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Steve Bannon’s achievement:
Absolutely-that was their big breakthrough in 2016-in the 1990s the GOP guys all bitched about the Clintons together while the rest of the country wondered what was wrong with them. But in 2016 they are able to transfer Clinton Derangement Syndrome to the Left
Talk about defending the indefensible
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 26, 2019
CNN prez Jeff Zucker: "We are not investigators. We are journalists, and our role is to report the facts as we know them, which is exactly what we did." https://t.co/DiUjr7Nkbg
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 26, 2019
Who is Richard Burr, Really? Why the public can’t trust his voice in the Russia probe
Two pieces we published @just_security that I'm thinking about this weekend.
1. "Collusion Doesn’t Have to be Criminal to be an Ongoing Threat"
by three former CIA, FBI officials @alexzfinley @AshaRangappa_ @john_sipher
(Dec. 2017)https://t.co/0Z3x88HbPg— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) March 23, 2019
👉Click to start 🎶 pic.twitter.com/j4VMFebnqp
— 1 & only👉SilverAdie Art 🌈 Parody—other 1 is fake (@SilverAdie) March 25, 2019
31/ Because we know the language Mueller used is "did not establish [beyond a reasonable doubt]," Barr's "weasel-words" (as we colloquially call them in the law) reveal something *damaging* to Trump: there may be *some* evidence of something we thought there was *no* evidence of.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 25, 2019
21/ The problem is that that definition *in no way fit* the collusion Trump was *actually* being accused of—which involved (a) Bribery, (b) by Russian agents, affiliates, or cutouts, (c) on the subject of trading U.S. sanctions policy for loans or deals with Trump and his family.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 25, 2019
20/ What Barr has done is *adopt wholesale* Trump's definition of "collusion": the narrowest possible definition, which involves *only* a single type of crime (Conspiracy) with *only* a single entity (the Russian government) and *only* on a single topic ("election interference").
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 25, 2019
We've tried giving the GOP a pass on their corruption, abuse of power, and vote rigging and in favor of 'just winning the election' and it never works. We must win in 2020 but we must also have accountability. What I object to is those who say just forget accountability
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 26, 2019
13/ Here's the key point on this: As Mueller began his work, *no one in America was accusing Trump of engaging in a covert illegal agreement with a Russian government entity*. Not the IRA, not the GRU, not the FSB. *Nor had Trump done that*. Which is why he immediately denied it.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 25, 2019
10/ "Coordination" is far broader than "conspiracy," as a) it comes from counterintelligence—and thus includes far more conduct than the criminal system would recognize as problematic, and b) it has a broad lay meaning on par with "collusion"—not a narrow statute like Conspiracy.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 25, 2019
my latest >>> The Bigs are Getting Played for Chumps (membership required) https://t.co/gviHOTvOdH via @TPM
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) March 25, 2019
Trump's hand-picked AG (confirmed by a lapdog Senate, with a record of shielding presidents from scandal) telling us what the report says & sitting on it doesn't settle anything. But spinning it like it does to prevent congressional oversight tell us a lot. This is far from over.
— Will Wilkinson (@willwilkinson) March 25, 2019
Barr says Mueller supplies evidence of obstruction, then uses the fact that he doesn't establish conspiracy to a certain legal standard (which doesn't at all rule it out, in fact) to argue in a shady way that there was nothing to obstruct, so he let's Trump off scot-free.
— Will Wilkinson (@willwilkinson) March 25, 2019
He says Mueller didn't establish that any Trump associate or U.S. citizen "knowingly coordinated" with the IRA to influence the election. Which doesn't imply that Stone (not part of the campaign) didn't coordinate with anonymous agents of the IRA, or with Assange (not American.)
— Will Wilkinson (@willwilkinson) March 25, 2019
And MSM pundits are actually complicit in shutting down oversight demanding the Democrats stop investigating Trump as somehow Trump's actually a martyr @billscher @mattyglesias @chrislhayes @brianstelter https://t.co/aDSAfOnaOJ
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 26, 2019
The media's atrocious gullibility, which is letting this happen without serious resistance, is even more scandalous than the credulity that herded public opinion behind the invasion of Iraq. Because we already *know* this administration does nothing but lie.
— Will Wilkinson (@willwilkinson) March 25, 2019
The Trump machine's rush to assert an adamantly conclusive interpretation of the investigation on nothing but a crony appointee's spin on it, and then using this to discredit the larger attempt to uphold the rule of law and separation of powers is completely poisonous.
