Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe responded angrily to the finding of the Inspector General report and notably attacked the recollection of former FBI Director James Comey as a witness. As I discussed in an earlier column, McCabe raised over a half million dollars on GoFundMe before the release of the report showing that he repeatedly made false statements to investigators as well as Comey. The report by Inspector General Michael Horowitz, appointed by President Barack Obama is blistering and says that McCabe intentionally lied to protect his image and record. McCabe lashed out at the career officials behind the report and said Comey’s countervailing memory should not be given much credence.
The report found McCabe was the source of the leak to The Wall Street Journal about an FBI probe of the Clinton Foundation. McCabe previously said that Comey was informed of the leak and that it was routine. The report says it was not routine and was not in “the public interest.” Rather it found it was in McCabe’s interest.
“[W]e concluded that McCabe’s decision to confirm the existence of the CF investigation through an anonymously sourced quote, recounting the content of a phone call with a senior department official in a manner designed to advance his personal interests at the expense of department leadership, was clearly not within the public interest exception.”
Unfortunately, Trump again tweeted himself off the high road with a breathless tweet declaring McCabe “LIED! LIED! LIED!” and that all of the Russia allegations were “all made up by this den of thieves and lowlifes!”
However, it was the “den of thieves and lowlifes” that investigated and implicated McCabe. Trump also said McCabe was under the control of Comey. Yet, McCabe questions Comey’s value as witness in his statement through counsel.
McCabe’s counsel, Michael Bromwich, wrote Congress that
“It is undisputed that Mr. McCabe was one of three senior FBI officials authorized to share information with the media, including on sensitive investigative matters . . . He chose to exercise that authority in October 2016, during one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the bureau, with the knowledge of Director Comey and other senior members of FBI management . . .
Mr. McCabe’s recollection of discussions he had with Director Comey about this issue is extremely clear; Director Comey’s recollection is, by his own acknowledgment, not at all clear. And yet two of the lack of candor allegations are based on Director Comey’s admittedly vague and uncertain recollection of those discussions. “
Yet the Inspector General concluded “While the only direct evidence regarding this McCabe-Comey conversation were the recollections of the two participants, there is considerable circumstantial evidence and we concluded that the overwhelming weight of that evidence supported Comey’s version of the conversation.”
Bromwich also makes a Michael Cohen-like threat of defamation against Congress as well as lawsuit against “the president and senior members of the administration.” for “wrongful termination, defamation, constitutional violations and more.” He added in true Cohen-like style “Thank you for providing even more material for the defamation suit we are actively considering filing against you and your colleagues. Stay tuned.”
I would rather not. The chances of successfully suing Congress for defamation is exceptionally low in this type of circumstance. Moreover, arguing wrongful termination after a long investigation from career employees finding that you lied is a rather tall order.
The more intriguing question is who the other DOJ officials might be. Comey himself has testified that he never leaked information to the media.
Not salacious enough for the Daily Tatler. Spiked the same.
WH walks back Nikki Haley’s announced Russian sanctions.
I see the fbi & doj pond is overflowing of with reptillian fecal matter from Mueller, Comey, McCabe, Rodstein & Clinton & Obama era hacks. The fervor they whip with salacious tales of commie collusion (mainly on their part) as they try to justify violating our Constitutional Rights is appalling. The ever efficient Clinton investigation has concluded with no wrong doing (again). We may as well have flushed the millions in this investigation down the toilet. You damn well know money billed on this 3 ring circus is being squirreled away in Cayman Islands for Mueller /Comey/McCabe retirement. Although McCabe may soon be out of this prosperous endeavor.
McCabe or Comey? Who is lying more? This is a very difficult determination when you’re dealing with US Certified Members of the Liars’ Club.
Every one of these people is insane. They are all evil. At least some of them are turning on each other which I take to be a good thing.
On the other hand, Trump has the US “locked and loaded” on Syria because the magic eight ball told him; “yes, Syria did it!” The magic eight ball also told him to have our soldiers used as cannon fodder and to kill some civilians with weapons he’s selling to the reforming, torturing loving MBS. The magic eight ball has been “off” lately do to some EMP action by Israel, who is busy killing civilians in Gaza.
But, they are all humanitarians so, it’s looking good.
This is one of the saddest moments in US history. The war criminals are getting cheered by all the good Germans, oops, I mean, Americans and the Americans who are paid to cheer are happy to do so. I never thought it would get this bad, not ever.
by Israel, who is busy killing civilians in Gaza.
