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Three Questions Not Asked of Steve Bannon

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emptywheel
The questions Steve Bannon did not get asked today at Roger Stone's trial are as interesting as the questions he did get asked.
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Why Did Gucciardo Pay Giuliani Partners For His "Loan" To Fraud Guarantee?

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Jim White
So, Parnas had to be careful about funds flowing through entities he controlled, because the Pues Family attorneys were watching carefully (and in fact pounced on the news of the America First Action donation) and Rudy had to be careful about not having the money go directly to him or his ex-wife would seek the funds. Shouldn't Gucciardo have asked why the money didn't just go to Fraud Guarantee? Shouldn't he have asked why he had to divert funds to Rudy's consultancy? This just doesn't add up. Given his deep involvement with these same players, it seems much more likely Gucciardo understood the winks and nudges involved in getting funds to Giuliani in return for his "pro bono" representation of Donald Trump.
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Snowden Needs a Better Public Interest Defense, Part I: Bildungsroman

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emptywheel
I was really disappointed in Snowden's book. One big reason why is that his narrative -- a classic Bildungsroman -- undermines his public interest defense.
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The Cognitive Dissonance of Learning about Roger Stone's "Collusion"

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emptywheel
The confusion many people are expressing about how all Roger Stone and Donald Trump's efforts to optimize the release of Hillary's stolen emails is best addressed by reminding that the Mueller Report only addressed prosecutions and declinations, and "collusion" is not a crime. Per Mark Meadows' definition, Trump colluded.
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After Engaging in Multiple Overt Acts Benefitting a Conspiracy, Bill Barr Had Kerri Kupec Commit the Most Overt Act

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emptywheel
When Bill Barr had DOJ spox Kerri Kupec issue a statement exonerating the President rather than doing so himself, it was not a sign of any distance between Barr and the White House. Rather, it's evidence that Barr recognizes his own risk of becoming an active member of the conspiracy his DOJ went to great lengths to avoid investigating.  
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The Narrative and Legal Tensions Set on Day One of Roger Stone's Trial

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emptywheel
Here are three narrative and legal gaps that I think will end up being unexpected plot twists in Roger Stone's trial.
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emptywheel Fact Check Service -- DOJ, 1-1 // Sidney Powell, 0-29

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emptywheel
emptywheel fact check department has had far better success getting DOJ to fix errors than getting Powell to fix any of hers!
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What Prosecutors Need to Show to Prove Roger Stone Guilty

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emptywheel
Here's a primer on how much evidence the government has to prove that Roger Stone lied to Congress.
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When Your Joint Defense Agreement with the Russian Mob Blows Up in Your Face

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emptywheel
Lev Parnas seems to be preparing to put the screws to Trump.
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What the Exhibit Decisions and the Witness List Say to Expect from Roger Stone's Trial (Updated)

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emptywheel
A list of witnesses for the Roger Stone trial.
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Sidney Powell Complains That Peter Strzok Is Too OCD to Investigate Her Client

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emptywheel
Along with the normal froth-bait, SIdney Powell includes a new accusation against Peter Strzok in her sur-surreply pretending to ask for Brady materials: Peter Strzok is too OCD to prosecute her client.
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People Who Illegally Withheld Duly Appropriated Funding Refuse to Explain to Congress Why

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emptywheel
Today's obstruction may feel like the same old obstruction but I suspect it comes with new legal exposure.
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The Mueller Report Was Neither about Collusion Nor about Completed Investigation(s)

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emptywheel
Critics of Mueller on both sides of support in the underlying investigation are misunderstanding certain things about what the Mueller Report actually did.
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DOJ Pre-Dumps the Stone Trial: What BuzzFeed Obtained via FOIA

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emptywheel
BuzzFeed obtained some really damning Mueller-related documents via FOIA. But the released documents are mostly just a pre-dump of what will get aired in the Roger Stone trial.
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Rubber Biscuit Trash Talk

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bmaz
Eh, late start here. Been tied up on Twitter reading and discussing the FOIA doc dump obtained and published by Jason Leopold and Anthont Cormier of Buzzfeed. Check Marcy's Twitter feed and other posts here for that, it is....something. Somehow…
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Attorney General Bill Barr Has a Higher Opinion of George Papadopoulos' Dirt than Steve Bannon Does

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emptywheel
Steve Bannon, who'll accept dirt from just about anyone, claims he wouldn't accept dirt from George Papadopoulos because he is a clown. I guess he knows something the Attorney General does not.
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On the Classification Disputes over Mike Flynn's Discovery

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emptywheel
The debate over redactions in Flynn's discovery is particularly interesting given the John Durham referral the same
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The Government Reminds Emmet Sullivan that Mike Flynn Already Agreed His Current Complaints Don't Change His Guilt

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emptywheel
In its surreply to Mike Flynn's demand to have his entire prosecution thrown out, the government reminds Emmet Sullivan he already dealt with all this.
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Meanwhile, The Pace Of US War Crimes In Afghanistan Accelerates Dramatically

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Jim White
Night raids carried out by CIA-trained paramilitary groups in Afghanistan have become more frequent--and more deadly--under Donald Trump. A new report from Human Rights Watch labels many of the things they found as war crimes.
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Three Things: Double, Double, Toil and Rubble

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Rayne
Happy Halloween to all our ghouls and goblins. We have plenty of tricks and not too many treats before us today, including the House resolution approving continuation of an impeachment inquiry.
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