Category: DOJ

Republican Lawmakers Say Trump Is ‘Fired Up,’ And Made Up His Mind About 2024 Following FBI Raid

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

All signs are pointing to former President Trump being even more “fired up” about running in 2024 following the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago earlier this week.

Representatives Jim Banks (R-IN) and Claudia Tenney (R-NY) were two of nearly a dozen members of the House Republican Study Committee who huddled with Trump at a New Jersey retreat earlier in the week. Both left with impressions on the 2024 presidential election.

Banks indicated that the FBI raid hadn’t dampened Trump’s spirits. 

“He didn’t seem defeated in the least bit—he was very fired up, very upbeat,” he told Fox News.

Banks added that the incident seems to have accelerated the former President’s desire to announce a decision on a 2024 campaign and that “we are going to like his decision.”

RELATED: Trump Speaks: Angrily Condemns ‘Political Persecution’ As FBI Raids Mar-a-Lago

FBI Raid May Have Motivated Trump to Run in 2024 Even More

Rep. Claudia Tenney also seemed to indicate Trump’s spirits were alive and well following the FBI raid.

Tenney thanked the likely Republican nominee for his continued support and endorsement in her congressional district following her visit to Trump National Golf Club at Bedminster.

And if you thought he was down following the raid, she says best think again.

“Thrilled to report he’s feeling better than ever despite the Democrats’ endless smears against him,” she wrote. “Trump 2024!”

Tenney, in an interview on Real America’s Voice, said the actions taken by the FBI and DOJ amounted to the “fourth impeachment” of President Trump.

“They’re going to try to attempt to stop him from running for president,” Tenney said. “And that’s really what it’s about. Because they’re afraid he will get out there and he will run and he will win.”

RELATED: After FBI Raid, Trump Fires Back With Epic New Video Promising ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’

When Will He Announce?

In a statement following the FBI raid, Trump himself concurred that the weaponization of the Justice Department was an attempt to stop him in 2024.

“It is prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024 …” he said.

Trump, as The Political Insider reported, had made up his “own mind” about running last month, though the timing of an official announcement was still up in the air.

Some had suggested committing to a run prior to the midterms might negatively affect races by stirring up Democrat turnout.

Banks, however, suggested Trump “enjoyed encouragement” from the House Republican Study Committee to “get the decision out sooner rather than later.”

“He only helps us win back more seats in November,” Banks insisted. “The Republican Party is bigger and stronger than ever before because of Donald Trump’s leadership.” 

The former President does seem further motivated by the FBI raid, as do his supporters.

As is characteristic of his personality, Trump came out swinging immediately following this week’s events with an ad posted to his Truth Social media account.

“We are a nation that in many ways has become a joke,” Trump said in the ad. “But soon we will have greatness again.”

In it, he predicts that “the best is yet to come.”

Becky Noble of The Political Insider notes that the FBI raid may have backfired on Democrats for 2024.

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“If his enemies thought he was defeated,” she wrote, “they were wrong.”

Added Banks, “What happened at Mar-a-Lago unifies Republicans in our outrage … and we stand with President Trump.”

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Judge Who Signed Mar-A-Lago Warrant Defended Jeffrey Epstein Employees, Donated To Obama

Posted on by Becky Noble

The details of Monday’s FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, the Florida home of former President Donald Trump, keep getting more interesting.

Bruce Reinhart, the federal magistrate judge who signed off on the search warrant for Trump’s residence donated to former President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and at one point, went from prosecutor to defense attorney to defend individuals connected to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

RELATED: Another Republican Who Voted To Impeach Trump Goes Down – Trump Mocks Her For ‘Stupidly Playing Into Democrats’ Hands

The Judge In Question

According to a report from Politico, Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart is ‘highly regarded’ in the Palm Beach legal community, and is known for being “meticulous” in his work. 

Reinhart’s background was in prosecution until Jan. 2 2008, he became the defense counsel representing several employees of Epstein, including pilots, his scheduler, and a woman later described by some of Epstein’s victims as a “sex slave.”

Politico reports that in 2011, Reinhart was named in a lawsuit and was accused of violating Justice Department policy by representing the Epstein employees. Reinhart has denied any wrongdoing. He said that he was not a part of the criminal case and did not learn any confidential information while serving as prosecutor.

