Mark Meadows: DOJ exploring 'unbelievably unusual activity' in final months of Obama administration

Rep. Mark Meadows said the Justice Department is examining irregularities in the intelligence community as part of its review of the origins of the Russia investigation. Reacting to newly released documents on changes in U.S. procedures for sharing raw intelligence, Meadows said there was "unbelievably unusual activity" in the final months of the Obama administration. "I can tell you that [U.S. Attorney] John Durham and Attorney General [William] Barr are going to get to the bottom of it," the North Carolina Republican said Monday evening on Fox News. "They are including in part of their surveillance — really looking at the intelligence community to make sure that justice is brought."

On Sean Hannity's show, before Meadows was brought on to speak along with colleague Rep. Jim Jordan, attorney Jay Sekulow discussed the latest findings by his conservative watchdog group, the American Center for Law and Justice. The records obtained by the ACLJ showed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under James Clapper pushing to increase access to raw signal intelligence before President Trump took office. The New York Times first reported the expanded access to intercepted communications in January 2017. Although Hannity and Sekulow played up the newly released records, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, as suspiciously timed and "rushed," the Times noted the discussions for such changes to remove bureaucratic barriers stretched back years dating back to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Still, Jordan said he suspects there was evidence of nefarious intent, tying the changes to an interview Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did in January 2017 in which the New York Democrat warned then-incoming President Trump that intelligence officials "have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you." "So this is one of those six ways," Jordan said, adding that the other "ways" include British ex-spy Christopher Steele's anti-Trump dossier the CIA's use of informants to make contact with members of the Trump campaign.

Barr tasked Durham, a U.S. attorney from Connecticut, with leading the inquiry focused on the origins of the counterintelligence investigation into Trump's campaign, which the FBI began in the summer of 2016. The DOJ review of the early stages of the Trump-Russia investigation is not a criminal inquiry, but should Durham find criminal activity he can take prosecutorial action. Jordan noted how first Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is expected to wrap up his investigation into Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse and that could influence Durham's efforts. "The attorney general of the United States and U.S. Attorney John Durham are doing an investigation. And they have told us this is broader than just the FBI — they're going to look at all of this," Jordan said. "First, Horowitz is going to come out. His report a year ago was very good," the Ohio Republican said. "Then we will see where Mr. Durham and Mr. Barr where their investigation and what they come back with."

The Justice Department's examination of the early stages of the counterintelligence investigation into Trump's campaign has been cheered by Republicans and criticized by Democrats. After Trump granted Barr sweeping powers to declassify secret information and instructed a handful of agencies to cooperate with his investigation, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff panned the effort as a "disturbing" scheme to politicize intelligence. A DOJ letter written to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler outlining the scope of its investigation said the review is "broad in scope and multifaceted" and includes a look at actions both by the U.S. government and by foreigners.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mark-meadows-doj-exploring-unbelievably-unusual-activity-in-final-months-of-obama-administration

Third Mueller scope memo proof Rosenstein was 'scared to death' of McCabe, Joe DiGenova says

The revelation of a possible third scope memo for special counsel Robert Mueller showed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was "scared to death" of top FBI brass, said attorney Joe DiGenova. Last week, the Washington Examiner's Byron York revealed the existence of a third scope memo, which remains shrouded in secrecy but indicates the instructions Rosenstein gave to Mueller for his Russia investigation were more extensive than previously known.

Reacting to the report on Fox Business, DiGenova, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said it contributes to the notion that the Russia investigation was set up on "illegitimate" grounds and stems back to Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller as special counsel. "When history of this scandal is written, one person will be blamed and should be blamed for the entire wasting of two years of President Trump's presidency. Rod Rosenstein was a coward," DiGenova told host Lou Dobbs. DiGenova claimed Rosenstein was frightened of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who from May to early August 2017 led the bureau after President Trump fired Director James Comey and Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia inquiry.

"He didn't know how to tell McCabe and those people to stop fooling around and messing around with Trump," DiGenova said. "He came in, he found out about the Hillary Clinton investigation. He saw how rabidly anti-Trump they were, and he, Rosenstein, caved and gave up the power of the attorney general and the deputy attorney general to a bunch of corrupt FBI officials. And that third scope memo is proof that he was scared to death of McCabe." DiGenova served as an independent counsel in the 1990s for a case on President Bill Clinton's passport before he was elected. Last year, it was announced DiGenova and his wife Victoria Toensing were joining Trump's legal team for the federal Russia investigation, but that plan was nixed within days. He has been highly critical of Mueller's Russia investigation, claiming that Trump had been "framed" by the Justice Department and the FBI.

Rosenstein left the DOJ last month after Mueller completed his 22-month-long investigation. McCabe was fired from the FBI on March 16, 2018, after the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General determined he misled investigators about the role he had in leaking information to the Wall Street Journal in October 2016 about the investigation into the Clinton Foundation. McCabe, who acknowledged he ordered the obstruction of justice investigation into Trump, argued that his firing was an attempt to discredit the FBI and Mueller's investigation. He has since called for House Democrats to begin impeachment proceedings against the president. Trump's allies have applauded Attorney General William Barr for his efforts to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation, but although Rosenstein, McCabe, Comey, and other officials they often accused of harboring bias against the president are out of government, some conflict remains. FBI Director Christopher Wray took heat after he disagreed with Trump over whether there was improper spying on his 2016 campaign. In an interview with the Hill on Monday, Trump declined to say if he had confidence in Wray. However, on Tuesday he appeared to walk that back by telling reporters that "yes" he is confident in Wray's performance.

