Weaponisation of the DOJ

[The Barbarian]

Did they send classified information over that email?

Twitter. Trump tipped off the Iranians about our spy satellite technology.

Trump didn't appoint Comey.

And he fired him because he wouldn't go after Clinton. Sessions got the boot as AG for pretty much the same reasons.

In a Private Dinner, Trump Demanded Loyalty. Comey Demurred.​

In a Private Dinner, Trump Demanded Loyalty. Comey Demurred. (Published 2017)

James B. Comey’s associates say he now believes his unwillingness to pledge personal loyalty led President Trump to fire him as the F.B.I. director.

www.nytimes.com

And Trump's own AG got a tantrum from Trump when he pointed out that Trump couldn't just have Clinton arrested.

Donald Trump has in effect dropped his threat to jail Hillary Clinton, a prospect that frequently roused supporters to chant “lock her up!” and led critics to compare him to leaders of authoritarian regimes.

After attacking AG Jeff Sessions for failing to investigate Hillary Clinton, Trump won't say if he will fire him​

After attacking AG Jeff Sessions for failing to investigate Hillary Clinton, Trump won't say if he will fire him

Infuriated by the ongoing Russia investigations, President Trump stepped up his public criticism of Jeff Sessions on Tuesday.

www.usatoday.com

​

Donald Trump threatens to jail Hillary Clinton in second presidential debate​

Donald Trump threatens to jail Hillary Clinton in second presidential debate

Embattled candidate goes on offensive with personal attacks but Democratic rival accuses him of diverting attention from lewd tape as Republicans desert him

www.theguardian.com

("Laptop!!! Laptop!!! Laptop!")

Republicans had it for months. You think they are covering up for Clinton? Me neither.

No idea what you're talking about....you mean the FBI had it for months?

Rudy Giuliani turns over alleged Hunter Biden laptop to authorities in Delaware​

In the subsequent year and a half, Mac Isaac said, a “whole lot of” players were involved in the story of how President Donald Trump's circle took possession last month of a copy of the hard drive.

He declined to provide details.

Rudy Giuliani turns over alleged Hunter Biden laptop to authorities in Delaware

Rudy Giuliani shared files from what he said was Hunter Biden's laptop, which were turned over to the FBI, a Delaware attorney general spokesman said.

www.usatoday.com

You really didn't know, did you? It was even in The News, actually "Izvestia." How could you have missed it? So, now that it's been years, what exactly did the FBI find? Yep.

Giuliani, who acknowledged helping bring the material to light, has in the past sought to unearth information damaging to Biden with the help of a man identified by the U.S. government as a Russian intelligence officer.

Questions about the provenance of the emails led Facebook and Twitter to limit sharing of the story, prompting fierce criticism from Republicans.

In an interview published by the Daily Beast, Issac, the repair shop owner, provided shifting answers to key questions.

"Throughout the interview, Mac Isaac switched back and forth from saying he reached out to law enforcement after viewing the files in the laptop to saying that it was actually the FBI that contacted him," the Beast wrote. NBC News has reached out to Isaac but has not heard back.

Ratcliffe says no proof, but FBI probing foreign tie to "Biden" laptop

Frank Figliuzzi, a former FBI counterintelligence chief, said it's possible the laptop was the product of a political dirty trick by domestic actors.

www.nbcnews.com

Apparently, it wasn't a very good job, whoever did it. A former counterintelligence agent for the FBI:
"We have to be careful about saying this is absolutely a Russian operation, because there's a sloppiness here that almost seems too sloppy for Russian intelligence," he said.
(same source)

Good enough for an arrest in Russia, but not in a free society. Note that "too sloppy" has been the reason a lot of Trump plans went awry.

(Matt Gaetz on You Tube demurs)

Well, that's convincing...

The idea...in your mind....that this has been investigated and cleared of any possible crimes is silly.

You seem to be making up ideas for me again. I'm just asking you why after Trump's people and the FBI have had this laptop for all this time, no one can tell us even one crime documented on it. I find it hard to believe Rudy and the boys were protecting Hunter. Can you explain that?

You have no evidence that either Biden has been investigated or cleared of any crimes.

I have no evidence that Vladimir Putin has been cleared of wearing women's underwear in his Dacha. So you're telling me that's evidence that Vlad is a cross-dresser?

 

[Ana the Ist]

Twitter. Trump tipped off the Iranians about our spy satellite technology.

Well they removed his Twitter account.

And he fired him because he wouldn't go after Clinton. Sessions got the boot as AG for pretty much the same reasons.

