Bill Of Impeachment: Article I, Obstruction Of Justice

[Lord Jim]

Mueller Team Asking If Trump Tried to Hide Purpose of Trump Tower Meeting

Federal investigators working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller are keenly focused on President Donald Trump's role in crafting a response to a published article about a meeting between Russians and his son Donald Jr., three sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.

The sources told NBC News that prosecutors want to know what Trump knew about the meeting and whether he sought to conceal its purpose.

The meeting occurred at Trump Tower in June 2016 and was attended by Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. The meeting, which was first reported by the New York Times, also involved Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya and former Soviet intelligence officer Rinat Akhmetshin.

At the time, the White House confirmed that Trump had "weighed in" as the response to the Times report was drafted aboard Air Force One on July 8 as the president returned to the U.S. from Germany.

http://www.necn.com/news/politics/Muell ... 51733.html

[Lord Jim]

Excellent well researched and thoughtful article laying out the case for beginning a formal impeachment inquiry:

https://www.lawfareblog.com/its-time-co ... nt-inquiry

I'm not going to copy and paste the whole thing, (if this is a topic you're interested in it's well worth the read...even though some of the paragraphs are a little over-long) but here's an excerpt to give you an idea of the focus:

In our view, Congress should be evaluating at least three baskets of possible impeachable offenses. There is a good deal of overlap between these classes of misconduct, but they are sufficiently distinct to warrant individual attention:

his abuses of power, most obviously exemplified by his conduct with respect to the investigations into his campaign’s collusion with Russia;

his failures of moral leadership; and

his abandonment of the basic duties of his office.

At the extreme, each type of misconduct not only denigrates the presidency but also fundamentally undermines the security of the United States.

ETA:

Oh, and lest anyone think this is the work of some lefty fringe types, here's some bio info on one of the co-authors of the article:

Wittes (born November 5, 1969) is an American journalist who focuses on issues of national security and law. He is Benjamin Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he is the Research Director in Public Law, and Co-Director of the Harvard Law School – Brookings Project on Law and Security.[1]

He works principally on issues related to American law and national security. Along with Robert M. Chesney and Jack Goldsmith, Wittes cofounded the Lawfare Blog,[2] which is devoted to the discussion of U.S. national security choices. Wittes is also a member of the Hoover Institution's Task Force on National Security and Law.[3][4] Wittes is a frequent speaker on topics of detention, interrogation, and national security, before academic, government, policy, and military audiences.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Wittes

[Big RR]

thanks for the link Jim.

[ex-khobar Andy]

I have a little 'be careful what you wish for' feeling about this. Firstly, I am not sure that I see a vaguely competent religious whack job as being preferable to an incompetent asshole. That is especially difficult if Russian involvement in election meddling, with or without collusion, is proven. And by collusion here I mean the active participation and condonement by the Trump/Pence campaign, not just the routine gerrymandering in which both Democrats and Republicans participate but which the Rs are rather better at. If there is credible evidence that the Russians (or anyone else for that matter) successfully influenced the election then we need a redo.

Secondly, using 'moral degradation' as a convenient shorthand for Trump's many failures to live up to what we expect a President to do and how he should comport himself, I am not sure I can buy this as an impeachable offense. Of course it's subjective: and we have no better example than Bill Clinton whose behavior with Ms Lewinsky was reprehensible and would have resulted in any CEO getting the boot from a public company. Clinton of course was fortunate in his enemies which led to people like me (OK, guilty Your Honor) defending his conduct because I could not abide the idea of a successful scalp for the Newt Gingriches of the world. (And little did we know then of Gingrich's own dabbling in adultery and general marital assholeness.) Nixon resigned only when it became clear that the impeachment vote would go against him and there was nowhere to run. The most horrid (to me) outcome would be a premature impeachment attempt on fuzzy grounds of incompetence which failed because too few congress critters could be persuaded that a three digit IQ was in fact a requirement for a President. And I think we have to consider the effect on the country. The fact remains that there are currently something like 50 million people who think that Trump is the second coming. (I am assuming that perhaps 20% of his voters are no longer blinded by the bling.). Many of these people have guns. An impeachment and removal of 45 on anything less that absolute and transparent and incontrovertible grounds would be a recipe for civil war. Personally I want to see a cookie jar with his hand still in it. I can wait.

