CIA's top lawyer made 'criminal referral' on complaint about Trump Ukraine call

[Billiejeens]

Wait a sec....

What is the CIA doing spying domestically?

Why are the liberoids cheerleading for CIA spies and spooks who are clearly operating far outside their designated box?

What in the name of Sam Hill (who was a real person) ever happened to the civil libertarians on the left?

Maybe they are wondering why Trump keeps getting free passes.

The CIA?

 

[flacaltenn]

Apparently, most Dem activists are SHOCKED when a Repub develops a spine and gives the grief right back to them.. And lord knows, the amount of grief being slung and MISSING the target is huge...

To wit -- ANY lowly Congress critter can suggest crimes that the Prez has committed in pursuit of power and election results, but the rules say -- a REPUB prez can't sling some back...

The hypocrisy here on both sides that let's them IGNORE the underlying swampy corruption is mind-blowing...

 

[Rambunctious]

I read the phone call...we all hopefully read the phone call...and I see nothing that adds up to a crime...

 

[lennypartiv]

How can there be a criminal referral when no crime was committed?

 

[Billiejeens]

Apparently, most Dem activists are SHOCKED when a Repub develops a spine and gives the grief right back to them.. And lord knows, the amount of grief being slung and MISSING the target is huge...

To wit -- ANY lowly Congress critter can suggest crimes that the Prez has committed in pursuit of power and election results, but the rules say -- a REPUB prez can't sling some back...

The hypocrisy here on both sides that let's them IGNORE the underlying swampy corruption is mind-blowing...

As a life long Republican, I'm shocked.
Pleasantly.

 

[flacaltenn]

Wait a sec....

What is the CIA doing spying domestically?

Why are the liberoids cheerleading for CIA spies and spooks who are clearly operating far outside their designated box?

What in the name of Sam Hill (who was a real person) ever happened to the civil libertarians on the left?

Maybe they are wondering why Trump keeps getting free passes.

The CIA?

Good question !!! We KNOW the CIA was involved in illegal full foreign Intel operations against Trump associates before and after the campaign.. Any Civil Libertarian will tell you that amazingly frightening..

So is the CIA STILL spying on the President?? They are restricted from doing ANY domestic operations....

 

[Billiejeens]

Wait a sec....

What is the CIA doing spying domestically?

Why are the liberoids cheerleading for CIA spies and spooks who are clearly operating far outside their designated box?

What in the name of Sam Hill (who was a real person) ever happened to the civil libertarians on the left?

Maybe they are wondering why Trump keeps getting free passes.

The CIA?

Good question !!! We KNOW the CIA was involved in illegal full foreign Intel operations against Trump associates before and after the campaign.. Any Civil Libertarian will tell you that amazingly frightening..

So is the CIA STILL spying on the President?? They are restricted from doing ANY domestic operations....

They probably had enough sense to outsource it.

 

[flacaltenn]

Barr is part of the corruption. The DoJ is broken. The State Department is broken. This administration has a record number of temporary appointees, unconfirmed by a Congress, taken no oath of office, and loyal to Trump personally, not the office of the presidency, the Constitution or the country. Career diplomats suddenly recalled for no reason and replaced by idiots. What is happening now is the tip of the iceberg.


CIA's top lawyer made 'criminal referral' on complaint about Trump Ukraine call


WASHINGTON — Weeks before the whistleblower's complaint became public, the CIA's top lawyer made what she considered to be a criminal referral to the Justice Department about the whistleblower's allegations that President Donald Trump abused his office in pressuring the Ukrainian president, U.S. officials familiar with the matter tell NBC News.

The move by the CIA's general counsel, Trump appointee Courtney Simmons Elwood, meant she and other senior officials had concluded a potential crime had been committed, raising more questions about why the Justice Department later declined to open an investigation.

The phone call that Elwood considered to be a criminal referral is in addition to the referral later received as a letter from the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community regarding the whistleblower complaint.

Justice Department officials said they were unclear whether Elwood was making a criminal referral and followed up with her later to seek clarification but she remained vague.

In the days since the anonymous whistleblower complaint was made public accusing him of wrongdoing, Trump has lashed out at his accuser and other insiders who provided the accuser with information, suggesting they were improperly spying on what was a "perfect" call between him and the Ukrainian president.

