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FBI spurs 'total chaos' in election’s final days

November 18, 2020 | News | No Comments

Investigations. Leaks. Rumors. ­Innuendo.

Welcome to the 2016 presidential campaign’s final days, which have been overwhelmed by the FBI’s handling of its investigation into Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhite House accuses Biden of pushing ‘conspiracy theories’ with Trump election claim Biden courts younger voters — who have been a weakness Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton qualifies to run for county commissioner in Florida MORE’s private email server.

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The daily spring of leaks coming out of the FBI has made it appear that the law enforcement agency is at war with itself. And the fight is playing out through conflicting stories in the media, angering Republicans and Democrats alike.

“It’s total chaos,” said Matt Miller, a former Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesman who backs Clinton for president. 

Many Democrats are seething over FBI Director James Comey’s decision to tell Congress that his agents had come across new information potentially related to the bureau’s investigation of Clinton’s emails during her time as secretary of State. They argue Comey is meddling in the election and tilting the scales by making the investigation public.

“You drop something like this in the middle of a presidential campaign, it puts the FBI into the middle of a partisan battle and generates leaks on all sides, between Republicans and Democrats, the FBI and the DOJ, FBI officials and their superiors,” said Miller. “It’s a complete breakdown in the rules that govern these institutions. It’s terrible for them. It’s terrible for the campaigns and the election.”

The polls were tightening even before Comey’s bombshell, and some Democrats are now openly fretting that the development might cost their party’s nominee the White House — though most think it is more likely that Clinton will still win, albeit with a smaller margin. 

The FBI and the wider legal and justice communities are bitterly divided over Comey’s actions, and their arguments are playing out both publicly and behind the scenes. 

A flurry of reports about possible FBI probes regarding GOP nominee Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE’s campaign have made headlines, stoking suspicion among some Republicans that FBI officials are leaking damaging stories about Trump to give the appearance of a level playing field.

“It certainly looks that way,” said veteran GOP operative Charlie Black, a close friend of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

A report from NBC alleged that the FBI has opened a preliminary inquiry into Manafort’s business and political dealings in Russia and Ukraine.

Manafort says he has not been contacted by the FBI.

A New York Times report based on FBI leaks revealed that the agency pursued an investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russian investors, replete with juicy details about a Trump campaign computer communicating through back channels with a computer at a Russian bank.

Black underlined the idea of an interagency fight playing out publicly — and with huge implications for Nov. 8. 

“We know from everything we’ve heard that the FBI has been demoralized since the July announcement and a lot of different people have been incentivized to do things against the rules, more so than usual,” Black said. “I think the discipline is not there right now, which is too bad. Hopefully they’ll get it back.”

The Clinton and Trump campaigns are on edge over what explosive revelations might surface next and in many cases are learning about new developments through the press.

The Republican nominee has seized on the issue and is launching new advertising in a host of battleground states in order to secure a win. 

Trump’s ads are running in Florida and Ohio, two states the businessman must win to secure the White House, as well as in Michigan and New Mexico, where he is a decided underdog. 

Clinton is also running new ads in New Mexico and Michigan as well as Colorado and Virginia, two other states where she has been a clear favorite. 

It wasn’t immediately clear if the new Clinton ads reflected worries for her bid or were an example of a campaign with a lead playing it safe.

While there has been a partisan edge to the fighting, Comey is not getting a ton of cover from Republicans.

Some in the GOP are still fuming at the FBI director for concluding the investigation of Clinton’s server in July by not recommending criminal charges. Others are baffled by the vagueness of his open-ended inquiry into Clinton’s emails, which is unlikely to be resolved by Election Day.

“Your letter failed to give Congress and the American people enough context to evaluate the significance or full meaning of this development,” Sen. Chuck GrassleyCharles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyRepublicans release newly declassified intelligence document on FBI source Steele Nursing homes under scrutiny after warnings of seized stimulus checks Republicans prepare to punt on next COVID-19 relief bill MORE (Iowa), the Republican head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote in a letter to the FBI. 

