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Here’s How Much the Mueller Investigation Has Cost Taxpayers

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By The Daily Caller. The Mueller investigation has cost taxpayers $25 million, according to documents released Friday by the Department of Justice.

The special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election has been ongoing since May 2017. The latest numbers released by the department show that, in a six-month time period from April 1, 2018, to Sep. 30, 2018, there were over $4.5 million in expenditures. . .

Mueller’s investigation has so far proven no hard evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia but has implicated various campaign aides in unrelated crimes. Trump campaign staff Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos have all been targeted by the broad scope investigation.

(Read more from “Here’s How Much the Mueller Investigation Has Cost Taxpayers” HERE)

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Mueller Probe Has Cost Taxpayers More Than $25 Million, Spending Report Reveals

By Fox News. Taxpayers have spent more than $25 million on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, according to the latest spending report released Friday.

Between April 1 and Sept. 30 of this year, the special counsel has spent $4.56 million on the investigation.

“The Department will continue to dedicate and leverage resources to maintain strong program and financial management controls,” the report stated. “Management takes its program and financial accountability seriously and is dedicated to ensuring that funds are used in a responsible and transparent manner.”

Of the $4.56 million, $2.9 million went to “Personnel Compensation and Benefits” – $1 million of that went to special counsel employees’ salaries and benefits, and $1.9 million was “reimbursable” for Justice Department employees on detail with the special counsel’s office.

The special counsel’s office spent $942,787 on “Rent, Communications, and Utilities,” nearly $60,000 on printing, supplies, and materials; and Mueller’s team spent $580,098 on transportation and travel, with the majority of those funds going to “temporary duty relocation of DOJ employees detailed” to the special counsel’s office. (Read more from “Mueller Probe Has Cost Taxpayers More Than $25 Million, Spending Report Reveals” HERE)

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Obstruction? Mueller probe wiped Strzok phone before giving it to investigators

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The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has released a report on its investigation into the recovery of text messages from FBI mobile devices that were once operated by disgraced former FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

The report reveals disturbing details about the inner workings and lack of transparency in the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, who has been investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election for the past 575 days and has failed to publicize any evidence of Trump-Russia “collusion.”

The OIG report found that all of the texts off of Strzok’s and Page’s mobile phones that they had received while they were working for the special counsel’s office (SCO) were deleted.

“SCO’s Records Officer told the OIG that as part of the office’s records retention procedure, the officer reviewed Strzok’s DOJ issued iPhone after he returned it to the SCO and determined it contained no substantive text messages,” the OIG report said in stating that Strzok’s phone had been “reset to factory settings,” which means it was completely wiped of all of its data.

Additionally, the SCO claimed it “was unable to locate the iPhone previously assigned to Page.” When the phone was finally found, it too had all of its data deleted and was reset to factory settings, according to the report.

This is peculiar, given that Strzok and Page were dismissed from the SCO after texts surfaced showing that the couple had a strong anti-Trump bias. Additionally, further texts appeared to show that they were prepared to take action in their official capacity as FBI agents to “stop” candidate Trump from winning the election, citing an “insurance policy” they had put together.

The OIG report raises questions about the transparency of the Mueller investigation as a whole. It adds fuel to the narrative that Mueller was appointed in order to protect corrupt institutions and cover up wrongdoing by elements of the federal government, instead of shining a light on corruption within it. (For more from the author of “Obstruction? Mueller Probe Wiped Strzok Phone Before Giving It to Investigators” please click HERE)

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What Does Mueller Have? Memo Hints at Damaging Russia Info from Cohen

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A sentencing memo written by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s legal team is sparking interest with hints about what President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen may have told prosecutors investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. . .

“Cohen provided the [special counsel’s office] with useful information concerning certain discrete Russia-related matters core to its investigation that he obtained by virtue of his regular contact with Company executives during the campaign,” Mueller wrote in his memo.

