Knowledge is Good

The longer I look at the Mueller indictment of the 13 Russians, the more questions that come to mind. For starters, the indictment describes a multi-year disinformation campaign involving over 100 foreign agents operating in and outside the United States who used social media and internet communications to carry out their plot. So, where were our vaunted intelligence agencies while this was going on? Where was the National Security Agency which has the resources to suck up every electron moving in cyberspace? Same for the FBI which has primary responsibility for domestic counterintelligence. Were they aware of this Russian plot? […]

Today’s federal indictment of 13 Russians for interfering in our political process is a fascinating document. The object of the conspiracy is alleged to have been “impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful functions of the United States by dishonest means in order to enable Defendants to interfere with U.S. political processes, including the 2016 presidential election.” According to the indictment, the defendants started their nefarious activities in 2014 by studying groups on U.S. social media sites. Posing as U.S. persons, they contacted American political and social activists, and, using information derived from these contacts, determined  how to structure their disinformation […]

Joseph DiGenova, the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, speaks like a man with strong convictions and solid inside information about the DOJ Inspector General’s ongoing investigation of the train wreck at the FBI. In a recent segment on Sean Hannity’s show, DiGenova stated flatly what many of us have suspected, i.e., that the recently retired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe “is gone because [FBI Director] Wray knows what is in the other emails and the other texts. McCabe was sent packing as a result of Christopher Wray being briefed by a number of people who have access […]

In April 2015, National Public Radio reported on the case of former FBI Special Agent Robyn Gritz who had been forced out of the bureau after she “got crosswise with her supervisors.” “When you’re fighting terror and you’re seeing buildings come down before you, you’re passionate and you’re emotional, and I think the American people want you to be that way when you’re fighting terror and keeping them safe,” she said. For fifteen years, she worked non-stop investigating the plane that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, helping to rescue Western hostages and tracking down global terrorists. She […]

In today’s Washington Examiner, under the headline “Comey told Congress FBI agents didn’t think Michael Flynn lied”, Byron York explores the labyrinthian twists and turns of the events leading up to General Flynn’s baffling plea of guilty to one charge of lying to the FBI. It’s a well-done piece and well worth reading. Despite his best efforts, York was unable to posit why Flynn pled guilty when, based on what is known, there appears to be no evidence that he intentionally lied. So, why would an innocent man plead guilty? To those of us who have made a handsome living […]

A review of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s docket discloses that earlier this week the New York Times moved for the publication of all “orders authorizing surveillance of Carter Page, a United States citizen, together with the application materials and renewal application materials upon which those orders were issued.” In its motion, the Times summarizes the controversial contents of the declassified “memorandum authored under the direction of Rep. Devin Nunes, Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence concerning the surveillance of Mr. Page.” Citing “the overwhelming public interest in assessing the accuracy of the Nunes Memorandum and knowing […]

As Valentine’s Day approaches, it occurs to me that all of us should be grateful that Special Agent Peter Strzok, former second-in-command of FBI counterintelligence, got the on-the-job hots for FBI lawyer Lisa Page. Driven by urges the intensity of which they probably hadn’t felt since late adolescence, the eager paramours produced a most revealing and totally unsecure mountain of text messages. The latest tranche of their online correspondence provides a damning timeline regarding the FBI’s reaction to the discovery of Hillary Clinton’s classified emails on the laptop belonging to Anthony Weiner a/k/a Carlos Danger, the online pedo-perv married to […]

Way back in 1972, when I was a freshly minted Special Attorney with the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the U.S. Justice Department, my fellow newly hired colleagues and I attended a lecture at Main Justice given by John Dowd, a well-regarded veteran prosecutor. His topic was the then little known and almost never used Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Dowd explained in detail the vast sweep of the statute and described the mind-boggling powers that Congress had conferred on us. In those days of limited federal jurisdiction, we had a hard time processing what Dowd was […]

Here’s a gem from The Onion, the humor magazine, that neatly sums up the opposition to releasing the Nunes memorandum. The Onion jokes that its release could undermine faith in massive, unaccountable secret government agencies. In this parody, FBI Director Wray warns that “it was essential that mutual trust exist between the American people and the vast, mysterious cabal given free rein to use any tactics necessary to conduct surveillance on U.S. citizens or subvert religious and political groups.”  Very funny and well worth a look. When a humor magazine sums up your argument better than you can, it should […]

  When veteran civil rights lawyer Larry Krasner sought the Democrat nomination for District Attorney of Philadelphia, he reportedly had the financial backing of progressive billionaire George Soros. Krasner, who has sued the Philadelphia Police Department approximately 75 times, seemed an unlikely candidate. But a $1.2 million contribution from Soros made Krasner unbeatable. Never before had a candidate for District Attorney had this much cash to take care of the ward leaders, the advertising and all the other expenses of a traditionally low voter turn out race. Krasner won the Democrat primary (the only poltical contest that counts in Philadelphia) […]

  In today’s Philadelphia Inquirer, I warn the President of the dangers in freely submitting to an interrogation by Team Mueller. All the television legal experts seem to agree that Trump must undergo questioning by the special counsel. Other commentators characterize Mueller as a square shooter. For the reasons set forth in my op-ed, I beg to differ and warn against the perjury trap that is being set. On the plus side, Team Mueller will have a monumentally difficult time trying to translate Trump’s word salad syntax into an indictable form of perjury.