Facing humiliation, Mueller backs away from prosecution of Russian entities

[mystery-ak]

June 23, 2018
Facing humiliation, Mueller backs away from prosecution of Russian entities
By Thomas Lifson

The Mueller Special Counsel investigation purportedly was instigated to discover possible illicit Russian influence on the 2016 presidential election, but now is backing away from the only indictments aimed at Russian entities, leaving only alleged process crimes (such as General Flynn’s alleged false statement to the FBI)  and alleged crimes that occurred long before the Trump candidacy (such as Paul Manafort’s Ukrainian connection).

Devlin Barrett writes in the Washington Post:

    In a pair of court filings Friday, the special counsel added four assistant U.S. attorneys to the case against Russian entities and people accused of running an online influence operation targeting American voters.

    People familiar with the staffing decision said the new prosecutors are not joining Mueller’s team, but rather are being added to the case so that they could someday take responsibility for it when the special counsel ceases operation. The case those prosecutors are joining could drag on for years because the indictment charges a number of Russians who will probably never see the inside of a U.S. courtroom. Russia does not extradite its citizens.


more
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/06/facing_humiliation_mueller_backs_away_from_prosecution_of_russian_entities.html

[Oceander]

Adding additional prosecutors to the cases is not backing away in humiliation. 

[Sanguine]

Adding additional prosecutors to the cases is not backing away in humiliation.

I wouldn't think so.   

[edpc]

Adding additional prosecutors to the cases is not backing away in humiliation.

No and as the article alludes, the length of the case will likely exceed his time as SC, so they'd take it from there.  A good deal of misinformation has been spread, as an attempt to discredit Mueller.  It just ends up making the outlet look foolish when you know the full story. 

For instance, in the opener, the prosecution argued the defendants had not been properly served.  The defense ridiculed the motion to delay for that.  However, in the next court session, defense counsel agreed the client had not been properly served.  Press reports said Mueller had requested an indefinite suspension for discovery.  Actually, he had requested a delay of 90 days, after defense asserted their right to speedy trial.  Then, strangely enough, defense counsel joined the prosecution in the delay after Mueller turned over 2TB of social media data, untranslated, in Russian.

It was kind of funny, actually.  Defense needed time to translate it.  The prosecution already has their translation, but they turned over the Russian data as a double eff you to the defense.  He's basically saying, "You want discovery?  Discover this.  Besides, your client knows what it says."

[Frank Cannon]

Adding additional prosecutors to the cases is not backing away in humiliation.

Actually it is if he is punting this loser onto someone else.

[skeeter]

I wouldn't think so.   

After the big ado his office & the media made about the indictments I can see where it would be.

It also kinda validates the theory that Mueller issued the indictments for the headlines only and never expected any of these Russian companies to answer them.

[Cyber Liberty]

Adding additional prosecutors to the cases is not backing away in humiliation.

I agree with this.  But, if Mulehead withdraws the indictments, it will be. 

From the article, Muller dumped terabytes of data evidence on the court and the Defense, then claimed the case is "too complex" for the Speedy Trial law.  A literal application of the concept, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with BS."  We're awaiting the Judge's decision on the motion to delay because of complexity. 

[edpc]

I agree with this.  But, if Mulehead withdraws the indictments, it will be. 

From the article, Muller dumped terabytes of data evidence on the court and the Defense, then claimed the case is "too complex" for the Speedy Trial law.  A literal application of the concept, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with BS."  We're awaiting the Judge's decision on the motion to delay because of complexity.

No, the judge already granted it last month.


Special Counsel Robert Mueller asked a federal judge Tuesday to reject the four-decade-old speedy trial law in the case against 13 Russians and three Russian companies and has asked for a 90-day delay in his Russian collusion case. The defendant, Concord Management and Consulting, joined in his request, filing a joint motion.

Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, a Trump appointee, accepted the request, granting “that the period of period May 23, 2018 to August 28, 2018 is excluded for purposes of Speedy Trial Act calculations.” Friedrich had rejected an earlier request from Mueller without comment and ordered the case to go forward. The Speedy Trial Act is a 44-year old federal law that dictates that a federal criminal case must begin within 70 days from the date of the indictment.

http://dailycaller.com/2018/05/23/mueller-delay-russia-trial/

[Cyber Liberty]

No, the judge already granted it last month.


Special Counsel Robert Mueller asked a federal judge Tuesday to reject the four-decade-old speedy trial law in the case against 13 Russians and three Russian companies and has asked for a 90-day delay in his Russian collusion case. The defendant, Concord Management and Consulting, joined in his request, filing a joint motion.

Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, a Trump appointee, accepted the request, granting “that the period of period May 23, 2018 to August 28, 2018 is excluded for purposes of Speedy Trial Act calculations.” Friedrich had rejected an earlier request from Mueller without comment and ordered the case to go forward. The Speedy Trial Act is a 44-year old federal law that dictates that a federal criminal case must begin within 70 days from the date of the indictment.

http://dailycaller.com/2018/05/23/mueller-delay-russia-trial/

So this gets pushed up to the Election?  Swell.  Messing with elections has become the brand new game in DeeCee.  Everybody's doing it.

Added:  I wonder how the article at the top of the thread missed this little detail?

