RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week
January 24 to January 30, 2021 Defenders of FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith minimize his crime of withholding exculpatory information on Carter Page as just an individual lapse -- not part of any broader conspiracy to falsely cast the ex-Trump campaign adviser as a Russian spy. But such excuses are undercut by new revelations in the case tying FBI higher-ups to Clinesmith's dishonesty, including Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, and Lisa Page. Paul Sperry reports for RealClearInvestigations: - Court filings by Special Counsel John Durham show those three and others knew about Page's earlier cooperation with the CIA -- and they had a role covering it up in FBI applications to spy on Page before the FISA surveillance court.
- An accompanying timeline details how the FBI repeatedly disregarded evidence Carter Page was no traitor -- so it could spy on him.
- Durham reveals that a memo verifying Page's help to the CIA in fighting Russian espionage was entered in the FBI's record system -- and everybody on the bureau's Crossfire Hurricane team had access to it.
- Prosecutors last year declined to pursue criminal charges against McCabe for lying about leaking. And an FBI veteran thinks he knows why: "McCabe skated on the false statements indictment because Durham had bigger and better things to run against him."
- As part of his deal with Durham for a guilty plea, Clinesmith agreed to be "personally debriefed" about "FISA matters."
- An Obama-appointed judge this week sentenced Clinesmith to a year's probation, against the government's recommendation for prison time.
In a separate article, Sperry reports that the District of Columbia Bar association hasn't begun an investigation to strip Clinesmith of his license to practice law. Sperry reports: - Clinesmith is still listed as an "active" attorney in "good standing" with the D.C. Bar, despite his having pleaded guilty more than five months ago to falsifying an application to spy on Page.
- A longstanding member of the bar suspects board members are "dragging their feet because of politics." Quote: "Basically, the leaders of the bar are liberal Democrats and may want to go light on the guy because he's also a Democrat who hated Trump."
- Last month, 25 former D.C. Bar presidents published a letter in the Washington Post attacking then-President Trump for filing "groundless" lawsuits over the 2020 election.
Biden, Trump and the Beltway Suppressed: Page Telling FBI Snoop Halper of His Innocence Just the News
Sen. Grassley Doubts 'No Wrongdoing' End to Flynn Leak Probe Daily Caller
Hunter Biden Still Holds Stake in Chinese Private Equity Firm Daily Caller
'Dark Money' Paved Biden's Path to White House Bloomberg
Pelosi's Husband Bets Up to $1M on Tesla Stock Business Insider
Climate Envoy Kerry's Family Still Owns Private Jet: FAA Files Fox News
Inside Capitol Shooting of Ashli Babbitt New York Times
NYT Opinion Writer Admits He Was Paid by Iranian Gov't Algemeiner Other Noteworthy Articles and Series Rohingya Women Fleeing Violence Sold to Abusive Husbands
Vice
This investigation reports on the problem of human trafficking by tracking the journeys of four women who were sold and shipped from Myanmar to Kashmir over the past decade. The women said they were tricked by human traffickers, who promised them marriages to "young and handsome bachelors." One woman said she was eventually sold for 100,000 Indian rupees ($1,370) to a 60-year-old farmer in Kashmir who was mentally ill. The women are all Rohingya Muslims and their plight occurred against the backdrop of the Myanmar military's brutal crackdown on the minority group. Surge of Student Suicides Pushes Vegas Schools to Reopen
New York Times
This somewhat alarmist article uses the fact that student suicides doubled last year in the county that is home to Las Vegas (to 18, from 9), to suggest a national crisis. And maybe there is one. But the supporting statistics are not there. It reports that adolescent suicide - already rising for several years before the pandemic - "cannot conclusively be linked to school closures." In addition, "national data on suicides in 2020 have yet to be compiled." The first official quote in the article underscores the lack of certainty: "Greta Massetti, who studies the effects of violence and trauma on children at the Centers for Disease Control, said there was "definitely reason to be concerned because it [a pandemic link to suicides] makes conceptual sense." And while Democrats have largely pushed for the school lockdowns that could be causing the distress, the article ignores their role. Instead it highlights President Biden's "robust plan to speed vaccinations, expand coronavirus testing and spend billions of dollars to help districts reopen most of their schools in his first 100 days in office." Ricchetti Bros.: 'They Are the New Podestas'
Wall Street Journal
This is a tale of two brothers. Steve Ricchetti is a top confidant to President Biden. His younger brother Jeff has a growing roster of lobbying clients seeking access to the administration's power brokers. Thus the Ricchetti brothers will be trying to shape policy over the next four years from both ends of the axis, this article reports. Not since the heyday of John and Tony Podesta, the former a top Obama White House aide and the latter a K Street heavyweight, have siblings wielded so much public and private power in Washington. To supporters of former President Donald Trump and many Democrats in the party's progressive wing, the Podesta brothers symbolized everything that is wrong with the Washington establishment and too-cozy relationships between the influencers and those they want to influence. Who's Making All Those Scam Calls?
New York Times
India is a hotspot for scam phone calls. A major reason, this article reports, is the fact that it is home to so many legitimate call centers, making it easy for a crooked one to hide in plain sight. There's another reason: Indian educational institutions churn out more than 1.5 million engineers every year, but according to one survey fewer than 20 percent are equipped to land positions related to their training, leaving a vast pool of college graduates - not to mention an even larger population of less-educated young men and women - struggling to earn a living. The article doesn't provide great insight into this problem, but the portrait of a tech-savvy man who has figured out how to scam the scammers is fascinating. Coronavirus Investigations Cuomo Accused of Big Undercount of Nursing Home Deaths
NBC News
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing a barrage of criticism in the wake of a report from his own state attorney general claiming that the state undercounted covid deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50 percent. Attorney General Letitia James' report cited factors at nursing homes contributing to the fatal spread of the virus: failure to follow proper infection control procedures; a lack of access to personal protective equipment and testing; and inadequate staffing. James, like Cuomo a Democrat, is investigating more than 20 facilities accused of failing to protect residents and staff members. The Case Against Anthony Fauci
The Drift
This article makes an obvious but important point: The tension between the Democrats' claim that the Trump administration's response to pandemic was a deadly failure and their celebration of the man who largely led that effort, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Over 400,000 Americans are dead, twice as many as any other country. Infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are currently at record highs. And although we have vaccines, the rollout has already been stymied by a dearth of resources and coordination. As one public health expert told the New York Times on January 17, our pandemic response has been "a colossal failure at every level of government." And yet, the man known as "America's Doctor," the undisputed personification of public health research and pandemic preparedness, faces no reputational consequences. On the contrary, Dr. Fauci remains one of our most beloved public figures. In a separate article, Forbes reports that the government paid Dr. Fauci $417,608 in 2019, making him the nation's highest paid of all the nation's four million federal employees. The mean salary of doctors in the United States is reportedly about $313,000 per year. |
