Steve Bannon, a former chief White House strategist, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced to a combined 7.5 years in prison, but he was released to home confinement in May because of the health risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic in federal prison.

Roger Stone, a longtime Republican political operative who advised Trump during the campaign, was convicted of lying to Congress and obstructing its investigation into Russian election meddling and sentenced to three years in prison. Last month, Trump commuted the sentence of his longtime confidant, just days before Stone was set to report to prison.

Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to investigators about meetings with Russians while in the White House. He cooperated with Mueller under a plea agreement.

George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, served 14 days in prison and was ordered to pay a $9,500 fine and complete 200 hours of community service.
— USA Today, 8/20/20

We know that some of these people were set up by federal law enforcement and in at least one case, documents that could have exonerated one was altered and submitted to give a false impression of guilt. The person who committed that breach of trust and federal crime is now asking for leniency so he doesn’t have to go to prison.

Kevin Clinesmith made a grievous mistake. By altering a colleague’s email, he cut a corner in a job that required far better of him. He failed to live up to the FBI’s and his own high standards of conduct. And he committed a crime. Kevin pled guilty and accepts full responsibility. He deeply regrets his conduct and apologizes to all those who have been affected—including his former colleagues, the FBI, the DOJ, the Court, the public, and his family.

Not specifically to Carter Page; the man he tried to have imprisoned by his “grievous mistake”. Now, cue the violins….

Since the inception of the government’s investigation, Kevin has been devastated personally and professionally. And the financial and emotional costs of this ordeal have had a profound impact on him and his family.

As a result of his conduct, Kevin has lost his career and professional identity. He no longer works for the FBI and his conviction likely precludes him from ever working for the federal government again, let alone in his chosen field of law enforcement and intelligence, which was his true passion since college. Moreover, Kevin has lost his livelihood. His non-attorney job prospects are also bleak. For one thing, he will likely be unable to qualify for a security clearance, which will significantly hinder his ability to obtain a private sector role relating to national security, where his skills and competencies lie. Indeed, since leaving the FBI, despite his best efforts Kevin has been unable to find work. As a result, he and his family have and will continue to suffer financially, as evidenced by their negative monthly cash flow.

Michael Flynn would probably ask Clinesmith how it feels?

A sentence that includes incarceration is therefore unnecessarily harsh because it would expose Kevin to a greater risk of severe illness caused by COVID-19. On the other hand, a sentence of probation—which would be the most appropriate sentence even if there were no pandemic—would limit the risks that COVID-19 presents to Kevin as well as prison inmates and staff.
— Sentencing memo for Kevin Clinesmith, 12/3/20

When Clinesmith altered a federal document intent on framing Carter Page, did he consider the potential prison time he be sentencing an innocent man to serve? With all the lawyering-up and the costs associated with having to defend himself, did Clinesmith consider Page had suffered enough? Did Clinesmith consider Page’s life being “devastated” and his reputation ruined?

Obviously not, as Clinesmith’s action dictated. These actions, along with the persecution of those in the Trump orbit, show that those involved with the attempted sabotage of his 2016 campaign and presidency had no inhibitions when it came to ruining the livlihoods of those they sought to attack and showed no restraint when it came to their ability to deprive the politically innocent of their freedom.

People like Peter Strzok, Andrew McCabe, John Brennan, James Clapper, and especially Robert Mueller (who has a documented record of intentionally sending the innocent to prison), are horrible human beings. They have no problem sleeping at night after knowing they can weaponize their personal politics and use the power of federal law enforcement to financially ruin their accused but also technically sentence some to death in prison just because they can.

Clinesmith deserves no leniency because deliberate failure to upload the laws and Constitution of the United States should be considered the callous breaking of a blood oath. Should the day ever come where the #resistance coup-plotters ever face long-overdue justice, they should be sentenced harshly, without mercy, and to the fullest extent of the law.

UPDATE

The two-tier justice system strikes again.

Former FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, 38, received the sentence of 12 months probation (and 400 hours community service) from U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg Friday during a video hearing.

Clinesmith admitted that in June 2017 he sent an altered email to an FBI agent that indicated a target of court-ordered FBI surveillance, former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, was “not a source” for the Central Intelligence Agency. The statement, passed along as the FBI was applying for a third extension of surveillance of Page, made Page’s actions seem more suspicious by downplaying his past cooperation with the CIA.

The sentencing hearing featured an impassioned speech from Page, in which the energy industry analyst complained that his life was turned upside down by the media firestorm that followed public disclosure of the fact that he was a focus of the FBI probe into potential Russian influence on the Trump campaign.
— Politico, 1/29/21

They can make the lives of Americans hell but we can’t make their lives any more uncomfortable than necessary.

Rep. Devin Nunes and other Republicans blasted the probation sentence with no prison time for ex-FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who pleaded guilty to fraudulently altering a CIA email during the FBI’s flawed pursuit of surveillance against former Trump campaign associate Carter Page.

Nunes, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who unearthed a host of problems with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act process in the Trump-Russia investigation, told the Washington Examiner that “once again, we see a two-tiered system of justice where average Americans get investigated and imprisoned based on fake media narratives like ‘Russian collusion’ while government officials who perpetuated these abuses get off scot-free.” He added: “The FBI, DOJ, and judicial system need to regain Americans’ trust, and this absurd sentencing won’t help.”. 

