Mike Levine
@MLevineReports
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@ABC sr. investigative reporter covering law enforcement, national security, & everything else. @FoxNews & @MedillSchool alum. Tips welcome: [email protected]
Washington, D.C.
Joined July 2010
In other huge news, Republican congressman Duncan Hunter and his wife have been indicted by DOJ for allegedly using $250,000 in campaign money for their own personal expenses, including trips to Italy and Hawaii, and dental work.
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ABC News could not find a single criminal case where an act of violence or threat was made in the name of @BarackObama or G. W. Bush. But @ABC found 36 cases invoking @realDonaldTrump.
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Rudy Giuliani was just asked if committee testimony earlier today is true -- alleging he privately acknowledged on Jan. 6 that VP Pence likely didn't have authority to not certify election results. Giuliani was silent at first, then said, "I shouldn't really talk about that.".
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Atty Gen Jeff Sessions went off script at human trafficking event this morn to praise Deputy Atty Gen Rod Rosenstein, a reported target of Nunes memo. Noting Rosenstein has 27 yrs at DOJ, Sessions said Rosenstein represents "the kind of quality & leadership that we want" in DOJ.
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Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein just called Matt Whitaker “a superb choice for attorney general,” saying Whitaker “certainly understands the work, understands the priorities of the department.” Then I asked him if he’s worried at all about the Mueller probe. He walked off.
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Attorney General Bill Barr just walked past me inside the Justice Department. I asked him, "Is today the day?". His response: a death stare. before walking off without saying a word.
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Not a joke: A Canadian man was arrested early this morning outside the White House fence, telling @SecretService he came to the U.S. hoping @realDonaldTrump could help him find a wife. He said he brought two bottles of @CrownRoyal for the president.
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Minutes after the Justice Department announced that Attorney General Barr will be holding a press conference tomorrow about the release of Mueller’s final report, just saw Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walk out of the Justice Department building. Never seen him here before.
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Three lawyers representing Trump associate Rick Gates in money-laundering case against him have asked to be dropped from the case. Meanwhile, Tom Green, a lawyer known for hammering out plea deals, stays on as counsel for Gates.
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The FBI has arrested a member of U.S. Army who allegedly discussed plans to bomb a major U.S. news network, discussed traveling to Ukraine to fight with violent far-right group, and allegedly distributed info online on how to build bombs. He also allegedly mentioned @BetoORourke.
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DC Mayor just tweeted this: “I imposed a curfew at 7pm. A full 25 minutes before the curfew & w/o provocation, federal police used munitions on peaceful protestors in front of the White House, an act that will make the job of @DCPoliceDept officers more difficult.”.
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Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are named in charging documents just unsealed by federal authorities, alleging a large scheme involving parents who paid bribes of up to $6 million to get their kids into elite colleges, including Harvard and Yale. w/ @AaronKatersky.
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Sources: In recent months, #LasVegas shooting suspect Stephen Paddock sent tens of thousands of dollars to someone in the Philippines.
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At the end of an hour-long phone call with White House and Homeland Security officials, a police chief from outside San Francisco made a stark plea: “Stop testing NBA players, and start testing our first responders.”.
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In his remarks about apolitical law enforcement, Rosenstein cited Marbury v. Madison — a case Whitaker has publicly questioned. One person in the room laughed when Rosenstein mentioned the case, recognizing the timing as Whitaker is now being criticized for his comments on case.
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Republican Senator @TomCottonAR issues a statement saying: “It’s past time for the president to accept the results of the election, quit misleading the American people, and repudiate mob violence.".
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Not to be overlooked: These new @nytimes & @washingtonpost stories reinforce that the same people promoting an array of allegations on conservative airwaves for months secretly had significant potential business interests in the very allegations they were “analyzing” & discussing.
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An FBI official is disputing these claims, telling @abc that the FBI still has found no evidence that the server was compromised by anyone (China, Russia or anyone else).
Hillary Clinton’s Emails, many of which are Classified Information, got hacked by China. Next move better be by the FBI & DOJ or, after all of their other missteps (Comey, McCabe, Strzok, Page, Ohr, FISA, Dirty Dossier etc.), their credibility will be forever gone!.
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Trump says “fake dirty dossier” started the Russia probe. But turns out the dossier sat for weeks in FBI’s NY field office, while agents in DC – unaware of the allegations – were already investigating Russian meddling & possible ties to Trump campaign team
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A DOJ official says that Mueller’s final report will NOT be delivered to the Justice Department today or anytime next week.
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Confirmed: He was meeting with Barr. No details on what they discussed.
