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"They Spoke Often:" It Took the Fash-Friendly FBI Over Two Months to Document the Lies Their Informant, Joe Biggs, Told them

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emptywheel
As a 302 included in Joe Biggs' sentencing package makes clear, the reason the FBI didn't warn against January 6 is because the terrorists who planned it were the FBI's people.
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The Challenge of Treating the Proud Boy Leaders as Terrorists

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emptywheel
The omnibus sentencing memo for the Proud Boys is a testament to the asymmetry with which the US treats white person terrorism as compared to Islamic terrorism.
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Trump's "Hunter Biden" "Laptop" Consiglieres Want to Be Paid

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emptywheel
The question of why Trump is paying for other defendants' legal fees but not (yet) Rudy's may have as much to do with the "Hunter Biden" "laptop" as it does January 6.
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As Xitter's Lawyer Stalled DOJ, Elon Musk Met with Jim Jordan (Twice!) and Kevin McCarthy

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emptywheel
As Xitter's lawyer was stonewalling DOJ over complying with a warrant for Trump's account, Elon Musk was in DC, meeting with Jim Jordan and Kevin McCarthy.
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Trump Changed the Lock in His Residence before Changing the Lock on the Storage Room

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emptywheel
Before he changed the lock on the storage room door, Carlos De Oliveira replaced the lock on a closet within Trump's residence on June 2, 2022.
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Death by Tweet: "User Attribution Is Important"

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emptywheel
User attribution is important. Especially with a guy who has the ability to murder by tweet. And that's why DOJ would need to know every account or person or device that had an association with Donald Trump's Twitter account.
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"Poor Mr. Zebley:" Both Xitter's Lawyers and Journalists Responding to Boilerplate Need to re-Read Mueller

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emptywheel
While the presence of DMs in Trump's historical Twitter account were the basis for Twitter's frivolous Executive Privilege claim used to stall complying with a warrant in January and February, that may not be the most important data DOJ ultimately received.
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Charles McGonigal's Lonely Plea Deal

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emptywheel
Charles McGonigal's plea made almost no mention of the guy he was charged with Sergey Shestakov.
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Trump's Federated Conspiracies and Racketeering: How Georgia and the Federal Charges May Interact

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emptywheel
The way in which Trump's two election theft indictments interact will pose a real prisoner's dilemma, especially for people like Sidney Powell and Mark Meadows.
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The Various Kinds of Georgia Crimes in the RICO Indictment

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emptywheel
The Georgia RICO charge is built of national overt acts. But it is built on 40 charges designed to protect the integrity of government and elections in Georgia.
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How James Comer's Counsel, James Mandolfo, Conducts an Investigation

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emptywheel
The FBI Agent who would have interviewed Hunter Biden says that he doesn't recall being on an investigation that, like the Hunter Biden one, was riddled by leaks.
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Indictments Ahead: Waiting on Fulton County GA [UPDATE-2]

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Rayne
Dedicated post ahead of the anticipated announcement of indictments by Fulton County, Georgia district attorney's office.
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In Hunter Biden Case, Abbe Lowell Enters His Appearance

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emptywheel
Even before David Weiss "reneged" on the plea deal he had crafted with Hunter Biden, Joseph Ziegler had already revealed there was documentation of undue political influence on this case in the case file. Abbe Lowell suggests that the only explanation why Weiss reneged is more of the same.
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Alberto Gonzales Lectures Jack Goldsmith about Perception versus Reality in a Democracy

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emptywheel
Last week, it fell to Alberto Gonzales to school Jack Goldsmith that you don't defend democracy and rule of law by parroting the false claims Donald Trump makes in an effort to end both.
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[Photo: Jose Chavez via Unsplash]
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Trash Talk: Prepping for Tailgate Season

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Rayne
We’re two weeks out from the first NCAA Football games — with them comes tailgate party season. This is an open thread.
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Pardoned Felon Bernie Kerik's Three Stories

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emptywheel
When Bernie Kerik told Jack Smith's prosecutors how reliable Rudy's vote fraud claims were, he may not have turned over the claim sourced to 4Chan yet.
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Merrick Garland Makes David Weiss a Special Counsel

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emptywheel
Merrick Garland just announced that after David Weiss requested it on Tuesday, he made Weiss a Special Counsel.
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The Effort by Accused Mobsters to End Run the DC Circuit on "Corruptly"

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emptywheel
Two attempts to end-run the pending DC Circuit in Thomas Robertson's appeal of the way "corruptly" is being applied in his 18 USC 1512(c)(2) charge could affect the outcome of the case against Trump.
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"Like fatter Tony Soprano” Attending the Arraignment and "Effect[ing]" Liz Harrington's Pregnancy

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emptywheel
It's not, just, that DOJ has to try the former President in at least two venues. It's that the entire criminal gang is gambling that if they just get beyond the election, any and all lies can be excused in a wave of pardons like Trump used to escape his Russian exposure.
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