C (7:58)

Russian asset. All right, let's shift to another topic. On May 3, 2017, in this committee, Chairman Grassley asked you point blank, quote, have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation, of the Clinton investigation? You responded under oath, quote, never. He then asked you, quote, have you ever authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton administration? You responded again under oath, no. Now, as you know, Mr. McCabe, who works for you, has publicly and repeatedly stated that he leaked information to the Wall Street Journal and that you were directly aware of it and that you directly authorized it. Now, what Mr. McCabe is saying and what you testified to this committee cannot both be true. One or the other is false. Who's telling the truth?

A (8:59)

I can only speak to my testimony. I stand by what the testimony you summarized that I gave in May of 2017.

C (9:06)

So your testimony is you've never authorized anyone to leak. And Mr. McCabe, when, if he says contrary, is not telling the truth, Is that correct?

A (9:14)

Again, I'm not going to characterize Andy's testimony, but mine is the same today.

C (9:17)

All right, I'm going to make a final point because my time has expired. This investigation of the president was corrupt. The FBI and the Department of Justice were politicized and weaponized. And in my opinion, there are only two possibilities, that you were deliberately corrupt or woefully incompetent. And I don't believe you were incompetent. This has done severe damage to the professionals and the honorable men and women at the FBI because law enforcement should not be used as a political weapon. And that is the legacy you have left.

A (9:56)

Now, Fitzgerald comes into court and says we can't make heads or tails of the indictment. As I said, it is woefully deficient on its face. We don't know who person one is. We don't know who person two is. We. We don't know who person three is. We're not even sure if that's the right clip of Cruise. What is it about fall that just opens up life? The weather's perfect for getting outside. The leaves are changing, and suddenly there are more moments to enjoy, festive gatherings, upcoming holidays, and just more time to hang with friends and family. Personally, I'm looking forward to cozy nights with good food and even better company. And with fall in full swing, more moments call for comfort you can count on. That's why I'm leaning on Mack Weldon this season. They've got all the essentials for fall comfortable, easy to layer clothes designed for cooler days and timeless style. Their new Ace line, inspired by their best selling sweatpants combines everyday comfort with long lasting confident looks. Hoodies, half zips, sweats, crew necks, you name it. I've been wearing their Ace collection all season I and I can honestly say it's a game changer. The fit is perfect. Comfortable but sharp like you actually tried even when you didn't. The materials feel amazing. Soft but durable and I love throwing on a hoodie or relaxed sweatpants to run errands or just chill at home. It gives you that effortless confidence. You look good without even thinking about it. It's different from anything else I've owned. Seriously. Classic, timeless and crazy comfortable, Mack Weldon balances classic pieces with updated details so you look sharp without being flashy. Everything is versatile and effortless by design. With the Ace line, ease and self assurance has never been more comfortable. They got sweatpants, shorts, sweatshirts, even blazers that feel like a sweatshirt, half zips, pullovers, bomber jackets, crew necks plus all new colors on their relaxed carpenter and classic sweatpants. The go to choice for guys who want to look great without even trying fall into comfort with Mack Weldon's Ace collection. Go to mackweldon.com and get 20% off your first order of $125 or more with promo code legal AF that's M A C K W E L D O N.com promo code legal A F and now we've got the new leak and all this information. John Durham saying he's not going to prosecute. The U.S. attorneys in D.C. prosecutors saying they looked at Comey for two for two whole months of investigation. There's nothing there on perjury that the memo that was written by the Courier prosecutors in the Eastern District saying we're not going to prosecute, we shouldn't prosecute, that it was handed to Lindsey Halligan. All that gets turned over to the defense. It's all going to form the basis of the motion to dismiss for vindictive prosecution, plain and simple. And the government's got to get all that stuff together in a short amount of time. Now we've got new reporting which will be to the benefit and strength in the hands of James Comey that the key witness that was evaluated, Daniel Richman, a law professor at Columbia who worked under James Comey at the Southern District of New York as a prosecutor, but now a law professor at Columbia and a special advisor, policy advisor to Comey. That the prosecutors evaluated him and thought that his testimony would prevent insurmountable hurdles to getting a perjury charge sustained against Comey. Just to remind you of who or for the first time, here's Professor Richmond several years ago on fox. Let's play the clip.

D (13:36)

Professor Daniel Richmond, he's also a policy advisor to FBI Director James Comey. Great to see you, Professor. Thank you for being here.

B (13:42)

Thank you. It's good to be here.

D (13:44)

So you know Comey, you've known him for a long time, used to practice law together?

B (13:47)

Yes.

D (13:47)

Okay. And you say he's a straight shooter and you're a friend of his and an advisor of sorts. What do you make of the piling on now, Nancy Pelosi in particular? Like maybe he can't do the job. You know, maybe it's time for change.

B (14:00)

What people seem to forget is that whatever he did would have political ramifications if you stay silent and don't correct what people seem to think, which was that an investigation was complete and, and you let that thought go to people as they, let's say, vote or maybe let's say as they move into the running the government next year or you speak and you speak as little as possible. I don't think he's unaware of the fact that there's an election going on. I don't think he's trying to influence election, but either silence or speaking is going to implicate the election and he's aware of that and did what he felt he had to do.

D (14:40)

You is this hard on him, do you think? I mean, he's a human being. He seems like a real sort of Joe Friday kind of, you know, law enforcement official. But is this hard on him to have this much pile on, including today from the president? We don't deal in innuendo. We don't deal in leaks.

B (14:55)

I think Jim is used to being piled on. That comes with the territory. I also, I don't read what the president said as part of the piling on, Frankly. I think what the president said is people thought the investigation was complete. It turns out the president was wrong on that. There is an investigation, investigation that was said to have been complete but is going on and that's all that the director said.

A (15:20)

Okay. And Andy McCabe has already taken the blame for it. He's already said I'm the one nobody's talked to me, but I'm the one that talked to the Washington Post, not him. So how are they ever going to get this indictment to stick? There may be a superseding indictment where they try to fix some of these problems off this hearing, but they're not going to be able to grow a brain or ethics. In the meantime, we're watching prosecutorial abuse writ large on national television and we'll follow it all for you with all the updates. The next thing that's out of the box and follow me on Legal AF YouTube channel or Legal AF substack and you'll get the reporting. The next thing out of the box is going to be the motion to dismiss for vindictive prosecution. It's coming. It could be any minute now. It's in the coming days. They're not going to wait around on this. They're going to clear Comey's name. They're going to draw a line in the sand. They're going to file that motion to dismiss for a vindictive prosecution and sometime in later October or beginning of November, we're going to have a hearing on that. This case may never get to trial in January. I'm sure that's what Judge Nachmanoff knew when he set a very fast trial. I'm continuing to follow it all here on Midas Dutch and Legal af. Take a moment, hit the subscribe button here, click Come over to Legal AF the YouTube channel. Do the exact same thing there and join us on Legal AF Substack where when I get the motion to dismiss for vindictive prosecution, I will post it there for you to read it. So until my next report, I'm Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of Legal af. Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do called Wait for It Morning af. Af. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AF are there as well. We got some new reporting. We got interviews, we got ad free versions of the podcast and hot takes where Legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe.