Robert Mueller issues subpoena to Trump Organization demanding documents about Russia.

Courtesy of New York Times:  

The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has subpoenaed the Trump Organization to turn over documents, including some related to Russia, according to two people briefed on the matter. The order is the first known time that the special counsel demanded documents directly related to President Trump’s businesses, bringing the investigation closer to the president. 

The breadth of the subpoena was not clear, nor was it clear why Mr. Mueller issued it instead of simply asking for the documents from the company, an umbrella organization that oversees Mr. Trump’s business ventures. In the subpoena, delivered in recent weeks, Mr. Mueller ordered the Trump Organization to hand over all documents related to Russia and other topics he is investigating, the people said. 

The subpoena is the latest indication that the investigation, which Mr. Trump’s lawyers once regularly assured him would be completed by now, will drag on for at least several more months. Word of the subpoena comes as Mr. Mueller appears to be broadening his investigation to examine the role foreign money may have played in funding Mr. Trump’s political activities.

Keep in mind that this is a subpoena, not a request, for these documents.

That means that Mueller is not giving the Trump Organization any wiggle room.

This of course is REALLY going to piss Trump off, and that might mean that he would pull the trigger on a plan reported by Vanity Fair to replace Jeff Sessions with somebody who could rein Mueller in a little: 

Perhaps most consequential for Robert Mueller’s investigation, sources said Trump has discussed a plan to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions. According to two Republicans in regular contact with the White House, there have been talks that Trump could replace Sessions with E.P.A. Administrator Scott Pruitt, who would not be recused from overseeing the Russia probe. Also, as an agency head and former state attorney general, Pruitt would presumably have a good shot at passing a Senate confirmation hearing.

If Trump were going to make a move to get rid of Mueller, I would think that this would be the thing that would push him to do it.

 And remember there is virtually NOBODY in the White House anymore to talk him down.

Here is that crazy interview that MSNBC's Katy Tur had with former campaign aide Sam Nunberg. Update!

Courtesy of NBC News: 

Sam Nunberg, a former Donald Trump campaign aide, plans to defy a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller requesting campaign documents related to the Russia investigation, saying Monday that it would be "really funny" if he were arrested. 

"The president's right, it's a witch hunt," Nunberg told MSNBC's Katy's Tur. 

"I'm not going to cooperate when they want me to come into a grand jury for them to insinuate that (former Trump adviser) Roger Stone was colluding with (Wikileaks founder) Julian Assange," he added.

Nunberg, who has already been interviewed by Mueller's office, called the idea that Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia the "biggest joke," but he suggested — without any evidence — that Mueller may have something on the president. 

"I think they may," said Nunberg, who served briefly as a campaign adviser. "I think that he (Trump) may have done something during the election. But I don't know that for sure." He didn't provide any details.

I like how at one point he says that Trump did nothing wrong, and then only minutes later suggests that Trump "may have done something during the election."

My favorite part of this exchange is at the end when it seems that Nunberg suddenly realizes that he may have screwed himself and asks Katy Tur what she thinks Mueller might do to him for not complying with the subpoena.

I think I know exactly Mueller might do, and I am certain that Sam Nunberg is going to regret his defiance.

Here was something interesting that former US Attorney Preet Bharara tweeted right after this segment aired.

Even if you have someone's emails from other parties to them or from the service provider, you ask for them anyway. Among other things you learn a lot when people selectively disclose.

— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) March 5, 2018

I think is more than likely.

So all Nunberg is accomplishing here is putting a bullseye on this back and alerting the Mueller team that he may have something to hide.

Before I close this post I just want to say that I thought Katy Tur did an EXCELLENT job of conducting this interview and got Nunberg to divulge things that I am certain his lawyer would have wrestled him to the ground to keep him from saying.

Nunberg jumped from this interview to CNN, and that interview paled in comparison to this one with Katy Tur.

And that is why for me MSNBC is the best cable news program on the air today.

Update: Later Nunberg showed up on MSNBC again this time on Ari Melber's show.

Nunberg is getting legal advice from MSNBC guests. @mayawiley point blank told him he should testify... pic.twitter.com/YBTVBHCdZJ

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 5, 2018

There were three lawyers there, and ALL of them told him he needed to cooperate, and genuinely seemed worried for him.

Update 2: And now this.

Nunberg tells me he'll probably cooperate with Mueller in the end. He just doesn't want to make it easy. He thinks it isn't fair that they are asking for his personal communications. As of 8pm he says he had not talked to his lawyer.

— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) March 6, 2018

Okay, I don't know about anybody else, but I'm a little dizzy.

Steve Bannon blows off subpoena from the House Intelligence Committee, but plans to sing like a canary for Robert Mueller.

Courtesy of CNN:

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon won't appear before the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday, escalating a tense standoff with the panel. 

