This really is big--although it comes as no surprise: Durham investigation into origins of 2016 Trump campaign surveillance expands its scope. Here's the key part of the story:
John Durham, the U.S. attorney reviewing the origins of the 2016 counterintelligence investigation into Russia and the Trump campaign, is probing a wider timeline than previously known, according to multiple senior administration officials.
Fox News previously reported that Durham would be reviewing the days leading up to the 2016 election and through the inauguration.
However, based on what he has been finding, Durham has expanded his investigation adding agents and resources, the senior administration officials said. The timeline has grown from the beginning of the probe through the election and now has included a post-election timeline through the spring of 2017, up to when Robert Mueller was named special counsel.
Attorney General Bill Barr and Durham traveled to Italy recently to talk to law enforcement officials there about the probe and have also had conversations with officials in the U.K. and Australia about the investigation, according to multiple sources familiar with the meetings.
Here's why I think this is so big.
If you're John Durham and the timeline of your investigation just got expanded in this manner--probably on your own recommendation--who would you want to pull in front of the Grand Jury? My list starts this way, and just keeps expanding:
Andrew Weissmann
Jeff Sessions
Sally Yates
Andrew McCabe
James Comey
Peter Strzok
James Baker
Lisa Page
Trisha Anderson
And that's just for starters--I'm sure I've missed a few. But then you work your way up to:
Rod Rosenstein
Robert "Bob" Mueller--The Third!
And, yes, there are plenty more. It might even include members of the Legislative Branch. Count on it--Barr has no love lost for them. It's pucker time in the Deep State.
ADDENDUM: A very important paragraph from the Fox article:
Durham, known as a "hard-charging, bulldog" prosecutor, according to a source, has been focusing on the use and assignments of FBI informants, as well as alleged improper issuance of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants. Durham was asked to help Barr to "ensure that intelligence collection activities by the U.S. government related to the Trump 2016 presidential campaign were lawful and appropriate."
What? You really thought the FISA stuff would be left entirely to Horowitz and Durham wouldn't be involved? Welcome to the real world.
Just in time for Christmas. It's not buy one, get one free. It's prosecute one, get one plea.
ReplyDeletePlease do add to your list.
Let's see whose Twitter feed explodes with outrage first.
Popcorn: purchased. Recliner: reclined. Seat belt: buckled. ;^>
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I especially love the FISA reference. "Thank you, IG Horowitz. Your service has been invaluable, but we'll take it from here."
And a question: I threw the words below out on the twitter a bit ago - any thoughts if it seems to make any sense?
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A critical point: every deep stater around insists everything US Govt did was to protect us from Russia, not to get Trump. But what if evidence shows they actually did almost nothing to go after Russia yet moved Heaven & Earth to go after Trump?
This will matter, count on it.
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If Durham went back farther, he would find that the FBI abuse of FISA and the FISC has been routine for a very long time. And NSLs? Oh lawd. If the FBI was a person, it would be doing Life + 10,000 in SuperMax.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Barr/Durham are TOTALLY aware of the scale of what went on.
DeleteWould not be surprised to see Warner and Burr called, especially Warner, since he seemed to know Steele.
DeleteIf justice is to be done, the role of the legislative branch will have to be exposed as well.
DeleteNow that UK, Italy, Ausies, and Ukraine have flipped and provided damning evidence to Durham, the nature of the coup criminality changes fundamentally. When it was primarily a domestic coup conspiracy, the investigation and potential future indictments could be fairly straightforward. The international involvement (and particularly multiple foreign governments) make the both investigation and prosecution strategy much more complex. In addition, even all of this (plus the ongoing coup gambit by House Democrats) is only a small fraction of the corruption that still lies hidden in shadows. There is a real risk that a ballooning investigation can derail indictment timing until late next year. If that happens, Barr will have incentivized extreme acts by the Deep State during the 2020 election.
ReplyDeleteMy impression is that the investigation is moving quickly. The article also says that Durham is calling in more resources. I think they're more determined now than ever to get this thing on the way to completion.
Deleteis Durham able to recruit outside personnel for his investigation, or is he constrained to using certified swamp lawyers?
DeleteEmployment law is very complicated. For sure he can hand pick people that he wants. Just as Mueller was brought back, he can bring people back--but I can't tell you under what circumstances. He can bring in FBI agents from anywhere in the FBI, not just from Washington.
DeleteMark, a number of weeks ago, during one of his visits to Lou Dobbs with his wife/partner Victoria Toensing, Lou commented that the investigation seemed to be going so slowly. Di Genova disagreed, saying that it was actually moving very rapidly. He, of course, understands the complexity of the investigation of this intricate coup that involved many persons in many government agencies, outside entities, foreign countries, so many moving parts… And Berr and Durham know they must get it right… Pros.
DeleteRight. I've been thinking about what diGenova said re the pace of the investigation. The fact that he's bringing on more investigators is certainly a strong indication that he has uncovered plenty and is generating more and more additional leads.
DeleteI'd be looking at Loretta Lynch, who knew Steele from the FIFA corruption case (prosecuted in the EDNY when she was the USA), and Gina Haspel who was CIA station chief in London while the Papa D shenanigans (Halper, Misfud, Downer) were afoot.
ReplyDeleteI'd bet Haspel is under the gun.
DeleteI would like them also, and especially, to look at Loretta Lynch. As our nation's highest law enforcement officer, and the top legal adviser to the President, the wrong-doing which happened on her watch (2015-2017) is totally her responsibility. She must be held accountable.
DeleteShe appears to have gone to great lengths to insulate herself, but of course we're not privy to everything that was going on.
DeleteJeff Carlson posited that investigation of international fraud has been ongoing since earlier this year or maybe last year. I took it that he thinks that this is related to what has been going on with the shenanigans among some of the power players in the US.
ReplyDelete