[Lord Jim]

Exclusive: Mueller Enlists the IRS for His Trump-Russia Investigation

Special counsel Bob Mueller has teamed up with the IRS. According to sources familiar with his investigation into alleged Russian election interference, his probe has enlisted the help of agents from the IRS’ Criminal Investigations unit.

This unit—known as CI—is one of the federal government’s most tight-knit, specialized, and secretive investigative entities. Its 2,500 agents focus exclusively on financial crime, including tax evasion and money laundering. A former colleague of Mueller’s said he always liked working with IRS’ special agents, especially when he was a U.S. Attorney.

And it goes without saying that the IRS has access to Trump’s tax returns—documents that the president has long resisted releasing to the public.

Potential financial crimes are a central part of Mueller’s probe. One of his top deputies, Andy Weissmann, formerly helmed the Justice Department’s Enron probe and has extensive experience working with investigative agents from the IRS.

“From the agents, I know everyone has the utmost respect for both Mueller and Weissmann,” said Martin Sheil, a retired IRS Criminal Investigations agent.

And he said Mueller and Weissmann are known admirers of those agents’ work.

“They view them with the highest regard,” Sheil said. “IRS special agents are the very best in the business of conducting financial investigations. They will quickly tell you that it took an accountant to nab Al Capone, and it’s true.”

“The FBI’s expertise is spread out over so many statutes—and particularly since 9/11, where they really focused on counterintelligence and counterterror—that they simply don’t have the financial investigative expertise that the CI agents have,” Sheil continued. “When CI brings a case to a U.S. Attorney, it is done. It’s wrapped up with a ribbon and a bow. It’s just comprehensive.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive- ... estigation

[BoSoxGal]

Trump is sooooooooooo fucked!

[RayThom]

"Follow the Money."

I've been hammering at this since that guy James Comey refused to dance for Lord Dampnut.

I'll bet my Socialist Security check that it's eventually proven that Drumpf was money laundering for his Pусский, oligarch, comrades.

[BoSoxGal]

Breaking: Mueller has a copy of the draft letter Trump and Miller wrote firing Comey - a 'screed' that the White House counsel advised against sending, and instead called in Sessions and Rosenstein to craft an alternative firing basis letter.

Apparently, all the ins and outs of this now implicate Pence in potential misprision of felony by covering up the true reasons for Comey's firing which he was made aware of, but instead said publicly that it was done at DOJ's recommendation.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/u ... etter.html

I would love to be working for Mueller's team, even if only as a lowly clerk. I'd do it for free! This is fascinating stuff.

[Burning Petard]

Now the news is out that the Mueller team has pulled in people from the New York state criminal investigation staff. POTUS cannot pardon people for state crimes.

snailgate

[BoSoxGal]

Here's a law professor explaining Pence's culpability:

Pence poop

[Lord Jim]

Meanwhile, there's been no hurricane evacuation at the Special Counsel's office:

Mueller gives White House names of 6 aides he expects to question in Russia probe

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has alerted the White House that his team will probably seek to interview six top current and former advisers to President Trump who were witnesses to several episodes relevant to the investigation of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the request.

Mueller’s interest in the aides, including trusted adviser Hope Hicks, former press secretary Sean Spicer and former chief of staff Reince Priebus, reflects how the probe that has dogged Trump’s presidency is starting to penetrate a closer circle of aides around the president.

Each of the six advisers was privy to important internal discussions that have drawn the interest of Mueller’s investigators, according to people familiar with the probe, including his decision in May to fire FBI Director James B. Comey. Also of interest is the White House’s initial inaction after warnings about then-national security adviser Michael Flynn’s December discussions with Russia’s ambassador to the United States.

The advisers are also connected to internal documents that Mueller’s investigators have asked the White House to produce, according to people familiar with the special counsel’s inquiry.

Roughly four weeks ago, the special counsel’s team provided the White House with the names of the first group of current and former Trump advisers and aides whom investigators expect to question.

In addition to Priebus, Spicer and Hicks, Mueller has notified the White House he will probably seek to question White House counsel Don McGahn and one of his deputies, James Burnham. Mueller’s office has also told the White House that investigators may want to interview Josh Raffel, a White House spokesman who works closely with Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.

White House officials are expecting that Mueller will seek additional interviews, possibly with family members, including Kushner, who is a West Wing senior adviser, according to the people familiar with Mueller’s inquiry.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... 4112651051

[Lord Jim]

No hurricane evacuation at the Senate Judiciary Committee either:

Sources: Trump Jr. said he did not recall WH involvement in response to meeting

Washington (CNN)Donald Trump Jr. told Senate judiciary committee staffers Thursday that he did not recall the details of White House involvement in the public response to his 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer and did not know much about the Air Force One meeting that allegedly led to the production of the statement, ["you can say 'I can't recall. I can't give any answer to that that I can recall.'"- Richard Nixon]sources told CNN.