Bannon was not planning on showing up ahead of a Tuesday deadline because the White House and committee haven't reached an agreement over the scope of the questioning, a source said Monday. 

The House Intelligence Committee confirmed Tuesday it was giving Bannon another week to comply with its subpoena. 

"The House Intelligence Committee's interview with Stephen Bannon has been postponed at the Committee's initiative until next week," Emily Hytha, spokeswoman for Rep. Mike Conaway, the Republican running the committee's Russia probe, said in a statement. "We look forward to having him before the Committee once we can assure that he will be able to thoroughly answer all our questions without concerns regarding the scope of executive privilege." 

This is the third extension on this subpoena that this committee has provided to Bannon, which kind of makes them appear completely toothless right now.

It could simply be that Bannon, like most of America, simply has no respect for Devin Nunes, the chairman of that committee, because he has another date to testify that he is supposedly taking much more seriously.

Courtesy of the AP: 

Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist to President Donald Trump, is scheduled to speak with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators next week as they probe possible obstruction of justice by the president. 

That’s according to two people familiar with Bannon’s interview. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record about details of the interview. 

One of the people says Bannon plans to tell Mueller “everything” he knows.

I actually get the feeling that Bannon is eager to share what he knows with Mueller. 

And we know from Michael Wolff's book that he certainly loves to talk.

Steve Bannon spent eleven hours on the Hill yesterday refusing to answer questions even after receiving a subpoena.

MORE NEWS: Top Dem on the committee, @RepAdamSchiff, says after committee subpoenaed, Bannon’s lawyer contacted the White House, which “doubled down” on demand he not answer questions.

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 17, 2018

Courtesy of NBC News:  

Steve Bannon told lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election that the White House instructed him not to answer questions related to his tenure as a top White House adviser, prompting a rare subpoena to compel testimony, multiple congressional sources tell NBC News. 

The former Breitbart executive and now-spurned Trump confidante spent more than 11 hours on Capitol Hill to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, the first of three high-profile witnesses expected before the panel this week. 

Rep. Mike Conway, R-Texas, who is overseeing the panel’s Russia probe, said they expect additional testimony from Bannon after further discussions with the White House over what lawmakers in both parties considered an overly broad claim of executive privilege.

However as confidant as this might have made the White House feel, sources claim that Bannon will not defy the Mueller subpoena.

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:  

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon broke some bad news to House investigators Tuesday, announcing that the White House had invoked executive privilege to keep him from answering many of their questions. 

But executive privilege—the president’s right to keep certain information from the public so he can have frank conversations with aides—will not keep Steve Bannon from sharing information with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, according to a person familiar with the situation. 

“Mueller will hear everything Bannon has to say,” said the source, who is familiar with Bannon’s thinking.

Not sure what game Bannon is playing here as it seems very unlikely that Trump will ever invite him back into the inner circle.

But we certainly know what game Robert Mueller is playing. He isn't.

And just today it was revealed that Bannon has reached a deal with the Mueller team.

Courtesy of CNN: 

Steve Bannon has struck a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller's team and will be interviewed by prosecutors instead of testifying before the grand jury, two people familiar with the process told CNN. He is expected to cooperate with the special counsel, the sources said.

It appears that Steve Bannon realizes that Mueller is not playing games as well. 

Steve Bannon is currently testifying before the House Intelligence Committee. Next up, Hope Hicks. Update!

Steve Bannon is on Capitol Hill to give private testimony to House Intel Committee in Russia probe: https://t.co/xsWc8V42Di

— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) January 16, 2018

Courtesy of AP:

Steve Bannon, the onetime close confidant to President Donald Trump, arrived early Tuesday for his interview before the House Intelligence Committee. 

His interview follows his spectacular fall from power after being quoted in a book that he sees the president’s son and others as engaging in “treasonous” behavior for taking a meeting with Russians during the 2016 campaign.

I imagine that Bannon is spilling his guts right now.

After all what more could he possibly lose at this point?

Next one the barrel is apparently Trump's side piece. (Oh come on! You know it's true.)

Courtesy of CNN:  

White House Communications Director Hope Hicks is expected to meet with the House Intelligence Committee as soon as this week, making her one of President Donald Trump's closest confidantes to be privately interviewed in the panel's Russia investigation, multiple sources with knowledge of the matter told CNN. 

Hicks, a trusted Trump aide for years, was one of then-candidate Trump's first hires as he put together an improbable run for the White House. During the campaign, she was often by Trump's side and attended nearly every rally, while she was in frequent communication with other senior officials as they plotted their tactics to win the White House. 

The House panel plans to interview her about any knowledge she has of contacts that occurred between other Trump associates and Russians. And she is bound to be questioned about other controversies as well, namely the White House's involvement in crafting a misleading response last summer once a June 2016 meeting between Russians and Donald Trump Jr. was revealed in the press. 

The meeting is expected to occur as soon as Friday, the sources said.

