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Trump Breached His Own Privilege by Blabbing to Sean Hannity

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emptywheel
Trump waived his own Attorney-Client and Executive Privilege by blabbing to Sean Hannity what was going on (or Mark Meadows did it for him).
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DOJ's Approximate January 6 Conspiracies

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emptywheel
DOJ says there are approximately 40 people charged in conspiracies. There are at least 52, along with seven people cooperating against those alleged conspirators.
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Vladislav Klyushin Traveled Freely in Europe, Until He Didn't Travel in Europe Freely

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emptywheel
Bloomberg reports that Vladislav Klyushin may have information on GRU that DOJ does not yet have. If so, it must be beyond proof that GRU did the hack.
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Three Things: Bracing for Omicron’s Overrun

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Rayne
The Omicron wave is about to explode. We're so not ready.
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Easy Cases: Why Austin Sarat's Argument That Trump Should Not Be Prosecuted Is Wrong

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emptywheel
The question is not whether to open an investigation into Trump. 700 people have already been charged in the investigation that might one day charge Trump. The question is whether to hold Trump to the same standard as the hundreds who have gone before him.
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Letting Go of 2021

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Rayne
What will you let go of with the ending of this year? What will you welcome at the stroke of midnight?
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Clue: It Was Sidney Powell with the Grifting, in Advance of the Pardon, on Lin Wood's Plantation

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emptywheel
Not only was Sidney Powell beginning her effort to create conspiracy theories to help Trump stay in office before he pardoned Powell client Mike Flynn, but she was at Lin Wood's plantation when she would have learned of the pardon.
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Why That Peter Navarro Interview Isn't Enough To Charge Him with Sedition

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emptywheel
The takeaway from Peter Navarro made in his book and in some interviews ought to be that he is a liar who has nevertheless admitted his goal was to bring maximal pressure on Mike Pence. As such, it means he shares a stated goal of a number of January 6 defendants who have already pled guilty.
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Trevor McFadden Uses Stormtroopers to Justify His Promise to Let Jan6ers Off Easy

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emptywheel
Trevor McFadden has announced he plans to let Jan6 defendants off easily because, after refusing the discovery that might test his theory, he's sure they're being treated unfairly.
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Judge Tim Kelly Releases Opinion on Obstruction Affecting as Many as Two Dozen Proud Boys

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emptywheel
The decision that Judge Tim Kelly just released denying Ethan Nordean's motion to dismiss DOJ's application of the obstruction statute to January 6 will presumably apply to the 20 other people already charged with obstruction before Judge Kelly, most of whom are Proud Boys or Proud Boy adjacent.
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The Trump to Willard War Room to Militia Connection

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emptywheel
Bennie Thompson is going to pursue the calls Trump made to the war room at the Willard. That may reveal whether Roger Stone served as a pivot between the war room and the militias attacking the Capitol.
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The Big Election Lie Built on the Last Big Election Lie

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emptywheel
Before Trump told the Big Lie that he was the victim of vote fraud, Trump told the Big Lie that he was the victim of an investigation into the many documented ways in which Trump tried to optimize Russian help to get elected.
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Happy Holidays From The Emptywheel Blog: A Year To Remember, A Year To Forget And An Open Forum For Cooking, Trash And Other Talk

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bmaz
What a long strange trip 2021 has been. January 6 is still less than a year ago. Joe Biden's Presidency is only eleven months old. The DOJ and 1/6 Committee are working away nicely on an unprecedented case that is multitudes more complicated…
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Chekhov's Riot Shield: How Proud Boy Matthew Greene's Cooperation Helps Prove the Conspiracy

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emptywheel
As a cooperator, Matthew Greene won't be able to tell prosecutors what top Proud Boys were planning. Nor will he be able to reveal how they networked with Trump's associates. But he does offer proof that low level Proud Boys were in a conspiracy with the group's top leadership. And his testimony will make it more likely that others will also cooperate. 
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Three Crimes Included in Proud Boy Matthew Greene's Intent Statement

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emptywheel
In his statement of offense adopted under oath yesterday, Proud Boy Matthew Greene laid out three crimes -- obstruction, damage to the Capitol, and trespassing -- that will expose other Proud Boys to more serious punishment.
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Broken Windows Policing and January 6 Plea Deals

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emptywheel
Two more cases demonstrate that DOJ is using the threat of terrorism enhancements to convince people to cooperate in the January 6 investigation.
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Mike Flynn Forgets He Was Shit-Canned by Presidents of Both Parties

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emptywheel
There's a lot of nonsense in Mike Flynn's lawsuit against the January 6 Committee. Among the most interesting is his effort to quash a Verizon subpoena notice of which he doesn't claim to have received.
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Behind the Arrest of Putin's Pen-Tester, Vladislav Klyushin

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emptywheel
A guy I will call Putin's pen-tester for the information operations that he provided to Russia's Presidential Administration was just extradited to the US because, on the side, he was allegedly engaged in insider trading.
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Three Things: Omigod Omicron

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Rayne
The Biden administration will mount a response to the explosion of Omicron variant COVID cases. It follows some corporate stupidity which may have left the door open to this new surge.
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