In a Private Dinner, Trump Demanded Loyalty. Comey Demurred.​

In a Private Dinner, Trump Demanded Loyalty. Comey Demurred. (Published 2017)

James B. Comey’s associates say he now believes his unwillingness to pledge personal loyalty led President Trump to fire him as the F.B.I. director.

www.nytimes.com

Yeah I can't read a pay walled NYT article...so this isn't evidence.

And Trump's own AG got a tantrum from Trump when he pointed out that Trump couldn't just have Clinton arrested.

Looks like Trump was disappointed about a lot of things.

Donald Trump has in effect dropped his threat to jail Hillary Clinton, a prospect that frequently roused supporters to chant “lock her up!” and led critics to compare him to leaders of authoritarian regimes.

Ironic. Now Joe and the Democratic Party are compared to authoritarian regimes.

After attacking AG Jeff Sessions for failing to investigate Hillary Clinton, Trump won't say if he will fire him​

After attacking AG Jeff Sessions for failing to investigate Hillary Clinton, Trump won't say if he will fire him

Infuriated by the ongoing Russia investigations, President Trump stepped up his public criticism of Jeff Sessions on Tuesday.

www.usatoday.com

​

There's a lot he's angry about. Not the least...Intel leaks. Turns out he was right to be angry about it.

Donald Trump threatens to jail Hillary Clinton in second presidential debate​

Donald Trump threatens to jail Hillary Clinton in second presidential debate

Embattled candidate goes on offensive with personal attacks but Democratic rival accuses him of diverting attention from lewd tape as Republicans desert him

www.theguardian.com

We all remember what people said on the campaign trail. It's not a big deal.

("Laptop!!! Laptop!!! Laptop!")

Republicans had it for months. You think they are covering up for Clinton? Me neither.

Again...no idea what you're talking about.

Which Republicans had it for months?

Rudy Giuliani turns over alleged Hunter Biden laptop to authorities in Delaware​

In the subsequent year and a half, Mac Isaac said, a “whole lot of” players were involved in the story of how President Donald Trump's circle took possession last month of a copy of the hard drive.

He declined to provide details.

Rudy Giuliani turns over alleged Hunter Biden laptop to authorities in Delaware

Rudy Giuliani shared files from what he said was Hunter Biden's laptop, which were turned over to the FBI, a Delaware attorney general spokesman said.

www.usatoday.com

You understand that's the basis for the impeachment, right?

It's the reason they couldn't simply let Hunter off the hook.

You really didn't know, did you? It was even in The News, actually "Izvestia." How could you have missed it? So, now that it's been years, what exactly did the FBI find? Yep.

This is some bonkers level word salad.

Giuliani, who acknowledged helping bring the material to light, has in the past sought to unearth information damaging to Biden with the help of a man identified by the U.S. government as a Russian intelligence officer.

Questions about the provenance of the emails led Facebook and Twitter to limit sharing of the story, prompting fierce criticism from Republicans.

In an interview published by the Daily Beast, Issac, the repair shop owner, provided shifting answers to key questions.

"Throughout the interview, Mac Isaac switched back and forth from saying he reached out to law enforcement after viewing the files in the laptop to saying that it was actually the FBI that contacted him," the Beast wrote. NBC News has reached out to Isaac but has not heard back.

Ratcliffe says no proof, but FBI probing foreign tie to "Biden" laptop

Frank Figliuzzi, a former FBI counterintelligence chief, said it's possible the laptop was the product of a political dirty trick by domestic actors.

www.nbcnews.com

How badly did you screw this up? Do you realize that the article you posted completely disagrees with everything you've said lol?

Apparently, it wasn't a very good job, whoever did it. A former counterintelligence agent for the FBI:
"We have to be careful about saying this is absolutely a Russian operation, because there's a sloppiness here that almost seems too sloppy for Russian intelligence," he said.
(same source)

What source is this? You linked an NBC news article that quotes a former FBI director as saying it's definitely not a Russian intelligence plot.

You wrote out a bunch of nonsense...and now you're providing links that disagree with it.

(Matt Gaetz on You Tube demurs)

Well, that's convincing...

That's a year ago lol look at the date.

You're posting stuff from 2020 lol.

You seem to be making up ideas for me again. I'm just asking you why after Trump's people and the FBI have had this laptop for all this time, no one can tell us even one crime documented on it.

Who's job is that?

The House Republicans (if they get a majority) or the FBI?

Isn't it the FBI's job to investigate the president?

I have no evidence that Vladimir Putin has been cleared of wearing women's underwear in his Dacha. So you're telling me that's evidence that Vlad is a cross-dresser?

You said a bunch of nonsense that's 100% fiction.

Let's take a look...

