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<\/a>Federal agents remove computer equipment and document boxes from the Southside office of 14th Ward Alderman Ed Burke in Chicago, on Nov. 29, 2018. (Scott Olson\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
The Common Thread Behind Four Investigations<\/h1>\n
BY JEFF CARLSON
\nThe Epoch Times<\/p>\n
News Analysis<\/em><\/p>\n If anyone tells you they are tired of nothing happening in regards to ongoing investigations, perhaps they should take a closer look at a number of events that have transpired over the last two days.<\/p>\n In a matter that caused no small amount of worry and consternation among supporters of President Trump, the Daily Caller\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0on Nov. 29 that the FBI had raided the home of whistleblower, Dennis Nathan Cain.<\/p>\n The raid, which took place on Nov. 19 involved 16 FBI Agents who obtained a court order signed on Nov. 15 by federal magistrate Stephanie A. Gallagher in the U.S. District Court for Baltimore,\u00a0according<\/a>\u00a0to the Daily caller.<\/p>\n No reason for the 10-day delay between the raid and his lawyer\u2019s public announcement was given.<\/p>\n Cain, whose name is new to the public, is not just any whistleblower. He retains a top-level security clearance and maintains a number of security-related credentials, according to his resume which has since been deleted online. Specialties include FISA Amendment Act (FAA) Section 702 and\u00a0USSID SP0018<\/a>\u00a0Minimization Procedures and Signals Intelligence Authorities.<\/p>\n According to the article, Cain \u201cprivately delivered documents pertaining to the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One to a government watchdog, according to the whistleblower\u2019s attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Justice Department\u2019s inspector general was informed that the documents show that federal officials failed to investigate potential criminal activity regarding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation and Rosatom, the Russian company that purchased Uranium One.\u201d<\/p>\n Cain had also obtained official whistleblower status from DOJ IG Horowitz. Michael Socarras, Cain\u2019s lawyer, told the Daily Caller that Cain had met with a \u201csenior member of Horowitz\u2019s office\u201d and delivered a flash drive along with a sealed envelope containing documents. The same materials were reportedly also delivered to the Senate and House Intelligence Committees.<\/p>\n The FBI agents seized all of the original documents in Cain\u2019s possession, according to Socarras. The Daily Caller said that one document they reviewed showed that then-FBI Director Robert Mueller \u201cfailed to investigate allegations of criminal misconduct pertaining to Rosatom and to other Russian government entities attached to Uranium One.\u201d How the Daily Caller was able to review any documents following what was reported to be a full seizure remains unexplained.<\/p>\n There have been strong reactions to the news with many perceiving it as some sort of cover-up. However, a few facts are worth entertaining. Regardless of the FBI\u2019s seizure, both IG Horowitz and the House and Senate Intelligence Committees already have the documents in their possession. The FBI\u2019s seizure of documents from Cain does not indicate the documents are being hidden.<\/p>\n As noted in the article, the FBI Agents obtained a court order which means their identities are known. FBI Director Chris Wray, if he does not already know, could easily determine the agents\u2019 identities\u2014this was not a clandestine operation.<\/p>\n FBI Director Christopher Wray at FBI headquarters in Washington on Sept. 28, 2017. (SAUL LOEB\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Another possible issue might have to do with Cain himself. Very little is known about him other than the fact he is a whistleblower, which generally conveys images of positive actions taken by a well-intentioned individual. However, we know nothing of Cain\u2019s true motivations or the actions that lay behind them. It may turn out that an invasive raid by the FBI was fully warranted.<\/p>\n Another explanation may lie within the documents themselves. The FBI\u2019s actions may be related to chain of custody issues. The FBI may have been required to ensure that all evidence was accumulated and taken into their custody. It\u2019s possible this document seizure by the FBI may indicate a case against the Clintons and\/or their Foundation is actively underway.<\/p>\n The FBI raid on Cain\u2019s house was not the only one.<\/p>\n On Nov. 29, federal agents raided the offices of Alderman Edward Burke, a powerful Chicago politician who has held his position in Chicago politics for 50 years. Burke\u2019s office windows were covered and FBI agents remained on the premises for about seven hours according to media reports.<\/p>\n Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, who abruptly announced he would not seek re-election in September, said his office had no advance warning of the raid,\u00a0noting<\/a>\u00a0\u201cI know what I read in the paper. I\u2019m out here. That\u2019s it\u2026You are asking hypotheticals and I am not going to do that with the FBI walking around his office.\u201d<\/p>\n Burke, who has been\u00a0under<\/a>\u00a0federal scrutiny on several occasions, has never been convicted or indicted. His investigation is being handled by the public corruption squad from the local FBI office.<\/p>\n Burke\u2019s law firm specializes in property tax reductions for his clients and some have speculated that the raid could be connected to the work that Burke\u2019s law firm did for President Trump but there are several problems with that theory.