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Strassel: Obstruction of Congress - Mueller, the Justice Department and the FBI...
FOX Nation (WSJ) ^ | December 8, 2017 | Kimberley Strassel

Posted on 12/08/2017 6:15:50 AM PST by Golden Eagle

The media echo chamber spent the week speculating about whether Special Counsel Robert Mueller can or will nab President Trump on obstruction-of-justice charges. All the while it continues to ignore Washington’s most obvious obstruction—the coordinated effort to thwart congressional probes of the role law enforcement played in the 2016 election.

The news that senior FBI agent Peter Strzok exchanged anti-Trump, pro-Hillary text messages with another FBI official matters—though we’ve yet to see the content. The bigger scandal is that the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Mr. Mueller have known about those texts for months and deliberately kept their existence from Congress. The House Intelligence Committee sent document subpoenas and demanded an interview with Mr. Strzok. The Justice Department dodged, and then leaked.

The department also withheld from Congress that another top official, Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, was in contact with ex-spook Christopher Steele and the opposition-research firm Fusion GPS. It has refused to say what role the Steele dossier—Clinton-commissioned oppo research—played in its Trump investigation. It won’t turn over files about its wiretapping.

(Excerpt) Read more at nation.foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: mueller; muellergate; sessions; trump
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I heard this same argument from both Hannity and Mark Levin on their shows last night, and it is a very effective way to frame the discussion going forward:

First, it's wasn't the Russians who colluded to steal the election, it was the US Department of Justice.

Second, the only one truly trying to obstruct justice, now, is that same US Department of so called Justice.

1 posted on 12/08/2017 6:15:50 AM PST by Golden Eagle
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To: Golden Eagle

which makes sense why Sessions recused himself.

I don’t know his authority or abilities, if he could be doing more to fix this or if it’s bester he seems to be doing nothing yet all these people are revealing themselves as they are?


2 posted on 12/08/2017 6:21:11 AM PST by b4me (God Bless the USA)
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To: Golden Eagle

If it was a REAL Investigation by CONgress, these recalcitrant witnesses would be in PRISON already.

Dog meet Pony!

Sections 192–194 of title 2 of the United States Code provide:
Every person who having been summoned as a witness by the authority of either House of Congress,
to give testimony or to produce papers upon any matter under inquiry before either House, or
any committee of either House of Congress, willfully makes default, or who having appeared, refuses
to answer any questions pertinent to the question under inquiry, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 nor less than $100, and imprisonment in a
common jail for not less than one month nor more than twelve months.
No witness is privileged to refuse to testify to any fact, or to produce any paper, respecting which
he shall be examined by either House of Congress, or by any committee of either House, upon the
ground that his testimony to such fact or his production of such paper may tend to disgrace him or
otherwise render him infamous.
Whenever a witness summoned as mentioned fails to testify, and the facts axe reported to either
House, the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House, as the case may be, shall certify the
fact under the seal of the Senate or House to the district attorney for the District of Columbia, whose
duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for their action.


3 posted on 12/08/2017 6:22:00 AM PST by eyeamok (Tolerance: The virtue of having a belief in Nothing!)
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To: Golden Eagle

“First, it’s wasn’t the Russians who colluded to steal the election, it was the US Department of Justice.”

Great take, but unfortunately completely true, and it is not Trump obstructing justice.

We need a national search party to seek and find Jeff Sessions. Has he been spotted lately? I think I have seen advertisements for male hormone enhancement on TV. Get his secretary to spike his coffee.

I would predict that his days at his job are numbered. If the Mueller fiasco ever ends, it will be without his help.


4 posted on 12/08/2017 6:27:29 AM PST by odawg
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To: Golden Eagle
The Fly In The Ointment.

Obama, Mueller and these guys

Had to assume Rogers told Trump the worst.

