Fusion GPS leaders wrote an op-ed yesterday where they basically lied their butts off and called efforts to look into their illegal misdeeds as a “fake investigation.” .
“Earlier today I wrote about the NY Times op-ed by Fusion GPS’ Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch in which they attacked Republicans and demanded the transcript of their closed-door testimony be released. That op-ed has resulted in a response from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley who points out that Simpson requested the closed-door session and that during the session a lawyer for Fusion GPS explicitly asked that the transcript not be released by the committee. From the Hill:
“Senator Grassley provided Fusion GPS an opportunity for transparency six months ago when he invited the firm to publicly testify at an open committee hearing. Mr. Simpson declined,” said Grassley spokesman Taylor Foy in a statement.
“When faced with a subpoena from the Chairman and Ranking Member, Mr. Simpson refused to provide public testimony, using his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to negotiate for a closed-door interview,” he added…
[Fusion attorney] Mr. Levy is recorded by the court reporter as saying during the interview, ‘We’d like to make a request that it be kept confidential given the sensitivity of the matters discussed today,’” Grassley’s spokesman continued.”
————————–
Sen Grassley to Fusion GPS Glenn Simpson: So glad you're devoted to transparency. Wish you had been when you took 5th, refused to testify publicly, refused to answer many questions in private, refused to make any answers public. You're still welcome to testify in open hearing. pic.twitter.com/4ZwtWAwlmF
Wasn’t Grassley concerned about “protecting certain information” and “tainting the memory of witnesses” when he offered a public hearing? Trumpkins have leaked certain parts of the testimony and continue to do so. Grassley refuses to release the full testimony for one reason: It would be embarrassing to you know who.
“So why will Grassley not release the transcript of their testimony as Byron York suggested?”
You already know the answer. Because there are numerous investigations still under way. As a lawyer, his explanation should make sense to you.
And it’s mostly the Democrat side leaking info, as usual. But you knew that too.
I’m sure like Democrats, you’re waiting with baited breath. Stay tuned, and they’ll tell you what to think of it all, and you’ll follow their lead, as usual. So predictable, and so tabloidesque.
I also find it amusing Ricky that according to you and the leftist press, Bannon was unqualified, had no business being that close to the seats of power, is a racist/white nationalist, and runs a sham of a media empire.
But now that he’s bashing Trump, his word is truth and everything he says must be believed.
“After Trump fired him, James Comey leaked four (4) of seven (7) internal FBI memos he created regarding his interactions with Trump to a Columbia Law School professor, for the purpose of passing on the contents to a reporter. The professor did just that, and it created the basis for NY Times reporting that Trump had demanded a “loyalty” pledge and also raised the issue of shutting down the investigation into Michael Flynn.
Comey would testify to the same effect before Congress, which is when the fact of his leak came out under questioning by Susan Collins, almost by accident, and without any meaningful follow up to the bombshell testimony.
Those memos were FBI property, and were not Comey’s to remove or distribute for his personal political purposes.
That NY Times reporting created the public pressure for Rod Rosenstein, acting Attorney General since Jeff Sessions recused himself from Russia-related matters, to appoint Robert Mueller as Special Counsel. Comey admitted that creating the need for a Special Counsel was why he leaked the memos. The rest is history, and the Mueller investigation now has turned into a hunt for a crime even if not related to supposed Russia collusion.
Comey has issued tweets lately setting himself up as the most righteous man:”
Given what we already knew about Comey’s leak, it seemed that Comey was for some other purpose — either because he knew something about Russia collusion that others didn’t know, or because he was trying to insulate himself from scrutiny.
Senator Chuck Grassley and the Senate Judiciary Committee have been trying to get information from the FBI about Comey’s memos and leak.
Yesterday Grassley released a letter that does the math and concludes that it appears that at least one of the four memos leaked by Comey was classified.
Grassley did the math in his letter, which showed that four (4) of the memos were marked as classified:
My staff has since reviewed these memoranda in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) at the FBI, and I reviewed them in a SCIF at the Office of Senate Security. The FBI insisted that these reviews take place in a SCIF because the majority of the memos are classified. Of the seven memos, four are marked classified at the “SECRET” or “CONFIDENTIAL” levels. Only three did not contain classified information. FBI personnel refused to answer factual questions during the document reviews, including questions about the chain of custody of the documents I was reviewing, the date that they were marked classified, and who marked them as classified.
The math means that if Comey leaked four of seven memos, and four of the seven were classified, then at least one of the memos leaked was classified:”
——————–
So I guess it’s back to packing prisons with people who don’t deserve to be there, and ruining their lives with a record for something no worse than alcohol. But hey, at least the prison/police lobby will like it, and keep those campaign funds flowing for tough on crime R’s. .
“Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who absolutely loves the war on drugs, has decided to eliminate President Barack Obama’s marijuana policy that led to numerous states legalizing the plant.
The Associated Press reported that Sessions will allow “federal prosecutors where pot is legal decide how aggressively to enforce federal marijuana laws.”
