Internal Corruption Driving the DOJ and FBI Investigations of Trump

By Rachel Alexander Published on December 13, 2017

It seems that by the day a new report comes out exposing ethical conflicts, wrongdoing and corruption within the FBI and DOJ’s probe of the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia. Robert Mueller’s effort is looking more like a partisan witch hunt than a fair probe. Many of his investigators have severe conflicts of interest. Several let Hillary Clinton’s crimes off the hook while pursuing members of Trump’s campaign with thin evidence and thick vengeance.

“Maybe we need to have a Special Prosecutor to investigate the investigators,” said Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) on Hannity.

Here’s a rundown of the players already exposed.

Peter Strzok: His Hands are in Every Pie

The FBI’s former No. 2 counterintelligence official, Peter Strzok, was removed from the Mueller investigation in August. We finally have some idea why. The DOJ is reviewing “several months” worth of messages that Strzok exchanged with Lisa Page, an FBI attorney who was his mistress. Many of the 10,000 texts trash Donald Trump and praise Hillary Clinton.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller removed Mr. Strzok “immediately upon learning of the allegations.” He demoted him to human resources. Congress intends to question Strzok. The watchdog group Judicial Watch has sued to get the text messages.

As The Stream‘s Al Perrotta laid out, Strzok was not only central to the Trump-Russia investigation, he was a crucial figure in the FBI’s aborted investigation of Hillary Clinton. And he was instrumental in the aborting.

  • Strzok was responsible for softening the description of Hillary Clinton’s misuse of classified information. He changed the wording in James Comey’s draft memo from “grossly negligent” to “extremely careless.”
  • That Comey-Strzok memo cleared Hillary months before interviewing her and other crucial witnesses.
  • Strzok would interview Clinton; an interview that was no only not under oath, but was not recorded or transcribed.
  • He was on the team investigating the computer of Huma Abedin’s husband Anthony Weiner when it was found to contain thousands of Hillary’s State Department emails, and heaven knows what lewd material suitable for blackmailing Abedin.
  • He also interviewed Clinton aides Abedin and Cheryl Mills. He was inexplicable content with Mills being both Hillary’s lawyer and a witness in the case. Mills and Abedin lied in those interviews. Both said they had no knowledge of Clinton’s private email server until 2013. Earlier emails were found which refuted this. They were not prosecuted.

Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was prosecuted for lying after being interviewed by Strzok in regards to his contacts with Russia. Flynn pled guilty to making false statements to the FBI.

Incidentally, the reason for Strzok’s removal was not revealed until after Flynn pled guilty. But were the texts the only reason?

Rep. Jim Jordan thinks Strzok used the dossier to obtain a FISA warrant in order to spy on the Trump campaign.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday. Jordan raised concern that Strzok collaborated with the Clinton campaign and Russian sources to produce the fake Trump dossier. The dossier was financed by the Clinton campaign and the DNC. Jordan thinks Strzok used the dossier to obtain a FISA warrant in order to spy on the Trump campaign. Wray refused to answer whether that was the case.
 

 

The Vengeful, Protective, Profiting McCabe

A whistleblower told Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) that he witnessed a videoconference where a senior FBI agent suggested the bureau had a personal motive in targeting Flynn and ruining his career. DeSantis is trying to find out if the video was saved.

The website True Pundit points the finger at FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. McCabe allegedly told over a dozen other FBI agents that if they can take down Flynn, they will take down Trump. Actually, he put it in much cruder terms. Wray is now looking into the comments to determine if there was an improper effort get Flynn and Trump.

McCabe does have a personal beef against Flynn. Flynn strongly defended former Supervisory Special Agent Robyn Gritz who accused higher ups of sexual harassment and blocking her advance at the Bureau. Gritz describes the retaliation from McCabe and others as “vicious.”

Then there’s McCabe’s troubling ties to Democrats. Longtime Clinton associate Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) donated $700,000 to the state senate campaign of McCabe’s wife. McCabe met with McAuliffe in March 2015 to discuss support for her run. This came in the middle of the Clinton investigation. Yet McCabe presided over the Clinton email probe until a few days before it ended.

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McCabe allegedly has a history of politicizing his office. A retired FBI supervisor told DeSantis that he was instructed by McCabe not to call the 2012 Benghazi attack an act of terrorism. He found this disturbing since there was evidence a major al Qaeda figure was behind the attack. Clinton even told her daughter it was a terrorist attack, but that ws not the White House line two months out from the election. “By placing the interests of the Obama administration over the public’s interests, the order is yet another data point highlighting the politicization of the FBI,” DeSantis said.

Judicial Conflict of Interest?