Lack of evidence of a crime. The "informant" had a story that apparently didn't line up with facts. The laptop didn't have any evidence of a crime, nor did any of the emails. So Trump hoped that maybe Zelensky had something

That's 100% Biden fan fiction. You would need an investigation to happen to come to that conclusion. No investigation has happened....despite plenty of evidence coming to light. Also, the 3 IRS agents who did investigate Hunter implicated Joe...and blew the whistle. Apparently the DOJ ran defense for the Bidens.

 

[BPPLEE]

"Weaponisation of the DOJ" seems to be a hot phrase being parroted about in USA right wing circles.

But what does that actually mean?

It comes down to levels of weaponisation. It isn't just yes its weaponised or no it's not.
I don't even like that term "weaponisation" It's very hyperbolic and seems to be solely used to put the audience into a state of fear.

Idealistically Lady Justice is supposed to be blind. No one is supposed to be able to press down and tilt the scales in their favour.
The person leading the justice department is typically a political person (a member of the ruling party, assigned to the position by the president or prime minister), but their job is to manage the DOJ machine, not to make it favourable for their party or leader and aggressive to opposition parties. They are there to support governance, funding and policy, not to make operational decisions e.g which case to take up and which not to. They can get involved in special circumstances to which they ought to appoint a Special Council and this Special Council is to be an independent highly qualified professional rather than a party member politician.

So to this regard the department are supposed to follow general policy and procedures and apply the law to incidences of crimes or potential crimes regardless of who the suspect or criminal is.
It helps if the AG steers clear of being the person to make operational decisions, stick to governance, stay out of operations.

In some dictator like countries, their head of DOJ equivalent has a close relationship with the president/prime minister and locks up on trumped up charges, the president/prime minister's political opposition and journalists and people that dissent. This is done in many countries. Russia for example, were locking people up for criticising Putin or even calling the Ukraine war a war.

So far in USA, no one has gone to that extreme.
D Trump campaigned on "Lock her up" with regards to H Clinton. It became a rally chant at his political rallies. It was a campaign promise. It was highly inappropriate for the presidential candidate to suggest he would interfere in the Justice system and to direct them towards investigating or charging Hilary. It was highly inappropriate for D Trump and his campaign members to claim that Hilary was guilty and to chant lock her up. In free world democracies there is a process before a person is determined as guilty, and people should expect presidents and presidential candidates to respect that process.
Perhaps in the imaginative and highly hopeful minds of some of Trump's most ardent MAGA fans they imagined and wanted Trump on first day of presidency to tap his AG on the shoulder and have the AG then send in the cops to arrest Hilary and throw her in jail. I expect those MAGA fans would have been totally fine with that and were probably disappointed that he didn't do this.
But ultimately the campaign promise went unfulfilled. H Clinton was no longer a threat anyway as the election was over and D Trump had won. It was all just hyperbolic bluster.

The FBI during the end of Obama's last term had started Hurricane Crossfire, an investigation into members of the D Trump campaign and whether they had illegally conspired with Russians in the Russian USA election interference campaign.
The DOJ didn't get involved until after D Trump took control of the white house and fired the FBI director in an attempt to kill the investigation. (This act was dictator like. President's should not look to interfere into FBI, CIA, or DOJ investigations). But anyway, the Republican acting Attorney General then recruited a Special Council to continue with this investigation (except only investigate non D Trump members of the D Trump campaign) and to also investigate if anyone helped D Trump with obstruction of Justice. The constraint that the acting AG put on Mueller was that he was not to indict the sitting president, so at no point did the investigation seek to charge D Trump with anything.

All the while the investigation went on D Trump continually spoke in front of cameras to undermine the investigation, continually and disgracefully calling it a witch hunt.
Somehow D Trump supporters and Right wing propaganda media tried to spin the investigation and paint it as the Democrats and MSM going after D Trump. When in fact the investigation was instigated and controlled by the Republicans, and the MSM were simply reporting that the investigation was happening.

D Trump appointed Bill Bar as the AG for the DOJ.
Throughout Bill Barr's tenure as AG for the DOJ he was in close contact with D Trump and spent much of his time running defense and errands for D Trump.
Characterising the Wire Tap as spying
Jumped ahead of the Special Counsel Report to falsely characterise its findings.
Interfering in the Michael Flynn case that the DOJ had, forcing the DOJ to drop the case.
Interfering in the Covid based parole of Michael Cohen, getting him back into prison as retaliation for Cohen legally publishing a book about D Trump
Interfering in the case against Roger Stone. prompting a letter by a Federal Judge
“In past administrations of both political parties, the function of the political appointees at the justice department has been to insulate the rest of the department from political pressure. And Bill Barr instead has become the conduit for that political pressure.”
Refusing to investigate the Ukraine pressure campaign by D Trump and Giuliani to extort Zelenski with urgently needed USA federal property into publicly announce an investigation into Joe Biden.

