Russia investigation
January 31, 2021 — Scott Johnson
The Wall Street Journal editorial “A pass for Kevin Clinesmith” refers in passing to the sentencing memorandum filed by the government (i.e., the office of John Durham) in the case: Federal Judge James Boasberg spared Mr. Clinesmith prison in favor of 12 months probation and 400 hours of community service. The judge said the evidence persuaded him that “Mr. Clinesmith likely believed that what he said about Mr. Page was
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January 30, 2021 — Scott Johnson
The greatest political scandal in American history is going to be swept under the rug. That is the moral I extract from the story that former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to altering a key document supporting one of the government’s FISA renewal applications on the warrant taken out on Carter Page, who must be the cleanest man in the United States. Among
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January 16, 2021 — Scott Johnson
Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham has released 11 transcripts of interviews conducted during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s inquiry into the origins and aftermath of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation — i.e., its indispensable to the Russia hoax perpetrated by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Graham’s press release is posted here. The transcripts have all been posted online and made accessible here. John Solomon extracts the highlights
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January 1, 2021 — Scott Johnson
If the reality principle dictates preparation for a so-called Harris-Biden administration this January 20, I think it likely that the evils of 2021 may well exceed those of 2020. I would like modestly to offer my new year’s predictions. • Political betting markets will set the over-under on Biden’s tenure in the Harris-Biden administration at two years. I take the under. • Some prominent Democrat — it might even be
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December 23, 2020 — John Hinderaker
Yesterday President Trump pardoned George Papadopoulos, the minor campaign aide who was swept up in the Russia collusion hoax and pled guilty to one count of lying to the FBI. Trump said: Mr. Papadopoulos was charged with a process-related crime, one count of making false statements, in connection with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Today’s pardon helps correct the wrong that
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December 18, 2020 — Scott Johnson
We have yet to settle accounts with the Axis of Evil linking Democrats, mainstream media, and big tech. We have yet to settle accounts even with the perpetrators of the Russia hoax (and related hoaxes). In his current New York Post column Glenn Reynolds argues that the Deplorables remember and decline to stand down: Leaving aside charges of voter fraud and vote-rigging, there is the undisputable fact that Big Media
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December 14, 2020 — John Hinderaker
Much of the “news” that appears in our newspapers and on our social media feeds is not prompted by anything that actually happened–i.e., news–but rather, by the fact that some political player wants to get a message out to the public. That appears to be the case with regard to this Fox News story, attributed to “a federal law enforcement official familiar with the investigation”: “Special Counsel John Durham expanding
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December 1, 2020 — John Hinderaker
Attorney General William Barr notified Congress today that on October 19, he appointed John Durham a Special Counsel under DOJ regulations. He did this “to provide him and his team with the assurance that they could complete their work, without regard to the outcome of the election.” In other words, absent this appointment, Joe Biden’s Attorney General undoubtedly would have terminated Durham’s investigation and ordered that no report or indictments
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December 1, 2020 — Scott Johnson
The outrage perpetrated on General Michael Flynn should go down in the hall of shame along with the Dreyfus affair. The Flynn outrage revealed the rotten core of the Obama administration and the multidimensional corruption of our most trusted institutions. The Flynn outrage should live in infamy, and yet we have leftist hacks like former Star Tribune columnist Jon Tevlin — see “Mic drop on Jon Tevlin” — celebrating the
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October 31, 2020 — Scott Johnson
I wrote about the film The Plot Against the President here on Power Line this past weekend. Every time I attempt to post my review — most recently, this morning — I receive this notice: I have written twice to Amazon seeking an explanation. Despite the invitation extended to me in the notice, Amazon has rested on its right to remain silent. I am mystified. I can freely post reviews
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October 20, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Georgetown University has hired former FBI agent Peter Strzok as an adjunct professor. He is now listed on the university’s staff page. Apparently, Strzok is teaching a course on counterintelligence and national security. Strzok lacks a PhD. However, he knows something about counterintelligence. Strzok was an important member of a crew that used false intelligence in an attempt to undermine President Trump. And he succeeded in bringing down the president’s
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October 6, 2020 — John Hinderaker
Last week, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe declassified information to the effect that U.S. intelligence agencies “obtained insight into Russian intelligence analysis alleging that U.S. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had approved a campaign plan to stir up a scandal against U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump by tying him to Putin and the Russians’ hacking of the Democratic National Committee.” Ratcliffe also indicated at that time that CIA Director John
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October 5, 2020 — John Hinderaker
The Federalist has a story about the CIA continuing to frustrate any investigation into America’s worst-ever scandal, the Russia hoax. It is the kind of story I often don’t pay attention to, as it is based on the accounts of “multiple senior U.S. officials.” So take it for what it is worth. But Sean Davis has a good track record, I think, and the story has a ring of plausibility
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October 5, 2020 — Scott Johnson
As I heard the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals judges who denied General Flynn’s petition for a writ of mandamus — opinion here — they expected Judge Sullivan to dismiss the case against Flynn on the government’s motion without further ado when the case was returned to him. This past Tuesday Judge Sullivan held the hearing on the government’s dismissal motion and, on the contrary, it sounds like the case
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October 5, 2020 — Scott Johnson
I wrote about former FBI Director James Comey’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week in “Dirtiest cop testifies.” Maria Bartiromo invited Rep. Devin Nunes to discuss Comey’s appearance on her Sunday Morning Futures show yesterday (video below, posted here at FOX News). In his response to Bartiromo’s opening question, Nunes alluded to the letter by DNI John Ratcliffe that we posted in “Today in Russia hoax news.” In
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October 1, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Former FBI Director James Comey was one dirty cop. He testified for over four hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday regarding his role in the FBI’s efforts to undermine the Trump presidential campaign and presidency. Comey, it may be recalled, falsely certified three of the four FISA warrant application/renewals taken out by the FBI on Carter Page, alleged Russian spy, on the basis of information provided to Christopher Steele
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September 29, 2020 — Scott Johnson
We seem to be approaching the bottom of the biggest political scandal in American history thanks to the declassification of information that was somehow kept under wraps over the past four years. This information wasn’t leaked to the Times or the Post or any of the Democrats’ other co-conspirators in the mainstream media. In the latest information to emerge from our fabled intelligence community, DNI Ratcliffe advises that Hillary Clinton
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