Anti-Trump Cabal Politicizing and Criminalizing FBI, Justice Dept: Watchdog Says

A government and news media watchdog that is regularly successful in investigating and exposing corruption and fraud — especially within what’s now called the Washington Swamp — last week released two productions (335 pages and 44 pages) of Justice Department (DOJ) documents.

According to the award-winning attorneys and staff at Judicial Watch, this latest “document dump” reveals the strong support by the DOJ’s upper-echelon — including those men and women actively investigating President Donald Trump — for former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates’ refusal to enforce President Trump’s Middle East travel ban executive order.

Despite Trump’s supporters and defenders such as Professors Jonathan Turley and Alan Dershowitz, as well as legal scholars and veteran law enforcement officials who believe Trump’s executive order is lawful and proper, the denizens of the establishment news media have twisted the facts to fit their anti-Trump narrative.

“The anti-Trump narrative is that he is a fascist, bigot and deceitful narcissist who bullied and lied his way into the White House with the help of Russia’s President [Vladimir Putin]. In their alternative view of reality, the innocent and trustworthy Hillary Clinton should have been elected president but Trump’s massive conspiracy involving MILLIONS of people throughout the globe stole the election,” quipped former police chief and sheriff R. Dawson Whelan.

According to another former federal law enforcement officer Vincent Palladino, “These people are all emotion and no intellect in their approach to the U.S. Constitution. Even left-wing legal scholars have noted that Trump’s executive order as written is constitutional.”

Judicial Watch officials pointed out that in one of the emails, Andrew Weissmann, a top prosecutor for Robert Mueller and an Obamanista who served as the chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Fraud Section, applauded Yates supposed heroic stand by writing: “I am so proud. And in awe. Thank you so much. All my deepest respects.”

“These people are supposed to enforce the law not interpret it. That’s the job of our court system in America. The statement made in many of these intra-office communications are on their face improper and overly-politicized,” said former attorney and political strategist Michael Baker. “This nation already has a large group of people misinterpreting constitutional law. We call them judges,” Baker said.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., told Fox News Channel’s top national security correspondent Catherine Herridge on Friday that his committee’s investigators were successful in uncovering evidence of government abuse in its surveillance practices.

“I believe there’s evidence that abuses have occurred,” Nunes said.  “We have had an ongoing investigation into the Justice Department and the FBI since mid-summer for both [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court] abuse and other matters that we can’t get into too much. But it is very concerning.”

Nunes then brought up the conversation of former national security adviser, Gen. Mike Flynn with the Russian ambassador that was leaked to favored anti-Trump news reporters. The congressman pointed to the suspicion that there was no leak investigation conducted by either the FBI or Justice Department.

Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice

Judicial Watch officials obtained these latest documents through a May 2017 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed after the Justice Department failed to respond to a February 2017 FOIA request seeking Yates’ emails from her government account (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice) for the time period she served as Acting Attorney General for President Trump.

The emails, several sent from official Justice Department email addresses, show strong support for Yates, who was officially fired for disobeying a direct order from the President:

• Thomas Delahanty, then the United States Attorney for Maine wrote: “You are my hero.”

• Liz Aloi, a career service employee and Chief of the Justice Department’s Special Financial Investigations Unit told Yates she was “Inspirational and heroic.”

• Emily Gray Rice, then the U.S. Attorney for New Hampshire and an Obama appointee said: “AAG Yates, thank you, as always, for making us proud. It is truly an honor to work for you.”

• Obama appointee Barbara McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan told Yates, “Thank you for your courage and leadership. This is wonderful news.”

• DOJ Civil Division Appellate Attorney Jeffrey Clair wrote: “Thank you AG Yates. I’ve been in civil/appellate for 30 years and have never seen an administration with such contempt for democratic values and the rule of law. The President’s order is an unconstitutional embarrassment and I applaud you for taking a principled stand against defending it.”

“This is an astonishing and disturbing find. Andrew Weisman, a key prosecutor on Robert Mueller’s team, praised Obama DOJ holdover Sally Yates after she lawlessly thwarted President Trump,” stated Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton. “How much more evidence do we need that the Mueller operation has been irredeemably compromised by anti-Trump partisans? Shut it down.”

“That’s what Trump supporters need to do: mobilize a protest complete with conservative heroes and celebrities and shout it from the rafters — Shut it down! Shut it down! Shut down Mueller’s warped and mean spirited witch hunt!” said Sheriff Whelan.

When Judicial Watch released the disturbing evidence of politicalization of the Justice Department — coupled with the evidence of similar happenings at the Federal Bureau of Investigation — their legal team released its own comments on Yates, which are far different from her admirers:

Yates was appointed by President Obama as U.S. Attorney in northern Georgia and was later confirmed as Deputy Attorney General. In January 2017 she became acting Attorney General for President Trump.

Yates was involved in the controversy concerning Gen. Michael Flynn, allegedly warning the Trump White House in early January about General Flynn’s contacts with the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak.  (Judicial Watch is separately suing for records concerning the surveillance and subsequent leaks regarding General Flynn.)

On January 30, Yates ordered the Justice Department not to defend President Trump’s January 27 executive order seeking a travel ban from seven Middle Eastern countries. That same day, President Trump fired her for refusing to defend the action.

In a late October article describing Andrew Weissmann as Robert Mueller’s “Pit Bull,” The New York Times wrote, “He is a top lieutenant to Robert S. Mueller III on the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible links to the Trump campaign. Significantly, Mr. Weissmann is an expert in converting defendants into collaborators — with either tactical brilliance or overzealousness, depending on one’s perspective.” Weissman oversaw the pre-dawn home raid of former Trump aide Paul Manafort in what one former federal prosecutor described as “textbook Weissmann terrorism.”