Memo Detailing Russiagate Abuses Names High-Level US Officials

[image: RTR30QON © Kevin Lamarque / Reuters ]

A week-ago four-page memo described as explosive and shocking was released to House members – reportedly showing extensive FISA abuses.

A previous article explained it contains information about the Justice Department, the FBI and fake Trump dossier – prepared for Hillary Clinton and the DNC by former UK MI6 intelligence operative Christopher Steele.

It makes spurious accusations without evidence, alleging misconduct and collusion between Trump, his campaign team and Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign – including phony accusations of Russian US election interference.

It reveals alleged abusive tactics by high-level US officials. According to the Daily Beast, it names “FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, along with former FBI Director James Comey.”

Many GOP lawmakers are calling for the memo’s release, spearheaded by House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes.

Undemocratic Dems want its contents suppressed. The Daily Beast said it “learned that Hill Republicans are gearing up to use an obscure parliamentary rule to release it.”

So-called Rule X, subsection 11(g) explains a process for releasing classified material even if the president objects.

It’s rarely invoked. Now’s the time to expose Russiagate wrongdoing and hold responsible parties accountable.

According to the Daily Beast, “(u)nder the rule, if a clash occurs between the House intelligence committee and the executive branch over keeping something secret, the president gets five days to deliver objections that cite a danger to national security posed by disclosure.”

“Should the dispute persist, the committee can vote to take the matter to the full House of Representatives to consider. The full House’s debate is to occur in secret, with a public vote determining the outcome.”

“The president, however, can simply decide on his own to declassify anything. And in Trump’s case, his spokesperson is on the record supporting declassification.”

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said “(w)e certainly support full transparency. We believe that’s at the House intel committee to make that decision at this point.”

“It sounds like there are some members in the House that have some real concern about what’s in that memo and feel very strongly that the American public should be privy to see it.”

The Trump Justice Department opposes release, its top congressional liaison Stephen Boyd saying:

“(I)t would be extraordinarily reckless for the Committee to disclose such information publicly without giving the Department and the FBI the opportunity to review the memorandum and to advise the (House intelligence committee) of the risk of harm to national security and to ongoing investigations that could come from public release,” adding:

The DOJ is “unaware of any wrongdoing,” a comment smacking of coverup. It’s unclear how many GOP House members read the memo, maybe all of them by now, several expressing outrage about its contents, calling for its release.

Under the hashtag #releasethememo, GOP House member Mark Meadows tweeted:

“I read the classified memo from House Intel, outlining stunning info on the last administration’s FISA and surveillance abuses that should NEVER happen in America. The public should be able to view the same memo I did.”

Another referred to Obamagate. On Facebook, actor Clint Eastwood remarked that “(o)ne day we will realize that the Barack Obama presidency was the biggest fraud ever perpetrated on the American people.”

He’s right. They’re all dirty rotten scoundrels, with attribution to the film by the same name.

Russiagate is a colossal scam. There’s plenty about Trump to criticize. Nothing suggests illegal or improper behavior between him, his campaign team and Russia. No Russian election hacking occurred.

Most #Releasethememo tweets are from ordinary Americans wanting it released, calling for accountability if evidence proves wrongdoing by government officials.

Discrediting it by undemocratic Dems and other Trump opponents by claiming Russian trolls are behind it is part of the coverup effort.

The memo is a potential bombshell. “Hill Democrats and former FBI officials say it’s a ploy to damage public confidence in the FBI and undermine Mueller’s investigation,” the Daily Beast reported, adding:

“Republicans, meanwhile, say the memo contains massively disturbing evidence of FBI wrongdoing.”

Given public disclosure about the memo’s existence and alleged wrongdoing it details, release isn’t certain but seems likely – either in full or redacted form.

The post Memo Detailing Russiagate Abuses Names High-Level US Officials appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Jeff Sessions Rescinds Legal Doc to Allow Police to Jail People for Being Poor

The DOJ has rescinded a legal guidance that requires courts to stop the imprisonment of poor individuals because they cannot pay court fines and fees.

