Ruby Freeman’s Revenge: Rudy’s Blobs and Bernie’s Glitches
Somewhere in the middle of Bernie Kerik’s attempt to blow off Ruby Freeman’s discovery, Jack Smith subpoenaed him, making that effort much harder to pull off.
Author Archive for: emptywheel
About emptywheel
Marcy Wheeler is an independent journalist writing about national security and civil liberties. She writes as emptywheel at her eponymous blog, publishes at outlets including Vice, Motherboard, the Nation, the Atlantic, Al Jazeera, and appears frequently on television and radio. She is the author of Anatomy of Deceit, a primer on the CIA leak investigation, and liveblogged the Scooter Libby trial.
Marcy has a PhD from the University of Michigan, where she researched the “feuilleton,” a short conversational newspaper form that has proven important in times of heightened censorship. Before and after her time in academics, Marcy provided documentation consulting for corporations in the auto, tech, and energy industries. She lives with her spouse in Grand Rapids, MI.
Entries by emptywheel
“Super:” The Day after IRS Got a Warrant for the Hunter Biden Laptop, DOJ Sent Bill Barr a Laptop
/31 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Hunter Biden/by emptywheelThe day after the IRS first obtained a warrant for a laptop once owned by Hunter Biden, DOJ sent Bill Barr — who was micromanaging the Durham investigation at the time — a laptop.
Unlike Michael Sussmann, Patrick Byrne Was Not Prosecuted for Providing Allegedly False Tips to the Government
/25 Comments/in 2016 Presidential Election, 2020 Presidential Election, emptywheel, January 6 Insurrection, Mueller Probe/by emptywheelWhen Patrick Byrne shared wild conspiracies about the Mueller investigation with the Durham team, it got high level attention — and DOJ has been protecting that detail for four years as part of Durham’s ongoing investigation.
Chuck Grassley Must Think the FD-1023 Informant Is Worth Killing Off
/109 Comments/in 2016 Presidential Election, 2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Hunter Biden/by emptywheelThat Chuck Grassley released an almost unredacted FD-1023 after dire warnings from the FBI is a tell. If you want to pursue the allegation, you do everything you can to protect the FD-1023 and the informant. If you want to fuel a controversy, you release the FD-1023, even at the risk of getting the informant killed.
May 20, 2024: Aileen Cannon’s Still Not Totally Unreasonable Order
/149 Comments/in 2024 Presidential Election, Leak Investigations/by emptywheelAileen Cannon has set a May 20, 2024 trial date for the former President. So his primary season will be dominated first by rape, then by attempts to cover up payments to sex workers, and only then stolen classified records.
The Funny Leak Denials of the So-Called IRS Whistleblowers
/19 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Hunter Biden/by emptywheelGary Shapely and Joseph Ziegler kept answering questions about the October 6, 2022 leak to the Washington Post by talking about a different leak to the Washington Post.
How and Why to Charge Trump First
/58 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelWhile it’s not clear whether Trump will be charged with any co-conspirators (yet) for January 6, there are reasons why charging him might be easier than the others.
Royce Lamberth Not as Easy to Fool as Tucker Carlson’s “Cousin-Fucking” “Terrorist” Viewers
/26 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelRoyce Lamberth’s opinion upholding the guilty verdict against Jacob Chansley once again vindicates DOJ’s approach to discovery on the January 6.
Trump’s Attack on Black Votes Was There the Whole Time, We Just Didn’t Call It a Crime
/168 Comments/in 2016 Presidential Election, 2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelTrump deployed threats of violence to make it harder to count the votes of Black and Latino voters but no one treated it as a crime.
The Three Reported Charges against Trump: 371, 1512, and (maybe) 242
/109 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection/by emptywheelWe have expected two of the reported charges from Trump’s target letter: conspiracy and obstruction.