Thanks as always to Pirate’s Cove, Whores and Ale, The Other McCain and Bacon Time for the Rule Five links!
Now then: To quote someone we all know, this is a big fuckin’ deal. Excerpt:
Lawyers for the Clinton campaign paid a technology company to “infiltrate” servers belonging to Trump Tower, and later the White House, in order to establish an “inference” and “narrative” to bring to government agencies linking Donald Trump to Russia, a filing from Special Counsel John Durham says.
Durham filed a motion on Feb. 11 focused on potential conflicts of interest related to the representation of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, who has been charged with making a false statement to a federal agent. Sussmann has pleaded not guilty.
The indictment against Sussmann, says he told then-FBI General Counsel James Baker in September 2016, less than two months before the 2016 presidential election, that he was not doing work “for any client” when he requested and held a meeting in which he presented “purported data and ‘white papers’ that allegedly demonstrated a covert communications channel” between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank, which has ties to the Kremlin.
Look again at that first sentence. “…and later the White House.” Richard Nixon was brought down by his cover-up of the wiretapping of Democrat National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Hotel. But this is in-arguably much worse; the Clinton campaign actually sought to bug the Imperial Mansion, to eavesdrop illegally on a sitting President.
Here’s the onion:
Durham also writes that during Sussmann’s trial, the government will establish that among the Internet data Tech Executive-1 and his associates exploited was domain name system (DNS) internet traffic pertaining to “(i) a particular healthcare provider, (ii) Trump Tower, (iii) Donald Trump’s Central Park West apartment building, and (iv) the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP).”
Now, I’m as skeptical a guy as you’re likely to find, but I have a hard time believing that Her Imperial Majesty Hillary I, Dowager Empress of Chappaqua, was not at least aware of these shenanigans on the part of her campaign. Indeed, it seems likely she approved these actions. And what possible purpose could these intrusions have served after President Trump had taken office, other than fishing for some unknown scandal?
President Trump reacted by calling this treason. I’m not sure it meets the constitutional definition of treason:
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
But if it’s not treason, it sure has its toes right up on the line. Now, Michael Sussmann may see some prison time over this. But if you ask me, and even if you don’t, I suspect he’s going to be the fall guy. Does anyone who has watched Imperial affairs for any time really think Her Imperial Majesty will be held to account for any of this? Because she won’t, and she’s already making noises about yet another run at the Imperial Mansion in 2024. This will, of course, be Her Imperial Majesty’s third attempt: First as tragedy, second as farce, what shall we call the third?