Report: Justice Department offers plea bargain to Hillary Clinton

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an exclusive telephone interview with Infowars.com, noted Clinton author Ed Klein affirmed the reliability of his source for the story he published yesterday that the Justice Dept. has reopened the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information on her private email system while she was secretary of state, and is considering offering her a plea bargain if she were willing to plead guilty.

Klein’s reporting suggests President Trump’s harsh criticism of Attorney General Sessions may have prompted the Justice Department not only to begin an investigation of criminal leaks, but also to reopen an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email scandal.

“My source is the golden standard of sources,” Klein insisted. “The lawyer who is my source is closer to the Clintons than anybody.”

Infowars.com asked Klein if he considered it likely Hillary Clinton would accept a Justice Department plea bargain, if one were offered.

“In my view and in the view of my source, it is highly unlikely – almost zero – that Hillary Clinton being Hillary Clinton will accept – if it were offered, and it has not yet been offered – a plea bargain,” Klein answered.

“She’s just not that kind of person,” he continued.  “Even though legally speaking a plea bargain might clear the decks quicker, in the sense that she would then presumably not be prosecuted for anything, she’s the type of person who fights every inch of the way against every possible attack that has been launched against the Clintons for the last 30 years.”

Infowars.com asked Klein if he could confirm rumors circulating in New York City that the Justice Dept.’s Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn had been interviewing Clinton Foundation officials, in a yet unannounced investigation in which key Clinton Foundation operatives were being offered use immunity in exchange for testimony.

Klein said he had no information that would confirm the Justice Department had opened up an investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

Infowars.com followed up by asking if a plea bargain on the email scandal mean the Justice Department would give the Clintons a pass on investigating Clinton Foundation alleged improprieties.

“My understand, but this is interpolation, not reporting, is that the preliminary discussion of a plea bargain would make Hillary immune to prosecution on any and all counts,” Klein said, cautioning that he did not have this fully confirmed.  “My assumption is that Hillary would plead guilty on the email charges, but in return, the Justice Department would agree not to prosecute her.”

But Klein was not sure how far a plea bargain deal would extend.

“If the agreement not to prosecute Hillary would extend to other issues, for instance, lying about Benghazi, or doing ‘pay-to-play’ deals with foreign government or business contacts in return for contributions to the Clinton Foundation, or Bill Clinton getting these exorbitant fees as a return favor for something Hillary did as secretary of state – I don’t know for sure if a plea bargain would extend this far – I assume it would, but I don’t know for certain,” Klein responded.

Klein told Infowars.com that all of former FBI Director James Comey’s files on the Clinton email investigation have been transferred from the FBI’s headquarters in the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington to the Justice Department offices.

“It’s a huge story and I am utterly confident of my source,” Klein insisted  “I have double and triple checked.  I have used this source before on many other occasions in writing books and he’s always proved totally accurate.”

Klein expressed dismay the mainstream media have not picked up this story to begin querying the Justice Department.

“My guess is the Justice Department’s response would be ‘no comment,’” Klein said.  “And I’m equally confident the Clintons would dismiss the entire story as without basis, but that response would be the response from the Clintons that I would anticipate.  The Clintons lie through their teeth.”

Via Infowars

Trump Administration attempts to make Benghazi documents exempt from disclosure

Is Trump privy to the ruling or did the deep state gatekeep?

(INTELLIHUB) — Judicial watch President Tom Fitton says his organization filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests pertaining to the Benghazi debacle, specifically in regards to emails that Hillary Clinton received from Fmr. President Barack Obama about what happen at Benghazi, before the Trump Administration asked the court to reconsider its ruling in an effort to keep the documents classified.

Fitton says that the emails came from Clinton’s system and were not classified, however, the Justice Department and the State Department do not want them out.

“Either way, we want to find out exactly what went on with this classification issue,” the Judicial Watch president said. “But I can tell you it’s disappointing to fight the Trump Administration on this issue.”

Fitton says that he “can’t imagine” that President Trump knows about this issue and feels that it’s likely the deep state acting as a gatekeeper to the info.

“We are getting the pushback from the Justice Department and the State Department being run by appointees of President Trump,” Fitton said. “We are going to fight this in court.”

H/T: Avalon

Shepard Ambellas is an opinion journalist, analyst, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Intellihub News & Politics (Intellihub.com). Shepard is also known for producing Shade: The Motion Picture (2013) and appearing on Travel Channel’s America Declassified (2013). Shepard is a regular contributor to Infowars. Read more from Shep’s World. Get the Podcast. Follow Shep on Facebook and Twitter.

©2017. INTELLIHUB.COM. All Rights Reserved.

"Chicago Is A War Zone": Police Suicide Rate Surges To 60% Above The National Average

During his early days on the force, 30-year-old, rookie Chicago police officer, Scott Tracz, was described by colleagues as an "upbeat" cop who had always dreamed of becoming a police officer to help people in his city.  That is, until he sat in a black sports car outside his girlfriend"s suburban house late last year, put his gun to his head and took his own life.  Per Reuters:

Tracz had long dreamed of becoming a police officer to help others. But working in the violence-stricken Chicago Lawn district, he came face to face with the city"s violent crime. The area accounted for 58 of the city"s more than 760 murders last year, as well as 228 shootings.

"He would say, "You can never imagine what the human race is capable of doing," then he would just put his head down," said his cousin Maciaszek, 46.

Unfortunately, stories just like the one of Scott Tracz are becoming all too common on the Chicago police force as officers deal with the psychological side effects of having to go to work every single day in Chicago"s "war zone."

"Chicago is a war zone," said Alexa James, the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Chicago. "They (officers) are seeing the worst day of everybody’s life every day."

"Suicide is killing officers, alcohol is killing officers, at a far greater rate than ambushes, but there is not the same sense of urgency around this issue," said Christy Lopez, a former Justice Department official who led the Chicago federal probe.

Chicago police"s suicide rate was 29.4 per 100,000 department members between 2013 and 2015, the report said, citing police union figures. The department disagreed in the report, putting the rate at 22.7 suicides per 100,000 members. Both estimates were higher than the national average of 18.1 law enforcement suicides per 100,000.

As we"ve noted many times in the past, Chicago"s homicide rate in 2016 soared to levels not seen since the mid-90s when gang wars plagued the streets of cities all around the nation (charts via HeyJackAss!).

And, things aren"t getting any better so far in 2017...

...particularly in the city"s South and West side neighborhoods.

To add insult to injury, because of Chicago"s onerous gun laws that permanently prohibit anyone who has been involuntarily committed for in-patient mental health treatment from carrying a gun, a requirement for cops, the folks working for the Chicago PD generally refuse mental health services out of fear of losing their job.

Some officers believe that seeking counseling will result in the loss of their Firearm Owner Identification Card, a requirement to carry a firearm under state law, according to current and former officers, as well as health officials. That view is mistaken, say Justice Department officials.

Still, "If someone thinks I have talked to EAP they think I’m unstable, so I’m not going to call," said one veteran officer, who asked not to be identified.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in February the department"s past approach to mental health was wrong. In a report issued in March, the department said it would review mental wellness support services.

"Law enforcement historically has been seen as a very macho profession," Johnson said at a public forum about police reform. "To say you needed help was seen as a sign of weakness and we were wrong for looking at it that way, we were simply wrong."

But hey, at least the Obama administration sought to help Chicago Police officers by dropping a DOJ study, one week prior to departing the White House, effectively labeling their department as nothing more than a bunch of racist, hate-mongering bullies who routinely resort to the use of "deadly force" in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.

EXCLUSIVE: Elderly Disabled Veteran Rotting in Solitary for Digging Ponds on His Own Property

Basin, MT — When the Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1948, it was an attempt by the legislature to control the pollution of which so many Americans were being made aware. But little did Congress know, at the time the bill became law, that it would create a dragnet which would net a catch of seemingly law abiding citizens.

There’s no question Joe Robertson liked to thumb his nose to federal authorities over what he believed belonged to him, and what he thought was property of the federal government. At one time, Robertson, a disabled vet who suffers from PTSD, owned a gold mine called the Manhattan Lode. The Robertsons even moved up to their claim, in an effort to apparently carve out a homestead in the hills above Basin, Montana.

