Monday, June 17, 2019

Special Counsel Report - Page 13, Second paragraph - Page 21 on the PDF

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To carry out the investigation and prosecution of the matters assigned to him, the Special Counsel assembled a team that at its high point included 19 attorneys-five of whom joined the Office from private practice and 14 on detail or assigned from other Department of Justice components. These attorneys were assisted by a filter team of Department lawyers and FBI personnel who screened materials obtained via court process for privileged information before turning those materials over to investigators;...

To those looking for the Deep State of the USA this is a prime example of their point of view. In fact, this is a group of highly qualified professionals that know what is privileged information and what it not. There was a need for such a team, ie: Michael Cohen - Trump client privilege, so the actual investigators did not preview such privileged information. There was a review process and team to remove any information the investigators were not allowed to use in court. In that any investigator or ultimately the prosecutors did not have any reference point to these documents. This is not only appropriate, it made the Special Counsel investigation free of conflict that would taint any legal proceedings. They practiced excellence. This is still another example of the perfection practiced by the Special Counsel.

...a support staff of three paralegals on detail from the Department's Antitrust Division; and an administrative staff of nine responsible for budget, finance, purchasing, human resources, records, facilities, security, information technology, and administrative support. The Special Counsel attorneys and support staff were co-located with and worked alongside approximately 40 FBI agents, intelligence analysts, forensic accountants, a paralegal, and professional staff assigned by the FBI to assist the Special Counsel's investigation. Those "assigned" FBI employees remained under FBI supervision at all times; (my guess is that this was a payroll issue, but, it also allowed for a more fluid management style based in "as need" and not simply preparedness requirement to reduce cost and allow sufficient staffing elsewhere) the matters on which they assisted were supervised by the Special Counsel.1

During its investigation the Office issued more than 2,800 subpoenas under the auspices of a grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia; executed nearly 500 search-and-seizure warrants; obtained more than 230 orders for communications records under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d);...

(d)Requirements for Court Order.— (click here)
A court order for disclosure under subsection (b) or (c) may be issued by any court that is a court of competent jurisdiction and shall issue only if the governmental entity offers specific and articulable facts showing that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the contents of a wire or electronic communication, or the records or other information sought, are relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation. In the case of a State governmental authority, such a court order shall not issue if prohibited by the law of such state. A court issuing an order pursuant to this section, on a motion made promptly by the service provider, may quash or modify such order, if the information or records requested are unusually voluminous in nature or compliance with such order otherwise would cause an undue burden on such provider.

 obtained almost 50 orders authorizing use of pen registers; made 13 requests to foreign governments pursuant to Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties; and interviewed approximately 500 witnesses, including almost 80 before a grand jury.

This section is still Robert Mueller describing the thoroughness of his preparation and application of his authority. It is a perfect accounting to the people of the USA. The number of witnesses and those that testified before the Grand Jury proves a diligent effort to obtain the truth.

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continued in next entry