Trump Jr. was explicitly asked whether he either took any of the Russian participants in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting to see his father -- now President Donald Trump -- or whether he told his father about the meeting after, sources said. He insisted he did neither.

Asked why his father promised the next day that dirt was coming on Hillary Clinton, Trump Jr. told Senate staffers that's just the way his father talks.

The President's eldest son met with congressional investigators for more than five hours Thursday, but at least one member of the Senate judiciary committee is saying Trump Jr.'s interview is doing little to ease their concerns.

Following the meeting, Trump Jr. tweeted about his interview.

"I met with the Senate Judiciary Committee today. I am thankful for their professionalism and courtesy," he tweeted.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who sat in on the meeting with committee staff, told CNN that Trump Jr. has not put concerns to rest and is opening up new lines of inquiry.

Trump Jr. reportedly told investigators that he set up a 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer after being promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton because it was important to learn about her "fitness" to be President, according to a New York Times report about the conversation.

The eldest son of President Donald Trump said in a prepared statement that nothing came of the meeting at Trump Tower and that he did not collude with the Russian government campaign meddling operation, according to the Times, which obtained a copy of Trump Jr.'s statement.

Trump Jr.'s Thursday interview with the Senate judiciary committee staff could be the prelude for other full-scale public hearings focusing on his role as an unofficial campaign aide to his father.

Trump Jr. became a central figure in the Russia drama after it emerged that he had attended a meeting in June 2016 with a Russian lawyer with connections to the Kremlin after being promised information damaging to Hillary Clinton.

Trump Jr. initially said the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya offered no meaningful information and had simply wanted to discuss a suspended Russia-US adoption program. But following more revelations about the meeting, he released emails that show he was told by a facilitator, publicist Rob Goldstone, that the encounter was part of "Russia and its government's support for Mr Trump."

The Senate intelligence committee has been the main panel in the chamber looking into the Russia matter, though the judiciary committee under GOP Chairman Chuck Grassley has intensified its focus in recent months.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/07/politics/ ... index.html

Gee whiz, poor Don Jr. and Jared must be suffering from early on-set Alzheimer's with all the seemingly very memorable things that they just can't remember...

Fortunately for Junior, there will be plenty of other witnesses to dad's involvement in drafting that justice obstructing press release who will be brought in to testify under oath to both congress and the special counsel to help refresh his memory...

[Guinevere]

[Lord Jim]

And the process marches relentlessly forward, without regard to hurricanes, North Korea, or anything else:

Trump team forced for first time to hand over documents to Mueller's Russia investigation

The Trump administration has reportedly started handing over documents to the special counsel’s team investigating possible collusion between the President’s 2016 campaign and Russia’s alleged effort to interfere with the election.

Earlier this summer, it was revealed that special prosecutor Robert Mueller had requested the White House preserve a number of documents relating to various members of Donald Trump’s campaign team.

He asked it to preserve evidence relating to former general Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign as Mr Trump’s national security adviser, as well as to a June 2016 meeting between a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer and the President’s eldest son, son-in-law and campaign manager.

Now it has emerged the White House has begun passing some of the those documents to Mr Mueller’s team, as he continues his probe into possible collusion and even obstruction of justice.

The Daily Beast said that Jones Day, the New York law firm representing Mr Trump’s campaign, had assigned lawyers to find documents relating to Mr Mueller’s investigation, and that John Dowd, a veteran Washington lawyer who is representing Mr Trump, is personally delivering them.

The Trump campaign has previously turned over documents to congressional investigators, but this was reportedly the first instance of documents produced for Mueller’s office at the Justice Department. It may suggest that Mr Mueller’s investigation and those being carried out by officials on Capitol Hill, may be focussing on common ground.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 43631.html

Tickety tock...

[RayThom]

... Tickety tock...

Is that meant for Lord Dampnut or Mueller?

[dales]

45

[Econoline]

[BoSoxGal]

10s of millions of slavishly devoted morons.

