Former FBI Deputy Director (and CNN contributor) Andrew McCabe has long said that he was willing to answer questions under oath about his controversial actions in the Russian investigation. He was scheduled to do so on Tuesday, but he now has refused — citing the infection of three senators with Covid-19. However, McCabe also refuses to testify remotely as did both former FBI Director James Comey and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. He simply says that “fairness” dictates that he not testify at all. The basis for his refusal to appear remotely is utterly and almost comically absurd.
It is hard to see the letter as anything other than a mocking refusal not to go under oath. McCabe knows that the Democrats may retake the Senate and the White House. At that point, Democratic senators are expected to shutdown all continuing investigations related to McCabe and misconduct in the Russian investigation. The problem is that recent disclosures have magnified concerns of serious conduct in the Russian investigation and, in the last few months, Comey, Yates, and former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said that they would not have signed off on the Page application if they knew then what they know today. Rosenstein called for further investigation into FBI misconduct, including matters that would relate to McCabe. Rosenstein expressly slammed McCabe in his testimony.
McCabe’s lawyer, Michael R. Bromwich McCabe is “willing, able, and eager to testify in person” about the FBI’s Russia investigation “when it is safe to do so.” However, his letter speaks more of evasion than eagerness. He insists that he is “not willing to put his family’s health at risk to do so.” He can of course do so with zero risk, as did his former bosses: remotely.
He recognizes the obvious logical disconnect and merely adds that for “reasons of fairness” McCabe would be unwilling to testify remotely. The Hill reported that Bromwich objected that “[a] fair and appropriate hearing of this kind — which is complex and contentious — simply cannot be conducted other than in person.”
That is facially ridiculous, of course. I have testified over 50 times in Congress over three decades. There is virtually no difference in the testimony because there is virtually no interaction between a witness and the members other than the questions once the hearing starts. Moreover, such interactions can still occur by text with counsel off screen who can pass notes to McCabe, just like a hearing. Indeed, remote hearings are better for witnesses because they can have an entire team giving you messages off-screen in a way that is not possible in a live hearing.
McCabe (who was a controversial addition to the CNN team) has been going on television to deny allegations and attack these hearings, including bizarre interviews spinning his own conduct. He will continue to do so but will refuse to give such answers under oath as he runs out the time for a possible Democratic takeover of the Senate.
McCabe’s position only magnifies concern over his veracity and transparency, two qualities that should be required for a CNN analyst. He has repeatedly used his CNN contract to spin stories that directly impact his legal and professional interests. He is now advancing a position that is absurd on its face but has received little press interest or criticism. He will continue to answer questions remotely at CNN of course — a hermetically sealed safe space for Andrew McCabe.
McCabe can not testify because doing so would result in questions regarding statements he has made RECENTLY.
He has claimed that some of his notes have been altered.
That is really low hanging fruit for an inquisitor – Go through the memo line by line and ask which writings are his and which have been changed.
McCabe can answer however he pleases. He can choose to answer “I do not recall” – but anything short of the absolute truth harms his credibility drastically. And any answer that can be easily refuted will land him in jail.
And that is what is “unfair” about his testimony – he would have to tell the truth of go to jail. And he own public remarks have created many oportunities to question him and nail him down on the truth.
Try as they will, don’t enable these Leftist radicals to deflect attention any longer from the Russiagate coup inflicted on this country for the last 4 years. This blog has an international following. Use this forum to expose these useful idiots into defending this abuse of power. If they want to flip it to anything other than the Clinton/DNC paid Russian propaganda coup, then remind them they have no standing to argue any other point until they admit what the facts and evidence prove; President Trump was right from the very beginning.
Obama is the most corrupt US president ever.
Sadly John, the narrative has been allowed to be laser-focused on President Trump and his administration. It’s time we focus the lens on Obama, his administration and how he set the stage for the divide in this country today. It’s all about accountability and they’ve escaped that for far too long.
I did not vote for Trump in 2016 – I voted for Gary Johnson and I am proud of that.
I probably will not vote for Trump in 2020. But one thing that could get me to vote for Trump is the near certainty that democrats will shutdown all these investigations.
It is unfortunate that it has taken us 4 years to get as far as we have. That said we already know there is enough to know there is much more we need to find out.
No matter who is elected these investigations need to continue.
If Biden wins the election, Barr should appoint a special counsel. Biden will be president and many in his administration will be potential targets of witnesses. It is not possible for a Biden administration to oversee an investigation that is essentially into their own past acts.
