6215

From what I am hearing, it’s Crooked Jared news.

6216

When Jared inevitably resigns, does he say it’s to spend more time with his family?

6217

He’s going to form a PAC with Roy Moore.

…wait, wrong Jared.

6218

The in-law is now the outlaw?

6219

Drip, drip.

https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/mueller-sought-emails-of-trump-campaign-data-firm-1513296899

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has requested that Cambridge Analytica, a data firm that worked for President Donald Trump’s campaign, turn over documents as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Mueller asked the firm in the fall to turn over the emails of any Cambridge Analytica employees who worked on the Trump campaign, in a sign that the special counsel is probing the Trump campaign’s data operation.

6220

For those thinking about joining a potential Mueller firing protest:

6221

Ugh… this seems BAD.

6222

(CNN) - President Donald Trump’s private lawyers are slated to meet with special counsel Robert Mueller and members of his team as soon as next week for what the President’s team considers an opportunity to gain a clearer understanding of the next steps in Mueller’s probe, according to sources familiar with the matter.

While the lawyers have met with Mueller’s team before and might again, the sources believe the upcoming meeting has greater significance because it comes after the completion of interviews of White House personnel requested by the special counsel and after all requested documents have been turned over. Mueller could still request more documents and additional interviews. No request to interview the President or the vice president has been made, sources tell CNN.

But Trump’s team, led by John Dowd and Jay Sekulow, is hoping for signs that Mueller’s investigation is nearing its end, or at least the part having to do with the President. Their goal is to help Trump begin to emerge from the cloud of the ongoing investigation, several of the sources explained. The sources acknowledge that Mueller is under no obligation to provide any information and concede they may walk away with no greater clarity.
[…]
The sources did not specify who requested the meeting.

6223

Hahahaha

6224

Another interesting development (completely separate from Mueller, House and Senate probes):

Fourteen former national security, intelligence, and foreign policy officials who have served at senior levels in Republican and Democratic administrations recently wrote an amicus brief as part of a lawsuit brought against President Donald Trump’s campaign and Roger Stone, his longtime confidant.

The lawsuit was filed in July by three private citizens — Roy Cockrum, Scott Comer, and Eric Schoenberg — whose personal information was stolen in hacks of the Democratic National Committee and published by WikiLeaks. The plaintiffs have argued that the Trump campaign, Stone, "and those they conspired with arranged for the hacked information to be provided to WikiLeaks."

Among the former officials who filed the amicus brief on December 8 are John Brennan, a CIA director; James Clapper, a director of national intelligence; and Michael Hayden, a director of the National Security Agency; Avril Haines, a deputy national security adviser; Michael McFaul, a US ambassador to Russia; and Michael Morell, an acting CIA director.

The former officials emphasized in the neutral brief that they could not disclose classified information. But their message was clear: The Kremlin uses local actors to help amplify the scope and impact of its influence operations, including the one targeting the US election in 2016.

6225

Remember when he told reporters, “Well, it’s a shame what’s happened with the FBI. But we’re going to rebuild the FBI. It will be bigger and better than ever.”?

Christopher Wray took the oath of office at the FBI yesterday and thus started the clock ticking on a difficult problem he’s going to have to address: the fate of his deputy, Andrew McCabe, who has been serving as acting director since President Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey.
[…]
There’s another complication for Wray: Removing McCabe would face certain legal complications. McCabe is a career FBI special agent, not a political appointee, and he’s a member of the Senior Executive Service. Civil service rules prevent a simple firing, and while McCabe can be reassigned or encouraged to retire, he cannot be reassigned for four months after installation of a new agency head without his consent. More broadly, to reassign a 21-year veteran of the FBI for political reasons would send a strong message that the FBI is no longer an apolitical organization, an identity of which FBI employees are fiercely proud, even if it doesn’t run afoul of civil service protections—at least if it were done without McCabe’s cooperation.

The problem for Wray is that Trump might not care about any of these niceties: not about whether he’s making his FBI director look like a political toady, not about how the workforce understands the director and certainly not about compliance with civil service protections.

6226

And here we go:

To be used as grounds to take steps to have Mueller fired and the Special Council dissolved?

6227

“Private and not subject to presidential records laws”. Hmm.

The letter said Mueller’s office obtained the emails despite the fact that it was aware the GSA did not own or control the records. It said the special counsel’s office has “extensively used the materials in question, including portions that are susceptible to claims of privilege” without notifying the Trump for America team.
[…]
Langhofer, the Trump transition team lawyer, wrote in his letter that the GSA’s transfer of materials was discovered on Dec. 12 and 13.

The FBI had requested the materials from GSA staff last Aug. 23, asking for copies of the emails, laptops, cell phones and other materials associated with nine members of the Trump transition team response for national security and policy matters, the letter said.

On Aug. 30, the FBI requested the materials of four additional senior members of the Trump transition team, it said.

Langhofer argued that while such transition teams are involved in executive functions, they are considered private, nonprofit organizations whose records are private and not subject to presidential records laws.

6228

The last I heard, Trump was still sticking his head in the sand and pretending that he didn’t do anything wrong and it will all just go away. I would take this as Trump supporters getting scared by that and trying to goad him into firing Mueller.

6229

Oh god, more email drama.

6230

But his emails!

Seriously, he is guilty of everything he accuses other people of. Every thing.

6231

Trump’s cronies have no argument at all here. They’re government emails. The government doesn’t need any special process to access government emails.

And Trump’s folks know this… which is why they aren’t claiming any kind of actual privilege or anything. They’re just making some vague claim that “things might be privileged” or something. They are specifically not making any kind of legal claim.

What I don’t get, is why Trump supporters actually jump to Trump’s defense on things like this. I mean, if you don’t think Trump is doing bad things… then why would you care if Mueller accessed his emails, no matter what? There wouldn’t be anything bad there to find.

6232

You are presuming that Trump’s supporters are both intellectually honest and intellectually consistent, rather than simply believing the most comfortable possible lie: our side GOOD, all else BAD.

6233

It’s all about what the tribe believes and wants.

6234

And remember, don’t ever use the words ‘evidence-based’ or ‘fetus’. They’re downright UnAmerican!