Earlier in the week, as promised, Attorney General Bill Barr assigned a US attorney to oversee the events and tactics that set into motion the lengthy and politically-explosive federal probe that was eventually inherited and concluded by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Barr has infuriated Democrats by stating that he was planning to do so, inflaming them further by using the word “spying” in reference to certain government surveillance of Trump campaign associates. But as even former DNI James Clapper has admitted, the Obama-era DOJ’s actions met the “dictionary definition” of spying. In any case, we’re learning that the current investigation of the previous investigation has already expanded.

Recall that the Justice Department’s tough and respected Inspector General is on the brink of completing his look at potential FISA abuses, which is rumored to contain very critical assessments of the FBI’s reliance on the infamous (and heavily discredited) Steele Dossier. How many people knew about Steele’s serious credibility problems as they leaned so heavily on his work to obtain warrants? And was the fact that his dodgy (and possibly Russia-planted) opposition research was bought and paid for by Hillary Clinton and the DNC hidden or obscured from the judges who approved those warrants? These are important questions, but their scope only goes so far — which is why Barr has moved to assign the job of rendering a more comprehensive account to someone else. And boy, does this process, still being presented as a “review,” appear to be escalating:

Attorney General William Barr is working closely with the CIA to review the origins of the Russia investigation and surveillance issues surrounding Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, according to a source familiar with the matter, broadening an effort that the President has long demanded to involve all major national security agencies. Barr is working in close collaboration with CIA Director Gina Haspel, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and FBI Director Christopher Wray, the source said. There had been speculation as to why Haspel had been spotted at the Justice Department in recent weeks. Wray testified last week he was assisting Barr.

The CIA is in the mix? We’ve also learned that the probe has already been underway for some time:

Per our Jake Gibson: Sources tell @FoxNews that CT US Attorney John Durham has been working on the investigation into the origins of the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and the Trump Campaign for “weeks.”

— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) May 14, 2019

(Read more from “The Probe into the Russia-Trump Investigation Has Been Going on for Awhile” HERE)

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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., has admitted something that really ought to make the American people reconsider what last few weeks’ drama about the Mueller report was really supposed to be about.

Nadler now says that it was never really his intention to demand that the Department of Justice hand over secret grand jury information when his committee subpoenaed the full, unredacted Mueller report and its underlying evidence.

When asked why there was nothing in the subpoena to clarify that it didn’t demand the federally protected information, Nadler told the Washington Times, “The subpoena doesn’t have to say it,” and added that concern is “a red herring that the Republicans are raising.”

Was it really? Because from everyone else’s vantage point so far, the grand jury information contained in the report has been the biggest, most glaring sticking point in discussions over the subpoena.

And while the committee agreed to an amendment clarifying that grand jury information wouldn’t be subject to subpoena, there’s no such provision in the subpoena itself. If that were really the case, it might have helped negotiations with the Department of Justice and debates with committee Republicans to have been up front about that sooner.

Just to catch everyone up, here’s the time line so far:

Attorney General Barr released a redacted version of a confidential report on the Mueller report, which he was under no statutory obligation to do.

Nadler subpoenaed the full, unredacted Mueller report and its underlying evidence from the Department of Justice.
The Department has objected to this, saying that the requested materials contain grand jury information that is protected by section 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

That section of the rules says that grand jury information cannot be made public without a court order, which has not been issued.

Despite all this, the DOJ has allowed a dozen members of Congress to come and view a less-redacted version in a secure location at the Department.

None of the six permitted Democrats have come forward so far to take advantage of that offer.

The Department of Justice reiterated its invitation for Nadler to come view the less-redacted report and work out a compromise in compliance with federal rules.

House/DOJ talks fell apart, and House Democrats scheduled contempt proceedings against Barr.

In response to the contempt proceedings, the White House invoked executive privilege over the contested portions of the Mueller report.

Now this fight enters the legal realm, and this latest admission could very well hurt Nadler’s chances in court, given the differences between the committee’s current position and the broad language of the subpoena.

