[Bytor Peltor]

July 25, 2019 (page 366)

Originally Posted by Bytor Peltor

Former Federal Prosecutor on Mueller: 'He Clearly Did Not Run This Investigation'

September 13, 2020 (page 461)

Originally Posted by Bytor Peltor

Members of Mueller’s team ’wiped’ phones during Trump probe: DOJ

Sen. Ron Johnson asks DOJ watchdog to investigate Mueller team phones over erased information

"These reports are troubling and raise concerns about record retention and transparency," Johnson wrote in a letter to Department of Justice (DOJ) inspector general Michael Horowitz. "Therefore, I respectfully request that your office open an investigation into this matter to determine what, why, and how information was wiped, whether any wrongdoing occurred, and who these devices belonged to."


DOJ FOIA Release: Members of Mueller Team Repeatedly ‘Wiped’ phones as Watchdog Sought Records


““It appears that Special Counsel Mueller’s team may have deleted federal records that could be key to better understanding their decision-making process as they pursued their investigation and wrote their report. Indeed, many officials apparently deleted the records after the DOJ Inspector General began his inquiry into how the Department mishandled Crossfire Hurricane. Moreover, based on this new information, the number of times and the stated reasons for the deletions calls into question whether or not it was a widespread intentional effort,” Grassley wrote in a letter today to Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray.“

September 11, 2020

VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
The Honorable William Barr
Attorney General
Department of Justice

The Honorable Christopher A. Wray
Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Dear Attorney General Barr and Director Wray:

A recent Justice Department Freedom of Information Act release suggests that multiple members of Special Counsel Mueller’s team may have wiped data from their government phones including texts messages during their investigation of Russian collusion in the 2016 election.[1] One team member, Andrew Weissmann, appears to have deleted all of the data on his phone more than once. On March 8, 2018, records show that Weissmann “[e]ntered [his] password too many times and wiped his phone.” On September 27, another report reads, “AAW accidentally wiped cell phone – data lost.” On two occasions, officials admitted to deleting data, and multiple individuals stated that the phone automatically wiped the data after they used the wrong password too many times.

It appears that Special Counsel Mueller’s team may have deleted federal records that could be key to better understanding their decision-making process as they pursued their investigation and wrote their report. Indeed, many officials apparently deleted the records after the DOJ Inspector General began his inquiry into how the Department mishandled Crossfire Hurricane. Moreover, based on this new information, the number of times and the stated reasons for the deletions calls into question whether or not it was a widespread intentional effort.

This would not be the first time the Special Counsel’s office misused records within their possession. On March 8, 2019, I wrote a letter to the Justice Department regarding Special Counsel Mueller’s selective use of emails in the George Papadopoulos Statement of Offense.[2] In that letter, I provided references to a footnote in the Statement that was used by Mueller to suggest that a Trump “Campaign official suggested ‘low level’ staff should go to Russia.” In full context, however, the emails in question actually show that the Trump Campaign wanted someone “low level” to decline these types of invitations.

Congress and the American people are owed answers regarding Special Counsel Mueller and his team. In light of the serious concerns these new records create, please provide the following no later than September 25, 2020:

All records from the FOIA request in unredacted form.
All records, including text messages, from all government phones used by employees in Special Counsel Mueller’s office.
All records relating to the explanations that each employee within Special Counsel Mueller’s office provided as to why their phone data and records were deleted.
When were you first made aware that Special Counsel Mueller’s employees deleted data and records from their government phones?
Are you investigating whether or not Special Counsel Mueller’s employees violated federal record keeping laws, rules, and regulations? If so, when did that investigation begin? If not, why not?
Has the Justice Department attempted to forensically recover any deleted records? If so, please provide all recovered records in unredacted form. If not, why not?
Has the Justice Department referred this matter to the Inspector General? If not, why not?

I anticipate that most of the responsive documents will be unclassified. Please send all unclassified material directly to the Committee. In keeping with the requirements of Executive Order 13526, if any of the responsive documents do contain classified information, please segregate all unclassified material within the classified documents, provide all unclassified information directly to the Committee, and provide a classified addendum to the Office of Senate Security. The Committee complies with all laws and regulations governing the handling of classified information. The Committee is not bound, absent its prior agreement, by any handling restrictions or instructions on unclassified information unilaterally asserted by the Executive Branch.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Should you have any questions, please contact Joshua Flynn-Brown of my Committee staff at 202-224-4515.

Sincerely,


Charles E. Grassley
Chairman
Committee on Finance

The reason I quoted myself from July 2019 about “Mueller Not Running The Investigation,” do any of the Free Minded Freethinkers here at SYG actually think Robert Muller placed his phone on “airport mode” and intentionally entered the wrong password 10 times? Remember, attempts 5-10 require that you wait:

5 minutes before the next attempt

15 minutes before the next attempt

30 minutes before the next attempt

45 minutes before the next attempt

ONE HOUR before the next attempt

Seriously, is old Bob taking the time to do that?

The reason I mentioned “airport mode,” the Government issued phones have a built in feature where once you’ve entered the wrong password FIVE TIMES, DOJ Security is notified (email) of the number of FAILED ATTEMPTS so they can either:

A) notify the phones owner to make sure phone wasn’t stolen & reset password if necessary

B) remotely shut down phone

The only way the security notification isn’t sent is when the phone is placed on “airport mode.” Mind you this evidently occurred 15 times with various members of Robert Mueller’s investigative team......it’s as if they all experienced amnesia at the same time.