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Sessions names US attorney to investigate FISA abuses

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today informed Congress that he has tasked United States Attorney John W. Huber, based in Utah, to investigate the possible misuse of the FISA court by the Obama administration, the Justice Department, and the FBI during and after the presidential campaign.

From Sessions’ letter to Congress:

Mr. Huber is conducting his work from outside the Washington, DC. area and in cooperation with the Inspector General. …I am confident that Mr. Huber’s review will include a full, complete, and objective evaluation of these matters in a manner that is consistent with the law and the facts.

I receive regular updates from Mr. Huber and upon the conclusion of his review, will receive his recommendations as to whether any matters not currently under investigation should be opened, whether any matters currently under investigation require further resources, or whether any matters merit the appointment of a Special Counsel.

Huber is an Obama appointee, but appears to have avoided participating in partisan games. This will make it harder for Democrats to blast him should he recommend a special prosecutor is necessary. Meanwhile, some Republicans are complaining about Sessions’ decision to hold off appointing a special prosecutor, but I think this decision is smart. Huber will be under Sessions’ supervision and command. A special counsel would be uncontrollable (witness Mueller and every past special prosecutor). Considering the corrupt culture that now permeates Washington, keeping some control over this investigation to me seems wise.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

14 comments

  • Garry

    I wish the article gave more detail. For example, as I understand it, Horowitz only has authority over the Department of Justice and its employees, which means that he can’t compel anyone else (CIA, white house staff) to answer his questions. Does Huber have greater authority than Horowitz? If not, what’s the point? If he does, how far does his authority extend? How does that compare with an independent counsel’s authority?

    As has become the norm, reporters fail to answer (or even investigate) critical questions, making their reports little more than Rohrschach tests. I wish I had time to look into these questions myself, but I don’t

  • wayne

    Peterson; 12 Rules for Life–the album
    #8 “Tell The Truth or At Least Don’t Lie”
    https://youtu.be/iA8n9JTTM38
    4:38

  • Kirk

    Garry, the issues in question are the FISA warrant permitting FBI surveillance of Carter Page and the FBI investigation of Ms. Clinton’s possible conflicts of interested with respect to the Uranium One deal. How do they involve the CIA?

  • Garry

    Kirk, perhaps the CIA’s role is peripheral, but it seems to have been involved in the FISA warrant. I mentioned them because just before posting I had read this article by Victor Davis Hanson https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/03/career-government-servants-distort-truth/

    The CIA may not have played that great a role, but it appears that it did play some role.

    My larger point is that it seems impossible to thoroughly investigate the situation if one’s authority only extends to the Department of Justice. Certainly former White House officials should be questioned, and I wish the article would explain why the US Attorney’s investigation is expected to go further than Horowitz’s.

  • Kirk

    Thanks for the link, Garry. I’ll read that later tonight.

    Regarding the tasking of John W. Huber, this article says that unlike the IG, he will have the authority to convene a grand jury and subpoena witnesses outside the DOJ’s employees. https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/03/why_ag_sessions_declined_to_appoint_a_special_counsel.html

  • wayne

    Garry/Kirk-
    good stuff. I follow this mess, less-n-less, so appreciate the input.

  • Garry

    Thanks, Kirk, that’s exactly the information I was hoping to find.

    Wayne, thanks for all the references to Jordan Peterson. It only took me about 6 months to look into what he has to say. When I showed some videos to my wife, she was hooked immediately, and bought his book. I just finished chapter 7; the book is great so far, and good food for thought.

  • wayne

    Garry–
    Hey! I intend to integrate some of Peterson’s video (and music-adaptations) into my work. (I can’t play on the interweb as much anymore, but I have been keeping up with everyone’s comments here at BtB.)

    -Highly recommend the “music” version of “12 Rules.” (for the car!) I’m not a huge fan of computer-music, but it is well done. (it has a beat & you could dance to it…)
    12 Rules For Life: The Album
    Akira The Don x Jordan Peterson
    https://youtu.be/fSQSETwnrio
    47:30

  • Garry

    Wayne, we’re in the same boat, buddy; my life wasn’t complicated enough so I added a full-time teaching gig on top of all my other work. Don’t have time to research much at all these days, but try to keep up wih this website.