There were several run-ins with authorities. Robertson had built several structures on federal land (fence, barn, etc.), but when he decided to build 9 watering ponds on his property, that’s when it all went South for the 77-year-old veteran. Agents from the EPA, the Forest Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Jefferson County undersheriff, and the chief deputy attorney, all descended on Robertson’s property to inspect what they considered to be a violation of the Clean Water Act.

Robertson’s property had already been sold to a real-estate agent, a transaction the Robertsons’ dispute, and three of the ponds were also reportedly built on federal land as well as six on what used to be his own.

Every town in the U.S. probably has a Joe Robertson; someone who feels like their property is theirs to do with what they wish. But those folks often meet a cruel fate when the government, especially the federal government, gets involved. The Justice Department filed a criminal case against Robertson, and the senior citizen was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for damaging wetlands and waters belonging to the United States.

The EPA celebrated their victory within a Justice Department announcement. “Following a four day federal trial, a Montana jury found Joseph David Robertson, 77, guilty on two counts of unauthorized discharge of pollutants into waters of the United States and one count of injury or depredation of United States property,” part of the statement reads.

The Justice Department explained their case against Robertson, “The United States introduced evidence and expert testimony from the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA that the stream and wetlands had a significant nexus to traditional navigable waters, and therefore were “waters of the United States.” The keywords in the statement “wetlands” and “waters of the United States” are the ones federal prosecutors used to put Robertson away. And it’s those same words with which Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) takes umbrage.

Paul wrote, in his book titled, Government Bullies, “The Clean Water Act never even mentioned the term ‘wetlands’ while passing through Congress for approval. The unelected bureaucracy (EPA) simply created the concept and defines it in distinct terminology dependent upon whatever scenario they are currently considering. ‘Wetlands’ quite literally can mean whatever the EPA wants it to mean. The definition of wetlands has become so absurd and transparent that the Army Corps of Engineers developed the ‘migratory bird theory.’ This theory states that if your land is a stopping point for any migratory bird that has traveled between real navigable waters, then your land is now de facto connected to the interstate navigable streams. I’m not kidding. This theory is irrational & completely illogical. How did it ever become enforceable law? It happened because Congress has abdicated its duty in this area. Citizens often run afoul of these rules inadvertently due to the constant evolution of complex and unexplained regulations.”

In an attempt to remain neutral in Robertson’s case, but also to draw a comparison, when the BP oil spill took place in the Gulf of Mexico, on April 20^th, 2010, a massive explosion on the off-shore oil rig took the lives of 11 oil rig workers, and resulted in history’s largest discharge of crude oil into the surrounding waters. The ruptured well resulted in the release of an estimated 4.9 billion barrels of crude oil into the Gulf, making it the largest marine oil spill in history.

The same Justice Department which sent Robertson, arguably an elderly old codger who liked picking small, school-yard types of fights with the federal government, had also investigated the BP oil spill. According to Reuters, “A Justice Department probe into the spill led to criminal charges against just four, mostly lower-level BP employees. The other rig supervisor, Robert Kaluza, was acquitted in February by a jury of the same pollution charge as Vidrine’s. Kaluza and Vidrine previously faced manslaughter charges, but those were dropped. Former BP Vice President David Rainey was acquitted by a jury last June of charges he lied to federal agents about how much oil was spilled. The fourth defendant, engineer Kurt Mix, was sentenced to six months of probation last November after pleading guilty to damaging a computer, a misdemeanor.”

The result: no one spent one day in prison. Not one person, involved with history’s largest oil spill, spent one day behind bars as a convict. But let a squatting gold miner dig a few ponds on what he considered to be his own property, and admittedly a little sliver of federal land, and the government showed no mercy. And he isn’t fairing well in prison, reportedly. His wife told reporters he’s been kept in solitary confinement, has suffered fainting spells, and is in overall poor health.

