At this point I'm just laughing at those people who say Mueller, Sessions, etc. are "white hats" and will be springing a trap on the Dems.
Posted on 02/22/2018 6:48:13 AM PST by Kaslin
Last Friday, a federal grand jury sitting in Washington, D.C., indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian corporations for conspiracy and for using false instruments and computer hacking so as to influence the American presidential election in 2016. The indictment alleges a vast, organized and professional effort, funded by tens of millions of dollars, whereby Russian spies passed themselves off as Americans on the internet, on the telephone and even in person here in the U.S. to sow discord about Hillary Clinton and thereby assist in the election of Donald Trump.
Though an indictment is a charge only, it presumably relies on hard evidence of a wide and deep Russian project -- so wide and so deep that it could only have been approved and paid for by the Kremlin. President Trump's national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, characterized the allegations in the indictment as "incontrovertible." The New York Times reported over the weekend that its Russian sources have now revealed that more than 1,000 people in Russia were involved for over three years.
The project was run out of an office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, which also houses the Kremlin's favorite caterer, a company owned by one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's close friends. The techniques outlined in the indictment include using false and fictitious names, bank accounts and websites; organizing rallies and marches in the U.S.; making thousands of phony web posts; and aggressively revealing embarrassing data about Clinton.
The Russian work even included the orchestration of a few pro-Clinton rallies so as to deflect suspicion away from all these new pro-Trump entities that appeared to have come out of nowhere.
Though Donald Trump told folks as far back as 2011 of his interest in running for president and though Clinton ran in the Democratic primaries in 2008 and 2016, as well as in the general election in 2016, the Russian scheme appears to have materialized at some point in 2014.
The dates are important because we know from the revelations of Edward Snowden that the National Security Agency, the federal government's domestic spying apparatus, began its pursuit of capturing all electronic data on everyone in the U.S. in 2001 and succeeded in mastering the capture of all keystrokes, telephone calls and digital traffic by 2005. We also know that the NSA traffic proceeds through FBI computers and that the CIA keeps constant tabs on Russian spies in Russia and elsewhere.
Why didn't the CIA or the NSA or the FBI pick this up?
That is the $64,000 question that the indictment does not address, and we may never know the answer to it. If the purpose of all the warrantless spying -- in direct contravention of the Constitution, no less -- is to keep the country safe from foreign assault, whether by bombs in a subway or by guns in an office building or by hacking into computers, why didn't our 60,000 domestic, and God only knows how many foreign, spies catch this Russian interference?
One answer is information overload. By spying on everyone all the time, the spies have too much data through which to sift, and they miss the evidence of coming terror -- just as they did with the killings in Orlando, in San Bernardino, at the Boston Marathon, on a New York bike path and even recently at a school in Florida, all of which were preceded by internet chatter that would have tipped off a trained listener to the plans of the killers.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's efforts to uncover the Russian interference are not a "hoax" or a "witch hunt" as President Trump has argued. They are serious and professional efforts that have now borne fruit. But Mueller was not appointed until after the election -- after the Russians ran unchecked through our computer systems and the American marketplaces of ideas.
The joke in the D.C. legal community this week is, "We all want a front-row seat at the arraignments of the Russians." That's a joke because a defendant must be physically present at his arraignment, meaning -- since the Kremlin will surely not send its indicted spies here -- no arraignments will occur. And no trials will occur.
These folks the grand jury indicted could be lured to other countries and arrested or even kidnapped there, but that would be very dangerous and would most likely invite violent retaliation. Even if these defendants ended up in a federal courtroom by murky or illegal means, that would not impair their prosecution.
However, because the American intelligence community has done similar "disinformation" projects in foreign countries (though not on this scale), these defendants and these indictments will go nowhere.
That leaves a question: Why would Mueller seek indictments of folks he knows he cannot prosecute? He did so for a few reasons. One was to reveal the scope of the unlawful activity that he has found. The American people are entitled to know what went on under our noses and who knew about this and looked the other way. As well, this indictment gives credibility to Mueller's work.
The other reason for the indictment is to smoke out any American collaborators. He has identified American collaborators, but not by proper name, and the Department of Justice has said -- not in the indictment, in which case it would be bound by what it says, but in a press statement, which binds no one -- that the American collaborators were unwitting dupes of the Russians. My guess is that Mueller's American targets are under electronic and visual surveillance and that he is listening to their (premature) sighs of relief.
It is a felony for foreign nationals to participate in American federal elections, and it is a felony for any Americans knowingly to assist them.
This is not the end of these indictments related to the 2016 election. It is the beginning.
Job security is right.....Mueller’s addicted to his humongous US govt paychecks.
He’ll do anything to keep the tax dollars flowing into his pocket.
another scam to get the people off the real issue, the ongoing coup against our country..so they can say we have the russians now, we are done...and let it all go away, to hell with that I want my country back..prosecute or be at peace with living in a pile of cra#$
“...It is a felony for foreign nationals to participate in American federal elections, and it is a felony for any Americans knowingly to assist them....”
***************************************************************
Jeez...is it a felony for American nationals to participate in foreign countries’ elections?
Etc.
At this point I'm just laughing at those people who say Mueller, Sessions, etc. are "white hats" and will be springing a trap on the Dems.
The big lie buried within the little lies.
