As a long-standing associate of the Clintons, Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe has long ties with the Democratic establishment. That history was placed into sharp relief this week when he made a hefty down payment on the services of former Clinton counsel Marc Elias. Elias is a critical figure in the ongoing Durham investigation and has been accused of lying to the media to hide the role of the Clinton campaign in funding the Steele dossier. His former law partner Michael Sussmann at Perkins Coie was recently indicted by Durham. Elias has also led efforts to challenge Democratic losses, even as he denounces Republicans for such election challenges. Elias has been sanctioned in past litigation.
Like Sussmann, Elias has left Perkins Coie. He ironically created a law firm specializing in campaign ethics. McAuliffe may be preparing to challenge any win by Republican Glenn Youngkin. He has given $53,680 to the Elias Law Group. McAuliffe does not appear disturbed by Elias’ highly controversial career or his possible exposure in the Durham investigation.
I previously described news accounts linking the firm and Elias to the dossier scandal:
Throughout the campaign, the Clinton campaign denied any involvement in the creation of the so-called Steele dossier’s allegations of Trump-Russia connections. However, weeks after the election, journalists discovered that the Clinton campaign hid payments for the dossier made to a research firm, Fusion GPS, as “legal fees” among the $5.6 million paid to the campaign’s law firm. New York Times reporter Ken Vogel said at the time that Clinton lawyer Marc Elias, with the law firm of Perkins Coie, denied involvement in the anti-Trump dossier. When Vogel tried to report the story, he said, Elias “pushed back vigorously, saying ‘You (or your sources) are wrong.’” Times reporter Maggie Haberman declared, “Folks involved in funding this lied about it, and with sanctimony, for a year.”
It was not just reporters who asked the Clinton campaign about its role in the Steele dossier. John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, was questioned by Congress and denied categorically any contractual agreement with Fusion GPS. Sitting beside him was Elias, who reportedly said nothing to correct the misleading information given to Congress.
The Washington Post also reported that “Elias drew from funds that both the Clinton campaign and the DNC were paying Perkins Coie.”
That makes the choice of counsel astonishing given these allegations from reporters and McAuliffe’s previous assertion that “someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.”
Elias also was the subject of intense criticism after a tweet that some have called inherently racist. Democrats used the recent Georgia election law as a rallying cry for federalizing elections by labelling the law, as described by President Biden, “Jim Crow on steroids.” Biden has been repeatedly called out for demonstrably false statements about the law. Elias argued that Georgia voters could not be expected to be able to read their driver’s licenses correctly — a statement that seemed to refer to minority voters who would be disproportionately impacted by such a requirement.
Elias’ work embodies the inherent hypocrisy of some advocates and some in the media on election challenges. He often solicits contributions to challenge election results while denouncing Republicans for challenging election results.
That contradiction has been readily apparent in the Virginia election. McAuliffe brought in Stacey Abrams to campaign for him. She has repeatedly declared that the Republicans stole the election when she ran in Georgia. (Abrams was criticized for not conceding after the election). At one rally, McAuliffe repeated the claim that “she [Abrams] would be the governor of Georgia today had the governor of Georgia [Republican Brian Kemp] not disenfranchised 1.4 million Georgia voters before the election! That’s what happened to Stacey Abrams. They took the votes away.”
Elias, McAuliffe, and others the media have denounced Republican challenges as advancing “the Big Lie” of stolen or rigged voting in the last election. Yet, Abrams’ defeat is being attributed to a rigged system in Georgia.
Elias has not been criminally charged in his actions related to the 2020 election. Yet, bringing Elias into the Virginia race in the midst of the Durham investigation is an astonishing decision by McAuliffe. There are a host of election lawyers but McAuliffe selected an attorney accused of lying to the media, advancing rejected conspiracy theories, and currently involved in a major federal investigation that has already led to the indictment of his former partner.
Then again McAuliffe previously declared “You help me, I’ll help you. That’s politics.”
Look at the book: “Is Atheism Dead?” By the GREAT ERIC METAXAS.
“Trump initially told the crow to “fight like hell”.”
Tell us what coach doesn’t tell his athletes to fight like hell? You are an idiot.
“And 1/6 was clearly an insurrection.”
Only an idiot would call Jan 6 an insurrection, when no one entering the Capitol had weapons that had any mass destruction capabilities. You are Stupid and that is why I call you Anonymous the Stupid. Everyone should call you by that name at least once just to let you know how you sound and help you become a better person.
