Retiring House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy discusses the need to subpoena James Comey, Loretta Lynch and Sally Yates for testimony between the joint Oversight and Judiciary Committee.

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Interesting interview covering multiple aspects to the change in House power. Soon to be in the minority, HPSCI Chairman Devin Nunes discusses the likely diminished investigation into DOJ/FBI corruption as a result of Rod Rosenstein and “Dirty Cops” running out the clock.
One of the interesting points noted by Nunes is how Speaker Paul Ryan requested the DOJ and FBI declassify internal emails for House committee use. However, DAG Rod Rosenstein refused to provide the emails which highlighted how officials within the institution abused their authority.
It will be interesting to watch how the “trust the plan” group, those proclaiming Rod Rosenstein is the harbinger of DOJ virtue, reconcile today’s interview with Devin Nunes.

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Outgoing and retiring Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Bob Goodlatte, appears on Fox and Friends weekend to discuss the status of investigations into the DOJ and FBI corruption.
Goodlatte notes the reason for former FBI Director James Comey to refuse to testify to a closed session, and also outlines how the joint House Oversight and Judicary committee will turn over their investigative material to the Senate Oversight (Ron Johnson) and Senate Judiciary (likely Lindsey Graham) committees.

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Congressional oversight in the matters of the DOJ and FBI political weaponization has been negligent by design.  While Special Counsel Robert Mueller creates the “ongoing investigation shield” for all who would be questioned, the republican-led congress has been weak in delivering any actionable results through oversight.
All prior witness transcripts remain concealed as the GOP turns over power to the allies of the witnesses.  Many who have followed the details are frustrated, and with little to no progress within the DOJ/FBI investigation(s) there is an understandable sentiment we have once-again been played. [Fast-n-Furious; IRS; Benghazi; Clinton Emails and now the abuses by the DOJ and FBI.  All of it covered-up by the same can-kicking process]

To rub the proverbial salt in the wound, today Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte announces his request to subpoena former FBI Director, James Comey (November 29), and former DOJ Attorney General, Loretta Lynch (Dec. 5th), in the lame-duck session prior to turning over committee power to the Democrats.
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Senator Lindsey Graham (U-DC) met with Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker earlier today and pauses to discuss with interested media.  Graham confirms Whitaker is intent on allowing the Mueller investigation to come to its natural conclusion.
Additionally, Graham discusses a potential for he and Whitaker to work together next year on issues vitally important to the institution.  [ie. do not expect any ‘spygate’ stuff being discussed at any time over the next several weeks.]

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Additionally today, the Office of Inspector General, Michael Horowitz outlined departmental priorities for the DOJ in 2019. [READ HERE] Which leans heavily toward the possibility the next DOJ-IG report will be a white-wash over the FISA abuse. Notably absent from the challenge priorities is any direct interest in eliminating corruption.
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If you pause for a few minutes and look at every recent headline, and the story therein that delivers frustration;… I mean really elevate and look at the bigger issue inside each of the examples… there’s a connective thread surrounding a shift in law-and-order to focus on “criminal intent.”
“Intent”, not consequence, is now the larger shield being applied toward excusing the action of people within institutions of government and society.

Hillary Clinton was not guilty, because James Comey said they couldn’t prove intent. Recent DOJ releases highlighting: “declined to prosecute” all surround intent.  Illegal alien entry, and accountability for fraud, all downplayed because there’s no proof of intent.
In the larger picture, the focus on intent -a specific decision made within the administration of justice- has become a shield against consequence.
It was a “mistake”…. he/she/it made “a poor decision” etc.  A pattern of obfuscation downplaying consequence and allowing those decision-makers charged with delivering accountability to withdraw or apply the rules of law based on their individual overlay of ‘intent’.
That shift is factually visible everywhere now.
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Voices selling a pending conclusion to the Mueller investigation of President Trump were dealt a set-back today as Robert Mueller files a motion with the court extending the 2016 Russian interference investigation deep into 2019.
The Associated Press is citing court documents filed within the Rick Gates case where the special counsel is requesting additional time for sentencing as an outcome of ongoing cooperation that has expanded the investigation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert Mueller isn’t done with former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates.
That’s according to a new court filing from the special counsel’s team. Prosecutors say they’re not ready for Gates to be sentenced because he is continuing to cooperate with “several ongoing investigations.” And they’re asking a federal judge to give them until mid-January before they have to give another update about his case.

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In a move that supports President Trump, the U.S. Justice Department, Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), has released a lengthy memo [pdf available here] outlining the legal support for the interim appointment of Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General.

(Via Wall Street Journal) […] The Justice Department’s opinion is aimed at critics who say Mr. Whitaker’s installation is an invalid run around the Constitution’s requirement that the Senate provide “advice and consent” for senior executive-branch nominations. It comes a day after the state of Maryland asked a federal judge to block Mr. Whitaker from serving, arguing that job should fall to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
A judge Wednesday set a hearing on that argument for Dec. 19.

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Back on July 22nd, the day after the July 21st surprise release of the Carter Page FISA Title-1 surveillance application, I wrote: “Oh My, This is Either A Sting -OR- The Most Corrupt U.S. Dept of Justice in History” (link).  The issue surrounded the seemingly transparent connection between the James Wolfe indictment and the FISA application.
Three months later, when James Wolfe accepted a single-count guilty plea offer around lying to federal investigators, the answer seemed obvious, at least to me.  Despite the evidence of leaking “top secret” classified documents within the Wolfe indictment DAG Rosenstein initially charged 3 counts of lying; and offered a lower guilty plea on one count.

Along with tenuous congressional testimony; a refusal to comply with document production; and a never-ending defense of the Mueller investigation; Rosenstein gives all appearances of an administrative state weasel.   However, there are solid and reasonable people who genuinely believe both Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller are doing a good, and fair, job for President Trump.
Jeff Carlson over at Marketswork does solid research and analysis.  His position on Rosenstein is far more favorable than mine; and in the interests of intellectual honesty, he could be correct [Here] and [here] and especially [Here], and  I could be entirely wrong.
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There are ongoing consequential election battles taking place in multiple states that are far more urgent than my meager outlines; and it is not my intent to distract from the more pressing matters of our political surrounding.  However, there is a strong possibility the current election events are symptoms of a larger battle within government.

An enigma:

You see, there’s a bunch of ‘unofficial’ evidence, or data-points, that no-one can explain how or why they came to be visible.  The data did not surface sequentially; but it surely surfaced purposefully from within the apparatus of government. Putting the evidence into a sequence that clarifies the picture is not easy. As a respected person recently shared:

“It’s almost like a separate discipline, sort of like textual forensics or document historiography; I don’t know how to describe it yet.”

In an earlier outline I shared the following questions:

• How do we find out about the Mark Warner text messages?
• Who publicly released the Carter Page FISA application?
• Where did the four day flood of information (Dec 1st – 4th, 2017) about Lisa Page and Peter Strzok come from?
• Who released that Page/Strzok information to the media?  Why?
• Who made the decision not to indict James Wolfe for leaking classified information?
• Why be so specific details within the Wolfe indictment; then dismiss them?
• Who made the decision NOT TO redact the key FISC clerk stamp?
• Where is all of this “unofficial” evidence coming from?

Well, here’s my answers.
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