209 Comments

Subpoena grassley Comer and Jordan to a grand jury. This is treasonous behavior. If there are no consequences, the perpetual adolescents will keep Criming. This cannot stand.

Expand full comment

It would seem time for Garland to quietly appoint yet another special prosecutor to look at this trio. If the tables were reversed, I think we can all pretty much agree this would've already started.

Expand full comment

We've heard relentless news stories about this if the tables were reversed. Even on NPR, I'm disappointed to say.

Expand full comment

Let it not be a Republican. Republicans should be recused from investigating given their credentials in the matter.

Expand full comment

Maybe he already has!

Expand full comment

They are behaving like foreign agents. Treat them as the clear and present dangers that they are.

Expand full comment

Behaving? They ARE Russian operatives.

The RNC has been in bed with Russia for decades. Just ask Manafort or Rick Gates or Roger Stone . . . Charles Koch and Leonard Leo--all active traitors.

Expand full comment

BINGO. Hillary tried to tell us!

Expand full comment

She DID tell us. So did pelosi

Expand full comment

Remember the flak she took for "Vast right-wing conspiracy?" Talk about prescient.

Expand full comment

Agree. They should be charged with failing to register as foreign agents like anyone else would be who worked to undermine our elections and government functions.

Expand full comment

They are not just foreign agents, they are ENEMY AGENTS! Try 'em for treason!

Expand full comment

Need a real AG for that. I guess one could argue that Garland is taking a clever backdoor approach to this with these revelations and indictments, but in my view it's not enough unless he does a lot more.

Expand full comment

The dots are not hard to connect. The FBI knows that these legislators had ill intent from day one. Still waiting for grassley to be indicted in the fake elector scheme. Johnson too. Ugh.

Expand full comment

Then perhaps we not only need a new AG, we need a new FBI Director....... Jack Smith (after his trials have been won) would get my vote for US AG.

Expand full comment

Get rid of Garland! IMO he has been "dragging his feet" on everything that should have been taken up as soon as he got this job. Again, in my opinion he is a republican or just "stricken" it to Joe since he got Hur to do the report of documents that Biden had. He has his own addenda, Garland that is and it's not for justice or getting trump put away!

Expand full comment

He may be playing both sides.

Expand full comment

I am totally disgusted with AG Garland. He is far too cautious and slow moving. I'm very disappointed.

Expand full comment

I agree. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. That said, after him waiting two years to move on Trump for J6 I was like WTF? He had better move quick on this shit. If not, it just shows how timid he is. I’ll tell you right now. If Jack Smith were AG, it would be hole different story. 😎

Expand full comment

Jack Smith has been cautious in a tight-lipped sort of way, and he's gotten results by being cautious in that way. I can see him getting convictions. Of course, he had to stay quiet so that none of the players knew what he had, and they still don't know everything that he has. I'm sure that's what scares Trump the most.

Expand full comment

Bill, I can guarantee you that Jack Smith has so much evidence against all these clowns that we don’t even know about. When he lets that shit out of the box people’s jaws are gonna hit the floor. 😎

Expand full comment

I'm sure. I eagerly await this news.

Expand full comment

Me too. I was hoping for more sooner from his office.

Expand full comment

He might be playing both sides to see which side wins the tug of war.

Expand full comment

Bingo. Garland has never been the correct man for the job.

Expand full comment

And if they don’t comply with the subpoena, arrest them. Jordan is overdue for that, as I recall.

Expand full comment

Exactly Jen!!!

Expand full comment

I can see a much larger net being needed for this operation. Unfortunately, with the prisoners Russia has now I kind of wonder if they're going to demand Smirnov for one or both prisoners.

Expand full comment

Include Barr on that list.

Expand full comment

I'm totally with you on the principle and agree that what Comer and Jordan (and Grassley and a host of others) have been doing is disloyal in the extreme to their country, whose benefits and blessings they happily accept and whose Constitution they swore to protect and defend. They have betrayed their professed allegiance to the USA. But what they've done, much as I'd like the harshest imaginable punishments to land mercilessly on them, really isn't treason, in a legal sense.

I'm neither a lawyer nor a Constitutional scholar, but the key concept in treason, at least as I understand Article 3, Section 3, is that it's predicated on war: the US must be at war, or the treasonous person must have committed an act of war against the US. The legal wrangling goes back centuries in US legal history. What constitutes "war"? Could what Comer has been doing be defined as an act of war? When could or should a charge of treason apply? and on and on. At the end of the day, the notion of treason is quite narrowly defined, and it likely would take approximately forever to work a case based on such a charge through today's courts, with a high probability of failure.

So as much as what Comer, Jordan, et al., have been up to is dishonest, treacherous, morally wrong, and the deepest of piss-offs for so many of us, I don't think there'd be any benefit to pursuing treason charges.