If you mob the border attempting to provide cover for terrorists to infiltrate, you’re likely to get shot. The sentries on the border carry guns with live ammunition in them. If you’d prefer to not get shot, don’t mob the border. Works for anyone who isn’t a malicious idiot.
You see, Jill, your avocation is striking stupid poses. Other people have serious responsibilities they must discharge, and among those people are Israel’s border sentries. They don’t do their jobs, it has consequences. You just being you has only one consequence: you cause annoyance among people who who have a lick of sense, which you do not.
@Jill April 15, 2018 at 7:31 PM
“The magic eight ball has been ‘off’ lately do to some EMP action by Israel, who is busy killing civilians in Gaza.”
We have to take our comfort where we can get it, Jill. I hope this news of respite from psychopathy affords you some, as it did me:
“Even if Trump’s audiovisual show in the skies of Damascus somewhat overshadowed yesterday’s events on the Gaza border, it is important to emphasize what happened there (and what did not happen …).
“Yesterday it turned out that if the IDF really wants to, it could face for an entire day more than 10,000 unarmed demonstrators and kill ‘only’ one of them. And it is reasonable to assume that even this one killing could have been averted.
“What was the difference between this last Friday and the two previous Fridays, during which IDF snipers killed a total of 32 unarmed Palestinian demonstrators? The Palestinians were the same Palestinians, the demonstrations were the same kind of demonstrations, the soldiers were the same soldiers, the snipers were the same snipers, the commanders were the same commanders.
“So what did change since last Friday? Only one thing: this time the commanders gave clear orders to avoid killings, and the snipers obeyed these orders. Just as these snipers had obeyed the manifestly illegal orders they got before [to kill some].
“That’s all the difference. It also means that anyone and everyone who dared to raise a voice of protest – far too few inside Israel, many more outside – had a part in saving lives. Literally.”
https://www.veteranstoday.com/2018/04/15/gush-shalom-nails-the-idf-killings-in-gaza-outside-pressure-worked/
Yeah yeah yeah. the IDF shoots people for sport. Amusing what people reveal about themselves.
The 10,000 people on day 3 were there with this piece of context: people who mob the border were snot the two previous days. That concentrates the mind and regulates behavior.
Now, if you want to avoid being shot, don’t mob the border. It’s fairly simple.
It can always get worse. Maybe tomorrow Ken Rogers will link to the Open Societies Foundation instead of “veteranstoday.” Musical chairs makes strange bedfellows out of blawg hounds.
@Late4Dinner April 16, 2018 at 6:31 AM
“It can always get worse. Maybe tomorrow Ken Rogers will link to the Open Societies Foundation instead of “veteranstoday.” Musical chairs makes strange bedfellows out of blawg hounds.”
It will depend on whether I see something there that I find importantly truthful and that’s relevant to a discussion here or elsewhere.
I suggest that instead of trying to pigeonhole people in terms of crude and/or superannuated political labels, you evaluate what they have to say based on its evidentiary truth value, rather than prejudicially focusing on them and/or their sources of information.
Remember, even Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump aren’t wrong 100% of the time.
P.S.
What’s the connection between musical chairs and bedfellows? Is there some trendy bedroom community game I’m unaware of?
If McCabe truly had the goods on ‘others’ a. why did not use the information properly instead of becoming one of them assuminmg he wasn’t one of the leaders.
If McCabe had the goods why wait until now instead of in the past and why wasn’t the information in his poorly written book surpassed only in ‘poorly’ by Comey?
He may or may not be registered as a Republican or whatever but the mthodology is pure leftist. … helps gull the die hard progressive socialist liberals I suppose but who else will give it any more credence than one would give any left wingers WHICH INCLUJDES the Republicans in Name Only.
Time Line. Bolsheviks succeed in Russia beating the Mensheviks and change their first country hame to USSR and party name to Communist Party by 1922. Prior to that they had engendered the Progessive Socialist using the University systems and in UK the Labor Party, in the USA the Jim Crow anti civil rights, former Slavery Party. aka Democrats. Shortly thereafter after WWI the National Socialst were spun off.
Only a very slight difference between the three.
But the methodology remained the same which meant anyone taking alleigianc to their party vehicles has to automatically deny their oath of allegiance to the USA. Except when they knowingly did not and have not.
Anti Civil rights became pro one party system as created the RINOs again anti USA and Constitution BUT they also added another group socialist corporatists also aka as the establishment or neo aristocracy who in turn used the progressives and vice versa.
If you continmue to use the definitions of the left you will automatically lose. Think about. What is the real center of the country? The center of the left? with a phony belief in a a phony democracy that doesn’t exist OR in our Representative Constitutional Republic is the center where the Constitution is found?
