PrairiePundit

Fox News: Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe knew of thousands of emails related to the Hillary Clinton private server investigation for at least a month before then-FBI Director James Comey informed Congress, The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday. That lag is the subject of an investigation by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz as part of a wider probe into the FBI's actions prior to the 2016 election. The Washington Post was the first to report that McCabe was a focus of Horowitz's investigation. The timeline of when the emails were discovered on the laptop of former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner emerged in text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, the Journal reported. McCabe left his position Monday ahead of his planned retirement, effective March 18. The Post reported Tuesday that McCabe had met with FBI Director Christopher Wray to discuss the inspector general's investigation prior to the announcement ...

Washington Post: The Justice Department's inspector general has been focused for months on why Andrew McCabe, as the No. 2 official at the FBI, appeared not to act for about three weeks on a request to examine a batch of Hillary Clinton-related emails found in the latter stages of the 2016 election campaign, according to people familiar with the matter. The inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, has been asking witnesses why FBI leadership seemed unwilling to move forward on the examination of emails found on the laptop of former congressman Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) until late October — about three weeks after first being alerted to the issue, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. A key question of the internal investigation is whether McCabe or anyone else at the FBI wanted to avoid taking action on the laptop findings until after the Nov. 8 election, these people said. It is unclear whether the inspector general ...

Washington Times: Emails released by the State Department over the past 18 months show that Huma Abedin frequently handled classified information — suggesting a major reason why the FBI has been eager to get a full look at the personal computer she shared with her now-estranged husband. That computer has become the center of a major political flap in the final week before Election Day. Ms. Abedin’s boss, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , is trying to fend off concerns that there is a smoking gun still to be found among her top personal aide’s messages. But the track record indicates a reason for concern: Of the messages Mrs. Clinton turned over to the State Department, nearly 5,000 were sent to, or received from, Ms. Abedin. More than 180 of those contain information now determined to be “confidential,” and one message is deemed to contain “secret” information. In the “secret” message, Ms. Abedin forwards to Mrs. Clinton information about a 2009 ballistic missile test by...

NY Times: F.B.I.’s Email Decision Broke Pattern of Two Earlier Cases This summer, the F.B.I. kept quiet about investigations involving Hillary Clinton and the chairman of Donald J. Trump’s campaign because the election was near. In breaking that precedent last week, the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, plunged the bureau and the Justice Department directly into the election. The Clintons are the ones responsible for this mess and not Comey.  Hillary Clinton is the one who decided to hide her pay to play scheme by using a personal server rather than the one the State Department had.   She and Huma Abedin are the ones who put some of that information on personal computers not belonging to the government. On top of that, Comey had specifically told Congress that the case had been closed.  To not update them on the change of circumstances would have been a scandal that would have tainted the FBI for generations.  I think the Times would be all ...

NY Times: Early Turnout Tilts Toward Democrats in Swing States Hillary Clinton’s campaign, leveraging its advantage in state-level organization, may be mitigating the fallout from her latest scrap with the F.B.I. Those who voted early may want to have their vote back if they supported Clinton. Her attempts to blame these late problems on Comey and the FBI just do not fly.  She is responsible for setting up her own server and putting the national security of the country at risk.  The facts that these emails still exist on Weiner's laptop is a testament to her bad judgment.  If she had handled her business as she was supposed to,, it could never have happened.

John Podhoretz: ... Having spent days insulting those who sought only the truth, having lied in the most blatant manner and having instructed others to lie for him, Weiner then had the astonishing lack of grace to stand before the world and thank his parents for "instilling in me the values that got me to this point." ... I would be surprised it they did not tell him, "Anthony, put that thing away." Somehow that value never stuck. Weiner is both a political and sexual exhibitionist. That is why it is so hard for him to just send a resignation letter and slink off the stage. He is probably still planning a run for mayor. At least he knows how to draw attention to himself. BTW, I don't think any of my kids would ever be in this situation, but if they were, I would not be looking for a thank you.

It is a fun interview with Jonah Goldberg and Glenn Reynolds.

