A Good Place For Tim Shea To Start?

Tim Shea is Bill Barr's right hand man, hand picked to be the USA for DC. Recall:

As the U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, Shea would oversee some of the lingering cases from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, along with a number of politically charged investigations. The office is also generally responsible for handling potential prosecutions if Congress finds a witness in contempt.

There's no lack of work waiting for Shea. There's the Flynn case, of course. And all the Durham related matters--FISA fraud, the origins of the Russia Hoax, etc. There are also--or should be--any number of leak cases. And then there are old cases, some closed, that deserve another look. The Awan brothers, for example.

But here's a case that begs for a look--or another look, depending on whether you believe the FBI or not: the Seth Rich murder. If Durham is busy looking at the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) that "established" for the gullible and for the cynical Never Trumpers that Russian "hacking" of the DNC and general "meddling" was a thing. Barr has consistently made skeptical noises, so why not start by finding out what the FBI did or didn't do? We know the FBI didn't examine the DNC server--preferring to take the word of a Ukrainian linked firm, Crowdstrike, that the meddling Russians had hacked it.

There's an interesting story that's been out for a few days now. It seems the FBI has been caught out lying about Seth Rich. Here's the 25 words or less version of what's going on: The FBI has always denied possessing any records related to the Seth Rich investigation; documentary evidence has surfaced that proves that position to be false.

For the sake of refreshing everyone's recollection, this is what the Seth Rich case is about:

UPDATED: Tony Shaffer: What The Left Is Most Worried About

In the wake of yesterday's events I may be updating this post multiple times. We'll see. It appears to me that we'll be getting bits and pieces of insight rather than major revelations at this point. Here, Tony Shaffer--a knowledgeable guy--hits the nail on the head:

Tony Shaffer
‏
Verified account

@T_S_P_O_O_K_Y

Based on the panicked calls I got from a @washingtonpost reporter yesterday - every 30 minutes - who wanting me to discuss the #Crowdstrike issue, this is what the left is most worried about - Catherine Herridge does a great job here with @LouDobbs breaking down why...Tony Shaffer added,

2:15
The “Dirty” Truth

@AKA_RealDirty
Catherine Herridge talks about crowd strike and the server. 

5:10 AM - 26 Sep 2019

Of course the Left is freaking over the revelation that Barr/Durham are hot on the trail of the Crowdstrike coverup and the truth about the DNC server and "Russian hack." That whole narrative is at the heart of the CIA/FBI con of Intel Assessment--Barr knows this and has taken aim at that heart.

Meanwhile the idiot editorialists at the WSJ think that because "Bill Barr" didn't contact Zelenskyy that somehow means nothing came of the phone call. Durham's team is hard at work--they're the ones doing the nitty gritty investigation. We know that because DoJ confirmed that yesterday at the same time DoJ said Barr never talked to Zelenskyy. Barr is far too smart to go stepping on SoS Pompeo's toes by communicating directly with heads of state. However, Trump's constant references to Barr in the transcript--only Zelenskyy brings up Giuliani--is a strong indication of how highly Trump values Barr. And it was an indication to Zelenskyy and "his people" that Barr and "his people", i.e., Team Durham, have Trump's full backing.

Commenter Titan 28, importantly, points out that the absurd attempt to smear AG Barr as Trump's "personal" lackey--the "whistleblower" says Trump names "Giuliani and Barr" as his "personal representatives"--may well be one of the main points in the entire "whistleblower" narrative. The point reinforces that the Left viscerally fears Barr and knows how important he is to Trump.

Here's how I addressed that in a comment earlier (edited):

MULTIPLE UPDATES: Woops! Dems Score Own Goal

And they can't say Trump didn't warn them.

But pardon me while I take another victory lap. Back in Does Paul Mirengoff Have Things Backwards Re Ukraine? I predicted what we would learn, and it's all been confirmed by the call transcript between President Trump and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. At that time I predicted that what we would ultimately learn is that President Trump was not asking Ukraine to initiate an investigation of Biden, but that he was asking Ukraine to cooperate with the official investigation of the entire Russia Hoax that is being conducted by Attorney General Bill Barr and USA John Durham. And that's exactly what the call transcript confirms.

That would be bad enough for the Dems, but it goes even further. As we'll see in the transcript (below), Trump specifically asks Zelenskyy for Ukraine's help in locating the missing DNC server--the original server, the one that Crowdstrike looked at but that the FBI didn't bother with. [But please refer to Update 3 below!] That is confirmation of what the focus of the investigation is--not specifically Biden but specifically the entire Russia Hoax. This confirms Rudy Giuliani's explanation of what the Biden angle was really about (Giuliani Tells Us What It's All About). Who thinks the Dems really wanted to bring that up again, about the DNC server and Seth Rich? And that the server may be concealed in Ukraine! What's more, this should confirm for all the Barr detractors out there (I'm lookin' at you, sundance!) that Barr and Durham are really determined to get to the bottom of the Russia Hoax--in detail. This could not be worse news for the Dems--except that they probably are already well aware of where Barr's investigation is heading and how thorough it is (as commenter Unknown has been emphasizing lately).

So, I'll paste in the relevant parts of the call transcript. In addition to Trump confirming that there's a US investigation going on and the specific mention of Crowdstrike and the server, please note that it's President Zelenskyy who asks Giuliani to get in touch with him--it appears to be Zelenskyy's attempt at ingratiating himself with Trump, by seeking out Trump's personal attorney. Trump's response is very, very telling. At every mention of Giuliani, Trump is careful to include AG Barr, to keep it on an official footing, not personal. That's all the confirmation you need to know that the investigation under discussion is being led by the US Department of Justice and that Trump is totally aware of the distinction between his private attorney and the DoJ. Trump is supporting his Attorney General and the Department of Justice, but at the same time he's entitled to his private legal team to protect him--both going back and going forward--against the lawfare assaults, both legal and illegal, that have been ongoing since long before his election.

At the beginning of this relevant portion, Trump introduces the topic of Ukraine doing the US "a favor." That favor doesn't involve Biden--it has to do with the DNC server, which Bill Barr is seeking. Note that there's no mention by Trump of Giuliani, but instead "the Attorney General" is brought in as the person who needs to be in touch with the Ukrainian authorities ("you or your people"). Trump is respectful throughout and is placing no pressure on Zelenskyy, except to remind him that the US has been very supportive of Ukraine--in contrast to countries like Germany and France. This is standard diplomatic speak. Again, the focus is very clearly on the big picture of the Russia Hoax.