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FBI Tag

The FBI and Dutch authorities have successfully shut down AlphaBay and Hansa, two of the largest marketplaces on the dark web, which sold drugs, firearms, malware, and forged documents. AlphaBay, which the FBI seized, "allegedly serviced some 200,000 users and 40,000 vendors." It disappeared earlier this month with Attorney General Jeff Sessions describing the seizure as "one of the most important criminal investigations of the year."

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has called out Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) over his public comments about the president being under investigation. The problem, Grassley states, is that Schumer knew this was untrue because former FBI head James Comey had briefed not only the Senate Judiciary Committee but the Gang of Eight, including Schumer.  During that briefing in March of this year, Comey stated that the president was not under investigation.  This knowledge did not stop Schumer from, only weeks later, making public statements that he knew to be false.

Last month, Kemberlee blogged about Bernie Sanders' wife, Jane, being investigated by the FBI for alleged fraud related to a $10 million loan obtained for the now-defunct Burlington College. The investigation has now expanded to include Bernie himself.  It has been alleged that Bernie used his considerable influence as a United States Senator and former Burlington mayor to encourage the bank to provide the loan. When the issue was raised last month by a local journalist, Sanders dismissed the question and blamed President Trump for the investigation.  The problem, however, is that the investigation began in January, 2016 when Obama was still in office and Loretta Lynch was still at Justice.

The top Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have launched an investigation into former Attorney General Loretta Lynch to find out if she interfered with the FBI's probe into Hillary's email server. Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent Lynch a letter asking for answers after news outlets reported that she told people within the campaign that the FBI's investigation would not dig too deep.

This weekend, I recounted the astonishing immaturity of California's junior U.S. Senator Kamala Harris during several hearings in which she participated. However, our state's senior U.S. Senator, Dianne Feinstein, may be attempting to salvage some of California's former reputation of producing serious politicians. Feinstein recently stated that perhaps the time has come to look into Comey’s testimony that former Attorney General Loretta Lynch asked him to minimize the nature of his investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.

President Donald Trump announced on Twitter this morning that he will nominate former assistant attorney general Christopher Wray for FBI director. The announcement comes one day before former FBI director James Comey testifies in front of a Senate committee.

I was a guest today on Newsmax TV - America Talks Live with Bill Tucker. The main topic was James Comey's upcoming testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. I was able to clear up a common misconception about Comey's May 3, 2017, testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Many people -- on Twitter and in the punditry -- believe that Comey stated on May 3 there had been no attempts to stop his investigation. If Comey gave such testimony before the Senate, it would be consistent with the testimony of Rod Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General, on May 19 that there had been no "political interference" in the investigation (emphasis added):

Congress will have to wait for Former FBI Director Comey's first public statements since being canned by Trump. After he met with Comey Monday, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced via Twitter that the hearing originally schedule for Wednesday would be postponed.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein stands by the memo he wrote which listed former FBI Director Comey's alleged offenses. The White House cited the memo as a reason for canning Comey. Rosenstein briefed both the Senate and House in the last two days.

George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley is often a voice of reason in a sea of media hysteria. Last night he spoke with Martha MacCallum of FOX News about the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel in the FBI Russia investigation. Turley suggested this could work out well for Trump. From the FOX News Insider:
Prof. Turley: Special Counsel Mueller 'Healthy Dose of Tylenol' For US Turley said that until Muller was named, President Trump could not fully clear his name in the face of ongoing leaks and allegations.

Earlier this month, President Trump fired FBI director James Comey.  Since then, a number of people of have withdrawn their names from consideration for the post, with the latest being Former Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher. The Hill reports:
A former Justice Department official has withdrawn her name from consideration to replace former FBI Director James Comey, according to multiple reports.

The Department of Justice has appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller III as special counsel to its investigation into possible Russian interference in our presidential election. The Wall Street Journal reported:
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the appointment because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any investigation related to the 2016 race. Mr. Rosenstein said in a statement that “I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a Special Counsel to assume responsibility of this matter.”