Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

Everybody saw this coming.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

The willow is too close to the house.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Hot air and ill-informed banter

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

This fight is for everything.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Rosenstein Update #2

Rosenstein Update #2

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161Comments

  1. 1.

    Elizabelle

    Was this a fire drill? Think Adam suggested it was a test run?

    The NY Times and WaPost need to name their sources. Now. They got played. Shame on them.

  4. 4.

    dmsilev

    We’ve had enough news this Monday morning that I’m going to go ahead and declare this week well and truly broken.

  12. 12.

    Mary G

    Race to see who is more utterly incompetent right now on today's Rosenstein story, the entire news industry, or the entire executive branch— Space Force Commander Zandar (@ZandarVTS) September 24, 2018

    The minute I heard that Rosenstein had offered to resign I knew there was some bullshit coming from the WH. He seems to take his responsibilities to the country and the rule of law very seriously. FTFNYT reporters and Swan the Stenographer should blow their sources in retribution, but they never will.

  13. 13.

    MattF

    I suggest that everyone involved in this disaster engage in a group auto-de-fé. For heresy and ‘insufficient enthusiasm.’

  14. 14.

    Timurid

    So this is the standard Trump gaslighting playbook:

    1. Threaten to do something awful.
    2. Decide at the last moment not to do the awful thing.
    3. Be praised as a hero for not doing the awful thing.
    4. Repeat.

  16. 16.

    From Both Sides of the Pond

    I guess the question now is: who in the White House other than Trump is crapping their pants so badly over Rosenstein that they are trying to push him out in such a stark fashion? This feels less like Trump than someone at a lower level who suddenly feels massively vulnerable. Mueller hit someone’s sore spot.

  21. 21.

    Elizabelle

    WaPost breaking headline:

    Rod Rosenstein to stay in job for now, will meet with Trump on Thursday, White House says

    Notice that the WaPost article is ALL anonymous sources in the first paragraphs. They need to stop this shit, especially when it’s coming from the Trump White House, which is full of liars and incompetents.

    They bolded this: [Breaking: Rod Rosenstein to stay in job for now, will meet with Trump on Thursday, White House says

    Rosenstein’s future was a matter of considerable confusion Monday morning following reports that he had offered to resign.]

    Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein has told White House officials that he is willing to resign in the wake of revelations that he once suggested secretly recording President Trump, but it is unclear whether a resignation has been accepted, White House officials said.

    One Justice Department official said Rosenstein was on his way to the White House on Monday and was preparing to be fired. But the official said Rosenstein is not resigning.

    Another official said Rosenstein met with White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly on Monday morning, then proceeded to a scheduled meeting of senior officials at the White House.

    Rosenstein has been overseeing the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who is looking into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and whether any Trump associates conspired with those efforts. It wasn’t immediately clear what Rosenstein’s departure might mean for that investigation, or who would oversee it, although the role could naturally fall to Solicitor General Noel Francisco.

    Amid the conflicting accounts of whether Rosenstein would resign, be fired, or still be in his job at the end of the day, it was clear that his position at the Justice Department had never been more tenuous.

    One Trump adviser said that the president has not been pressuring Rosenstein to leave, but that his resignation was a topic of private discussions all weekend. The person said Rosenstein had expressed to others that he should resign because he “felt very compromised” and the controversy hurt his ability to oversee the Russia inquiry, said a person close to Trump.

    Get them on the record or don’t print this shit. I’m serious.

  23. 23.

    Elizabelle

    @Elizabelle: Who is the WaPost source — Trump adviser privy to private discussions all weekend? That you, complicit Ivanka? Or felon for a dad Jared?

  24. 24.

    Ohio Mom

    @Cheryl Rofer: I’m going to follow your lead. Enough bouncing around the blogosphere.

    I’m going down to the basement to take care of laundry. See you all later (probably late afternoon when Ohio Son is at his swim lesson).

  29. 29.

    WaterGirl

    @Elizabelle: It’s all about access and getting the scoop.

    I follow women’s volleyball, and your hitting stats are based on attempts and kill and errors.

    Formula: (total kills – hitting errors) / attempts

    I would love to see a formula like that for “journalists” and “news outlets”.

  34. 34.

    Elizabelle

    The only attributed quotes in the WaPost reporting are from earlier stories about Rosenstein. All the stuff about today’s possible firing/resigning — no attribution whatsoever.