After the conviction, an independent environmental consulting firm, Kagel Environmental, LLC, Nationwide Wetlands, Waters & Wildlife Consulting, located in Rigby, Idaho 83442, conducted a pro bono evaluation of the property the federal government claimed had led to harmful pollution of “wetlands” in violation of the Clean Water Act.

Robertson’s family gave the Free Thought Project a copy of this report. The firm concluded that the area where Robertson built his ponds could not be considered “wetlands,” nor did they find a single sliver of evidence that Robertson caused pollution.

The EPA lied to throw an innocent man in prison.

KE writes, “According to the USGS topo map (Mt. Thompson Quadrangle) the unnamed tributary to Cataract Creek is an intermittent headwater drainage channel. According to the NRCS Soil Survey, none of the ponds are underlain by hydric (wetland) soils, and according to the USFWS NWI maps, none of the ponds are located within federally mapped wetlands.”

KE also concluded Robertson was within his rights to proceed with excavation without being compelled to acquire a permit because the ponds were relatively small in nature and were being used to feed livestock and wild animals. “KE observed that the pond construction, either within the narrow channel of the intermittent creek or adjacent wetland, did not appear to have required a permit since the work was accomplished via non-regulated excavation,” they wrote taking note of the small farm equipment he used to construct the ponds in question.

Furthermore, the report added, “We understand that the pond excavation was accomplished using a Case 780 trackhoe with a 36-inch wide bucket and/or a 580 Case backhoe with a 24-inch wide bucket. Any dredged material dripping from the bucket back into the water or wetland is considered an incidental fallback and therefore not subject to any requirement for a Section 404 permit (Tulloch Rule).” The firm found that Robertson did not need the federal permit required for the ponds’ construction because his equipment was not considered heavy-equipment and the dredged drippings would be inconsequential.

Ironically, the independent evaluation also found that Robertson may have actually done the federal government a favor by creating the ponds. They write, “KE determined that the creation of Ponds #1, #2, and #3, which we understand are located on USFS lands, have actually enhanced the aquatic resources relative to the intermittent channel and adjacent wetlands.” From the KE report, one could conclude Robertson was within his rights to construct the ponds, they weren’t located in a “wetland”, and while he may have erred in building ponds on federal property, the environment is now better off as a result.

Ultimately, the fate of Joe Robertson came down to an issue of property rights, states’ rights, and the federal government. Did he have a right to construct ponds on his own land? Could the State of Montana have dealt with Robertson on their own without the heavy-handedness of the federal government’s intrusion and ultimate prosecution of the aging veteran? And is it fair that the BP officials can get away with the largest case of pollution in the history of mankind, yet one cranky old mountain man can’t get away with building ponds to feed his animals?

These questions and more reveal the sad state of affairs in America, where corporations are given free passes, and the rights of the individual to live as he pleases get trampled.

New Clinton Probe Dead from the Start, John Podesta’s Best Friend at DOJ In Charge of Investigation

Late on Friday evening, the FBI announced the reopening of its investigation of Hillary Clinton and her opprobrious emails, and the Department of Justice quickly followed suit on Monday, vowing to “dedicate all needed resources to quickly review emails in [the] Clinton case,” according to a tweet by the Associated Press.

BREAKING: Justice Dept. says it"ll dedicate all needed resources to quickly review emails in Clinton case.

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 31, 2016

Both announcements, made after Clinton aid Huma Abedin’s emails were discovered on estranged husband Anthony Weiner’s computer, come amid growing internal contention, as the FBI and DOJ parse out how to deal with the pressure of a rapidly approaching presidential election, as well as public perception the original investigation had been purposely bumbled in favor of the Democratic nominee.

However welcome or unwelcome the news of reopened investigations might be, one major detail — revealed in Wikileaks ongoing publications of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta’s emails — presents evidence the Justice Department’s probe could amount to little more than a smoke screen to placate an irate public.

Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik promised Congress in a letter the Justice Department “will continue to work closely with the FBI and together, dedicate all necessary resources and take appropriate steps as expeditiously as possible.”