RELATED: Teachers Union President Randi Weingarten Claims Conservatives The Enemy Of Educators

More Details Of The Raid Emerging

Fox News reports that the search warrant issued for Mar-a-Lago was to focus entirely on “presidential records and evidence of classified information being stored there.” 

The Fox News report also says that agents combed through former First Lady Melania Trump’s wardrobe and the private office of the former president. Drawers were also gone through and a safe broken into.

Reportedly, the FBI or DOJ did not allow attorneys for Trump into the residence to observe what was going on during the roughly nine-hour raid. About 15 boxes were taken from a locked private storage basement area.

Federal agents also reportedly attempted to get Trump representatives to turn off any security cameras which they refused to do.

RELATED: Why Are Lawmakers Continuing To Push For A Digital Dollar? Look To China

Who’s Next?

Republicans didn’t have to wait long for the answer to the question “who’s next.” The day after the Mar-a-Lago raid, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus and a close Trump ally, said his cellphone was seized by FBI agents while on vacation with his family.

In a statement, Perry said,

“This morning, while traveling with my family, 3 FBI agents visited me and seized my cell phone. They made no attempt to contact my lawyer, who would have made arrangements for them to have my phone if that was their wish. I’m outraged — though not surprised — that the FBI under the direction of Merrick Garland’s DOJ, would seize the phone of a sitting Member of Congress.”

Perry has refused to cooperate with the Jan. 6 Committee on several occasions, calling it “illegitimate,” and also filed articles of impeachment against Attorney General Merrick Garland in October of 2021 in relation to targeting parents at school board meetings.

With judges like Bruce Reinhart at the ready, perhaps Republicans should keep asking who’s next.

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GOP Congressman Who Was Target of January 6 Committee Says FBI Seized His Cellphone After Mar-a-Lago Raid

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Representative Scott Perry, an ally of former Donald Trump and the current chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, says the FBI seized his cellphone a day after the unprecedented raid by agents on the Mar-a-Lago home of the former President.

The raid had reportedly involved an investigation into the handling of classified documents that may have been brought to Trump’s Palm Beach residence.

But the confiscation of Perry’s phone creates new questions as to the FBI’s intent, as the Pennsylvania Republican has been an ally of the former President in his quest to promote unproven election fraud claims, making him a target of the January 6 House select committee.

“This morning, while traveling with my family, 3 FBI agents visited me and seized my cell phone,” Perry said in a statement. “They made no attempt to contact my lawyer, who would have made arrangements for them to have my phone if that was their wish.”

“I’m outraged — though not surprised — that the FBI under the direction of Merrick Garland’s DOJ, would seize the phone of a sitting Member of Congress,” he added.

RELATED: Hillary Clinton Pounces On Trump FBI Raid, Now Fundraising With ‘But Her Emails’ Merchandise

Scott Perry’s Cellphone Seized by the FBI

It’s difficult to ascertain why Scott Perry would be targeted by the FBI and have his cellphone seized one day after a raid on Mar-a-Lago.

Perry has a history of supporting Trump’s claims of election fraud, however, and has been a target of the January 6 committee investigating the Capitol riot.

He also, as Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) points out, has targeted Garland himself, filing articles of impeachment against the Attorney General in October of 2021.

Perry’s articles of impeachment accuse Garland of having “presided over a reckless and corrosive politicization of the Department of Justice at the expense of our Nation’s children.”

The articles at the time referenced the DOJ’s targeting of parents at school board meetings.

With that information as context, it’s easy to wonder if the seizure of Perry’s cellphone was politically motivated.

RELATED: ‘Some Third World Bulls***’ – Dan Bongino Goes Ballistic On Fox News Over FBI Raid of Trump’s Home

Why Did They Target a Sitting Congressman?

Unfortunately, without comment from the FBI at the present time, seizing Representative Scott Perry’s cell phone leads to major speculation.

Perry has repeatedly refused to cooperate with the select committee’s investigation into the January 6 riot, suggesting the anti-Trump panel is “illegitimate.”

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The manner and mode of the raid have led conservatives to openly wonder if the FBI isn’t using the search for classified documents as a means to find evidence surrounding the Capitol riot.

Sirius XM podcast host Megyn Kelly expressed skepticism that the Mar-a-Lago raid was about classified documents at all.