    You are in the last paragraphs before you get a statement attributed to someone other than Rosenstein — reporting on his previous remarks in the middle of the story.

    Some of the president’s most outspoken supporters have railed against Rosenstein. Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) at one point described the deputy attorney general and former Justice Department officials as “traitors to our nation.” [Projection, thy name is Paul Gosar. How are your smarter siblings doing today, Paul?]

    Democrats and many Republicans have warned Trump against any attempt to assume control of or shut down Mueller’s investigation, either by firing Rosenstein to appoint a pliable successor, or dismissing Mueller directly. And they have said the president risks sparking a constitutional crisis if he tries to derail the inquiry.

    “I’d like to make something crystal clear to the president. Mr. President, any attempt to remove Rod Rosenstein will create the exact same constitutional crisis as if you fired Special Counsel Mueller,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said earlier this year. “Don’t do it. Do not go down this path. For the sake of our country, we plead with you. Don’t put this country through a constitutional crisis.”

    But no named sources within the Administration. Shame on you, WaPost.

  35. 35.

    TenguPhule

    @Timurid:

    1. Threaten to do something awful.
    2. Decide at the last moment not to do the awful thing.
    3. Be praised as a hero for not doing the awful thing.
    4. Repeat.

    5. Eventually do awful thing in worst way possible once media stops paying attention to the boy crying wolf.

  36. 36.

    TenguPhule

    @dmsilev:

    We’ve had enough news this Monday morning that I’m going to go ahead and declare this week well and truly broken.

    What about the evening?

  39. 39.

    Emma

    @Mnemosyne: “Let me put it to you this way, John. If I go and Mueller goes, all the files get handed to state attorney generals, and the president won’t be able to pardon ANYONE. Capisce?”

  40. 40.

    TenguPhule

    @Mary G:

    FTFNYT reporters and Swan the Stenographer should blow their sources in retribution, but they never will.

    Actually I’m sure they did. And then swallowed.

  42. 42.

    Miss Bianca

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    In other news, I removed a juniper that was crowding a pinon and a bunch of dead branches from other pinons. Theraputic.

    Don’t tell me they were growing too close to the willow!

  43. 43.

    Elizabelle

    The Fuck the Fucking New York Times is getting raked over the coals by its reader commenters. I’d say 90+% are scoop-shaming the addled Grey Lady.

    Their online community editor (Bassim, a really nice guy) has put up these links:

    HI Martin, if you have questions about our recent reporting on Rob Rosenstein, we’re collecting questions for our reporters at the Reader Center: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/22/reader-center/rod-rosenstein-reportin…

    For anyone curious about our reporting process, this interview with the reporter, Mike Schmidt, on The Daily may prove illuminating: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/24/podcasts/the-daily/rosenstein-trump-c…

    He has also spoken with Slate to answer questions about our sourcing: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/new-york-times-rod-rosenstei…

    I wonder if the Times is astounded by the blowback they are getting. It is vicious, and deservedly so.

  46. 46.

    TenguPhule

    Cake or Death
    @Johngcole
    fucking banana republic and we don’t even get the beaches and tropical fruit

    Well, some of you don’t get those.

  47. 47.

    pamelabrown53

    @Mnemosyne: #18.
    Funny, as in weird: your comment matched my thoughts just as I was reading it! Wonder if we’ll ever know the truth? I think it’s high time that journalistic practices demand that sources are outed if the press is used for nefarious purposes.

  49. 49.

    sukabi

    Catching up on the morning dumpster fire…hopped over to Michael Avenatti’s Twitter feed because I wanted some context for one of his tweets….OMG things are going to get even crazier. His letters to the Sen. Jud. Com. He’s not playing.

  52. 52.

    Elizabelle

    Now the Fuck the Fucking New York Times has another (their own) ass-covering breaking news alert:

    Rod Rosenstein, who was considering quitting, will meet with President Trump on Thursday to discuss his future at the Justice Department.

    Do we know for sure about the “considering quitting”?

  56. 56.

    CaseyL

    I need to get some (art)work done today, but here I am glued to the computer tracking the latest shitstorm(s).

    I’m trying to remember any day since November 2016 when I wasn’t in a state of anticipatory dread all fucking day long. Can’t think of one.

