Posted on 07/19/2017 9:47:27 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Fox News' chief judicial analyst disagrees with President Donald Trump's contention that his son's June 2016 meeting with Russian operatives in expectation of getting dirt on Hillary Clinton is standard practice in American politics.
Judge Andrew Napolitano said on America's Newsroom Monday morning that Team Trump's actions were "suspicious" and actually warranted a criminal investigation.
It is a crime to receive "something of value" from a foreign person or government, Judge Nap declared. So if Don Jr. had accepted damaging material about Clinton from the Russians, "that would have been a felony," Napolitano explained. He added that "that would have been the completion of a crime."
"Often, these nonviolent criminal events don't happen all at once. They happen in stages," Napolitano continued. "So the question is, is this enough to commence a criminal investigation? Answer: Yes. Because it is suspicious that they met with these people, that they didn't consult a lawyer, that one of these people is a former KGB, GRU -- that's the Russian military intelligence arm."
The judge surmised that there could be only two reasons why Kushner did not inform the FBI about the meeting when he filled out his national security application.
Either this "was a bumbling, foolish thing to do, or this was the beginning of some steps in furtherance of acquiring this information," Judge Nap said.
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The judge surmised that there could be only two reasons why Kushner did not inform the FBI about the meeting when he filled out his national security application.
I'd be curious to see any references you can post on that one.
As for the other issue, it is Jared who would be violating the law by not reporting the contact, since he applied for and was granted a security clearance.
Right -- but as I said in an earlier post on this thread, there may be a legitimate reason for this that the Judge didn't mention when he offered his take on two possible reasons why this meeting wasn't reported.
P.S. — I read somewhere recently that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that FEC regulations cannot be used to prohibit a foreigner from working for a U.S. political campaign — as long as the foreigner is truly a volunteer and is not compensated. If this is the case, then there’s no way in hell any generic information could be considered a “thing of value.” Otherwise, the Federal regulations would basically require a foreign campaign volunteer to get a full lobotomy before working for a U.S. political campaign.
I would more quibble that information, when true, is not a “thing of value” under this statute. The wording of the law is clearly referring to monetary value.
Judge Napolitano is not correct on this.
If the definition of “something of value” is so broad under the law that it includes something as simple as information that isn’t protected in any way and has no monetary value, then it would be a crime to have a foreigner wish a campaign representative a “Happy Birthday!” ... but only if it brings a smile to that person’s face (obviously it has value in THAT case).
All the phony outrage over this is ludicrous.
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good explanation, thanx
No, but the context is something holding intrinsic value.
Still, his acting chief of staff should have known to ensure all dealings with foreigners go through legal vetting and be reported. These are rookie mistakes.
“I turned it off. I’m just not going to watch them anymore. I hope Hannity and Judge Jeannie move.”
I am watching Fox less and less. Fox and Friends in the AM, Tucker Carlson, sometimes; Hanity in small doses, and Judge Jeannine. Forget most of the week-end they do nothing but drool every time there is something that might harm President Trump. Chrissy Wallace is nothing but a CBS reject. So I get, and try to filter my news from the internet.
We have a winner.
FoxNews Corp sets the ratings narrative and it's decided fake news is the answer.
I have seen no evidence from our side that we can stop it no matter how fake. Honestly,I see very little attempt.The seeds are planted and it seems our majority is worthless and MAGA is on fumes and may not make it past 2020. With little exception, such as the jobs market, we have been run by Obama's 3rd term and strings of Clinton. The AG is worthless,DOJ corrupt and incompetent and FBI is pathetic. The GOP are political whores. Drain the swamp is a campaign hope and hoax just as bad as any of Obama's campaign "hopes" and lies.
Yes,my cynicism meter goes nuts day by day. I try to be realist always wanting to be the MAGA true believer.
Sorry judge, but the invite said “incriminating information’, it is not a crime to receive information to expose criminal activity.
Don Jr.: their latest and surrogate target.
Billary have done everything from murder to sexual assault, selling state secrets to negligent homicide.
But let’s dwell on this bupkis ...
I almost expected this from Napolitano. He seems intent on being Fair and Balanced even if he’s dead wrong. Which he is this time. And not the first time.
By his reasoning, every foreign lobbyist should be in jail.
And there have been foreign lobbyists in DC every since this country has been a country.
Therefore, not buying his opinion.
Judge nappy head is a liberal lying fraud—A gas-lighting guinea.
Fox is a full of them. Pull till ya hear a pop.
Yeah, he’s been pretty quiet since FNC gave him that “time off” for saying what he thought.
Judge Nappy is openly gay and believes in NO borders. And he shaves his forehead. Seriously.
O'Reilly was horrible that way too. I recall him reporting on some incident at a Trump rally where some liberals were being violent. He kept saying "To be fair, this is happening on both sides and not just the Democrats".
FU Judge.
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