    Jordan Peterson impresses me by how much he’s learned from his clinical practice; I have seen too many therapists who just seem to be drifting along rather than learning. A very insightful man.

  • Rick

    Follow theconservativetreehouse.com, he follows this stuff pretty well.

  • Edward

    From the article: “I am confident that Mr. Huber’s review will include a full, complete, and objective evaluation of these matters in a manner that is consistent with the law and the facts.

    Didn’t we hear these same reassurances about Comey and Mueller? We also thought that Supreme Court Justices Roberts and Kennedy were OK, but they each dramatically reduced our liberty, in this country, giving greater tyrannical powers to government.

    I no longer trust these reassurances about the people who are chosen for the important tasks. Their actions are (will be) far more informative.

  • Cotour

    SOMETHING INTERESTING, ROD ROSENSTEINS WIFE……………………..IS AND HAS BEEN BOTH CLINTON’S LAWYER!

    http://wagcenter.com/corporate-wags/rod-rosensteins-wife-lisa-barsoomian/

    So let me get this straight, Mueller was involved in investigating Hillary and Bill in the Uranium One and Russian $145 million dollar “donation” to their foundation deal and he did not report to Congress any concerns, McCabe’s wife was given $700K for her campaign by the DNC who also paid for the Steele Dossier, and McCabe was just fired for lying, Comey was also fired for leaking and a host of other reasons, and now we find out that Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller looking into the president and his “Russian Collusion” and has found nothing, his wife has as recent as 2017 worked for the Clinton’s.

    Now I have a Liberal lawyer friend who has plainly told me about how in his first hand experience the FBI and the DOJ can abuse their power and strong arm lawyers and defendants, but I bet he will not see a problem here.

    This is the definition of the “Deep state”, the permanent government insider, government for governments sake, abuse of power. Is it me or does it appear that things are stacked just a bit off kilter here? (Thats rhetorical)

    I do not think the word “Incestuous”, self interested, biased and fraudulent are strong enough words to be applied here.

    How do you know Trump is going in the correct general direction? Chuck Schumer demands that the president “don’t even think about firing Mueller”. I said a while ago that 2018 was going to be a chaotic year, and I stand by that impression.

  • Cotour

    What have many forgotten about?

    “United States Attorney John W. Huber, based in Utah, to investigate the possible misuse of the FISA court by the Obama administration, the Justice Department, and the FBI during and after the presidential campaign.”

    This prosecutor will probably soon come to reveal his efforts in reconciling the legal double standard that have been created by government agencies for the benefit of Hillary Clinton and the DNC, AND the actions taken between the leadership of the FBI,CIA and MI6 with the goal of removing a duly elected American president.

    It does not get bigger than that. We wait.

  • Cotour

    And now we have this conclusion of prosecutor Huber’s investigation.

    https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/justice-dept-winds-down-clinton-related-inquiry-once-championed-by-trump-it-found-nothing-of-consequence/ar-BBYObjg?li=BBU4PL8

    And he could find no issue.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html

    Over $100 million funneled directly to the Clinton Foundation from the Russians while Ma Barker was the Secretary Of State and Mr. Huber finds nothing to concern himself with. Not even any concern about the appearance of impropriety at the minimum?

    I guess this also means that nothing to the Hunter Biden / Ukraine / Burisma and the millions of dollars that went to him and his associates while he was installed on the Burisma board of directors solely because Hunters father just happened to be the vice president and was directly overseeing Ukraine. Not to mention the $1.5 billion Hunter and his associates received as an investment in their hedge fund directly from the Chinese government after Hunter arrives on Air Force 2 with his father.

    Now we all understand what is going on here, don’t we?

    Foreign government players are buying influence within the U.S. government and are in fact “Making investments” in who they see as being the next leader in America. That is plain to see from where I sit. Now these allowances, these seeing reality with necessary blinders on could be construed as some strategic tool to gain some form of unspoken alliance with enemies and frenemies in the world, and I might understand that in a very narrow S.O.M. way, but not when it is soooo blatant to the American public and its right in their faces. It is actually very insulting to pedestrian reality observers.

    We move on, for the moment.

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