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SCOOP: Special Counsel Robert Mueller sends wide-ranging request for documents to Justice Department (and to former Justice Department officials):
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As speculation swirls over whether acting AG Matt Whitaker might try to rein in Mueller probe, Mueller’s team just told a federal appeals court that Whitaker’s appointment “has no effect” on Mueller’s authority & Mueller continues to have “full power & independent authority.”.
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This was at a press conference he held in support of his son’s bid for New York governor.
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Last year, a nationwide review conducted by ABC News identified at least 36 criminal cases where Trump was invoked in direct connection with violent acts, threats of violence or allegations of assault.
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At confirmation hearing to become CIA director, Bill Burns was unequivocal: “Waterboarding does constitute torture under the law," and "I am certainly committed to . ensuring that those enhanced interrogation techniques are never used again by CIA.”.
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Rosenstein was at federal courthouse in Virginia, where he made remarks at the swearing-in ceremony of @EDVAnews US Attorney Zach Terwilliger. With Whitaker feet away, Rosenstein spoke of the need to keep politics away from the administration of justice.
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SCOOP: Fired FBI official authorized criminal probe of attorney general Sessions, sources say
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NEW: The suspected white supremacist who plotted to bomb a Missouri hospital facing coronavirus crisis was in touch w/ an Army soldier in Kansas who wanted to launch his own attack on a U.S. news network & discussed targeting a Dem presidential candidate.
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"I think my rhetoric brings people together," Trump said. But a nationwide review conducted by @ABC identified at least 36 criminal cases where Trump was invoked in direct connection with violent acts, threats of violence or allegations of assault.
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Special Counsel announces plea deal with Paul Manafort. A criminal information has been filed in DC alleging conspiracy against US and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
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Dozens of people have been charged in this case, including the two actresses. Feds say “the defendants . conspired with others to use bribery and other forms of fraud to facilitate their children's admission to colleges and universities“ around the country.
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DOJ spokeswoman says the meeting was not set up to discuss Mueller report. She didn’t elaborate on what was discussed.
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It took some time to gather all the documents and evidence here, but in the end, we found 17 cases invoking 'Trump' in connection with violence, threats, alleged assaults
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BREAKING: Justice Department is going to be announcing charges today against North Korean nationals for their roles in the massive hack of @Sony in 2014 and the Wannacry ransomeware attack last year, which crippled computers around the world.
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Not totally sure what to make of this, but a Justice Department official just suggested on call with reporters that the case of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick’s death (tied to the Capitol siege) is already before a grand jury and an announcement could come soon.
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At the end of Trump’s presidency, his team returned a large batch of classified FBI documents & other records to the Justice Dept in such disarray that a year later the department said it still couldn’t tell which of the documents were the classified ones.
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'No Blame?' ABC News finds 54 cases invoking 'Trump' in connection with violence, threats, alleged assaults. That was as of May last year.
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I just ran into Attorney General Sessions at DOJ and asked him if he has any response to the Rosenstein developments today. He didn’t say a word and just kept walking.
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Guys, this is truly an amazing find by @SeamusHughes. My hypothesis is: prosecutors used a filing in an Assange-related case as a template for a filing in this case, but forgot to change the one paragraph. If true, it means sealed charges have been filed against Julian Assange.
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Green represented clients in the Watergate and Iran Contra scandals, and he has a long record of navigating complex white collar cases with legal and political elements. He most recently represented disgraced House Speaker Dennis Hastert. H/t @mattmosk.
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From Mueller report: “when Sessions told the President that a Special Counsel had been appointed, the President slumped back in his chair and said, ‘Oh my god. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m f—d.’”.
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In the @HouseJudiciary hearing today, Whitaker says he has had no conversations with @realDonaldTrump about the Mueller probe, but he is unwilling to say whether he spoke with Trump about other investigations tied to Michael Cohen in the Southern District of New York.
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Wow. Asked to name greatest national security threat to US, former DNI Clapper jokes: "Congress?" #AspenSecurity.
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“I thought it was a ridiculous answer,” @realDonaldTrump says of FBI Director Wray’s recent remark that he wouldn’t use term “spying” to describe FBI efforts to investigate Russian espionage in 2016 presidential campaign.
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Source says Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is currently on his way to the White House, expecting to be fired once he gets there.
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LI'L SCOOP: New FBI chief Wray sends note to workforce saying FBI "must never allow our work to be driven by anything other than the facts".