Not only must these investigations continue, but ultimately there must be changes to make sure this type of nonsense can not happen again.
Then you had better vote for Trump because the Democrats WILL shutdown all these investigations. This is the most important vote in our lives. Voting for Biden is voting to keep the Deep State that can and will do this and more if they get away with this.
“This is the most important vote in our lives.”
Nope.
I likely agree with you on the consequences of a Biden presidency.
But there are other consequences too.
if D;s win the WH in 2020, that will pretty much guarantee that we will see the same republican gains in the house and senate and state legistatures and governor;s in 2022, 2024, 2026, ….
As I noted before “man bears the seeds of his own destruction”
Even if they manage to sweep the federal government – in fact especially if they do, democrats are destroying themselves.
Biden and democrats have benefited by making this election about style and not substance.
But eventually if elected democrats must govern. Either they do so sanely – and alienate their left flank and lose seats in the federal and state governments, or they govern to the left and alienate the rest of the people – and lose seats everywhere.
The democratic party is more fractured than the country as a whole The worst thing that could happen to them is to have to deliver on their promises.
Wake up John Say. Libertarians have no muscle. They are a flaccid ideology that will do nothing to stop the Democrats from stripping us of every last dime. This conflict will come down to organized violence in the end. Really every election is a contest which to a large degree blows off the steam from our major factions, and makes violence unnecessary. But if you can see how insane the Left has gone then you better start thinking less about idealistic dancing on the head of a pin and more about how to cope with the actual facts of the situation as it is unfolding.
Kurtz,
You worry too much.
I expounded in another post that the consequence of Democrats winning – would be bad for democrats.
Democrats swept the federal government in 2008. The result was 8 years of sub 2% growth – bad, but not the end of the world.
As a consequence 3500 elected offices accross the country flipped blue to red over the next 8 years. With Trump about 1/4 of those flipped back. Biden at BEST would be the same as Obama and would likely loose the house and senate in 2022.
He could and likely would do worse.
But this country is NOT Vensezuella. I do not see americans tolerating sub 1% growth very long.
I would further note we have been told we are facing the end of the GOP that demographics is destiny. But what I see port Trump is a stronger GOP with and even stronger future and a fractured Democratic party that will likely fracture even further if it is forced to govern.
Trump has flipped the blue collar vote to the GOP for the foreseeable future. He is making inroads into blacks and hispanics.
It only takes small gains for the GOP among minorities to change the country. Somewone else noted that a 5% shift in the black vote would flip illinois to red. The Rust belt, and midwestern states are unstable right now – but the long term trend is they are moving red.
You rant at my liberatian values – but with few exceptions the GOP is shifting to a MORE libertarian posture.
Not perfect libertarian – but I can revel in small steps.
Outside of Trade and immigration Trump has governed incredibly libertarain. No president since Carter has flushed so much regulation.
Absolutely Biden can undo that. But not quickly. And more importantly Trump has set a data point.
We have massively deregulated and people are not dying all over, the water is not poison the air is clear.
Trump’s policies have come together in an incredibly synergistic way that has incredible libertarian appeal.
More Fracking has amplified the US as a energy exporter. That allowed tTrump to guarantee European Natural Gas, That allowed the Europeans to negotiate favorably with Russia and the mideast and saved them from the consequences of their own stupid Green New Deals. That also allowed Trump to demand and get Europe taking more responsibility for their own defense – and that is huge. It changes the way countries think and vote. It has also shifted the balance of power in Europe – away from Russia and the mideast and towards the west. Russia is increasingly a thrid world country with a huge stockpile of nukes – that is their ONLY leverage on the world stage.
The mideast has become less relevant – and that has made peace more easy to reach. Iran has been diminished – much like Russia.
And that has allowed US foreign policy to shift to Asia – which is where the real current problems are.
China under Xi has flipped from moving towards more and more capitalism and democracy to becoming more authoritarian and beligerant.
Obama allowed that – encouraged it. The shift in Asia is phenomenal. Contries that were slowly gravitating towards China relictantly are now united with the US. China is entirely contained. The US shift was instrumental in accomplishing that. HOWEVER much of the containment is being accomplished by the asian nations themselves. From Tiawan, through Japan, Philipines australia, Vietnam, and even India all these nations are grasping that a strong china is not in their interests. And the US role in Asia is more of bringing them all together.