#BREAKING Senior DOJ official sends letter to lawmakers responding to request for more information about email review.#8days pic.twitter.com/PCgT2ODkQd

— Just the Facts (@JTF_News) October 31, 2016

Perhaps that vow, from a government branch putatively dedicated to ensuring the criminal element is duly punished for misbehavior, should reassure those increasingly suspicious of an obviously-rigged system.

Perhaps, before Wikileaks revealed interdepartmental communications and corruption, that promise might have held weight beyond a symbolic gesture of obligation — but as Podesta’s emails reveal, it’s entirely possible this reopened investigation is failed from the start.

Kadzik, in fact, maintains a cozy enough relationship with Podesta to have had dinner with the Clinton insider just one day after the former secretary of state testified before the House Select Committee on Benghazi last October.

And the pair’s familiarity isn’t held to a simple dinner party, as the Daily Caller reported, “Podesta and Kadzik, the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs, were in frequent contact, other emails show. In one email from January, Kadzik and Podesta, who were classmates at Georgetown Law School in the 1970s, discussed plans to celebrate Podesta’s birthday. And in another sent last May, Kadzik’s son emailed Podesta asking for a job on the Clinton campaign.”

So, Kadzik — an extremely close friend to the chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign — is tasked with heading the newly reopened investigation of Hillary Clinton.

Clinton couldn’t ask for an arrangement better situated to again find insufficient evidence worthy of bringing charges against her. As far as conflicts of interest go, this takes the cake.

“The political appointees in the Obama administration, especially in the Department of Justice, appear to be very partisan in nature and I don’t think had clean hands when it comes to the investigation of the private email server,” executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, Matthew Whitaker, told the Daily Caller.

If political wranglings and connections marred transparency and neutrality the first time around, it would be reasonable to assume the players haven’t since magically unentangled themselves from Clinton and her campaign mere days before Americans take to the polls.

“It’s the kind of thing the American people are frustrated about is that the politically powerful have insider access and have these kind of relationships that ultimately appear to always break to the benefit of Hillary Clinton,” Whitaker continued, also noting the controversial meeting between Bill Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch on an airport tarmac in Phoenix during the DOJ’s previous investigation.

In fact, Kadzik, as an Obama appointee to the Justice Department beginning in 2013, also initiated the effort to have Loretta Lynch appointed to the role of Attorney General.

And the friendship between Kadzik and Podesta — as well as their connections to the Obama administration and additional officials overseeing the Clinton investigation — spans decades.

In 2008, for example, as the Washington Free Beacon from of the leaked emails, Podesta emailed an Obama campaign official to recommend Kadzik have a supportive role in Obama’s presidential campaign — particularly because the latter was a “fantastic lawyer” who managed to keep Podesta “out of jail.”

Although Kadzik, as head of the Office of Legislative Affairs, does not have a direct role in ‘chain of command’ for the Clinton investigation, he does field inquiries from Congress concerning her emails.

Noted by the Daily Caller, in “November, he denied a request from Republican lawmakers to appoint a special counsel to lead the investigation,” which sparked outrage by the GOP over potential conflicts of interest.

Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis voiced particular concerns about Lynch’s longtime connections to the Clintons in a February 1, 2016 , and that Obama’s appointees “are being asked to impartially execute their respective duties as Department of Justice officials that may involve an investigation into the activities of the forerunner for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.”

While the Daily Caller’s report goes much further in depth concerning the relationships of Podesta and Kadzik with the Clintons and their insiders, it can be easily surmised in even a simple perusal of facts there could be no possible way an investigation this critical — and with resounding implications — would maintain any semblance of impartiality.

When Julian Assange vociferously denounces the U.S. electoral and political systems as rigged beyond repair, these connections are precisely what he’s referring to.

It might calm an irate public to hear an investigation had to be reopened — but when the effort involves the same players as the first round, the outcome is all-too predictable.

Finally! After More than 2 Years, The Cop Who Killed Eric Garner Will Be Charged

New York, NY — On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner, father of six, had just broken up a fight outside of his shop when he was targeted by NYPD cops for harassment and extortion. Fed up with the constant persecution from cops, Garner voiced his discontent. He was subsequently assaulted and killed by “compression of neck, chest and positioning during restraint by police.” In spite of investigators ruling his death a homicide, and the video evidence, no one has ever been held responsible for the murder of Eric Garner — until now.