Cohen has admitted lying to Congress about how long he worked on the Trump Tower Moscow project and repeating the falsehoods to the media. But Mueller’s team doesn’t just consider this self-protection. It was a “deliberate effort” to publicly present a “false narrative” in the hopes of limiting the scope of the various Russia investigations, Mueller’s team wrote in the memo.

While the memo does not go into great details, it does provide new information about one of the earliest known contacts between Russia and a Trump campaign associate. In fall 2015, Cohen was months into his work on a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow when an unidentified Russian national proposed a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This person, prosecutors say, claimed to be a “trusted person” in Russia who could offer the Trump campaign “political synergy” and “synergy on a government level.”

This person sought to connect the Trump business project with the campaign, saying the meeting could have a “phenomenal” impact on the proposed tower in Moscow. There is “no bigger warranty in any project than the consent of” Putin, the person told Cohen. (Read more from “What Does Mueller Have? Memo Hints at Damaging Russia Info from Cohen” HERE)

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Michael Flynn Provided ‘Substantial’ Information for Mueller Probe. This Is His Recommended Sentence.

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By Townhall. In a memo released Tuesday, Robert Mueller recommended a lenient sentence, with no jail time, for former national security advisor Michael Flynn because of the “substantial” help he’s provided investigators.

“Given the defendant’s substantial assistance and other considerations set forth below, a sentence at the low end of the guideline range, including a sentence that does not impose a term of incarceration – is appropriate and warranted,” the memo states, Fox News reported. . .

The memo doesn’t provide any insights into what Flynn told Mueller. It did, however, note that Flynn provided “communications and documents” about his time in the Trump administration. (Read more from “Michael Flynn Provided ‘Substantial’ Information for Mueller Probe. This Is His Recommended Sentence.” HERE)

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Flynn Was Key Cooperator and Deserves Little Prison Time, Mueller Team Says

By New York Times. Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s first national security adviser, helped substantially with the special counsel’s investigation and should receive little to no prison time for lying to federal investigators, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Mr. Flynn was a key cooperator who helped the Justice Department with several investigations, prosecutors for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, said. He sat for 19 interviews with Mr. Mueller’s office and other prosecutors and handed over documents and communications, they said.

“His early cooperation was particularly valuable because he was one of the few people with long-term and firsthand insight” into the subject of Mr. Mueller’s investigation — Russia’s election interference and whether any Trump associates conspired, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing recommendation memorandum and an addendum that was heavily blacked out. (Read more from “Flynn Was Key Cooperator and Deserves Little Prison Time, Mueller Team Says” HERE)

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Criminal Complaint Filed Against Mueller

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Conservative author Jerome Corsi is aiming to take Robert Mueller to court, claiming the special counsel’s investigators tried to coerce him into giving “false testimony” against President Trump. The complaint is addressed to law enforcement leaders like Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, D.C.’s U.S. Attorney Jessie Liu and the Bar Disciplinary Counsel. Corsi wants the Department of Justice to open criminal and ethics probes into Mueller and his staff.

“Special Counsel Mueller and his prosecutorial staff should respectfully be removed from his office and their practice of the law and a new Special Counsel appointed who respects and will obey common and accepted norms of professional ethics and the law and who will promptly conclude the so-called Russian collusion investigation which had been illegally and criminally spinning out of control,” the complaint reads.

The “false testimony” Mueller’s team supposedly wanted Corsi to give concerned his relationship with Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone and WikiLeaks.

According to Corsi’s complaint, they wanted him to demonstrate that he acted as a liaison between Stone and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on one side and the Trump campaign on the other, regarding the release of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee.

The complaint states that Mueller’s office is now “knowingly and deceitfully threatening to charge Dr. Corsi with an alleged false statement,” unless he gives them “false testimony” against Trump and others.

(Read more from “Criminal Complaint Filed Against Mueller” HERE)

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Ex-Trump Official: Mueller Hasn’t Indicted Anyone for Collusion After 18 Months

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By Fox News Insider. Former Trump administration official Michael Anton said Thursday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has yet to indict anyone on charges related to collusion with Russia during the 2016 campaign.