“Bullshit – there is no way that’s what they were searching for,” she told listeners. “This is about January 6, and the never-ending desire to get Donald Trump on something.”

Perry suggested Garland’s Justice Department had plunged the United States into “banana republic” territory and noted if they were willing to seize his cellphone and information, and willing to raid a former President’s home, what will they do with their newfound power at the IRS?

The Political Insider reported earlier this week that the so-called Inflation Reduction Act passed by Senate Democrats over the weekend adds $80 billion to the IRS budget for enforcement purposes, allowing them to unleash roughly 87,000 new auditors on low-to-middle income Americans.

“As with President Trump last night, DOJ chose this unnecessary and aggressive action instead of simply contacting my attorneys,” Perry said.

“These kinds of banana republic tactics should concern every Citizen — especially considering the decision before Congress this week to hire 87,000 new IRS agents to further persecute law-abiding Citizens.”

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Trump Speaks: Angrily Condemns ‘Political Persecution’ As FBI Raids Mar-a-Lago

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Former President Donald Trump slammed never-ending “political persecution” by Democrats as he confirmed his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida had been raided by the FBI.

“These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump said in a statement released Monday evening.

“Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before.”

CNN reports that the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home as part of an investigation into the handling of possible classified documents that may have been brought there.

RELATED: Report: Biden Justice Department Criminally Investigating Trump ‘Effort to Overturn Election’

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Home Raided by FBI

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) said in February that Trump earlier this year had to return 15 boxes of documents that were improperly taken from the White House.

The FBI appears to be pursuing concerns of classified materials in the home of former President Trump, something that they provably dismissed and allowed Hillary Clinton to do when she served as Secretary of State.

Trump blasted the raid and suggested it was part of a coordinated weaponization of federal government agencies to stop him from running for President in 2024.

“Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries,” he stated. “Sadly, America has now become one of those countries, corrupt at a level not seen before.”

“The political persecution of President Donald J. Trump has been going on for years, with the now fully debunked Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, Impeachment Hoax 11, Impeachment Hoax #2, and so much more, it just never ends, it is political targeting at the highest level!”

RELATED: Report: Whistleblowers Allege ‘Scheme’ by FBI, DOJ to Suppress Negative Information About Hunter Biden Before 2020 Election

Supporters Come out in Droves

Numerous supporters of former President Donald Trump gathered outside his Mar-a-Lago home after news had spread of the FBI raid.

Several suggested the raid was a political move by the Department of Justice to prevent Trump from running again in 2024. Others simply concurred that it was political persecution.

“As soon as I saw it, I drove here from Tampa. This is nuts,” one man who had driven across the state told Fox News. “We all know what you’re trying to do, DOJ. You’re trying to create some kind of charge so he’s not going to be able to run for reelection.”

“They’re going to do anything they can to get him. They’re terrified of him,” another claimed.

A White House official claimed President Biden was not given advance notice of the FBI raid.

Lara Trump offered commentary hinting that the siege on Mar-a-Lago was more to do with the left and the establishment’s hatred of the former President.

“They detest Donald Trump, not just on the Democrat side, but the general establishment, because he’s not one of them, because he doesn’t play their game,” she said.

Lara Trump warned that if the Justice Department and the FBI are willing to do this to a former President, “think about what they could do to you.”

The Political Insider reported on Monday that the so-called Inflation Reduction Act passed by Senate Democrats over the weekend adds $80 billion to the IRS budget for enforcement purposes.

That budget would unleash roughly 87,000 new IRS auditors.

Matt Schlapp, the chairman of The American Conservative Union, says the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago demonstrates the Biden administration has converted the United States into a Third World country.

“President Biden’s politicized FBI just raided President Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago,” he wrote. “This nation is becoming unrecognizable. Biden has successfully transformed America into a third-world country.”

Schlapp notes that a CPAC Texas straw poll shows respondents believe the greatest threat to America right now comes from within.

According to that poll, 91% of attendees believe the greatest threat to America is “internal forces such as the Deep State, public education and the mainstream media,” while just 8% pointed to “external forces such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.”

The Political Insider reports that beyond the investigation of classified documents, the Justice Department is also investigating Trump as part of a criminal probe into “efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.”