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I sat down with Andy McCabe, who insisted: “I firmly believe what’s happening to me right now … is just a piece of an ongoing assault” on FBI & special counsel Robert Mueller. So how did we get to this point? Here’s how McCabe sees it, in his own words:
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NEW FROM DOJ: A federal grand jury in Georgia has charged three men with hate crimes and the attempted kidnapping of Ahmaud Arbery. Two of the men were also charged with separate counts of using firearms during that crime of violence.
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At a public symposium, @DonaldJTrumpJr told Brian Kolfage, one of the men just indicted on fraud charges, that the "We Build The Wall" effort now at the heart of the criminal case shows "really what capitalism is all about. This is private enterprise at its finest.".
Steve Bannon last year on the "Build The Wall" team: "Finally [someone] has come forward and said, 'Hey, I'm going to take action. I'm going to look to my fellow citizens to put some money up.' . Everything [we're] doing to build the wall, it's all to support President Trump.".
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Abel Arocho, a guard at the Justice Dept, is passionate about everything he does. He fought cancer and won. He fed victims of Hurricane Maria. He raised two sons to become pro baseball players. And now he's supporting his sick wife. His stunning story:.
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SCOOP: The FBI raids on Rep. Henry Cuellar's home & office in Texas yesterday were part of a wide-ranging federal probe relating to Azerbaijan & several U.S. businessmen, a source told @ABC. A federal grand jury in Washington is investigating the matter.
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In 1933, the Supreme Court described exception to attorney-client privilege this way: “The privilege takes flight if the relation is abused. A client who consults an attorney for advice that will serve him in the commission of a fraud will have no help from the law.” (1/2).
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Over several months, an unlikely FBI informant captured the raw voices and violent rhetoric of three militia men plotting a horrific domestic terror attack. The Justice Department has refused to release those recordings, but @ABC obtained them anyway.
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You know you’re in DC when: the guy sitting next to you on the train home from work is reading @MichaelCohen212 & DOJ plea agreement just for the hell of it. I asked: “Reading it just for leisure?” His response: “Yep! I can share it with you when I’m done.” (No thanks.)
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I don’t know why this amuses me so much, but it does. In 2018, then-mayor @PeteButtigieg saw a police car with its engine still running, but no officer inside the car. So that night Buttigieg sent an email to the officer — straight from the mayor himself. Here is that email:
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@realDonaldTrump How’s the hunt for ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi going? What about Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri?.
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Last time I was here was for White House Correspondents Dinner. So far the @HumaneRescue #BarkBall is much more civil
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Important point: Sessions attorney only says AG not still under investigation for statements made during confirmation. As our story says, it’s still unclear whether Mueller might be pursuing other statements Sessions has made since confirmation.
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@realDonaldTrump It’s a federal crime to lie to the FBI no matter whether you’re sworn in or not.
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SCOOP: DAG Rosenstein privately acknowledging he may need to recuse himself:
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Remember when Trump was in FL and falsely claimed a new terror attack in Sweden? The next morn, a FL man was watching a local TV report about “a terror attack” and got so “angry” & “fed up” he threatened a local mosque. Just one of 17 cases invoking Trump:
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DOJ makes representations to a court, Trump tweets, and then DOJ changes course. I bet you think I'm talking about Roger Stone's sentencing? I'm not. Remember this from last summer? .
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Full @ABC story: FBI arrests Army soldier who allegedly discussed plans to bomb major American news network and fight with far-right group in Ukraine.
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What’s more, these potential business interests are something that Rudy Giuliani, Victoria Toensing and Joe DiGenova each ended up acknowledging themselves:.
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Source: Sessions not expected to answer Senate questions about talks he had w/ @POTUS before Comey's firing; expected to cite exec privilege.
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.@DevlinBarrett asked DOJ official: "Doesn't that mean that in theory the president under your interpretation could fire anyone he wants &. just make anyone a cabinet official?" Official responded: .“I don't want to address hypotheticals," but then suggested Devlin was “correct”.
Justice Dept. releases legal memo defending Whitaker’s appointment as acting attorney general
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.@VP just told @costareports: “In the last fiscal year we apprehended more than 10 terrorists or suspected terrorists per day at our southern border.” That’s just false. Here is what DHS Secy Nielsen said this summer about stopping terrorists from among other things FLYING to US:
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Slightly noteworthy that the FBI just publicly described the suspicious packages in exact same terms they use to define “domestic terrorism.” “The utilization of violence in order to further one’s own political agenda is unacceptable,” senior FBI official just said at press conf.
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According to Mueller, Wikileaks said in a private email on July 18, 2016, that it would be releasing stolen DNC emails “this week.” Per Cohen, Stone relayed that plan to Trump about two days later. And the emails were then released later that week. (Stone denies Cohen account.).
