These are dark times for the cause of justice. At least according to Peter Strzok:
https://t.co/HnwSmslZmM
Today marks the corrupt transformation of our criminal justice system from a tool to absolve Trump’s allies of wrongdoing into a bludgeon against his enemies.
The issue isn’t the underlying acts; the corruption is the disparate treatment of them.
— Peter Strzok (@petestrzok) August 19, 2020
What, exactly, is Strzok’s beef?
Peter Strzok is mad that Kevin Clinesmith just pleaded guilty to a false statements charge in John Durham’s investigation.https://t.co/mnRfLpSbkh https://t.co/FAtLlzQ92X
— JERRY DUNLEAVY (@JerryDunleavy) August 19, 2020
That’s it in a nutshell. From the Lawfare piece Strzok is pimping:
Ironically, the Clinesmith charges were filed at the same time that the Justice Department awaits a ruling on its motion to dismiss the case against Flynn—for lack of materiality. The department tied itself into knots to argue that Flynn’s lies were immaterial. Yet, strangely, it gives no such benefit to Clinesmith.
We wonder why these Flynn defenders—led by the president and the attorney general—have not lifted their voices on behalf of Clinesmith. Proof of materiality seems weaker in Clinesmith’s case than in Flynn’s. The CIA email that Clinesmith altered stated accurately that Page was “not a source” but that he was an “operational contact,” that is, someone with a relationship with the CIA. Clinesmith’s alteration arguably clarified the adviser’s relationship with the CIA rather than obscuring it, though this does not excuse his misrepresentation.
In the real world, these details about Clinesmith’s email do not defeat the materiality requirement—especially given that, as we have noted, materiality is typically easy to prove. But the arguments made in defense of Flynn would also seem to apply to Clinesmith. If we applied the ridiculous standard used by the Justice Department in the Flynn case to Clinesmith, then his alteration was similarly not material.
Clinesmith pleaded guilty on his own accord, but the Crossfire Hurricane crew and their defenders in the media are really, really trying to muddy the waters on this. https://t.co/eS0C8HLi3P
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) August 19, 2020
“Our ends justified our means” https://t.co/nRIpEaYbAT
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) August 19, 2020
this dude should be more worried about whether andrew mccabe had covid https://t.co/S0fHlDSWFK
— Nino (@baldingschemer) August 19, 2020
“Hey Siri, what does chutzpah look like?” https://t.co/wPbU4LeSEN
— Andy Grewal (@AndyGrewal) August 19, 2020
This is quite the take coming from you. I guess at least we know irony is not dead. https://t.co/0s3r3emO14
— LB (@beyondreasdoubt) August 19, 2020