“Without additional context, your disclosure is not fair to Congress, the American people, or Secretary Clinton.”

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Comey’s actions have raised questions about whether he violated Justice Department protocol by releasing material information about an investigation during the final stretch of a campaign in a manner that might influence the outcome.

Democrats have seized on a report — this one from CNBC and based on claims made by an anonymous former FBI official — that Comey passed on releasing information surrounding an investigation into Russian meddling in the election because he feared it might impact the presidential race.

The Clinton campaign has instructed its surrogates to swing back hard at the FBI, according to talking points obtained by The Hill.

Clinton’s supporters will be swamping the airwaves, seeking to discredit Comey and cast doubt on his motives.

But the landscape was further muddied on Monday by a separate leak — this one reported by The Washington Post — that detailed how FBI agents pushed for an investigation into the Clinton Foundation over claims it gave favors and special access to donors.

The Clinton Foundation said it has not been contacted by the FBI.

Adding to the uncertainty for the Clinton campaign is the daily drama wrought by the network of global hackers that have lined up against the Democrat.

WikiLeaks is publishing from its trove of campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails — believed by the intelligence community to have been stolen by Russian hackers — on a near-daily basis.

Many of the emails lack context, but Tuesday’s edition featured one from Podesta saying it’s time to “dump all those emails.” 

In another bizarre twist to the story, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, whom the feds are trying to prosecute for running an alleged multibillion-dollar internet piracy scheme, is trying to get in touch with House investigators, claiming he knows how to legally obtain the emails deleted off Clinton’s private server.


Ali recently spoke with the folks from TV Insider for an interview. During the discussion, the WWE Superstar spoke about how he inadvertently helped spark the recent “Kofi-Mania” with The New Day’s Kofi Kingston leading into WrestleMania 35.

He also revealed some advice that another New Day member, Xavier Woods, gave him on how to handle cutting written promos in WWE, dealing with bullies and more. Featured below are some of the highlights.

On being bullied as a child because of his ethnicity: “One of the most important things we can do as performers or even human beings is help make this place better. As a child I was a victim of bullying because of my cultural background. I didn’t look like all the other kids. I had a funny name. At a young age, I was very aware I was different and not perceived in a good way.

“For a lot of my adolescence I struggled with that trying to identify where I belong and who my real friends are. So, to be able to come back in the position I am in now and let kids know how to deal with that. And most importantly not to become a bully.”

On advice that The New Day’s Xavier Woods gave him: “I was given a promo one day and didn’t agree with the verbiage or how to do it. I talked to the writer about it but was insisted to do a certain way.

“I went and vented to Xavier Woods about it. I told him, ‘It’s almost like they don’t know me.’ He said, ‘Because they don’t. It’s on you to present yourself how you want to be presented. It’s up to you to create this image that you want people to see. It’s on you. If they can’t see it, then you’re not doing a good job at it.'”

On Kofi-Mania breaking out after Kofi Kingston replaced him in the Gauntlet Match on WWE SmackDown Live: “There are two perspectives to it,” Ali said. “One, as a human being and friend of Kofi Kingston, I’m unbelievably happy for him because there is nobody more deserving of this accomplishment than him. As a performer, you can’t help but sit back and watch someone have this unbelievable moment and you have to go, ‘What if? What if that was me in the gauntlet? What if that was me in the Elimination Chamber? What if I didn’t get hurt?

“That’s something I have to live with for the rest of my life. There is no spite or negativity about it, because look what happened. Someone I feel is more deserving is in that spot. So, for me this was an accident. It was destiny.”

Check out the complete Ali interview at TVInsider.com.

  • ANOTHER Main Roster Superstar Joins Luke Harper In QUITTING WWE This Week?! (Full Story)

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– With RAW live at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa this evening for the follow-up to last week’s 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up special, the SmackDown Live brand will be running the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa for a non-televised live event. The official website for the Tyson Events Center has dated advertising, however for what it’s worth, the weekend blue brand house shows were headlined by Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship.