Expand full comment

Ok. Do espionage, like the Rosenbergs. It's just semantics. Their intent was to aid and comfort our enemies. Note: Russia was an ally at that time.

Expand full comment

The Rosenbergs were charged with, and convicted of, conspiracy to commit espionage. Had the US and Russia formally been at war at the time, they well might have been charged with treason.

Expand full comment

We are at war, I hate to say. Putin has been at war with the U.S. since he opened up the Internet Research Agency. The recent shutdown of Lockbit, which is responsible for a significant amount of ransomware attacks in this country, affected a mostly Russian operation. It's a cyberwar, but it's a war all the same, and people actually do die as a result.

In my view, it is treason.

Expand full comment

These psyops and social/MSM manipulations are absolutely Low Intensity Conflict mechanisms in our current environment. So. War is justified.

Expand full comment

I didn't know about Lockbit but found this Guardian article, love it!

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/feb/20/uk-and-fbi-lock-cybercrime-group-out-of-lockbit-website

Expand full comment

A pretty impressive takedown. I worked for years in software for some big companies and I can't imagine being able to do the kind of hacking these folks are doing to get this done. But then, encryption/authentication, etc., was not at all my specialty. I have a hard time managing my personal password sitch lol.

Expand full comment

Could Snowden have played any role in the cyber crimes? I ask hypothetically because even if we could prove anything he's out of reach. He certainly had the means and may still have them.

Expand full comment

With Russia trying to start a war, Treason is a very real charge. Certainly they are all Unregistered Foreign Agents and likely a host of other charges, depending upon individual. They haven't been true to their Oath of Office, so they should be removed.

Expand full comment

So what charges can be leveled for the betrayal of America?

Expand full comment

A lawyer will have to answer that one. I'd just note that the matter would probably pretty quickly get tangled up in the speech-and-debate immunity that Congress enjoys. The odious congresscritters we're talking about would undoubtedly hide behind that, saying that they were engaging in fact finding as part of the legislative process, thus their utterances are protected.

That they were acting totally in bad faith on several levels doesn't affect the matter, I don't think. The answer to the bad-faith charge would be that the electorate needs to vote the bad-faith bastards out of office and vote in some better bastards. And that, of course, in turn bumps into the problem of gerrymandering and the stranglehold the GOP has put on the electoral process (thanks in no small measure to past Congressional lethargy and cowardice and complicit courts in places).

Expand full comment

Our own 'freedoms' as you suggest, to include 1st amendment, are being used as cover to attack us. Clever, actually. It can't continue.

Expand full comment

Thank you. I’m from Ohio and we are trying to get the gerrymandering on the Nov ballot.

Expand full comment

Best wishes in those regards.

Expand full comment

Good that you and Wheeler keep the story live. It has already been memory-holed at NYT. The question is how to make sure more people hear about this, both at right wing outlets and people who don’t follow the news closely. There have been fewer stories about this than the Hur report.

Expand full comment

The Hur report was hammered down our throats. What amounts to Russian spies directly interfering in American elections is completely ignored, or close to it.

What if mainstream media got their resources together and did a Panama Report type of thing on this? You'd find that Russian troll farms are even behind many of the "marxist" and far left twitter (and bluesky, now) accounts hammering away at Biden every day. Not saying the Gaza stuff doesn't deserve a critique, but the relentlessness of some of what I'm seeing is very, very suspicious.

Expand full comment

We've been under Russian attack 24/7/365 since the success of media manipulation during the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Flynn is creating the psyops. Snowden was his first effort. They continue. You cannot solve problems until you realize they exist. This is the most effective inexpensive strategic weaponry ever deployed. There are dozens of useful idiots who are their foot soldiers.

Expand full comment

MSM has gone conservative, fearing that if they don't, and Trump pulls off a miracle, they'll all be toast. Investigative Journalism in MSM is dying for the same reason Republicans have played dead: they wanna keep their jobs.

Expand full comment

They need to understand history. That's not how dictatorships work. They'll all be out of work if he wins, and many of them will be jailed. When a presidential candidate says he wants to "root out vermin" believe him. It's one campaign promise you can expect him to try his best on.

Expand full comment

You nailed something home I hadn't quite gathered until you said it. I knew they were being more conservative. NBC used to seem like a good source, but they spreading the two-sides approach so broadly that it's completely transparent and yet what I've seen has made it seem less than transparent - to me at least.

Expand full comment

I'll check headlines sometimes, but mostly it's just the web for me & daily newsletters. I'll go watch an interview if it comes highly recommended. Other than that, these are NOT NORMAL times and I won't partake of the juvenile approach that they are, and it's all equal.

Expand full comment

Completely agree, and it's maddening!!

Expand full comment

Hunter Biden should now file a civil lawsuit, for millions, against Smirnov, Comer, Jordan and Grassley for defamation. I'm available to sit on the jury.

