# A Thread for the Mueller Investigation Results and Outcomes (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 15, 2021, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549 "2021-07-15T10:22:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/41 "2023-01-24T14:18:05Z")
So, I’m not sure where to put this as there are many, many implications. I could start a thread, but then people would have to find it. I could put it in one of the many, many Hillary Email threads, where it does have relevancy. But I think I’m going to put this here. Because as important as Russian interference in the 2016 election was, the Department of Justice interference in the 2016 election was even worse. And they may be tied. I’m introducing a name to the discussion which has not been mentioned on the SDMB before, Charles McGonigal. Who is he, you may ask? Why he is the man put in charge of the Counterintelligence division of the Eastern District of NY Attorney General’s office by James Comey, in October 2016. > **[Charles McGonigal Named Special Agent in Charge of the Counterintelligence...](https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/charles-mcgonigal-named-special-agent-in-charge-of-the-counterintelligence-division-for-the-new-york-field-office)** > > FBI Director James B. Comey has named Charles McGonigal as the special agent in charge of the Counterintelligence Division for the New York Field Office. Anybody remember this? > **[Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia (Published 2016)](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/us/politics/fbi-russia-election-donald-trump.html)** > > After lengthy investigations, officials also believe that a hacking of Democratic emails was aimed at disrupting the election rather than electing Mr. Trump. The source for this article has never been revealed. (Also, at the same time, Hillary’s Emails was reaching its peak. On October 28, 2016, the same day McGonigal takes his new spot, Comey sends his infamous letter to Congress knowing full well it would be leaked.) OK, let’s go back to 2016. We had two FBI investigations going on BOTH candidates. How were they handled by the DOJ? > [@](#): > > This month, the Justice Department inspector general is expected to release the findings of its lengthy review of the F.B.I.’s conduct in the Clinton case. The results are certain to renew debate over decisions by the F.B.I. director at the time, James B. Comey, to publicly chastise Mrs. Clinton in a news conference, and then announce the [reopening of the investigation](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/29/us/politics/fbi-hillary-clinton-email.html) days before Election Day. Mrs. Clinton has said those actions [buried her presidential hopes](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/us/politics/hillary-clinton-james-comey.html). > > Those decisions stand in contrast to the F.B.I.’s handling of Crossfire Hurricane. Not only did agents in that case fall back to their typical policy of silence, but interviews with a dozen current and former government officials and a review of documents show that the F.B.I. was even more circumspect in that case than has been previously known. Many of the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly. From: > **[Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation...](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/us/politics/crossfire-hurricane-trump-russia-fbi-mueller-investigation.html)** > > Mr. Trump has described the investigation as a politically motivated effort to undermine his presidency. But time and again, agents took steps that ultimately benefited him. The article opens with a description of how agents were originally notified. And who was one of the agents in Operation Crossfire from its start in July, 2016? Charles McGonigal. So, Charles McGonigal was in charge of the hush-hush (in 2016) Trump Russia probe. _Someone_ with the authority got the NY Times to release a _front page_ exclusive declaring no ties between Trump and Russia. He gets promoted to a place where he could watch, possibly manage, Mueller. _ **And two days ago he gets arrested for being a spy/agent for Oleg Deripaska while working for the FBI!** _ > **[Ex-FBI official arrested for taking money from former foreign agent,...](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/ex-counterintel-head-fbi-new-york-mcgonigal-arrested-rcna66995)** > > Charles McGonigal allegedly took $225,000 in cash from a former foreign agent while still working for the FBI. He just pled not guilty this morning. Jesus fucking Christ, you will _never, ever_ convince me this guy wasn’t on the make for Russia re: Trump’s investigation. Fuck burden of proof, my opinion isn’t a court of law. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/42 "2023-01-24T19:12:42Z")
Shit, just learned that this guy was put _in charge_ of the Wikileaks investigation back in 2010, you know, the investigation which let Snowden get away with it while taking 9 full years to indict Assange. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/43 "2023-01-24T23:41:18Z")
Thanks, John. Please get a job as a world-class journalist so you can get this info out to a wider audience. And be redy for the next scandal. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/44 "2023-01-24T23:59:15Z")