[Lord Jim]

This week's tick tock round-up:

Special counsel asks WH for documents pertaining to Trump presidency

Washington (CNN)

Special counsel Robert Mueller has requested documents and information covering a range of events from President Donald Trump's White House, including two firings and an Oval Office meeting, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

Mueller's investigators are looking for documents and emails relating to the dismissals of national security adviser Michael Flynn and FBI director James Comey, according to the sources. In addition, one source confirms that

Mueller's team wants information connected to the Oval Office meeting Trump had with Russian officials in which he bragged about firing Comey, saying it eased pressure on his White House.

The requests show that parts of Mueller's investigation are focusing on the President's own actions.

Mueller's team also approached the White House about interviewing staffers who were aboard Air Force One for the creation of the initial response to news of Donald Trump Jr.'s Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer, sources previously told CNN.

Mueller also asked the White House to save all the documents relating to Trump Jr.'s Trump Tower meeting, according to a source who had seen the notice, CNN reported in July.

The Times also reported Tuesday that Mueller's office recently sent a document to the White House outlining 13 areas that investigators want additional details on.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/20/politics/ ... index.html

Manafort offered to give Russian billionaire ‘private briefings’ on 2016 campaign

Less than two weeks before Donald Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination, his campaign chairman offered to provide briefings on the race to a Russian billionaire closely aligned with the Kremlin, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Paul Manafort made the offer in an email to an overseas intermediary, asking that a message be sent to Oleg Deripaska, an aluminum magnate with whom Manafort had done business in the past, these people said.

“If he needs private briefings we can accommodate,” Manafort wrote in the July 7, 2016, email, portions of which were read to The Washington Post along with other Manafort correspondence from that time.

The emails are among tens of thousands of documents that have been turned over to congressional investigators and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s team as they probe whether Trump associates coordinated with Russia as part of Moscow’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... 56d51641c4

ETA:

Exclusive: US government wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman

Washington (CNN)

US investigators wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the election, sources tell CNN, an extraordinary step involving a high-ranking campaign official now at the center of the Russia meddling probe.

The government snooping continued into early this year, including a period when Manafort was known to talk to President Donald Trump.

Some of the intelligence collected includes communications that sparked concerns among investigators that Manafort had encouraged the Russians to help with the campaign, according to three sources familiar with the investigation. Two of these sources, however, cautioned that the evidence is not conclusive.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's team, which is leading the investigation into Russia's involvement in the election, has been provided details of these communications.

A secret order authorized by the court that handles the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) began after Manafort became the subject of an FBI investigation that began in 2014. It centered on work done by a group of Washington consulting firms for Ukraine's former ruling party, the sources told CNN.

The surveillance was discontinued at some point last year for lack of evidence, according to one of the sources.
The FBI then restarted the surveillance after obtaining a new FISA warrant that extended at least into early this year.

Sources say the second warrant was part of the FBI's efforts to investigate ties between Trump campaign associates and suspected Russian operatives. Such warrants require the approval of top Justice Department and FBI officials, and the FBI must provide the court with information showing suspicion that the subject of the warrant may be acting as an agent of a foreign power.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/18/politics/ ... index.html

Sean Spicer filled 'notebook after notebook' on Trump campaign and White House meetings — and it could have major implications for the Russia investigation

Sean Spicer was reportedly known for being a copious note-taker during his time working on Donald Trump's campaign and later as the White House press secretary — a habit that could prove relevant as the FBI's Russia investigation heats up.

Spicer filled "notebook after notebook," to the extent that his subordinates joked that he would eventually write a tell-all memoir, the news website Axios reported Thursday, citing Spicer's former colleagues.

"Sean documented everything," one source familiar with Spicer's note-taking told Axios.

Spicer's name has already been floated as a possible witness whom Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the investigation, may pursue. The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Mueller had alerted the White House that he would most likely seek to interview Spicer, along with five other current and former associates of Trump's.

Thorough note-taking is a departure from typical White House practice — officials from previous administrations told Axios that they deliberately took scant notes during their time in the West Wing because of past investigations.

Another White House official told Axios that "people are going to wish they'd been nicer to Sean," adding, "He was in a lot of meetings."

http://www.businessinsider.com/sean-spi ... ion-2017-9

[Guinevere]

From Twitter just now -- and picked up by ABC News:

ABC News: Robert Mueller's team met behind closed doors today w an unknown group of attorneys & chief judge of US District Court in DC

Quite the interesting group. My guess (ok and also my hope) is they are discussing sealed indictments since in many federal courts filing under seal is disfavored and requires approval of the court.