Other Republicans also expressed outrage at the judge’s decision.

“This sentence is absolutely despicable,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told the Examiner.

“An FBI agent falsified evidence in one of the Bureau’s most important investigations ever and a slap on the wrist isn’t going to cut it,” Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said in a statement.

Sasse added, “this isn’t traffic court” and argued, “America only works if the truth matters, if lying has consequences, and if public servants are held accountable for breaking the laws.”
— Washington Examiner, 1/29/21

See how it works?

But once Donald Trump was elected president, they’re the first to tell us why WE must support him.

Kellyanne Conway is one who made it into the White House.

For those looking for an in with Trump, White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway is a good bet. The first woman to run a winning presidential campaign, she has proved herself a convincing voice in the President’s ear. Although Conway has become a less frequent presence on cable news, she remains a tireless defender of the administration, never shying away from a fight.
— Fortune, 9/24/19

It wasn’t always that way….

During the primaries, Conway had helped run Keep the Promise, a Ted Cruz super pac, and that Trump had criticized Cruz’s wife’s appearance. “And yet Conway still goes to work for that man?”
— The New Yorker, 10/17/16

Kellyanne Conway was often quite critical of candidate Trump, especially when she could continue to raise personal facetime exposure on #FakeNews television.

…
One other important note: Kellyanne Conway is NOT the first woman to “run” a presidential campaign. She was essentially the late closer.

Without Corey Lewandowski’s leadership out of the box, who knows? Conway wasn’t the starter or middle relief. She inherited a gift: a brilliant candidate who took all the incoming flak from the Democrats and their media, literally did all the legwork and getting the enthusiasm needed was nothing that required the coordination of a campaign manager.

Conway is another of those whose convictions can be bought as long as there’s a professional and monetary benefit. It could be argued that the sentiments of her husband George today were pretty close to hers, that is until she could jump ship to the frontrunner and eventual winner.

Had Donald Trump lost the 2016 election, do you really think Kellyanne Conway would accept blame for the loss or would she pin it on the candidate and those who ran the campaign before her?

Then again, we are talking about those whose principles can be bought so having it both ways comes with the territory.

That is, until a few were introduced to the world of candidate-and-now President Donald Trump. They are now an insignificant means to an end for his removal from office.

Michael Flynn pleaded guilty late last year to lying about the subject of conversations he had with high-ranking Russian officials after President Donald Trump won the election, but before he took office. “All along you were an unregistered agent of a foreign country while serving as the national security adviser to the president of the United States,” U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan said at Tuesday’s hearing. “Arguably, that undermines everything that flag over here stands for.”
— Politico, 12/18/18

While the media in-concert shouted-out U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan’s admonishment to Flynn that “You sold your country out”, they’re selectively omitting his “walking back” the statement.

“I made a statement about Mr. Flynn acting as a foreign agent in the White House,” he said. Sullivan added that he realized that was incorrect.

The left, ever since the initial indictment of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, has played fast and loose with his being guilty of some form of treason. They kinda’ need (again) to read up on what they talk about before going there.

Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
— 18 U.S. Code § 2381 – Treason

Not sure what war enemy we’re engaged with that Michael Flynn offered aid-and-comfort to but the selective enforcement of the law with regards to “foreign lobbyists” is jacked.

Anyone who’s spent any time in and around Capitol Hill knows that lobbyists bring millions of dollars aimed at politicians in office and those who wannabe. Anyone in the DOJ or FBI need be very wary that those they hassle today could either be placed in the chain of command above them or have the ability to affect their department as a whole or even individually later.

Thus, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) is widely blown off until something blows up they can’t avoid… or people involved are those federal law enforcement deems worthy of targeting. Collateral human damage under said target is something these prosecutors are callously indifferent to no matter how many lives are damaged.

For the most part, high-profile documented enforcement of FARA can total the number of fingers in less than two hands.

Bijan Kian and Ekim Alptekin are accused in an indictment of conspiring to “covertly and unlawfully” influence U.S. public opinion and politicians, all while concealing that the Turkish government was directing their work. The campaign came during the final months of the 2016 presidential campaign while Flynn was a top surrogate for Trump’s campaign. Both men are charged with conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. Alptekin is also charged with lying during an interview with the FBI.
— Associated Press, 12/17/18

Had it not been for Flynn’s involvement with Donald Trump, Kian and Alptekin would be living their lives here today just fine.

A Russian gun rights activist pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring with a senior Russian official to infiltrate the conservative movement in the United States as an agent for the Kremlin from 2015 until her arrest in July. In plea papers, prosecutors agreed to drop a second count against Russian national Maria Butina of violating a law that requires foreigners working for their government to register with the U.S. Justice Department. There is no suggestion in the documents that Butina was employed by the Russian intelligence services, but violations of the law are considered more serious than a separate law that requires registration by paid lobbyists for foreign entities.
— Washington Post, 12/13/18

Had it not been for the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School and the expected, yet amped-up ire against the NRA, Butina would be living her life here today just fine.

The prosecution of Nisar Ahmed Chaudhry reflects what current and former Justice Department officials say is an aggressive enforcement strategy against unregistered foreign agents that began even before special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation exposed a shadowy world of international influence peddling. The effort comes amid revelations about Russian attempts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election and a stream of high-profile foreign-agent filings from President Donald Trump’s associates.
— US News, 5/22/18

Had it not been for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign defeat and looking for anyone and everyone else to blame, Chaudhry would be living his life here today just fine.

Federal law requires people to disclose to the Justice Department when they lobby or perform other political activities in the U.S. on behalf of foreign governments. But the Justice Department has rarely brought criminal cases, choosing instead to encourage people to comply with the law rather than prosecute them when they fail to do so.
— Firstpost, 5/8/18

Is this another case of fat and comfortable federal employees not doing their job unless it will result in higher pay and greater retirement benefits? The case could be made.

While both firms disclosed the work to Congress under less-rigorous domestic lobbying rules, John and Tony Podesta did not initially register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The indictment alleges that was done intentionally — by routing the money through a Brussels-based nonprofit — “to minimize public disclosure of their lobbying campaign” that “was under the ultimate direction” of Viktor F. Yanukovych, the Russia-aligned former president of Ukraine, his party and his government.
— New York Times, 11/20/17

There are too many partisans within the Justice Department to ever let any details of Democrat/Clinton malfeasance see the light of day. See: “Uranium One“….

The U.S. government charges Victor Podobnyy, an alleged Russian intelligence operative in New York City and two other Russian operatives for acting as unregistered agents of a foreign government, after it had broken up a Russian spy ring aimed at seeking information on U.S. sanctions. Federal prosecutors include the Russian intelligence effort to recruit Carter Page as part of the government’s evidence.
— Slate, 11/7/17

Had it not been for Carter Page’s low-level position on the Trump for President campaign, Podobnyy would be living his life here today just fine.

“The U.S. Department of Justice has only brought six criminal FARA prosecutions since 1966 and it has secured only one conviction during this period,” said Kevin Downing, Paul Manafort’s defense attorney. “It is far from clear what activity triggers a requirement to file a report as a foreign agent.”
— CNN, 11/6/17

Had it not been for his very brief stint at the helm of the 2016 Trump campaign, Manafort would be living his life today just fine.

New Abedin emails released to Judicial Watch this week show that Huma Abedin served as liaison between Clinton Foundation donors, including foreign governments, and the State Department. When foreign donors had difficult in getting appointments with Mrs. Clinton through normal State Department channels, Clinton Foundation executive Douglas Band would email Huma Abedin, and poof! the doors would open as if by magic. Donald Trump has criticized this as “pay for play.” But it also raises questions as to whether Huma Abedin and Mrs. Clinton were in fact serving as unregistered agents for foreign powers who sought to impose their anti-freedom agenda on the United States.
— The Hill, 8/23/16

Had it not been for her husband’s attention-getting debauchery while having a potential president’s ear, Huma would be living her life today just fine.

And not many of these “unregistered foreign agents” met with much scrutiny during most of the Obama administration.

All 10 suspected Russian spies who pleaded guilty in a federal court in New York have been flown out of the United States and are now headed for Russia. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on July 8 refused to comment on the case, saying, “I am going to refer all inquiry about this matter to the Justice Department.” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on July 8 that the “extraordinary” case had taken years of work, “and the agreement we reached today [July 8] provides a successful resolution for the United States and its interests.”
— Radio Free Europe, 7/9/10

They plead guilty and served no jail time, in fact they got to go home. This shows how seriously being an “unregistered foreign agent” is really taken, that is until you have any kind of association with someone Democrats don’t like, if not downright hate.

They’ll use the almost unlimited prosecutorial budget of the federal government to attack your reputation, invade the privacy of your home at their whim, force you to incur hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to defend yourself in court proceedings, and as you may be that little fish they don’t really want, you may have to spend a few days in jail because of flimsy charges and/or prosecutorial funny business, if at all.

Think about all the things these liberal Democrats did, fully expecting Hillary to win, figuring the American people would never know… ever. So let’s forget being polite and call this what it was: a coup attempt.

The wrongdoing probably includes attempting to warp a U.S. election, Russian collusion, repeatedly misleading and lying before the FISA courts, improperly surveilling American citizens, unmasking the names of citizens swept up in unlawful surveillance and then illegally leaking them to the press, disseminating and authenticating opposition smears during a political campaign, lying under oath to Congress, obstructing ongoing investigations, using federal funds to purchase ad hominem gossip against a presidential candidate, blatant conflicts of interests, weaponizing federal investigations, trafficking in and leaking classified information.
— National Review, 2/13/17

Despite the fact there’s been ZERO evidence (let alone proof of even intention) the Trump campaign sought and/or utilized Putin’s formidable Russian Internet apparatus to thwart Hillary’s longtime political ambition, there will come a time when this will all be over; many on the right are ready to hurl hundreds of thousands “We told you so” messages at the left and their media expecting them to issue acknowledgement they were wrong.

You’d think we’d know liberals by now.

Wholesale, the media will NEVER admit they were very wrong because, aside from their fragile sense of intellectual superiority, many have a lot to lose with any admission… like their freedom.

#DrainTheSwamp

If you’ve spent any time in and or around Washington, D.C., you’ll know that while there are many good Americans who came to serve their country with the best of intentions, you’ll also see that there are way too many who’ve come for a career and at the end of the day, that pension for life is the shiny thing that can cloud judgment. For some, it’s all about the power one can amass in the right job. With that climb to the top comes a lifestyle that revolves around some of wealthiest counties in the nation, meaning these people have a lot to lose if they get busted and they will eagerly use the power of the United States government to keep that from happening.

