According to most media reporting AG William Barr is meeting with Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein today and reviewing the completed Mueller report.  At the end of this review, according to statute, AG Barr will commission a “Principle Conclusion” summary report that he will deliver to congress.  As of 4:00pm EST, the White House has not been privately briefed on the Mueller findings.

The summary report from AGBarr will be given to House and Senate judiciary oversight committees before wider dissemination. The Chair of the House Judiciary Committee is Jerry Nadler (ranking member Doug Collins); the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee is Lindsey Graham (Vice-Chair Dianne Feinstein).  AG William Barr may also brief those committees, or he may assign DAG Rosenstein to the briefing.
Depending on conversations between the DOJ and congressional leadership, there’s also a possibility of a more extensive briefing covering details within the Mueller investigation.  However, that briefing would likely be reserved for the intelligence oversight group known as the “Gang of Eight”: Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy, Adam Schiff, Devin Nunes, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Richard Burr and Mark Warner.
Due to the politics surrounding the Barr report, it is likely the White House will be given the Principle Conclusion Summary around the same time as congress.  The White House (executive branch) may also be able to review the full underlying documentation behind the summary…. that’s likely where the political fight for the ‘narrative’ will take place.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi tipped her hand at the Democrat approach during a strategy meeting today.  According to early reporting Pelosi will refuse to attend any ‘Gang of Eight’ briefing and will demand the full investigative file be declassified:
(more…)

Not a Tick-Tock

All day long, even before the Mueller news broke, Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge has really been leaning-forward, giving insight into the pending Inspector General report by OIG Michael Horowitz. Herridge is one of those reporters who is careful not to get out in front of her skis.  Ms. Herridge is not a book-selling member of the tick-tock community of pundits.

We noted earlier how the specific emphasis of Ms. Herridge seemed to indicate the Horowitz report was closer to the surface of completion than previously thought.
Immediately after the Mueller news broke (around 5pm EST), Herridge filed her first live report providing details of the Mueller report.  Within that first report Herridge stated she was previously bound to “confidences” until the Mueller probe was complete.
In subsequent reporting we begin to see what those confidences are, and how they connect to her exclusive reporting on text messages between Andrew McCabe and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page.
Ms. Herridge is strongly emphasizing a few key points that need additional emphasis:
(more…)

Fox News has published a small set of text messages between FBI Deputy Andrew McCabe and his DOJ Attorney Lisa Page.  The set of messages released come from the device(s) of Lisa Page and outlines that she must have shared with investigators the totality of her texting and not just messages between herself and FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok.

The aspect covered within the release speaks to a concern from Main Justice toward the FBI application of the FISA warrant used against Carter Page.  Specifically, concerns held by Stuart Evans, then the DOJ’s National Security Division deputy assistant attorney general, about the bias held by the FBI source, Christopher Steele.

FOX NEWS – Just nine days before the FBI applied for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to surveil a top Trump campaign aide, bureau officials were battling with a senior Justice Department official who had “continued concerns” about the “possible bias” of a source pivotal to the application, according to internal text messages obtained by Fox News.

(more…)

The pontificating, smug, condescending and sanctimonious former FBI Director; who appointed himself the arbiter of all moral virtue; is apparently attempting to steer his high-horse toward the exit of a Mueller narrative he created.
In typical leftist fashion, James Comey now attempts to distance himself from the damage he created; and position his sheeple followers to accept the lack of actual substance behind his prior snake-oil promises.
What an absolute fraud this guy is.
It is stunning to think he once was the Director of the FBI… Then again, the 2.0 version in Christopher Wray isn’t much of an improvement.  I digress.

JAMES COMEY […]  But not everyone knows what it “must” say. Even though I believe Mr. Trump is morally unfit to be president of the United States, I’m not rooting for Mr. Mueller to demonstrate that he is a criminal. I’m also not rooting for Mr. Mueller to “clear” the president. I’m not rooting for anything at all, except that the special counsel be permitted to finish his work, charge whatever cases warrant charging and report on his work.

(more…)

The left-wing media in Canada is doing everything possible to shape, defend and protect Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from a corruption scandal created by his pressure to stop a criminal case against SNC-Lavalin. {Background Here} and {Update Here}.
The depth of the corruption is evidenced by the level of manipulation deployed by the Canadian state-run media, and yet they are still unable to bury the issue for him.

In the latest development….

