U.S. judge questions special counsel's powers in Manafort case

[whell]

Originally Posted by finnbow

I did.

This is absolutely standard operating procedure for investigating and prosecuting conspiracies by criminal enterprises like the Trump family, Mafia, Enron and drug cartels. In fact, Guiliani gained quite a reputation for doing exactly the same thing in NYC. Dershowitz, an outspoken civil libertarian, defense counsel and cable news gadfly, is adamantly opposed to any (of the perfectly legal) tactics that result in conviction of the type of criminals he normally represents.

Yeah, and I dealt with the BS in that post already,.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by whell

Need someone to do your homework for you? OK, fine...

There's not a single direct quote above from the (sealed) transcript of Comey's testimony. Below is what I appended to my post above you probably didn't see before you composed your bogus response.

Show me the exact quote from Comey in which he said that. While you're (unsuccessfully) looking for it, here's an exact quote from Michael Flynn after his guilty plea:

“After over 33 years of military service to our country, including nearly five years in combat away from my family, and then my decision to continue to serve the United States, it has been extraordinarily painful to endure these many months of false accusations of ‘treason’ and other outrageous acts. Such false accusations are contrary to everything I have ever done and stood for. But I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right. My guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with the special counsel’s office reflect a decision I made in the best interest of my family and of country. I accept fully responsibility for my actions.”

If you're actually interested in the specifics of Flynn's lies to which he pleaded guilty, here are the court documents. Knowing you, you'd rather rely on Devin Nunes' mischaracterization of events in support of your Dear Leader.

https://www.lawfareblog.com/michael-...ment-documents

Flynn agreed with the laundry list of lies and omissions in the charging document and signed the following statement on the bottom of the plea deal:

I have read every page of this Agreement and have discussed it with my attorneys, Robert
K. Kelner and Stephen P. Anthony. I fully understand this Agreement and agree to it without
reservation. I do this voluntarily and of my own free will, intending to be legally bound. No
threats have been made to me nor am I under the influence of anything that could impede my
ability to understand this Agreement fully. I am pleading guilty because I am in fact guilty of the
offense identified in this Agreement.

I reaffirm that absolutely no promises, agreements, understandings, or conditions have
been made or entered into in connection with my decision to plead guilty except those set forth
in this Agreement. I am satisfied with the legal services provided by my attorneys in connection
with this Agreement and matters related to it.

[whell]

Originally Posted by finnbow

There's not a single direct quote above from the (sealed) transcript of Comey's testimony. Below is what I appended to my post above you probably didn't see before you composed your bogus response.

There's no need for a "direct quote". CNN reported that the FBI didn't think Flynn lied. That is then backed up by York's piece and the House Intel Report. Three sources.

Try it another way: do YOU think Flynn lied to the FBI, given what is out there in the press about the FBI's comments about their interview with him?

Here it is again in the WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-mys...trending_now_1

On pages 53-54, the report notes that in March 2017 “Director Comey testified to the Committee that ‘the agents . . . discerned no physical indications of deception. They didn’t see any change in posture, in tone, in inflection, in eye contact. They saw nothing that indicated to them that he knew he was lying to them.’” The quotes are from the committee transcript of Mr. Comey’s remarks.

The report goes on to say that then Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe “confirmed the interviewing agent’s initial impression and stated that the ‘conundrum that we faced on their return from the interview is that although [the agents] didn’t detect deception in the statements that he made in the interview . . . the statements were inconsistent with our understanding of the conversation that he had actually had with the ambassador.’”

Recall that the inconsistency concerned whether Mr. Flynn had discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. Vice President Mike Pence had said publicly that Mr. Flynn had not discussed sanctions, and once it came to light that he had, Mr. Flynn resigned.

But Mr. McCabe also nonetheless told the House Intelligence Committee that “‘the two people who interviewed [Flynn] didn’t think he was lying, [which] was not [a] great beginning of a false statement case.’”

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by whell

There's no need for a "direct quote". CNN reported that the FBI didn't think Flynn lied. That is then backed up by York's piece and the House Intel Report. Three sources.