I know that Hope Hicks and Stephen Bannon have a potpourri of potentially damaging information about Trump and the campaign to share, but I still lack confidence that the House Intelligence Committee is actually interested in revealing that information.

I am much more interested in what Mueller and his team manage to squeeze out of these two.

And we just learned today that Mueller has issued a subpoena for Bannon to testify before a grand jury.

Courtesy of the New York Times:

Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s former chief strategist, was subpoenaed last week by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, to testify before a grand jury as part of the investigation into possible links between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. 

The move marked the first time Mr. Mueller is known to have used a grand jury subpoena to seek information from a member of Mr. Trump’s inner circle. The special counsel’s office has used subpoenas before to seek information on Mr. Trump’s associates and their possible ties to Russia or other foreign governments. 
The subpoena could be a negotiating tactic. Mr. Mueller is likely to allow Mr. Bannon to forgo the grand jury appearance if he agrees to instead be questioned by investigators in the less formal setting of the special counsel’s offices about ties between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia and about the president’s conduct in office, according to the person, who would not be named discussing the case. But it was not clear why Mr. Mueller treated Mr. Bannon differently than the dozen administration officials who were interviewed in the final months of last year and were never served with a subpoena.

Popcorn anyone?

Update: I stand corrected, Bannon was uncooperative until he was subpoenaed during the hearing.  

Sources say Bannon told by WH not to answer questions before House Intel Cmte about the White House and the transition. Did not assert executive privilege. Committee subpoenas him during the meeting to comply while in the hearing.

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 16, 2018

Robert Mueller issues subpoena for Donald Trump's bank records. And so it begins.

Courtesy of Bloomberg News:  

Special prosecutor Robert Mueller zeroed in on President Donald Trump’s business dealings with Deutsche Bank AG as his investigation into alleged Russian meddling in U.S. elections widens. 

Mueller issued a subpoena to Germany’s largest lender several weeks ago, forcing the bank to submit documents on its relationship with Trump and his family, according to a person briefed on the matter, who asked not to be identified because the action has not been announced. 

“Deutsche Bank always cooperates with investigating authorities in all countries,” the lender said in a statement to Bloomberg Tuesday, declining to provide additional information. 

Deutsche Bank for months has rebuffed calls by Democratic lawmakers to provide more transparency over the roughly $300 million Trump owed to the bank for his real estate dealings prior to becoming president. Representative Maxine Waters of California and other Democrats have asked whether the bank’s loans to Trump, made years before he ran for president, were in any way connected to Russia. The bank previously rejected those demands, saying sharing client data would be illegal unless it received a formal request to do so. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.

You may remember that Donald Trump suggested that going after his fiances represented a "red line" that Mueller should never cross. 

However clearly Mueller does not give two shits about any red lines that Trump does not want him to cross.

In fact since Trump's own son bragged about all of the money they were getting from Russia, and since Deutshe Bank is perhaps the last financial institution willing to still lend Trump money, AND since they were recently busted for laundering Russian money, of COURSE Mueller had to subpoena those records.

Damn, I bet Trump is literally rending his clothes and smashing furniture in the White House right now.

I also bet he is asking his legal team if there is any way he can fire Robert Mueller and not have it only exacerbate his problems.

The answer to that is no, no he can't.

Robert Mueller issues subpoena for Russia related documents from Trump campaign.

Did that surprise you? Good.

Courtesy of NBC News: 

Special counsel Robert Mueller's team has issued a subpoena to the Trump campaign asking multiple campaign officials to produce Russia-related documents, according to a source with first-hand knowledge of the matter. 

The subpoena was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which also said that the subpoena does not compel testimony by any of the officials. 

The source said the campaign has already turned over some 20,000 documents voluntarily, so it’s not clear why the subpoena was issued. A subpoena ratchets up the stakes for noncompliance.

The Journal reported that the Trump campaign had been caught by surprise by the subpoena.

I don't know about all of you, but I get a kind of thrill when I read that something Robert Mueller did caught the Trump White House of campaign "by surprise."

That just means that Mueller is keeping them off balance and on the defensive, and THAT is when people make mistakes.

As for why Mueller decided to issue these subpoenas, well that might have a little something to do with the fact that they discovered that Jared Kushner was holding out on them.

In other Trump/Russia collusion news it appears that the Trump Organization may have been using at least one of its hotels in Panama to launder Russian and mafia money.

