Trump-picked Assistant AG with ties to Russian bank recuses from Mueller probe
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https://www.americanoversight.org/assistant-attorney-general-with-ties-to-russian-bank-recused-from-mueller-investigation
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker’s position at the Department of Justice continues to draw scrutiny from both Congress and watchdog groups, as does that of Assistant
Attorney General Brian Benczkowski, who previously represented the Russian entity Alfa Bank and has been screened off from the special counsel investigation into Russian election
interference.
On Wednesday, American Oversight filed a new Freedom of Information Act request for DOJ documents regarding Whitaker’s appointment. The day before, Senate Democrats sent a
letter to the DOJ asking for information about the treatment of Whitaker’s financial and political conflicts of interest. In the letter, the senators also noted that the DOJ had provided
insufficient information about Benczkowski.
At the time of his confirmation in July, senators voiced concern about Benczkowski’s ties to Alfa Bank, which is owned by oligarchs connected to the Russian government. American
Oversight began looking into Benczkowski’s ethics determinations in the following months, and last week received documents in response to a September FOIA request for records
about any of his recusals and ethics waivers.
The documents contain communications between the DOJ and senators including Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse. Durbin and Whitehouse relate their concern over the
possibility that Benczkowski could exercise, or appear to exercise, an undue influence over actions taken by the special counsel.
The most recent letter contained in the documents comes from Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd on October 18, who told the senators that Benczkowski “requested to be—
and is currently—screened off from any matters regarding Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, including any prosecutions arising from the investigation.”
American Oversight also received a copy of Benczkowski’s ethics compliance form, dated October 9, which indicates he received authorization to participate in certain matters related
to a “former client.” This week’s letter from Senate Democrats requested more information about this authorization, saying that what they had received from DOJ was too heavily
redacted and that the White House usually made such authorizations public.
At this point this image looks like Devil Daggers when you've survived for several minutes.
Wake up and smell the polonium.
At this point, I'm pretty sure this keeps happening because Trump legitimately can't find a single person to be his stooge that also isn't tied to Russia. All of his buddies are just as compromised as him. Every single one of them. And anyone on the Republican party who isn't tied up in this treasonous shit wouldn't be dumb enough to get in the way of the Mueller investigation, because they don't want to go down with the sinking ship that is the Trump presidency.
Anyone else suspicious that we've only gotten news about the investigation of Donald Trump on confirmed Russian collusion as Russian forces have already annexed Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
Intuitively, I think we should have more focus on the major geo-political issues rather than continuing to speculate. I don't need to be updated with every fucking note about the investigation because I trust Mueller and company to handle it. I'm much more concerned with Russia annexing large portions of Ukraine while nobody is looking (as they had already).
News can report two different things at once.
Anyone can post threads, if you see articles about Russia up to their dirty tricks by all means post it.
I'm fully aware of that, but there is no question that the networks have been favoring one over the other.
Well the Ukraine-thing was old news by 2015, while the Trump-thing didn't really pick up before mid-2016.
Speaking of people potentially being recused
https://twitter.com/renato_mariotti/status/1071559743611781121
The US news should certainly focus on the possibility that our own president is a traitor, above all other international concerns. Sad as it is, our local emergencies have to be dealt with first.
It's not like the US can do anything about international Russian issues with a president bending over backwards for their interests.
This is so deep fried Im getting heartburn just looking at it
Can someone explain what "recusing" is exactly?
afaik it means someone with legal authority over an investigation is themselves involved with the investigation, so they have to give up all authority over that case to stop them interfering in it
Wait what, Russia anexed Donbass? That's news to me.
Also Crimea anexation happened back in 2014, it is simply not recognized by anyone but Russia itself.
I mean, makes sense that America is probably more worried about their own president being a traitor, besides what can America do about Russia when even their own president is a Russian puppet? Kinda have to deal with that first.
I mean at what point will these donkeys stop getting accepting jobs from Trump, knowing they will fall in that bigass probe pit
Which I might add, they are perfectly fine with. The move to seize Crimea wasn't political but strategic in nature, as otherwise Russia has no real warm water ports.
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