But a timeline provided by U.S. officials familiar with the matter shows that multiple senior government officials appointed by Trump found the whistleblower's complaints credible, troubling and worthy of further inquiry starting soon after the president's July phone call.

While that timeline and the CIA general counsel's contact with the Justice Department has been previously disclosed, it has not been reported that the CIA's top lawyer intended her call to be a criminal referral about the president's conduct, acting under rules set forth in a memo governing how intelligence agencies should report allegations of federal crimes.

The fact that she and other top Trump administration political appointees saw potential misconduct in the whistleblower's early account of alleged presidential abuses puts a new spotlight on the Justice Department's later decision to decline to open a criminal investigation — a decision that the Justice Department said publicly was based purely on an analysis of whether the president committed a campaign finance law violation.

"They didn't do any of the sort of bread-and-butter type investigatory steps that would flush out what potential crimes may have been committed," said Berit Berger, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School. "I
While that timeline and the CIA general counsel's contact with the Justice Department has been previously disclosed, it has not been reported that the CIA's top lawyer intended her call to be a criminal referral about the president's conduct, acting under rules set forth in a memo governing how intelligence agencies should report allegations of federal crimes.

The fact that she and other top Trump administration political appointees saw potential misconduct in the whistleblower's early account of alleged presidential abuses puts a new spotlight on the Justice Department's later decision to decline to open a criminal investigation — a decision that the Justice Department said publicly was based purely on an analysis of whether the president committed a campaign finance law violation.

"They didn't do any of the sort of bread-and-butter type investigatory steps that would flush out what potential crimes may have been committed," said Berit Berger, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School. "I don't understand the rationale for that and it's just so contrary to how normal prosecutors work. We have started investigations on far less."

Great article.. So what was "the crime"?? Apparently even BLATANT strong arming of foreign power for favors can be done by just about ANY Congress critter.. Need examples???

I need a crime to give a hoot. Not just some gossip from NBC news...

What was his crime? Haven’t said there was one, yet. That is why it needs to be investigated. And, imo, with holding promised aid in exchange for an investigation into a political rival and the promise of an Oval Office date is as blatant as it gets in strong arming.

OH come on now.. Your title claims a "criminal referral"... How can there be a criminal referral without those great journalists (sarcasm) stating WHAT that crime might be???

And if there WAS a crime... I'm certain that you want Menedez, Leahy et al "referred for criminal prosecution as well" RIGHT??? Maybe even Biden for shaking down the Ukranians on behalf of his son and BRAGGING about it to the CFR....

 

[flacaltenn]

Wait a sec....

What is the CIA doing spying domestically?

Why are the liberoids cheerleading for CIA spies and spooks who are clearly operating far outside their designated box?

What in the name of Sam Hill (who was a real person) ever happened to the civil libertarians on the left?

Maybe they are wondering why Trump keeps getting free passes.

From the cheap seats, I'd say that Dems SUCK at obstructing an entire country for 3 years with MASSIVE phony outrages and lies... I can't help it.. Your party is KILLING themselves making shit up constantly...

Remember the Creepy Porn Lawyer defending Stormy that was being touted as Prez candidate? The recent phony Kavanaugh story and the RUSH to get to microphones to impeach him before the facts caught up? Or the MASSIVE FRAUD committed on America by having MAJOR MEDIA call the Prez "a puppet of Putin" and allowing some of Intel conspirators to work for CNN and MSNBC to MAKE those claims -- and suggest he was a traitor???

It's the gang who can't shoot straight.. Drive-bys in Chicago score more hits than the Dems have scored since 2015.....

You really need to give your wounded a rest here.. It's been a MASSIVE failure of lying and deceit all for the cause of undoing an election....

 

[Lakhota]

Barr is part of the corruption. The DoJ is broken. The State Department is broken. This administration has a record number of temporary appointees, unconfirmed by a Congress, taken no oath of office, and loyal to Trump personally, not the office of the presidency, the Constitution or the country. Career diplomats suddenly recalled for no reason and replaced by idiots. What is happening now is the tip of the iceberg.


