Anonymous ID: 7b128d Jan. 17, 2019, 1:12 p.m. No.4795158   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5597 >>5780 >>5835

Key Justice Department officials, including Mueller deputy, knew about dossier

 

Testimony last year before a House task force investigating the Trump-Russia affair confirmed that top Justice Department officials knew about the Trump dossier earlier than first thought, and that among those who knew was Andrew Weissmann, who went on to become the top deputy of special counsel Robert Mueller.

 

Bruce Ohr, the fourth-ranking official in the Justice Department, told the House task force that he met with Christopher Steele, the former British spy who wrote the dossier, at a Washington hotel on July 30, 2016. At that point, Steele, recruited for the job by Glenn Simpson of the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, had completed a few installments of the dossier, including the salacious and never-verified sex allegation featuring Donald Trump and prostitutes in a Moscow hotel. Ohr testified that shortly after meeting with Steele, "I wanted to provide the information he had given me to the FBI."

 

Ohr said he got in touch with Andrew McCabe, who was at the time the number-two man at the FBI. When Ohr went to McCabe's office to talk, FBI lawyer Lisa Page was also there. "So I provided the information to them," Ohr said. Ohr said he later talked to another top FBI official, Peter Strzok.

 

That was the FBI. But what about the Justice Department itself? "Who at the department knew that you were talking to Chris Steele and Glenn Simpson?" asked Trey Gowdy, who last year was chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee.

 

"I spoke with some people in the Criminal Division, other career officials who dealt with some of these matters," Ohr answered.

 

"Any of them have names?" Gowdy asked.

 

"Yes, so I was about to tell you," replied Ohr. "One of them was Bruce Swartz, who is the counselor for international affairs in the Criminal Division; a person who was working with him at the time, working on similar matters in the Criminal Division, was Zainab Ahmad; and a third person who was working on some — some of these matters, I believe, was Andrew Weissmann."

 

Gowdy wanted to make sure about the third name. "Who is that last one?" he asked

 

"He was head of the Fraud Section at the time," said Ohr.

 

"I've heard his name somewhere before, I think," said Gowdy. Weissmann has become widely known as Mueller's hard-charging "pit bull."

 

Ahmad was a prosecutor who worked on terrorism cases. She later joined Mueller's team, as well.

 

It was not clear when, precisely, Ohr told the three Justice Department officials about Steele's work, but it appears from the testimony that it was not long after Ohr's July 30, 2016 meeting with Steele.

 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/key-doj-officials-mueller-knew-about-dossier

 

These people are stupid: Looks more and more like they have been giving Mueller the dirt to save their ass's and he's been indicting them with it

Anonymous ID: 7b128d Jan. 17, 2019, 1:14 p.m. No.4795193   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5597 >>5780 >>5835

Prominent Global Law Firm Agrees to Register as an Agent of a Foreign Principal

 

kadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP has entered into a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice, resolving its liability for violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), announced Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers.

 

According to the Agreement, Skadden acted as an agent of the Government of Ukraine within the meaning of FARA, 22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq., by contributing to a public relations campaign directed at select members of the U.S. news media in 2012. Moreover, in 2012 and 2013, Skadden received multiple inquiries from the Department’s FARA Registration Unit about its role in that campaign. A partner then at Skadden made false and misleading statements to the FARA Unit, which led it to conclude in 2013 that the firm was not obligated to register under FARA. The facts, when uncovered, showed that Skadden was indeed required to register in 2012, and, under the Agreement, it will do so retroactively.

 

“Law firms should handle inquiries from the federal government the same way they would counsel their clients to: with appropriate due diligence to ensure the honesty of their response,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “Skadden’s failure to do so, and reliance on only the representations of the lead partner on the matter, hid from the public that its report was part of a Ukrainian foreign influence campaign. FARA protects the integrity of the American political system by enabling Americans to consider the identity of the speaker as they evaluate the substance of the speech.” Assistant Attorney General Demers added, “The Department appreciates Skadden’s more recent extensive cooperation in the investigation of this matter, which facilitated its resolution.”

 

In addition to agreeing to register under FARA, Skadden has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury more than $4.6 million, which it received in fees and expenses for its work with Ukraine, and will ensure that it has formal, robust procedures for responding to inquiries concerning its conduct from any federal government entity and ensuring FARA compliance as to its engagements on behalf of foreign clients.

 

The Agreement acknowledges that Skadden has already taken substantial steps to comply with its terms, and so long as the firm continues to comply with it, the Department will not undertake any action against the firm relating to any of the conduct described in the Agreement and its Appendix.

 

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/prominent-global-law-firm-agrees-register-agent-foreign-principal

Anonymous ID: 7b128d Jan. 17, 2019, 1:19 p.m. No.4795269   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Feds say ‘star’ DEA agent abroad stole millions

 

MIAMI (AP) — A U.S. federal narcotics agent known for his expensive tastes and high-profile drug seizures has been implicated in a multimillion-dollar money-laundering conspiracy that involved the very cartel criminals he was charged with fighting in Colombia.

 

A once standout Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Jose Irizarry is accused of conspiring with a longtime DEA informant to launder more than $7 million in illicit drug proceeds, sometimes using an underground network known as the black-market peso exchange, according to five current and former law enforcement officials.

 

The officials described the case as one of the biggest black eyes in the history of the DEA, an agency that has seen repeated scandals in recent years, and one they fear could have compromised undercover operations in the U.S. and South America.