Anonymous says:
“Correct. But several attorneys associated with Trump are in trouble with multiple state bars: John Eastman is under review by the CA Bar, Michael Cohen was disbarred, Giuliani is suspended from the NY and DC Bars, Sidney Powell is under review by the TX Bar, …”
And Turley will not come to the defense of these lying Trumpist lawyers. Nor does he criticize his network, Fox, for banning these lawyers from appearing on its programs. Presumably, he believes these Trumpist lawyers should be disciplined and disgraced for their bad faith and bogus legal analysis; otherwise, he would say something.
So it is easy to see where Turley stands by virtue of his silence- he is OPPOSED to Trumpism despite what you Trumpists here imagine. Turley won’t say so in so many words, but his allowing these Trumpist lawyers to get thrown under the bus without any objection says it all….
The bar is notoriously bad at “disciplining” lawyers – further, it has no legitimate role in doing so outside of actual violations of the rules of professional conduct.
With respect to the examples you cited – I do not know Eastman, and while you are correct that Cohen was Trump’s lawyer – when he turned on Trump – he became YOUR Lawyer. Regardless, Cohen has ethical problems, they do not have anything to do with Trump.
While Gulliani did a poor job challenging election fraud – there are a number of stories criticising his performance – he was drinking heavily and not providing effective representation, at the same time – all the BS about Guilliani and the Biden’s and Ukraine has turned to $hit.
Guilliani was right, there was no “debunked right wink conspiracy” – There is PLENTY to see in the Biden’s corrupt dealings when Joe was VP.
Todate while significant evidence of election fraud everywhere anyone has bothered to look, and there is plenty of evidence that Dominion executives were rabidly biased anti-Trump loons, and there is evidence of serious problems with some DVS equipment, there is NOT evidence that DVS altered vote counts. That claim by Sydney Powell was an error. It was also a mistake for her to focus on that specific fraud claim in here efforts to seek real inquiry into the serious problems with the 2020 election.
The best claim – which SCOTUS improperly failed to take up – was the TX claim – that the failure of other states to follow their own laws disenfranchised the people in states that did. That claim is inarguably true. In fact democrats gloated that they had done exactly that in the Time article. There is absolutely no secret to the fact that democrats accross the country – though primarily in swing states either gutted, ignored or just made up new election laws willy nilly.
So Powell picked the wrong claim to focus on. Whoop Di Do.
Powell did a stellar job of defending Flynn, and if you want to disbar someone – you should disbar Judge Sullivan.
A judge is not a prosecutor.
Frankly the entire Flynn case was nonsense from start to finish.
We know the agents involved were themselves both biased and corrupt.
We know that the power of government was being abused for political purposes in targeting Flynn.
Lets try something easy – and see if you can be honest.
Was it moral. ethical, legal – for the FBI to target the Trump campaign – including Gen. Flynn, based on the pack of lies that the Clinton campaign provided them ?
If you think that it EVER might have been legitimate – do you understand that once the primary sub source for the Steele Dossier told the FBI in Jan 2017 that it was all garbage, that continuing to investigate Trump, the Trump campaign, Flynn, … was no longer in any plausible way moral, ethical or legal ?
Do you understand that EVERYTHING that occurred after that is inherently immoral, unethical and illegal – corrupt ?
That is everything the FBI did. That is the entire Mueller investigation.
Do you understand that both FBI actions and the Entire Mueller investigation was hounding innocent people without legitimate legal foundation ?
Do you understand that the press and the democratic party are all complicit in this misconduct ?
The Democratic party – both for feeding garbage to DOJ and the FBI AND for continuing to push a raft of false narratives – LIES for YEARS afterwards.
The Press for failing to do its job. For failing to actually investigate this. For continuing to trust over and over sources that lied to them repeatedly.
Trump was able to – as you say “involve the nuclear option” – because of all the lying, and immoral, illegal, and unethical conduct.
If you can not accept the truth of these events – why should your judgement on anything else be trusted ?
“That makes the choice of counsel astonishing given these allegations from reporters and McAuliffe’s previous assertion that “someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.”
Not if McAuliffe knows any such case he makes against a Youngkin victory will depend on skillful lies.
Already spreading the narrative that the election may not be decided in Virginia on Election Day. They need more days to add to the D’s final count by fraud.
And why wouldn’t McAuliffe and Elias use these corrupt tactics? These procedures won them the Presidency and Senate in 2020 in full view of the country while Republican state legislatures and quivering courts did little. And all we got in exchange for the widespread irregularities was a few well-intentioned Senators mildly calling for an examination of the state processes before blind acceptance of questionable results and a large Capitol protest lasting a day.