You said Comey testified that Flynn didn't lie based upon three sources that reflect the very same bogus Nunes' report (the very same Nunes who has admitted not even reading materials upon which he based his report)? Read the charging documents and Flynn's plea above if you want sworn court testimony and documents and not bogus BS from the Midnight Rider Nunes. Basing your opinions on Nunes' honesty and integrity are a fool's errand.

[whell]

Originally Posted by finnbow

You said Comey testified that Flynn didn't lie based upon three sources that reflect the very same bogus Nunes' report? Read the charging documents and Flynn's plea above if you want sworn court testimony and documents and not bogus BS from the Midnight Rider Nunes. Basing your opinions on Nunes' honesty and integrity are a fool's errand.

You're clearly dodging, and you don't need to bring Nunes into this to support your dodge. The question is whether or not the FBI, including Comey, thought Flynn was lying. I've provided Comey's words from the House Intel report - words that have not been disputed anywhere, incidentally - that both Comey AND McCabe stated that they didn't think Flynn lied, based on the the info provided by the two FBI agents who interviewed him. I also provided the CNN story from back in February where they reported the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn didn't think he lied.

I ask you again, in light of this info, do YOU still think Flynn lied in his interview with the FBI?

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by whell

You're clearly dodging, and you don't need to bring Nunes into this to support your dodge. The question is whether or not the FBI, including Comey, thought Flynn was lying. I've provided Comey's words from the House Intel report - words that have not been disputed anywhere, incidentally - that both Comey AND McCabe stated that they didn't think Flynn lied, based on the the info provided by the two FBI agents who interviewed him. I also provided the CNN story from back in February where they reported the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn didn't think he lied.

I ask you again, in light of this info, do YOU still think Flynn lied in his interview with the FBI?

Of course the FBI thought he was lying. Read the charging documents and Flynn's signed plea deal (also signed by Flynn's two attornies). These formal court documents provide a laundry list of lies and material omissions of fact. He agreed fully to the government's characterization of his lies and pleaded guilty for it.

This whole brouhaha is yet another shameful effort by House wingnuts to undermine Mueller's inquiry by creating doubt in the minds of the Dotard's faithful. It seems to have worked on you. Sad.

[Dondilion]

Jeffrey Toobin: A bad day for the Mueller team. (Indeed, and what is significant- Mueller is not getting any cooperation from Manafort...he not about to sing or compose .)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP3J6uxRvHM

[whell]

Originally Posted by finnbow

Of course the FBI thought he was lying. Read the charging documents and Flynn's signed plea deal (also signed by Flynn's two attornies). These formal court documents provide a laundry list of lies and material omissions of fact. He agreed fully to the government's characterization of his lies and pleaded guilty for it.

Mueller is not the FBI, and the FBI is not Mueller. Flynn didn't negotiate a plea deal with the FBI, he negotiated it with Mueller. The formal court documents include information sufficient to get a judge to sign off on a plea deal.

Originally Posted by finnbow

This whole brouhaha is yet another shameful effort by House wingnuts to undermine Mueller's inquiry by creating doubt in the minds of the Dotard's faithful. It seems to have worked on you. Sad.

If your right - and that would probably be a first - that the two FBI investigators thought that Flynn was less than truthful when he was interviewed, then Comey and McCabe lied to Congress when they testified, and that leaves the two of them open to legal action. So, did Comey and McCabe lie to Congress, or did Mueller create a fiction when he secured the indictment of Flynn? Its one or the other. It can't be both.

[whell]

Originally Posted by Dondilion

Jeffrey Toobin: A bad day for the Mueller team. (Indeed, and what is significant- Mueller is not getting any cooperation from Manafort...he not about to sing or compose .)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP3J6uxRvHM

Here's another bad day for Mueller: the Concord Mgt and Consulting lawyers challenging Mueller to put up for shut up and the judge agrees with the Concord lawyers. This also triggers the compulsion for discovery, which likely will demonstrate that Mueller has nothing.

[Pio1980]

Mueller's team questions Russian oligarch about payments to Cohen

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/08/polit...hen/index.html