which has proven exceptionally difficult because a Western intelligence service is reported to have given him a new identity and is hiding him from official investigators. Amusingly, Nunes reports that Team Mueller--in the face of all evidence--continues to maintain that Mifsud was a Russian agent. This as well as the whole Steele issue is an area that is ripe for the application of some serious diplomatic pressure to gain access to these two intel operatives.


(3) The Trump Tower meeting as organized by Fusion-GPS.

Nunes believes that the Trump Tower meeting was organized by Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS and that Simpson may have been acting for Russian interests. That seems logical, given what we know about Simpson's representations of other Russian interests (without registering under FARA).

In addition, Nunes confirmed that planned inquiries into leaks and other matters were blocked by Robert Mueller and Rod Rosenstein, effectively neutering efforts to conduct an even handed probe. With Team Mueller shut down, all that is changing and we're already catching a glimpse of what IG Horowitz may be able to accomplish. Nunes, however, is continuing to demand that AG Barr make the previously blocked documents available to Congressional investigators as well.

Interestingly, Laura launched into a bit of a monologue on the subject of prosecutorial misconduct--a subject that arises naturally whenever the conversation turns to Team Mueller. Here's my transcript of Laura's remarks in that regard:

Laura: If people were convicted or forced to plead guilty when prosecutors had exculpatory information, or investigators had exculpatory information on them, whether it was Flynn or Papadopoulos maybe even Carter Page, the whole surveillance on him, Roger Stone, ... everyone needs to know about this. 

Significantly, Nunes nodded in agreement throughout, indicating that he is aware of these abuses. We know for a fact that senators Graham and Grassley have expressly and urgently brought these matters to AG Barr's attention.