The former National Security Council spokesman said Michael Cohen’s new guilty plea is another example of Mueller pursuing a “process” crime rather than pursuing collusion-related offenses, which was the original goal of the investigation.

Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, made a second plea agreement with federal prosecutors in New York, reportedly admitting to lying to Congress in 2017 about a Trump real estate deal in Russia. . .

Cohen previously pleaded guilty in New York to violating federal campaign finance laws by arranging hush-money payments to women in 2016 “at the direction” of then-candidate Trump.

Anton asked on “America’s Newsroom” how long Mueller is going to investigate if he cannot charge anyone after 18 months on a charge related to Trump-Russia collusion. (Read more from “Ex-Trump Official: Mueller Hasn’t Indicted Anyone for Collusion After 18 Months” HERE)

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Dershowitz Urges Trump Team to ‘Be Ready’: Mueller Won’t Release ‘Balanced, Fair Report’

By Fox News Insider. Alan Dershowitz said President Trump and his legal team have to be ready when Special Counsel Robert Mueller releases his findings in the Russia probe, because the American public should not be presented with a “one-sided report.”

Dershowitz, a Harvard Law professor emeritus, explained that Mueller — who’s investigating Russian election meddling and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow — is not going to produce a “neutral” report.

“He’s not going to be fair. He’s going to produce what he believes is going to be a devastating attack,” Dershowitz said. “They’re going to put together every bit of evidence and present a mosaic which points to the White House, the Oval Office, the president.”

He said that’s why he has suggested the president’s legal team demand that when Mueller’s report is released, they are able to simultaneously release their own report. . .

“Mueller is not going to produce a balanced, fair report,” he stated. (Read more from “Dershowitz Urges Trump Team to ‘Be Ready’: Mueller Won’t Release ‘Balanced, Fair Report'” HERE)

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Mueller Claims Manafort Violated Plea Deal

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By The Daily Caller. Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to the FBI and federal prosecutors in violation of a plea agreement he reached in September, the special counsel’s office claimed in a court filing on Monday.

Prosecutors said that after Manafort entered a plea agreement on Sept. 14, he “committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel’s Office on a variety of subject matters, which constitute breaches of the agreement.”

Manafort, 69, entered the plea deal a day before he was set to go to trial in Washington, D.C., on charges related to his lobbying work for the Ukraine government through 2014. Manafort had already been convicted in Virginia on Aug. 21 on tax fraud and bank fraud charges related to his Ukraine work.

Manafort has reportedly met numerous times with the special counsel’s office, which is investigating whether anyone on the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election.

The three-page court filing does not reveal what Manafort allegedly lied about, though prosecutors said they will file a detailed report laying out Manafort’s alleged “crimes and lies, including those after signing the plea agreement herein.” (Read more from “Mueller Claims Manafort Violated Plea Deal” HERE)

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Trump Raises Questions About Mueller Final Report

By The Washington Examiner. President Trump on Monday cast doubt on the credibility of special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report on his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, asserting that some who worked on his presidential campaign were never contacted by the special counsel.

“When Mueller does his final report, will he be covering all of his conflicts of interest in a preamble, will he be recommending action on all of the crimes of many kinds from those ‘on the other side’ (whatever happened to Podesta?), and will he be putting in statements from hundreds of people closely involved with my campaign who never met, saw or spoke to a Russian during this period?”

“So many campaign workers, people inside from the beginning, ask me why they have not been called (they want to be). There was NO Collusion & Mueller knows it!” Trump said in a pair of tweets Monday.

(Read more from “Trump Raises Questions About Mueller Final Report” HERE)

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Bombshell Text Messages Support Roger Stone’s Claims About Wikileaks Backchannel

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By The Daily Caller. Text messages released on Wednesday appear to support Trump confidant Roger Stone’s testimony that a New York radio show host was his source for information about WikiLeaks’ plans to release information damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

“Julian Assange has kryptonite on Hillary,” Randy Credico wrote to Stone on Aug. 27, 2016, according to text messages that Stone provided to The Daily Caller News Foundation.