Personally, I think this is a really big deal. I learned about it yesterday and wish I’d had time to post then. I’m glad I didn’t, because @JohnT did a much better job of it. It’s also good to continue to remind people how much was being done behind the scenes to interfere with Mueller’s investigation. Talk about rigged. ETA: I’m also glad Garland is coming down on him heavy, filing charges in 2 jurisdictions. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/45 "2023-01-25T05:15:00Z")
I didn’t even mention that Oleg Deriwhatever was the guy who used Paul Manafort for his dirty work in Ukraine, loaning him $10,000,000, the same Paul Manafort who was Trump’s campaign manager, the same Paul Manafort who went to jail for lying to the FBI, the same Paul Manafort who was pardoned by Trump. And, somehow, when Oleg needed someone to lobby for him… he chose an _FBI agent?_ _This_ FBI agent? The guy who was, supposedly, hunting Deripaska just 2 years earlier? _That’s_ the guy you want lobbying for you? Would Al Capone hire J Edgar Hoover if he (Hoover) retired from the FBI? The only way he would is if he already had his hooks set deep in Hoover already. Such is the same here. No way the hooks weren’t already set when McGonigal was ‘offered’ this position. The above, of course, is speculation, but it’s consistent with how things played out. A lot of shit was stonewalled. Slow walked. _And it still is being slow walked_. It shouldn’t take 2 damn years to prosecute a thousand low-level jackasses for the Insurrection, 2+ years to (possibly? We hope?) prosecute the leaders of the thing, 4 years to get tax returns, 6 months and still no indictments on the documents thing (but a weird adherence to the ‘don’t interfere because election’ rule they didn’t give a fuck about in 2016), etc, etc, etc. I mean, this GA grand jury. Great! But it’s just producing a report. Which is being argued over whether it should be released to the public. So it, too, is a bunch of nothing being done loudly. Just like everything else regarding this man and his criminality. It’s absolutely amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2023, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/46 "2023-01-25T05:23:10Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > _And it still is being slow walked_. It shouldn’t take 2 damn years to prosecute a thousand low-level jackasses for the Insurrection, 2+ years to (possibly? We hope?) prosecute the leaders of the thing, 4 years to get tax returns, 6 months and still no indictments on the documents thing (but a weird adherence to the ‘don’t interfere because election’ rule they didn’t give a fuck about in 2016), etc, etc, etc. Forget it Jake. It’s RepublicanTown. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/47 "2023-01-28T02:47:11Z")
I have a podcast lineup that I go through most (not every) day – for sports, I listen to Bill Simmons. For movies, The Big Picture. The MSNBC slate of shows are pods as well – the 4pm show Deadline White House (Nicolle Wallace) being my favorite, Lawrence O’Donnell likely #2, Joy Reid, others. The closest I get to a Joe Rogan-esque _Ranty Pod of the Left_ is our longtime friend, Keith Olbermann. Now Keith decided to pivot to political commentary back in 2015, 2016 – he had a couple of shows sponsored by GQ (my favorite was when he went on for 8 minutes and laid out the case that Trump hated dogs), disappeared from the podcast scene, and now has a “new” show called _Countdown_. Now, Keith is smart as hell. He is also more controlled by his emotions than has been good for his career – I’m reminded of what someone said about Mozart “If he had half the talent and twice the ability to get along with people, he’d go much further” (paraphrased). And while it’s true that half-the-talent Mozart isn’t really _Mozart_, the observation was probably correct. As it would be if aimed at Olbermann. Anyway, I would like for the readers of this thread to listen to his 1-25-2023 pod, _ **McGonigal Tied to FBI Attack on Hillary** _. You can start around minute 2 (first two minutes are ads) and the segment(s) end around minute 35, where he then replays his November 9th, 2016 podcast, the night after Trump wins. > **[McGONIGAL TIED TO FBI ATTACK ON HILLARY - 1.25.23](https://open.spotify.com/episode/18mV689YurvvpLC52fnYf6?si=74cc95971a45427f)** > > Listen to this episode from Countdown with Keith Olbermann on Spotify. EPISODE 119: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN A-Block (1:44) OF McGONIGAL, DERIPASKA, AND MANAFORT, Part 1: Even at this late date, the ex-FBI executive arrested Saturday, Charles... Link goes to Spotify, but you can find it elsewhere of course. In the 30 minutes, he lays out the clearest and most convincing case that the Trump-Russia issue is far from over, reviewing a timeline that goes from 1996-2022, from the start of McGonigal’s career to his arrest last week. From minute 2 to minute 35 – well, well worth a listen. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/48 "2023-01-28T17:00:43Z")