CIA's top lawyer made 'criminal referral' on complaint about Trump Ukraine call


WASHINGTON — Weeks before the whistleblower's complaint became public, the CIA's top lawyer made what she considered to be a criminal referral to the Justice Department about the whistleblower's allegations that President Donald Trump abused his office in pressuring the Ukrainian president, U.S. officials familiar with the matter tell NBC News.

The move by the CIA's general counsel, Trump appointee Courtney Simmons Elwood, meant she and other senior officials had concluded a potential crime had been committed, raising more questions about why the Justice Department later declined to open an investigation.

The phone call that Elwood considered to be a criminal referral is in addition to the referral later received as a letter from the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community regarding the whistleblower complaint.

Justice Department officials said they were unclear whether Elwood was making a criminal referral and followed up with her later to seek clarification but she remained vague.

In the days since the anonymous whistleblower complaint was made public accusing him of wrongdoing, Trump has lashed out at his accuser and other insiders who provided the accuser with information, suggesting they were improperly spying on what was a "perfect" call between him and the Ukrainian president.

But a timeline provided by U.S. officials familiar with the matter shows that multiple senior government officials appointed by Trump found the whistleblower's complaints credible, troubling and worthy of further inquiry starting soon after the president's July phone call.

While that timeline and the CIA general counsel's contact with the Justice Department has been previously disclosed, it has not been reported that the CIA's top lawyer intended her call to be a criminal referral about the president's conduct, acting under rules set forth in a memo governing how intelligence agencies should report allegations of federal crimes.

The fact that she and other top Trump administration political appointees saw potential misconduct in the whistleblower's early account of alleged presidential abuses puts a new spotlight on the Justice Department's later decision to decline to open a criminal investigation — a decision that the Justice Department said publicly was based purely on an analysis of whether the president committed a campaign finance law violation.

"They didn't do any of the sort of bread-and-butter type investigatory steps that would flush out what potential crimes may have been committed," said Berit Berger, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School. "I
While that timeline and the CIA general counsel's contact with the Justice Department has been previously disclosed, it has not been reported that the CIA's top lawyer intended her call to be a criminal referral about the president's conduct, acting under rules set forth in a memo governing how intelligence agencies should report allegations of federal crimes.

The fact that she and other top Trump administration political appointees saw potential misconduct in the whistleblower's early account of alleged presidential abuses puts a new spotlight on the Justice Department's later decision to decline to open a criminal investigation — a decision that the Justice Department said publicly was based purely on an analysis of whether the president committed a campaign finance law violation.

"They didn't do any of the sort of bread-and-butter type investigatory steps that would flush out what potential crimes may have been committed," said Berit Berger, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School. "I don't understand the rationale for that and it's just so contrary to how normal prosecutors work. We have started investigations on far less."

Sadly, she apparently did not put her criminal referral in writing. She did it on a telephone call - with a White House lawyer also on the line.

 

[Billiejeens]

Barr is part of the corruption. The DoJ is broken. The State Department is broken. This administration has a record number of temporary appointees, unconfirmed by a Congress, taken no oath of office, and loyal to Trump personally, not the office of the presidency, the Constitution or the country. Career diplomats suddenly recalled for no reason and replaced by idiots. What is happening now is the tip of the iceberg.


CIA's top lawyer made 'criminal referral' on complaint about Trump Ukraine call


WASHINGTON — Weeks before the whistleblower's complaint became public, the CIA's top lawyer made what she considered to be a criminal referral to the Justice Department about the whistleblower's allegations that President Donald Trump abused his office in pressuring the Ukrainian president, U.S. officials familiar with the matter tell NBC News.

The move by the CIA's general counsel, Trump appointee Courtney Simmons Elwood, meant she and other senior officials had concluded a potential crime had been committed, raising more questions about why the Justice Department later declined to open an investigation.

The phone call that Elwood considered to be a criminal referral is in addition to the referral later received as a letter from the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community regarding the whistleblower complaint.

Justice Department officials said they were unclear whether Elwood was making a criminal referral and followed up with her later to seek clarification but she remained vague.

In the days since the anonymous whistleblower complaint was made public accusing him of wrongdoing, Trump has lashed out at his accuser and other insiders who provided the accuser with information, suggesting they were improperly spying on what was a "perfect" call between him and the Ukrainian president.

