Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned on Wednesday, Nov. 7, at President Donald Trump’s request.

Sessions was replaced on an acting basis by Matthew G. Whitaker, who had been serving as Sessions’s chief of staff.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, however, remained in his current position.Continue Reading

George Papadopoulos formally joined then-candidate Donald Trump’s presidential campaign on March 21, 2016, as a foreign policy adviser specializing in the Middle East and Israel. He would later become a central figure in the Trump–Russia collusion narrative.

Papadopoulos was targeted by a number of individuals beginning in March 2016—and perhaps earlier. British and Australian officials were involved, as were U.S. intelligence agencies. Many of the targeting attempts seem to have been efforts to establish evidence of collusion with Russia. They appear to have all failed.Continue Reading

George Papadopoulos gave an in-depth, hour-long interview on the Dan Bongino Show.

It’s highly worth your time. Given the length and sheer number of details, it may be even more significant in readable form. A transcript has been painstakingly compiled below.

Papadopoulos is quoted directly and in full throughout the interview. Bongino’s questions and comments have been summarized – although they remain direct quotes. This format gives proper context to the discussion while keeping the focus fully on Papadopoulos.Continue Reading

There are several material investigations underway, most notably that of Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz and special counsel Robert Mueller.

Horowitz is looking into alleged FISA abuses on the part of the FBI, DOJ, and others, while Mueller is continuing the FBI’s investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.Continue Reading

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