OTTAWA (Reuters) – A Canadian cabinet minister, who had quit in protest over the government’s handling of a corruption scandal, said she and others had more to say about the matter, indicating more pain to come for embattled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Trudeau has been on the defensive since Feb. 7 over allegations that top officials working for him leaned on former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould last year to ensure that construction company SNC-Lavalin Group Inc avoided a corruption trial.

(more…)

As they say… things get clearer with more data. The activity behind the curtain starts to make more sense.
Thanks to an article from Newsmax we now get to see the fourth corner of the 2020 Fox News motives:

NEWSMAX – The parent company of Fox News has hired a former top aide to Joe Biden as its chief lobbyist in Washington.
On Tuesday the new Fox Corp., a spin-off of 21^st Century Fox which just merged with Disney, became a standalone public company, controlling television assets such as Fox News and the Fox television network.
Broadcasting & Cable reported that new Fox “hit the ground running on day one” with its Washington lobbying operation headed by Danny O’Brien, a well-known Democrat.

(more…)

With a few exceptions CTH is not a big fan of expecting congressional letters to deliver results and information.  However, that said, I hope this is one of the exceptions.
Representatives Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows send a letter (full pdf below) to Attorney General William Barr wanting to know what is the status of the criminal referral for fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
The referral was made April 19th, 2018, approximately five days after the OIG published their report outlining McCabe’s lies.

The McCabe criminal referral was made to Jessie K. Liu (above right), the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia who is also a member of the Attorney General Advisory Council (AGAC). According to reporting from last year there was a grand jury impaneled in/around July 2018.
Grand Jury testimony and activity is generally kept quiet; there have been no leaks and no public activity noted in the past eight months.  However, Mr. McCabe has recently been highly visible on his book tour.  Adding to speculation the grand jury may no longer exist, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu is expected to be nominated to the #3 spot at the DOJ.
Given the distance from the original McCabe grand jury investigation (8 months); and accepting the current high-profile book tour by Andrew McCabe; and considering Ms. Liu is soon to exit as U.S. Attorney for DC; it would appear Mr. Jordan and Mr. Meadows are inquiring about whether or not the legal issues around McCabe still remain.
(more…)

It was previously noted how Senator Dianne Feinstein abdicated her position as Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, a Gang-of-Eight member, following the 2016 election. Senator Feinstein’s top aide was Daniel Jones; who, following the election, continued funding Christopher Steele and the Russia Conspiracy narrative.

Paul Sperry has done some great follow-up research into Jones’ group, The Democracy Integrity Project; and how the team continued to collaborate with journalists, pushing the Russia Conspiracy, from January 2017 through to today.

(RCP Investigations) […] The operation’s nerve center is a Washington-based nonprofit called The Democracy Integrity Project, or TDIP. Among other activities, it pumps out daily “research” briefings to prominent Washington journalists, as well as congressional staffers, to keep the Russia “collusion” narrative alive.
TDIP is led by Daniel J. Jones, a former FBI investigator, Clinton administration volunteer and top staffer to California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. It employs the key opposition-research figures behind the salacious and unverified dossier: Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson and ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. Its financial backers include the actor/director Rob Reiner and billionaire activist George Soros.

(more…)

This is a little funny.  CNN’s Dana Bash interviews President Trump’s 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale.  The discussion is about the election, but on a granular level is really about data use in the 2020 election.  Parscale has given these interviews before, the one with PBS [SEE HERE] is much better.
However, the more interesting aspect to the interview actually comes after the segment when CNN’s Jake Tapper happens to note what the DNC is attempting to do.  Within Tapper’s remarks he happens to outline why the DNC is running the crew currently enlisted as candidates.  Watch specifically at the 04:00 point.

.
What Tapper notes as the urgent data collection priority of the DNC is specifically the reason why the club has enlisted Beto to draw-in the community they need to harvest.  The Democrats, specifically young democrats, have no idea how the ‘club’ plans to use them.
(more…)

A week after saying any Democrat who made the 2020 presidential race about “Trump’s personality” will beat him, Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch hires Paul Ryan to serve as a board member for the news organization.  This announcement follows on the heels of Fox News hiring the former head of the DNC, Donna “Debate-Gate” Brazile, as a contributor.
Yes, it is clear to see the direction and intent of Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch.
It must also be remembered that in 2013 Fox News worked behind the scenes to facilitate the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform platform.  Additionally, a year later, Murdoch himself advocated for Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio as the preferred candidates in 2016, using Megyn Kelly to achieve their objective.  Yes, it is all one unfortunate, political and ideological continuum.

(NBC News) Fox Corporation debuted as a public company on Tuesday with a new board member — former House Speaker Paul Ryan.

(more…)