— Will Wilkinson (@willwilkinson) March 25, 2019
Trump cronies are incoherently claiming BOTH (a) that the report exonerates him AND (b) the investigation was so ethically compromised and politically biased nothing that came of it can be taken seriously and shouldn't be made public. Obviously can't be both.
— Will Wilkinson (@willwilkinson) March 25, 2019
https://twitter.com/sam_vinograd/status/1110253684196368384
7/ But by *leading off* his "summary of the summary" by referencing the raw evidence—"the Special Counsel and his staff thoroughly investigated…"—it sounds like he's working from the raw evidence, not a summary of the evidence. This is a pretty basic legalistic bait-and-switch.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 25, 2019
6/ Barr had a choice here: he could summarize the evidence or summarize the *summary* of the evidence. The decision he made was to summarize the summary, knowing that him doing so would feed into Team Trump's false narrative that criminal evidence exists in an all-or-none binary.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 25, 2019
4/ So let's say Data-point #1 (Mueller's case file) establishes 80% proof of a crime being committed; Data-point #2 (Mueller's summary of prosecution and declination decisions) might simply say, "not enough to indict." Barr's letter (Data-point #3) can then *imply* "no evidence."
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 25, 2019
2. I mean did Mueller actually investigate questions like going to Prague? The only matter of fact we learned from the Barr Letter is that those who told us Barr had 'integrity' or was anything more than a partisan GOP hack had no idea what they were talking about
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 26, 2019
@chrislhayes @DavidCornDC @Isikoff I actually think you guys go too far-how do you know the Dossier is false? Did Mueller investigate its assertions? If so what did he find? Until we know that I don't get this confidence
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 26, 2019
If Mueller wanted Barr to make the call about obstruction he would have asked him 3 weeks ago and included in his final report. That he didn’t indicates that Mueller wants Congress to make this determination. Barr is an usurper in this process. https://t.co/J9IMSItxum
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) March 26, 2019
Basically the Trump RUSSIA HOUSE can never be asserted to 'confirm' anything just claim-we can only judge it's truth if someone with an ounce of credibility not at the Russia House corroborates-though the 'ounce of credibility' thing is a redundancy
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 26, 2019
With William Barr at the helm it's now changing it's name to the Department of Injustice
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 26, 2019
Truth in journalism at this stage of the game requires you to say this: WH official CLAIMS WH has still not seen the full Mueller report.
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 26, 2019
#MitchMcConnell has done more harm to American democracy than Donald Trump.
Yes or no? https://t.co/z7kjCRkTPR
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) March 25, 2019
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1110298207081373697
How could Democrats RElitigate the report when it hasn't been released yet? https://t.co/ew8g3pxOj4
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) March 25, 2019
Yet he doesn't want the report out-AND he rejected Obama's call for a bipartisan statement
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
Reference book: How to date like a man
Did the MSM apologize to Hillary Clinton? This is the Twilight Zone @March4HerandUs @HillaryWarnedUs @HillaryPix @celestehart13
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
But but but the NYT said Trump is totally exonerated https://t.co/hFlST8qbjD
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
Funny thing is no one did care about Whitewater but the MSM never got tired of that
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
Bingo:
3. There's absolutely 0 evidence to support this MSM theory that the Dems-who just got into Congress and have had 1 public hearing so far are seen as 'overreaching'
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
1st sentence is already wrong: "Special counsel Robert Mueller found that no one in the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government in 2016 — but Democrats are not ready to accept that finding." It wasn't Mueller it was Barr
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
1st sentence is already wrong: "Special counsel Robert Mueller found that no one in the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government in 2016 — but Democrats are not ready to accept that finding." It wasn't Mueller it was Barr
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
Who made the decision not to issue the subpoena? The article doesn't say. I have to assume it was Barr.
Special counsel and DOJ deliberated seeking subpoena for Trump @CNNPolitics https://t.co/NLPfdXrAnr
— Ann MacGibbon (@BostonBoomer) March 25, 2019
In other words, what seems like a formal referral to HJC, as the constitutionally proper body to determine whether Trump obstructed justice, was instead not referred, but instead short-circuited by a guy who reversed what he said in his confirmation hearing.
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) March 25, 2019
This is a very important series of questions about how Barr, rather than Mueller, ended up making the decision on obstruction of justice, from @harrylitman:https://t.co/2xvxcW9wJq pic.twitter.com/kDusNcklw5
— Greg Sargent (@GregTSargent) March 25, 2019
Make no mistake about this selective “leaking” from DOJ. This is just Barr authorizing people to speak to reporters on background — you know, the thing McCabe supposedly got fired for — to push the narrative.