“You are not going to drag my name into this are you,” Credico wrote on Sept. 29, 2016, suggesting that he was worried that Stone would identify him as his source for public claims he was making about WikiLeaks’ plans.

“[B]ig news Wednesday,” Credico wrote on Oct. 1, 2016, days before WikiLeaks began releasing emails stolen from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. “Now pretend u don’t know me.”

Credico also suggested in the texts that his source for some information about WikiLeaks was one of the group’s lawyers, who he said was one of his “best friends.” Stone has long claimed that the lawyer, Margaret Ratner Kunstler, was a source for Credico. (Read more from “Bombshell Text Messages Support Roger Stone’s Claims About Wikileaks Backchannel” HERE)

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Text Messages Show Roger Stone and Friend Discussing Wikileaks Plans

By NBC News. Six days before WikiLeaks began releasing Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails, Roger Stone had a text message conversation with a friend about WikiLeaks, according to copies of phone records obtained exclusively by NBC News. . .

Credico turned out to be wrong on one count — nothing incriminating about Clinton came out that Wednesday. But two days later, on Oct. 7, WikiLeaks released its first dump of emails stolen from Podesta, altering the trajectory of the 2016 presidential election.

Stone, a confidante of then-candidate Donald Trump and notorious political trickster, has denied any collusion with WikiLeaks.

But the text messages provided by Stone to NBC News show that Credico appeared to be providing regular updates to Stone on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s plans in the days before the hacked emails were released. In the texts, Credico told Stone he had insights into Assange’s plans through a longtime friend, who was also Assange’s lawyer, according to the text messages. (Read more from “Text Messages Show Roger Stone and Friend Discussing Wikileaks Plans” HERE)

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Mueller Grand Jury Witness Says He Will Be Indicted for Perjury

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A journalist who has testified twice before the Mueller grand jury said Monday that he expects to be charged in the coming days in the special counsel’s investigation.

“I fully anticipate that in the next few days I will be indicted by Mueller for some form or another for giving false information the special counsel or the grand jury,” Jerome Corsi, a former reporter with Infowars, announced on his daily web show. . .

Corsi has been linked to Roger Stone, a Trump confidant who has been a focus of the Mueller probe for months. . .

Corsi said Monday that he has attempted to cooperate with Mueller’s team, but that “the entire negotiations and discussions have just blown up.” . . .

“I had nothing to hide, I feel like I’ve committed no crimes,” he continued, claiming that he has fallen victim to a perjury trap. (Read more from “Mueller Grand Jury Witness Says He Will Be Indicted for Perjury” HERE)

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Does Robert Mueller’s Lead Prosecutor Have a History of Ethics Violations?

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Houston-based attorney Kevin Fulton, of the Fulton Law Group, plans to file a motion on my behalf Thursday morning to unseal and unredact court records that may expose past misconduct by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s lead prosecutor, Andrew Weissmann.

Since Weissmann took a leave of absence from his top Department of Justice job to join the special counsel’s team, critics have questioned his impartiality. Reports suggest the man branded Mueller’s pit bull by the New York Times violated internal protocol when he met with reporters from the Associated Press in April 2017. The following day, the AP published an exposé on Paul Manafort’s relationship with Ukraine officials.

Then news broke that twice-demoted Department of Justice attorney Bruce Ohr kept Weissmann “in the loop” about the dossier penned by former MI6 British spy Christopher Steele and used to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant to surveil President Trump’s campaign.

Ohr, who apparently had no official role in the Russia investigation, has come under fire for feeding the FBI intel from Steele following the latter’s termination as an informant. Ohr’s purported communications with Weissmann raise the question of whether the top DOJ lawyer likewise sidestepped FBI protocols concerning sources.

These facts raise serious concerns about Weissmann’s continued service on the special counsel’s team and justify delving further into the career of the long-time federal prosecutor. (Read more from “Does Robert Mueller’s Lead Prosecutor Have a History of Ethics Violations?” HERE)

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