5 posted on 12/08/2017 6:27:29 AM PST by txhurl (Banana Republicans, as far as the eye can see)
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To: eyeamok
If it was a REAL Investigation by CONgress, these recalcitrant witnesses would be in PRISON already.

I totally agree with you that Congress is not yet using all the weapons at their legal disposal. However, neither is Trump, so right now the shots being fired from Congress is all we really got. And quite a few landed right on target yesterday.

6 posted on 12/08/2017 6:32:22 AM PST by Golden Eagle (Donald Trump: "There's a lot of people disappointed in the Justice department, including me.")
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To: Golden Eagle

That’s a good point but I’d like to see Congress fire for effect right now.

Next year it is election season. They’ll be out campaigning soon. Some of them, those in more “purple” states won’t survive if this is dragged into next year as the dems will use any vote they make to their advantage. So all of this will be pushed to the back burner, too.

Now IS the time to strike, and strike hard.

To me it’s like giving the Nazis more time to finish making “Festung Europa” on all the French beaches. D-Day has to happen now, before they’re ready!


7 posted on 12/08/2017 6:48:39 AM PST by Alas Babylon! (Keep fighting the Left and their Fake News!)
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To: Alas Babylon!

We’re getting closer, I think, to the big bomb(s) going off. Hannity, for all his look-at-me advertising tricks, has been ahead of the story and is promising some more major stories in the next two weeks.

So I say as long as the conservative press keeps pouring blood in the water, let them. Then once the full story is out, a more complete case can be made to the public, to support Trump finally pulling the necessary trigger(s).

But I must say I have finally just resigned myself to this position, since that is the course they (Trump and Congress) seem intent on taking, probably because they see it as the least dangerous course for the President. The only variable is evidence - as in this extra time gives some in DoJ a chance to destroy it, and does Mueller have something hidden up his sleeve we haven’t seen yet.


8 posted on 12/08/2017 7:01:02 AM PST by Golden Eagle (Donald Trump: "There's a lot of people disappointed in the Justice department, including me.")
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To: eyeamok
Thanks for your post. Very enlightening.

But do recognize that in the case of FISA Court issues and in many other matters that National Security requirements can legitimately provide an escape clause to limit testimony.

Personally I believe that Wray was on solid ground yesterday. FISA Court proceedings are classified and properly so.

9 posted on 12/08/2017 7:07:03 AM PST by InterceptPoint (Ted, you finally endorsed. About time)
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To: txhurl

And explains why Trump claimed he was “wiretapped” by Obama, which set off the liberal MSM who derided Trump for making such absurd accusations.


10 posted on 12/08/2017 7:17:47 AM PST by kabar
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To: InterceptPoint
I believe that Wray was on solid ground yesterday.

I watched most of it, and Wray defended McCabe when questioned by Gohmert. He also used to work for Comey according to some here. Which could make him part of that same long time Comey, Mueller, Rosenstein click.

11 posted on 12/08/2017 7:20:18 AM PST by Golden Eagle (Donald Trump: "There's a lot of people disappointed in the Justice department, including me.")
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To: InterceptPoint
FISA Court proceedings are classified and properly so.

Forget the proceedings. What Goodlatte and Jordan want to see is the application generated by the FBI to seek FISA approval to monitor the Trump campaign and transition teams. The Judiciary Committee has oversight over the FBI and the DOJ. It has every right to see this material, classified or not.

12 posted on 12/08/2017 7:21:19 AM PST by kabar
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To: kabar

Who really believes these deep state criminals had a fisa when they tapped team trump? The fisa was acquired retro when it all started to un ravel. Jordan knows. Thats why he wants to know about the process of getting one. Who would expect a robber to get a carry conceal before he broke in your house?? Same thing


13 posted on 12/08/2017 7:28:06 AM PST by kjam22
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To: InterceptPoint

I would have to respectfully disagree, to take your position of “National Security” being a valid excuse, one would have to declare the Fake Dossier Manufactured by a Political Party then used by the Law Enforcement Agencies of the Federal Government to Overturn a Duly Elected President and all the Illegal Acts that follow a “Real” National Security issue, when in reality it is nothing more than a Conspiracy of an attempted Coup De’tat.