[edpc]

So this gets pushed up to the Election?  Swell.  Messing with elections has become the brand new game in DeeCee.  Everybody's doing it.

Well, come on.  At first, the story was Mueller was a dope, who never thought he'd be challenged on the case.  He had no influence over the timing of when the defendant would do that.  Now that he has his delay, it can't be said it was all part of his devious master plan.

Added:  I wonder how the article at the top of the thread missed this little detail?

Don't know.  The only guess I could make is there's not much thinking going on at The American Thinker.  All I did was type 'Mueller Russia indictment delay' into the search engine to find it.   

[Cyber Liberty]

Well, come on.  At first, the story was Mueller was a dope, who never thought he'd be challenged on the case.  He had no influence over the timing of when the defendant would do that.  Now that he has his delay, it can't be said it was all part of his devious master plan.



Don't know.  The only guess I could make is there's not much thinking going on at The American Thinker.

That was a rather glaring omission from the story.  It actually says "IF the Judge finds for the Defense." 

I don't think Mueller is "dopey," but I do think he tends to be unethical (lots of smart people are unethical), and he hires like-minded attorneys like Andrew Weisman.  What he's doing may not be unethical, or even illegal, but it causes me to look askance at just about every move he and his team makes.

[Victoria33]

Adding additional prosecutors to the cases is not backing away in humiliation.

@Oceander

No, it's not backing away.  Stupid headline.

[Cyber Liberty]

@Oceander

No, it's not backing away.  Stupid headline.

Apparently a stupid story, re:  The conversation @edpc and I just had.

[Restored]

"dumped terabytes of data evidence on the court"

Basically a way of saying "I am going to need a lot more money".

[edpc]

That was a rather glaring omission from the story.  It actually says "IF the Judge finds for the Defense." 

I don't think Mueller is "dopey," but I do think he tends to be unethical (lots of smart people are unethical), and he hires like-minded attorneys like Andrew Weisman.  What he's doing may not be unethical, or even illegal, but it causes me to look askance at just about every move he and his team makes.

Well, what's funny is the defense joined in with the request, so it's not like the decision favored a particular side.  I didn't mean to imply you were calling Mueller a dope.  The general consensus from stories about this case have made that implication by saying he'd be embarrassed, humiliated, had his bluff called, etc.

[Cyber Liberty]

"dumped terabytes of data evidence on the court"

Basically a way of saying "I am going to need a lot more money".

Also, a way of way of saying "The defendant is going to need a lot more money."  Driving up the cost to the opposing Party is a time-honored tradition in the legal profession.  A lawyer I once had told me it's considered ethical when I asked him.

[edpc]

"dumped terabytes of data evidence on the court"

Basically a way of saying "I am going to need a lot more money".

In their original discovery motion, the defense demanded all materials related to US government operations in foreign elections from 1945-present.  How much data do you think that would be?  So, the prosecution force-fed them a big bite (or byte, I suppose) of the feast they demanded and said, "Here, choke on it."  That's exactly what they did.

[Cyber Liberty]

Well, what's funny is the defense joined in with the request, so it's not like the decision favored a particular side.  I didn't mean to imply you were calling Mueller a dope.  The general consensus from stories about this case have made that implication by saying he'd be embarrassed, humiliated, had his bluff called, etc.

Mueller's team dumped four TeraBytes of data on the court, in Russian.  The defense's argument that they needed the time, too, in light of this is not a surprise and possibly a likely reason the Judge agreed.  I wouldn't say Mueller was "humiliated" by any of this, but he can't be happy somebody decided to resist the indictments and demanded discovery.

[Cyber Liberty]

So, the prosecution force-fed them a big bite (or byte, I suppose) of the feast they demanded and said, "Here, choke on it."  That's exactly what they did.

Yup.  And I think the defense has the wherewithal to handle it, now that they have until August plus 70 days.  I imagine if anybody has the ability to translate that text, they're the ones who can do it.

[edpc]

Mueller's team dumped four TeraBytes of data on the court, in Russian.  The defense's argument that they needed the time, too, in light of this is not a surprise and possibly a likely reason the Judge agreed.  I wouldn't say Mueller was "humiliated" by any of this, but he can't be happy somebody decided to resist the indictments and demanded discovery.

Probably not, but the fact they didn't immediately fold up and drop the case immediately, as some had predicted shows it wasn't a complete bluff.  I'm sure the pertinent information is scattered all around those terabytes, like when companies do huge document dumps on opposing attorneys to make them 'go blind on paperwork,' as they say in legal dramas.

[skeeter]

Yup.  And I think the defense has the wherewithal to handle it, now that they have until August plus 70 days.  I imagine if anybody has the ability to translate that text, they're the ones who can do it.

They were pointless indictments in the first place. Unless headlines are what was sought.

[Cyber Liberty]

Probably not, but the fact they didn't immediately fold up and drop the case immediately, as some had predicted shows it wasn't a complete bluff.  I'm sure the pertinent information is scattered all around those terabytes, like when companies do huge document dumps on opposing attorneys to make them 'go blind on paperwork,' as they say in legal dramas.

Or, they didn't fold because there would have been a shitstorm of Tweets about the Indictments being politically motivated.  Mueller and company threw their hat over the fence, and were bound to try to salvage them (if indeed they were BS).