Too Big to Believe

Something is happening now at the FBI, with the Washington wagons circling the agency to protect it from charges of corruption. This time, the appropriate tag line is “too big to believe.” Yet each day brings credible reports suggesting there is a massive scandal involving the top ranks of America’s premier law enforcement agency. The reports, which feature talk among agents of a “secret society” and suddenly missing text messages, point to the existence both of a cabal dedicated to defeating Donald Trump in 2016 and of a plan to let Hillary Clinton skate free in the classified email probe.

If either one is true — and I believe both probably are — it would mean FBI leaders betrayed the nation by abusing their powers in a bid to pick the president. Talk about irony. While Dems and the left-wing media already found Trump guilty of collusion before Mueller was appointed, the real scandal might be the conduct of the probers themselves.
— New York Post, 1/23/18

While some are clamoring for yet another special prosecutor to investigate the Clinton campaign connections to election malfeasance, that’s really the last thing we need and the problem is, if we let these fat-and-happy career federal employees get away with this, what’s to stop it from happening again? Yes, it would be nice to hear media reports of FBI agents kicking in the door of the Comey household at 4:30am, as well as some of the other known operatives involved in the Fusion GPS-produced “dossier”.

It would be nice to see so many of these people go through what they put Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn through: have to hire pricey lawyers to defend themselves against a government that won’t have to deplete bank accounts or refinance a home just to fend off ambitious career government employees eyeing an office one or two floors up and the generous taxpayer-funded pay raises that come with them.

It is a perceived luxury enjoyed by federal prosecutors that routinely charge others with even borderline false statements but rarely face such charges themselves. While most prosecutors adhere to the highest ethical standards, a minority of Justice Department lawyers have been accused of false or misleading statements in federal cases. However, they are virtually never charged with false statements by their colleagues. There is no such reluctance in using this easily charged crime against targets outside of the department.

The issue is whether a different set of rules applies to the Justice Department than the one that it applies to the rest of us.
— The Hill, 3/5/18

Oh, and by the way, even if investigators KNOW you’re innocent, you’ll still be pressured into a guilty plea because the ends justify their political and career means.

We’ve been told as long as I have been aware of the name Robert Mueller, we are told that Mr. Mueller is a man of impeccable character, a man of refined tastes, a man of immense sophistication and qualification. But this doesn’t fit with a man of the impeccable reputation that Robert Mueller has. And the idea that he’s a cut above and he’s got this integrity that’s unassailable, this character that nobody else can approach, this decency and honesty that is unique, BS.

Michael Flynn, who the FBI didn’t even believe had lied to them, has lost his house and had to plead guilty in order to pay legal fees. And, meanwhile, everybody’s worried about poor Andrew McCabe and he might not get his pension if Jeff Sessions fires him before Friday. This investigation of Trump is damaging and ruining a lot of people.
— Rush Limbaugh, 3/15/18

I think anyone with a reasonable lawyer would succumb to the demands of someone like a Mueller with unrestrained prosecutorial power because he clearly could care less about the innocence of anyone between him and his goal.

Did Robert Mueller, the special counsel who is currently trying to frame President Donald Trump, take part in a much earlier FBI frame up that sent four innocent men to prison for more than 30 years, and resulted in an eventual settlement of more than $100 million for false imprisonment? The answer appears to be yes.
— Howie Carr, 3/22/18

We’re beginning to see hard evidence of a pattern where federal law enforcement malfeasance is covered up and seemingly rewarded despite the damage it causes to the lives of Americans.

Nobody gets fired in the swamp. Obama never fired anybody. George W. Bush didn’t. These people screw up left and right. They never get fired. Trump, he’s firing people. Oh, oh, the swamp is taken aback. This doesn’t happen. Gotta be some sort of abnormality, conspiracy or something. It just doesn’t happen. Swamp people don’t get fired. That’s one of the benefits of being in the establishment is you do not get fired. You get reassigned, your kids maintain their health care, you maintain your career and future, but you do not get fired. Well, not in Trump world. In Trump world you get canned and you get called out for it. And people find out why you got canned before you find out. Do not discount this.

Did Lois Lerner get fired? Did anybody that had anything to do with that botched Benghazi thing get fired? Did anybody ever get fired? No. They’re promoted! They’re shifted, they’re transferred, they are protected.
— Rush Limbaugh, 3/13/18

Going back, Robert Mueller presided over an FBI that had no problem sending the innocent to prison as long as they got what they wanted. The now-infamous Whitey Bulger-Winter Hill gang bungle is a prime example.

In 2001, the four men convicted of Teddy Deegan’s murder were exonerated. Turned out the FBI let them take the rap to protect one of their informants, a killer named Vincent “Jimmy” Flemmi, who just happened to be the brother of their other rat, Stevie Flemmi. Thanks to the FBI’s corruption, taxpayers got stuck with the $100 million bill for compensating the framed men, two of whom, Louis Greco and Henry Tameleo, died in prison.

Four years ago, when questioned about the FBI’s corruption in Boston, Mueller told the Globe, “I think the public should recognize that what happened, happened years ago.”

That’s true. And we still don’t know what really happened.
— Boston Globe, 7/24/11

Funny how that keeps happening while it appears some in the FBI are as heartless as those they investigate and prosecute.