– WWE Hall Of Famer Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake (Ed Leslie) celebrated his 62nd birthday on Sunday. Also celebrating birthdays from the pro wrestling world yesterday were Ezekiel Jackson (Rycklon Stephens), who turned 41 and Orlando Jordan, who turned 45.

– The Planet’s Champion Daniel Bryan is featured in the following tweet from WWE’s official Twitter page in celebration of today’s Earth Day holiday.

– WWE also posted this tweet to remind fans that special travel packages for this year’s WWE Survivor Series 2019 pay-pe-view begin tomorrow.

  • VIDEO & COMPARISON PHOTOS: CM Punk Returns At Indy Wrestling Show Under A Mask This Weekend?!

(Follow us on Twitter @RajahNews, or Matt Boone @MattBoone1984 for more exclusive backstage wrestling news and rumors!)

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“The Man” appears to be interested in doing battle with Bayley.

After commenting on Twitter that “SmackDown [Live] is going to be good for [her],” Bayley was the focus of a recent Twitter attack by Becky-2-Belts.

The RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion responded to Bayley on Saturday, writing, “You not winning on [SmackDown Live] really raised my ire a lot inside my body.”

She continued, bringing up rumors of Ronda Rousey being upset with the build-up to WrestleMania 35.

“Let’s have a rough match of wrestling soon, where I hope I don’t hurt your feelings in the buildup. K? Bye.”

Check out Becky Lynch’s tweet below.

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  • VIDEO & HQ PHOTOS: WWE Referee Suffers GRUESOME Broken Leg During NXT Omaha Live Event

(Follow us on Twitter @RajahNews or myself, Matt Boone, @MattBoone1984 for more exclusive backstage wrestling news and rumors!)

— While it is still unclear what exactly his injury was, Daniel Bryan has been cleared to return to action according to the Wresting Observer Newsletter. He was backstage at the 4/30 Smackdown Live in Columbus, OH and will be written back into storylines – perhaps as early as next week.

— The Observer also notes that had Bryan been cleared a week or two prior, Kevin Owens would not have been turned heel as the plan was to have Bryan face Kofi Kingston at Money in the Bank, but with the uncertainty surrounding his health and his absence from TV after WrestleMania, WWE had no choice but to move Owens into that spot. Bryan is scheduled to wrestle on WWE’s upcoming European tour that begins next week.

  • UPDATE: What Is Going On With Dean Ambrose / Jon Moxley’s Return?! What Does WWE Think…?

(Follow us on Twitter @RajahNews or myself, Matt Boone, @MattBoone1984 for more exclusive backstage wrestling news and rumors!)

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RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch recently spoke with Chuck Carroll of CBS Los Angeles for an interview. Featured below are some of the highlights.

On being open to facing Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 36 in 2020: “If Ronda Rousey is ready to come back to try and prove herself, I would absolutely take her on. If not, then there’s plenty of other women here who are ready, willing, going day in, day out, that I would love to fight.”

On her thoughts of how Rousey handles losing: “Ronda Rousey is a tremendous, natural, athlete. She’s born tough and born tough isn’t the same as being made tough. I think I saw the best of Ronda Rousey, but we also saw what happens when she gets defeated. She leaves, and we haven’t seen her since. I think that her name outside of the business, maybe, brought in a few new eyes, which helped build momentum. I enjoyed my bouts with Ronda Rousey. I enjoyed playing mind games with her. I enjoyed the little beatings that she would give me, because it made me fight a little bit harder, and if she ever wants to come back then I’m ready, and waiting, to take her on again.”

On if she thinks Rousey will return to WWE and more on how she handles losses: “I don’t know, I don’t know, we’ve seen what happens when Ronda Rousey gets beat. She throws a little hissy fit and she goes hiding under her blankie for however long, but she is a tremendous athlete. She is the baddest woman on the planet, but I beat her.”