The design was to implement processes easy to exploit in key urban centers of required battleground states with friendly apparatus. The processes were difficult to audit in a time frame that could rectify the fraud. Elias was the legal muscle, having proven his mettle with these tactics in several 2018 California congressional races. Molly Hemmingway’s book, “Rigged”, is an excellent walk through the Democrats’ strategy and the difficult decisions the courts faced in ultimately choosing to stand down.
Let’s hope the Republicans are better prepared in 2022 to defeat these frauds but their current efforts in Virginia are again troubling. Increasingly, the question is becoming how much of a margin must a GOP candidate actually win by in order to overcome the fraud and secure an election. Robert Cahaly of Trafalgar Polling estimated that margin in Pennsylvania to be about 4 to 5 percent given the known historical corruption in Philadelphia and other Democrat machine strongholds. But given the blatant and highly visible behaviors we witnessed in 2020 together with the lack of journalistic integrity to hold the perpetrators accountable, I am doubtfull that an actual limit has yet to be seen. The American electoral system is spiraling into Banana Republic territory.
FriscoDB warns:
“The American electoral system is spiraling into Banana Republic territory”
Turley makes no such warning. Until he expresses such fear, I’ll presume that you are getting hysterical. Turley has never endorsed the election was stolen Trumpist narrative. And he won’t because he is not a liar.
An important reiteration for you multiply on the record for sure…no one here knew where you stood on the matter of 2020 election fraud. You’re best characterized as one of those inflatable punching clowns with a weighted base that no matter how many times you slap it down, it bounces back with the same insipid grin. For weeks we have witnessed you beclown yourself mischaracterising the January 6 protest as an “insurrection”. Why anyone would waste a minute of their life engaging this depth of vapidity is baffling, so I won’t. Delude away.
FriscoDB,
“For weeks we have witnessed you beclown yourself mischaracterising the January 6 protest as an “insurrection”.”
It’s unfortunate you can’t search my posts because *I* have NEVER called 1/6 an “insurrection.” I have called it a “riot.”
I agree that many in the MSN have exaggerated the nature of 1/6 by calling it an insurrection. That characterization has backfired. I also don’t take seriously the gallows pitched on the Mall’s grounds. I don’t believe that the lying Trumpists would have actually hung Pence had they somehow gotten their hands on him. The gallows was a distasteful bit of agit-prop.
I agree with Turley 100% that Trump’s speech was “reckless” and incited the mob to “desecrate” (his words) the Capitol. Turley was disinclined to call for an Impeachment, but he DID call on Congress to pass a *censure* resolution against Trump for his conduct.
I presume that you too agreed with Turley’s reaction and proposal to the events of 1/6.
What about Epps who was accused of being inserted into the crowds by the FBI to stir them up and enter the Capitol? He was seen communicating to others also felt to be involved with him. His picture was on the FBI list, but was suddenly taken down. Funny how Trump told the crowd to be peaceful, yet Epps and those he communicated with seemed to be trying to push the crowd towards violence.
Garland refused to comment on FBI activities.
There is a blackout on anything that shows Jan 6 to have FBI and leftist involvement.
The investigation into the killer of Babbitt still hasn’t been released, nor has a lot of other information along with videos.
“If Revolver News’s previous reporting points to a proactive role of the federal government in relation to the conspiracy cases against Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, the Ray Epps story that follows suggests a similar, yet more egregious, explicit, direct and immediate degree of federal involvement in the breach of the Capitol itself.”
One can read the story at Revolver and Massie’s questions. You can hear Garland on video trying to duck the questions refusing to provide reasonable answers to Congress. He is a political hack that the Dems wanted before the supreme Court. That is how much the Dems value the law.
https://www.revolver.news/2021/10/meet-ray-epps-the-fed-protected-provocateur-who-appears-to-have-led-the-very-first-1-6-attack-on-the-u-s-capitol/
Another poster first provided the revolver address.
Guaranteed … Fairfax County will be the last to be counted … Watch for over 100% turnout there!
“Yet, bringing Elias into the Virginia race in the midst of the Durham investigation is an astonishing decision by McAuliffe.”
The naivete of that statement is astounding.
All the polls show this race to be a dead heat. Judging by recent past performance, that means that Younkin is actually in the lead by at least 5 points.
McAuliffe knows that the only way to overcome this lead is to cheat dramatically. This is why Fairfax has already faced a lawsuit for illegally providing absentee ballots to applicants who didn’t provide required information (last four digits of SSN). That was a clearly illegal action, but the ballots have already gone out, nothing can be done about it now except chide them sternly for breaking the law.