Fox News has learned that the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility made the recommendation to terminate FBI official Andrew McCabe. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reviewing that recommendation and if he approves it by Friday at 5 p.m. EDT, McCabe would not receive his pension benefits.

On Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum” on Thursday, George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley told MacCallum that McCabe possibly should be more concerned about his own legal jeopardy, pointing out that if he misled investigators, he could be charged like former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
— Fox News, 3/15/18

While the media quickly moved on, many people who may be tied to this scandal know that bad things can happen to those who threaten the ambitions, comfort and/or freedom of the DC political and career-employee elite.

Now, there are those who can NEVER admit they were wrong about the Trump-Russia “collusion” because that would make them out to be either extremely gullible, stupid or in real legal jeopardy. Not a good set of legal options for financially-dependent professionals.

Optimism Interruptus

Inspector General Michael Horowitz pointed out #swamp self-protection put in place by the Obama administration in 2010; a problem his team circumnavigates today and turning it back on the abusers.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced Wednesday he will review potential Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuses by both the Justice Department and the FBI, following requests from Congress and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
— Fox News, 3/28/18

Newly uncovered text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page suggest a possible coordination between high-ranking officials at the Obama White House, CIA, FBI, Justice Department and former Senate Democratic leadership in the early stages of the investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to GOP congressional investigators on Wednesday. The investigators say the information provided to Fox News “strongly” suggests coordination between former President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, then-Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, and CIA Director John Brennan — which they say would “contradict” the Obama administration’s public stance about its hand in the process.
— Fox News, 3/28/18

Horowitz’ report of “no bias” in the Clinton email investigation was more like the good ole boys covering each other’s fat asses as long as they can. Fortunately, some would have none of it.

ONLY because of the public awareness and sheer sophistry of the findings, one may be facing the music.

News Tuesday that FBI agent Peter Strzok was escorted from the FBI building and effectively suspended from his duties was long overdue and a welcome development. Strzok improperly sent numerous harsh anti-Trump texts during the 2016 presidential campaign in exchanges with an FBI colleague he was romantically involved with.

Strzok was removed last summer by Special Counsel Robert Mueller as the lead FBI agent in Mueller’s probe of Russian interference in the presidential election and possible Trump campaign collusion with the Russians, after Strzok’s texts blasting candidate Donald Trump were discovered. Strzok was reassigned to the FBI’s Human Resources Division until he was escorted out of the agency, reportedly on Friday.

Strzok removal from the FBI building “put Strzok on notice that the bureau intends to fire him,” The Washington Post reported.
— Fox News, 6/19/18

Don’t hold your breath.

Liberal Activists and Nonprofits

In 2009, hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets to declare themselves Taxed Enough Already in opposition to the agenda of Barack Obama and the Democrat-controlled Capitol Hill. Opportunistic “conservatives” saw dollar signs and co-opted the Tea Party movement for personal notoriety and monetary gain.

Conversely, liberals saw the November 8, 2016 progressive, anti-Trump anger in the streets and also devised ways to take it all the way to the bank.

The election of Donald Trump has lit a fire under people who donate to nonprofit organizations — or, at least, to some nonprofit groups. In the three months after Election Day, the ACLU collected more than $79 million online — more than 60 percent of what the organization spent in all of 2016. Planned Parenthood has been raking in donations as well, though it won’t say how much, possibly because the figure is so large that disclosing it would discourage more giving.
— Vox, 4/24/17

From the Southern Poverty Law Center to Indivisible to the pussy-hat Women’s March to the unpredictable #Antifa punks, liberal groups around the nation have reached out for the nonprofit dollar to oppose anything Trump agenda and most of that has been enhanced by the false claim that the Trump campaign won because the Russians helped him defeat Hillary. Combined, we’re talking millions of dollars; dollars that have maintained a very nice lifestyle for some of their new champions.

Meanwhile money bag-agitators like George Soros have lost millions betting against Trump economics while pumping up nonprofits resisting his agenda and hasn’t lost his shirt.

That would be a horrifying visual.

But money also has a way of making donors less tolerant of lame excuses.

After all of the months of incessant Trump-colluded-with-the-Russians recitations and it’s officially announced it never happened, do you expect these activist nonprofits (some of whom sent out hundreds of email solicitations for donations) admit they were stupid enough to believe this, despite the “dossier” being debunked months ago and STILL no smoking gun?

Russian Meddling Didn’t Decide the Election
The fact that Russian agents fomented both pro- and anti-Trump rallies after the election shows that discord, not a Trump victory, was their only goal all along.
— Wall Street Journal, 2/25/18

Discord is real easy when you have gullible sore-loser petulant children looking for any reason to whine because they didn’t get their way. You think the “Russians” didn’t know whom they were setting up?

It’s almost a sure bet that thousands of progressives donated to these nonprofit activists, partially inspired by the “collusion” storyline and some may demand an explanation as to who verified these allegations before they used as the basis for donations. You think Indivisible will admit they were wrong while trying to meet the next quarter tally so employees can continue to eat and pay their rent while arguing with disgruntled donors who stupidly gave because they were so blinded by Trump hate?

Good luck with that.