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:  

A Panama City condo high-rise development that carried the Trump Organization’s marketing imprimatur in the late 2000s was “riddled” with drug traffickers and international mafia figures, beset with dubious sales, and became, as one financial-crimes investigator called it, a “a vehicle for money laundering.” A joint NBC News and Reuters investigation, along with a report issued by anti-corruption watchdog Global Watch, says transactions at the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower served as a laundering operation for Colombian cartel proceeds and Russian human traffickers, and Trump Organization officials did little if anything to question where the money was coming from. One key broker, Alexandre Henrique Ventura Nogueira—now a fugitive in Europe—told interviewers that President Trump and his adult children were directly involved in the marketing, management, and even the design of the skyscraper, which opened in 2011. Ventura Nogueira said he had at least 10 direct meetings with Ivanka Trump about the sales. Ivanka Trump didn’t respond to requests for comment. The White House referred questions to the Trump Organization, who legal counsel denied involvement in sales: “No one at the Trump Organization, including the Trump family, has any recollection of ever meeting or speaking with this individual.”

Of course they don't. Right up until the Mueller team discovers an email or document which proves they actually did speak or meet up with this individual. 

Tick tock.

Speaking of subpoenas here are the others also being asked to testify in the Russia investigations.

JUST IN: Mueller interviewed cybersecurity expert who claimed he was recruited to collude with Russia: report https://t.co/2xaHUS0X6T pic.twitter.com/PuzcneKAYV

— The Hill (@thehill) October 17, 2017

 Courtesy of The Hill: 

Special counsel Robert Mueller has interviewed a cybersecurity expert who claims he was "recruited to collude with the Russians" in the 2016 election, Business Insider reported Tuesday. 

Matt Tait, a former information security specialist for Britain's Government Communications Headquarters was interviewed weeks ago by Mueller, according to a source familiar with the investigation. 

Tait claimed that he was recruited by a longtime GOP operative tied to the Trump campaign, Peter W. Smith, to obtain emails deleted from Hillary Clinton's private email server that they believed were hacked by the Russians. 

Smith reportedly told people during his investigation that he was affiliated with President Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

Actually Mueller and his team have been quite busy.

Courtesy of Politico: 

President Donald Trump’s former press secretary Sean Spicer met with special counsel Robert Mueller's team on Monday for an interview that lasted much of the day, according to multiple people familiar with the meeting. 

During his sitdown, Spicer was grilled about the firing of former FBI director James Comey and his statements regarding the firing, as well as about Trump’s meetings with Russians officials including one with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Oval Office, one person familiar with the meeting said.

Spicer was essentially that "fly on the wall" that we talk about who overhears everything, even things he should not be hearing.

And considering how he was treated there is no reason to think he is not perfectly willing to share all that he knows. 

And speaking of flies on the wall let's not forget that Mueller has already interviewed Reince Priebus.

Former adviser Carter Page has also been subpoenaed by the Senate Intelligence Committee. He of course has already spilled his guts to the FBI.

Yep things are most definitely heating up.

Is it any wonder that Trump is trying to get the whole thing shut down?

The opposition research firm responsible for the Russian dossier refuses to comply with subpoena from Devin Nunes.

Firm behind explosive Trump-Russia dossier blasts Devin Nunes — and refuses to comply with his subpoena https://t.co/FNA6k5J1el

— Raw Story (@RawStory) October 16, 2017

Courtesy of Business Insider:  

The founders of the opposition-research firm that produced the dossier alleging ties between President Donald Trump's campaign team and Russia will invoke constitutional privileges and decline to testify before the House Intelligence Committee, their attorney wrote in a letter obtained by Business Insider on Monday. 

"We cannot in good conscience do anything but advise our clients to stand on their constitutional privileges, the attorney work product doctrine and contractual obligations," Fusion GPS' counsel Josh Levy wrote in response to subpoenas issued earlier this month by the committee's chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes. 

Levy argued that complying with the subpoenas would violate "the First Amendment rights" of the founders — Glenn Simpson, Thomas Catan, and Peter Fritsch — "and would chill any American running for office ... from conducting confidential opposition research in an election." 

"Should you compel any of our three clients to appear at the scheduled deposition, they will invoke their constitutional privileges not to testify," Levy wrote. "Since that will be the case, we ask that the Committee excuse them from appearing."

Good call on the part of Fusion GPS.

Devin Nunes is NOT interested in finding the truth.

Devin Nunes is only interested in hiding the truth.

Unfortunately for him Fusion GPS has already talked to the legitimate investigators and they will continue the investigation despite interference from this asshole.

Attorneys for woman claiming Donald Trump groped her subpoenas all campaign documents pertaining to women being touched inappropriately. Update!

Courtesy of Buzzfeed:  

A high-stakes legal showdown is brewing for President Donald Trump, as a woman who said he groped her has subpoenaed all documents from his campaign pertaining to “any woman alleging that Donald J. Trump touched her inappropriately.” 

The subpoena — whose contents have not been previously reported — was issued in March but entered into the court file last month. The White House did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Trump’s attorney. 

Summer Zervos, a former contestant on the Trump’s reality TV show The Apprentice, accused Trump of kissing and grabbing her when she went to his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2007 to discuss a possible job at the Trump Organization. After Zervos made the accusation last October, just weeks before the election, Trump denied her accusation and called it a lie. 