    Thank FSM I have low BP, or I’d’ve burst like an overheated thermometer a long time ago.

  57. 57.

    The Dangerman

    @Elizabelle:

    Think Adam suggested it was a test run?

    Twofer. Trial balloon and knocks Kavanaugh below the fold (to what end though, a quick vote to confirm or is Kavanaughty going to tap out and say enough).

  59. 59.

    Mandalay

    @Mary G:

    FTFNYT reporters and Swan the Stenographer should blow their sources in retribution, but they never will.

    Sources may be sincere and honest but ill informed, or may provide information that they specifically state is not necessarily true. In those circumstances there is no reason to expose them. But if a source maliciously and deliberately feeds a reporter lies then by all means expose them. WaPo did that recently when someone tried to feed them BS about Roy Moore.

    That said, I think think the NYT really needs to explain and clarify (i.e. back pedal) their recent reporting on Rosenstein.

  60. 60.

    Miss Bianca

    @Elizabelle:

    Get them on the record or don’t print this shit. I’m serious.

    I really, really wish I thought that someone is a position of some authority at the WaPo of the FTFNYT was saying this right now. How I’d hate to be sitting on a red-hot stove, however, till this actually occurred.

  62. 62.

    geg6

    @Mary G:

    FTFNYT reporters and Swan the Stenographer should blow their sources in retribution, but they never will.

    Nope, they never will.

    @LAO:

    And fuck that little shit, Rothman. I caught him on Morning Joe this morning and the sniveling creep was doing everything he could to cast doubt on the women who are named accusers of Kavenaugh and giving him every benefit of the doubt. Jane Mayer got kind of snippy with him when he claimed that the article she and Farrow wrote did not provide anyone who could remember Kavenaugh acting badly in college other than Ms. Ramirez. She shut him down pretty quick. But as soon as she was gone, he went right back to casting doubt on the women. It’s a bad day when Joe Scarborough and Mike Barnicle are more sensitive to women’s experiences than someone who masquerades as a journalist (and an editor, no less).

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    @Elizabelle: We can’t get the news media to do anything.

    it’s reminding me of my -ex. His -ex would pull shit all the time, and it would make him mad but he still let himself get sucked into her orbit and might agree that something had to stop but then he would wimp out with her.

    Being stuck in ugly stuff but being one step away from having any control over it is maddening.

  65. 65.

    Barbara

    @geg6: Mayer has told people that the first emails that went around about Ramirez were from Yale alumni who apparently remembered the incident.

  66. 66.

    TenguPhule

    @bemused:

    So all this ruckus was “Oh look, squirrel!” bullshit?

    More like “Look, dirt!” and suddenly the media realized the speaker was being literal instead of figurative.

  67. 67.

    geg6

    @Barbara:

    She said it on the show in response to Rothman. He was disgusting. Kept talking about how this was injuring poor Kavenaugh and never mentioning the women except in the context of how no one says they ever saw Kavenaugh doing anything bad ever.

    Someone needs to look into Noah Rothman’s past, I think.

  69. 69.

    Mary G

    Democrats actually getting shit together. Yale law students dressed in all black are having a sit-in in the school’s corridors. Senator Blumenthal there speaking out for FBI investigation being reopened – he is an alum there.

  72. 72.

    WaterGirl

    oh my god. From Avenattis’s twitter:

    Michael Avenatti
    @MichaelAvenatti
    14h
    Brett Kavanaugh must also be asked about this entry in his yearbook: “FFFFFFFourth of July.” We believe that this stands for: Find them, French them, Feel them, Finger them, F*ck them, Forget them. As well as the term “Devil’s Triangle.” Perhaps Sen. Grassley can ask him. #Basta

  73. 73.

    The Dangerman

    @sukabi:

    they aren’t going to be able to hide Kavanaugh and push him through…

    My guess (two late nights in a row and caffeine hasn’t kicked in yet; shit, I miss the Seattle Jet Fuel blends)…

    …if they had the votes, they’d vote Kavanaugh out of committee right now. They don’t have the votes.

    As for hiding, voting BK or firing RR would be an interesting test of what makes the top of the paper.

  74. 74.

    Amir Khalid

    So if I understand this right, Rod Rosenstein did not offer to resign and no one is currently threatening to sack him; but CoS John Kelly lied (or had someone lie) to the media that Rosenstein did make such an offer, based on a wilful misinterpretation of things Rosenstein had said, in an attempt to manoeuvre Rosenstein into resigning?