The Media

Whether we’re talking about broadcast and cable news operations, late night so-called comedy shows, actors, musicians, or athletes screaming anything anti-Trump has been a collective effort. Entertainers (and their worth is debatable) and athletes are easily dismissed because they have near-zero ability to change public opinion and affect government. The media is another thing altogether.

When Donald Trump came down the elevator at Trump Tower announcing his candidacy, the media laughed at any inference that his campaign would gain any momentum and last a month. When he won the Republican presidential nomination, they assured us he never win the presidency, especially against someone as formidable as Hillary Clinton. When Donald Trump became president-elect, the media blamed bad polls as their excuse for misreading the dissatisfaction of the American voter; not the entitled laziness of a visible sick-and-tired Hillary… that is until they could blame it all on The Russians!

When forced, the media fails miserably to substantiate their 24/7 declarations of Trump campaign guilt.

Network and cable news have spent millions or man hours on story after story with them making declarative statements as to the guilt of candidate and President Donald Trump in “colluding” with the Russians to yank the election from Hillary’s rightful grasp. They’ve had no smoking gun or anything aside from the opinions of pundits who craved the television facetime and would say anything to get invited back on. The more anti-Trump the better. Mention the Russians or the phrase “threat to our democracy” and someone will get your number before you leave the set so they can have you back on soon.

President Barack Obama said Friday that he told Russian President Vladimir Putin in September to “cut it out” in regard to allegations that his nation engaged in cyberattacks against the U.S. electoral process. Obama added that further hacking by Russia did not occur following Obama’s admonition.

Hillary Clinton, for her part, said Russia’s efforts were at least in part to blame for her surprise loss on Election Day.
— Politico, 12/16/16

With that, there’s no way ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, msnbc, CNN, the New York Times, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, HuffPo, or any other left-leaning media company will ever admit to being totally duped by a false Democrat-created narrative and repeating it daily for more than a year. Of course, they’ll NEVER admit to have preferred Hillary Clinton and did everything possible to facilitate her victory. It’s only their limited credibility at stake here.

Credibility… for sale.

These two clowns are no different than these journalists who embed themselves with campaigns and learn all kinds of things that they save until after the election! Things that would have been of relevance before the election! They hide stuff and they save it for their book so that they can get rich on exclusive information, and yet they are reporters of the highest order. And now these two guys, David Corn and Michael Isikoff have done the same thing. They have known for however long they’ve been writing the book that the golden showers story is bogus and that Steele doesn’t even believe it. And only now do people learn it when their book is about to be published. Well, that golden showers story has been the fuel that has rocketed this whole investigation.
— Rush Limbaugh, 3/15/18

Remember, neither Republican or Democrat “memo” had been leaked by some phantom source to the media prior their release because we all know had anything pointed to certified Russian “collusion”, some anonymous “official” would have made sure a copy made it to someone at the New York Times or Washington Post and distributed widely from there.

Like the Election Night victory Trump voters who were denied a celebration because it was hijacked by the hysterical left, don’t look for any humility, contrition, or apology from the no-credibility news media for, happily and with conviction, getting it so wrong for so long. They believe they’re too important for that; just like the political hacks and career government employees who willfully created this mess in the first place.

Again, had it not been for Hillary’s defeat, we’d not have known about any of the abuses by the DOJ-FBI-media and the exclusively Democrat special prosecutor team phishing with our generous tax dollars for “Russian collusion” that they still can’t find any evidence of happening.

But they’ll plot and destroy anyone who impedes their political and professional objectives because who’ll investigate the investigators? Certainly not mere Americans.

The never before seen text messages, which were a part of the texts given to Congress by the Department of Justice, show that FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok and his paramour FBI attorney Lisa Page discussed Strzok’s relationship with U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras, who presided over a Dec. 1, 2017, hearing where former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Strzok was removed from Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel’s Office last year after anti-Trump text messages between him and his FBI agent lover were discovered by the DOJ’s Inspector General Michael Horowitz. But on Dec. 7, without warning, Judge Rudolph Contreras was removed as the presiding judge on Flynn’s case. Little information was given at the time as to why Contreras was removed.
— Sara Carter, 3/16/18

If those who’ve committed crimes (that anyone else would have been prosecuted, fined and/or imprisoned for) are allowed to escape the ramifications for their malicious actions, abuses WILL happen again and any American citizen who runs afoul of an ambitious, partisan, career government employee can and will be targeted for professional and personal destruction at a whim.

Donald Trump wins an election. From the very night of his election victory, the people who lost this election have refused to obey common decency, they have refused to obey the law. The law itself is now unequal. On the Trump side, people are being accused of doing things they didn’t do and are being rendered broke, penniless, defending themselves, while people on the Hillary side actually did break the law, actually did collude, actually did all of these things which are illegal, and they’re not being held accountable for a single bit of it.

Sorry, folks. We cannot have a country where some people are held accountable and other people aren’t. And particularly when people who are thought in their own minds to be at the pinnacle of power, when they’re above the law, when they’re unaccountable and the Drive-By Media fully supports that premise, sorry, folks, where are we headed?
— Rush Limbaugh, 4/25/18

Nowhere fast, if those in immediate peril have any say.

#DrainTheSwamp: Slow Motion

3/17/18: McCabe is fired while the left and their media lament the possible loss of his “career” employee benefits.