When everything is viewed in context like that, and now that we know the grand jury info supposedly isn’t in question, it’s a wonder that there’s anything left for the involved parties to haggle over.

But there is.

Because what’s left after the grand jury info? According to the redactions in the public report, there’s still information in there that could harm ongoing investigations or other matters, which speaks to why the DOJ would like to keep that information in a secure location. It’s not difficult at all to imagine that, if just outright handed over to committee members and staff, that other sensitive sensitive information might find its way into the hands of a Trump-hostile press.

Given that possibility, it makes sense that DOJ would only open the information up to a select few members of Congress who had committee jurisdiction and not let them walk off with it.

In case anyone forgot, that’s exactly how things were handled with the follow-up investigation during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, except that the secure location was within the Capitol complex.

However, whether or not such a setup for the House Judiciary Committee was discussed in the Nadler-Barr negotiations seems to be irrelevant now, given the current state of escalation.

But of course, that’s all part of the twofold advantage here for House Democrats: On the one hand, they have the option of convincing people who haven’t done their homework that the administration is somehow covering something up in those redacted portions of the report. On the other, if they actually get what they’re asking for, everyone should just be prepared to watch that information start leaking faster than a submarine with screen windows. (For more from the author of “This Admission Shows the House Democrats’ Subpoena Fight Is All About the Headlines” please click HERE)

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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham sent a letter to Special Counsel Robert Mueller Friday afternoon. In it, Graham invited Mueller to testify in front of the Committee if he believes Attorney General William Barr has somehow misrepresented his investigation.

From the letter:

On the eve of Attorney General Barr’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, several news outlets broke a story alleging that you believed Attorney General Barr’s March 24, 2019, letter to this Committee “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of your investigation. Of course, Attorney General Barr has since released your report to the public, including your executive summaries, with redactions deemed necessary by both you and the Department of Justice, and testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In response to questions by Senator Blumenthal, the Attorney General testified in essence that you told him in a phone call that you did not challenge the accuracy of the Attorney General’s summary of your report’s principal conclusions, but rather you wanted more of the report, particularly the executive summaries concerning obstruction of justice, to be released promptly. In particular, Attorney General Barr testified that you believed media coverage of your investigation was unfair without the public release of those summaries.

Sen. Lindsey Graham says he won't call for Robert Mueller to testify before Congress: "I'm not going to do any more. Enough already. It's over." https://t.co/rd17bJTJ8u pic.twitter.com/71gLTFBCp6

— ABC News (@ABC) May 1, 2019

Ample evidence to justify further investigation into whether DOJ and FBI ran a shady counterintelligence operation against the Trump campaign, misled the FISA court, and gave Clinton a pass because of political bias.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) May 2, 2019

(Read more from “Graham Invites Special Counsel Mueller to Testify…Under One Condition” HERE)

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A Belorusian-American businessman who has been identified in press reports as a major source for the Steele Dossier is claiming to be “totally exonerated” following the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

Despite the bold proclamation, Mueller’s lengthy report does not appear to vindicate Sergei Millian, the former chairman of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. . .

Millian “remained out of the country since the inception of our investigation and declined to meet with members of the Office despite our repeated efforts to obtain an interview,” the report reads. . .

“Now, as ‘Russiagate’ is over and feeling totally exonerated by the recent report, let the inquisitive minds find the truth about the ‘#Pissgate’ creators, a lovely couple, GS/CS, who organized the smear campaign against the #President, #Millian, the team or are they #untouchable?” Millian wrote on Twitter. . .

Now, as “Russiagate” is over and feeling totally exonerated by the recent report, let the inquisitive minds find the truth about the “#Pissgate” creators, a lovely couple, GS/CS, who organized the smear campaign against the #President, #Millian, the team or are they #untouchable? pic.twitter.com/7nQYfPW0K2

— Sergei Millian (@SergeiMillian) April 19, 2019

Millian has denied being a source for the dossier. He has said in statements to The Daily Caller News Foundation that he was not with Trump in Moscow when the alleged blackmail tape was recorded. (Read more from “Alleged Dossier Source Claims to Be Exonerated by Report, but Is He?” HERE)

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