And, of course, then, Soros is next on Mueller's list.
(And you're a fool if you believe that.)
“The Russian work even included the orchestration of a few pro-Clinton rallies so as to deflect suspicion away from all these new pro-Trump entities that appeared to have come out of nowhere.”
The judge just pulled that one straight out of his ass. Did they also lobby support for Crazy Bernie for the same effect?
The FBI also did not miss the terrors of the Boston Marathon and the recent school shootings. They were tipped off directly on both but ignored the warnings.
“It is a felony for foreign nationals to participate in American federal elections, and it is a felony for any Americans knowingly to assist them.”
That is correct. That is why the leadership of the FBI and the Justice Department needs to be under arrest for pimping the Steele Dossier and FISA warrant fraud. How can ANYONE not mention that in an article such as this?
This is all well and good. So my question to Mueller is when will the indictment of Christopher Steele come down? My understanding is that he’s a British citizen. The evidence is out there, that he hated Trump and would do anything to see that he didn’t get elected. He has completely fabricated a phony dossier and better yet most of his information came from Russian sources.
Muller has indicted 13 Russian ham sandwiches and 3 Russian delis.
Why didn't the CIA or the NSA or the FBI pick this up? That is the $64,000 question that the indictment does not address, and we may never know the answer to it. If the purpose of all the warrantless spying -- in direct contravention of the Constitution, no less -- is to keep the country safe from foreign assault, whether by bombs in a subway or by guns in an office building or by hacking into computers, why didn't our 60,000 domestic, and God only knows how many foreign, spies catch this Russian interference?
Why does Napolitano -- a freaking retired judge -- miss the obvious here? The NSA, CIA and FBI probably did pick it up. He just doesn't know about it for two reasons: (1) they can't use it in a criminal prosecution because they had no warrant, and because they'd have to expose their methods of surveillance in court; and (2) what they uncovered was so silly and inconsequential that they never dreamed it would become the focus of 13 criminal indictments.
Why would Mueller seek indictments of folks he knows he cannot prosecute? He did so for a few reasons. One was to reveal the scope of the unlawful activity that he has found. The American people are entitled to know what went on under our noses and who knew about this and looked the other way. As well, this indictment gives credibility to Mueller's work.
The simplest answer is that indicting people he knows he can't prosecute allows him to write whatever narrative he wants about the story.
If the Russians REALLY wanted to destroy the foundations of this country, they'd have one or two of those thirteen defendants come back to the U.S. to stand trial. By the time the charges were dismissed by a judge who didn't know whether to laugh or cry, most of the U.S. population would have lost faith in our entire government and legal system.
He gets on TV because he throws the red meat that the right wants to hear.
However, when has he ever been right? He's the conservative version of Paul Krugman.
Imagine if that evil prick Mueller pursued FISAgate this hard.
The other reason for the indictment is to smoke out any American collaborators. He has identified American collaborators, but not by proper name, and the Department of Justice has said — not in the indictment, in which case it would be bound by what it says, but in a press statement, which binds no one — that the American collaborators were unwitting dupes of the Russians. My guess is that Mueller’s American targets are under electronic and visual surveillance and that he is listening to their (premature) sighs of relief.
So the FBI et all are still illegally wiretapping the President?
I don’t understand, because up until quite recently, he was on Varney’s show going on about how this was all nonsense and the people who ought to be worried were the Hillary crooks. What happened? I’ve always admired Judge Nap, so this is a real surprise.
First thing I think of when someone goes over to the dark side, is how Bill and Hillary gathered FBI files on people when Bill was first president. I suspect Judge Roberts was blackmailed after his horrible decision on Obamacare, could Judge Nap be compromised? I find it hard to believe, but I also find it hard to believe he has suddenly switched his position on the Mueller witch hunt.
The conflation is mind blowing. The question on the table “Did the Russians try to “interfere” with our democracy?”
The answer, when didn’t they? The difference here is that instead of this being a counter intelligence operation aimed at thwarting Russia in the future and retaliating in kind, we have a special counsel. Why?
Conflation: Russian meddling now equals Trump colluding with them to meddle. What also is becoming old and a usual ploy is the democrats seeking to deligitimize any election they do not win. Russian interference has been that vehicle. Trump sensed the conflation from the get go.
That the “legal genius” Andrew Napolitano can’t see that is telling of his lack of genius. All this that Mueller is doing should be going on behind the closed doors of the FBI counterintelligence and CIA as part of a spy game.
But oh no, not when we can “get Trump!!”
Witch Hunt?!?!? That is an understatement.
...It is a felony for foreign nationals to participate in American federal elections
I'll just add that this statement is also false. They are of course prohibited from some activities, such as contributing directly to candidates, voting. Bu other than some very particularly defined, specific activities, it is legal for them to participate their asses off in our elections.
Sooner or later Mueller’s efforts MAY take him directly to Hitlary where it should have been directed all along. This circus needs to fold its tent.
.
Town Hall is in freefall!
The “Russian” effort was Soros, and it was totally in support of Shrillary’s assault on constitutional governance.
.
Napolitano thinks he’s the most authoritative person on everything that he speaks about.
I hope so, because I get really discouraged at times. The left is vicious and determined, and we have a lot of weak RINOs and ignorant citizens.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.