For the last year and a half, my family and I have been the targets of an unrelenting assault on our reputation and my service to this country. Articles too numerous to count have leveled every sort of false, defamatory and degrading allegation against us.
— Andrew McCabe statement

Sucks to be like Mike, don’t it? Sad how no concern was displayed by the media when it came to the reputation and welfare of General Flynn, ensnared by the Mueller special counsel and FBI’s defamatory and degrading net.

Andrew McCabe IS not eligible for food stamps as his estimated net worth is around $11 million. How does that happen on a civil servant paycheck, and if he has those kind of assets, why was he so worried about losing taxpayer-funded, legacy benefits?

Because bad things are not supposed to happen to the government career.

The truth is finally coming out.

Andrew McCabe, onetime acting FBI director, leaked a self-serving story to the press and later lied about it to his boss and federal investigators, prompting a stunning fall from grace that ended in his firing last month, says a bombshell report released Friday by the Justice Department’s internal watchdog.
— Fox News, 4/13/18

Panic is setting in for Democrats desperate to retake the House in November.

Truth be told, party leaders are right to be disheartened by setbacks in the War against Trump. For the second time, the president was told he is not a target of Mueller, this time by Rod Rosenstein, the deputy assistant attorney general who created Mueller.

James Comey, of course, is on a book tour that has served a dual function: making him rich while also making him less trustworthy to both Democrats and Republicans. He and McCabe are trading accusations of lying, which is remarkable when you realize how many ordinary Americans they prosecuted for lying to them.

Comey is also attacking former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who responds by accusing him of making up a conversation.
— New York Post, 4/21/18

It can take a long time but those who’ve ruined lives with glee are finally sweating.

Cute how this works: Kick off the week with some “the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted” bombast from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, by which he rationalizes that his defiance of subpoenas and slow-walking document production to Congress — which is probing investigative irregularities related to the 2016 campaign — is required by DOJ policy and “the rule of law.” Then end the week with the Friday-night bad-news dump: the grudging removal of DOJ and FBI redactions from a House Intelligence Committee report on Russia’s election meddling.

Now that we can see what they wanted to conceal, it is clear, yet again, that the Justice Department and the FBI cannot be trusted to decide what the public gets to learn about their decision-making.
— Andrew C. McCarthy, 5/7/18

Let’s not call this the #swamp or #resistance, but call it what it is: an attempted coup d’etat….

… and again had Hillary won, we would have know about none of this and that’s what the #DeepState counted on.

UPDATE

The release of the Mueller report was (according to various media reports) supposed to be released, will be released this week, may be released next week… who knows when it will be released? But the left is beginning to sweat because after the years to accusing President Trump of colluding with the Russians to steal the election from Hillary Clinton, the fact it never happened will soon be made public.

And we all know if there was proof of “collusion”, it would’ve been leaked to the media months ago and impeachment proceedings would have officially begun after Democrats reclaimed control of the House.

It’s beginning to look like there won’t be enough eggs for politicians, pundits, and media faces to go around.

Aside from the seditious perpetrated shenanigans within the alphabet agencies, we can only hope #FakeNews isn’t the only thing they’ll rightfully have to endure for years to come as the media will have slandered a sitting president for years, without proof for years.

Those within the #swamp who attempted to overturn the results of a presidential election must be made a very harsh example of because we all know, once the Democrat left feels they can get away with something, they WILL do it again until they get the results they find acceptable.

Fait Accompli

The long-anticipated Mueller report was delivered to Attorney General William Barr and the left didn’t get what they all assumed they’d get: proof of Russian collusion with Donald Trump to deny Hillary Clinton her assumed presidential victory.

1. President Trump was not indicted, nor did Mueller recommend an indictment against him for collusion or obstruction.

2. There were no major disagreements between Mueller and his managers at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

3. The Russians who tried to interfere in the 2016 election were exposed and charged — but no American was charged with any effort to conspire with Moscow and hijack the election.

4. While nearly three dozen people were charged, including a few close to the president or who worked for his campaign, no one in proximity to the president was formally charged with colluding with Russia. Most, such as former national security adviser Michael Flynn or campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, were charged with process crimes or felonies unrelated to the main case, as in Paul Manafort’s secretive, multimillion-dollar foreign lobbying spree through Ukraine.
— The Hill, 3/22/19

Of course, Democrats and their media will not let an exoneration squelch the false accusation and narrative fed to the American people for over two years.

Let the liberal media meltdown begin.

They’ll never let go of the “collusion” accusation they’ve based their damaged reputations on… again.

Now, Mueller’s investigations leave one major mission unfinished: meting out justice to the intelligence, congressional, FBI and DOJ officials who appear to have used a political dirty trick to falsely weave an unproven narrative of Russia collusion.

There is a two-tier justice system. One for all of us and one for the Democrat-protected. Until we see otherwise, this is the new normal.

Not as much as opposition to Trump but the threat he represented because Democrats no longer were in control of concealing possible illegal activity by her supporters embedded in the federal government. We may find the “Russian collusion” accusation was nothing but a desperation hail-Mary to damage President Trump and keep possible illegal activity from the public forever.

On the eve of the release of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court “memo” on possible abuses against the Trump campaign, we’ve been told repeated by Democrats, their media, and high-ranking law enforcement officials that elements contained therein could be “damaging to national security” if revealed to the general public.

Not all agree.