 

The conspiracy not only allegedly enriched Irizarry but is believed to have benefited one of South America’s top money launderers, who is a relative of Irizarry’s Colombian wife, said the officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the federal investigation.

 

The allegations have sent shockwaves through the DEA and drawn new scrutiny to the agency’s Colombia field office, a critical outpost that has been steeped in turmoil in recent years. The division has seen internal strife and turnover in leadership even as it grapples with record-high levels of cocaine production.

 

Some of the details emerged in a federal case in Tampa, Florida, in which a former DEA informant, Gustavo Yabrudi, a dual Venezuelan-American citizen, recently pleaded guilty to money laundering. That case refers to an unnamed “co-conspirator 3” — a suspect who is in fact Irizarry, the five officials said.

 

It is unknown where the 44-year-old Irizarry is living, or whether he has been charged in the ongoing criminal probe. Repeated messages seeking comment left on a cellphone number the law enforcement officials said belongs to Irizarry were not returned.

 

Chad Van Horn, a Miami attorney who represented Irizarry in a bankruptcy case, said he had no comment and could provide no assistance in efforts to reach him. Barry Wax, a Miami defense attorney who has also represented Irizarry, did not return phone calls and emails seeking comment.

 

A DEA spokeswoman said Irizarry resigned from the agency after he was recalled from Colombia to Washington in 2017 but declined further comment.

 

When word of the scandal reached Washington that year, the FBI and Justice Department dispatched investigators to Colombia to conduct criminal and internal inquiries, fearing that it could backfire on the DEA’s ability to keep the trust of sources in the criminal underworld, the law enforcement officials said.

 

The case raises new questions about the DEA’s screening practices in its hiring of special agents. Irizarry was hired by the DEA despite indications he showed signs of deception in a polygraph exam he took upon admission, three of the law enforcement officials said.

 

There were other red flags. In 2010, Irizarry declared bankruptcy with debts of almost $500,000, but he was nevertheless permitted to handle financial transactions in his role at the DEA.

 

Before he was exposed, Irizarry had been a model agent, the law enforcement officials said, winning praise from his supervisors. Based out of Miami, he won special permission to set up an undercover operation to send money and ship contraband merchandise to Colombia on behalf of suspected drug traffickers using front companies, shell bank accounts and couriers.

 

https://apnews.com/7bbc49156a7e47e6a1f6b3a37946ee12

Anonymous ID: 7b128d Jan. 17, 2019, 1:23 p.m. No.4795309   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5323 >>5325 >>5410 >>5648

Graham criticizes Trump canceling Pelosi trip as 'inappropriate’

 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) criticized President Trump on Thursday for canceling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) overseas visit to troops in Afghanistan, calling the move “inappropriate.”

 

Graham also criticized Pelosi for “playing politics with the State of the Union.” Pelosi on Wednesday sent a letter to Trump requesting that he agree to postpone the Jan. 29 address or deliver it in writing if the partial government shutdown has not ended.

 

The South Carolina Republican, an ally of Trump's who has also criticized the president from time to time, called on both Trump and Pelosi to “find the same desire to work for common goals as those who serve our nation in uniform and other capacities.”

 

More

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/425900-graham-inappropriate-for-trump-to-cancel-pelosis-military-travel-for-troop

Anonymous ID: 7b128d Jan. 17, 2019, 1:32 p.m. No.4795451   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5458

Teen missing for nearly a year was kept as ‘sex slave’ in trailer, police say

 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Police have arrested seven suspected human traffickers after a 16-year-old boy who had been missing for nearly a year was found in a “filthy” trailer St. Petersburg, Florida.

 

“The teenage victim in this case was lured with promises of a better life,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said at a press conference Monday. “Instead, he was moved into a filthy trailer and used as a sex slave for nearly a year.”

 

The investigation began on May 9, 2018 after Louisiana officials contacted police in St. Petersburg with information about another missing boy, 17, who they believed had been lured through the online gaming app Discord.

 

According to police, the suspects used it to communicate with the teen, who they picked up and drove to St. Petersburg.

 

When investigators went to a mobile home in North St. Petersburg where Louisiana authorities said he was, they found both teens living in the trailer with four men, Mark Earl Dennis, Andrew Barry Dennis, Curtis Lee Gruwell and Michael Wayne Schwartz.

 

Dennis initially told authorities he was the 16-year-old’s father, which turned out to be false, police said.

 

The 16-year-old, from Marion County, Florida, was 15 when he disappeared. Police say his family found a note from their son saying not to look for him. Investigators now believe one of the suspects, Eleanor Faye McGlamory, had befriended the boy and lured him to the trailer.

 

“For the next year, he was introduced to sadomasochism and used as a sex slave by Mark and Anddrew Dennis, Gruwell, Schwartz and their associated, Michael Ray Blasdel and JR Gauthier,” police said in a news release. During the time he was held in the mobile home he did not attend school and wasn’t given medical treatment, according to police.

 

All seven face charges of conspiracy to commit human trafficking and interference with custody. Mark Earl Dennis, Andrew Barry Dennis, Michael Ray Blasdel and JR Gauthier also face charges of sexual battery with a child under age 16.

 

https://fox8.com/2019/01/15/teen-missing-for-nearly-a-year-was-kept-as-sex-slave-in-trailer-police-say/