— Angry Staffer 🌻 (@Angry_Staffer) March 25, 2019
Unbelievable-maybe we should actually see the report before connecting THIS MANY DOTS and this MANY INFERENCES?
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
You don't think this is a Constitutional Crisis?
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
As he's associated with the Democrats I'm sure he will. It's only GOPers who are above the law
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
Good @paulwaldman1 roundup of all the unanswered questions that still remain about Mueller's findings: https://t.co/cwMGRrvHFD
— Greg Sargent (@GregTSargent) March 25, 2019
“A Crime in Public View”: How William Barr Pardoned Donald Trump – Vanity Fair https://t.co/FtqbGXEu0i
— ResistanceMedia (@Resistance411) March 25, 2019
@billscher So while Dems are told to ignore Trump's own wrongdoing the GOP is going back to the alleged wrongdoing of Democrats in the past. Only one party has to move on apparently. Evidently we're never going to have a honest, true standard in America
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
Jayapal has it right: the question has always been, when the 20 pending federal/state probes involving the Trumps and Trump's aides are done; when Congress's probes are done; when we have Mueller's report; is 80% proof of collusion with a hostile foreign power impeachable? *Yes*. https://t.co/06hvT5NQny
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 25, 2019
https://twitter.com/GovHowardDean/status/1110124785089040385
Democrats have said their demands for transparency are no different than Republicans’ successful effort to obtain thousands of investigative documents — including internal emails and private text messages — related to the FBI’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email use.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/24/mueller-report-congress-impeachment-1233879
It's bizarre no one demanded that the GOP apologize after Clinton wasn't indicted-indeed the focus was different 'Extremely Careless'
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
How come no one accused the GOP of lying when Clinton wasn't indicted
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
Question begging analysis by Lawfare
https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-make-bill-barrs-letter
The conclusion on the Russian conspiracy prong stands for one proposition unambiguously: The special counsel’s office did not believe that it could reasonably prove in court that any Trump campaign member or affiliate committed a crime in assisting the Russian government with its efforts. That’s a significant thing
It’s actually not as Goodman argues
Two pieces we published @just_security that I'm thinking about this weekend.
1. "Collusion Doesn’t Have to be Criminal to be an Ongoing Threat"
by three former CIA, FBI officials @alexzfinley @AshaRangappa_ @john_sipher
(Dec. 2017)https://t.co/0Z3x88HbPg— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) March 23, 2019
Wittes:
But Barr’s summary would also be broadly consistent with many other possible reports. It would be consistent with, for example, a report that finds lots of “evidence of collusion” that for one reason or another falls short of criminal conduct. It would be consistent with a report that describes conduct that falls short of the criminal standard by the barest of technicalities
That’s why it’s so premature to declare ‘vindication for the President’
. It would be consistent with a report that finds that individuals associated with the president’s campaign were aware of the Russian efforts to interfere in the election, welcomed such assistance, and did not in any way warn the American public about it—but who did not take the requisite step of entering into any criminal agreement to assist the effort either. It would also be consistent with a report that suggested that Trump’s principal engagement with the Russians was not over hacked emails at all, but instead about the tower he was negotiating to build in Moscow even as the campaign was going on.
Our point here is not that that report suggests any of these things or that if one squints at Barr’s summary long enough, it is actually bad for the president. It isn’t.”
Huh? if the report-assuming we ever see it-“describes conduct that falls short of the criminal standard by the barest of technicalities”
how is this ‘great news for the President?’ It’d be pretty terrible news and you’d hardly need to squint which may explain why they won’t release the report.
The backlash against yesterday's bad reporting and desperately premature ball-spiking by Trumpers has gotten so bad you can even find it on *FNC* now.
We were sold a bill of goods yesterday, and it was a pile of manure. Wake up everybody. You too, media. https://t.co/qqi8aBw5NF
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) March 25, 2019
🚨BREAKING: Members of Congress are calling on Robert Mueller to publicly testify about his findings. Mueller is reportedly more than willing to do so. A formal request for him to testify could be sent as early as this week. This could get interesting — and fast!
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) March 25, 2019
Oh my God Sharpton still needs to explain his failure to endorse Hillary Clinton in 2016
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019
According to this Mueller asked for more time to finish his work. Evidently that request was denied. Yet I thought no request of his was denied?
— Expand the Court (@ProChoiceMike) March 25, 2019