President Trump plans to allow the release of a controversial memo detailing alleged surveillance abuses at the FBI, according to a senior administration official. The official said Trump will inform Congress of his decision “probably tomorrow,” adding the president did not have any national security objections to releasing it and would likely not request that any material be redacted.
— The Hill, 2/1/18

We’ve all read about the mental gymnastics the Democrats are performing to keep this memorandum from public scrutiny, not to mention the objections from high-ranking FBI and DOJ officials. But if the president doesn’t deem its contents potentially damaging to national security, just who’s security could at risk when the public gets an opportunity to digest four pages?

The Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation has enormous power over we mere private citizens. They can decide to investigate us whenever they deem they have “probable cause”, and subsequently force any citizen to have to spend up to hundreds of dollars to keep ourselves out of prison. They can bash in doors, confiscate our personal property, potentially ruin anyone’s professional reputation, and force you to plea to a lesser charge should they really be after a bigger fish.

The problem now is some of these law enforcement elites are not ready to face the same music gleefully inflicted on the public. Many live in very nice homes in very nice neighborhoods (in and around the Washington, D.C. area), drive very nice personal cars, send their children to exclusive private schools and elite colleges, and are comfortable knowing they can rely on a generous pension when they decide to retire from public service and leapfrog into a safe think tank or university gig.

All of this could be at risk for some of these federal government lifers and to them, THAT is the “security risk”: THEIR personal security and freedom.

More than a thousand applications for electronic surveillance, all signed by the attorney general, are submitted each year, and the vast majority are approved.
— ABC News, 3/4/17

Certain passports need be collected very soon.

We may just find out that officials and employees at the DOJ, FBI, the FISA Court, and maybe even Obama administration employees may have knowingly been engaged in very illegal activity to rig a presidential election, remove a duly-elected president (by any means necessary), and could be cornered into pleaing for lesser punishment to rat out the fat-and-happies much higher up.

How high? It could be in the memo, that’s why this could indeed be a “security risk” and that’s why for some people, it’s a really big deal.

2/2/18 UPDATE: The Memo….

2/3/18 UPDATE:
Nunes memo exposes abuse of power
Democrats melt down over Nunes memo and enter the Upside Down
Rep. Nunes: ‘Clear Evidence’ of Russia Collusion… by the Clinton Campaign and DNC
New Texts Show FBI Agents Discussed Ways To Avoid Federal Records Regulations
Alan Dershowitz: The Nunes FISA memo deserves more investigation. Time for a nonpartisan commission
Isikoff Stunned That His Carter Page Article Was Used To Justify Spy Warrant
Comey Unhinged — for Good Reason

The court that approved surveillance of a former campaign adviser to President Trump was aware that some of the information underpinning the warrant request was paid for by a political entity, although the application did not specifically name the Democratic National Committee or the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
— Washington Post, 2/2/18

And whaddaya know, the FISA court judge in question was an Obama appointee. Surprise, surprise….

Judge Rudolph Contreras was responsible for issuing the FISA Warrant to wiretap former Trump Campaign Foreign Policy Adviser Carter Page, according to two sources familiar with the material that underlies the Memo published by the House Intelligence Committee on Friday.

Contreres was appointed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) by Barack Obama in the midst of the 2016 election, being sworn-in on May 19, 2016. Judge Contreras also oversaw the case in which Michael Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI. On December 7th Judge Contreras recused himself from the Michael Flynn Case.
— Offended America, 2/3/18

The plot thickens.

And this is NOT the first time CNN has pondered a world without President Trump, that time on The Situation Room.

The president’s comment about “cutting the payroll” was very important.

CNN “counterterrorism analyst” Philip Mudd was also a former Robert Mueller-appointee as the FBI’s National Security Branch’s first-ever deputy director. He would know all about what the Deep State wants and despite the assurances that all of those in the federal government are “patriots” who love their country, it’s clear so-called “Deep State” career employees are also more concerned with their personal ideological preference which would have maintained their generous, “entitled’ incomes and perks that come with them.

If one were to drive around the geographical areas surrounding Washington, D.C., the glaring difference in economic development and standard of living would be something 95% of municipalities around the nation could only dream of. The median incomes of those in the federal government far surpass that of those in the private sector and then-candidate Trump’s threat to “drain the swamp” was a direct shot across the bow of government workers and establishment leeches taken very seriously.

As mentioned in many previous posts, the federal government is probably one of the only entities in the United States that publicly acknowledges they have “non-essential” workers, which as of 2013 was estimated to be close to 20%. When Mudd was “joking” that the Deep State wants to “kill this guy”, in reference to the president”, it’s because they wanted Hillary Clinton as president because she would keep the employees fat and happy.

Jeffery Lord was fired from CNN for social media activity he engaged in off air, Tweets that were also (to use Jake Tapper’s explanation to Mudd) a “metaphor” yet CNN employees can joke and produce actual insensitive segments on the death of an incoming Republican president and it’s just business as usual. Whether we’re talking a comedian or a play, the painful death of President Trump is clearly a wet dream weighing heavy on the minds of the left, not just because of his politics, but the fact their livelihoods depend on taxpayer money rolling in unfettered.

It was very nice of CNN host Jake Tapper to accept Mudd’s assurance that he didn’t really mean that the “government” wanted to kill the president; an assurance that neither Tapper nor anyone else in the media would accept without a few pounds of flesh had it not been directed at President Trump.