    This is not an Administration, it’s the evil twin of a Marx brothers comedy.

  76. 76.

    TenguPhule

    @Amir Khalid:

    So if I understand this right, Rod Rosenstein did not offer to resign and no one is currently threatening to sack him; but CoS John Kelly lied (or had someone lie) to the media that Rosenstein did make such an offer, based on a wilful misinterpretation of things Rosenstein had said, in an attempt to manoeuvre Rosenstein into resigning?

    Exactly.

  78. 78.

    WaterGirl

    I do admire his “take no prisoners approach”.

    Michael Avenatti
    Verified account
    @MichaelAvenatti
    3h3 hours ago
    Warning: My client re Kavanaugh has previously done work within the State Dept, U.S. Mint, & DOJ. She has been granted multiple security clearances in the past including Public Trust & Secret. The GOP and others better be very careful in trying to suggest that she is not credible

  80. 80.

    Mandalay

    @WaterGirl:

    Find them, French them, Feel them, Finger them, F*ck them, Forget them

    What does “French them” mean? I can’t get google to tell me.

  83. 83.

    banditqueen

    The prez has decided that he just has to speak with Rosenstein on Thursday–the same day as the Dr Ford hearing. This Monday morning fiasco was designed to bump the news about yet more allegations against Special K. The WH crew keep the distractions going and going. The NYT played into this most recent distraction on Friday, then fanned the flames as the new Special K allegations came out, with the new “Rosenstein is possibly out–really” stenography story today. Tune in for more on this WH unsourced story on Thursday!

  84. 84.

    L85NJGT

    I’m interested in how the fucked company dynamics at the NYT are driving the editorial slant. They have burned off the rest of the media empire holdings, and Carlos Slim has been gobbling up the Class A shares in return for operating loans. The Sulzberger’s seem to be stuck riding her on in, and probably should have cashed out when the getting was good.

  89. 89.

    Tom Levenson

    @Mandalay: Tongue kiss, I’d guess (when I was a high school tyke, “French” kissing meant mouths had opened and tongues had touched.

  90. 90.

    TenguPhule

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    the Rosenstein leak appears to have been a “smoke bomb” to knock Kavanaugh out of the news. “The strategy was to try and do something really big,” said a source familiar with Trump’s thinking.

    Surely even Trump couldn’t be this stupid?

  92. 92.

    rikyrah

    NEW – Trump Lawyers Demand Mueller Probe ‘Time Out’ if Rosenstein is Oustedhttps://t.co/oiOEQUT2Ph

    Via @lachlan and @swin24

    — Sam Stein (@samstein) September 24, 2018

  93. 93.

    SFAW

    @WaterGirl:

    Michael Avenatti
    Verified account
    @MichaelAvenatti
    3h3 hours ago
    Warning: My client re Kavanaugh has previously done work within the State Dept, U.S. Mint, & DOJ. She has been granted multiple security clearances in the past including Public Trust & Secret. The GOP and others better be very careful in trying to suggest that she is not credible

    Oh, Mike, you’re such a tool.

    She was hired by Hitlary, and helped Hitlary set up her private server, from which the terrists stole 487,921,459 e-mailz. All of which said the equivalent of “Hey Terrists! Here’s a step-by-step on how to destroy ‘Murica!” And she helped Hitlary drag Vince Foster’s corpse from Hitlary’s secret apartment (where they had their trysts) to Fort Marcy Park. And where she tried to hide the bodies of the Lindbergh baby and Judge Crater.

  97. 97.

    Mnemosyne

    @geg6:

    Someone needs to look into Noah Rothman’s past, I think.

    Yup. The guys trying to claim that this is all normal behavior are either enablers or offenders themselves.

    I know that no one wants to suddenly realize that their college buddies were rapists, but if the shoe fits …

  98. 98.

    lol chikinburd

    Sorry if this has been discuused in another thread but: Vacancies Act kicks in on resignation, incapacity, or death

    Wonder if “resignation” might be offered, implicitly (?), as least undesirable of those three options

  100. 100.

    Chris Johnson

    So I think what happened was this:

    They need Kavanaugh because Kavanaugh on the SC will refuse to have pretty much most of the top Republicans shot for treason.