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Despite overwhelming evidence of guilt, the DOJ has a tough decision around prosecuting Trump

Posted on by Rebekah Sager

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As many of us watched the first public congressional hearings from the Jan. 6 committee investigating the insurrection last Thursday, we saw the seven members carefully lay out how they intended to prove former President Donald Trump’s guilt in attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential elections. And even though they will continue to reveal more evidence in the coming days, the question that looms is whether or not Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Justice Department has the guts to actually prosecute Trump.

Garland gave a speech at Harvard University’s commencement ceremony last month, where mentioned he would “follow the facts whether they lead.” And as NBC News reports, Lisa Monaco, Garland’s deputy attorney general, told CNN, “Federal prosecutors are reviewing fake Electoral College certifications that declared former President Donald Trump the winner of states that he lost… We've received those referrals. Our prosecutors are looking at those, and I can't say anything more on ongoing investigations.”

But following leads and taking notes during the House select committee hearings is one thing—prosecuting a U.S. president is a whole other beast.

RELATED STORY: In case you missed it: Here’s how Liz Cheney skewered her GOP colleagues in Jan. 6 committee hearing

Barbara McQuade, an NBC legal analyst and former U.S. attorney warned that filing criminal charges against Trump in his attempt to subvert the elections “will very likely spark civil unrest, and maybe even civil war.” However, “not charging [Trump] is even worse because not charging means you failed to hold someone criminally accountable who tried to subvert our democracy,” she explained.

Indicting Trump would be a first in U.S. history. The only case even remotely close was that of former President Richard Nixon, who resigned from office in 1974 before his expected fate of impeachment for his role in Watergate. Former President Gerald Ford later pardoned Nixon prior to the possible filing of criminal charges.

The other issue Garland is likely facing is the ethics of whether or not prosecuting Trump is in the best interest of the nation—an issue that essentially pits the two parties against each other.

“I don’t think we want to be the kind of country where this happens often,” McQuade told NBC News.

Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney and NBC News legal analyst said, “Prosecuting Trump destabilizes the country more than it puts it upright.”

Committee members have been clear from the start that all of the accusations against Trump will be backed up with evidence and testimony from the players involved—some who’ve come forward voluntarily and others who’ve been subpoenaed.

Rep. Adam Schiff has said that he’s expecting the DOJ to “investigate any credible allegation of criminal activity on the part of Donald Trump,” the Associated Press reports, 

Schiff added:

“Once the evidence is accumulated by the Justice Department, it needs to make a decision about whether it can prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt the president’s guilt or anyone else’s. … But they need to be investigated if there’s credible evidence, which I think there is.”

According to CNN, Rep. Jamie Raskin has said he will not “browbeat” Garland, but the committee has clearly highlighted the many crimes Trump has committed.

“I think that he knows, his staff knows, the U.S. attorneys know, what’s at stake here. … They know the importance of it, but I think they are rightfully paying close attention to precedent in history as well, as the facts of this case.  

“So we have laid out in different legal pleadings the criminal statutes that we think have been violated. And Judge Carter in California said he thought it was likely that President Trump committed federal offenses.”

Huh? Powerful @AP & @axios headlines. But that's not what AP report (https://t.co/GJ1vDABDSb) or quotes in Axios actually say.@RepAdamSchiff comments apparently refers to threshold for opening investigations (not indictment). Here's also @RepRaskin transcript in context👇 pic.twitter.com/ilrPyUScAp

— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) June 13, 2022

We talk to gun control advocate and executive director of Guns Down America, Igor Volsky on Daily Kos' The Brief podcast

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Trump plotted to toss the acting attorney general, insert a stooge, and block the electoral count

Posted on (Updated by Mark Sumner

Donald Trump driving a crowd into a violent attack on the Capitol may be the defining image that will remain in the minds of most Americans. But that assault on Jan. 6 wasn’t the only coup Trump planned. After his ridiculous legal ploys had all floundered; after his attempts to strong arm governors and secretaries of state had failed; after he had wined and dined state legislators in an attempt to prevent the certification of votes … Trump had another scheme.

The New York Times reports that Trump worked with Department of Justice lawyer Jeffrey Clark on a plan that would have removed acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, then Trump and Clark would use the DOJ to order Georgia legislators to reverse the outcome of the election in that state while blocking Congress from counting the Electoral College vote.