But a timeline provided by U.S. officials familiar with the matter shows that multiple senior government officials appointed by Trump found the whistleblower's complaints credible, troubling and worthy of further inquiry starting soon after the president's July phone call.

While that timeline and the CIA general counsel's contact with the Justice Department has been previously disclosed, it has not been reported that the CIA's top lawyer intended her call to be a criminal referral about the president's conduct, acting under rules set forth in a memo governing how intelligence agencies should report allegations of federal crimes.

The fact that she and other top Trump administration political appointees saw potential misconduct in the whistleblower's early account of alleged presidential abuses puts a new spotlight on the Justice Department's later decision to decline to open a criminal investigation — a decision that the Justice Department said publicly was based purely on an analysis of whether the president committed a campaign finance law violation.

"They didn't do any of the sort of bread-and-butter type investigatory steps that would flush out what potential crimes may have been committed," said Berit Berger, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School. "I
While that timeline and the CIA general counsel's contact with the Justice Department has been previously disclosed, it has not been reported that the CIA's top lawyer intended her call to be a criminal referral about the president's conduct, acting under rules set forth in a memo governing how intelligence agencies should report allegations of federal crimes.

The fact that she and other top Trump administration political appointees saw potential misconduct in the whistleblower's early account of alleged presidential abuses puts a new spotlight on the Justice Department's later decision to decline to open a criminal investigation — a decision that the Justice Department said publicly was based purely on an analysis of whether the president committed a campaign finance law violation.

"They didn't do any of the sort of bread-and-butter type investigatory steps that would flush out what potential crimes may have been committed," said Berit Berger, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School. "I don't understand the rationale for that and it's just so contrary to how normal prosecutors work. We have started investigations on far less."

Sadly, she apparently did not put her criminal referral in writing. She did it on a telephone call - with a White House lawyer also on the line.

Why "sadly"?

 

[flacaltenn]

Wait a sec....

What is the CIA doing spying domestically?

Why are the liberoids cheerleading for CIA spies and spooks who are clearly operating far outside their designated box?

What in the name of Sam Hill (who was a real person) ever happened to the civil libertarians on the left?

Maybe they are wondering why Trump keeps getting free passes.

The CIA?

Good question !!! We KNOW the CIA was involved in illegal full foreign Intel operations against Trump associates before and after the campaign.. Any Civil Libertarian will tell you that amazingly frightening..

So is the CIA STILL spying on the President?? They are restricted from doing ANY domestic operations....

They probably had enough sense to outsource it.

The CIA always outsources.. LOL.... That's why you have Halper in the UK coordinating the "sting operations" on Papadopolous and Caputo and Page... Complete with busty babes trying to seduce them.. Those femme fatales don't have offices at Langley...

 

[Coyote]

Here's your example of hyper partisan hypocrisy in action below for you.. That letter is actually in the Senate.gov archives with the 3 Dem Congress critters signatures on it.. APPARENTLY -- you want to refer them for prosecution as well... AMIRITE???

Here's the Independent "I don't give a flying fuck about Dems or Reps" view on all this.. There are HUNDREDS of things that are highly unethical and seditious that are NOT codified into "House or Senate or Prez Ethics"... And BOTH parties are so severely compromised by playing the loopholes, that NEITHER of them has a leg to stand on with "indignation"... They've been going at this power abuse thingy for so long now -- that EITHER OF THEM can away with anything short of murder. And I wouldn't be surprised if they crossed that bridge in the near future....

Hypocrites: Senate Dems Sent Letter Pressuring Ukraine To Investigate Trump In May 2018


Yes, the very same Democrats who are now supposedly aghast that President Trump asked the president of Ukraine to look into Joe Biden's family corruption, actually sent Ukraine a letter saying "U.S. assistance" was at stake unless the Ukrainian government complied with the bogus special counsel Robert Mueller investigation and conducted their own investigation into the president and his former aid Paul Manafort. Marc Theissen of the Washington Post brought this up yesterday, and after seeing what the president actually said to his call to the newly elected president Volodymyr Zelensky, it looks like the Democrats have nothing but egg on their face.

