It really is Orwellian. One of their favorite things to tout is ending the “weaponization” of government, when in fact they are doing the exact opposite. They insult the American public speaking like this - they think we are either too stupid to notice or we just don’t care.
To me, it appears to be more serious than you suppose it to be. However, the only highly classified information I've ever had access to was definitely sensitive and deserving of secure handling.
The case against Bolton centers on hundreds of pages of “diary-like” dispatches he sent to two relatives about his day-to-day activities as national security adviser.
Prosecutors say he “abused his position” by sharing information classified as top secret related to national defense, in addition to retaining documents, writings and notes in his home that also included top-secret details.
The two relatives never held U.S. security clearances and were not authorized to see the information Bolton shared with them via commercial messaging apps and personal email accounts, the indictment says.
“At no point did Bolton have authorization to store or transmit the classified information that he sent to Individuals 1 and 2 via his personal electronic devices and accounts,” the charging papers read. “Nor did, at any time, individuals 1 and 2 have authorization to know or store the classified information that Bolton gave to them.”
Prosecutors also allege that Bolton, at some point before the FBI’s August raid on his home, printed and stored “many” of the entries. He also allegedly stored several entries on personal electronic devices.
The indictment says that Bolton was told in September 2019, after he left the Trump administration, that he could no longer store classified information at his home.
In July 2021, a representative for Bolton notified the FBI that one of his personal accounts was believed to have been hacked by Iran. However, the representative did not alert the FBI that the hacked account stored classified and national defense information that Bolton had allegedly retained, to which the apparent hacker gained access, the indictment says."
As a younger man, I worked a couple of summers for Los Alamos National Laboratory and had to go through the process of getting vetted for my "L" clearance (one level down from the "Q") and all the periodic security briefings that went along with it. I was there the summer before the Wen Ho Lee incident broke and there the summer after, so I had this DRILLED into my head.
While I have ZERO doubts that this is a selective political prosecution, I'm looking forward to Bolton going to trial, if only to reestablish that mishandling classified materials is a jail-able offense. It's been patently obvious that particular groups of people are exempt from the consequences that I would face if I leaked anything (though, as per Steve, I didn't learn anything spectacular worth leaking - the clearance was more for access to my office than learning anything special).
Bringing back those consequences is a good thing in my book, as the same precedent that may see Bolton to jail will be helpful to drop KA$H Patel (I believe that's his preferred spelling) and Stephen Miller into a deep dark hole, when they make the same kinds of mistakes Bolton has. And God willing, maybe we'll catch a few Trump kids with their hands illegally in the cookie jar as well.
"So far only James Comey and Leticia James have been put under the microscope of a federal criminal charge. James Comey is extraordinarily wealthy as a result of various professional endeavors over the past 20 years — he only spent 3 years in Government since 2005 — and James supposedly has a $10 million legal defense fund at her disposal courtesy of the taxpayers of New York. No one will be waving a tin cup on their behalf to keep them out of the poor house."
"In my opinion, predictions of “winning” or “losing” made in advance should not be in the calculation of whether there was a case to be presented and the evidence is such that an unbiased jury could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant — not the defendant — was guilty."
"Becoming invested in the outcomes in terms of “winning” and “losing” — besides being ego-driven — makes you Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, Fani Willis, and Leticia James. You begin prosecuting cases because you want a specific outcome for a purpose beyond the “interests of justice.”
I did not copy the entire article, but it makes sense to me. Shipley was expounding on the DOJ manual that provides guidance on when to prosecute. And only two cases involving Trump hater political enemies have resulted in indictments so far. And there is sufficient evidence to prosecute before an unbiased jury.
Maybe your reading brain is broken. I saw a few violent protesters getting whacked in Broadview this morning. Were you wearing a red cape and hood?
I'm in the office this morning, so no Broadview for me this morning. (I'm curious who you thought were being violent.) If my reading brain is broken, it's entirely due to business-related stress and busy-ness this week. I will be at the No Kings march tomorrow, so if you see a fellow in Chicago flying a white Wide Awakes flag, odds are good that's me.
As for the DOJ manual, good for them getting indictments. That's been a BIG challenge for the Trump folks so far, such as their failure to indict a good number of folks these past few months (sandwich guy, a couple here in Chicago, and Sidney Reid[1] in DC).
I'm going to guess that Letitia James is going to beat Trump again (after she secured not only an indictment, but also a conviction in NY state), esp. after it's come to light that members of his own administration were caught doing the same thing as NYAG James[2]. Unlike Trump, she has no shortage of attorneys interested in defending her side[3].
I'm grateful that I can end my week on a high note, given your renewed reverence for juries. I was under the impression that you no longer held them in any regard after they handed down decisions you didn't like. It's great to have you back on the pro-jury side of things.
No change in my general contempt for left-wing prosecutors, judges and juries. I fully expect that Comey, James and Bolton will face no serious consequences. That was another point in Shipley's article - prosecution should be based on whether there is sufficient evidence to convince an unbiased jury. That type of juror is becoming increasingly rare.
Plenty more calumny to go before the next presidential election cycle.
It really is Orwellian. One of their favorite things to tout is ending the “weaponization” of government, when in fact they are doing the exact opposite. They insult the American public speaking like this - they think we are either too stupid to notice or we just don’t care.
You want us to be outraged that lying, war wongering JOHN FUCKING BOLTON was indicted?!
They got Capone on tax evasion and that was just fine too.
To me, it appears to be more serious than you suppose it to be. However, the only highly classified information I've ever had access to was definitely sensitive and deserving of secure handling.