<\/p>\n The Burke\u00a0investigation<\/a>, according to the Chicago Tribune \u201cwas being conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in Chicago, not Mueller\u2019s office.\u201d Additionally, the Sun-Times reported \u201cthe raids were in response to new allegations, and not prompted by any past controversies that have swirled around Burke.\u201d<\/p>\n Dan Mihalopoulos, a reporter for WBEZ in Chicago was somewhat more\u00a0direct<\/a>, \u201cWorth also noting today: Burke\u2019s huge role in the local Democratic judge-making process. One judge just told me, \u2018Everyone\u2019s crapping themselves here\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The investigation probably has more to do with corrupt Chicago politics than anything related to the President.<\/p>\n Two other events with a more international scope have also been underway.<\/p>\n Several banks are currently under\u00a0investigation<\/a>\u00a0for a massive money-laundering scandal that is likely only to grow larger.<\/p>\n Danske Bank is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and new charges were filed this week by Danish authorities. The bank\u2019s CEO and chairman have both been forced to\u00a0resign<\/a>\u00a0and numerous current employees are under investigation. Danske Bank has admitted that approximately $230 billion has flowed through one of its units in Estonia but focus now appears to be shifting to other financial institutions:<\/p>\n \u201cHoward Wilkinson, a former Danske Bank A\/S manager who blew the whistle on its multi-billion dollar laundromat, told lawmakers in Brussels that when it comes to shell companies, or limited liability partnerships, the U.K. is \u2018worst of all.\u2019 He said he was legally prevented from naming the other banks involved, but urged lawmakers to treat the Danske scandal as a case that goes well beyond its core in Estonia,\u201d\u00a0Bloomberg<\/a>\u00a0reported on Nov. 21.<\/p>\n Also on Nov. 29, Deutsche Bank\u2019s headquarters was also\u00a0raided<\/a>\u00a0by German officials. Transactions being examined by investigators\u00a0relate<\/a>\u00a0to the bank\u2019s wealth management division which has previously come under scrutiny.<\/p>\n According to a spokeswoman for prosecutors, the investigation covers the five-year period from 2013 to 2018 and is related to disclosures made in the\u00a0Panama Papers<\/a>\u2014which refer to the leaking of 11.5 million documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, the world\u2019s fourth biggest provider of offshore services.<\/p>\n The Deutsche Bank raids continued for a second day and reportedly included the executive management board\u2019s floor. Deutsche was one of Danske\u2019s correspondent banks, as are JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. Any potential involvement of other banks will bear close watching.<\/p>\n Lastly, in a Nov. 29,\u00a0DOJ press release<\/a>, three executives, including\u00a0Abul Huda Farouki<\/a>, were charged \u201cfor their roles in a scheme to defraud U.S. Military contracts in Afghanistan, engaging in illegal commerce in Iran, and laundering money internationally.\u201d Abul Huda Farouki was the CEO of Anham, a defense contractor based in the United Arab Emirates<\/p>\n This wasn\u2019t the first time Farouki, or his company Anham, has been involved in misconduct. In a 2013 article by the Daily Caller, titled \u201cClinton Donors get a Pass on Shady Contracting<\/a>,\u201d Farouki and his company were highlighted:<\/p>\n \u201cIn June 2011, the Defense Department\u2019s Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) released a scathing\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0on a defense contracting company called Anham. The title of the report and its conclusion were the same: \u201cPoor Government Oversight of Anham and Its Subcontracting Procedures Allowed Questionable Costs To Go Undetected.\u201d<\/p>\n The article then asked a simple question. Given prior violations, how was Anham able to secure an $8 billion contract in Afghanistan \u201cwhich allowed it to illegally ship supplies through two Iranian border crossings and a seaport controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard?\u201d<\/p>\n The $8 billion contract, along with the illegal shipment of supplies, being cited in the 2013 article appear to be exactly the same violations being alleged in the 2018 DOJ indictment. So why were Farouki and his company not charged with these same, known violations back in 2013?<\/p>\n The answer may lie within Farouki\u2019s many connections to the Democratic Party. The Daily Caller notes that Farouki is a longtime donor to Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and donated to Obama for America in 2008. But Farouki\u2019s closest ties lie with the Clintons and their Foundation.<\/p>\n Farouki, a member of the now-shuttered Clinton Global Initiative,\u00a0participated<\/a>\u00a0in annual CGI meetings since the group\u2019s formation in 2005 through at least 2010 and made\u00a0multiple donations<\/a>\u00a0to the Clinton Foundation. Farouki also made\u00a0donations<\/a>\u00a0to Terry McAuliffe and has been\u00a0pictured<\/a>\u00a0with Huma Abedin.<\/p>\n There appears to be a common thread amongst on unrelated events: the raid on the whistleblower, the raid on the Chicago politician, the investigations of European banks, and the charges brought against a Clinton donor. All the activities targeted were either occurring under the Obama era or, in the case of the DOJ whistleblower, were directly related to underlying events from that time.<\/p>\n There may be more going on than meets the casual eye.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe Chicago Raid<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Money Laundering Probes<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Clinton Donor Charged<\/h2>\n