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There’s a crowd gathering outside the Justice Department. One little boy asked, “Is Mueller in there?” (And he pronounced “Mueller” correctly, I might add. MULL-er, not MEW-ler.)
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Full video here, via @VaughnEGolden, who asked the question:.
Rudy Giuliani responds to WH lawyer Eric Herschmann's testimony that on the morning of 1/6 Giuliani agreed with him that VP Pence did not have the authority to reject certification of the election.
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RE-UPPING. Last year, @ABC News found 17 criminal cases where Trump's name was invoked in direct connection with violent acts, threats or allegations of assault. Nearly all of them reflected someone echoing presidential rhetoric, not protesting it.
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Protesters yelling “lock him up!” as Trump’s former national security adviser leaves court after pleading guilty to lying to FBI.
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Security experts are raising concerns over William Barr’s decision to remove the head of a DOJ office that helps keep federal counterterrorism & counterintelligence activities legal – & replace him w/ a political appointee w/ relatively limited experience.
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NEW: Federal authorities are currently investigating a series of threats made online to a potential witness related to special counsel Jack Smith's classified documents case against Donald Trump, according to a new court filing. w/ @KFaulders .
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“As someone who was working in the White House during Somalia, which was one of the major crises of the Clinton admin . [the idea] that somehow a junior foreign service officer could have anything to do with the situation in that country is beyond absurd.” . —@GStephanopoulos.
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At the same time, the lawyers challenging Mueller’s authority in this case (representing Roger Stone associate Andrew Miller) agree that Whitaker’s appointment “does not affect” their case. Miller was found in contempt of court for refusing to comply with a subpoena from Mueller.
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U.S. Attorney in DC says authorities have already identified 170 people that may have committed crimes on Capitol grounds last week, and they expect “hundreds” of cases by the end of their investigation.
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Facing "significant influx of cases" from Capitol siege, DOJ has issued an internal plea for help, asking U.S. attorneys' offices across the country to send personnel to the office in Washington. “The (office) has an urgent need for assistance.”
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#SCOTUS continued: ”To drive the privilege away, there must be 'prima facie evidence that it has some foundation in fact.'… When that evidence is supplied, the seal of secrecy is broken;” “proof that client and attorney are involved in equal guilt” is not required. (2/2).
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As someone who grew up on “Full House,” it’s a bit surreal to see a federal arrest warrant issued for Lori Loughlin, who played Rebecca on the show for several years.
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@ShimonPro .@CDCgov: “CDC considers a person to have a fever when he or she has a measured temperature of 100.4° F (38° C) or greater. ”.
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Donald Trump isn't the first White House veteran to claim -- in the midst of a criminal probe looking at their handling of government secrets -- that the president can declassify almost anything he wants, whenever he wants. But is that true?.
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Key point: Charging documents say Trump campaign officials wanted to be kept in the loop about what was coming from Wikileaks, but the charges do not say that anyone in the Trump campaign tried to secretly obtain stolen documents that had not been released yet.
Mueller’s office announces Roger Stone arrested in Florida after indictment in DC on one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering.
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As if there wasn’t enough going on already today: DOJ’s inspector general has informed certain committee staff that IG’s office will imminently be sending IG report about fired FBI official Andrew McCabe to Capitol Hill, congressional aide tells @benyc.
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Statement from top DHS cyber official Jen Easterly: “We have seen no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was any way compromised in any race in the country.” 1/3.
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@realDonaldTrump I’d imagine Flynn wasn’t sworn in or recorded either — FBI doesn’t do that in interviews, whether it’s with Flynn or Clinton.
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Sources: TX church shooter now ID'd by authorities; white male in his 20s from outside San Antonio. w/ @PierreTABC @JackDate @AaronKatersky.
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LI’L SCOOP: Justice Department gives special counsel internal docs on proposed Sessions resignation, and much more, source says
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No joke. This food truck was sitting right in front of building where Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team works.
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Former DNI Clapper on @realDonaldTrump: "Sometimes I wonder if he's about making Russia great again." #AspenSecurity.
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Oh how times have changed! When he was at DOJ, Rudy Giuliani touted special prosecutors & the nearly unlimited authority of grand juries, and called for hi-level government officials accused of wrongdoing to be "treated no differently from other citizens."
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Then reporter added: “"But what we reported, that the president of the United States directed Michael Cohen to lie to congress, is accurate. That is fundamentally accurate. We're going to get inside the room where it happened and bear it out.".
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@PierreTABC @JackDate @AaronKatersky Authorities are now scrubbing his social media; on Facebook in recent days, he showed off an AR-15 style-looking gun.
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