The status of the Eastern District of Virginia case against former partner of Michael Flynn, Bijan Rafiekian is bizarre.
Apparently U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr has not engaged into this case, and the current status is a mess.
The head-scratching FARA case was tenuous from the outset as the prosecution was arguing a rather odd legal interpretation of FARA statutes; and now the DOJ could be handed a dismissal, even if the jury returns a guilty verdict.
Yes, when you stretch legal interpretation beyond evidence, it’s a mess.
The current arguments surround jury instructions where the DOJ is requesting their earlier claims of Rafiekian as an “agent of a foreign government” be dropped (because there is no evidence); and simultaneously arguing that Rafiekian didn’t have to break the law surrounding FARA in order to be found guilty of breaking the DOJ interpretation of the law surrounding FARA.   Confused?  You should be. The judge is too:…

(Source legal motion h/t Techno Fog)

Despite an earlier filing, the DOJ prosecutor never did call Michael Flynn Jr as a witness, nor Michael Flynn himself.  Additionally, after the prosecution finished their presentation, the defense informed Judge Anthony Trenga (in oral arguments) they also have no intention of calling Michael Flynn.
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House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler and his staff (two hired from Lawfare) have been coordinating with the aligned DOJ/FBI special counsel group for several months for the upcoming appearance of Robert Mueller on Wednesday of this upcoming week.
The objective of the group’s coordinated plan has been to present a hearing that supports the original goal of the ‘small group’ effort, impeachment.  Toward that goal Mueller has been working closely with Nadler’s staff who are coordinating Mueller’s appearance.
In this interview Nadler outlines the objective of Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and himself to frame the Mueller testimony.  However, it also appears that Nadler is generally blind to the amount of information in the public sphere which highlights the known illicit motives and foundation of the Weissmann and Mueller team.

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At first blush this story is just odd.  A U.S. rap star has been held in prison for two weeks following a fight in Stockholm, Sweden.  Various people, including celebrities, have reached out to the White House and President Trump for help.  According to one report the administration was able to gain better holding conditions, but the entire story is weird.

Apparently the young American musician was stalked by a group prior to a concert, and a physical confrontation started.  Mr. Rocky’s (aka Rakim May) lawyers say the artist acted in self defense, apparently Swedish authorities consider the event very serious.
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Fox News host Tucker Carlson points out the lack of factual differentiation between the two dozen remaining Democrat presidential candidates fighting to get to the top of the moral superiority platform.

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Bernie Sanders is upset that his campaign workers have gone to the media with their concerns about Bernie’s wage hypocrisy.  “It does bother me that people are going outside of the process and going to the media,” he said. “That is really not acceptable. It is really not what labor negotiations are about, and it’s improper,” he grumbled.

The campaign pay and benefit issue is a little funny considering how Bernie Sanders holds himself up as the global arbiter of all that is righteous and indignant about worker’s pay. In essence Bernie is the self-appointed Che’ Guevara of the current presidential candidate pool.
The problem is that capitalist Bernie is in a fight with communist Bernie.  As a capitalist Bernie wants to count all of the benefits (healthcare payments, reimbursement, etc) as well as a fixed salary as part of the collective pay package of $36k per year.
Keeping the strict salary system in place means Capitalist Bernie can demand a six-day workweek, 60 hrs per week, and retain a $36k/yr minimal payroll per worker. Meanwhile communist Bernie wants to apply a standard $15/hr wage, for every hour and time-and-a-half beyond forty hours, to the rest of American business.  [A tad hypocritical.]
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With Iran now openly engaged in hostile efforts against western maritime navigation, and hijacking western oil tankers, I find it remarkable -albeit predictable- how U.S. media refuse to reference Former Secretary of State John Kerry’s instructions to Iran just a few short months ago. [Reference Article late 2018] [Reference article early 2018]
Reminder of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s anger:

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There is a direct line, a direct connection, between former President Obama and former Secretary Kerry’s engagement with Iran -and the advice presented therein- only a few months ago, and the current hostile conflict Iran is attempting. Yet despite the connection, U.S. media are silent on the association.
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Iran reports they have seized another oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, in an apparent effort to increase hostilities in the region and make a larger conflict with the U.S. and western allies.  All of this activity has a ring of familiarity to it from the late 1980’s.
In ’87 and ’88 the U.S. took over patrolling the strait to afford safe passage for Kuwait tankers and western-flagged ships. Eventually, following the Iranian attack on a U.S. frigate (USS Samuel B Roberts), there were several U.S-Iran military fights.
It looks like Iran is attempting to provoke a similar scenario today.  Only this time former President Obama and former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry appear to be assisting the Iranian government in their political efforts.  As incredible as it might sound at first blush, if Iran kills or captures any American military members in the modern version of the conflict – Obama and Kerry will be working directly for the enemy.  FUBAR:

WASHINGTON – Tehran, Iran — Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it has seized British oil tanker, the Stena Impero, in the Strait of Hormuz. The announcement comes one day after the U.S. said it destroyed an Iranian drone.
The military branch said the tanker over “non-compliance with international maritime laws and regulations” and has transferred the vessel to an Iranian port.

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The 2019 U.S. media are akin to the Monty Python “killer rabbit” skit, as every broadcast and print publication runs away from anything that might be adverse to their political interests.  Oh noes, run away… run away…  Yes, at this point it really is comical.
An armed Antifa terrorist can attempt to use home-made bombs to attack an ICE detention center, get killed in the process, and leave behind a manifesto that actually quotes Democrat Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as his motive to stop the “concentration camps”, and the media flee from coverage…. “run away“.  Meanwhile the world comes to an end over a Trump tweet with apoplectic wall-to-wall coverage.
The entire landscape of 2019 media is a skit beyond mocking; thus the transparently false story behind the life of Hamasketeer #2, lhan Omar, is yet another visible part of this ridiculous pantomime.  It is obvious the story of Omar’s husbro marriage was intended to manipulate the refugee visa program to the benefit of her brother. However, now it surfaces that Omar isn’t even a member of the refugee family she used to escape Somalia:

Steinberg Research Article Here

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Earlier today President Trump and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte held a press availability prior to bilateral discussions.  [Video and Transcript]

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much, everybody. It’s a great honor to be with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. We’ve become friends over the last couple of years.
PRIME MINISTER RUTTE: Absolutely. Yeah.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: We’ve had a lot of good conversations. We’re dealing on trade, we’re dealing on military, we’re dealing on intelligence. And the relationship has never been better.
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The launch of a “republican” political challenger in NY-14 to challenge Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sherie Murray, follows a very familiar political ploy…. A fake candidate intended to protect AOC in 2020.   In June of 2018 Sherie Murray was an avid AOC supporter.
In the last 36 hours you may have seen “republican” candidate Sherie Murray promoted, seemingly out of nowhere, by a variety of media platforms (social media and traditional). However, when there is an obviously coordinated effort to push a rapid high visibility roll-out; and that effort is for a singular congressional district; it is always worth doing some background research.

(Twitter Link)

BEWARE – Having watched this type of political scheme for several years; and accepting people for what they do, not what they claim to be; in my opinion Murray is likely in place to protect AOC in the 2020 race.  This perspective is bolstered by how the launch/roll-out was also timed and scheduled by Fox News.
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