The investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller appears to finally coming to an end.

“Special Counsel Robert Mueller is expected to issue findings on core aspects of his Russia probe soon after the November midterm elections as he faces intensifying pressure to produce more indictments or shut down his investigation,” Bloomberg reported on Oct. 17 citing two U.S. officials, adding that “[Deputy Attorney General Rod] Rosenstein has made it clear that he wants Mueller to wrap up the investigation as expeditiously as possible.”

As a further indication of an investigative wind-down, four of Mueller’s prosecutors have left the special counsel’s office in recent months.Continue Reading

A classified interview with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that was planned for Oct. 24 has been postponed indefinitely, the chairmen of two congressional committees announced.

An announcement about the postponement was made jointly Oct. 23 by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.):

“The Committees are unable to ask all questions of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein within the time allotted for tomorrow’s transcribed interview, therefore, the interview will be postponed. Mr. Rosenstein has indicated his willingness to testify before the Judiciary and Oversight committees in the coming weeks, in either a transcribed interview or a public setting. We appreciate his willingness to appear and will announce further details once it has been rescheduled,” the statement read.Continue Reading

Last week, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) announced that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was meeting with them on Oct. 24 for a transcribed interview along with Ranking Members Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).

As noted in the press release, the interview will be conducted in a secure setting so “all relevant questions can be asked and answered without regard to classification.”

Additionally, the interview will be under oath. The transcript will then be reviewed by the Intelligence Community “to avoid the public dissemination of classified or otherwise protected information.” Upon completion of the clearance process, the transcript will be publicly available.

It’s worth keeping in mind that the special counsel probe by Robert Mueller appears to be winding down.Continue Reading

On October 21, 2016, the FBI sought and received a Title I FISA Warrant on Trump foreign policy advisor Carter Page. Three subsequent FISA renewals were sought and surveillance continued on Page until September 2017.

The DOJ released 412 pages of the Page FISA Surveillance Court Orders and Applications on July 21, 2018. Large sections of the documents were redacted and many pages were completely blacked out.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit by the James Madison Project, the FBI and DOJ filed a lengthy court document, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, on October 19, 2018, that provides a significant amount of new information.Continue Reading

On Oct. 16, 2018, Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson reportedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Simpson had been subpoenaed to appear before a joint House panel for a closed-door interview. Largely overlooked is that Simpson also invoked his First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of association.

Fusion GPS is the firm that commissioned the dossier produced by former MI6 Agent Christopher Steele. The firm also employed Nellie Ohr, the wife of former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr.

There are some obvious reasons why Simpson might plead the Fifth.Continue Reading

On March 9, 2016, Department of Justice (DOJ) oversight personnel learned that the FBI had been employing outside contractors who had access to raw Section 702 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) data, and retained that access after their work for the FBI was completed.

This information was disclosed in a 99-page FISA court ruling on April 26, 2017, that was declassified by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.

That wasn’t an isolated incident and the improper access granted to outside contractors “seems to have been the result of deliberate decisionmaking” (footnote – page 87).Continue Reading

Revocation of security clearances highlights concerns they were used for political purposes

The security clearances of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and five other individuals, who had been designated as “researchers”—including Clinton’s longtime lawyer, Cheryl Mills—were withdrawn between August and September.

Clinton’s security clearance was withdrawn at her request, according to a statement by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), citing State Department information.

Ongoing active clearances by Clinton and her associates could eventually be connected to evidence uncovered by the House Intelligence Committee of the use of information “to achieve partisan political purposes.”Continue Reading

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has proven himself a polarizing figure. Depending on who you speak to, Rosenstein, appears to occupy one of three rather varying roles.

According to some, Rosenstein is part of the problem, actively working against President Trump’s Administration. To others, he occupies a slightly more grey area, compromised but with the capability to adjust to a new political climate. Not actively bad, but not to be trusted either.

To add to the confusion, there are those who see Rosenstein as something of a quiet hero, a man who intentionally took control of the Russia Investigation out of the FBI’s hands and has operating with honorable, or at least fully legal intentions.Continue Reading

An analysis of documents suggests that Michael Sussmann, a lawyer for Perkins Coie—which had been retained by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign—was feeding information to FBI General Counsel James Baker and at least one journalist ahead of the FBI’s application for a FISA warrant on the Trump campaign.

The information provided by Sussmann could have been used by the FBI as “corroborating information.” This is particularly troubling given that the main source of the Russia-collusion allegations, former British spy Christopher Steele, had been hired by Perkins Coie—the law firm Sussmann works for.Continue Reading