Ops Desk Midweek Report!

Obama in trouble; Trump gets the venue he wants; and more U.S. cities enter the Necropolis Club!

Paul Mauro

and

Chris Flanagan

Aug 06, 2025

So how much danger is Barack Obama in from this DOJ investigation?

Criminally, maybe not much. Reputationally? Ruh-roh….

This week our Ops Desk Legal Editor dropped an article of genuine significance, asking a question you’re not seeing elsewhere: “What if Obama Lies To Congress”?

This is no academic question. There’s a good chance it’ll be put to the test.

Here’s a taste:

If Congress subpoenas former President Barack Obama to testify about his role in the now-discredited Trump–Russia investigation, there are two questions the public should focus on. First, can he be forced to testify? Second, if he lies, can he be prosecuted?
The answer to both questions is yes.

Now, what the article teases out is that the one thing protecting Barack Obama from prosecution over the Trump–Russia fiasco is also the very thing that could force him to testify about it—presidential immunity. Thanks to the Supreme Court’s new Trump v. United States ruling, a former president can’t be prosecuted for official acts in office. That immunity means Obama couldn’t plead the Fifth if Congress subpoenas him about his role in the 2016 surveillance and investigation.

AND: Obama won’t know what other witnesses have said in the grand jury regarding what he knew or didn’t know. So playing with the truth is risky business.

If he ends up in the grand jury, Obama will likely have to testify — and tell the truth, or risk criminal charges.

This is not academic speculation — it could well happen.

Read the piece by clicking below to see why.

Meanwhile, there’s more bad news for Obama & Co. The DOJ investigation into Russiagate just got big news — and it’s not good for Barry’s cabal.

Check out the vid, below:

From The Flandog: Ever Wonder Why Nothing Was Done Over All Those Protests?

For years, Paul and I called for investigations into the riots and carefully orchestrated protests across the country—from segments of Antifa to the Free Palestine crowd that committed crimes in the name of their cause. After seeing the same tents appear at protests miles and weeks apart, along with professionally printed signs, provided meals, and travel support, it became clear these weren’t just grassroots pop-ups.

If they’d been lawful, legitimate protests, we’d have opposed any investigation. But the coordination—and the money—was obvious. We urged the FBI and DOJ to “follow the money.” Maybe a criminal case could be made against those funding trespass, burglary, arson, criminal mischief, and assault—acts that began during the George Floyd protests and continue today. Hundreds of crimes were committed by seemingly well-financed protesters promoting the cause du jour. We suspected groups like the Soros Foundation were behind them.

Yet the FBI and DOJ—under Biden and even Trump—were nowhere to be found. Maybe they feared appearing oppressive. Maybe they were too busy hunting down everyone who stepped on the Capitol steps on January 6th. Maybe they investigated the protest funding and came up empty.

But new revelations from the unraveling Russiagate debacle suggest another reason. If the evidence is solid, there was a link between the Democratic National Committee and the Soros Foundation—now rebranded as the Open Society Foundation, to downplay the Soros name. And we didn’t have to wonder how Clinton acolyte Huma Abedin ended up alongside Alexander Soros.

Data dumps show emails from Debbie Wasserman Schultz to Soros Foundation Senior VP Leonard Benardo. The Times tried to brush it off recently, and even back in 2017, with a lukewarm denial claiming the two never knew each other.

But the Democrat Party and the Soros Foundation go way back. Wikileaks emails show George Soros and his minions communicating with John Podesta and Jeffrey Goldstein. Other evidence suggests close ties between the Democrats and the FBI, DOJ, and CIA.

No wonder the protest funding never became the federal case it deserved. They’re all working together—and the will of the American voter be damned.

(Note: Look for big news from our friends over at whitecollarfraud.com on the topic of this unholy progressive money ecosystem. This one’s going to be fun…).

Death Of Our Cities: Cincinnati and Boston

Think it’s just New York? Let’s welcome Cincinnati to the Nutjob Archipelago of America’s failing blue cities!

If you haven’t seen the recent story: Cincy’s in the news due to a racially charged street brawl that took place late downtown recently. But what’s really been revealing is the Cincinnati government’s response.

So, let’s do the rundown for entry into the Dying American City Club:

A clueless Mayor? Check. Here’s Cincinnati mayor Aftab Pureval saying he doesn’t need to speak to the crime’s victims, and playing the incident off as relatively insignificant in light of “other public safety challenges.” Dude — your city’s only in the news because of this fight.
A DEI Police Chief? Check. Chief Teresa Theetge, who has been personally sued by her fellow cops for being anti-white and using a “race-based quota system,” defaulted to the usual both-sides-ism in order to avoid taking a position that should’ve been easy as pie: that this was a street fight that devolved into something that simply shouldn’t happen.
A rush to Criminal Justice Reforms? Check. In the wake of the George Floyd-inspired “Summer of Love,” Cincinnati’s City Council passed a resolution declaring that “systemic racism” is a “public health crisis.” Ohio’s state legislature then passed a Criminal Justice Reform Bill mandating that all felony interrogations be recorded “from the moment that a law enforcement officer’s questioning is reasonably likely to elicit incriminating responses.”
An Oppressed Business Community? Check. Cincinnati business-owners in the central business district there describe the “out of control” brawl that occured there as nothing that unusual. One CEO is abandoning the area completely, packing up his business and leaving because his employees “don’t feel safe,” and warning that “more businesses are going to leave.”

So congrats to Cincinnati, Ohio — you’re in the club! You’ve got plenty of company…. (San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Baltimore, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Memphis, New York, Washington, D.C…).

Boston, Too!

A short vacation in Maine brings with it the opportunity to read the Boston papers — and to see the same dysfunction plaguing all our blue cities.

For instance, this Sunday’s editorial in the (very liberal) Boston Globe was titled: “Boston’s downtown is in trouble and needs reinvention.” The article states that Boston’s downtown is turning into “another hollowed-out urban space,” and that “crime, and the perception of disorder… remains a stubborn problem” (not disorder, mind you — the perception of it). But at least they admit that, “crimes… in the Downtown Crossing area… are the highest in at least seven years.” Whoa. A clue!

Meanwhile, the recent arrest of Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) worker Travonne Cooper has sparked an uproar over Governor Maura Healey’s hiring practices — particularly regarding staff with criminal histories. Cooper, previously convicted of assault and drug charges and involved in a fatal crash while on probation, was hired in 2023 after passing a background check and receiving a waiver under DYS policy allowing applicants with felony records.

Remember: This is to work with kids.

Last weekend, Cooper was arrested by Boston PD for illegally possessing a loaded firearm and violently resisting booking, allegedly referencing his position and “the female Governor” during the incident. He is now facing gun and assault charges and has been placed on unpaid leave.

Welcome to the Archipelago, Beantown!