Here's what Theissen reported Tuesday:

It got almost no attention, but in May, CNN reported that Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) wrote a letter to Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Yuriy Lutsenko, expressing concern at the closing of four investigations they said were critical to the Mueller probe. In the letter, they implied that their support for U.S. assistance to Ukraine was at stake. Describing themselves as “strong advocates for a robust and close relationship with Ukraine,” the Democratic senators declared, “We have supported [the] capacity-building process and are disappointed that some in Kyiv appear to have cast aside these [democratic] principles to avoid the ire of President Trump,” before demanding Lutsenko “reverse course and halt any efforts to impede cooperation with this important investigation.”

So, it’s okay for Democratic senators to encourage Ukraine to investigate Trump, but it’s not okay for the president to allegedly encourage Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden?

Are you sure about that? They threatened Ukraine? Did they withhold money? Dangle the promise of a state visit?

Trump said they threatened. And in this hyperpartisan age, Trump plays by different rules and is judged by different rules apparently.

Instead of relying on Town Hall’s interpretation, here is the actual letter: https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/5-4-18 Menendez joint letter to General Prosecutor of Ukraine on Mueller investigation.pdf

And the context: a request to provide an explanation as to why Ukraine was impeding investigations related to the Mueller probe.

Was this a legitimate and legal investigation? Yes.

Was it for personal political benefit? No.

Were any threats made or delivered? No.

So how is this comparable to what we know so far regarding Trump’s actions with Ukraine, and, apparently, he is now flailing at China, to pressure them to investigate his political rival?

Here are some key points. Trump has plenty of legal and transparent channels he can use to conduct a legitimate investigation into corruption. He opted not to, and instead used his personal lawyer, recalled a career diplomat abruptly from Ukraine, and worked through people with a personal loyalty to him rather than the nation. Worse, attempting to suppress whistle blowers, threatening to expose them...and muse about the good old days of executing “traitors”.

It isn’t hyperpartisan to say this is very concerning, and it isn’t hyperpartisan to say that comparing this the what senators wrote on behalf of the Mueller investigation is a false equivalency.

 

[OKTexas]

Wait a sec....

What is the CIA doing spying domestically?

Why are the liberoids cheerleading for CIA spies and spooks who are clearly operating far outside their designated box?

What in the name of Sam Hill (who was a real person) ever happened to the civil libertarians on the left?

Maybe they are wondering why Trump keeps getting free passes.

The CIA?

Good question !!! We KNOW the CIA was involved in illegal full foreign Intel operations against Trump associates before and after the campaign.. Any Civil Libertarian will tell you that amazingly frightening..

So is the CIA STILL spying on the President?? They are restricted from doing ANY domestic operations....

Fuck the CIA, the things they did to influence the 2016 election is childs play compared to what the commies in congress are doing today. Where's the law prohibiting congress form interfering in elections?

.

 

[lennypartiv]

Sadly, she apparently did not put her criminal referral in writing. She did it on a telephone call - with a White House lawyer also on the line.

So then it's not really a criminal referral.

 

[Missouri_Mike]

Barr is part of the corruption. The DoJ is broken. The State Department is broken. This administration has a record number of temporary appointees, unconfirmed by a Congress, taken no oath of office, and loyal to Trump personally, not the office of the presidency, the Constitution or the country. Career diplomats suddenly recalled for no reason and replaced by idiots. What is happening now is the tip of the iceberg.


CIA's top lawyer made 'criminal referral' on complaint about Trump Ukraine call


WASHINGTON — Weeks before the whistleblower's complaint became public, the CIA's top lawyer made what she considered to be a criminal referral to the Justice Department about the whistleblower's allegations that President Donald Trump abused his office in pressuring the Ukrainian president, U.S. officials familiar with the matter tell NBC News.

The move by the CIA's general counsel, Trump appointee Courtney Simmons Elwood, meant she and other senior officials had concluded a potential crime had been committed, raising more questions about why the Justice Department later declined to open an investigation.

The phone call that Elwood considered to be a criminal referral is in addition to the referral later received as a letter from the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community regarding the whistleblower complaint.

Justice Department officials said they were unclear whether Elwood was making a criminal referral and followed up with her later to seek clarification but she remained vague.

In the days since the anonymous whistleblower complaint was made public accusing him of wrongdoing, Trump has lashed out at his accuser and other insiders who provided the accuser with information, suggesting they were improperly spying on what was a "perfect" call between him and the Ukrainian president.