This plan was apparently only halted because of an accident of timing. And it shows once again how close Trump came to completely gutting American democracy.

It was absolutely clear that Trump was frustrated that former attorney general William Barr—who had done everything else to support Trump—refused to use the DOJ to support Trump's legal team in their baseless claims of election fraud. That doesn’t take speculation, because Trump said it openly. Barr refused to go along, telling reporters that the department had found no evidence of fraud. As a result, Barr stepped down in mid December and then Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen took on the acting AG role. 

As The New York Times reports, Trump immediately began to pressure Rosen to interfere in the few remaining steps before the Electoral College votes were counted. The day after Barr’s departure, Trump called Rosen to the White House. Trump pushed Rosen to announce that he was appointing special counsels to look into voter fraud, with one focusing on the unsupported claims—and outright lies—that Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell had been spreading about Dominion Voting Systems. And Trump called on Rosen to do what Barr had refused, file legal briefs in support of the lawsuits filed by Trump’s legal team.

When Rosen refused, Trump continued to press. He called Rosen repeatedly. He called him back to the White House and confronted him multiple times. Trump complained that the Justice Department was “not fighting hard enough for him” and pushed Rosen on why DOJ attorneys were not supporting the “evidence” being put forward by Giuliani and Powell.

But as Rosen continued to refuse, Trump went around him to work with Clark. According to the Times report, Clark told Trump that he agreed there had been fraud that affected the election results. Clark tried to pressure his bosses at the DOJ into holding a new conference to announce that it was “investigating serious accusations of election fraud.” But Rosen also refused to go along with Clark.

As Trump and Clark worked together, much of the attention was focused on Georgia, where Trump complained that the U.S. attorney in Atlanta, Byung Pak, was also not trying hard enough to defend Trump. In the conversation in which Trump attempted to threaten Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, he complained about Pak. DOJ officials warned Pak that Trump was “fixated” on forcing his office to go along with his plans.  That led to Pak’s resignation just a day before the Jan. 6 insurgency. 

As Trump was pushing on Raffensperger, Clark was continuing to try and force Rosen to act on Trump’s behalf. Clark drafted a letter falsely saying the DOJ was investigating voter fraud in Georgia and tried to get Rosen to send it to state legislators. Rosen again refused to go along with the scheme and on New Year’s Eve, Rosen and deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue met with Clark to tell him that his actions were wrong.

Rather than backing off, Clark went back to Trump. He met with Trump over the weekend, then came back to tell Rosen what they had decided. Trump and Clark concocted a plan in which Trump would replace Rosen with Clark. Clark would then use the DOJ in an effort to prevent Congress from counting the Electoral College results. Clark not only explained this plan to Rosen, but offered to allow Rosen to stay on as his deputy.

Rosen refused to go along and demanded a meeting with Trump. But what stopped Trump and Clark’s plan from moving forward was not some momentary lapse into reason or decency on Trump’s part. Instead, what happened was that, just as Rosen was preparing to meet with Trump, news broke that Raffensperger had recorded his conversation with Trump. Hearing Trump’s direct effort to force the Georgia secretary of state into “finding” votes, along with Trump’s threats over what would happen if Raffensperger failed to go along, apparently stiffened enough spines among the second tier officials at the DOJ that a whole group threatened to resign if Rosen was removed. The “Clark Plan” the group decided would “seriously harm the department, the government and the rule of law.”

That same evening, Rosen, Donoghue and Clark met at the White House with Trump, White House attorney Pat Cipollone, and other lawyers. Cippollone made it clear to Trump that pulling the trigger on the Clark Plan would not just generate chaos at the Justice Department, but result in a strong pushback from Congress, including investigations.

After nearly three hours of argument, Trump reluctantly backed away from firing Rosen and using the DOJ to smash open the election.

But it came that close. If the phone call with Georgia officials had not been released, if Rosen had not been able to rally the support of his deputies, if Trump had simply ignored Cippollone and ordered Clark to carry on … what would have happened next is anyone’s guess.

Is it too late to add additional charges to the impeachment?

Report: Trump To Award Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan With Presidential Medal Of Freedom

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

President Trump will reportedly award two of his staunchest allies – Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Rep. Jim Jordan (D-OH) – with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The prestigious award is the Nation’s highest civilian honor.