She responded by suing him for defamation. As part of that suit, her lawyers served a subpoena on his campaign, asking that it preserve all documents it had about her.

They also asked for “all documents” concerning other women who have accused Trump of groping them, including Jessica Leeds, Mindy McGillivray, Rachel Crooks, Natasha Stoynoff, Temple Taggart, Kristin Anderson, Cathy Heller, Jill Harth, and Jessica Drake. The subpoena seeks “all documents concerning any accusations that were made during Donald J. Trump’s election campaign for president, that he subjected any woman to unwanted sexual touching and/or sexually inappropriate behavior.” Last year, Trump tweeted a blanket denial, saying, “Nothing ever happened with any of these women.”

Trump lawyers of course have been trying to have this case dismissed by claiming that their client is immune from civil suit while in office, and have tried to dismiss this subpoena as overly broad and designed to dredge up dirt to use to impeach him.

So far those arguments do not appear to have worked.

And I hope that holds true, because I think we all would like to see these documents exposed in a court of law.

I would also like to see the "pussy grabber" take the stand and attempt to blame the victims for getting their naughty parts too close to his tiny little hands.

Update: By the way here are just some of the women who spoke out against Trump's sexual victimization.

These women spoke out against @realDonaldTrump for the sexual assault and rape he committed on them. Their voices matter.#MeToo pic.twitter.com/n5ONX4JWTM

— William T. Riker (@RikerResist) October 16, 2017

US officials wiretapped Paul Manafort way back in2014, and that continued during the campaign and may have included conversation he had with Trump. Update!

Courtesy of CNN:

US investigators wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the election, sources tell CNN, an extraordinary step involving a high-ranking campaign official now at the center of the Russia meddling probe. 

The government snooping continued into early this year, including a period when Manafort was known to talk to President Donald Trump. 

Some of the intelligence collected includes communications that sparked concerns among investigators that Manafort had encouraged the Russians to help with the campaign, according to three sources familiar with the investigation. Two of these sources, however, cautioned that the evidence is not conclusive.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's team, which is leading the investigation into Russia's involvement in the election, has been provided details of these communications. 

A secret order authorized by the court that handles the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) began after Manafort became the subject of an FBI investigation that began in 2014. It centered on work done by a group of Washington consulting firms for Ukraine's former ruling party, the sources told CNN.

The surveillance was discontinued at one point and the restarted as the FBI launched its investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.

The fact that this surveillance has been going on for so long, and that Mueller has access to every recording should make it almost impossible for Trump to sleep at night.

And apparently that might be part of Mueller's strategy.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

7The moves against Mr. Manafort are just a glimpse of the aggressive tactics used by Mr. Mueller and his team of prosecutors in the four months since taking over the Justice Department’s investigation into Russia’s attempts to disrupt last year’s election, according to lawyers, witnesses and American officials who have described the approach. Dispensing with the plodding pace typical of many white-collar investigations, Mr. Mueller’s team has used what some describe as shock-and-awe tactics to intimidate witnesses and potential targets of the inquiry. 

Mr. Mueller has obtained a flurry of subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify before a grand jury, lawyers and witnesses say, sometimes before his prosecutors have taken the customary first step of interviewing them. One witness was called before the grand jury less than a month after his name surfaced in news accounts. The special counsel even took the unusual step of obtaining a subpoena for one of Mr. Manafort’s former lawyers, claiming an exception to the rule that shields attorney-client discussions from scrutiny. 

“They are setting a tone. It’s important early on to strike terror in the hearts of people in Washington, or else you will be rolled,” said Solomon L. Wisenberg, who was deputy independent counsel in the investigation that led to the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in 1999. “You want people saying to themselves, ‘Man, I had better tell these guys the truth.’”

Keep in mind that Mueller could not get these warrants or have the leeway to use these tactics, if he was not in possession of evidence that convinces judges to hand out these subpoenas like Halloween candy to his team.

Clearly Mueller is preparing to drop the hammer.

Update: Hammer is about to drop:  

The developments indicate that Mueller's investigation "is nearing the litigation stage," said Brookings Institution fellows and legal experts Benjamin Wittes and Susan Hennessey. 

"Combined with a flurry of stories about subpoenas, grand-jury appearances and other activity, it's reasonable to expect that Mueller is moving forward on a number of different fronts and is getting close to entering a litigation phase," wrote Wittes and Hennessey, a former attorney for the National Security Agency.

That sound you hear is the tightening of the noose. 

Donald Trump Jr. agrees to sit down for a transcribed interview with the Senate judiciary committee as Robert Mueller subpoenas former lawyer and spokesperson for Paul Manafort.

 Courtesy of CNN:

President Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has agreed to sit down for a transcribed interview with the Senate judiciary committee, as investigators continue to dig into his attendance at a 2016 meeting where he was promised Russian dirt on the Clinton campaign. 

