Posted on 05/14/2019 6:16:11 AM PDT by Red Badger
Feeling Sexy might indict Hillary pic.twitter.com/vumxPQWCJh
— John H Durham (@John_H_Durham) May 14, 2019
Attorney General William Barr has appointed a U.S. attorney to examine the origins of the Russia investigation and determine if intelligence collection efforts targeting the Trump campaign were “lawful and appropriate,” a person familiar with the situation told Fox News on Monday evening.
John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, will conduct the inquiry, the source said. The move comes as the Trump administration has pushed for answers on why federal authorities conducted the surveillance — as well as whether Democrats were the ones who improperly colluded with foreign actors.
Two sources told Fox News earlier today that Barr was “serious” and had assigned DOJ personnel to the probe. Durham is known as a “hard-charging, bulldog” prosecutor, Fox News is told.
Sources familiar with matter say the focus of the probe includes the pre-transition period — prior to Nov. 7, 2016 – – including the use and initiation of informants, as well as potential Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuses.
Mr. Durham’s probe will focus on whether the Justice Department lawfully collected intelligence on Trump campaign associates, according to both the New York Times and Associated Press, each citing sources familiar with the matter.
It is not clear what investigative powers Mr. Durham will have or whether Mr. Barr will authorize a team or budget. Special counsel Robert Mueller had a squad of roughly 20 people to conduct his investigation.
Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec did not immediately return a request for comment. Thomas Carson, a spokesman for Mr. Durham, declined to comment.
President Trump has long demanded the Justice Department look into whether the FBI spied on his campaign at the behest of the Obama administration. His calls have increased since Mr. Mueller concluded there was no evidence that the president or members of his campaign colluded with Russia.
Mr. Durham’s probe is the third known investigation into FBI and Justice Department decisions surrounding the 2016 election. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is evaluating the Justice Department’s wiretaps on former campaign associate Carter Page. And John Huber, the U.S. attorney in Utah, is also reviewing a surveillance warrant obtained by the FBI to spy on Mr. Page.
Mr. Horowitz’s findings are expected to be released this month or next while the progress of Mr. Huber’s probe has remained shrouded in mystery.
In addition, Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, has also pledged an aggressive committee investigation into the FBI and Justice Department’s actions in 2016. He said the probe will target how the department was “so in the tank for [Hillary] Clinton and hated Trump’s guts.”
The Durham probe is not a surprise as Mr. Barr signaled earlier this month that he had “people in the department” helping him examine intelligence actions related to the Trump campaign.
Mr. Durham, who was sworn in as U.S. attorney on February 22, has worked at the Justice Department since 1982 and has plenty of experience conducting high-level special investigations.
Timing, leverage... President Trump is shaping the battlefield and he will determine when, where and how often to feint and when and where to finally attack. The old Chinese general is Trump’s teacher, and if you read The Art of War you will recognize everything President Trump is doing. After all, The Art of The Deal is Trump’s business application of Sun Tzu’s military strategies.
My guess is he's waiting for the time he believes it will have the maximum impact on the upcoming election.
Ok I can go with that! Thanks for the encouragement!
Or...is it simply a case of the agencies stalling and obstructing him? The Left is pretty good at doing that and they infest every federal agency in DC. Make no mistake, they too know how to shape the battlefield. I prefer to see them exposed, investigated and preferably incarcerated.
Shouldn’t this guy be relocated to the swamp to more swiftly locate the drain plug?
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Swamp would be a bad place for a trial. impossible to get a jury that would convict anyone connected to the democrats. IMHO
My guess is he’s waiting for the time he believes it will have the maximum impact on the upcoming election.
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You may be right but its a very risky gamble in my opinion. A lot of things could go wrong between now and the election. Whatever game he’s playing had better have a high probability of success. The next election is for all the marbles.
“”I am actually hopeful with this guy.””
We all have to be hopeful but it’s difficult as we’ve turned into cynics and skeptics and with good cause. Have to say that I’m not enthused about this statement:
“”Attorney General William Barr has appointed a U.S. attorney to examine the origins of the Russia investigation and determine if intelligence collection efforts targeting the Trump campaign were “lawful and appropriate,””
I like “the origins of” but not so much “if the efforts were lawful and appropriate”. Knowing how things go in DC, that’s easy enough for anyone to say - no problem, they were but it’s not going to be enough for us if that’s the answer. We can’t trust any of them anymore.
We heard the “bulldog” thing about Mueller also, didn’t we? I’m going to remain skeptical, I’m afraid.
Swamp would be a bad place for a trial. impossible to get a jury that would convict anyone connected to the democrats. IMHO
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I agree. DC is a bastion of liberalism.
How does Conn. have jurisdiction over anybody in DC?
Are Conn. juries any more likely than DC to be anything but a bunch raving leftists?
A prosecutor.
If you haven’t done so, not to be a “downer” but everyone should read Sidney Powell’s book and see how the DOJ has operated under our noses forever without anyone being wiser and nothing done to get rid of the corruption! An eye opener. None of us want to believe it but we can only shove our heads in the sand so far!
“”Licensed to Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice is a book she prayed she would never have to write. It’s written in the style of a legal thriller to be enjoyable and understandable to non-lawyers, but it is the true, behind-the-scenes insider perspective on major litigation during the last decade. If you think you know the truth about what happened to Arthur Andersen, Merrill Lynch, Enron, and former United States Senator Ted Stevens, think again. You won’t know the truth until you read LICENSED TO LIE. …””
Probably right, and hope you are right.
We can’t trust any of them anymore.
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DC is one big incestuous club. Its an island to itself and everybody knows everybody else. The Swamp protects its own.
Trump is an outsider and that is why they (both parties in reality) are circling the wagons and working to undermine and drive out the threatening “invader”.
Politically, how is the Trump DOJ going to indict criminal Democrats for FISA abuses if the judge presiding over the case hasn’t even sanctioned the perps? Doesn’t make any sense. Not going to happen. The fix is in.
Sounds good. And not a downer. Just well read and realistic.
<3 <3 <3
I agree 100%. Hopefully Trump isn’t just looking out for his own win in 2020, instead of the good of the country. We don’t have the time to wait till then to prosecute those that have done this, especially with another election hanging in the balance for them to do it once again like they did in 2016 AND 2018.
This is too important for releasing it for that reason. The guilty ones need to be prosecuted ASAP, not October 2020 or later. Maximum impact will take place the sooner this happens.
Best to make sure it's all being done undercover...
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