    Most of the top Republicans have passively been working with Russia to secure their position and they’re in Mueller’s crosshairs. Some of them might be actively working with Russia but I think a bunch are clearing the way for it, to their own benefit.

    The NYT is _actively_ working with Russia and this is a continuing attempt to shut down or produce confusion about what’s going on in the Mueller investigation. It’s targeted at MAGA chuds, because when shit totally blows a gasket it’s necessary to have right-wingers primed to go ‘all this is bullshit, this guy was ready to quit just the other day, the TImes said so repeatedly’. Some of the chaos is there to inoculate right-wingers against reality breaking through, and make them refuse to acknowledge what’s happening.

    100% chance Rosenstein said to whoever, ‘Go ahead and fire me, this is what will happen’ and outlined a pile of procedural stuff _including_ listing exactly which Republican Russian assets were about to be blown, and that would be including some big names in Congress and the Executive branch.

    This is what happens when shit gets real. They all KNOW what they did. It’s just about how all this unravels, and we know Kavanaugh is part of their firewall and the only one guaranteed to hold the line when the treason stuff starts bursting out. And Mueller’s people including Rosenstein also know everything, they’re just not telling us because they consider that there’s a procedure. That gives them a certain leverage, because if Trump’s people blow up procedure then Mueller’s people have no particular reason to respect procedure either.

    I really don’t think anybody expected things to go this far, which is worrying. I would be watching for literal massacres: we are lucky if we don’t end up in martial law looking at a bunch of dead proceduralists. But if we did see that, we would soon make a lot of dead bodies in… Iran? :P

  102. 102.

    Adam L Silverman

    @WaterGirl: No offense to Avenatti, but my dogs could get Public Trust and Secret clearances. Call me when she gets an SCI with special access to compartmented programs. I’m not trying to argue she isn’t credible. Nor that she shouldn’t be listened to, but the two levels of clearances he’s stated are pretty much the lowest level ones you can hold.

  103. 103.

    Amir Khalid

    @Mandalay:
    “French kiss” is a colloquial term for using the tongue while kissing — really transgressive if done without the other party’s willingness/consent..

  104. 104.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mandalay: French kiss.

    Unless he’s planning on deep frying them and serving them with his preferred choice of dipping condiment.

  108. 108.

    divF

    @Cheryl Rofer: Re: distractions – when I flew back from Albuquerque last week, I filled my carry-on with Hatch chiles. Yesterday I spent a pleasant afternoon roasting / peeling / seeding.

  112. 112.

    Barbara

    @Amir Khalid:

    the evil twin of a Marx brothers comedy

    I think that wins an award for creative and descriptive imagery. I would only say that a similar maneuver is how Theresa Sullivan was persuaded to resign from being the President of UVA without a majority of the Board of Visitors actually asking for her resignation.

  120. 120.

    Chyron HR

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    He started jerking off on the resolute desk to distract us from the first lady’s black eye! The stable genius puts one over on the fake news media yet again!

  121. 121.

    Calouste

    @geg6: The conclusion to draw from that is Rothman has stuff in his past or present as well. Occam’s Razor.

    If someone defends this kind of behavior to me, my first question is going to be “So what have you done?”

  123. 123.

    bemused

    @Mnemosyne:

    Yup, all these GOP enablers need more scrutiny. I wouldn’t be surprised if many who will excuse any scuzzy behavior to get their way also have some skeletons in their closets they don’t want to be revealed.

  124. 124.

    The Dangerman

    Trump Lawyers Demand Mueller Probe ‘Time Out’ if Rosenstein Is Ousted

    Things must be getting close; we should hear the following soon:

    Trump Lawyers Demand Mueller Probe ‘Time Out’ if It Rains
    Trump Lawyers Demand Mueller Probe ‘Time Out’ if Steelers Lose Again
    Trump Lawyers Demand Mueller Probe ‘Time Out’ if Trump Gets Constipated

    i.e., acts of pure desperation.

    If I may hijack the line, Fuck ’em.

  125. 125.

    A Ghost To Most

    @divF:
    We can get them already roasted, read to clean and freeze. Watch out for the hot Hatches; they are wicked hot,even cleaned.

  129. 129.

