Rudy Giuliani Reacts to Release of Bruce Ohr 302 Reports…

President Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani appears on Fox News with reaction to the release of information contained within the FBI investigative notes of DOJ official Bruce Ohr.
Within the interview Giuliani drops a few bombshells, including an apparent lengthy amount of time that U.S. Attorney John Durham has spent in Europe investigating the FBI and CIA operations against the Trump campaign.


(more…)

Judicial Watch FOIA – Bruce Ohr 302 Reports Released, (full pdf)…

Bruce Ohr is a DOJ official who was interviewed by the FBI during the DOJ/FBI collaborative effort to target president-elect Donald Trump after the 2016 election.
Mr. Ohr was interviewed on 12 different occasions between November 22nd 2016 and May 15th 2017.  Judicial Watch has finally received the copies of the FBI investigative notes, aka “302 reports”.

The last interview of Bruce Ohr (May 15th, 2017) took place two days prior to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.  Throughout the interviews (full pdf below) Bruce Ohr was acting as the go-between delivering information from his wife Nellie Ohr at Fusion GPS and one of Fusion’s contract investigators, Christopher Steele.
The 302 reports are heavily redacted (sources and methods); however, we already know the majority of names underneath the redactions.  Here are the *302 investigative notes:
[scribd id=421245115 key=key-hRYSoZtmcgQ65K4rWCJr mode=scroll]
*more analysis will follow.

Andrew McCabe Files Federal Civil Lawsuit Against DOJ and FBI – Claims Trump Carried Out "Unconstitutional Plan" Against Him…

Today former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe files a federal civil lawsuit (full pdf below) claiming wrongful termination by the DOJ and FBI.  Exactly the same parameters are used by McCabe as were asserted by FBI Agent Peter Strzok in a very similar lawsuit earlier this week…. Only McCabe claims a conspiracy carried out by President Trump.
Again, as with the earlier Strzok lawsuit, both are not going through the process within the Department of Labor for a wrongful termination complaint.  Instead both are using federal courts in an effort to construct a narrative of sorts.
The motive here is 100% political obfuscation, and the same Lawfare team is involved in the construct.
Both Andrew McCabe and Peter Strzok are claiming their first amendment (speech) and fifth amendment (due process) rights were violated.  Both have filed civil suits under the same pretext.  However, McCabe’s Lawfare lawyers construct an argument that goes one step further.
According to Andrew McCabe, President Donald Trump constructed a master conspiracy of influence upon the DOJ and FBI; thereby usurping the powers of the constitution in a sketchy legal theory they cannot define.  Thus the McCabe lawyers define the action by President Trump under “legal nullity” – An operation that theoretically is, or might be, of some legal significance, but in fact lacks any identity or distinct structure of its own.
(more…)

Former FBI Agent Peter Strzok Files Lawsuit Against DOJ and FBI…

Former FBI Agent Peter Strzok has filed a lawsuit in DC federal court seeking reinstatement and back pay as a result of his firing in 2018.
According to the lawsuit (full pdf below) Strzok is claiming his first amendment right to free speech was violated and his fifth amendment right to due process was violated.
Upon initial review, this lawsuit looks like a stunt; motive undetermined, but perhaps related to the pending release of the IG report on FISA abuse where Strzok was a key participant.
A federal civil lawsuit using the DC circuit and the U.S. Constitution as a primary protective assertion does not follow the path of a serious claim for wrongful firing or termination of employment.
Traditionally, and with a genuine claim, wrongful termination actions would go through a formal complaint and review process within the U.S. Department of Labor.  Hiring a lawyer and filing a federal civil lawsuit claiming disingenuous constitutional rights violations reeks of an ulterior motive for publicity; ie. purposeful political value in alignment with Strzock’s allies in Lawfare.   This is a political stunt… 100%
Peter Strzoks lawyers are: Aitan D. Goelman, from Zuckerman Spaeder LLP;  Richard A. Salzman and Julia T. Quinn from Heller, Huron, Chertkof & Salzman PLLC.
(more…)

Explosive Interview – Maria Bartiromo Drops Big News With Trey Gowdy….

Whooo doggies, Maria Bartiromo outdid herself this morning with an interview segment just packed with information, insight and discussion into the DOJ and FBI corruption and DNI Ratcliffe’s nomination. (h/t Michael SheridanThis is a MUST WATCH:
After the first segment on the El Paso and Dayton shootings, Ms. Bartiromo segued into a discussion of George Papadopoulos and the secret informant transcripts; from recordings that were part of the FBI sting operation using U.S. intelligence asset Stefan Halper; and are now being held in evidence by U.S. Attorney John Durham and Inspector General Michael Horowitz. [Background] Keep in mind Gowdy has seen these transcripts.
According to Bartiromo those transcripts include FBI wire-taps of Halper attempting to get Papadopulos to accept assistance from Russia (delivering Clinton emails), and George Papadopoulos absolutely refusing to accept any engagement therein.  Confirming that outline, Gowdy notes there are more recordings (and transcripts) of a similar nature, where the FBI was attempting to bait other Trump campaign officials.
Additionally, Bartiromo confirms that Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to meet with DNI nominee John Ratcliffe after his nomination; and exactly as we suspected it was the lack of support from the SSCI and McConnell that led to his nomination withdrawal. Stunning interview.


