Posted on 07/23/2017 9:31:27 AM PDT by Cboldt
Rod Rosenstein violated DoJ Regulations when he appointed a Special Counsel. Then Special Counsel Mueller overstepped his jurisdiction. Let's break that down. Here is the appointment.
The Special Counsel is authorized to conduct the investigation confirmed by then-FBI Director James B. Comey in testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20, 2017, including:
(i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and
(ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and
(iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. S: 600.4(a).
DOJ Order 3215-2017: Appointment of Special Counsel Mueller
Accompanying May 17, 2017 Press Release
Here is the investigation confirmed by then-FBI Director James B. Comey in testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20, 2017.
I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts.
Comey March 20, 2017 Testimony
28 CFR 600, the DOJ regulation covering Special Counsel, requires that the DOJ transfer a criminal investigation. Special Counsel has no place in a counterintelligence mission. Here is the opening of 28 CFR 600.1.
The Attorney General, or in cases in which the Attorney General is recused, the Acting Attorney General, will appoint a Special Counsel when he or she determines that criminal investigation of a person or matter is warranted and [conflict of interest plus public interest]
Substitute Comey's March 20 testimony into Order 3915-2017, and the Order opens like this:
The Special Counsel is authorized to conduct the counterintelligence mission of investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election investigation ...
For talking purposes, overlook Rosenstein's improvident and unauthorized transfer of a counterintelligence investigation to a Special Counsel. Maybe that was the only way to dispose of the seditious bomb that Comey set.
Look at the scope of jurisdiction given to Mueller. There is more than one way to analyze the scope of Rosenstein's authorization to Mueller, both end up in the same place, that he is constrained to investigate CAMPAIGN-RELATED matters - and of course obstruction, perjury and so on if anybody tries to fool him on CAMPAIGN-RELATED inquiries.
Rosenstein can only act as AG for matters that AG Sessions has recused from. AG Sessions has only formally recused from matters relating to the Trump campaign.
Comey's March 20 testimony creates this investigative structure:
The "nature of any links between individuals and Russia" is subordinate or secondary to investigating Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
Mueller and his acolytes are divorcing the predicate of campaign contact. They read the grant as authorization to investigate the "nature of any links between individuals and Russia", whether that link has anything to do with the campaign or not.
DOJ Order 3915-2017 is even more direct about the authorized scope of investigation. It speaks for itself, with one detail deserving mention.
Remove a certain phrase, and the scope of investigation becomes clear.
"any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and the campaign of President Donald Trump"
When looking at corporate crime, crimes committed by employees off the job are not assigned to the corporation. The target of Mueller's investigation is supposed to be the campaign.
Good post.
Good post, good info and nothing will coif it
Trump should just fire him and let the howlers howl
Make that nothing will come of it. Auto fill will get you sometimes.
Look, the problem is Jeff Sessions. He is letting Rosenstein run the justice department. Why the hell did he pick a lib from Maryland to be his deputy?
We need an attack dog as AG. Sessions is a poodle. He needs to go ASAP.
“Trump should just fire him and let the howlers howl”
Angry Former Spy Chiefs, Anxiety, and Discord at a Security Forum Over Trump
July 22, 2017
On Friday, Brennan and Clapper returned to the forum, an annual gathering held by the Aspen Institute far from Washington to foster bipartisan consensus regarding national security. Sitting shoulder to shoulder onstage, the two former intelligence chiefs unleashed a blistering and highly unusual public critique of a sitting President by two former intelligence chiefs. Brennan urged members of Congress to resist President Trump if he fires Robert Mueller, the special counsel. “I hope, I really hope, that our members of Congress, elected representatives, are going to stand up and say, ‘enough is enough,’ and stop making apologies and excuses for things that are happening that really flout, I think, our system of laws and government.”
Brennan added that he thought it was “the obligation of some executive-branch officials to refuse to carry out some of these orders that, again, are inconsistent with what this country is all about.”
(more at link)
If Trump attempts to fire Mueller, “I hope that our members of Congress are going to stand up and say, ‘Enough is enough,’ ” Brennan said.
He added that he thought it would be “the obligation of executive branch officials to refuse” to carry out such an order.
(snip)
At the end of their panel discussion, Clapper and Brennan received a standing ovation.
“Trump should just fire him and let the howlers howl”
No fire Rosenstein. Name an interim have them put Mueller on a leash and fire Mueller’s Rat hit squad. That way Trump avoids the S Storm that come from firing Mueller. Rosenstein is obviously an important player in the coup.