    Adam L Silverman

    @sukabi: Different types of things. Kavanaugh would have had a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) for his job as Staff Secretary to President GW Bush. However, that clearance has lapsed as the TS was only good for five years back then (now it’s seven before a renewal) and SCIs are only active as long as you’re read on or for two years once you’ve been read off (basically the computer system is set up to sunset and drop SCIs from the system after 24 months). The background investigations for his judicial nominations are similar, but not the same thing.

    Now all of that said, it is important to understand that these investigations – for clearances or nominations – are dependent on several things. 1) The subject of the investigation truthfully and accurately filling out the paperwork. 2) The subject of the investigation truthfully and accurately answering the investigators questions. 3) The references, former and current co-workers, and other people interviewed by the investigators truthfully and accurately answering the investigators questions. 4) There actually being records/documents of criminal activity, accusations of criminal activity, malfeasance, etc for the investigators to review.

    And one final caveat: in either clearances or nominations, the principal – as in whoever is the original classification authority for the job requiring the clearance (commanding officer, commanding general officer/flag officer, cabinet secretary, agency director, bureau director, etc) or the President in the case of White House appointments and nominations that require senatorial approval – can override the adjudicator’s ruling. So if the boss, which in this case of Kavanaugh is the President, wants someone approved, they can get them approved.

  131. 131.

    MisterForkbeard

    @rikyrah: “If we fire the guy running the investigation on a made-up charge, we demand that the investigation ‘temporarily’ stop immediately.”

    Wow. The cojones on these guys.

  135. 135.

    Adam L Silverman

    @satby: I’m not suggesting they are. But what is done in order to award a Public Trust or Secret clearance is very perfunctory. Basically some background checks – criminal, credit – and that’s about it. As I wrote in the comment, I’ve no reason to believe that his client is anything other than what she claims, but there wasn’t any need to reference these clearances.

  136. 136.

    satby

    @satby: and I see you’ve filled in the details of “getting a clearance”.
    Not to be snarky, but that’s a lot of hoops and invasive. I turned down jobs that required clearances in IT because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle.

  137. 137.

    Mandalay

    @satby:

    Just cause you have all of them doesn’t mean a clearance is handed out like cookies.

    Exactly so. For example, if you were convicted of sexually assaulting a 15 year old girl would you still be able to get one of those low level clearances that don’t mean anything?

  140. 140.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mandalay: Yes. I know of people who have been found to have child porn on their computers, who beat their kids, who do all sorts of behavior that should be disqualifying have them. Rememebr that both Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanson passed multiple clearance renewals, including both lifestyle and counterintelligence polygraphs, while spying for Russia. Either because there was no paper trail so to speak, or because they weren’t forthcoming when asked, or because the criminal behavior started after the clearance was rewarded or between renewals.

  141. 141.

    Mandalay

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I know of people who have been found to have child porn on their computers, who beat their kids, who do all sorts of behavior that should be disqualifying have them

    Wow! Is that happening because the security clearances are correctly granted regardless of such offences, or because snafus result in clearance not being denied? If it’s the former then you are right – those clearances mean very little.

  147. 147.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mandalay: I don’t know the particulars of each specific person, just know that this has happened. In some cases it is because there’s no paper trail, so to speak, that would disqualify the candidate for the clearance. So no criminal record, no problematic financial issues, things like that. In other cases it is because the information isn’t something that would normally be found out during an investigation. In other cases it is because the behavior started after the clearance was awarded or renewed and was subsequently discovered through other means. In still others it is because the candidate for clearance is a very good liar and very good at hiding what they’re doing (Ames and Hanson come to mind).

    For instance, in the case of the colonel with the kiddie porn, his wife found it on his laptop (apparently they had his and hers computers) after they had just relocated for his new assignment and she was using his computer as her desktop system hadn’t been unpacked and set up yet. She turned him into the local police, hired a divorce attorney, kicked him out, and the cops and the divorce attorney notified his command. In the case of beating the kid, the colonel in question was arrested after smacking one of his children around in a Walmart parking lot. Once the local cops got involved, they notified the Provost Marshall at his command, which then got the ball rolling on the military and clearance side of things. In this latter case, there is also contract fraud as it appears he gave a consulting contract to the woman he was having an affair with. And, of course, you’ve got CIA officer Aldrich Ames and FBI special agent Robert Hanson who passed multiple clearance renewals and lifestyle and counterintel polygraphs while working as moles/spies for the Soviet Union.