Read the rest of the article using the link

Making referrals for something based on nothing more than second and third hand hearsay. She must be one of our top agents. Obviously thorough and an evidence gathering machine.

 

[Coyote]

wh

It is an interesting article, but there is no there there. It was NOT a criminal referral, period. They speculate about whether the original communicator considered it a criminal referral? This is bullshit. YOu are talking about a lawyer here. If she intended to start a criminal investigation, she would have been quite clear on the subject.

Her "take" appears to be based on the report of the whistleblower, who took outrageous liberties with the motivations and intentions of President Trump, all of which are categorically denied by the person to whom the President was speaking.

But what would his opinion be worth?

You fucking people are insane. As with Kavanaugh, I'm beginning to think it's all about abortion. Nothing else matters. Any lies, distortion, ethical lapses are justified, because it's all about abortion.

at does abortion have to do with this?

It is about corruption, and I hate to burst your bubble but it isn’t just the crazy leftists who are concerned.

 

[Lakhota]

Barr is part of the corruption. The DoJ is broken. The State Department is broken. This administration has a record number of temporary appointees, unconfirmed by a Congress, taken no oath of office, and loyal to Trump personally, not the office of the presidency, the Constitution or the country. Career diplomats suddenly recalled for no reason and replaced by idiots. What is happening now is the tip of the iceberg.


CIA's top lawyer made 'criminal referral' on complaint about Trump Ukraine call


WASHINGTON — Weeks before the whistleblower's complaint became public, the CIA's top lawyer made what she considered to be a criminal referral to the Justice Department about the whistleblower's allegations that President Donald Trump abused his office in pressuring the Ukrainian president, U.S. officials familiar with the matter tell NBC News.

The move by the CIA's general counsel, Trump appointee Courtney Simmons Elwood, meant she and other senior officials had concluded a potential crime had been committed, raising more questions about why the Justice Department later declined to open an investigation.

The phone call that Elwood considered to be a criminal referral is in addition to the referral later received as a letter from the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community regarding the whistleblower complaint.

Justice Department officials said they were unclear whether Elwood was making a criminal referral and followed up with her later to seek clarification but she remained vague.

In the days since the anonymous whistleblower complaint was made public accusing him of wrongdoing, Trump has lashed out at his accuser and other insiders who provided the accuser with information, suggesting they were improperly spying on what was a "perfect" call between him and the Ukrainian president.

But a timeline provided by U.S. officials familiar with the matter shows that multiple senior government officials appointed by Trump found the whistleblower's complaints credible, troubling and worthy of further inquiry starting soon after the president's July phone call.

While that timeline and the CIA general counsel's contact with the Justice Department has been previously disclosed, it has not been reported that the CIA's top lawyer intended her call to be a criminal referral about the president's conduct, acting under rules set forth in a memo governing how intelligence agencies should report allegations of federal crimes.

The fact that she and other top Trump administration political appointees saw potential misconduct in the whistleblower's early account of alleged presidential abuses puts a new spotlight on the Justice Department's later decision to decline to open a criminal investigation — a decision that the Justice Department said publicly was based purely on an analysis of whether the president committed a campaign finance law violation.

"They didn't do any of the sort of bread-and-butter type investigatory steps that would flush out what potential crimes may have been committed," said Berit Berger, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School. "I
While that timeline and the CIA general counsel's contact with the Justice Department has been previously disclosed, it has not been reported that the CIA's top lawyer intended her call to be a criminal referral about the president's conduct, acting under rules set forth in a memo governing how intelligence agencies should report allegations of federal crimes.

The fact that she and other top Trump administration political appointees saw potential misconduct in the whistleblower's early account of alleged presidential abuses puts a new spotlight on the Justice Department's later decision to decline to open a criminal investigation — a decision that the Justice Department said publicly was based purely on an analysis of whether the president committed a campaign finance law violation.

"They didn't do any of the sort of bread-and-butter type investigatory steps that would flush out what potential crimes may have been committed," said Berit Berger, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School. "I don't understand the rationale for that and it's just so contrary to how normal prosecutors work. We have started investigations on far less."