NY Times: Too Big to Fail, or Too Trifling for Oversight? But this one appeared right below it: More Photos and More Calls for Weiner to Resign Just because the guy "hacked" his own Twitter account and is a bit of a showoff, people are giving him a hard time, or is it the other way around?

Image via Wikipedia Michael Goodwin: ... While Weiner destroyed his own reputation, the failure of leaders to break with him was morphing into an integrity test for the party. Each day they remained silent, Pelosi & Co. risked turning Democrats into the Party of Weiner. If he is good enough for them, they are not good enough for America. Look at it this way: Weiner's toxic conduct would have gotten him fired instantly from any private job in the nation, and no sane employer would hire him. Even by the low standards of government, his behavior is so far out of bounds that it was obvious he had to go. Thankfully, Pelosi stood up and went beyond just calling for his resignation. She said "he needs help" and that he should "seek that help without the pressures of being a member of Congress." National Democratic Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz called the scandal a "sordid affair" and said "the behavior he has exhibited is indefensible....

Politico: Report: Anthony Weiner wife sought advice from Hillary Clinton The NY Post says she is trying to save his political career.  It looks like another codependency relationship.

Image via Wikipedia Maureen Dowd: ... No congress for the congressman. In the new, mega-political Internet sex scandal, the 46-year-old New Yorker downplayed his phone sex and salacious sexting with female strangers as “you know, almost a frivolous exchange among friends.” Scrabble is a frivolous exchange among friends. Taking a picture of your deal, as David Letterman dubbed it, and blasting it into hyperspace to women you’ve never met is, you know, something more creepy and compulsive. ... Maybe it is because I am 66 years old, but I just do not get it. Was he hoping to induce the women to send intimate pictures of themselves? There is no shortage of pictures of women you do not know already on the net. Perhaps he was just a lonely exhibitionist. He was certainly something of a political exhibitionist. Related articles Actually, Anthony Weiner Sexted From His Congressional Office--And Had Phone Sex, Too (businessinsider.com) Anthony Weiner's cybersex relationshi...

From the NY Post: Erections have consequences Let us declare with certitude the obvious: Rep. Anthony Weiner has disgraced his office, and himself, and he needs to quit.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife NY Times: At a news conference in Midtown Monday afternoon, Representative Anthony D. Weiner tearfully confessed to sending a photo of himself in his underwear to a woman via Twitter and then lying about it. Mr. Weiner said the indiscretion was part of a pattern of sending inappropriate and at times explicit photos and messages to women he met over the Internet. Mr. Weiner, 46, a popular and brash Democrat from Queens who has been considering a run for mayor of New York City and is known for aggressive and sometimes intemperate political commentary on Twitter, apologized repeatedly. “I have made terrible mistakes that have hurt the people I care about the most and I’m deeply sorry,” Mr. Weiner said. “I have not been honest with myself, my family, my constituents, my friends and supporters and the media.” He said he had no intention of resigning, that he had broken no laws and that while his wife “made it clear that she thought that what I d...

John Podhoretz: Rep. Weiner is a Bad Liar, and That's the Truth This guy is also damaging his reputation for being smart. Related articles Oh, Please -- OF COURSE Anthony Weiner Sent That Picture (businessinsider.com)

Iowahawk is on the case after the hacker: ... As much as I admire Congressman Weiner's Gandhi-like forgiving attitude toward his assailant - as well as his world class ninja programming skills - I'm afraid this incident doesn't just involve him. For, after all, what Internet user is safe when the person who hacked this unsuspecting Weiner remains at large? Okay, maybe not "large," but still, come on man. Who's to say this same criminal hasn't somehow hacked my last 5 federal income tax returns with fraudulent deductions for alcohol-related blogging expenses? ... There is much more. Iowahawk is looking for justice in this matter. I have no idea who sent the photo in question, but the questions raised are worth someone else looking at them for answers. I hope that if anyone hacks my Twitter account they use more flattering pictures. Related articles Congressman Weiner Claims Wiener Pic a Hack Job (tmz.com) Lewd Photo From New York Congressman...