After weeks of discussions, Trump Jr. has agreed on a date to be interviewed by the panel in private, according to Taylor Foy, spokesman for committee Chairman Chuck Grassley. Trump Jr. will be interviewed by senior committee staff, and senators will be invited to attend, Foy said.

This is the closest that any of these investigations have reached into the Trump family, so you know this has to be giving Trump Sr. the night sweats.

In other news also courtesy of CNN: 

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has issued subpoenas to a former lawyer for Paul Manafort and to Manafort's current spokesman, an aggressive tactic that suggests an effort to add pressure on the former Trump campaign chairman. 

The subpoenas seeking documents and testimony were sent to Melissa Laurenza, an attorney with the Akin Gump law firm who until recently represented Manafort, and to Jason Maloni, who is Manafort's spokesman, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Manafort is under investigation for possible tax and financial crimes, according to US officials briefed on the investigation. The allegations under investigation largely center on Manafort's work for the former ruling party in Ukraine, which was ousted amid street protests over its pro-Russian policies.

It's unclear what specific information the Mueller investigators believe Laurenza and Maloni may have. But issuing subpoenas to a lawyer of someone under investigation is unusual, in part because it raises potential attorney-client privilege issues that prosecutors tend to try to avoid. Maloni, as a public relations representative, doesn't have the same attorney-client privilege protections.

I have to imagine that every time there is a new announcement like the two above that Donald Trump's orange tinted asshole just clamps down a little bit harder. 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions to crack down on the real problem with the Trump Administration. The journalists who keep reporting on its incompetence.

Courtesy of The Independent:  

Attorney General Jeff Sessions says that the Department of Justice (DoJ) is reviewing policies for subpoenaing reporters during investigations of federal intelligence leaks, an indicator that the US government may consider more aggressive tactics to try and force journalists to identify their sources. 

"One of the things we are doing is reviewing the policies affecting media subpoenas," Mr Sessions said, announcing his administration's crackdown on leaks during a press conference. "We respect the important role that the press plays, and we will give our support. But, it is not unlimited. They cannot place lives at risk with impunity." 

Mr Sessions said that he had instructed his Justice Department to review its leak prosecution policies earlier this year, and that the results "concerned" him. There were too few referrals for prosecution over classified leaks, too few investigations, and an insufficient amount of resources dedicated to those investigations, he said. 

"We will not allow rogue anonymous sources with security clearances to sell out our country," Mr Sessions said. "These cases, to investigate and prosecute, are never easy. But cases will be made and leakers will be held accountable."

Yeah well the thing is that the leakers are not so much trying to "sell out our country," as they are trying to "rescue our country from the clutches of a mad man."

Of course the truly pathetic part of this, besides you know the whole attack on our first amendment, is that Sessions is totally doing this just to save his job.

He knew he was next on the chopping block so he pulled out some bullshit like this to hold on for a little bit longer.

Kellyanne "Oh god I woke in a pool of my own vomit again" Conway has also suggested that the White House staff might be forced into taking lie detector tests.

Because nothing says we are one big happy family, like strapping somebody to a machine and then drilling them under hot lights for an hour.

Chuck Todd has already essentially declared what the media's response will be to any subpoenas from the Justice Department concerning their sources.

If DoJ media source threat is real (I assume it's not; just a show presser to please WH) then I look forward to ignoring that subpoena

— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) August 4, 2017

Well played.

Both Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort have managed to weasel out of testifying in a public hearing. At least for now.

Courtesy of CNN: 

The leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee have cut a deal with President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort to avoid being subpoenaed for a high-profile public hearing next week, with the two men agreeing to provide records to the panel and to be privately interviewed ahead of any public session. 

In a joint statement, panel Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking member Dianne Feinstein said, "(W)e will not issue subpoenas for them tonight requiring their presence at Wednesday's hearing but reserve the right to do so in the future." 

Feinstein tweeted later Friday evening, "The Judiciary Committee will talk to Trump Jr. & Manafort before they testify in public, but we will get answers."

Dammit! There goes my plans for the week.

I was REALLY looking forward to watching Junior sweating it out while being grilled by the Democrats.

Now what am I going to do with all of this popcorn?

Still, the threat of a subpoena is not actually off the table, and I have to believe that at some point in the neat future Manafort and Junior will get their time in the spotlight.

Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort are all scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week.

Courtesy of the Independent:  

Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort are to testify before the US Senate Judiciary Committee in relation to a meeting with a Russian lawyer who promised to provide incriminating information about Hillary Clinton. 

The meeting has come under intense scrutiny as part of investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 US election and possible collusion on the part of the Trump campaign. 

Mr Trump Jr and Mr Manafort are to appear in front of the committee on July 26, but Mr Kushner is due to appear on July 24 in a closed session.