Sessions has made it no secret since his confirmation that he will continue his beloved war on drugs. One of the first things he did as AG was review marijuana policies. The AP continued:
Sessions’ policy will let U.S. attorneys across the country decide what kinds of federal resources to devote to marijuana enforcement based on what they see as priorities in their districts, the people familiar with the decision said.
Sessions and some law enforcement officials in states such as Colorado blame legalization for a number of problems, including drug traffickers that have taken advantage of lax marijuana laws to hide in plain sight, illegally growing and shipping the drug across state lines, where it can sell for much more. The decision was a win for pot opponents who had been urging Sessions to take action.
“There is no more safe haven with regard to the federal government and marijuana, but it’s also the beginning of the story and not the end,” said Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, who was among several anti-marijuana advocates who met with Sessions last month. “This is a victory. It’s going to dry up a lot of the institutional investment that has gone toward marijuana in the last five years.”
Ryan Reilly at HuffPo said that one official at the DOJ told reporters that this memo is a “return to the rule of law.”
Obama and his Justice Department announced in 2013 that officials “would not directly challenge state marijuana legalization laws and would take a narrower role enforcing federal law against pot sales.” The officials passed around a memo with guidelines:”
And investigating two powerful dishonest politicians (one of whom has his own cult) can also cause trouble, though I think this situation will work out fine in the end.
If I remember correctly, I was walking somewhere at Purdue in 1971-72 and I heard tha the Dow had passed the $1000 mark. I thought that was mighty wild. How can it go up like that?
Why did Trump give the author virtually unrestricted access to the White House? The author had written a cover article on Trump for a Hollywood magazine and Trump really liked the way he looked in mirrored glasses on the magazine cover.
Wandering Views 
Fusion GPS leaders wrote an op-ed yesterday where they basically lied their butts off and called efforts to look into their illegal misdeeds as a “fake investigation.” .
Sen. Grassley has called them on it.
https://hotair.com/archives/2018/01/03/4041006/
“Earlier today I wrote about the NY Times op-ed by Fusion GPS’ Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch in which they attacked Republicans and demanded the transcript of their closed-door testimony be released. That op-ed has resulted in a response from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley who points out that Simpson requested the closed-door session and that during the session a lawyer for Fusion GPS explicitly asked that the transcript not be released by the committee. From the Hill:
“Senator Grassley provided Fusion GPS an opportunity for transparency six months ago when he invited the firm to publicly testify at an open committee hearing. Mr. Simpson declined,” said Grassley spokesman Taylor Foy in a statement.
“When faced with a subpoena from the Chairman and Ranking Member, Mr. Simpson refused to provide public testimony, using his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to negotiate for a closed-door interview,” he added…
[Fusion attorney] Mr. Levy is recorded by the court reporter as saying during the interview, ‘We’d like to make a request that it be kept confidential given the sensitivity of the matters discussed today,’” Grassley’s spokesman continued.”
————————–
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So why will Grassley not release the transcript of their testimony as Byron York suggested?
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Wasn’t Grassley concerned about “protecting certain information” and “tainting the memory of witnesses” when he offered a public hearing? Trumpkins have leaked certain parts of the testimony and continue to do so. Grassley refuses to release the full testimony for one reason: It would be embarrassing to you know who.
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This book is going to dominate the next week of news.
http://www.newsweek.com/top-20-revelations-trump-fire-and-fury-book-about-golden-showers-ivanka-bannon-769899
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Is anyone actually reading any of those books?
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Michelle, All the networks except Fox are reading it out loud 24/7 and the book hasn’t even been released yet.
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Michelle, I know, right?
I used to love U.S. politics when it was serious and comprehensible.
Now? Meh.
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Michelle @ 9:28.
Not you and me, but enough news commentators will read it to make it a best seller.
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“So why will Grassley not release the transcript of their testimony as Byron York suggested?”
You already know the answer. Because there are numerous investigations still under way. As a lawyer, his explanation should make sense to you.
And it’s mostly the Democrat side leaking info, as usual. But you knew that too.
I’m sure like Democrats, you’re waiting with baited breath. Stay tuned, and they’ll tell you what to think of it all, and you’ll follow their lead, as usual. So predictable, and so tabloidesque.
LikeLike
I also find it amusing Ricky that according to you and the leftist press, Bannon was unqualified, had no business being that close to the seats of power, is a racist/white nationalist, and runs a sham of a media empire.
But now that he’s bashing Trump, his word is truth and everything he says must be believed.
What a joke. 🙂
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When did I say Bannon’s word is truth? I am just watching the two idiots bash each other?
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And in other news, the Commission that was established solely to defend a Trump lie has been disbanded.
https://www.google.com/amp/reason.com/blog/2018/01/04/trump-kills-incompetent-electoral-integr/amp
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Well now…. 🙂
Looks like Comey might be as guilty as Hillary and Huma. Looks like Mr. Squeaky Clean, isn’t.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/01/sen-chuck-grassley-james-comey-may-have-leaked-classified-memo/
“After Trump fired him, James Comey leaked four (4) of seven (7) internal FBI memos he created regarding his interactions with Trump to a Columbia Law School professor, for the purpose of passing on the contents to a reporter. The professor did just that, and it created the basis for NY Times reporting that Trump had demanded a “loyalty” pledge and also raised the issue of shutting down the investigation into Michael Flynn.