On preparing for two opponents in Charlotte Flair and Lacey Evans for her two title defenses at WWE Money In The Bank 2019: “Here’s the thing. I’ve owned Charlotte time and time again. We know each other inside out, which is both a good thing and a bad thing, because we’re evenly matched. She knows what I’m going to do, I know what she’s going to do. We’ve had so many matches. At this stage, what I think, when we tally up the votes, I’ve come out on top way more times than she has.

“Lacey Evans hasn’t done anything is this business to prove herself. I don’t know anything about her. That’s the dangerous part, is that I’m going in against the unknown, but that’s nothing that I haven’t done in the past. I hadn’t had a match with Ronda Rousey before I beat her, and nobody had beaten her before I had. You never know how things are going to go.”

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Check out the complete Becky Lynch interview at CBSLocal.com.

  • WWE Has Some INTERESTING Plans For Upcoming Bray Wyatt ‘Firefly Fun House’ Segment …

(Follow us on Twitter @RajahNews or myself, Matt Boone, @MattBoone1984 for more exclusive backstage wrestling news and rumors!)


A first-ever match between two WWE legends has been announced for this year’s Super Show-Down pay-per-view at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jedda, Saudi Arabia on Friday, June 7th.

WWE.com released the following announcement on Monday afternoon:

Undertaker, Goldberg to clash for first time ever at WWE Super ShowDown

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JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA — The Saudi General Sports Authority will host WWE Super ShowDown at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, June 7, at 9 p.m. AST, and feature the first-ever match between WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg and Undertaker. In addition, the event will include Triple H vs. Randy Orton, as they create another chapter of their storied rivalry, and a 50-Man Battle Royal — the largest in WWE history.

WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar are also scheduled to compete at WWE Super ShowDown, which will stream live on WWE Network and be available on pay-per-view outside of the Middle East.

Additional details on the event’s matches and regional broadcast information will be announced in the coming weeks.

  • PHOTO: Seth Rollins Confirms Real-Life Relationship With Becky Lynch, Rollins/Lynch Kissing Backstage At WWE

(Follow us on Twitter @RajahNews or myself, Matt Boone, @MattBoone1984 for more exclusive backstage wrestling news and rumors!)


Lacey Evans recently spoke with Anthony Sulla-Heffinger of Yahoo! Sports for an interview. Featured below are some of the highlights.

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On her persona being like the old stereotype, making her a perfect foil for Becky Lynch: “It’s a story I want to be able to tell and I want to show that I’m capable of telling it. The story now is there’s this gung-ho female who is all about empowerment and that she’s ‘The Man,’ and then here comes Lacey Evans to interrupt everyone and remind women to get back in the kitchen and remember the feminine side and what women are capable of.”

On how her rivalry with Lynch began: “Initially it started with the walkouts, but at no point did I have any idea what it would lead to. I didn’t find out until the day that I laid hands on Becky that there would be an angle. I didn’t expect anything, I just went to the shows ready to do anything that they needed from me. That’s what they needed and I took it and ran with it.”

On her character and her class and confidence triggering fans: “[My character] transitioned to the ‘Sassy Southern Belle’ because more people can relate to it in this heel-ish, bad guy way,” Evans said. “One of the things that really gets under people’s skin is the confidence and class. I tell the world that I am a prime example of what all women should be. There’s just so much confidence and poise about me that it triggers people. I swear that I’m just perfect.”

Check out the complete Lacey Evans interview at Yahoo.com.

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Ring Of Honor (ROH) announced this week that tickets will be going on sale for their upcoming ROH Midwest Tour in September.

ROHWrestling.com issued the following announcement:

TICKETS GOING ON SALE FOR ROH IN DEARBORN, CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE!

All the top Ring of Honor stars will be in action when ROH returns to the Midwest this September for big shows in Dearborn, Mich., Chicago and Milwaukee.