According to the NY Post, a source within law enforcement told them Washington-based federal prosecutors plan to aggressively pursue charges against NYPD cop Daniel Pantaleo for the chokehold death of Eric Garner on Staten Island.

“It’s going to happen sooner than later,” the source said of an indictment. “Washington wants to indict him.”

According to the Post:

Federal investigators in Brooklyn were replaced by DC counterparts because of their reluctance to bring charges, the source said.

The New York feds are privately seething. They accused their Beltway colleagues of trying to “make an example out of Pantaleo” at any cost, said one source familiar with the case.

“We already … came to a conclusion which they didn’t like. It’s truly disgraceful what they’re doing,” the source said.

“I can’t breathe,” Garner pleaded, eleven times — as officer Daniel Pantaleo choked the life from this kind and loving man. 

As Claire Bernish pointed out, Garner’s plea for his life became the rallying call of Black Lives Matter and police brutality activists across the nation and around the world — though the inhumanity of having to beg for one’s life after committing a nonviolent, victimless crime remains sadly all-too-common.

But though news of violent and deadly acts committed by police top headlines with alarming frequency, the fact Pantaleo used his bare hands to strangle the life from Garner was a startling departure from shootings that typify brutal policing. So personal is choking a man to death, even ordinary Americans were suddenly forced to question what, exactly, happened to the romanticized image of friendly neighborhood police from mere decades ago.

Since this murder caught on video, Pantaleo has enjoyed his full salary and millions of taxpayer dollars in security costs to protect one of New York’s most loathed peace officers.

Until this week, the only person to face any consequences for Garner’s death is the man who filmed it.

Ramsey Orta, the man who filmed one of the most infamous police killings in history – and was thereafter targeted by police in a barrage of “false and/or trumped up charges” – was sentenced to four years in prison for gun possession and drug charges earlier this month. 

The events leading up to the murder of Eric Garner were nothing short of insidious. For years, these same NYPD cops targeted Garner for harassment and extortion. As the Free Thought Project exclusively reported back in December 2014, Garner had been sexually assaulted by the NYPD — on more than one occasion.

In an interview with Garner’s stepfather as well as his children, the Free Thought Project was told that police had actually stolen money from Garner, who subsequently planned to file a complaint against the NYPD for this theft. Police were there that day, Benjamin Carr, Garner’s stepfather says, not to shake Garner down for selling smokes, but to retaliate against him for trying to expose their theft.

Before he killed Eric Garner on video, Pantaleo had been sued three times for violating the constitutional rights of other black males in the area, by performing humiliating strip searches and fondling the genitalia of his victims, some of them in public view.

The most recent of these lawsuits was filed the November following Garner’s death, and comes from Kenneth Collins, who says in the lawsuit that he “was subjected to a degrading search of his private parts and genitals by the defendants.”

The NYPD paid out a settlement in 2013 to two men who sued the city because Pantaleo forced them to strip naked in public as he “touched and searched their genital areas, or stood by while this was done in their presence.”

According to another lawsuit, victim Rylawn Walker, was charged with marijuana possession and underwent similar rights violations by Pantaleo. The charges were dismissed against Walker and the case sealed on a motion from prosecutors. His lawsuit against the NYPD stated that Walker “was committing no crime at that time and was not acting in a suspicious manner.”

Defense lawyer Michael Colihan summed up this atrocity when he wrote a letter in August 2014 to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos. In his letter, Colihan said:

To put it mildly, many police on Staten Island have been playing fast, loose and violently with the public they seem to have forgotten they are sworn to protect. After litigating about 200 of these civil rights matters in the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York since 1977, I have seen no interest by the managers of the New York City Police Department, or anyone employed by the city of New York, in doing anything to stop this.

For two years, the complacency and failure to act on the crimes of the NYPD have continued. But now, Garner’s family has renewed hope that the man who took their beloved father, husband, and son, will soon be held accountable for his actions.

Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter and now on Steemit