Sadly, she apparently did not put her criminal referral in writing. She did it on a telephone call - with a White House lawyer also on the line.

Why "sadly"?

Because it is customary to put such criminal referrals in writing. It is also customary NOT to have the same White House lawyer who hid stuff in a classified server to be on the call. There should have been an official written record of her criminal referral - on official letterhead with her signature on it.

 

[Billiejeens]

Sadly, she apparently did not put her criminal referral in writing. She did it on a telephone call - with a White House lawyer also on the line.

So then it's not really a criminal referral.

It's fake news
Shock.

 

[OKTexas]

Barr is part of the corruption. The DoJ is broken. The State Department is broken. This administration has a record number of temporary appointees, unconfirmed by a Congress, taken no oath of office, and loyal to Trump personally, not the office of the presidency, the Constitution or the country. Career diplomats suddenly recalled for no reason and replaced by idiots. What is happening now is the tip of the iceberg.


CIA's top lawyer made 'criminal referral' on complaint about Trump Ukraine call


WASHINGTON — Weeks before the whistleblower's complaint became public, the CIA's top lawyer made what she considered to be a criminal referral to the Justice Department about the whistleblower's allegations that President Donald Trump abused his office in pressuring the Ukrainian president, U.S. officials familiar with the matter tell NBC News.

The move by the CIA's general counsel, Trump appointee Courtney Simmons Elwood, meant she and other senior officials had concluded a potential crime had been committed, raising more questions about why the Justice Department later declined to open an investigation.

The phone call that Elwood considered to be a criminal referral is in addition to the referral later received as a letter from the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community regarding the whistleblower complaint.

Justice Department officials said they were unclear whether Elwood was making a criminal referral and followed up with her later to seek clarification but she remained vague.

In the days since the anonymous whistleblower complaint was made public accusing him of wrongdoing, Trump has lashed out at his accuser and other insiders who provided the accuser with information, suggesting they were improperly spying on what was a "perfect" call between him and the Ukrainian president.

But a timeline provided by U.S. officials familiar with the matter shows that multiple senior government officials appointed by Trump found the whistleblower's complaints credible, troubling and worthy of further inquiry starting soon after the president's July phone call.

While that timeline and the CIA general counsel's contact with the Justice Department has been previously disclosed, it has not been reported that the CIA's top lawyer intended her call to be a criminal referral about the president's conduct, acting under rules set forth in a memo governing how intelligence agencies should report allegations of federal crimes.

The fact that she and other top Trump administration political appointees saw potential misconduct in the whistleblower's early account of alleged presidential abuses puts a new spotlight on the Justice Department's later decision to decline to open a criminal investigation — a decision that the Justice Department said publicly was based purely on an analysis of whether the president committed a campaign finance law violation.

"They didn't do any of the sort of bread-and-butter type investigatory steps that would flush out what potential crimes may have been committed," said Berit Berger, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School. "I
While that timeline and the CIA general counsel's contact with the Justice Department has been previously disclosed, it has not been reported that the CIA's top lawyer intended her call to be a criminal referral about the president's conduct, acting under rules set forth in a memo governing how intelligence agencies should report allegations of federal crimes.

The fact that she and other top Trump administration political appointees saw potential misconduct in the whistleblower's early account of alleged presidential abuses puts a new spotlight on the Justice Department's later decision to decline to open a criminal investigation — a decision that the Justice Department said publicly was based purely on an analysis of whether the president committed a campaign finance law violation.

"They didn't do any of the sort of bread-and-butter type investigatory steps that would flush out what potential crimes may have been committed," said Berit Berger, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School. "I don't understand the rationale for that and it's just so contrary to how normal prosecutors work. We have started investigations on far less."

Great article.. So what was "the crime"?? Apparently even BLATANT strong arming of foreign power for favors can be done by just about ANY Congress critter.. Need examples???

I need a crime to give a hoot. Not just some gossip from NBC news...

What was his crime? Haven’t said there was one, yet. That is why it needs to be investigated. And, imo, with holding promised aid in exchange for an investigation into a political rival and the promise of an Oval Office date is as blatant as it gets in strong arming.

What aid was withheld? They weren't discussing aid, they were discussing a purchase of military hardware. Read the transcripts.

.