Mr Kushner’s lawyer Abbe Lowell said his client is voluntarily cooperating with the congressional probes into the now notorious meeting. 

In addition, Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who organised the meeting with Mr Trump Jr, has also said she would be happy to testify.

Oh I am DEFINITELY clearing my calendar to watch this.

I just wish that Kushner's was an open door testimony as well.

Maybe he is just afraid that people will mock his little boy voice if he appears on television.

But don't worry he is certainly not out of the woods yet.

Courtesy of Newsweek: 

The Congressional oversight body that holds U.S. employees accountable and exposes government fraud and abuse voted unanimously Wednesday to investigate why senior Trump administration officials have been granted security clearances. 

Senior advisors to the president, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions were all given security clearances after “omitting significant information about foreign contacts from their applications,” said a statement from Illinois House Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi.

And the noose gets a little bit tighter.

P.S. After I wrote this I saw a few talking heads on TV suggesting that Junior and Manafort would be idiots to agree to show up for this hearing, and I got a little worried.

But then Senator Dianne Feinstein came along to put those concerns to rest:  

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Thursday she isn't concerned about Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort agreeing to testify before a Senate panel, because if they don't "they'll be subpoenaed." 

"Am I concerned? No, I'm not concerned, because if they don't they'll be subpoenaed," Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters.

And there you have it.

Junior and Manafort might TRY to avoid testifying next week, but they will ultimately testify one way or the other. 

Buzzfeed requests FOIA of the Federal Government for access to information and testimony pertaining to that Russian dossier.

Courtesy of Politico: 

Add this surprising entry to the growing list of those issuing subpoenas for insight into the imbroglio involving President Donald Trump and the Russians: BuzzFeed. 

The online media outlet sent formal demands Thursday to the CIA, the FBI and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, seeking details on the distribution of an unverified intelligence dossier about Trump said to have been in the possession of Russian intelligence during last year’s presidential campaign, POLITICO has learned.

BuzzFeed is also seeking testimony from fired FBI Director James Comey, as well as former DNI James Clapper and CIA Director John Brennan, said a source familiar with the subpoenas.

Now the reason that Buzzfeed is requesting this FOIA is to bolster their claim that publishing the dossier was protected by  the fair report privilege in order to fight a lawsuit against them from one Aleksej Gubarev, a Russian technology executive whose name happened to be included in that dossier.

Whatever the reason this could prove quite interesting as Buzzfeed will surely report on the progress of the subpoenas as well as share what they can of the testimony from Comey, Clapper, Brennan, and whoever else gets caught in their net.

I am also curious as to exactly how much of that dossier has been confirmed by the various intelligence agencies.

And this could be one way to find that out.

Finally got to the bottom of who was "unmasking" all of those names in the intelligence about the Russian meddling. It was the Republican led House.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

The Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee asked U.S. spy agencies late last year to reveal the names of U.S. individuals or organizations contained in classified intelligence on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, engaging in the same practice that President Trump has accused the Obama administration of abusing, current and former officials said. 

The chairman of the committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), has since cast the practice of “unmasking” of U.S. individuals and organizations mentioned in classified reports as an abuse of surveillance powers by the outgoing Obama administration. 

Trump has argued that investigators should focus their attention on former officials leaking names from intelligence reports, rather than whether the Kremlin coordinated its activities with the Trump campaign, an allegation he has denied. “The big story is the ‘unmasking and surveillance’ of people that took place during the Obama administration,” Trump tweeted Thursday. 

According to a tally by U.S. spy agencies, the House Intelligence Committee requested five to six unmaskings of U.S. organizations or individuals related to Trump or Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton between June 2016 and January 2017. Officials familiar with the matter said that the committee’s requests focused on the identities of U.S. organizations that had been hacked by the Russians in 2016. Officials declined to say how many of the requests came from Democrats vs. Republicans.

Interesting, and here I thought, according to the Republicans, it was just those nasty ole Obama officials carelessly unmasking the names of American citizens swept up in those Russian surveillance recordings.

And yet none of the Republicans on the Intelligence Committee even mentioned that they themselves were also involved with "unmasking."

In fact Nunes is making unmasking the target of this newest political witch hunt.  

Nunes served subpoenas this week to the CIA, the NSA and the FBI asking for information about unmaskings requested by three former officials: national security adviser Susan E. Rice, CIA director John Brennan and U.N. ambassador Samantha Power. 

On Thursday, Nunes tweeted, “Seeing a lot of fake news from media elites and others who have no interest in violations of Americans’ civil liberties via unmaskings.”

Intelligence officials continue to say that unmasking is a necessary and routine part of the job, so this is of course much ado about nothing.

Well it's not about nothing, it's about deflecting attention away from the legitimate and ever growing investigation into the Trump campaign's ties, and possible collusion, with the Russians.

