Rosenstein to talk to top House lawmakers under oath

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will sit down next week with top House Republicans and Democrats for a transcribed interview. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., announced the interview in a statement Thursday. The release detailed how they and their respective Democratic ranking members, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., would ask the Justice Department's No. 2 questions on Oct. 24 in a secure setting under oath. "The transcript will then be reviewed by the Intelligence Community to avoid the public dissemination of classified or otherwise protected information," Goodlatte and Gowdy wrote. "Once cleared, the transcript will be publicly available."

The announcement comes as key House GOP lawmakers continued to needle Rosenstein to appear before congressional investigators, frustrated that he gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal Wednesday while postponing a meeting with them. But House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., ratcheted up the rhetoric earlier Thursday by claiming in recent days he had learned information that warranted Rosenstein stepping down immediately. The interview will likely include a line of inquiry regarding reports Rosenstein considered wearing a wire to record conversations with President Trump, as well as rallying Trump cabinet members to remove the president from office using the 25th Amendment. Rosenstein has pushed back on the allegations.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/rosenstein-to-talk-to-top-house-lawmakers-under-oath

Justice Department investigating sex abuse claims against Pennsylvania priests

The U.S. Justice Department Thursday opened an investigation into child sexual abuse inside the Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania. The investigation follows a grand jury report released earlier this year that claims senior Church officials had protected over 300 “predator priests” involved in the molestation of over 1,000 children over seven decades. Officials served subpoenas last week demanding confidential files and testimony from Church leaders, according to the Associated Press. Because of the statute of limitations, and the death of many priests involved, however, only two priests are facing charges.

The investigation opens a day after the state Senate failed to pass a bill that would have temporarily allowed past sexual assault victims two years to file a civil suit. The bill — which was proposed in January but has been held up over amendment debates — would have also allowed those older than 18 unlimited time to pursue cases against their childhood abusers, along with those who conspired with abusers or failed to prevent subsequent abuse despite knowing of the original abuse. “We always welcome the continued interest and scrutiny into powerful organizations which hide sexual abuse,” Nathaniel Foote, a lawyer representing sexual abuse cases for Pennsylvania’s Andreozzi & Associates law firm, said.

Foote hopes the current investigation will “move the needle in favor of the survivors and compel legislature to send the bill to the governor so it can be signed into law.” He pointed to an uptick in individuals coming forward with stories of sexual assault in the current climate of the #MeToo movement, including those whom he said recognized and identified names in the August grand jury report as their abusers. The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office, which oversaw the state probe into the Church, set up a hotline for survivors of clergy sexual abuse after the report was released, which Attorney General Josh Shapiro says “lit up” with calls. Our hotline for clergy sex abuse has been lit up since yesterday afternoon. 150+ calls / emails & lots of survivors who are now surfacing to tell their stories and seek justice. While Shapiro has declined to comment on the federal investigation, he tweeted about the bill, saying the senate’s inability to pass it “exemplified the danger of representatives who bend to special interests over the people.” The dioceses of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie, and Allentown told Reuters that they had received federal subpoenas and were cooperating with the Justice Department, but declined to comment further.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice-department-investigating-sex-abuse-claims-against-pennsylvania-priests

Federal Judge "Shocked" To Find Obama State Dept Lied To Protect Hillary From Email Server Lawsuits

The noose appears to be tightening further around the law-less behaviors of the Obama administration in their frantic efforts to protect former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from lawsuits seeking information about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private email server and her handling of the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. As Fox News reports, the transparency group Judicial Watch initially sued the State Department in 2014, seeking information about the response to the Benghazi attack after the government didn't respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Other parallel lawsuits by Judicial Watch are probing issues like Clinton's server, whose existence was revealed during the course of the litigation.

The State Department had immediately moved to dismiss Judicial Watch's first lawsuit, but U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth (who was appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan) denied the request to dismiss the lawsuit at the time, and on Friday, he said he was happy he did, charging that State Department officials had intentionally misled him because other key documents, including those on Clinton's email server, had not in fact been produced. "It was clear to me that at the time that I ruled initially, that false statements were made to me by career State Department officials, and it became more clear through discovery that the information that I was provided was clearly false regarding the adequacy of the search and this – what we now know turned out to be the Secretary’s email system."' "I don’t know the details of what kind of IG inquiry there was into why these career officials at the State Department would have filed false affidavits with me. I don’t know the details of why the Justice Department lawyers did not know false affidavits were being filed with me, but I was very relieved that I did not accept them and that I allowed limited discovery into what had happened."

In a somewhat stunningly frank exchange with Justice Department lawyer Robert Prince, the judge pressed the issue, accusing Prince of using "doublespeak" and "playing the same word games [Clinton] played." That "was not true," the judge said, referring to the State Department's assurances in a sworn declaration that it had searched all relevant documents. "It was a lie." Additionally, Fox notes that Judge Lamberth said he was "shocked" and "dumbfounded" when he learned that FBI had granted immunity to former Clinton chief of staff Cheryl Mills during its investigation into the use of Clinton's server, according to a court transcript of his remarks. "I had myself found that Cheryl Mills had committed perjury and lied under oath in a published opinion I had issued in a Judicial Watch case where I found her unworthy of belief, and I was quite shocked to find out she had been given immunity in — by the Justice Department in the Hillary Clinton email case." On Friday, Lamberth said he did not know Mills had been granted immunity until he "read the IG report and learned that and that she had accompanied [Clinton] to her interview."

