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Christmas Eve Remembrances

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bmaz
Yeargh, I bollixed this up. Meant to post this several hours ago, and told Marcy I was going to, but instead had a giant nap on the couch with an overly large puppy right beside. We deal with a lot of hard subjects here on this blog, and…
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The Damning Revelations about George Papadopoulos in a DOJ IG Report Claiming Exculpatory Evidence

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emptywheel
An examination of the really damning stuff the DOJ IG Report on Carter Page says is exculpatory may be best understood to suggest that Papadopoulos' denials should have led the investigation to focus on him far earlier than it did. 
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Eleven Days after Releasing Their Report, DOJ IG Clarified What Crimes FBI Investigated

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emptywheel
In one of a number of corrections, the DOJ IG report clarifies that it conflated FARA and 18 USC 951 in at least one mention of the crimes FBI was investigating. That confusion may totally undermine the Report's analysis on the import of the First Amendment in targeting Carter Page.
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The Ugly Results Of Inequality

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Ed Walker
It gets ugly when there is too much inequality.
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How Putin Got in Trump's (and So, All of Our) Head

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emptywheel
The way in which Trump's retweet of a Putin headline has gone viral was utterly predictable.
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The Various Channels Via Which the Steele Reports Got Ingested by FBI

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emptywheel
The DOJ IG Report on Carter Page fills in a lot of the details about which Steele reports the FBI obtained when. While it doesn't excuse their use of the report for later Page FISA applications, they had not received two of the sketichiest reports before they used Steele's reports in the first application.
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Horowitz
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Crossfire Hurricane Glossary

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bmaz
A glossary of some of the names, acronyms, and titles in the DOJ IG Report on Carter Page.
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Yakety Yak Trash

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bmaz
A big weekend of NFL football this week, with great games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday night. Soak it in!
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Sam Clovis Responded to a Question about Russia Interfering in the Election by Raising Voter ID

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emptywheel
There's a small detail in the DOJ IG Report on Carter Page that deserves further mention. When the FBI was sending informants -- including Stefan Halper -- to talk to people in conjunction with its investigation, it always asked them about…
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Horowitz
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Timeline of Key Events in DOJ IG Carter Page Report

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emptywheel
As part of my deep dive into the DOJ IG Report on the Carter Page FISA, I've tried to capture the key events in it, which are discussed in iterative fashion in the report so hard to understand. Note, too, that the much-touted 17 problems with…
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The Carter Page IG Report Debunks a Key [Impeachment-Related] Conspiracy about Paul Manafort

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emptywheel
The DOJ IG Report on the Carter Page FISA debunks a key conspiracy behind GOP claims that Ukraine tampered in the 2016 elections: that the investigation into Paul Manafort was only resuscitated after Serhiy Leshchenko published the Black Ledger. That investigation was opened in January 2016, well before Trump hired Manafort.
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Explain It To Me: What Does Impeachment Mean Now?

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Rayne
The Articles of Impeachment were pretty straightforward. But what of Trump's re-election and the scope of presidential pardons?
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Will Hurd
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The Entire Republican Party Owns Trump's Crimes Going Forward

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emptywheel
The Republican party institutionally values cheating to win over national security now.
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Amy Berman Jackson Disputes Claims of "Exculpatory" Information on Russia and Ukraine

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emptywheel
Amy Berman Jackson has seen more of the underlying evidence from this investigation than anyone. And, in her comments during Rick Gates' sentencing yesterday, she sure seems to think that Bill Barr, Donald Trump, and Michael Horowitz are dismissing the seriousness of this investigation. 
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Impeachment: House of Representatives' Debate and Vote Thread [UPDATE-4]

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Rayne
This post and thread are dedicated to today's scheduled House of Representatives' activities related to impeachment of Donald J. Trump.
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Rosemary Collyer Responds to the DOJ IG Report in Fairly Blasé Fashion

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emptywheel
Rosemary Collyer issued a sternly worded but functionally moderate letter in response to the DOJ IG Report.
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It's Une Wonderful Strike

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Quinn Norton
Last year, eight million people got on SNCF trains in France and went to visit their loved ones for Christmas. This year, a week before Christmas, almost no trains are running at all. France is paralyzed in a general strike against sweeping…
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Macron's Christmas: Grabbing the Third Rail of French Politics

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Quinn Norton
Things are not going well for Macron's government in the run up to Christmas. Pensions are like that old saying about Social Security, they are the third rail of French politics. Former President Chirac tried to reform the pension system twice,…
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Horowitz

A Biased FBI Agent Was Running an Informant on an Oppo-Research Predicated Investigation--into Hillary--in 2016

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emptywheel
It turns out the DOJ IG Report did find an instance of politically biased FBI Agents using informants to investigate one of the candidates in 2016. Predictably, that targeted Hillary, not Trump.
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Judge Emmet Sullivan to Mike Flynn: You Sir, Are No Ted Stevens

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emptywheel
I keep predicting that Mike Flynn's efforts to blow up his plea deal will backfire. Thus far, I continue to be right.
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