Falsifying...

 

Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith will not serve jail time for changing a document that backed a surveillance warrant of former Trump associate Carter Page during the early Russia investigation, a federal judge ruled on Friday.

He is the only defendant charged in the Durham investigation, which has looked closely at the FBI's work on the early Russia investigation, including Page's ties to Russia and others with ties to the Trump 2016 campaign.

Clinesmith was sentenced to serve 12 months probation and 400 hours of community service.

 He pleaded guilty last year to falsifying information in an email that wrongly said Page had not been a CIA source previously, as the FBI sought to renew a foreign surveillance warrant for Page in 2017.

 . Just a thought.

Genealogy...

 

Murder of Michelle Martinko

12/19/1979

The murder of Michelle Martinko occurred in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on December 19, 1979. It was a cold case until 2018, when familial DNA identified her killer 39 years after the crime.^{[2]. Martinko,} , an 18-year-old high school student, was found stabbed to death in her family's car in the parking lot of a local mall, where she had gone to buy a new coat. The case gradually grew cold as the investigation stretched on.

In 2006, a cold case investigator discovered unidentified blood, presumably belonging to the killer, while he was reviewing case files. A DNA profile was developed from that evidence. In 2017, the  DNA data entered into the public genealogy website GEDmatch, where it found a familial DNA match.

In October 2019, DNA was covertly collected from an Iowa man, Jerry Lynn Burns, and was found to match the sample discovered on Martinko's clothing.^[2][3][4] Burns was arrested and, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Martinko. On August 7, 2020, Burns was sentenced to life in prison without parole.^[1][5]

Lost...

Two FBI agents were killed and three others were injured in a shootout Tuesday as agents attempted to serve a warrant in a case involving "violent crimes against children."

The suspect was also killed in the shootout, according to the FBI.

The FBI later identified the agents killed as Special Agent Daniel Alfin and Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger.

"Special Agent Alfin and Special Agent Schwartzenberger exemplified heroism today in defense of their country," FBI Director Chris Wray said in a statement Tuesday. "The FBI will always honor their ultimate sacrifice and will be forever grateful for their bravery."

Sunrise is a northern suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The town is located about 35 miles north of Miami.

Some put their lives on the line and paid the ultimate price for you and me. May they rest in peace.  Just a thought.

Unfortunate...

 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) is preparing to resume deportations of asylum seekers after a Trump-appointed Texas judge ruled against a 100-day suspension ordered by Joe Biden.

According to activists, there are  23 Africans facing deportation from an Ice holding facility in Alexandria, Louisiana, as early as Tuesday, including 11 Angolans, seven Cameroonians, two Congolese, and three others of unknown nationalities.

US became the place to enter illegal and then keep the politicians fighting about it.

Just a thought.

Move...

 

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and her staff allegedly "berated" House Democrat Cori Bush of Missouri, who said Friday she's moving her office away from Greene's "for my team's safety."

Bush also said in a tweet that the Georgia Republican "targeted me & others on social media."

Bush had introduced a resolution directing the House Ethics Committee to investigate whether any lawmakers who tried to overturn President Joe Biden's electoral victory "violated their oath of office" and "should face sanction, including removal from the House of Representatives." Bush's statement implied that Greene should be included in that proposed investigation. 

Both Greene and Bush are newly elected, sworn into Congress earlier this month.

An aide for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., confirmed that Bush's office had been reassigned. "This room assignment change was by the direct order of the Speaker,"  

Greylock...

 

Greylock Capital Associates filed for bankruptcy protection in New York as investors pulled money from the hedge fund following three consecutive years of losses.

The Chapter 11 proceedings will allow Greylock to restructure its debt and terminate its Madison Avenue office lease in Manhattan, according to a Jan. 31 filing signed by Chief Financial Officer David Steltzer.

Assets under management at the emerging markets hedge fund -- which more than halved since 2017 to $450 million at the end of 2020 -- will drop by $100 million by the end of March in the absence of new investments, according to the filing.

Greylock has cut its staff to nine people from 21 three years ago, and the firm hasn’t hired any financial or business consultants.

The hedge fund opened a small office in Stamford, Connecticut last year reducing the need for a large office in midtown Manhattan.

The Steal...

 

An indictment was unsealed this week charging Cheng Bo, also known as Joe Cheng, a 45-year-old national of the People’s Republic of China, with participating in a criminal conspiracy from 2012-2015 to violate U.S. export laws by shipping U.S. power amplifiers to China

Cheng made false statements to the U.S. manufacturer of the power amplifiers that the amplifiers would be used in Hong Kong when Cheng knew they would be shipped illegally from Hong Kong to China.

Cheng's former employer--Avnet Asia Pte. Ltd.--admitted that from 2012-2015, Cheng oversaw at least 18 individual shipments of export-controlled goods from the U.S. to Hong Kong to China. The value of those illegal exports was at least $814,000, according to officials.

Meanwhile, Avnet Asia also admitted that another Singapore-based sales account manager conspired to violate U.S. export control laws and economic sanctions from 2007-2009 by aiding in at least 29 shipments of U.S. goods to Iran and China. The value of those illegal exports was at least $347,000, officials stated.

One Down...

 

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Biden’s attempt to put a moratorium on deportations for 100 days.

After Texas sued over the policy, the judge blocked Biden, via a temporary restraining order, from moving forward for 14 days.

Texas’ lawsuit claims that the administration would be violating an agreement it has with the Department of Homeland Security – and would require at least 180 days’ notice, as well as consultation, prior to implementing changes in immigration policy. It is unclear whether those terms are enforceable, but similar agreements were struck with several other states under the former administration.

The U.S. district judge implemented a nationwide injunction because a geographically-limited order would not adequately protect Texas’ interests due to "the free flow of movement" of illegal aliens from other states.

Fox News exclusively reported over the weekend that an email sent last week to ICE officers called for stopping "all removals" and to "release them [undocumented immigrants] all, immediately."

Note: Obama/Biden's deportation was very active. Millions were deported. 

Just a thought.

إذا ضاع الحياء

 

إذا ضاعَ الحياءُ فلا تسلني
لماذا حلَّ في الأرضِ البلاءُ

إذا شاعَ الفسادُ فهل بلادٌ
ستنجو إن فشا فيها الوباءُ

إذا آذى السَّفيهُ كريمَ قومٍ
ولم ينلِ العقابَ فذاكُ داءُ

فذي الأدواءُ تستشري جليًّا
ونهجُ الحقِّ ياقومي الدَّواءُ

Failure again..?

 

The chance of Donald Trump being convicted in his impeachment trial in the Senate looks less likely as of Tuesday, when 45 Republicans attempted to dismiss the proceedings before they began. 

With 55 senators still supporting the trial, the Republicans’ objections were not enough to derail it, but to get a conviction 67 senators need to vote in favor. In practice, this means a dozen Republicans who just voted to end the trial would need to cross the aisle and vote in favor of impeaching Trump, which seems unlikely.

Rand Paul of Kentucky, who led the effort to cancel the trial, argued it was not legitimate since Trump is no longer president, a claim the Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said had been “completely debunked by constitutional scholars from all across the political spectrum”.