  148. 148.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mandalay: One final point, everyone needs to understand just how many clearances there are. Between uniformed and civilian personnel across the US government, as well as personnel from state and local governments who need access and contractors working for the military and on the civilian side of the US government, there are probably several million clearances. And there are far too few clearance investigators and adjudicators and the entire system for awarding and renewing them is woefully underfunded and under resourced.

  150. 150.

    Mandalay

    @Adam L Silverman: OK. Slightly O/T, once you get a security clearance is there is no automatic ongoing checking for criminal convictions?

    Suppose someone has a government security clearance, and then gets convicted for (say) fraud or assault or DUI, with no jail time. They are not necessarily going to report that to their employer, but will they definitely get found out anyway, or could they potentially maintain their clearance until they retire?

  151. 151.

    Mandalay

    @Adam L Silverman:

    And there are far too few clearance investigators and adjudicators and the entire system for awarding and renewing them is woefully underfunded and under resourced.

    I think that answers the question I just asked (before seeing you second post).

  152. 152.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @dmsilev:

    We’ve had enough news this Monday morning that I’m going to go ahead and declare this week well and truly broken.

    I keep telli’ yinz jackals, it’s (yet another) InstaFracture Week!

  153. 153.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Elizabelle:

    Was this a fire drill? Think Adam suggested it was a test run?

    Rosenstien and Trump playing chicken and Trump blinked.

  154. 154.

    J R in WV

    Driving through Hatch is kind of amazing. The whole community is based upon agriculture as it pertains to Hatch peppers. In the desert. We always stopped for lunch at one of the tiny restaurants, always served with chilies.

    Some years the local Kroger’s gets a load of Hatch chilies in the fall, we haven’t seen it yet this year, but they’re in the middle of a big remodel lately, so may not do the Mexican cuisine thing this year.

  155. 155.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mandalay: @Mandalay: Sort of. There is a limited amount of ongoing monitoring. One of the proposals in place to reform the system is that it should be transitioned to ongoing, persistent monitoring, rather than 7 years for TS, 10 years for secret, and as nominated/requested for access for SCI.

  156. 156.

    sm*t cl*de

    @Elizabelle:

    Rosenstein’s future was a matter of considerable confusion Monday morning following reports that he had offered to resign.

    When the only ‘reports’ were lies pukefunneled through the WP, and the only ‘matter of considerable confusion’ was the clash between those lies and reality, this account reaches the level of second-order bullsh1t.

  158. 158.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Elizabelle:

    Was this a fire drill? Think Adam suggested it was a test run?

    I think it was just assholes running their mouth about what they wish was true, same as every time Rudy goes on television. The press is incapable of grasping just how incompetent and childish the White House staff are.

  159. 159.

    Aleta

    A new report in the Montgomery County Sentinal (in MD), by Brian Karem. https://mont.thesentinel.com/2018/09/24/supreme-court-nominee-kavanaugh-faces-more-allegations/

    (From the WaPost) Here’s what we know, according to anonymous sources in Karem’s story:
    * Investigators in Montgomery County have apparently spoken with either a woman or her attorney about allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh that date back to his senior year of high school.
    * Investigators have apparently spoken to multiple witnesses about the allegations.
    * A formal complaint has not been filed.
    * “Without a complaint, they cannot conduct a further investigation,” said Karem. “That’s the fulcrum.”
    * In Maryland, there is no statute of limitations for rape and attempted rape.
    * The county police and the Montgomery County prosecuting attorney’s office have said they would conduct an investigation into the case, if a complaint is filed.

  160. 160.

    Aleta

    Correction: That quote above is from Vox not the Wa Post. Also:

    There is no statute of limitations on rape and attempted rape in Maryland. Prosecutors could have discretion, however, on what the charge might look like, given that the people involved were likely under 18 at the time. Karem’s sources say the woman has not requested to press charges at this time, but if she does, police and the Montgomery County prosecuting attorney’s office said they will investigate. (Vox)

  161. 161.

    sukabi

    @Adam L Silverman: it seems like the clearance process needs an update to remove the favorable biases that come with having worked with or being a part of an “elite” group. Independent organization, investigators chosen to work the background investigations that have NO connection to the organization requesting or the person being investigated. Seems like there a bunch of passes given to folks that couldn’t pass a basic background investigation if they weren’t part of an “exclusive club of entitlement”.

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