Subsequent to that, the same locality has already requested for Northam to approve waiving the witness signature requirements on returned absentee ballots. Northam hasn’t responded yet…my theory is he’s waiting to see how much cheating is required to put McAuliffe over the top before answering…we won’t know that until after Nov 2, so expect a decision on that day or perhaps the next; definitely while counting is still underway.
At any rate, those two elements combined means that Fairfax can just manufacture as many votes as they need to install McAuliffe regardless of the will of the voters.
Elias may be unsavory, but his expertise is in election fraud. In this case, his expertise will be employed in defending against the inevitable evidence that emerges after McAuliffe is declared the winner. You know, things like video evidence of democrat poll workers kicking out all the observers, then pulling hidden boxes of ballots out from under a table and running them through the counting machines several times. Pictures of poll workers taping cardboard over the windows of the counting rooms so observers can’t see in. Affidavits from people reporting ballots being delivered to the counting center in the dead of night, many hours after all the polls have closed…things like that.
And if the Republicans remain true to form, they’ll buy the excuses, dismiss any evidence of foul play and meekly go along with the election being stolen in plain sight…just like they did in 2020.
It doesn’t matter who people vote for, McAuliffe is going to be Virginia’s next governor. Our rulers have decreed it. So be it.
We no longer have elections, we have a maskirovska designed just to keep the peasants appeased by providing the illusion of “government by the people”.
Sailorcurt warns:
“We no longer have elections, we have a maskirovska designed just to keep the peasants appeased by providing the illusion of “government by the people”.
When Turley shares your paranoid concerns, I’ll believe it. Until then, you are simply “working the refs.”
Elias brings much to the table. He led the fraud in 2018 and 2020, and here in broad daylight, he now uses one of the tactics in Virginia.
https://nationalfile.com/virginia-dems-cited-300000-mail-in-ballot-delay-days-before-election-officials-media-said-results-may-not-be-known-on-election-day/
God is the first most powerful being in the universe. Satan is the second most powerful being in the
universe. If God doesn’t stop Satan, then who is the most powerful being in the universe?
Still God. He can still allow Satan to “succeed”.
God’s judgement will come upon those who reject Him.
Lon asks:
“If God doesn’t stop Satan, then who is the most powerful being in the universe?”
Dark Energy which is accelerating the expansion of the universe. It accounts for roughy 68% of the total energy of the observable universe. Of course, that fact presupposes that you believe in science and not the beliefs of pre-scientific Bronze Age myths.
Look at the book: “Is Atheism Dead?” By the GREAT ERIC METAXAS.
Lon says:
“Look at the book: “Is Atheism Dead?” By the GREAT ERIC METAXAS.”
Why don’t you give me his thesis. I am too busy to pick up a new book.
OT: How dumb are Democrats: The Biden administration hates American families. Tax dollars to go to law breakers.
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U.S. in Talks to Pay Hundreds of Millions to Families Separated at Border
Government is considering payments of $450,000 per person affected by Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy in 2018
https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-to-release-new-framework-on-1-75-trillion-social-spending-and-climate-package-11635422127?mod=hp_lead_pos1
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Article 1, Section 8, provides Congress the power to tax only for “…general Welfare…” (physical infrastructure) not individual welfare, specific welfare, redistribution or charity.
ALL WELL PROCEED. All, not one, a few or some. The “stimulation” checks went to all and were constitutional and something Congress has the power to tax for; these checks must be equal.
The SCOTUS swears an oath to support the “manifest tenor” of the Constitution.
This and all similar tax proposals must be struck down immediately, and with extreme prejudice, by the SCOTUS.
At what point does the judicial branch begin completing its sworn duty?
ANON “ALL WELL PROCEED. All, not one, a few or some. The “stimulation” checks went to all and were constitutional and something Congress has the power to tax for; these checks must be equal” NOT TRUE Thyere were income limitations (ceilings) nfor a single individual, Head of household and married filing joint. One could receive a pro-rate amount. The ceilings change fron first stim check through the third stem check. I am not an attorney but It seems the US Constitution prohibits the taxing directly property-assets. I also see that the US Constitution is secondary to Dems and some others. From the USSC on down just like religion, they are all FLEXIBLE to personal desires and social nedds as they perceive it. . Even the US Gov’t taxing a Decedent’s Estate Assets subsequent to death, if above the so-called-exemption amounts would be Unconstitutional.