Not sure any of this is constitutional when it comes to investigating the executive branch for probable cause of possible crimes or misdeeds leading to impeachment. BIG conflict of interest.
IMO, this is an absolute bad-faith attempt by the Left to defang Trump and distract from the DNC's OWN mountain range of crimes and misdeeds.
Since, supposedly 'republicans' control Congress, Brennan just outed them.
I think Trump can do more damage by NOT firing Mueller.
He also avoids the massive distraction that would follow firing Mueller. Heck, even rumors of pardons and rumors of firing Mueller are spun up into week long distractions.
Trump and his team need to turn Mueller into a McCarthy, a Nifong. Mueller's reputation for following the rules has to be destroyed. Couple the facts in this post with a healthy dose of outrage - get the people to understand the difference between investigating a person, and investigating the company that person works for, they'll get it.
I speculate that John Dowd and Jay Sekulow are going to be working along some of the lines described here.
I cannot understand why President Trump does not fire Mueller and close the Special Counsel. What is going on? Are we once again looking at a weak Presidency? I am mad as hell. Cannot he order Sessions to get of his ars?
I like it......NOW the trick is to get the powers that be to recognize the discrepancies in letting Mueller go forward. I believe it was Jonathan Turley a couple of nights ago (either on Tucker or Hannity’s shows) who said the mandate to Mueller is too vague - amounting to about one sentence which gives Mueller leeway to go into any area he chooses. I believe it was relative to the discussion of going back years into Trump’s finances. Let’s hope someone picks up your scenario and dumps it in front of those legally charged with these decisions.
They know they could should be in deep shit if it wasn't for their republican friends.
Sad. What exactly has Trump done that isn’t constitutional? Even his travel ban is. And what of the spirit of the Constitution?? A SMALL government, with no powers NOT expressly written in.
These deep staters just want to BE the power no one ever should give them. THEY are the ones making America what it should not be.
And just think - none of this would exist if Jeff Sessions had enough respect for President Trump to pick up the telephone on April 26 and advise the president
that he was thinking of recusing himself on matters related to the investigations into the 2016 campaign for president.
Or if he has specified that his recusal applied only to matters directly related to the investigation of Michael Flynn.
Instead he left the door wide open for the president’s enemies in the Justice Department to take control and bypass Sessions as if he wasn’t even there.
This is like losing a championship game by scoring an own goal in the first minute of play.
Only it’s 1,000 times worse.
“amounting to about one sentence which gives Mueller leeway to go into any area he chooses.”
That one sentence is the ball game. Rosenstein put it in there to allow Mueller total free reign while excluding any looks at Obongo of the witch. Again Rosenstein must go.
Jeff Sessions was hoodwinked into recusing himself by the Obama sycophant advisors within the DOJ. Sessions is a FOOL for not realizing he'd been suckered by the Deep Staters.
Trump should replace Sessions with Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch then watch other heads roll and the commencement of prosecutions against Obama, Hillary, Lynch, Comey, Huma, Cheryl, Samantha, Susan, Bryan Pagliano, Lois Lerner, John Koskinen, John Brennan and the WHOLE LOT OF THEM.
Hopefully, Americans now CLEARLY see that nearly ALL instances of those UNACCOUNTABLE TO THE LAW involve Deep State players and this represents an epic battle for who REALLY controls our government. Stay tuned.
Agree. Good post.
"Constitutional" and "conflict of interest" are entirely different notions.
There is nothing unconsitutional about investigating a president or anybody else. Happens all the time. Clinton was sued for sex harrassment (Jones v. Clinton) and the case went to trial. So, I'm not sure what your basis is for asserting the investigation is unconstitutional, and leave it to you to articulate your beef.
Conflict of interest is inherent in a federal criminal investigation of a president. Not so much if say the state of Missouri indicted him for murder, becuase Trump doesn't control the AG in the state of Missouri. When there is an allegation of criminal wrongdoing, the system will try to produce "objective and impartial officials" so the people will have faith that the system isn;t corrupt. How would you feel if AG Podesta was in charge of investigating Clinton? You'd know the fix was in.
-- IMO, this is an absolute bad-faith attempt by the Left to defang Trump and distract from the DNC's OWN mountain range of crimes and misdeeds. --
Totally agreed. It needs to be shut down. It will be shut down. I'm advocating for a process where the people who instigated this war, Comey, Clapper, many others in the government, and the press, I want them to be engaged in the battle, defeated, and disgraced.
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