Their actions speak loud and clear. even when they are doing the daily changes of definitions and the daily redefining and reframing.
Not only the inexplicable antics of McCabe and Comey but use of ex Marines turned mercenary using the party platform of the muchy denigrated right wing. … which is after all only the right wing of the left. Thus RINOs while the Left wing of the left aka DINOs continues to pull strings as the greatest danger our Republic has ever faced
And that is my counter example of their sentiment of 2016 against our military whose oath of officeis to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution which guarantees a government of, by, and for the citizens. Subtract RINO and the progressivly regressive socialist DINOs who are Marxist Leninist and nothing more and what’s left are the self governing independent citizens who are the only source of power.
@Michael Aarethun April 15, 2018 at 6:45 PM
“Not only the inexplicable antics of McCabe and Comey but use of ex Marines turned mercenary using the party platform of the muchy denigrated right wing. … which is after all only the right wing of the left. Thus RINOs while the Left wing of the left aka DINOs continues to pull strings as the greatest danger our Republic has ever faced ”
I think you’ve nailed something here, Michael. I have no idea what it is, but I think you’ve nailed something. 🙂
One should not leak to the media, one should leak “on” the media.
Reblogged this on The Inquiring Mind.
The “Deep State” is so miffed over the fact that Hillary lost, it wants extra-constitutional legislation on the President’s desk and it wants, presumably, to forge the President’s signature.
These Constitution-hating, anti-American, liberal “deep state” globalist psychophants are nuts!
The “rule of law” indeed. Have they ever read the Constitution and law?
Do they know that Rosenstein illegally appointed a special counsel to investigate an individual, not a crime?
Have they read of Strzok and Page’s “insurance policy in Andy’s office?”
Have they heard McCabe’s penurious lies?
The FBI found candidate Hillary Clinton guilty as sin but exonerated her before investigating her.
Comey and half the FBI committed criminal leaks for openers and have never been charged.
The “Deep State” speaks in defense of Rosenstein and Mueller’s “investigation of nothing” and its Coup D’etat in America:
Petition by DOJ Alumni
____________________
“DOJ Alumni Statement Regarding Rod Rosenstein, Robert Mueller, and the Rule of Law”
“We, the undersigned, are proud alumni of the United States Department of Justice. We served this institution out of a commitment to the founding American principles that our democratic republic depends upon the rule of law, that the law must be applied equally, and that no one is above the law. Many of us served with Robert Mueller and Rod Rosenstein. Those of us who served with these men know them to be dedicated public servants committed to these principles. All of us served with thousands of their peers at the Department, who also swear an oath to serve, defend, and protect the United States, the Constitution and the American people. We know that there are thousands of public servants at the Department today who serve these principles and all of us.
We are therefore deeply disturbed by the attacks that have been levied against the good men and women of the Department. Not only is it an insult to their public service, but any attempt to corrupt or undermine the even-handed application of the rule of law threatens the foundation of our Republic. We know the people who serve at the Department will bravely weather these attacks and continue to uphold their oaths by doing only what the law dictates. But it is up to the rest of us, and especially our elected representatives, to come to their defense and oppose any attempt by the President or others to improperly interfere in the Department’s work, including by firing either Mr. Mueller, Mr. Rosenstein or other Department leadership or officials for the purpose of interfering in their investigations. Should the President take such a step, we call on Congress to swiftly and forcefully respond to protect the founding principles of our Republic and the rule of law.”
A recommendation for a great Netflix series: Wormwood. Based on a true story of likely CIA malfeasance. Brilliantly done.
mo – it is in my queue of 60 but haven’t gotten to it yet. Thanks for the recommendation. I may move it higher. Watching The Frankenstein Chronicles right now and Jessica Jones.
“McCabe lashed out at the career officials behind the report and said Comey’s countervailing memory should not be given much credence.”
(1) Even if one gave zero credence to “Comey’s countervailing memory,” McCabe’s countervailing argument likewise gets zero credence, because of the apparent FBI policy following internal investigations to provide the person that had been questioned with an “SSS” (signed sworn statement) which recaps what the interviewers took from the interview, for the interviewee’s signature under oath that these are the relevant facts and they are correctly stated in the SSS.
