Remember back in December 1992 when Senators John Kerry and Hank Brown released their massive report on the The BCCI Affair? It was put together by the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. The committee authorized four writs and seventeen subpoenas and took testimony from dozens of witnesses. You can trust me when I tell you that the senators on the committee did very little of the investigative work. It was mostly done by staff. Compare that to this:
Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said that [Paul] Manafort’s lawyer “contacted the committee yesterday to offer the committee the opportunity to interview his client.”
Nunes did not say whether the Manafort briefing would be public or take place behind closed doors, leaving the decision mostly up to Manafort himself.
“Our lawyers, Republicans and Democrats, will work with his lawyers to see what exactly he wants to do,” Nunes said.
“If he wants to come out in public and have a public hearing, he’s more than welcome to do that,” Nunes continued, adding that if Manafort preferred a closed setting, that is “also fine.”
The public hearing is actually less important than putting him under oath and deposing him at length. What you don’t do with a prime suspect who has clearly been a subject of a eight month FBI-led counterintelligence investigation is let him call the shots on how he will be confronted. Having him testify could compromise a possible prosecution, so it must be handled very delicately. I suppose this is better than offering him immunity, but it’s the furthest thing from how the House Intelligence Committee should be treating this witness. Manafort should have no say in whether he has to testify in public and he should definitely be subpoenaed. There should be no time limitations, and the staff should treat him, as closely as possible, the same way that the FBI would if they were questioning him.
I don’t know how much longer Nunes will get away with this farce, but it’s getting more than just ridiculous. It’s beginning to look criminal. At a certain point, a deliberately sabotaged investigation is a form of obstruction of justice.
This has to be taken away from him and put in the hands of trained professionals.
Yabbut, who’s gonna do that? Congress? Jefferson Beauregard Sessions?
I agree it stinks to high heaven, but the reek is likely to be lost in the stench pervading this GOP swamp.
This.
Who has the authority to take it away from Nunes? Probably only the Speaker, right? Why would that happen?
Who has the authority to take it away from Nunes? Probably only the Speaker, right?
Right. Only Paul Ryan, aka the Zombie-eyed Granny-starver, can do that. So you know how much of a chance that is. Congress doesn’t know how to do investigations properly anymore. Crap, they didn’t even investigate C- Augustus and his motley bunch. Did they ever put AGAG under oath? Rarely if ever. So I’m not holding my breath. The only way this ends is for the DCCC to get their collective heads out of their ass and get serious about replacing Pukes with FDR-ish Democrats and not GOP-lite, Blue Dog crap.
You still don’t get it. It’s your (our) job to see the right candidates elected. We’re the ones who vote.
The committee will be handing out immunity like spring break samples of sunscreen.
Everybody knows what saved Ollie North’s legal ass.
Only if you don’t want to compromise the investigation. Nunes is blatantly and openly tanking this whole thing, and with the suspects of the investigation in charge of prosecuting people for things like that, he’s free and clear.
They can openly flout the law because they’re in power. And of course if we ever get our side back in power it’ll all be “We must look forward, not back…” which does nothing but further degrade any confidence in the rule of law.
We’re sliding rapidly into banana republic territory.
Obama’s greatest failing, imo.
Allowed War Crimes and other criminality into the norm.
Followed by failure to fully use HAMP — funds already appropriated, iirc! (Think of the additional, needed ‘stimulus’ THAT could have provided when desperately needed.)
OT sort of: Whoa! Flynn!! and that was during the campaign – what kind of treason squared is that??
…is because the rumor is, Flynn has taken the first step and talking to the Feds. First one through the door gets the best deal. Certainly the WH is putting the blame on him, according National Enquirer (Trump’s favorite paper) and want to slander his reputation; because of what he will be testifying to.
Manafort, Page, Stone, etc… all need protection and the only way to get it is either a Presidential Pardon (talk about Washington going nuts) or Congressional immunity. So they will tease deeper revelations to the committee for that immunity.
I don’t know the rules for select committees but I doubt the Chairman alone can grant that immunity.
R
is a presidential pardon possible [for treason]? and the Flynn kidnapping planning – must violate a multitude of laws. sure is a lot coming unravelled today
A Presidential pardon is a get out of jail card for anything.
Treason is Constitutional defined as,
“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.”
Article III
Russia is not at “legal” war with the US, so conspiring to economically benefit from damaging or fixing the electoral process with the aid of a geopolitical adversary as Russia may be treason in spirit but not the letter of the law.
That’s not to say any number of Federal Laws or statutes have not been violated. Fudging the truth or being less than forthcoming to a US investigator, even in the most glancing way, is worth time in a Federal Facility. Hell, it got Martha Stewart a private cabin behind the fence at Alderson.
So that is a bargaining card the prosecutors can always play.
R
Thanks. evidently it’s not Russia only, but Turkey and ISIS. we’re not technically at war with ISIS either, so the same holds.
You seeing this?
Devin Nunes Vanished the Night Before He Made Trump Surveillance Claims
wow. perhaps it’s the Flynn Turkey ISIS mess he was being informed about.