After a very bad week or so for the FBI which included but was not limited to the revelations that the FBI discussed trying to trick Michael Flynn into lying and trying to get him fired, and that the agency was set to drop its investigation into Michael Flynn before Peter Strzok convinced the agency to wait and this gave him time to alter notes of the FBI’s meeting with Michael Flynn to make him appear guilty, we are now learning the Department of Justice is dropping its case against him. Here is more:
The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation.
The action was a stunning reversal for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the past three years have maintained that Flynn lied to the FBI in a January 2017 interview about his conversations with the Russian ambassador.
In court documents filed Thursday, the Justice Department said that after reviewing newly disclosed information and other materials, it agreed with Flynn’s lawyers that his interview with the FBI should never have taken place because he had not had inappropriate contacts with Russians. The interview, the department said, was “conducted without any legitimate investigative basis.”
Jensen said in a statement: “Through the course of my review of General Flynn’s case, I concluded the proper and just course was to dismiss the case. I briefed Attorney General Barr on my findings, advised him on these conclusions, and he agreed.”
Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI only after he could not afford to fight the battle any more and after the FBI threatened to investigate his family next. At this point Michael Flynn made the decision to sacrifice himself so that his family would not have to go through any more hell than they already had.
What the FBI did in this case was sickening and it showed the agency will stop at nothing to pursue a political agenda and while it is all very well and good the FBI is dropping the case heads must roll and a major lawsuit should be coming.
To paraphrase an old question, where does Michael Flynn go to get his reputation back?
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
While the governor of California, Gavin Newson, is rounding people up, separating them from their families, and forcibly locking them up with an army of “contact tracers”we have a story of at least one California sheriff who refuses to make criminals out of Californians who simply want to exercise their Constitutionally guaranteed rights. Here is more:
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco reaffirmed his stance on not enforcing stringent stay-at-home orders, telling the Riverside County Board of Supervisors this week that he refuses to “make criminals out of business owners, single moms, and otherwise healthy individuals for exercising their constitutional rights.”
Government “ordered residents into their homes, closed their businesses, made them wear masks, forbid them from going to church, and eliminated constitutional freedoms put in place over 200 years ago,” he explained.
“In the name of a public health crisis, our civil liberties and constitutional protections were placed on hold,” he continued.
Bianco said he did not enforce the stay-at-home order from the beginning, partly because he “trusted our residents’ ability to do the right thing without fear of being arrested” and emphasized that he continues to hold that position:
I knew they could be trusted to act as responsible adults, and I was correct. As we continue, I will reinforce my position. Not only do we not have the resources to enforce unreasonable orders, I refuse to make criminals out of business owners, single moms, and otherwise healthy individuals for exercising their constitutional rights. I believe Riverside County residents are responsible enough to proceed cautiously.
He went on to say there cannot be a new normal, a term that sends shivers down my spine:
“There cannot be a new normal,” he warned, citing the country’s “fundamental freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“Any new normal is a direct attack on the basic rights, which set us apart and make us the greatest country in the world,” he added.
Personally I thought the time for civil disobedience was two months ago but at least we are finally starting to see people push back against these tyrannical orders and now we have a sheriff in California who is refusing to go against an unconstitutional order. Things might finally be headed in the right direction after two months of “voluntary compliance.”
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Andrew Cuomo admits majority of new COVID-19 hospitalizations are people who stayed home
According to this story Andrew Cuomo admitted earlier today that the majority of people who have lately been hospitalized with COVID-19 are actually people who stayed home. Here is more:
“If you notice, 18% of the people came from nursing homes, less than 1% came from jail or prison, 2% came from the homeless population, 2% from other congregate facilities, but 66% of the people were at home, which is shocking to us,” the governor told reporters.
“This is a surprise. Overwhelmingly, the people were at home,” he added. “We thought maybe they were taking public transportation, and we’ve taken special precautions on public transportation, but actually no, because these people were literally at home.”