To me, the most damning information in the report is that McCabe delayed for months responding to the SSS despite being contacted and again requested to respond, and when he finally did respond it was WAY too late for him to complain that the SSS was not accurate. This is what probably caused the investigators to turn their suspicions toward McCabe, whom they’d previously considered a victim of the disclosure(s), not the perpetrator.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4437277-DOJ-OIG-McCabe-Report.html#document/p1
It appears similar to the rule about depositions in civil litigation — that after the deposition transcript is prepared, the deponent has a period of time to review the transcript to make sure it’s accurate and/or offer corrections. If the deponent fails to do this, any objections to the accuracy of the transcript are deemed to be waived.
(2) Seems like the FBI could save itself a big bunch of trouble in the future by doing away with informal authorization for disclosure by high-ranking officials and, instead, maintaining a record of ALL disclosures and authorizations for disclosures.
That appears to be what the FBI Employment Agreement demands — that there be a written record comprised of all requests to disclose FBI information and a written record of all authorizations to disclose information. The FBI Employment Agreement doesn’t even remotely suggest that there’s a different policy for a few high-ranking officials. Even in an emergency situation, there should be a written record concerning disclosures — which would save a lot of investigative trouble and avoid contradictions from different high-level officials. Either there is a record of authorization or there isn’t, and if not, then a disclosure would not be legally deemed authorized.
https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/fd-291.pdf/view
If the FBI wants to clean up its act, that would be a good place to start.
(3) Meanwhile, STILL waiting for the emails McCabe’s attorney says he has that will prove that Comey knew all about the disclosures. It will be interesting to see what legal basis McCabe would have for possessing such federal records after leaving the FBI, because there isn’t one. Those records are the property of the federal government (same as Comey’s “memos” and same as Hillary’s stolen and deleted emails) and McCabe lost the right to possess them when he left the FBI. And actually, he should not have possessed them in the first place if he was communicating government business on a government-issued device using a government email account as required. If he’d followed policy, the government would possess the alleged emails, not McCabe.
It just a rerun of the Clinton email fiasco. Apparently absent her prosecution, nobody in government learned anything about following the procedure of using a government server and government account for doing government business.
William Bayer – thanks for the link to the IG Report on McCabe. Fascinating. And the footnotes are half the fun. 😉
Yeah — it was interesting the way the IG used the footnotes to mention McCabe’s lawyer’s defenses to various accusations and shoot them full of holes.
W. Bayer,…
Speaking of McCabe’s lawyer, I’m still wondering if the GoFundMe loot will be used to file civil suits on behalf of McCabe, and not for “defensive” purposes.
I don’t think that McCabe is going to be charged with a criminal violation, so that $500,000+ stash might be put to work paying for lawsuits McCabe starts.
I’m not sure it would be legal to use a go-fund-me site to get funds to use as a plaintiff.
Meanwhile, I’m betting criminal charges WILL be forthcoming against McCabe. If they aren’t filed soon, it would only be because there’s still much more misconduct to investigate. Note the title of the IG’s report. It is strictly related to certain matters that were referred to the IG, not other matters that the IG might have discovered or might yet discover while investigating other issues.
It wouldn’t be wise to charge McCabe if they’re still investigating him in relation to other issues, because his right to speedy trial would require a trial date to be set and that date could not be postponed by the prosecution without consent by the defense, and McCabe’s defense wouldn’t likely consent to delaying a trial just so the prosecution can dig up more things to charge him with.
Hillary was proven guilty and found to have “no intent.” McCabe was fired based on guilt. Page, Strzok, Bruce Ohr, Nellie Ohr et al. have been reassigned awaiting legal disposition. Wray should have been impeached for his blatant contempt of the Sovereign; the People; the Congress. Wray, Rosenstein et al. were three-doors-down and knew of all of the machinations of the FBI leadership. It is not possible there was no DOJ spillover. We have numerous crimes justifying the appointment of a special prosecutor unlike Mueller’s’ fraudulent and purely political investigation of an individual not a crime. When does law prevail in this country?
thoughtful and informative response. are you sure you don’t want to leave something more wrecklessly inflammatory, perhaps implicating Israel or “the deep state”? lol
I go to the Daily Caller comment section when I want to read recklessly inflammatory garbage. No matter how I try to stick to the issues there, 99% of the commenters are satisfied with nothing but calling out “lefties,” “libtards,” and assorted permutations thereof as being the root of all evil — failing entirely to comprehend that they’ve been brainwashed into thinking that way — which is to say thinking in ideological terms — by people whose goal is to keep the citizenry fighting amongst themselves so that they won’t wake up and realize that other members of the population aren’t their real enemies (except that they, too, have been brainwashed), and that their real enemies are the ones who’ve brainwashed them into thinking in terms of ideology.
