>DOUGH
>The Company One Keeps
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansour_bin_Muqrin_Al_Saud
In April 2015, he was appointed advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques with the rank of minister. He was the son of Prince Muqrin, former Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He was killed in mysterious circumstances when his helicopter crashed on 5 November 2017, hours after a major purge of the kingdom's political and business leadership.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/02/world/middleeast/saudi-khashoggi-spyware-israel.html
Israeli Software Helped Saudis Spy on Khashoggi, Lawsuit Says
https://twitter.com/petestrzok
After Years of Political Hype, the Durham Inquiry Failed to Deliver
A dysfunctional investigation led by a Trump-era special counsel illustrates a dilemma about prosecutorial independence and accountability in politically sensitive matters.
The limping conclusion to John H. Durham’s four-year investigation of the Russia inquiry underscores a recurring dilemma in American government: how to shield sensitive law enforcement investigations from politics without creating prosecutors who can run amok, never to be held to account.
At a time when special counsels are proliferating — there have been four since 2017, two of whom are still at work — the much-hyped investigation by Mr. Durham, a special counsel, into the Russia inquiry ended with a whimper that stood in contrast to the countless hours of political furor that spun off from it.
Mr. Durham delivered a report that scolded the F.B.I. but failed to live up to the expectations of supporters of Donald J. Trump that he would uncover a politically motivated “deep state” conspiracy. He charged no high-level F.B.I. or intelligence official with a crime and acknowledged in a footnote that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign did nothing prosecutable, either.
Predictably, the report’s actual content — it contained no major new revelations, and it accused the F.B.I. of “confirmation bias” rather than making a more explosive conclusion of political bias — made scant difference in parts of the political arena. Mr. Trump and many of his loyalists issued statements treating it as vindication of their claims that the Russia inquiry involved far more extravagant wrongdoing.
“The Durham Report spells out in great detail the Democrat Hoax that was perpetrated upon me and the American people,” Mr. Trump insisted on social media. “This is 2020 Presidential Election Fraud, just like ‘stuffing’ the ballot boxes, only more so. This totally illegal act had a huge impact on the Election.”
Mr. Trump’s comparison was unintentionally striking. Just as his and his supporters’ wild and invented claims of election fraud floundered in court (Fox News also agreed to pay a $787.5 million settlement for amplifying lies about Dominion Voting Systems), the political noise surrounding Mr. Durham’s efforts ultimately ran up against reality.
In that sense, it was less that Mr. Durham failed to deliver and more that Attorney General William P. Barr set him up to fail the moment he assigned Mr. Durham to find evidence proving Mr. Trump’s claims about the Russia investigation.
There were real-world flaws with the Russia investigation, especially how the F.B.I. botched applications to wiretap a former Trump campaign adviser. But the Justice Department’s inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, found those problems, leaving Mr. Durham with depleted hunting grounds.
Indeed, credit for Mr. Durham’s only courtroom success, a guilty plea by an F.B.I. lawyer who doctored an email during preparations for a wiretap renewal, belongs to Mr. Horowitz, who uncovered the misconduct.
At the same time, Mr. Horowitz kneecapped Mr. Durham’s investigation by finding no evidence that F.B.I. actions were politically motivated. He also concluded that the basis of the Russia inquiry — an Australian diplomat’s tip related to the release of Democratic emails hacked by Russia — was sufficient to open a full investigation.
https://qposts.online/?q=92&s=postnum
Where does Soros fit in Godfather III?
>IS OPSEC THAT TIGHT?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/ecuadorian-president-ends-impeachment-proceedings-dissolving-national-rcna84838
Ecuadorian president ends impeachment proceedings by dissolving National Assembly
The opposition-led National Assembly had accused President Guillermo Lasso of embezzlement.
Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso on Tuesday put an end to impeachment proceedings against him by dissolving the opposition-led National Assembly, which had accused him of embezzlement.
The right-wing president, who has denied any wrongdoing, can govern for up to six months by decree under the South American country’s constitution.
The National Electoral Council now has seven days to call presidential and legislative elections, which must be held within 90 days. Those elected will finish the terms of Lasso and the lawmakers he ousted, which had been set to end in May 2025.
>Rachel Rollins
>Ascension day
>whistleblowers are brave