You dems are low on scams right now. Oh, that attempt to get everyone in Cut Bank, Montana all fired up over the Ukraine didn't work out for ya? Who woulda thunk.
DOJ magically centralizes all Ukraine matters https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...478ecc-5270-11ea-929a-64efa7482a77_story.html Justice Dept., in wrestling with how to handle Giuliani, tightens rules for Ukraine-related probes The Justice Department revealed Tuesday that law enforcement officials running Ukraine-related investigations must seek approval before expanding their inquiries — a move that could have implications for Rudolph W. Giuliani, as President Trump’s personal attorney pushes for scrutiny of the president’s political foes while facing a federal probe into his own conduct. The directive from Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen was disclosed in a response to Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) after the House Judiciary Committee chairman demanded clarity on how the Justice Department is reviewing information from Giuliani, who has urged law enforcement to investigate former vice president Joe Biden and his son for their dealings in Ukraine. Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd wrote to Nadler that the department had tapped two U.S. attorneys to assist in the process — Scott Brady in Pittsburgh to receive and assess new information, and Richard Donoghue in Brooklyn to help coordinate personnel throughout the Justice Department involved in Giuliani’s case and others with a focus on Ukraine. An accompanying internal memo, circulated by Rosen in January, says that he and Donoghue must approve expansions of any inquiries. Such a move could be viewed as putting another layer of approval in place if prosecutors wanted to widen their Giuliani probe, although Rosen wrote in his memo that the aim was to “avoid duplication of efforts.” In his letter to Nadler, Boyd defended the moves as normal and said that they do not give anyone special entry to the department. “The Department regularly assigns U.S. Attorneys to coordinate or focus on certain matters,” Boyd wrote. “Nor do these procedures grant any individual unique access to the Department. Indeed, any member of the public who has relevant information may contact the Department and make use of its intake process for Ukraine-related matters.” Attorney General William P. Barr faced criticism from congressional Democrats and former Justice Department officials when he acknowledged last week having created an “intake process in the field” to accept Giuliani’s information, which seems designed to damage Biden’s political prospects as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president. Barr said at that time that the department had an “obligation to have an open door to anybody who wishes to provide us information that they think is relevant.” Taking information from Giuliani is particularly fraught for the department because the president’s personal lawyer is under investigation by federal prosecutors in Manhattan in a case that has led to campaign finance charges against two of Giuliani’s associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman. The pair helped Giuliani try to conduct investigations in Ukraine and lobbied for the ouster of Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Prosecutors have in recent weeks contacted witnesses and sought to collect additional documents in that case. As impeachment trial ended, federal prosecutors took new steps in probe related to Giuliani, according to people familiar with case Separately, federal prosecutors in Chicago have a long-standing case against a Ukrainian gas tycoon accused of bribery, Dmitry Firtash, who they suspect of having significant ties to Parnas and Fruman. And federal prosecutors in Cleveland have been investigating Ihor Kolomoisky, a Ukrainian oligarch, for possible financial crimes. He has sparred publicly with Giuliani. Trump and Giuliani have pressed the Ukrainians to investigate Biden and his son Hunter, who worked on the board of a Ukrainian energy company while his father oversaw the Obama administration’s Ukraine policy. In a phone call in July, Trump personally appealed to his presidential counterpart in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to work with Barr on the matter. That call, coupled with Giuliani’s efforts, formed the basis of House Democrats’ decision to impeach the president. Trump offered Ukrainian president Justice Dept. help in an investigation of Biden, memo shows Kerri Kupec, a spokeswoman for Barr, said in a September statement issued after the White House disclosed a rough transcript of Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president that Trump had not spoken with Barr “about having Ukraine investigate anything relating to former Vice President Biden or his son.” “The President has not asked the Attorney General to contact Ukraine — on this or any other matter,” Kupec said. “The Attorney General has not communicated with Ukraine — on this or any other subject.” Boyd wrote in the letter to Nadler that the September statement “remains accurate” and that Barr “has not discussed matters relating to Ukraine with Rudolph Giuliani.” The Justice Department in the Trump administration has turned repeatedly to U.S. attorneys outside Washington to handle politically explosive cases, and current and former officials have said they worry the moves are meant to help Trump politically. Two top federal prosecutors — John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, and Jeff Jensen, the U.S. attorney in St. Louis — have been tasked with exploring aspects of the FBI’s 2016 investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the election. Durham is examining the probe’s origins; Jensen is reviewing, among other things, the case that prosecutors on that investigation made against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn for lying to the FBI. Another federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney John Huber in Utah, was tasked by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate old corruption allegations against Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and Trump’s opponent in the 2016 campaign. His inquiry, though, ultimately went nowhere.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/us/politics/concord-case-russian-interference.html Justice Dept. Moves to Drop Charges Against Russian Firms Filed by Mueller The companies funded Russia’s social media-fueled interference in the 2016 election, prosecutors said. But they tried to weaponize the case instead of fight it. Democrats in Congress have accused Attorney General William P. Barr of trying to undo the work of the special counsel. They cite Mr. Barr’s appointment of a prosecutor to investigate whether the F.B.I. abused its power in investigating the Trump campaign, his intervention in the sentencing of the Trump associate Roger J. Stone Jr. and his installation of an outside prosecutor to review the case against Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser.
And why the fuck are you chiming in Will? https://www.foxnews.com/media/ag-wi...s-media-on-a-jihad-against-hydroxychloroquine Barr disappointed by partisan attacks leveled at President Trump, says media on a 'jihad' against hydroxychloroquine Attorney General William Barr told "The Ingraham Angle" Wednesday that he was disappointed over the partisan attacks leveled against President Trump during the coronavirus pandemic and blasted reporters for waging a "jihad" to discredit the effectiveness of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine. "It's very disappointing because I think the president went out at the beginning of [the coronavirus pandemic] and really was statesmanlike, trying to bring people together, working with all the governors," Barr said. "Keeping his patience as he as he got these snarky, gotcha questions from the White House media pool and the stridency of the partisan attacks on him has gotten higher and higher." "We cannot keep for a long period of time our economy shut down just on the public health thing. It means less cancer. Cancer researchers or at home. A lot of the disease reaches researchers who will save lives in the future. That's being held in abeyance," Barr said. "The money that goes into these institutions, whether philanthropic sources or government sources, is going to be reduced. We will have a weaker health care system if we go into a deep depression. So it just measured it in lives. The cure cannot be worse than the disease." The attorney general lamented the loss of family businesses during the shutdown, saying after the 30-day period the U.S. needs to "find a way" to allow businesses to adapt. "But when you think of everything else, generations of families who have built up businesses for generations in this country and recent immigrants who have built up businesses, snuffed out. Small businesses that may not be able to come back if this goes on too long," Barr said. "So we have to find, after the 30-day period, we have to find a way of allowing businesses to adapt to this situation and figure out how they can best get started."