themarketswork

a common sense approach to a liberal world

Something Rotten in Denmark – The Michael Flynn Case

by

General Michael Flynn plead guilty to one count of lying to the FBI on November 30, 2017.

General Flynn was found guilty of lying to the FBI – about conduct that was completely legal.

Since his guilty pleading there have been some strange events.

On November 30, 2017, Flynn’s case was assigned to Judge Rudolph Contreras.

On December 1, 2017, Judge Contreras presided over a hearing where Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about his contacts with Russia.

On December 7, 2017, Judge Contreras was recused. Court spokeswoman Lisa Klem did not say why Contreras was recused.

Judge Contreras did not “recuse himself”. He “was recused”.

One other thing.

Judge Contreras is also a FISA Judge.

This fact was discovered by the Conservative Treehouse – the same day as the recusal announcement.

This discovery led to immediate speculation that Judge Contreras may have signed off on the October 21, 2016 FISA Application providing for Title I surveillance of Carter Page.

Update: We now know Contreras did not sign FISA per Schiff Democrat Memo which specifies that Page FISA Application and renewals were approved by four different Federal (FISA) Judges and appointed by following: One by Reagan. One by G.H.W. Bush (elder). Two by G.W. Bush (younger).

Contreras was appointed by Obama.

Anne Conway signed a Page FISA Application or Renewal.

Either Raymond Drearie or Martin Feldman (FISA Court 5-19-10 to 5-18-17) signed FISA Application or Renewal.

Two of the following signed FISA Application or renewal: Collyer, Egan, Kugler, Mosman, Saylor.

There are two people who would have likely recused Judge Contreras.

Presiding FISA Judge Rosemary Collyer or Supreme Court Justice John Roberts.

As I noted in Bob Goodlatte’s Letter to Presiding FISA Judge:

The presiding judge of the FISA Court is Rosemary M. Collyer.

She is the judge who wrote the 99 page April 26, 2017 Memorandum Opinion and Order regarding the findings by NSA Mike Rogers.

This FISA Court ruling, unsealed by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coates, revealed some grave surveillance abuses. I cover the entire ruling here:

Between the time of Judge Contreras presiding over the December 1, 2017 Flynn pleading and Contreras’ December 7, 2017 recusal, the following events occurred:

Representative Jim Jordan’s questioning of Director Wray occurred on the morning of December 7, 2017. Judge Contreras’ recusal occurred in the late afternoon per reports.

There’s also one other thing that’s always bothered me:

  • October 20 2016 – NSA Rogers briefed by NSA compliance officer on 702 NSA compliance audit.
  • October 21 2016 – NSA Rogers shuts down all “About Query” activity. Permanently. Reports activity to DOJ and prepares to go before FISA Court.
  • October 21 2016 – DOJ & FBI sought and received a FISA probable cause order (not under Title VII) authorizing electronic surveillance on Carter Page from the FISC.
  • October 26 2016 – NSA Rogers personally informs FISA Court of 702(17) violations.

Why didn’t the FISA judge who issued the FISA Warrant on October 21, 2016 revisit the issue after hearing the litany of abuses laid out by NSA Mike Rogers on October 26, 2016.

And who, exactly, was that FISA judge…

To recap, Judge Contreras takes the Flynn case.

Immediately after doing so several things come to light:

  1. Damning texts between Strzok and Page are revealed.
  2. DOJ’s Bruce Ohr is discovered to have secretly met with Fusion GPS.
  3. Ohr was in contact with Fusion GPS at the same time the FISA application was submitted and granted.
  4. Rep. Jim Jordan pushes FBI Director Chris Wray on the original FISA Application and demands FISA source material.

Judge Contreras is recused the same day as FBI Director Wray’s testimony – after Rep. Jordan has grilled Wray on FISA details.

Subsequent events become even more curious.

On December 7, 2017, Judge Emmett Sullivan was assigned to the Flynn case in place of Judge Contreras.

As later noted by Byron York, Judge Sullivan was also the presiding judge in the case of Senator Ted Stephens:

Stevens was convicted in October 2008, causing him to lose his bid for re-election the next month. But it later came to light that the Justice Department had improperly withheld exculpatory evidence. In April 2009, Eric Holder, the Obama attorney general who inherited the mess, dropped the case.

Sullivan ripped into the Stevens prosecutors with an anger rarely seen on the bench. Sullivan was furious that the federal government had repeatedly withheld evidence from the Stevens defense and has been known ever since as a judge who is a stickler for making sure defendants are allowed access to all the evidence they are entitled to.

On December 12, 2017, Judge Sullivan ordered Special Counsel Mueller to turn over evidence against Flynn to Flynn’s defense team:

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan told the government in a filing to turn over any exculpatory evidence, known as “Brady” material, that could potentially help Flynn’s defense or information that is “material either to the defendant’s guilt or punishment.”