Expand full comment

I think he has filed several defamation suits including the Overstock CEO and a the computer repair shop owner.

Expand full comment

Uh... this very post disqualifies you from sitting on said jury - sorry.

Expand full comment

But would be considered a biased jurist. :p

Expand full comment

But remember, to be a fair juror you have to totally ignorant. “Who is president?” “What’s that?” “Okay, you’re in.” /s

Expand full comment

I didn't say it was a great system, just how it works. :p

Expand full comment

It won't get widely reported because most media monstrosities are owned by right -wing douche bags who only care about money /profits, not the truth ! And if it makes the Democrats/ Biden look bad , all the better ! These conglomerates don't give a shit about the people of the USA, the lives of the average American citizen, the struggles they face or the discrepancy in wealth ! These asshats only care about themselves and profits and not having to follow any rules or regulations ! The average Joe / Joeleen is on their own !

Expand full comment

Media is owned by the right wing? Whut?

Expand full comment

Yes, they are. No need to question it.

Expand full comment

Where have YOU been?

Expand full comment

I sent a recent Prof. Richardson Substack to a “friend”—he’s a lost cause, as is our friendship, which was never much. It was my last attempt to reach him, even though I know he’s unreachable. His response was that it was “interesting.” And why didn’t “she” (pejoratively I’m sure) address “open borders, why are we sending $ overseas when we can’t help people here, that we’re losing the wonderful America we grew up in” blah, blah, blah. Well, because those are fucking lies? One of those former “conservatives” who now has the excuse to be openly hateful. Icing on the cake is that he’s gay and getting married this year. The cognitive dissonance is staggering. And, to your point, he says he’s not “well read.” I sent him the HCR post encouraging him to be better read.

Expand full comment

Trolls—do they think we care about their bullshit? I blocked his ass, as I do with any of them I encounter. Go do your idiocy elsewhere.

Expand full comment

Done and done!

Ever notice how right-wing conspiracy theorists use words like “cabal,” or cutesy terms like “amirite”? Conflating issues like throwing a bowl of spaghetti on the wall just to see what sticks? They think they are so clever . . .and they are the ones brainwashed. No logic, no premise—what goes on in their minds is chaos .. . Which is another sign of an undisciplined mind that doesn’t read regularly.

Expand full comment

Do you think the media hid the Hunter laptop story weeks before the election because they are right wing? Et al.

Expand full comment

I don’t do speculation and conspiracy theories. I’m also not going to publish a bibliography for you if you haven’t figured out who owns MSM conglomerates or who among them donates millions to the RNC. If this is a sincere inquiry, you need to do your own research. If you are looking to troll me, good luck.

Expand full comment

Oh, I get it… the right wing media cabal covers its tracks by pretending to be lefties… which is why they ignored the laptop story, keep insisting JB is perfectly lucid and in charge, and are attempting to destroy Trump and Kennedy. Crazy like a fox, amirite?

Expand full comment

The whole Criminally Old being equated with Old Criminal certainly makes one speculate.

Expand full comment

Look at the source of their campaign contributions. If you dig deep enough I bet you'll find a channel all the way back to the Kremlin.

Expand full comment

OH YES. The RNC even had the NRA money laundering donations to the RNC. Ask Cyrus Vance Jr . . .

Expand full comment

Russian Alfa Bank to Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign. And Russian money-laundering Bank of Cyprus for a good start.

Expand full comment

I love a gal who reads . . .😘

Expand full comment

"How amazed the Russians must have been to discover that they could easily mainline disinformation to the American public"

Sometimes, just once, I wish I could try to be a plagiarist. Great line.

Expand full comment

Wow! Seems you might have to do a ‘McCarthy Era’ hunt for links of elected and appointed officials with Russian ties! Even the original ‘Manchurian Candidate’ pales in comparison with this reality within the GOP.

Expand full comment

It wouldn't be a witch hunt--the evidence is out there, clear as a bell.

Expand full comment

They're Kremlin candidates now...with social media and soulless MAGAt politicians.

Expand full comment

If they didn't outright "know" the testimony was bogus, it is only because they were willfully screwing their eyes and ears shut save a narrow conduit for Trump malarkey and pressure. All of the smaller Russoan-backed endeavors and traitoristic blights are all merging together into one giant greasy stain. Instead of retreating, Comer is doubling down on the nonsense. Time for investigative barrels be pointed at his hollowed out chest.

Expand full comment

The gift of maga seems to be a license to be intellectually lazy.

Expand full comment

Intellectually dormant

Expand full comment

Willfully ignorant

Expand full comment

Intellectually deceased.

Expand full comment

They knew. They were warned. But Comer and Grassley figured they could pull off the smear campaign without getting caught.

Expand full comment

Why are we never investigating the people we need to be?

