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The Significance of the James Wolfe Sentence for Mike Flynn, Leak Investigations, and the Signal Application

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emptywheel
Yesterday, former SSCI staffer James Wolfe got sentenced to 2 months in prison for lying to the FBI about his contacts with journalists. The case and that sentence may have ramifications well beyond his own case.
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The Moving Parts: The Walls Come Down around Trump

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emptywheel
Trump is, on a dime and without warning to our closest allies, rolling up the American Empire. And he's doing it not because he's a peacenik, but because ruthless, committed authoritarians have convinced him he needs their continued approval more than he needs the approval of even the Republican hawks in the Senate. 
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Emmet Flood Steps in It Again: William Barr's Memo Makes Compelling Case that Trump Must Be Impeached

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emptywheel
A lot of people are reading William Barr's memo on why an imaginary Mueller investigation that has nothing in common with the real one is improper and worrying that he'll tamper with the Mueller probe. But given the actual facts, the memo can be used to make the case for impeachment.
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Why It Mattered (and Still Matters) that Flynn Continued to Hide His True Relationship with Turkey

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emptywheel
When Trump ordered a guy who was still on Turkey's payroll to initiate the negotiations that resulted in yesterday's Syria's withdrawal announcement, then tried to sustain lies those negotiations, he effectively ceded a lot of control over how negotiations would proceed to the countries that shared his and Flynn's secrets.
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Rob Kelner--the Guy Who Signed Mike Flynn's FARA Filings--Continued to Be Insubordinate in Yesterday's Hearing

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emptywheel
When you remember that Rob Kelner is the attorney representing Flynn when he submitted FARA filings that lied about his ties to Turkey, yesterday's sentencing hearing looks different.
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In Defense of Emmet Sullivan: Van Grack Suggested Mueller Did Review Whether Flynn's Behavior Amounted to Treason

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emptywheel
Mueller's team thinks Flynn's cooperation has been so valuable that it should wipe away most punishment for those sleazy actions. Emmet Sullivan, having read a great deal of secret information, is not so sure. 
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The Flynn Sentencing: What Comes Next?

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emptywheel
At Judge Emmet Sullivan's strong suggestion, Mike Flynn is delaying his sentencing. But it's not clear what that will accomplish for him.
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Judge Sullivan Was Prepared For Potential Flynn Perjury and Fraud On The Court

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bmaz
Okay, that was quite a morning at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in DC in regard to the Flynn plea and sentencing. In the windup this morning, well before the proceeding began, I cautioned that Flynn and his attorney Rob Kelner would have…
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The Black Holes in the Mike Flynn 302: The Back Channel Discussion May Be Most Sensitive Investigative Detail

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emptywheel
If the redactions the document released last night are any indication, the most sensitive investigative detail in Flynn's 302 -- the thing the government cared most about hiding -- is what Flynn said about that December 1 meeting where Jared asked to set up a back channel of communication with Russia. 
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The Dossier Is Not the Measure of the Trump-Russia Conspiracy

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emptywheel
It seems like the whole world has decided to measure Trump's conspiracy with Russia not from the available evidence, but based on whether the Steele dossier correctly predicted all the incriminating evidence we now have before us. The…
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Mike Flynn Steps in It: In a Bid to Feed the Frothy Right, He Leads to Release of Damning New Details Showing He Lied to Protect Trump

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emptywheel
With his cute trick in his sentencing memo, Flynn just provided some of the most damning details about the Mueller investigation yet. Flynn lied to hide Trump's personal involvement in telling the Russians to hold off on responding to Obama's sanctions. And when the FBI investigated those lies, Trump fired the FBI Director to try to end that investigation. 
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Mike Flynn's Flip: You Don't Need Your Cooperator to Testify If the Conspiracy Was All Conducted over Email

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emptywheel
The Bijan Kian indictment provides one explanation for why Flynn could be sentenced before this trial: because the charges were filed in a way that doesn't require his testimony.
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DOJ Unveils Indictment against Mike Flynn's Business Partner on Eve of His Sentencing

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emptywheel
An indictment unsealed today against Mike Flynn's former business partner, Bijan Kian, will make it far harder for his lawyers to argue that his lies weren't significant in tomorrow's sentencing hearing.
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Bumped! Rudy's Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Strategy

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emptywheel
I was going to be on ABC this morning. Instead, Rudy showed up and made several damning admissions about his client's actions.
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The Geography of Maria Butina's Cooperation

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emptywheel
Accidentally and purposefully unsealed filings make it clear that Maria Butina has been in discussions with prosecutors since September. But those discussions don't appear to include any with Robert Mueller's office.
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That Peter Strzok 302 Probably Comes from the Obstruction Case File

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emptywheel
One possible explanation for why we're seeing just the Peter Strzok 302 and not the original one he cites is that it's the only one that makes Flynn look good. 
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Lamb and Sheep Trash Talk

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bmaz
Here we are in the Ides of December, and there is some Trash to be talked. Because someone accused me of not knowing or caring about the NBA in the last trash, let's open with that. The Phoenix Suns were once a model franchise, started and…
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If the Government Obtains the Full Manafort Forfeiture, the Mueller Investigation Will Have Netted Almost $21 Million

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emptywheel
Assuming the US can find enough assets to make Paul Manafort forfeit, through October 1, the Mueller investigation had brought in $21 million net to the US treasury.
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Did Jared Kushner Try to Preemptively Undercut Mike Flynn at the Enquirer?

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emptywheel
Among the implications of the DB story that Kushner took over Michael Cohen's National Enquirer duties in late 2016 is that Kushner likely planted the attack on Mike Flynn from March 2017.
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After Replacing FBI Devices Two Times, the Bureau Still Fails to Collect 10% of Agent Text Messages

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emptywheel
In an IG Report issued in conjunction with the never-ending investigation into the texts Peter Strzok and Lisa Page sent each other, the FBI admitted that after two attempts to fix incomplete retention of texts, they still miss 10% of texts sent and received.
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