(more…)

Devin Nunes Discusses IG Criminal Referral and DOJ Position on James Comey…

House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes appears on Fox News with Tucker Carlson to discuss the ongoing investigative situation with James Comey.
Representative Nunes highlights the difference between Inspector General Michael Horowitz and U.S. Attorney John Durham; noting there is a possibility the investigative review of Mr. Durham touches on a great deal more than IG Horowitz.  WATCH:


(more…)

DOJ Files Motion to Block Court Order Forcing Release of "Archey Declarations" (Comey Memos)…

The DOJ has filed a response motion requesting a reversal of a prior court order that would have forced unredacted release of the “David Archey Delcarations“; detailed descriptions of the James Comey memos.  [Detailed Backstory]
In their latest filing (full pdf below) the DOJ and FBI are falling back on the familiar “sources and methods” justification to block DC Circuit Court Judge Boasberg’s earlier ruling.
[Backstory for those unfamilar] In the background of what was The Mueller Investigation, there was a FOIA case where the FBI was fighting to stop the release of the Comey memos.  Within that courtroom fight Mueller’s lead FBI agent David Archey wrote a series of declarations to the court describing the content of the memos and arguing why they should be kept classified.
The FOIA fight shifted; and the plaintiff, CNN, argued for public release of the content of the FBI agent’s descriptions, now known as the “Archey Declarations”.
After a lengthy back-and-forth legal contest, on June 7th Judge James E Boasberg agreed to allow the FBI to keep the Comey memo content hidden, but instructed the DOJ/FBI to release the content of the Archey Declarations.  The DOJ is seeking to reverse that order.
(more…)

James Comey Responds IG Investigation and Criminal Referral…

The interesting aspect here is to remind ourselves that James Comey is currently in the “Principal Review Phase” of a pending IG report that is specific to his conduct.
Inspector General Michael Horowitz has written a report of Comey’s conduct. Part of that process included a criminal referral to US Attorney John Huber, and a prosecution declination. James Comey has obviously reviewed the IG report (an NDA restricts his ability to talk specifically about it); and we are awaiting publication of the final report.

(Tweet Link)

It sounds like former FBI Director James Comey has concluded his response to the Inspector General’s report.  Which means the IG report is soon to be released.

Moments Away – Inspector General Report on James Comey To Be Released Any Day…

Now that we know the Department of Justice Inspector General is about to release a report on former FBI Director James Comey; and now that we know the OIG Principal Review Phase was already initiated; we can start to monitor the IG Website for the release.

NOTE: This is NOT the IG report on DOJ and FBI conduct about IG FISA abuses. This is a carve-out report, specific to James Comey and his leaked memos.

It appears the pending IG report will cover the conduct of James Comey and how he handled a series of memos he produced; contemporaneous accounts written by Comey covering events he documented outside of normal FBI protocol.

As part of the process, the inspector general report has been given to James Comey in advance.  According to John Solomon reporting, Comey lawyers Patrick Fitzgerald and Daniel Richman, along with spokesperson Keith Urbahn are all participating in his review of the report content.  This is called the “Principal Review Phase”.
In the example of the 2018 IG report on Andrew McCabe, the OIG gave McCabe’s team a week during the principal review phase, and then published the report two days after the responses were submitted. [McCabe Report Reviewed] We don’t know how long James Comey has had the report, but my hunch is several days.
If the IG sticks to the same general feedback timeline as the McCabe report, we could see a final IG report very soon; perhaps even as early as tomorrow (Friday August 2nd); which would line-up with the DOJ request for additional time in the Comey Memo/Archey Declaration FOIA case in the DC Circuit (Judge James Boasberg) also due Aug 2nd, and possibly delayed due to the background of the Comey IG report being released.
(more…)

FOIA Release: FBI Agents Picked Up Comey Memos From His House Day Before Senate Testimony…

A recent FOIA release from Judicial Watch (full pdf below) reveals that two of Mueller’s initial FBI agents, based on dates and redactions – likely Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka, visited James Comey on June 7th, 2017, to retrieve a collection of his memos.
[However, a word of caution, one of the memos was titled “last night at 6:30pm” and is being widely misinterpreted to have been written the night before (June 6th, 2017) when that is not accurate.  It is likely that memo relates to the January dinner in the White House with President Trump that held the same sentence.]

(pdf here)

If we ignore the misinterpreted “last night” memo aspect (dinner with potus in January ’17), here’s what we can learn from this FOIA release:
♦First, the memos were picked up while FBI agent’s Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka were lead FBI agents that transferred into the Mueller team.  Therefore it’s likely they were the two who traveled to Comey’s house for this June 7th effort.
(more…)