Lots of places I could put this - my Uber thread, my Toastmasters thread, hell, it’s even tangential to my Trump Campaign thread. But since it references the podcast linked above, what the hell, I’ll put it here. Rainy morning in San Antonio. Got done with my work for the day early (like 9am early), just sitting here bored, not wanting to do anything. So I turn on Uber, see if I can make a few dollars, and I get an immediate call - pick up Irv close by at Safelite Glass, then take him to home to Fair Oaks Ranch, about 30 minutes away. _Trumpy_ Fair Oaks Ranch. I usually have a selection of classical music pieces that I play for my Uber passengers. I had some piano concerto on when I was passing in front of Safelight Glass, Irv standing out there waiting for me. In a Trump 2024 t-shirt. Decisions were immediately made. The game plan changed, I called an audible. No longer worried about getting a tip or a good rating, I put on the podcast linked above and turn it to about minute three as I’m pulling in front of the shop. Irv gets in the car and immediately says the absolute dumbest piece of shit thing that someone has ever said to me while Ubering (but, in his defense, he isn’t the first): _“You can play whatever you want.”_ OK! Well, not being one to take an order from the likes of a MAGAT, I looked him in the eye via the rearview and said “Of course. This is _ **my** _ car, after all.” And so MAGA man got to listen to 30 minutes of Olbermann making the case that Trump is a Russian traitor. And it was a joyous thirty minutes for me, almost as joyous as that time I gave Joaquin Castro a ride and grilled his ass for 30 minutes, because MAGA-man was _pissed_. He started talking to me about the weather, and I mentioned I wasn’t worried about it because my date is tomorrow and, anyway, I’m trying to catch up on the news, k, thx, please shut the fuck up, remember: this is my car. He looks at his phone, frowns, then puts it away (I got the impression he had no charge in it). And, for the rest of the ride, sat there, arms crossed, pissed look on his face, but no choice but to listen to Olbermann recount the timeline of Trump’s betrayal, predict the future with clear accuracy (the 11.9.16 segment at the end), and the ride ended with about two minutes to go, Mr Man just _slamming_ the car door behind him, the pathetic-ness of the gesture immediately causing me to openly, demonstrably, laugh as I drove away. Boredom, and ignorance, fought! ---
**Author:** ![Cwturner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Cwturner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cwturner)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/49 "2023-01-31T14:46:21Z")
I just read Will Bunch’s column in the Philadelphia Inquirer where he parses this out in a depressingly credible timeline. It confirmes whatwe’ve allways suspected, that Trump was Putin’s darling. But to have a ranking FBI head helping the cause is scary. Hopefully this is going to get the attention it deserves. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/50 "2026-03-21T18:48:32Z")
Robert Mueller died yesterday. Thanks for following the rule book, buddy! [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/robert-mueller-special-counsel-who-probed-did-not-charge-trump-dies-81-2026-03-21/](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/robert-mueller-special-counsel-who-probed-did-not-charge-trump-dies-81-2026-03-21/) ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/51 "2026-03-21T19:16:07Z")
Stay classy, Donold: > **[Matt Novak (@paleofuture.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/paleofuture.bsky.social/post/3mhlkpa5uh22v)** > > Trump: “Robert Mueller just died. Good, I'm glad he's dead.” ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/52 "2026-03-21T19:26:28Z")
“Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people.” Can’t wait to say the same thing about Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/53 "2026-03-21T20:37:37Z")
If you don’t go to other people’s funerals, they won’t come to yours. I’m not planning to go to either of theirs. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/54 "2026-03-21T20:47:11Z")
Trump has what it takes to be a true statesman, a humble man who exudes grace, empathy and benevolence. I hope the fucker drops dead. May god smite him, over and over, with a rusty (but heavenly) chainsaw. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/55 "2026-03-22T02:04:19Z")
I heartily endorse this. I don’t typically wish death on people, but for someone that gloats over the death of an extremely upstanding person, fuck Trump. Hope the strain of him trying to crap out his fiber free diet does him in and he is found dead on his golden toilet. What a miserable excuse of a human. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/56 "2026-03-22T02:31:01Z")
And yet one out of three Americans preferred him over anything the Democrats served up. Bastards. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/57 "2026-03-22T04:11:16Z")
Also, you think Fox News will ever report on this undignified and repugnant bile coming from Trump? Fuck Fox News and Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/58 "2026-03-22T09:41:37Z")
♫ You walked into the wake now like you were walking onto a yacht ♫ Your hat strategically dipped below one eye ♫ Your scarf it was apricot ♫ You had one eye in the mirror, as you watched yourself gavotte ♫ And all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner ♫ They’d be your partner and ♫ You’re so vain ♫ You probably think party’s about you ♫ You’re so vain (you’re so vain) ♫ I bet you think all these tears are about you? ♫ Don’t you, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/59 "2026-03-22T13:12:50Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Also, you think Fox News will ever report on this undignified and repugnant bile coming from Trump? Fuck Fox News and Trump. Of course they will report it. And say how right he was to react that way. To quote from One Tin Soldier, they will go ahead and justify it in the end. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549/60 "2026-03-22T17:11:27Z")
🎶 I had a dream there was Trump in my closet, Yeah, Trump in my closet, and… 🎶 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-the-mueller-investigation-results-and-outcomes-part-2/946549.md?page=2)