Mueller's report was released with redactions in April, but fascination over the unseen aspects of his work remain intense. Republicans have called the case closed while Democrats argue Mueller left it to them to take up the investigation due to the limitations of his mandate, including indicting or recommending charges for obstruction of justice. The first scope memorandum, which was immediately made public, was written by Rosenstein in May 2017 when Rosenstein first appointed Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. Rosenstein said Mueller would look at any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of Trump, any matters that arose directly from the investigation, and anything else within the scope of the DOJ’s special counsel regulations.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/third-mueller-scope-memo-proof-rod-rosenstein-was-scared-to-death-of-andrew-mccabe-joe-digenova-says

>>6841840

DiGenova calls the DOJ and FBI politically corrupt, says Barr will 'clean it up'

DiGenova & Toensing’s Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova discuss the DOJ’s third “scope memo” to Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

'We're not law enforcement': FedEx sues Trump administration over export rules

Shipping giant FedEx has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Commerce over export rules it claims require the company to "police the contents” of customer deliveries and enforce the Trump administration’s trade blacklist. The lawsuit follows Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei's decision to reevaluate its use of Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx after packages sent from Japan and bound for China were instead diverted to the U.S. FedEx said the packages were accidentally misrouted and apologized.

“Common carriers, as transporters for the public, cannot reasonably be expected to police the contents and ultimate destinations of the millions of daily shipments to ensure compliance" with export administration regulations, the company said in its lawsuit. Those rules, which do not offer a safe harbor provision, prohibit the international transfer of commodities, technology, information, and software for national security and foreign policy purposes.

FedEx argues the export controls violate the its Fifth Amendment right to due process, as “they unreasonably hold common carriers strictly liable for shipments that may violate the Export Administration Regulations without requiring evidence" that carriers knew what the packages contained. “FedEx is a transportation company, not a law enforcement agency,” the company said in a statement. It's asking the U.S. District Court in D.C. to block enforcement of the applicable provisions.

Though Huawei, the second largest smartphone brand, isn’t named in the lawsuit, the filing follows an executive order signed by President Trump in May that barred U.S. companies from using foreign telecommunications services that might pose a national security threat. The move took direct aim at Huawei and came amid growing concerns from U.S. officials that China could use such firms for espionage.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/were-not-law-enforcement-fedex-sues-trump-administration-over-export-rules

>>6841898

That's it!! I couldn't place who she reminded me of, Kek!

Democratic presidential contender offers $1,000 per month to Twitter follower

Democratic presidential contender Andrew Yang announced that his campaign will be giving $1,000 per month for a year to one lucky Twitter follower on July 4. “I will give $1,000/mo for the next 12 months FREE to someone who retweets this and follows me by July 4th Let's show why money is the answer & why this is the campaign for people. No purchase necessary. US citizens only,” Yang said on Twitter.

The selected Twitter follower will be the third recipient of the Yang campaign's pilot program for Universal Basic Income. A key component of Yang's plan for UBI is called the “Freedom Dividend.” The dividend aims to subsidize all Americans over the age of 18 with $1,000 dollars a month to counter automation and support job growth. Yang has pointed to the Alaska state program called the “ Permanent Fund dividend” to defend his idea of UBI, which dispersed $1,600 last year to citizens who have resided in the state for at least one year. Approximately 68% of Alaskan natives reported some difference in their economic situations. Yang is one of 20 Democrats who will participate in the Democratic presidential debates hosted by NBC News on Wednesday and Thursday.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/democratic-presidential-contender-offers-1-000-per-month-to-twitter-follower

Ted Cruz files amendment to pay for downed drone from Iran's frozen assets

Ted Cruz has officially filed to have the federal government recoup the losses for a drone shot down by the Iranian government by extracting the drone's value in cash from Iran's frozen assets. "Yesterday I filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that begins process forcing #Iran to pay for the U.S. drone they shot down, using frozen Iranian funds," the Texas Republican senator tweeted.

The RQ-4A Global Hawk High-Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aircraft drone, valued at approximately $130 million, was shot down after the Iranian government said it left international waters and entered Iran's airspace. The U.S. disagreed, with President Trump saying that it was "all documented" that the drone did not leave international airspace. The two governments both released footage of the attack. The U.S. froze approximately $100 billion in Iranian assets held in international accounts following the Iranian Revolution of 1979. A recent bipartisan bill introduced into Congress would distribute almost $2 billion of that to the families of Americans killed in the Beirut bombing of 1983, perpetrated by what would later become Hezbollah, which was backed by the Iranian government.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/ted-cruz-files-amendment-to-pay-for-downed-drone-from-irans-frozen-assets

>>6842065

That is a superb idea! Just too bad we couldn't make it so!

>>6841925

I think in the end we'll find out that the house he bought in Washington, was his spy headquarters..all of the debugging that had been done in the White House, probably leads directly to his door step.

>>6842098

I agree with you on that, in fact I have heard that to be true with most shipping companies, under the guise of National Security.