The Washington Post, citing a source familiar with the plans, claimed the President “is using his final days in the White House in part to reward friends and allies with pardons and other decorations.”

They describe Nunes as “one of Trump’s most vocal supporters in his quest to undermine the Justice Department’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.”

The President is expected to award Nunes with the medal on Monday, and Jordan next week.

RELATED: Report: Durham Investigation Into Origins Of The Russian Probe Are Moving ‘Full Steam Ahead’

Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan to Get the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Of course, describing Nunes’ efforts as “undermin(ing) the Justice Department’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election” is an incredibly biased way of saying ‘revealing corruption during the Special Counsel’s probe.’

And Nunes did that in spades.

If not for the California Republican, America might never have known about the deep-seated corruption that took place behind closed doors during the Russia probe.

Nunes authored a memo that was released by the House Intelligence Committee in February, 2018, which alleged abuses of power by the FBI during its investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.

Nunes, according to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), would ultimately be “proven correct” by the Mueller report, while House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who provided a counter-memo and repeatedly leaked information to the media, would ultimately be proven a liar.

Schiff repeatedly stated through left-wing media outlets that there was “direct evidence” of collusion even as he knew that Obama officials testified time and again that there was no such evidence.

Nunes suggested Schiff was so adept at lying that he might be in need of rehabilitation.

“After publishing false conclusions of such enormity on a topic directly within this committee’s oversight responsibilities, it is clear you are in need of rehabilitation,” Nunes wrote in a letter, “and I hope this letter will serve as the first step in that vital process.”

More recently, Nunes announced plans to submit a criminal referral to the Department of Justice following the release of newly declassified messages from former FBI agent Peter Strzok. 

The California Republican suggested the DOJ and FBI misled Congress regarding documents that had been requested during an investigation of potential FISA abuses. 

RELATED: Jim Jordan Hammers Adam Schiff at Impeachment Hearing: ‘Nobody Believes You’

Jim Jordan, like Devin Nunes, has also been a vocal supporter of the President and will receive the Medal of Freedom.

Jordan repeatedly made a fool of Schiff during impeachment inquiry meetings, pointing out that the Democrat had a reputation for lying.

Fox News host Sean Hannity told Nunes that he deserved the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a segment on his show in August of 2018.

Hannity said Nunes “frankly, deserves the medal of freedom for really showing, sadly, the biggest abuse of power corruption scandal.”

President Trump would later laud Nunes during an interview on Fox & Friends.

“He is really, what he has gone through and his bravery. He should get a very important medal,” Trump said. “Maybe we’ll call it medal of freedom because we actually give them, they’re high awards for civilians.”

The post Report: Trump To Award Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan With Presidential Medal Of Freedom appeared first on The Political Insider.

Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into John Bolton over his anti-Trump book

Posted on by Mark Sumner

Donald Trump is good for literature. Actually … that’s overstating it. A lot. But Trump is certainly good for publishers, and for dramatic titles. In one-word titles alone, it’s possible to build a pretty decent description of Trump using Rage, Unhinged, Disloyal, Fear, Hoax. You certainly don’t have to go to Insane Clown President, but … that’s also not a bad description.

The last few weeks have seen Trump’s leveraging his family to fight—and fail—to stop the publication of a book by his niece Mary Trump, and books by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and former journalist Bob Woodward. The trio of tomes are all hot off the presses and still in the headlines. But it requires rewinding to June 20 (also known as March the 121st , in pandemic dating) to find the focus of Trump’s current disloyal, unhinged, rage hoax. That was the date that a federal judge dismissed attempts by the White House to block publication of John Bolton’s book detailing his time as Trump’s national security adviser. 

During that court case, the judge pointed out multiple times that Trump was attempting to block a book that had already been printed, distributed to warehouses, was on the shelves at thousands of stores, and had already been read by hundreds of critics and journalists. Open barn door? Meet horse. But the judge did not address claims from the Department of Justice that Bolton may have violated national security, though he noted if it was true, Bolton could lose all the profits from the book deal that kept him conveniently mum during Trump’s impeachment. And now the Justice Department has announced an investigation into Bolton because … sure, why not?