Which means that New York usurped people’s rights, stole their freedom, and cost untold thousands their livelihood for nothing. All it did was to delay what turned out to be inevitable and prolonged the crisis. But that is what happens when you have a government full of authoritarian reactionaries, this was never about controlling the virus but rather it was about controlling the people.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Sunday, May 3rd open thread: ‘Clampdown’
“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 KJV)
Here is this week’s open thread. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
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This song is dedicated to the 35 or so wannabe tyrants out there who have their states in lockdown. Here is The Clash performing “Clampdown” live in 1980:
Hundreds of COVID-19 lawsuits headed to courts
It has taken quite a bit longer than I had thought it would be we are finally starting to see some blow back against the various State leaders and their stay at home orders. We have seen the protests slowly ramp up in different States but we know this really could start to boil over because even people in the liberal bastions of New York and California are starting to fight back.
When Governor Sununu of New Hampshire issued a stay at home order his authority was quickly challenged in the courts and just as quickly dismissed but now a month or so later there are hundreds of lawsuits set to hit the dockets. Here is more:
Hundreds of lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus pandemic are rapidly amassing in state and federal courts, the first wave of litigation challenging decisions made early during the crisis by corporations, insurance companies and governments.
Claims have been filed against hospitals and senior-living facilities, airlines and cruise lines, fitness chains and the entertainment industry – 771 as of Friday, according to a database compiled by Hunton Andrews Kurth, an international law firm tracking cases that emerge from the pandemic. The volume and variety make painfully clear that, throughout the United States, the virus has caused widespread devastation and hardship, and that the full scope of its economic toll remains to be seen.
Complaints reach across industries and state lines. Some seek significant monetary damages. Others ask for a judge to correct actions alleged to be harmful or in violation of contractual agreements.
There is only so much people can take and we could be reaching a breaking point. Some people have had everything taken from them in the blink of an eye. They did not lose their jobs, their livelihoods, their means of survival, they had it taken from them and they are right to be upset, and yet people call them selfish for finally starting to fight back against a situation which was not of their doing? Against something that has been perpetrated against them? Against something they might never recover from? Tell me again who the selfish ones are?
It will be interesting to see how these lawsuits play out, I am sure many of them will be thrown out, but it is good to see people are not as complacent as I thought they were.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
It has been a very good week for Michael Flynn, a very bad week for the FBI, and maybe even a worse week for Peter Strzok: in the last few days we learned the FBI discussed trying to trick Michel Flynn into lying or trying to get him fired–notice the agency did not talk about getting to the truth–and then we learned the FBI was set to drop its investigation into Michael Flynn because the agency could find nothing on him but Peter Strzok talked the agency into continuing the investigation.
Now we are learning in this story that Peter Strzok altered the notes taken of the FBI’s interview with Michael Flynn, here is more:
Yet another bombshell development emerged Thursday in the case of former National Security Adviser Gen. Michael Flynn: the release of additional exculpatory evidence FBI officials had withheld from the courts and the defense for three years.
Crucially, this includes evidence that the Bureau’s official “302 report” filed by the lead agent who interviewed Flynn was edited multiple times, including by an official who never participated in the interview.
Thursday’s revelations come on top of yesterday’s disclosures indicating an apparent attempt by FBI officials to trap Flynn into committing a criminal offense during an interview.
The new revelation could prove even more significant: In addition to the apparently calculated effort to get Flynn to commit perjury or obstruction, top FBI figures, including FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page, repeatedly altered the “302 report” that was filed after the Flynn interview.
So Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and somebody WHO DID NOT EVEN ATTEND THE MEETING changed the notes of the meeting several times until they got it to their liking. I think this gives us an answer to why Peter Strzok wanted more time before the FBI closed the case against Michael Flynn. If this is true, the FBI had no evidence against Michael Flynn so Peter Strzok created some by changing the notes to make it appear as if he lied to the FBI.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Bill de Blasio threatens to arrest funeral goers
The COVID-19 scare has been used by various State governors and city mayors as an excuse to implement draconian restrictions on our rights, liberties, and freedoms. Some States and cities are worse than others but one of the worst offenders is Bill de Blasio of New York, who I think it can be said has done a terrible job at keeping his people safe.
But what he did yesterday is indefensible. According to this story the New York City mayor was upset because people had the audacity to actually attend the funeral of a revered religious leader, so he decided to personally break up the funeral and threatened to arrest anybody who was attending or who might attend a funeral in the future.
