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I read the NYT article earlier and simply shook my head because, as it stands now, not a damn thing will happen to Trump and his band of thugs. When are members of the prior administration going to be held accountable for crimes committed during their tenure? When are the GOP and RNC going to face the fact that they've tied themselves to a scheming, pernicious criminal? When is enough enough?

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As Frank Figliuzzi pointed out on Brian Williams' show, the DOJ lawyers who did this may have been acting completely out of the scope of their jobs, as defined in previous policy, making themselves personally liable for this crime.

At a minimum Barr needs to be dragged out of whatever safe house he's now ensconced in and hauled up before Congress to explain this. He obviously lied in his testimony when Kamala Harris was questioning him.

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It's time for Merrick Garland to brief the House and Senate Judiciary Committees regarding this astounding outrage and, equally important, what he's doing to rid the Justice Department of Trump appointees. Garland faces unprecedented challenges and deserves time. But he has an obligation to reassure the country that he recognizes the depth of rot and is committed to removing it.

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Hiding in plain sight is an observation and a question. (1) The observation: In a police state, everybody (on BOTH sides of the “aisle) is investigated in case blackmail is needed to gain political advantage! (2) The question: How many of the bowing and scrapping Republicans in Congress are compromised in ways that we are not yet aware of?

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It is not only the anti-democratic and corrupt actions of Trump, Sessions, Barr and so many others in the former administration that are so disturbing but even more so the failures to hold all of them accountable. The entire administration will be recorded in history as the most ethically flawed and corrupt administration in U.S. history. Congress needs to enact strong ethics standards with real penalties for violations to prevent similar future abuses by politicians and appointed officials of either party.

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I am enraged. I want to do certain things to certain people that I cannot put in print.

That paragraph is in response to Heather’s report.

Next, change of subject:

KNOW YOUR PROVOCATEURS

I just discovered a few minutes ago, from a loyal and very sweet member of our community, who I respect and love, that we have a new “person,“ a woman’s name, who is a likely provocateur.

I want to know who this “person” is. As all of you know, I keep track of these things.

We have an alias named “David Carroll” who I haven’t seen in awhile. A couple weeks back, I began responding to “him,” and then got suspicious very quickly. When I asked the question, “who are you?“ it became immediately evident that it was a (likely Russian FSB) provocateur. Exact same type of languaging and modus operandi as “Jack Leon.”

Reminder to all of you good people: if somebody is acting like a provocateur, if somebody is causing you to feel poorly, become suspicious. Start asking the “person” questions. When your mood and self-esteem are starting to be affected detrimentally, that is a sign. Maybe you’re just getting your buttons pushed, but if your experience of this person is consistent, i.e. consistently poor, start asking questions.

And then report to all of us, especially me, what you have learned.

Thank you 🙏

A good person makes you feel good. A hostile person makes you feel poorly, consistently. That is a surefire means of identifying a hostile party.

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One insurrection began quietly in 2017. January 6 was the public insurrection.

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Holy guacamole, thanks for pulling all this together. Hope you get to rest soon. So appreciate your letters!

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Despicable and not at all surprising. This is Watergate on steroids.

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Thank you, Heather. Unfortunately, none of this is at all surprising, in part because of the people involved (Barr, Trump, Trump's incompetent entourage, corrupt GOP congressional leaders) and in part because of what is by now a long tradition of abuse of power by the executive branch. Our Constitution is in urgent need of repair and modernization, and a large, hard-of-thinking segment of our population desperately needs help.

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The news tonight is breathtaking!

My question is - who gets to decide the legality of this operation? I’m pretty sure I read that they convened a grand jury as part of the process, so will those records be released? It began as an investigation into a leaking of classified material, so didn’t a judge have to sign off on the subpoenas?

And one final question - was this all about who leaked the Steele Dossier and the “Pee Tape”?

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Three cheers for our "freedom of the press"....may it survive these toxic times. 🙏

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I think as time goes on, more and more corruption, self-dealing, etc. within the Trump Administration will be revealed.

HCR is right; those embracing the former president are as stained and smeared as he is. At this point, that includes almost an entire political party.

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Shades of Cointelpro! The other chilling thing to consider is that given Donald's subordination to Putin we can be sure that whatever Sessions or Barr dug up got shared freely with Russia.

I'm livid. It's time to track down Donald, Jeff Sessions and Barr for a lengthy talk with the FBI.

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My sense of outrage is equaled by my extreme nausea. There really are no limits these jerks will not exceed. So depressing for democracy and the rule of law.

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Wouldn't it be rich if the leakers were Rs.

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