The book has been on the stands for four months and is no longer hanging onto a slot in even an extended list of best sellers. There’s nothing to be gained by going after Bolton other than the demonstration that people like Roger Stone, convicted of multiple crimes, get to walk away for being Trump’s pals, while people like Bolton get the weight of the DOJ tossed their way for the crime of insufficient toadying.

But it’s hard to feel like there’s a good guy on either side of this case. After all, Bolton failed to come forward when his testimony mattered, what he ultimately revealed was confirmation of things that had already been stated, and … he’s John Bolton. The best possible ending for this story is that both Trump and Bolton come out with their sub-mud reputations sullied by whatever it is that’s worse than mud.

According to The New York Times, a team within the DOJ has convened a grand jury to hear evidence about Bolton’s use of classified information in his book, aka I couldn’t think of a title so I just stole a line from Hamilton. Bolton has denied that he published classified information. Trump has argued back that Bolton is “a dope” and “incompetent” and “a washed up creepster who … should be in jail” for “trying to make me look bad.” It’s unclear if the grand jury will reward these rubber-meets-glue arguments with an indictment, but it would probably be pretty interesting—and kind of hilarious—to hear the presentation. 

And yes, to be honest it’s clear that the White House purposely refused to provide Bolton with responses on the classification of his submitted manuscript simply in an effort to delay publication and provide Trump with leverage to do exactly what he’s doing right now: conduct a political persecution of a perceived enemy. Bolton shouldn’t face charges for purely political reasons, if for no other reason than on a “first they came for John Bolton, and ...” basis. Still, every DOJ official tied up with going after John Bolton could be busy persecuting a human being instead, so let’s hope this takes some time. And please, if someone is going to leak classified information, how about the transcripts for the presentation to the grand jury?

John Durham’s top assistant resigns as Barr squeezes for some kind of report before election

Posted on by Mark Sumner

There’s supposed to be a rule that the Department of Justice (DOJ) doesn’t make announcements concerning anyone involved in an election within 60 days of the election—a rule that James Comey absolutely disregarded with his last minute theatrics in the 2016 election. Considering the closeness of that election, there’s little doubt that Comey’s action, and the media coverage of it, was a deciding factor in handing Trump the White House. And William Barr has made it absolutely clear that he’s all in favor of smashing that rule again to keep Trump in place.

But Barr’s intention of releasing the report by his lieutenant, John Durham, got slightly harder on Friday. Because acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Nora Dannehy, who has acted as Durham’s top aide during his attempt to follow up on Trump’s claims about the “deep state coup” behind the Russia investigation, has resigned not just her position helping Durham, but from the entire Justice Department. And the reason is directly related to Barr’s attempts to rush the report out as an “October surprise.”

As the Hartford Courant reports, Dannehy was recruited to help Durham in his round-the-world quest to convince allies to join in the conspiracy theory and claim that the entire Russia investigation was set up long before Trump was elected. That includes tracking down claims that the CIA planted a college professor in London years earlier so George Papadopoulos could eventually be lured into trying to arrange a hook up between Trump and Putin. It also includes chasing down the same claims about a nonexistent server in Ukraine that were involved in Trump’s impeachment.

The investigation of the investigation has been underway for over a year and a half, and has so far managed to snag one charge against one person, with former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith pleading guilty to having edited an email. Compare this to the Mueller investigation, which netted 199 criminal charges, 37 indictments or guilty pleas, and five prison sentences … so far. 

Oddly enough, despite an investigation that’s now just a few months short of the entire length of the Mueller investigation, there appear to be no tweets from Trump or other Republicans complaining about the length, scope, or cost of the Durham investigation. Somehow, when Mueller was involved in his much more productive investigation, both Trump and his leading minions in the House found time to constantly complain about the budget of the investigations and to scoff at the “minor nature” of convictions. Funny. That’s not happening this time.

Dannehy has worked with Durham for decades. She was recruited back from private practice specifically to work on this investigation. But on Thursday evening she sent an email to the office in New Haven to announce that she was leaving, and the reason appears to be because she is worried about pressure from Barr to hand over a report before the election. Insiders say that Dannehy has been pondering leaving for weeks, but stayed this long out of her personal loyalty to Durham. 

According to the Courant, Dannehy said the investigation was going to last “six months to a year” when she agreed to return to the DOJ. But it’s taken much longer, and without producing any obvious signs of progress.