The mini-tour kicks off on Sept. 6 at the Ford Community Center in Dearborn; then heads to the Odeum Expo in Chicago on Sept. 7; and concludes at the Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee on Sept 8.

Tickets for all three shows go on sale this coming Wednesday, June 12 at 10 a.m. local time for Honor Club members, and Friday, June 14 at 10 a.m. local time for the general public.

Every show in ROH is a must-see event, as evidenced by last month’s War of the Worlds tour, when Shane Tayor shocked the wrestling world by winning the ROH World Television Title in Toronto; ROH World Champion Matt Taven made an impromptu title defense against Mark Haskins in an instant classic in Grand Rapids; and ROH World Tag Team Champions The Guerrillas of Destiny scored a controversial win over the Briscoes in a brutal match in Chicago.

If you’re in the Dearborn, Chicago or Milwaukee area, you won’t want to miss the hard-hitting, in-your-face action that only ROH can deliver live!

ROH ON TOUR

FRIDAY, SEPT. 6, 7:30 P.M. EASTERN
FORD COMMUNITY CENTER
DEARBORN, MICH.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 7, 7 P.M. CENTRAL
ODEUM EXPO
CHICAGO, ILL.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 8, 7 P.M. CENTRAL
POTAWATOMI CASINO
MILWAUKEE, WIS.

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(Follow us on Twitter @RajahNews or myself, Matt Boone, @MattBoone1984 for more exclusive backstage wrestling news and rumors!

Two residents of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec have filed a class action lawsuit against the corporations behind the July 6 train derailment and explosion which killed nearly fifty people and devastated the small Canadian town.

Yannick Gagne and Guy Ouellet, who together own the Musi-Cafe—a bar that was crowded with people the night it was destroyed by the blast—are seeking damages from the Maine-based Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway (MM&A), Irving Oil, World Fuel Services and its subsidiary Dakota Plains Holdings, which extracted the crude oil the train was carrying.

According to the Portland Press Herald, the plaintiffs filed a motion Monday in Quebec Superior Court seeking to authorize a class-action suit against the railway company. On Wednesday, they amended the motion to include the oil and extraction companies.

The unattended train was carrying 72 cars of crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shale fields to an Irving Oil refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick when it derailed initiating an explosion and fireball which engulfed the small downtown.

Meanwhile, the death toll for the disaster has risen to 42 after four more bodies were discovered Thursday. Eight more people remain unaccounted for though are presumed to be dead.

The impact on the town of 6,000 has been severe. Beyond the crippling effect of the casualties, the untold environmental costs continue to unfold.

An estimated 250,000 to 300,000 liters of oil spilled into Lac-Mégantic, according to Quebec’s Environment Minister. And, as the Globe and Mail report, traces of oil were visible in the Chaudière River “and the air was pungent with the scent of oil.”

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“Multi-coloured sheens could be seen on the surface of the water in areas where the current slowed, and the grass along some stretches of the shoreline was brown and straw-like,” they continue.

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Following the accident, finger pointing prevailed among the major corporations involved.

Edward Burkhardt, CEO of MM&A as well as its much larger parent company, Rail World Inc., had initially attempted to blame local firefighters before claiming the fault lay with a train employee for not properly setting the brakes—despite the fact that he has continuously opposed arguments by railway employees who have long-insisted that one-man crews were too dangerous.

Similarly, a spokesman for Irving Oil—whose crude fueled the small town’s incineration—told the Associated Press, “We did not own or control the crude oil or its transportation at any time.”

Of the pending suit, the Press Herald continues:

If a Quebec Superior Court judge approves the motion, the lawsuit could be among the largest in Canadian history, though according to Jeff Orenstein, a lawyer from one of the firms working on the suit, no dollar amount on the damages sought will be available for some time.

“It will require interviews with the people of the city and expert evaluators as well,” Orenstein said. “There is no number I can pin down without much further research and expertise.”

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