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras recused himself from Flynn’s criminal case last Thursday. No reason was given. However, it was likely because Contreras was appointed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court court in 2016. That FISA court authorized the controversial wiretapping of Flynn and others on the Trump campaign. With revelations about the FBI’s shenanigans with the dossier and FISA court, did Judge Contreras realize he was set to become a witness in his own case?

Bruce G. and Nellie H. Ohr: Fun With Fusion GPS

Officials demoted a senior DOJ lawyer last week after it came out that he’d had contacts with the opposition research firm behind the Trump dossier. Bruce G. Ohr met with Glenn Simpson, the founder of Fusion GPS, shortly after the election. At that point, the FBI had the dossier for five months. Sources told Fox News that the discussion included “what Simpson considered the distressing development of Trump’s victory.” Ohr also met with the dossier’s author Christopher Steele. He didn’t bother to tell his superiors about any of these meetings.

Even more disturbing, Ohr’s wife actually worked for Fusion GPS. Coincidence one. Nellie H. Ohr joined Fusion GPS right as the firm began putting together the Russian dossier and worked there through the election. Coincidence two. Mrs. Ohr is said to be an expert on Russia. Coincidence three. Curiously, she also applied for a HAM radio operator license a month later. As Conservative Treehouse noted, if you want to avoid NSA detection when talking to Russian sources HAM radio’s a good way to go. Coincidence four. (Perhaps she just took up a new hobby to relieve the stress of her new job.)

Andrew Weissman: Praises Yates, Parties Election Night With Hillary

Andrew Weissman is a top deputy under Mueller. Weissman is currently leading the case against Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman. He is also leading the case against Rick Gates, a campaign aide. A grand jury indicted both men on lobbying and financial crimes. These are unrelated to alleged Russian collusion.

Weissman is Team Hillary. So much so he attended Hillary Clinton’s election night party in New York City.

Weissman wasn’t just pro-Hillary. He’s anti-Trump. He sent a gushing email to then-Acting Attorney General Sally Yates about her refusal to enforce Trump’s travel ban. “I am so proud. And in awe. Thank you so much. All my deepest respects,” he wrote. (“Thank you” for what? Thank you for sticking it to the guy who ruined my election night?) Trump fired Yates over the refusal.

Other DOJ officials sent Yates similar emails. After obtaining the emails, Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton asked, “How much more evidence do we need that the Mueller operation has been irredeemably compromised by anti-Trump partisans?”

Indeed. But in case you need more …

Lawyers Representing Clinton and Democrats

Of Mueller’s team of 15 lawyers, nine have donated to Democratic candidates. But the connections go beyond cash and are far more troubling.

Republicans who once said they were supportive of the special counsel, like Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), now question Mueller’s credibility.

Jeannie Rhee, hired by Mueller to work on the probe, served as a personal lawyer for Ben Rhodes. Rhodes is the former Obama advisor now caught up in the unmasking scandal. How is Rhee supposed to be impartial when the unmasking is what led to the charges against Flynn, and perhaps others? Rhee also represented the Clinton Foundation. How do you investigate Russian influence on U.S. policies and politics without investigating the Foundation? This is especially true when Mueller is investigating The Podesta Group, which was intimate with the Clinton Foundation.

Mueller’s “right-hand man” on the Russia probe, lawyer Aaron Zebley, represented Clinton IT aide Justin Cooper. Cooper set up Clinton’s unsecure server and destroyed her old BlackBerries with a hammer. Senators grew frustrated with Zebley after he stonewalled them over and over when they were trying to set up a meeting with Cooper.

Conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson noted the conflicts of interest. “You’d think Mueller would go out of his way to make certain that no one on his team could be accused of partisanship,” he said, “and yet almost all of them seem to have ties to the Democrat Party.”

Last Word

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said Wednesday during congressional hearings. “We are here today calling for an investigation into FBI systems and procedures that have allowed special treatment and bias to run rampant.” He denounced the “unprecedented bias against President Trump that exists when we allow people who hate the president to participate in the investigations against him.” Republicans who once said they were supportive of the special counsel, like Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), now question Mueller’s credibility.

Judicial Watch is calling for Trump to shut down Mueller’s investigation. His probe of Russian collusion cost taxpayers over $7 million in the first few months alone. The evidence is in: It is starting to look more like a witch hunt than a fair case. The FBI and DOJ were politicized and weaponized.

As Rep. DeSantis told The Hill, “The Clinton case was investigated with an eye towards how to exonerate her and her associates, while the Russia investigation is being conducted using scorched earth tactics that seek to find anything to use against Trump associates.”
 

Follow Rachel on Twitter at Rach_IC

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