And toward that end Nunes, who you may remember recused himself from leading the Russia investigation, is now reinserting himself and insisting that he must "sign off" on all subpoenas having to do with that investigation.

Can you say "obstruction?" I knew that you could.

Donald Trump's former National Security adviser, Michael Flynn, to plead the fifth.

Courtesy of the AP: 

President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination on Monday and declined to hand over documents sought under subpoena by a Senate panel investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. 

In a letter to the Senate intelligence committee , Flynn’s attorneys justified the decision by citing an “escalating public frenzy against him” and saying the Justice Department’s recent appointment of a special counsel has created a legally dangerous environment for him to cooperate with the panel’s investigation. 

“The context in which the committee has called for General Flynn’s testimonial production of documents makes clear that he has more than a reasonable apprehension that any testimony he provides could be used against him,” the attorneys wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the AP.

Flynn’s decision not to cooperate with the Senate committee represents a new legal complication for the expanding government and congressional inquiries into Russian interference in the presidential campaign and contacts between Trump advisers and Russian officials and representatives. Flynn is a key figure in both the FBI investigation headed by special counsel Robert Mueller and in separate Senate and House inquiries.

Don't forget that earlier Flynn's request for immunity in exchange for his testimony was rejected, which I think I pretty compelling evidence that Flynn knows he is in serious trouble here and is worried about prison time.

And well he should be. Take a look at this:

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Monday his panel has obtained documents “that appear to indicate” that Michael Flynn “lied to the investigators who interviewed him in 2016 as part of his security clearance renewal.” 

Flynn told security clearance investigators he was paid by “U.S. companies” for his 2015 trip to Moscow for an event celebrating the Russian propaganda outlet RT, where he sat at a table with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Flynn was paid $45,000 by RT for a speech he gave at the event. The money was routed through Flynn's speakers' bureau, Leading Authorities. But Cummings notes that RT paid "directly" for airfare, lodging and other expenses for Flynn and his son. 

It is a crime to falsify or conceal information on a security clearance application.

Just for fun let's look back at video of Flynn chanting "Lock her up" along with the audience at the RNC, and calling for her to drop out of the race because he claimed she was a security risk.

And during this time he was working for the Russians to influence the election, and to influence Donald Trump.

Reports say that White House officials are purging their electronic devices in reaction to possible subpoenas coming their way.

Courtesy of the Independent:  

White House officials and members of Donald Trump’s transition team are reportedly “purging” their electronic devices to avoid being compromised by subpoenas, it has been claimed. 

 The accusation comes just weeks after government lawyers ordered the President’s aides to preserve any materials that could be connected to Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

One legal expert told MSNBC - the channel that first reported the allegations based on testimony from an inside source - there could be “legal ramifications” for staff who destroyed crucial evidence relating to ongoing investigations. 

I remember when Rachel Maddow broke this news a few days ago, and also saw Andrea Mitchell ask that legal expert what would happen if staffers did this after receiving direction to preserve their communications.

I believe prison was the answer.

But this is another of those things that you kind of already know is already happening even though the White House staff has been told directly not to.

Donald Trump simply does not believe in playing by the rules. And when you are working for somebody who is ethically challenged it becomes easy to follow their example.

I actually wonder if the cell phones and tablets had not already been purged back in February when Sean Spicer was conducting random checks to find the White House leakers.

However if these staffers actually think this will keep them out of the hot seat, or that it will stall the investigation, well then they don't understand Congressional subpoena power.

The phone company has a record of every call they have made, and as we know computer data bases are rarely ever completely wiped clean.

So if these people have actually done this they are only making things harder for themselves in the long run.

More bad news for Chris Christie.

NEW court filing with texts between Christie aides, sent December 2013:
"Are you listening? He just flat out lied." pic.twitter.com/iqIXqD21Y2

— Matt Katz (@mattkatz00) August 10, 2016

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

WNYC reporter Matt Katz points out that newly filed court documents show that Christie aide Christina Genovese Renna was sending text messages to Christie attorney Mark Sheridan during a 2013 press conference on the “Bridgegate” controversy. 

In a particularly damning set of exchanges, Renna tells Sheridan that their boss completely lied to the media while answering a question about whether his campaign manager Bill Stepien had any knowledge of the George Washington Bridge lane closures that Christie aides coordinated to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for not endorsing their boss during his 2013 reelection bid. 

“Are you listening? He just flat out lied about senior staff and Stepien not being involved,” she said, referring to Christie’s campaign manager Bill Stepien.

Renna then goes on to openly worry about what happens if the e-mails get subpoenaed.

Yeah, that would be terrible wouldn't it?

I have to admit that I almost forgot all about Bridge-gate after watching Christie degrading himself in order to ingratiate himself with Donald Trump.

Oh God, what have I done?

Let's face it, after the last five or six months that Christie has had he might actually be looking forward to some quiet time in prison.