Trump has bought a couple of years with NK that has not done a test in 3yrs. Of the DoD has used that time wisely we are able to deal with a NK with a handful of ICBM’s and nuclear weapons. NK can produce powerful sophisticated ICBM’s and nuclear warheads, but it can NOT produce them in numbers sufficient to thwart US missle defenses – if we have used the past 3 years wisely.
I would note that another feature of Trump confronting China is to the benefit of the rest of Asia. Absolutely some factories and jobs are returning to the US – but not all. We are seeing and can expect to see alot of business move from China to Vietnam, Tiawan. Japan, Philippians, Australia, India, ….
It is in every countries interest to reduce China’s leverage and we are seeing that happen.
I guess Biden could reverse these – but he would be hard pressed to. All of it is intrinsically interconnected. If Biden messes with Fracking the US can no longer guarantee European energy, that will empoower russia and the miseast and weaken europe. It will require a shift of US military assets back to Europe and the mideast and it will empower and embolden china. And that will weaken our allies their AND harm US workers.
There is not a thread biden can pull that does not cause the entire thing to unravel.
And with it likely the peace of the world.
I do not think after 4 years of Trump americans are going to be tolerant of military adventurism on the part of Biden.
Much is made of Trump’s anti-immigrant stance. But aside from building the wall and the narative there is little difference between Trump and Obama. As Republicans note – the cages on the border were built by Obama Biden.
Regardeless, Biden must secure the southern border or lose Blue collar voters and suffer further losses among black voters as well as some groups of hispanics, and probably asians.
You are worried that Biden/Harris will transform the country into a Socialist hell.
I think the consequences of their trying to do so would be disaterous – for the democratic party.
Frankly I do not see the democratic party as it is currently holding together long. There are just not enough progressives and socialist in the entire country to win an election. and there are a huge number of more moderate democrats.
Trump hatred is not much of a foundation to build a party.
At the same time politics abhors a vaccuum. The Democratic party will not disintegrate. It will change. The GOP had to change as social conservatives diminished in power – and they did so, ultimately for the better.
I do not know exactly how democrats will change – but they MUST move back toward the center or fail as a party, there is not a 3rd option.
Regardless, I am not affraid of this election. Not that a Biden victory would be a good thing. In the short run it would be bad. Possibly very bad. But in the long run it is not sustainable.
MORE important than saying this type of nonsense must not happen again is ensuring that the corrupt liars, leakers and treasonous lawbreakers from the Obama administration are indicted, prosecuted and sentenced to SERVE actual PRISON TIME. No Justice No Peace!
Obama is the most corrupt US President ever. He continues to be protected by the completely dishonest, corrupt Fake News media that runs Russian style disinformation, propaganda and outright lies in service of covering up the corruption of Obama and his adminstration. Obama will (and should) go down in flames. Trump will prove to be one of the great US Presidents of all time.
It’s the global corporations and finance that own mass media that have financial reasons to do what they do
the great irony here is that until people learn some economics, understanding the situation is difficult
one day we are going to have to reckon with the American billionaires, fiercely. Until then, it’s all just kind of going to slide sideways within a certain tolerance range
reckon with those billionaires, kick the fangs out of global serpent Soros’ nasty old mouth, and about ten other snakes, and then we can make some progress
“reckon with those billionaires, kick the fangs out of global serpent Soros’ nasty old mouth, and about ten other snakes”
Soros is just a front man for the 4 snakes that are trillionaires, not billionaires.
.
I dont think so. I studied the list of American billionaires and he would still be reasonably high up there if you added back in the billions he gave to his “open society” constellation of NGOs and nfps and other assorted shells in his racket
In terms of how much he has given away., he is a behemoth
his endowment in 2017 was the second biggest in history, second only to the underwriting of the bill and melinda gates foundation
https://www.philanthropy.com/article/18-billion-vaults-george-soros-into-stratosphere-of-grant-makers/
the next tier down of 100 million sized gifts in the past decade have often gone to universities
the cultural rot of American society emanates out from the massive endowments of the universities.
this is a story that goes back 70 years or so, all the way back to the war, but it gets a vaster scale in each decade
long term they must be subject to dramatic laws and government action bringing their culture destroying effects under control, by any means necessary
the first amendment they will say. listen. at the scale of American universities, or at the scale of Silicon valley,. the First amendment is meaningless. we might as well be ants and they elephants for all our supposed “equality under law”
I am telling conservatives something they need to understand. There is no stopping the trajectory of globalization without comprehensive and drastic measures against the financiers of it. Now, if you can’t grab ahold of all the relevant government agencies and make it happen, then, it never will. Basically we will know inside a two months or so at the earliest, or 4 years at the farthest, whether globalism has won or not.