We give the last word to Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, who was present at the hearing, as he pushed the White House for answers. “President Trump should ask why his State Department is still refusing to answer basic questions about the Clinton email scandal,” Fitton said. “Hillary Clinton’s and the State Department’s email cover up abused the FOIA, the courts, and the American people’s right to know.” Perhaps the deep state remains in control behind the scenes after all (consider the recent back-pedal on declassifying the Russian probe documents)?

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-18/federal-judge-shocked-find-obama-state-dept-lied-protect-hillary-email-server

DOJ: Former Navy sailor threatened Trump, 5 other top administration officials with ricin

A former Navy sailor arrested earlier this month faces charges related to ricin-related threats mailed to President Trump and other top administration officials. William Clyde Allen III, arrested Oct. 5, was indicted on seven counts by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City Thursday, according to the Justice Department. The 39-year-old was charged with one count of using a biological agent as a weapon, one count of mailing a threat against the president, and five counts of mailing threatening communications to an officer or an employee of the United States, the news release stated.

The five charges are for each of the threats the Logan, Utah, resident allegedly made to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Naval Operations Chief Adm. John Richardson, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, CIA Director Gina Haspel, and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson. The threatening letters are alleged to have included castor bean material and had “Jack and the Missile Bean Stock Powder” written inside. Court documents stated the suspect bought 380 castor beans last December. Even a small amount of ricin, which is made from castor beans, can be fatal to people if it is consumed, inhaled, or injected into the bloodstream.

Allen pleaded not guilty on all charges Thursday. He will remain in jail until the trial, set to start on Dec. 26. Allen faces life in prison for the biological weapon charge, up to five years in prison for mailing a threat against a president, and up to 10 years in prison for each of the five mailed threats to the U.S. officials. It's not clear how Allen was released from his military service or his motive for the alleged acts.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/doj-former-navy-sailor-threatened-trump-5-other-top-administration-officials-with-ricin

Jeff Sessions touts prison for second Trump-era source: 'A warning to every would-be leaker'

Attorney General Jeff Sessions celebrated the four-year prison sentence handed down Thursday for former FBI agent Terry Albury, calling it "a warning to every would-be leaker." Albury was sentenced in Minnesota after pleading guilty to providing classified information to reporters. He is believed to have sent The Intercept documents that included a guide to informant recruitment and rules for seizing journalist records. "We are conducting perhaps the most aggressive campaign against leaks in Department history," Sessions said in an afternoon statement. "Crimes like the one committed by the defendant in this case will not be tolerated — they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and punished," Sessions said. "Today's sentence should be a warning to every would-be leaker in the federal government that if they disclose classified information, they will pay a high price."

Albury is the second person ordered to prison for leaking during the Trump administration. Sessions' perceived laxity with leakers enraged President Trump last year. Trump fumed on Twitter that Sessions was taking a “ VERY weak” approach toward disclosures of classified information, leading the attorney general to convene an August 2017 press conference to declare a crackdown on leaks.

It's unclear that the successful prosecution will do much to satisfy Trump, who now openly regrets nominating Sessions, over his recusal from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Trump has not said if Sessions will be fired after the November midterm election. Although Trump raged against leakers earlier in his presidency, he appeared to express sympathy for Reality Winner, the first leaker to face charges during his administration. After pleading guilty, she was sentenced to more than 5 years in prison in August for leaking classified information on Russian attempts to hack election systems. Trump tweeted about Winner: "Ex-NSA contractor to spend 63 months in jail over 'classified' information. Gee, this is 'small potatoes' compared to what Hillary Clinton did! So unfair Jeff, Double Standard." Clinton was not prosecuted for mishandling classified information while secretary of state. Trump did not immediately offer a public comment on Albury.

In court, the former FBI agent's legal team unsuccessfully argued there's a double standard for more senior officials such as former CIA Director David Petraeus, who received probation in 2015 for sharing top secret information with his biographer and mistress. Whistleblower advocates alleged a further double standard in the treatment of Albury relative to the nonprosecution of former FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Albury’s leaks began in February 2016, when the bureau was led by Comey, and continued until August 2017, when McCabe’s three-month stint as acting director ended. Comey admittedly leaked memos about his conversations with Trump, some of which reportedly contained classified information. McCabe authorized a self-serving 2016 leak to report about an investigation of the Clinton Foundation, before allegedly lying about it to Comey, FBI agents, and the Justice Department's inspector general.

FBI Director Christopher Wray joined Sessions in celebrating the sentencing of Albury, saying, "His sentencing today demonstrates those who violate the law by disclosing classified information will be held responsible for their reckless and illegal actions." On Tuesday, authorities arrested a fifth alleged criminal leaker during Trump's presidency. Treasury Department employee Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards is accused of leaking suspicious activity reports to BuzzFeed. Unlike Winner and Albury, she is not charged under the notoriously tough Espionage Act.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/jeff-sessions-touts-prison-for-second-trump-era-source-a-warning-to-every-would-be-leaker

>>3527177

Absolutely no doubt about that Anon.