From https://thehill.com/homenews/5559891-john-bolton-indicted-5-takeaways/
"Diary entries at the heart of case
The case against Bolton centers on hundreds of pages of “diary-like” dispatches he sent to two relatives about his day-to-day activities as national security adviser.
Prosecutors say he “abused his position” by sharing information classified as top secret related to national defense, in addition to retaining documents, writings and notes in his home that also included top-secret details.
The two relatives never held U.S. security clearances and were not authorized to see the information Bolton shared with them via commercial messaging apps and personal email accounts, the indictment says.
“At no point did Bolton have authorization to store or transmit the classified information that he sent to Individuals 1 and 2 via his personal electronic devices and accounts,” the charging papers read. “Nor did, at any time, individuals 1 and 2 have authorization to know or store the classified information that Bolton gave to them.”
Prosecutors also allege that Bolton, at some point before the FBI’s August raid on his home, printed and stored “many” of the entries. He also allegedly stored several entries on personal electronic devices.
The indictment says that Bolton was told in September 2019, after he left the Trump administration, that he could no longer store classified information at his home.
In July 2021, a representative for Bolton notified the FBI that one of his personal accounts was believed to have been hacked by Iran. However, the representative did not alert the FBI that the hacked account stored classified and national defense information that Bolton had allegedly retained, to which the apparent hacker gained access, the indictment says."
As a younger man, I worked a couple of summers for Los Alamos National Laboratory and had to go through the process of getting vetted for my "L" clearance (one level down from the "Q") and all the periodic security briefings that went along with it. I was there the summer before the Wen Ho Lee incident broke and there the summer after, so I had this DRILLED into my head.
While I have ZERO doubts that this is a selective political prosecution, I'm looking forward to Bolton going to trial, if only to reestablish that mishandling classified materials is a jail-able offense. It's been patently obvious that particular groups of people are exempt from the consequences that I would face if I leaked anything (though, as per Steve, I didn't learn anything spectacular worth leaking - the clearance was more for access to my office than learning anything special).
Bringing back those consequences is a good thing in my book, as the same precedent that may see Bolton to jail will be helpful to drop KA$H Patel (I believe that's his preferred spelling) and Stephen Miller into a deep dark hole, when they make the same kinds of mistakes Bolton has. And God willing, maybe we'll catch a few Trump kids with their hands illegally in the cookie jar as well.
Why are you hoping that God will lead Kash, Stephen Miller and Trump's children into serious legal trouble?
I don't think God will have anything to do with it, as they've all shown a capability for shady dealings all on their own.
From Shipwreckedcrew:
"So far only James Comey and Leticia James have been put under the microscope of a federal criminal charge. James Comey is extraordinarily wealthy as a result of various professional endeavors over the past 20 years — he only spent 3 years in Government since 2005 — and James supposedly has a $10 million legal defense fund at her disposal courtesy of the taxpayers of New York. No one will be waving a tin cup on their behalf to keep them out of the poor house."
"In my opinion, predictions of “winning” or “losing” made in advance should not be in the calculation of whether there was a case to be presented and the evidence is such that an unbiased jury could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant — not the defendant — was guilty."
"Becoming invested in the outcomes in terms of “winning” and “losing” — besides being ego-driven — makes you Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, Fani Willis, and Leticia James. You begin prosecuting cases because you want a specific outcome for a purpose beyond the “interests of justice.”
That's either a lot of word salad, or my reading brain is broken more than I thought this morning.
In your own words, what are you trying to communicate by quoting "Shipwreckedcrew"?
I did not copy the entire article, but it makes sense to me. Shipley was expounding on the DOJ manual that provides guidance on when to prosecute. And only two cases involving Trump hater political enemies have resulted in indictments so far. And there is sufficient evidence to prosecute before an unbiased jury.
Maybe your reading brain is broken. I saw a few violent protesters getting whacked in Broadview this morning. Were you wearing a red cape and hood?
I'm in the office this morning, so no Broadview for me this morning. (I'm curious who you thought were being violent.) If my reading brain is broken, it's entirely due to business-related stress and busy-ness this week. I will be at the No Kings march tomorrow, so if you see a fellow in Chicago flying a white Wide Awakes flag, odds are good that's me.
As for the DOJ manual, good for them getting indictments. That's been a BIG challenge for the Trump folks so far, such as their failure to indict a good number of folks these past few months (sandwich guy, a couple here in Chicago, and Sidney Reid[1] in DC).
I'm going to guess that Letitia James is going to beat Trump again (after she secured not only an indictment, but also a conviction in NY state), esp. after it's come to light that members of his own administration were caught doing the same thing as NYAG James[2]. Unlike Trump, she has no shortage of attorneys interested in defending her side[3].
I'm grateful that I can end my week on a high note, given your renewed reverence for juries. I was under the impression that you no longer held them in any regard after they handed down decisions you didn't like. It's great to have you back on the pro-jury side of things.
[1] https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/sidney-reid-not-guilty-verdict-ice-trump-doj-rcna238137
[2] https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-cabinet-mortgage-fraud
[3] https://abcnews.go.com/US/us-attorney-plans-resign-amid-pressure-trump-after/story?id=125750006
No change in my general contempt for left-wing prosecutors, judges and juries. I fully expect that Comey, James and Bolton will face no serious consequences. That was another point in Shipley's article - prosecution should be based on whether there is sufficient evidence to convince an unbiased jury. That type of juror is becoming increasingly rare.