Judge Sullivan’s ruling went deeper than is normal:

Sullivan, acting on his own, ordered the office of special counsel Robert Mueller “to produce to [Flynn] in a timely manner — including during plea negotiations — any evidence in its possession that is favorable to defendant and material either to defendant’s guilt or punishment.”

Sullivan also ordered Mueller “to produce all discoverable evidence in a readily usable form.” And he declared that “if the government has identified any information which is favorable to the defendant but which the government believes not to be material, the government shall submit such information to the Court for in camera review.” In other words, Sullivan declared that he, not Mueller, would be the judge of what evidence should be produced.

As noted by Andrew McCarthy:

It is noteworthy that Flynn had already pled guilty, and in the course of doing so had agreed to Mueller’s demand that he waive “the right to any further discovery or disclosures of information not already provided” — in addition to forfeiting many other trial and appellate rights. (See plea agreement, pages 6–7.) It certainly appears that Sullivan’s order supersedes the plea agreement and imposes on the special counsel the obligation to reveal any and all evidence suggesting that Flynn is innocent of the charge to which he has admitted guilt.

On December 13, 2017, a private individual came forward and approached the court:

The individual filed three motions on December 13, 2017:

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree is a legal “doctrine that extends the exclusionary rule to make evidence inadmissible in court if it was derived from evidence that was illegally obtained.”

Two more motions were filed on December 20, 2017:

On January 31, 2018, The Conservative Treehouse reported that Special Counsel Mueller suddenly requested a postponement of Flynn’s sentencing.

On February 2, 2018, the Nunes House Memo was released. The Memo calls into question the validity of the October 21, 2016 FISA Application and Warrant.

The Memo notes the extensive role the Dossier played in obtaining the FISA Warrant along with subsequent renewals. The Memo cites Circular Reporting, lack of corroboration by the FBI and the role of the Clinton Campaign in the Dossier’s formation and funding.

On February 6, 2018, the Grassley Senate Memo was released. This Memo focuses even more tightly on the validity of the Dossier – and its role in obtaining the October 21, 2016 FISA Warrant.

The Grassley Memo not only confirms the Nunes Memo, it provides more detailed granularity regarding the FBI’s reliance on the Dossier and highlights how the FBI knowingly provided the FISA Court with falsified evidence – multiple times. The Grassley Memo also provides evidence that unverified sourcing came directly from the Clinton Campaign – via the State Department.

On February 12, 2018, Byron York reported the following:

Comey told lawmakers that the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe that Flynn had lied to them, or that any inaccuracies in his answers were intentional.

Comey went to Capitol Hill in March to brief lawmakers privately. That is when he told them that the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe Flynn had lied, or that any inaccuracies in Flynn’s answers were intentional. And that is when some lawmakers got the impression that Flynn would not be charged with any crime pertaining to the Jan. 24 interview.

On February 14, 2018, Mueller filed a Motion for Protective Order:

Mueller filed a motion specifically asking that all information he turns over to Flynn’s team be sealed.

As Byron York noted:

Prosecutors and the defense submitted to Sullivan a proposed order limiting the use of any new evidence produced by the government. The evidence can be used by Flynn’s defense “solely in connection with the defense of this case, and for no other purpose, and in connection with no other proceeding.” The proposed order, awaiting Sullivan’s approval, also set out rules for handling “sensitive” materials.

Nick’s unrolled thread can be found here.

FD-302’s are FBI Witness Interview Summaries.

And there have been some questions:

On February 16, 2018, Judge Sullivan entered an updated version of his December 12, 2017 standing order. Some language was added:

Here is a photo-grab of the footnote:

Judge Sullivan effectively issued a warning to the Mueller Team.

Meanwhile, both Bob Goodlatte and Devin Nunes have requested information from the FISA Court.

As noted by the Conservative Treehouse:

Nunes has requested the transcripts from the FISA Court during the DOJ/FBI Title-1 surveillance application over their target, U.S. person Carter Page.

Goodlatte has requested the actual FISA Title-1 application as submitted by the DOJ/FBI for surveillance of Carter Page.

It appears Nunes and Goodlatte are both in formal negotiation with Presiding FISA Judge Rosemary Collyer.

The obvious intent is to compare the actual documents from the FISA Court with the copies presented to Goodlatte and Nunes by the DOJ.

Which could prove interesting…

This Flynn case smelled bad from the start. Now it’s starting to stink.

Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark – and Judge Sullivan appears prepared to find out exactly what it is.

 

newer post  Resignations, Demotions & Some Details – Complicity at the FBI & DOJ

older post  Mueller’s Indictment – Exoneration for Trump, Unwitting Distraction from IG’s Investigation