Comey would testify to the same effect before Congress, which is when the fact of his leak came out under questioning by Susan Collins, almost by accident, and without any meaningful follow up to the bombshell testimony.
Those memos were FBI property, and were not Comey’s to remove or distribute for his personal political purposes.
That NY Times reporting created the public pressure for Rod Rosenstein, acting Attorney General since Jeff Sessions recused himself from Russia-related matters, to appoint Robert Mueller as Special Counsel. Comey admitted that creating the need for a Special Counsel was why he leaked the memos. The rest is history, and the Mueller investigation now has turned into a hunt for a crime even if not related to supposed Russia collusion.
Comey has issued tweets lately setting himself up as the most righteous man:”
Given what we already knew about Comey’s leak, it seemed that Comey was for some other purpose — either because he knew something about Russia collusion that others didn’t know, or because he was trying to insulate himself from scrutiny.
Senator Chuck Grassley and the Senate Judiciary Committee have been trying to get information from the FBI about Comey’s memos and leak.
Yesterday Grassley released a letter that does the math and concludes that it appears that at least one of the four memos leaked by Comey was classified.
Grassley did the math in his letter, which showed that four (4) of the memos were marked as classified:
My staff has since reviewed these memoranda in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) at the FBI, and I reviewed them in a SCIF at the Office of Senate Security. The FBI insisted that these reviews take place in a SCIF because the majority of the memos are classified. Of the seven memos, four are marked classified at the “SECRET” or “CONFIDENTIAL” levels. Only three did not contain classified information. FBI personnel refused to answer factual questions during the document reviews, including questions about the chain of custody of the documents I was reviewing, the date that they were marked classified, and who marked them as classified.
The math means that if Comey leaked four of seven memos, and four of the seven were classified, then at least one of the memos leaked was classified:”
——————–
At least 1, maybe 4.
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And this?
This is just stupid.
So I guess it’s back to packing prisons with people who don’t deserve to be there, and ruining their lives with a record for something no worse than alcohol. But hey, at least the prison/police lobby will like it, and keep those campaign funds flowing for tough on crime R’s. .
https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/01/report-sessions-to-end-policy-that-allowed-states-to-legalize-marijuana/#more-238335
“Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who absolutely loves the war on drugs, has decided to eliminate President Barack Obama’s marijuana policy that led to numerous states legalizing the plant.
The Associated Press reported that Sessions will allow “federal prosecutors where pot is legal decide how aggressively to enforce federal marijuana laws.”
Sessions has made it no secret since his confirmation that he will continue his beloved war on drugs. One of the first things he did as AG was review marijuana policies. The AP continued:
Sessions’ policy will let U.S. attorneys across the country decide what kinds of federal resources to devote to marijuana enforcement based on what they see as priorities in their districts, the people familiar with the decision said.
Sessions and some law enforcement officials in states such as Colorado blame legalization for a number of problems, including drug traffickers that have taken advantage of lax marijuana laws to hide in plain sight, illegally growing and shipping the drug across state lines, where it can sell for much more. The decision was a win for pot opponents who had been urging Sessions to take action.
“There is no more safe haven with regard to the federal government and marijuana, but it’s also the beginning of the story and not the end,” said Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, who was among several anti-marijuana advocates who met with Sessions last month. “This is a victory. It’s going to dry up a lot of the institutional investment that has gone toward marijuana in the last five years.”
Ryan Reilly at HuffPo said that one official at the DOJ told reporters that this memo is a “return to the rule of law.”
Obama and his Justice Department announced in 2013 that officials “would not directly challenge state marijuana legalization laws and would take a narrower role enforcing federal law against pot sales.” The officials passed around a memo with guidelines:”
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Doing what is right in your own eyes can cause trouble you can never imagine . . .
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And investigating two powerful dishonest politicians (one of whom has his own cult) can also cause trouble, though I think this situation will work out fine in the end.
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If I remember correctly, I was walking somewhere at Purdue in 1971-72 and I heard tha the Dow had passed the $1000 mark. I thought that was mighty wild. How can it go up like that?
No. I didn’t have the money to invest then.
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We were lucky in 2017. No crisis that required intelligent, rational presidential leadership. Will that luck continue?
https://twitter.com/shannon_last/status/949063731149004800
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Uh-oh. There is a disturbance in The Cult. It turns out that in attacking Bannon, Trump also rebuked the “Burn it Downers” in his own Cult.
Not to worry. As Mona Charen points out, it is always possible that Trump, Bannon and the other “Burn it Downers” will kiss and make up.
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A good question:
https://twitter.com/kt_so_it_goes/status/949076112067497985
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Why did Trump give the author virtually unrestricted access to the White House? The author had written a cover article on Trump for a Hollywood magazine and Trump really liked the way he looked in mirrored glasses on the magazine cover.
https://twitter.com/janicemin/status/948928941695225857
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Wolff and his colleagues couldn’t believe the access he was given.
https://twitter.com/janicemin/status/948932870776614917
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I see interesting articles here, then “The Cult!”…
Discussions? Not so much.
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