And if it seems we get a 4 year reprieve, then there will be no successful long term reorientation against globalism without those strong measures. otherwise it will all just bounce back later.
These assets should not be destroyed, but they do need to be brought back under control. Universities should not be destroyed, they need to be recommitted to public use and the common good of American society. Same thing a lot of these alphabet soup NGOs. They should be given offers they cant refuse by a good shepherd and then we all — the American public — could benefit instead of just the thin administrative and bureaucratic strata that they pay to do their thing.
Right now it is only their mercenaries and their rackets which benefit. Mark my words. They are a worse cancer to the long term sovereign interests of the United States in a way that the “mafia” never was. RICO is the least and the mildest of tools which should be used to rectify them.
We are and likely will always be a two-party system. I’m registered Independent because I believe it’s the Independents that are the last line of defense against the radicals in either party. If this election is conducted fairly, it will be a landslide victory for this President and the Republican party. Not because they are a great party, but because the Democrats have lost their connection to their center-left constituency. I will be voting to reelect President Trump and Republicans all the way down ticket.
I generally agree.
The parties wax and wane, but there is not and cannot be a permanet fall from grace for one party.
When a single party dominates – the other party must change in order to take voters from the dominant party.
So long as elections are free, and government is not permitted to put its thumb on the scales that should happen automatically.
It should have happened after Democrats loss in in 2016. Democrats should have asked themselves why they lost and what they could do about that – rather than how to blame Trump and Russia.
That would have lead to the conclusion that they had shifted too far left. That the nonsense of SJW’s and cancel culture and safe speces and PC had gone too far.
Instead they doubled down. In doing so they doomed themselves. I do not know if this election will be their comeupance.
But I do know it is coming.
Trump started a shift in parties – one that was probably ultimately inevitable, but Trump still saw it first and capitalized,
That shift is happening regardless – until democrats stop it by changing themselves – shifting back towards the center.
I agree John. It should shift naturally, but there are forces afoot preventing that. The MSM is one. The tech giants another. And lastly and perhaps most importantly, higher education. It’s not difficult to imagine how different the last 4 years would have been had the MSM focused their attention on where the actual evidence proved corruption. Democrats would have been forced to participate in holding the FBI/IC/DOJ, Obama, Clinton and their own party accountable to have any chance of reelection. But they have one additional card to play and you made the point:
So long as elections are free, and government is not permitted to put its thumb on the scales that should happen automatically.
Pardon the pun, but this is their trump card. Despite the forces mentioned above, they still know they won’t win a free and fair election. A lack of voter ID, motor voter laws, mail in (unsolicited) ballots and ballot harvesting is where Democrats have put all their chips. If they succeed, conservatives will be on the clock on either fighting to restore this republic, sticking around while it becomes Californized, or finding a country that better reflects their values.
Most adults, not young people or others depending on their parents or government, want much more conservative thinking. Working people don’t have time to sift through all the different news so they read their local papers, NYT, WP, WSJ and listen to the MSM. They have been fed bull and will realize it if Biden is elected. The problem is will the violence overcome the people or will intellect take over. In the French Revolution a lot of heads rolled.
This election is very much like a comparison between the French Revolution Joe Biden and the American Revolution Donald Trump.
Check out this short article. It addresses what you’re saying:
If it’s all about self-empowerment and doing our own thing, and not about self-sacrifice and doing what we should, we will always have a system in which the strongest, using the tools of technology, will impose themselves upon those who are weaker than they are. If it’s not about love but about power, we should expect nothing but the unjust rule of the most powerful and the enslavement and subjugation of everyone else.
This systemic pride is the driving force behind the exploitation of the poorest nations of the world, especially the nations of Africa, by the forces of globalism. It is global corporations and global financial and political entities that are the new imperialists, exploiting the weakest so that they can empower themselves. If it’s all about the triune god of Pride, the me-myself-and-I, those with power will exploit those who are powerless.
What has any of this to do with race? It is systemic pride, not systemic racism, which is at the heart of the problem.
https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2020/10/systemic-pride-problem-joseph-pearce.html?mc_cid=8cf5f85fcb&mc_eid=c1f326aae5
Thanks Olly. Will read later.
You can not hold back the tide. Eventually it overwhelms you.
The MSM has no credibility left.
Education – including elitist higher education is an actual potential victim of the pandemic.
And we will all get frustrated by tech censorship soon enough.
