Actually not much ambiguity to be found, there...
The FBI says they DO have the laptop... Do you not trust them ? It doesn't matter, as it turns out... since others "have it" as well... limiting their ability to lie about it. As far as the other two computers... that's a good question. Others might have better technical ability to recover data from them... more than the shop owner ? What's happened to the other two seems it isn't an item of much discussion... the potential being over-whelmed in any case by other "birds in hand"... which includes other computers... with additional proofs from Biden's business partners... whose testimony also corroborates all of it. Stick a fork in em... or quit pretending to care about the law... as others clearly have.
Note, also, the FBI holding the computer as evidence in an investigation... does not alter the ownership ? The computer itself is still the property of the repair shop. They were fully within their rights to MAKE COPIES of the content on the hard drives, which they did, before surrendering the physical devices to the FBI. When (perhaps wrongly, as it turns out) it seemed that, over a year later, nothing was being done ? The owners released the information.
Recent history, also, clearly gave the shop good reason(s) to not trust the FBI would be careful with their property... or actually use it, and do anything about it ? It appears they were unwilling to take risks in either case... not allowing "legal process" to be used as the excuse in an attempted effort to suppress the information, or prevent public awareness... on an issue that clearly is massively important in context of voters making informed choices.
Citizens no longer trust the DOJ and FBI intend to prosecute crime and corruption. So, evidence is not surrendered in expectation much will come of it... but knowing that the court of public opinion is the only court that is likely to see and timely admit the facts into evidence... while the FBI and DOJ are on the case.
A far more relevant concern, then... is that the subpoena might have been issued not to "facilitate the investigation" but to address "containing loose ends"... say, if the purpose of the "investigation" were in fact to suppress the evidence under seal, ensuring it is NOT used in a TIMELY effort building and prosecuting a case. Foot-dragging with suppression... delaying until after an election... is interference in the election ?
That issue isn't resolved. But, that issue, and not the current election, is far and away the most important issue. (It was MADE key in 2016... it is MADE so again in 2020... and seems it will be forever... without effort made in fixing it.) In the instance, the DOJ still has that question to answer in the current case... as "dragging their feet" on an investigation to limit public awareness of obviously critical issues... to keep that awareness from having impact in elections... is an issue that is WAY above their pay-grade. That's just NOT their job... not their call.
Barr created that problem... the first time he was Attorney General. Others have amplified it. The current case as an instance does little to resolve it... as "not being blind" to politics and political impacts in making investigatory and prosecutorial decisions... to "try to not have impact"... inherently results in decisions being MADE political... a corrupted bit of logic Barr created, has embraced, and allows to fester... apparently, in spite of the evidence forced on us, he's still unable to see the flaw in his logic as it plays out in reality.
I have little confidence that he "gets it" or intends to work on fixing it. That requires Congress must act... or, even better, legal action must be taken, to sue Barr, (and Lynch) and bring the issue to the Supreme Court... to re-define, for the Department of Justice, exactly what the rules ARE, given the Constitution limits political considerations being a factor when they are conducting investigations and prosecutions... even, or particularly, in cases with clear public policy implications.
Ask Michael Flynn about that ? It is Barr's policy, blurring those lines enabling political decisions, that has opened that door further, for much less careful Attorney's General, to enable political prosecutions.
A proper result will ensure, as is true of others in government... that the DOJ are not wrongly usurping power, while enabling themselves in becoming political actors...( as it seems they are now, by inaction... as they clearly were in 2016... quite aggressively...) even if only by "looking the other way" during election season (that is, all the time, now.)
A suit should be filed... by Trump and Flynn... suing Barr. In both cases the FBI and DOJ "sat" on evidence that was exculpatory... resulting in wrongful prosecutions... which otherwise would not have occurred. Not acting... "because politics"... is acting wrongly because of politically driven choices.
There's the fork in the road on this issue... neither fork being "about the election"... one fork, the lesser, is about the facts in relation to Biden family criminality. The other fork is about the facts in relation to function... our legitimate concern that DOJ's functions are still inherently political... just as they were under Obama/Lynch/Comey... when they tap danced around Clinton's crimes in the e-mail scandal (again, exposed by citizens... not the government) resulting in panicked public disclosure by a crazed Comey declaring "careless" "no sane prosecutor" etc... still hoping and expecting that would HELP her ?
Dark holes... dug deeper...
The people versus the corrupt politicians... isn't a partisan issue... making me a supporter of Julian Assange... on the one and probably ONLY issue we're ever likely to agree on ?
The corruption of specific politicians is one, narrow, issue. The corruption of the process to ensure the process fails in addressing those politicians corruption... is another issue. Barr's policy... as implemented by Lynch/Comey under Obama...AND as seen being implemented by Barr/Wray under Trump right now... works to protect and sustain the corrupt politicians... giving them a free pass... if exposing their crimes "might impact elections."
The effort is failing... only because private citizens are standing up to it... not allowing it to work... thus forcing sudden lurches in DOJ / FBI communications, and policy shifts seen only as the forced public admissions are made... only after truth is exposed by others. That part, you should note, seems it has all the politicians... R and D... aligned on the same team... sustaining the brokenness of the DOJ / FBI... to protect themselves ? Barr's policy creates INCENTIVE for corruption, as the fact of corruption itself becomes the source of protections granted ? It also opens the door to political prosecutions... which we see happening now.
That's Bill Barr's legacy... |