D Trump demanded from Bill Barr to declare widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election despite no evidence of the fraud, then pressured Bill Barr to quit.
D Trump then demanded Bill Barr's replacement Jeffrey Rosen to submit a letter drafted by Jeffrey Clark to alert state officials falsely stating "that the Justice Department had identified significant concerns that would affect the state's election results"
D Trump then brought in Jeffrey Clark and threatened to fire Rosen and replace him with Clark.
“This evening, after Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen over the course of the last week repeatedly refused the President’s direct instructions to utilize the Department of Justice’s law enforcement powers for improper ends, the President removed Jeff from the Department,” the draft letter, reviewed by CNN, says.

All of the above would be deemed as gross missuse of the DOJ. Using the DOJ as D Trump's personal department to protect him and his associates from investigations, to attack his "enemies", to try and steal the 2020 election for him.

Then under Biden's presidency, we've had Biden appoint Marrick Garland as his AG to the DOJ.
Biden stated that he would not interfere in any investigations and that he is leaving all upto Garland and the DOJ, he is not going to tell them to investigate D Trump.
When Garland created a Special Council to investigate Joe Biden's son, we have not heard Biden putting down the investigation, not heard him call it a witch hunt.

Eric Holder: 'I'm still the president's wingman'

<p>In radio interview, AG still coy about how long he plans to remain in administration</p>

www.politico.com

Fox News reporter secretly monitored by Obama administration: court documents

Agents monitored James Rosen's movements in and out of the State Department, searched his personal emails and cell phone records

www.cbsnews.com

 

[The Barbarian]

Weaponization of the DOJ means our guy caught got, we don't like it, and you shouldn't like it either.

If Trump gets elected, it might mean more than that...

Donald Trump has issued an alarming threat to weaponise the Justice Department (DOJ) and the FBI against his political enemies if he succeeds in taking back the White House in 2024.

Speaking to Univision in an interview aired on Thursday night, the former president suggested that he would use the federal agencies to go after and indict his rivals – something he claims his rivals have done to him.

“You say they’ve weaponised the Justice Department, they weaponised the FBI. Would you do the same if you’re re-elected?” journalist Enrique Acevedo asked him.
...
“They call it weaponization, and the people aren’t going to stand for it,” Trump said. “But yeah. they have done something that allows the next party,” he said.

“I mean, if somebody – if I happen to be president and I see somebody who’s doing well and beating me very badly, I say, ‘Go down and indict them.’

“Mostly what that would be, you know, they would be out of business. They’d be out, they’d be out of the election.”

Trump says he would weaponise DOJ and FBI against political enemies

In a warning to his political foes, Mr Trump told Univision that the Biden administration had let the ‘genie out of the box’

news.yahoo.com

All that praise for dictators is more than just talk.

 

[Vambram]

Joe Biden's in charge of the most powerful and hateful tyranny that the USA has ever had.

 

[The Barbarian]

Twitter. Trump tipped off the Iranians about our spy satellite technology.

Well they removed his Twitter account.

Too late. He already gave the Iranians the intelligence they needed.

Yeah I can't read a pay walled NYT article...so this isn't evidence.

It is, you just don't want to see it.
Trump asked James Comey to pledge his loyalty to him

And Trump's own AG got a tantrum from Trump when he pointed out that Trump couldn't just have Clinton arrested.

Looks like Trump was disappointed about a lot of things.

Especially about not having the power to jail his political rival.
Donald Trump has in effect dropped his threat to jail Hillary Clinton, a prospect that frequently roused supporters to chant “lock her up!” and led critics to compare him to leaders of authoritarian regimes.

Now Joe and the Democratic Party are compared to authoritarian regimes.

So Biden threatened to just throw Trump in jail? Sounds like a lie to me. But let's test that. Show us where Biden did that. I'll ask again, if you forget.

There's a lot he's angry about. Not the least...Intel leaks. Turns out he was right to be angry about it.

Like handing our spy satellite technology to the Iranians, the way Trump did?

Trump Tweeted a Sensitive Photo. Internet Sleuths Decoded It​

Within hours of the president's post, amateur satellite trackers had hunted down the secret spy satellite that photographed a charred Iranian launchpad.
Trump Tweeted a Sensitive Photo. Internet Sleuths Decoded It

We all remember what people said on the campaign trail. It's not a big deal.

So do I. That's why I'm pretty sure you won't see any Biden official leading mobs chanting "lock him up" they way Trump's lackeys did about Clinton. But we'll see when you show us - or fail to do so.

(Trump official refuses to name evidence of even one crime on Hunter Biden's laptop)

You understand that's the basis for the impeachment, right?

Tell Comer. He's having a little trouble finding anything. Personally, failure to find a crime doesn't sound like a basis for impeachment, but it might be different in Russia.

Anger over failure to find any crimes on "the laptop."

This is some bonkers level word salad.

It's not hard to understand. Find some actual crimes documented on the laptop and you've got something. Otherwise... I realize it has to be infuriating. But reality is what it is.

How badly did you screw this up? Do you realize that the article you posted completely disagrees with everything you've said lol?

Nice try. It doesn't show any evidence of a crime, ether. Did you think we wouldn't notice?

What source is this? You linked an NBC news article that quotes a former FBI director as saying it's definitely not a Russian intelligence plot.

That's what the other source said. Basically, the laptop hoax is too amateurish to be a Russian operation. Looks more like something Trump or his underlings would dream up.

(Matt Gaetz admits the impeachment inquiry by republicans is just a political move, with no real intention to impeach)

That's a year ago lol look at the date.

You're telling me they suddenly got serious after their star witness turned out to be a conduit for Russian propaganda? How so?

You seem to be making up ideas for me again. I'm just asking you why after Trump's people and the FBI have had this laptop for all this time, no one can tell us even one crime documented on it.

Who's job is that?

Depends on what you think the crime is. But since no one can find any crime, it's a moot point, isn't it?

Absence of evidence isn't anything at all.

After all, I have no evidence that Vladimir Putin has been cleared of wearing women's underwear in his Dacha. So you're telling me that's evidence that Vlad is a cross-dresser?

You said a bunch of nonsense that's 100% fiction.

You're starting to wise up. Now apply that to the laptop. You can do it, if you try...

The House GOP has found a lot.

Strange that they can't show any of it. Comer seems pretty depressed about it all, lately...

"The math keeps getting worse": James Comer admits he may have to give up on Biden impeachment probe​

Amid a lack of evidence, House Oversight chairman admits Republicans' Biden gambit isn't looking so hot
Speaking to the news source last week, Comer indicated that the House holding a vote is decreasingly likely because the "math keeps getting worse" for the GOP, a statement reflecting Republican's narrowing majority and internal skepticism about the merits of the investigation, Mediaite reports.

Comer's probe — which is examining allegations that Biden accepted bribes, laundered money and peddled influence in connection to his son's overseas business activities — has yet to yield any substantial evidence of the president committing any wrongdoing, which some Republican representatives have admitted.
https://www.salon.com/2024/02/20/th...y-have-to-give-up-on-biden-impeachment-probe/
I think Matt Gaetz has it right...

WASHINGTON — Days before Rep. Matt Gaetz led an effort to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, Gaetz and Rep. Matt Rosendale, a fellow Freedom Caucus member, denounced as a political stunt Republicans’ high-stakes effort to impeach President Joe Biden, according to a video obtained by NBC News.
...
“I don’t believe that we are endeavoring upon a legitimate impeachment of Joe Biden,” Gaetz told Steve Bannon, a podcaster and onetime political adviser to former President Donald Trump, who was moderating the discussion.
During an online fundraiser, Matt Gaetz denounced the Biden impeachment effort as unserious

Lack of evidence of a crime. The "informant" had a story that apparently didn't line up with facts. The laptop didn't have any evidence of a crime, nor did any of the emails. So Trump hoped that maybe Zelensky had something.

That's 100% Biden fan fiction.

All documented facts. Do I really need to show you again? Let me know if you need it.

Also, the 3 IRS agents who did investigate Hunter implicated Joe...and blew the whistle.

New testimony from a number of FBI and Internal Revenue Service officials casts doubt on key claims from an IRS whistleblower who alleges there was political interference in the federal criminal investigation of Hunter Biden’s taxes.

According to transcripts provided to CNN, several FBI and IRS officials brought in for closed-door testimony by House Republicans in recent days said they don’t remember US Attorney David Weiss saying that he lacked the authority to decide whether to bring charges against the president’s son, or that Weiss said he had been denied a request for special counsel status.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/19/politics/witness-testimony-disputes-irs-whistleblower-hunter-biden/index.html

I know... "They're all lying except the guy I want to believe!" Хорошая попытка, товарищ.

 

[The Barbarian]

Joe Biden's in charge of the most powerful and hateful tyranny that the USA has ever had.

You think Joe Biden ran the Trump WH?