Here is what he Tweeted:
Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic. When I heard, I went there myself to ensure the crowd was dispersed. And what I saw WILL NOT be tolerated so long as we are fighting the Coronavirus
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 29, 2020
My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 29, 2020
Attending the funeral of a religious leader or of a loved one is now “something absolutely unacceptable” and “will not be tolerated” by the totalitarian leader of the city. To think of the audacity it takes to actually break up a funeral and threaten the mourners with arrest is beyond belief.
Somebody is enjoying his newly found power just a little too much and at some point the people have to stand up and Say enough is enough because the more they get away with the more they are going to try to get away with.
I guess when you get right down to it I am more disappointed than anything else with this whole situation. As frustrated as I am with the government’s response to the virus it is sheepishness of the American people that has me most concerned about the future.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Did New York cost Joe Biden the Democratic nomination?
Earlier this week New York cancelled its Democratic primary due to concerns over COVID-19. Other States have postponed primaries but if I am not mistaken New York is the first State to actually cancel it outright.
New York is claiming it is okay to take away the voice of her people because Joe Biden basically has the nomination locked up anyway, but is it possible this could backfire on the presumptive nominee because he has not yet secured the necessary delegates needed to lock up the nomination before the convention?
On Monday, officials in New York announced the cancellation of the state’s Democratic presidential primary, calling the event “essentially a beauty contest,” and a risk to public health in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
While New York Democrats cited the inevitability of Joe Biden’s nomination for the party’s candidacy as justification for calling off the primary, it could actually make the former VP’s spot on the ticket anything but a forgone conclusion.
Biden is the prohibitive favorite for the nomination to face Donald Trump in November. But New York could be the first step in an unlikely path to a contested Democratic convention
Although Bernie Sanders is officially out of the race, Biden does not yet have an overall majority of convention delegates. As of April 27, the former vice president has 1,305 of the 1,991 delegates needed to clinch a first-round coronation at the party’s convention. New York offered 320 delegates up for grabs, 274 pledged to the primary winner; a prize that would have brought Biden closer to the nomination.
If New York’s decision triggers other states to cancel their own primaries, it is entirely possible that Biden could arrive at the Democratic convention without a guarantee of the nomination.
Assuming the convention begins without a majority of delegates pledged to Biden, the nomination process, during which delegates conduct floor votes, would become a live-fire exercise, rather than a pro forma step in Biden’s coronation as nominee.
If Biden does not secure a majority on the first ballot, delegates could offer another candidate from the floor.
Hmmm, that is an interesting scenario and it makes me wonder if New York’s cancelling of its primary was part of a plan by the Democratic party to take the nomination away from the former Vice-President. Maybe this is the end game.
It is no secret that Joe Biden has problems, and I am not just talking about the early signs of dementia he is showing and I am not even talking about his fondness for touching young people. These sexual assault allegations might be being mostly ignored by the media during the COVID-19 crisis but they are not going away and the calls within the party for Joe Biden to step out of the race are growing.
If Joe Biden is not going to go away willingly, and at this point I do not think he can, maybe this is how the party intends to rid themselves of somebody who is accused of being a sexual predator.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Michael Flynn to be exonerated this week?
When Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI back in 2017 he stated he had no choice because he could no longer afford to fight for his freedom so he agreed to a plea bargain. Since that time his sentencing has been delayed several times, which anybody could see was a bit odd. Why would you delay the sentencing of a man who already “admitted” we was guilty?
Then came news that the Department of Justice had actually exonerated Michael Flynn before his plea bargain but did not bother to tell him, now it is being reported here that a full exoneration of Michael Flynn is coming this week. Here is more:
This reporting is based on AG Barr asking a Missouri US Attorney to look into Flynn’s case back in February. On Friday night, new documents were submitted to the court that they had not previously seen and Bartiromo says these documents are considered exculpatory evidence, meaning that they will clear Flynn of all wrongdoing. She reports that the new evidence is notes from the FBI proving that Flynn’s meeting with the FBI at the White House was all a setup and that Flynn never lied.
This whole deal has looked shady from the beginning and if this story is true a small measure of justice will be served to Michael Flynn, although this does not make up for his name being dragged through the mud for three years.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
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