FB stock tanked when they annouced that growth was 5% below projections – what do you think would happen to FB stock id 1% of conservatives went to Parlor or Gab ?
I suspect a stock holder revolt would change things fast.
People do not realize how fragile big businesses are.
It is very bad business to involve yourself in the political process. The tech Giants have their comeupance coming – soon enough.
CNN harboring a criminal. No surprise.
I would say his main and only fear is that of going to jail. Anyone thinking otherwise has not been thinking.
If what McCabe knows will implicate Hillary/Obama, being in possession of that information is sufficient to place his health at risk, e.g. Epstein, Seth Rich.
Will someone please throw this a-hole out of a helicopter?
And McCabe will get away with this stupidity because the MSM is on the side of the Democrats to the point of being the DNC propaganda arm. No one on CNN, MSNBC, etc. will call him out for this.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
“ McCabe’s position only magnifies concern over his veracity and transparency, two qualities that should be required for a CNN analyst.“
I don’t care who you are, that is FUNNY! CNN analysts have said things in CNN they repudiated under oath. Andy is clearly in legal jeopardy if he contradicts Comey under oath. He is probably worried that J. Edgar Comey has secret recordings.
It really Is what it seems sometimes.
The loudest noises since the 1883 Krakatoa eruption will be the conspirator’s growns when they see Trump wins and the GOP holds the senate.
Isaac, now I know why you won’t go back where you came from. They don’t have a 1st amendment and what pompously blather here would be considered hate speech.
How sad that Republicans are still allowing these criminals to run circles around them.
Rinos, not Republicans. Whats sad is that the electorate keeps installing these rinos.
You need to take a look at who gives the money to every candidate including Republican primary challengers. If its the Kroch bros or the military industrial complex, maybe don’t vote for the Republican primary candidates who are open quislings of global finance?
We need some real political education to happen in the Republican party and some real organization. But the funding comes from rotten sources and they perpetuate bad things.
Trump has succeeded in SPITE of the rest of the Republican party infrastructure, such small infrastructure as it is.
Thank you AG Barr and Durham for letting them run out the clock.
Yeah VV I guess stay behind teams to disrupt incoming POTUSes are ok now so long as they’ve got enough deep state approvals on their slate
Ridiculous, ludicrous, and absurd; yup, a lot of that going around. It’s known as the White House Virus-45. So, what else ya got?
You used my talking points, issac. You were supposed to use the talking points provided in this morning’s zoom meeting. Don’t use my talking points or else people will think we are trolls working for the same organization
+10
Hey, how come the checks are late?
Ask Pelosi.
Boom!!!!
I don’t need testimony from another deep state government employee. Question, “Blah, Blah, Blah.” Answer from Clinton, Comey and now McCabe, “Idon’t know, I can’t remember.”
Did you see how many times Trump said “I don’t recall” in his written responses to Mueller’s questions?
But, but, but… Trump.
Use your brain.
McCabe is gaming the system and using idiots like you for cover.
This is the same McCabe who violated the law and would squash you without a thought if it suited him.
Are you dumb or has TRS warped both your ethics and your brain?
Trump did not use executive privilege to prevent the WH records or the WH attorney’s from testifying. We now know that members of the FBI have altered records, broken laws and withheld information. Trump was transparent, but even his home in Trump Towers in Manhattan (the borough not the city as you believe) was being “bugged” so they probably knew more than Trump (Sarc).
Morality and honesty are not points associated with Anonymous.
Did you see Mueller’s testimony?
It was far worse than “I don’t recall”, it was “I don’t know”, regarding the investigation that he was allegedly overseeing.
Which is why they should have had Weissman testify about the Snipe hunt directly after Mueller.
So?
McCabe is free to do the same – Comey just did.
I would further note that we have now learned – though many of us grasped this from the start – that Mueller had no basis for questioning Trump – Even Horowitz found there was no basis for an investigation after Mid Jan 2017.
And now we find that the entire mess was not merely bought and paid for by Clinton – but that she did so in COLLUSION with the Russians and that CIA/FBI/Obama all KNEW.
Obama is the most corrupt president this country has ever had BY FAR.
And you wish to cover that up ?
He’s just trying to play out the clock until Dems take over in January and shut down the entire investigation.
The Senate should subpoena him.
They wont win Trump in a landslide
He’s just following the hallowed tradition established by the Trump Administration. I see nothing funny about it.
This is a public admission of his guilt. This is not the action of a honest person and an insult to every hard working American who believes in the rule of law which as you know eliminates the Left and their friends. I hope Durham is paying attention..