Still, even the departure of Durham’s top assistant is unlikely to prevent Barr from putting out something in the days immediately before the election. After all, as he did with the Mueller report, Barr can always give a completely false “summary” of the investigation and leave the truth to come out long after the spotlight has turned away.

Barr makes it clear—again—that he intends to drop the Durham report before the election

Posted on (Updated by Mark Sumner

On July 28, Attorney General William Barr appeared before the House Judiciary Committee. During a half-day of questioning in which Barr was repeatedly evasive or purposely intended to misunderstand questions, there was one answer he provided which was absolutely clear. When Florida Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell asked Barr to commit that the conspiracy theory-based report being prepared by John Durham would not be released before the November election, Barr’s answer could not have been briefer. “No,” he said.

Barr has made it absolutely clear that he does intend to deliver an October surprise. Ever since he stepped back onto the national stage by purposely distorting the results of the Mueller investigation, Trump’s new Roy Cohn has been engaged in politicizing the DOJ and turning the department into an wing of Trump’s reelection campaign. One of his first acts was drafting U.S. Attorney John "Bull" Durham to begin a round-the-world quest into claims Trump had made against Joe Biden, the pursuit of a DNC server that never existed, and undermining the actions of his own department in the Trump-Russia investigation. 

And now, as the campaign enters its final two months, Barr is being equally clear that he’s ready to ignore the Justice Department's “60-day rule” against taking overtly political steps in the final weeks before an election.

As Trump continues to show that he will say anything, Barr continues to make it equally clear that he will do anything to back up Trump’s statements and actions. As CNN notes, Barr was aggressively belligerent in a Wednesday night interview, making it clear that he is more than willing to break the 60-day rule, or any other rule, if that’s what it takes to keep Trump planted in the White House.

Barr wasn’t just unwilling to agree that Durham’s international quest for lies wouldn’t be packaged up for release before November 3, he was all in on Trump’s statements about how mail-in ballots lead to fraud. These were especially egregious statements coming from an official charged with keeping the elections safe and who knows that there is no evidence backing such claims.

CNN: "You've said you're worried a foreign country could send thousands of fake ballots ... what are you basing that on?"

Barr: "Logic."

CNN: "But have you seen any evidence?" 

Barr: “No.”

But Barr doesn’t seem to need any evidence. Or rules.

Because in the CNN interview, he repeated that he doesn’t believe the 60-day rule applies to the Durham investigation. "I will handle these cases as appropriate,” said Barr, “and I do not think anything we do in the Durham investigation is going to be affecting the election."

Of course not. Just because Barr accompanied Durham to Rome where he tried to convince Italian authorities to join him in claims that professor Joseph Mifsud was secretly a CIA plant put in place months in advance to snare Trump adviser George Papadopoulos into trying to make contact with Russian officials, doesn’t mean there’s anything political about the investigation. Just because Barr was already secretly working with Durham at the time he redacted the Mueller report. Just because Barr and Durham dropped in on Australian intelligence and unsuccessfully tried to get them to agree that that Australian official Alexander Downer planted false evidence against Carter Page. Just because Barr has made it absolutely clear that the Durham investigation is “broad in scope and multifaceted” including trying find some basis behind the Ukraine fantasy behind Trump’s impeachment—a conspiracy aimed directly at generating false evidence against Joe Biden … none of that makes it political.

What’s clear from everything that’s been learned about Durham’s investigation is that it’s been spectacularly unsuccessful. Barr and Durham didn’t get Italy to lie for them about Mifsud. They couldn’t get Australia to lie for them about Downer. And the heads of both MI5 and MI6 in the U.K. refused to play along with their claims about Joe Biden’s actions in Ukraine. The only actual charge to come out of the investigation so far is a single count of altering an email against decidedly third-tier figure and former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith. And the truth is that Clinesmith’s actions weren’t discovered by Durham at all—they were included in the report prepared by DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz last December.

To date, it appears the Durham investigation has turned up exactly nothing that wasn’t previously known, and has completely struck out when it comes to trying to fulfill Trump’s conspiracy fantasies. However, none of that will stop William Barr from issuing a deliberately confusing last-minute memo designed to present things in a completely upside-down manner. After all, that’s his speciality.