Expand full comment

Here’s hoping Comer’s grey goose is cooked. Also noteworthy, the FBI worked with Smirnov for years. How long was the agency fooled before it finally figured out he was untrustworthy? Probably some heads should roll over there.

Expand full comment

Right, and this is the same FBI that tRump and his MAGA cohort want to dismember...oh, but not before the Bureau created problems for the Biden family.

Expand full comment

And recall that some agents didn't want to search MAL for documents and also let a locked door stop them from doing a thorough job once there. Since when did a locked door ever stop LE from accessing an area before? Never, is my guess, this is all so disturbing!

Expand full comment

Good point.

Expand full comment

It's already been mentioned that Smirnov gave info to Barr which is the reddest of flags.

Expand full comment

Can the IRS send them a bill to get them to reimburse all the taxpayer money they'd spent on their shenanigans?

Expand full comment

Sadly no!

Expand full comment

Garland has really been about the most ineffective AG that we've seen in a long time. Why is the DoJ not investigating this (maybe they are, but they have been overly slow on just about all matters to date)? Why wouldn't he remove Weiss from the case and appoint a different special prosecutor given Weiss's involvement?

Expand full comment

They might be doing something and we haven't heard anything. Jack Smith just might have some surprises for us. He and his team have been quieter than Mueller and his team. When a team is this quiet it suggests at least two possibilities: they haven't been doing that much digging and hardly have anything or they've been doing so much digging that they want to keep almost everything under wraps until it's time to let the tigers out of their cages.

Expand full comment

Are we wrong to assume that the indictment of smirnov is a cover for the malicious and politically motivated actions by barr, Trump, brady, Rosen and Weiss?

Expand full comment

Barr has a lot of questions coming his way......

Expand full comment

He is a very slippery snake, that Billy Barr. I very seriously doubt anything will ever stick to him in any way at all. He is much less stupid than the out-front rubes making this stuff go. Comer and Jordan are blithering idiots representing "safe" districts (and therefore with no fear of losing their jobs unless they forget who's actually running the show), and will believe anything they are told by the miscreants who have actual brains - Barr, Manafort - even that waste of skin Roger Stone. Jordan should be in jail for abetting sex crimes, and Comer should be a freakin' mall cop or similar.

Expand full comment

Couldn't agree more. Now I have this image of Comer falling off a Segway down at the local mall. Thanks for that! 🤣

Expand full comment

Jordan and Comer should be jailhouse hooters by now. They've been lucky so far, but I think Smirnov may be the clincher.

Expand full comment

It's probably the tip of that iceberg and HMS Trump is starting to show signs of the damage since they've decided to go after the prosecutors now.

Expand full comment

Jay, not only is the "Internets" exploding with these revelations, but even the MSM is running with it, and minus any bothsidesing as well. Also, Hunter Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, has filed a flurry of motions, alleging amongst other things that the Smirnov indictment and his actions vis-à-vis the Bidens would make a fair trial impossible, and that USA Weiss "has followed Smirnov down his rabbit-hole of lies"...oof! And the business of a photo showing "lines of coke" that in fact were "lines" of sawdust in that self-same photo SENT by a friend of Hunter, who had quit taking drugs and urged the same of Hunter.

The Smirnov indictment is going to make prosecution of Hunter Biden v. difficult, and I see yet anther proffer and deal in the works with the feds..

Smirnov = "Smearnov".

Expand full comment

Ok ok, an investigation into Comer, Grassley and Jordan as well as this Scott Brady is definitely necessary. If they knew who Smirnoff was, they are guilty of treason.

Walk them out in cuffs.

And can anybody, anybody! tell me why Bill Barr is walking around a free man? It seems every dirty plot and crime in the former administration had his prints all over it. There’s evidence pointing to him everywhere!

Why is Paul Manafort walking around and not hanging from his thumbs in a military prison?

All of this evidence of Russian interference and backchanneling makes it clear the Mueller report was accurate ( which we always knew) and needs re-opened and vigorously pursued.

Maybe it’s time, and I suspect we may see this after President Biden wins his second term, but it’s time to clean house. The DOJ needs new leadership, the FBI and SS need scoured for traitors, and all those in Congress that plotted and “aided and abetted” an insurrection need to be removed from office and sent to prison. And Putin? It’s past time…

May Alexei Navalny rest in peace and may his efforts not be in vain. 🙏🏽✨

Expand full comment

Manafort and Barr have proven to be much smarter than most of the parties involved. Barr managed to come out unscathed from the Nixon WH. Didn't Manafort turn state’s evidence in order to get a ‘get out of jail free’ card? They also haven't overspent their resources or shot off their mouths like Trump, Giuliani, and so on. That doesn't mean they can't be brought down, but there's probably a lynchpin or two I haven't heard about yet.

Expand full comment

Thank you for this thorough review of this deplorable yet expected turn of events with the GOP "investigation " .

Expand full comment