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Art of the Get-Screwed-in-Your-Russian-Quid-Pro-Quo Deal

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emptywheel
A lot of people believe that, absent proof that Trump benefitted from entering a conspiracy to help get elected, it absolves him of guilt. That's not how criminal conspiracy law works.
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Two Trajectories: Sleazy Influence Peddler Paul Manafort and Foreign Agent Prosecutor Brandon Van Grack

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emptywheel
Like many, I'm pissed that TS Ellis treated sleazy influence peddler Paul Manafort as if he has had an otherwise blameless life. But I take some solace in the fact that DOJ is committing new resources to stopping the next sleazy influence peddlers.
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Mueller Has More Discovery on Roger Stone Alone than the Entire Trump Campaign Turned Over

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emptywheel
Last year, John Dowd bragged that the Trump campaign had turned over 1.4 million pages of documents to Mueller. That's just a fraction of the volume of documents Mueller has already given Roger Stone in discovery.
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In Subpoenaing Chelsea Manning, the Government Picks a Likely Needless Fight with the Transparency Community Again

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emptywheel
Why I think EDVA's subpoena of Chelsea Manning will backfire.
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Trump Administration Still Gaming Intelligence on Election Interference

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emptywheel
Given an exchange between some Democratic Senators on the Senate Intelligence Committee and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, it seems that Coats is using classification to hide protect Trump from embarrassment.
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Which Came First: The Indemnity Fail or Cohen's Cooperation Curiosity?

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emptywheel
Michael Cohen provides a very provocative timeline in his lawsuit demanding his legal fees be paid. It shows that Trump was only willing to pay those fees so long as Cohen didn't do any damage.
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The Ineffable Boiling Frog of Trump Scandal

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emptywheel
We're at a point where it's nearly impossible to describe the scope of Trump's corruption. One way to try might be to describe the damage he's doing to the country.
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Eli Lake's Serial Defense of Bibi Netanyahu's Clandestine Tampering Makes Him the Poster Child Proving Ilhan Omar Right

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emptywheel
Eli Lakes makes a clown of himself trying to liken Ilhan Omar to David Duke.
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[Photo: National Security Agency, Ft. Meade, MD via Wikimedia]

Surveillance Whack-a-Mole, Section 215 to Section 702 Edition

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emptywheel
One thing that would be consistent with reporting on the NSA's termination of the Section 215 program is that it was improperly using it to collect encrypted app metadata.
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[Photo: National Security Agency, Ft. Meade, MD via Wikimedia]

Lawfare "Breaks" News: NSA Hasn't Restarted the Section 215 CDR Function

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emptywheel
The NSA appears to have stopped trying to collect Call Detail Records under the USA Freedom Act.
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Conspiracy Theorist Jerome Corsi Finally Meets a Conspiracy Theory He's Not Willing to Face Legal Jeopardy Over

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emptywheel
Jerome Corsi just retracted an InfoWars column accusing Seth Rich of leaking the DNC emails. But he hasn't, yet, retracted the same claims made in his book.
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Foiling a Good Walk

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Rayne
While the average business makes a reasonable effort to reduce its tax burden, the Trump organization made it a pattern of habit to do so aggressively with its golf course businesses.
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Come On Down Paul Gosar, The Latest Arizona Embarrassment

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bmaz
You may have watched the House Oversight hearing with Michael Cohen last Wednesday (See here and here). One of the most hilarious moments came when Arizona Republican Representative Paul Gosar went off the rails to crazy town. The original…
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The May 18, 2017 Meeting with Trump, Jay Sekulow, and Michael Cohen

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emptywheel
If the timing of an email discussed by Gerry Connolly yesterday is any indication, Trump started coaching witness testimony even before Mueller got appointed.
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Michael Cohen's Testimony: Metacommentary

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emptywheel
Michael Cohen's testimony makes it clear that Donald Trump took overt actions to advance the election year conspiracy, even if Cohen doesn't have a smoking gun proving that Trump masterminded it.
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Initial Working Thread on Cohen's Prepared Testimony

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bmaz
Okay, it is late but people may be interested in getting a jump on reading Michael Cohen's prepared statement ahead of tomorrow's hearing in the House Oversight Committee. With no further adieu: Here is the prepared testimony. And it is pretty…
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