Everything about this Fraud is based on Manufactured Political Lies, hardly National Security unless COvering your ass for your own Illegal Acts is now a National Security issue.


14 posted on 12/08/2017 7:31:38 AM PST by eyeamok (Tolerance: The virtue of having a belief in Nothing!)
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To: Golden Eagle

TUCKER CARLSON: Mueller’s ‘Right Hand Man’ Was Attorney For Hillary Clinton IT Aide (VIDEO)

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/12/tucker-carlson-muellers-right-hand-man-hillary-clinton-aides-lawyer-video/


15 posted on 12/08/2017 7:33:15 AM PST by Hotlanta Mike ("You can avoid reality, but you can't avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.")
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To: Golden Eagle

“The news that senior FBI agent Peter Strzok exchanged anti-Trump, pro-Hillary text messages with another FBI official matters—though we’ve yet to see the content.”

Excerpted from IBD. Role of Peter Strzok in changing the memo accusing Clinton of being grossly negligent to extremely careless! (link to full article is below.)

Then, in early November, we learned that an early draft of that memo had accused Clinton of being “grossly negligent” in handling classified material because she used an unsecured private email server while Secretary of State.

At some point during the editing process of that memo, “grossly negligent” became “extremely careless,” which is how Comey put it in the final version.

The change was monumental. The criminal statute regarding mishandling classified material specifically cites “gross negligence” as a violation of the law, even if there is no intent involved. Had that language remained, Comey’s claim that “no reasonable prosecutor” would take the Clinton email case would have been laughable.

So changing the language was obviously meant to clear the path for letting Clinton off the hook, whatever the facts might be.

This week, the other shoe in the memo story dropped, when it was reported that Peter Strzok had made that particular edit.

Strzok, for those who don’t know, had been kicked off the Trump/Russia investigation this summer — a fact we also only learned about in the past few days — after it turned out that he’d been sending anti-Trump, pro-Hillary texts to an FBI colleague.

https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/fbi-mueller-investigation-of-trump-is-politicized-shut-it-down/


16 posted on 12/08/2017 7:34:15 AM PST by Grampa Dave (Build Kate's wall! Keep illegals and illegal murderers/criminals out of America! MAGA! SLAP ACT!!)
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To: Golden Eagle

Of course, this entire Russian collusion effort on behalf of the left is a complete cover-up of their illegal activities during the election campaign. AND THEY STILL FREAKING LOST.


17 posted on 12/08/2017 7:34:26 AM PST by Hotlanta Mike ("You can avoid reality, but you can't avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.")
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To: eyeamok
shall certify the fact under the seal of the Senate or House to the district attorney for the District of Columbia, whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for their action.

Seriously? This is a joke.

18 posted on 12/08/2017 7:35:18 AM PST by AndyJackson
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To: kjam22

Agree. They tried to get the warrant in July 2016 and were turned down, a very unusual occurrence since FISA courts are virtually a rubber stamp with only one case in 100 being turned down. The fact that the Obama administration tried a second time in October and were successful indicates to me that they probably wiretapped Trump since July 2016 without authorization. They were hellbent on spying on the Trump campaign.


19 posted on 12/08/2017 7:37:55 AM PST by kabar
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To: txhurl
Thanks posting this reality. Admiral Mike warned Trump re what had happened and was happening. Then Obama's thugs, Brennan and Clapper tried to get the Admiral fired. Fortunately for Trump and us. Trump didn't fire the good white hat in our Intel!


20 posted on 12/08/2017 7:39:48 AM PST by Grampa Dave (Build Kate's wall! Keep illegals and illegal murderers/criminals out of America! MAGA! SLAP ACT!!)
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