The best way I’ve found to avoid falling into that brainwashing trap is to just try to stick to the law and the facts. When people violate the law, there’s no point in taking it further into the goofy realm of ideology. The word, “criminal,” supersedes all other adjectives.
Mueller’s team is full of experts on cyberwarfare, financial crimes, and the mafia. My guess is that he is lifting up a corner of the veil covering a longstanding international racket that links financial crimes, government crimes, etc. This includes Trump but is certainly not limited to him.
IF Trump were not so terrified of what Mueller has on him and was willing to let the Mueller team do their work unimpeded [including collaborating with other prosecutors elsewhere] we would get answers, indictments, and convictions relating to this international crime racket. He’s already started on this path.
But Trump is fighting against this desperately because he will be caught in the web and he knows it. It’s a shame, really, because Mueller has the team and the expertise to do some significant damage to the world’s worst criminals.
Here is a great speech by Mueller seven years ago on this topic.
https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/speeches/the-evolving-organized-crime-threat
mo – Mueller is the guy who sent 4 innocent men to prison to protect Whitey Bulger. He has screwed up a lot of major cases. He is a legend in his own mind.
Did you get this from the Howie Carr show?
Also see: Anthrax
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/1970/01/19/one-lingering-question-for-fbi-director-robert-mueller/613uW0MR7czurRn7M4BG2J/story.html
This article does not support your claim. Mueller did not put them in prison. The murder in question occurred in 1965. Mueller graduated from law school in 1973.
This may be what you are referring to:
Albano was appalled that, later that same year, Mueller was appointed FBI director, because it was Mueller, first as an assistant US attorney then as the acting US attorney in Boston, who wrote letters to the parole and pardons board throughout the 1980s opposing clemency for the four men framed by FBI lies.
Not pretty, I agree, and your claim is false.
mo – thanks for the better info. I will walk back my original statement. 🙂
Welcome. 🙂
Mueller hired 14 lawyers, of whom four were Democratic Party donors. Four-digit donors.
These investigations have been ongoing for 21 months and produced bupkis. Now you’re reduced to letting your imagination run wild.
Bupkis?? LOL.
A couple of the lawyers on his team contributed to both the Ds and the Rs.
No, one contributed a small sum to a Republican candidate and scads to Democratic candidates.
Too bad that none of what you wrote is the reason a special counsel was appointed. Everything you mention is well within the jurisdiction of the regular FBI, as well as Interpol and dozens of other law enforcement agencies all over the world.
If there was really some interest in cleaning up global organized crime, the first people to be arrested would be people who work at high levels in the CIA — such as the people who designed, constructed, and USE a criminal hacking tool that plants a fake digital fingerprint that implicates others for having conducted a hack that was actually perpetrated by the CIA.
Perhaps the reason global organized crime runs rampant is that there’s no evidence that qualifies as admissible in court when entities such as the CIA fabricate evidence with impunity.
Trump fired Comey and confessed to it twice on tape that it was because of the Russia investigation. Thus the special counsel. The reason he’s so pissed is that he knew he brought it on himself by firing Comey as well as his behavior over the last 30 years.
As dons go, Trump’s just fair to middlin’.
Too bad Trump never said what you say he said. What you wrote is your own spin on what Trump said.
Brilliant, Snowflake. Have we found the “Russian Collusion” yet? Rosenstein was a pawn put in place upon the whipsawing of the dupe, Sessions, with a mission to illegally appoint a special prosecutor to investigate an individual not a crime. Now we’re “… lifting up a corner of the veil covering a longstanding international racket…” OMG! So what you’re saying is Mueller was as incompetent and corrupt then as he is now?
The royal “we.” LOL. And your assumption is bizarre and makes no sense.
Nobody knows what Mueller has and that includes everyone on this blog, including me.
We’re all just streaming a lot of nonsense bull**** to pass the time.
Two years of the “Inquisition.”
Ridiculous.
Purely political.
A completely illegal investigation of an individual, not a crime, on the fraudulent basis of theoretical and
phantom international counter-intelligence and timed for the election.
Congress must support and uphold the Constitution and swiftly conduct Class-Action/Mass-Action
impeachments of the DOJ/FBI, clandestine, “deep state” perpetrators of this coup d’etat in America to
overturn an election and unseat a duly elected President.
Mo is delusional. Mueller’s team of partisan hacks has nothing on Trump. Mueller is dragging out his fishing expedition-witch hunt to do maximum political damage to the POTUS. Trump has done nothing to hinder the investigation. He is entitled to protest his innocence and the unfairness of the inquisition to himself and the nation he leads.