Grassley Presses for Answers on iPhones Wiped by Mueller Staff

One-Pot Summer Squash Pasta, Inspired by a Southern Classic

The summer between high school and college, I nannied for our neighbor’s family up in the mountains of North Carolina. Bartlett, the mama of the family, loves to entertain, so while my primary job was supposed to be nannying her two girls, sometimes I wound up so entrenched in cooking with Bartlett that she would hire a babysitter so we could do our thing in the kitchen. (And when there were “dinner dances” at the club? Bartlett would insist that I attend as their guest, again—and hire a babysitter to stay with the girls. It was the most fun summer “job” you can possibly imagine.) One of our go-to recipes was squash casserole, a classic casserole beloved all over the Southeast. It can be made a few different ways, but…

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Friday requested records and answers from the heads of the Justice Department and the FBI about the wiping of data from a large number of smartphones used by members of the special counsel team run by Robert Mueller, who was investigating alleged collusion between the Trump 2016 campaign and Russia.

鈥淚t appears that Special Counsel Mueller鈥檚 team may have deleted federal records that could be key to better understanding their decision-making process as they pursued their investigation and wrote their report. Indeed, many officials apparently deleted the records after the DOJ Inspector General began his inquiry into how the Department mishandled Crossfire Hurricane,” Grassley wrote in a letter聽to Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray in reference to the investigation opened by the FBI that was taken over by Mueller.

“Moreover, based on this new information, the number of times and the stated reasons for the deletions calls into question whether or not it was a widespread intentional effort.”

The Department of Justice released 87 pages of documents on Thursday as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request brought by Judicial Watch. The documents include a log of more than 30 iPhones used by members of the special counsel’s office with notes taken by an official which reviewed each device when it was turned in to determine if it contained government records.

The log shows that employees wiped the date on their phones by accident 11 times. On seven other occasions, special counsel employees聽wiped their devices claiming they forgot their passwords.

The FBI and the DOJ did not respond to requests for comment.

Grassley is asking the DOJ to provide an unredacted version of the documents released on Thursday. He is also requesting all of the records from government phones used by Mueller’s staff and any records relating to the explanation for why each employee deleted the data from their phones. The senator is also inquiring if the matter is under investigation and whether the DOJ has attempted to forensically recover data from the phones.

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Inspector General (IG) had in 2018 detailed an extensive effort to recover the text messages from the special counsel phones used by FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page. The phones had both been wiped before the IG investigators found them.

Page and Strzok texted each other about their hatred of Trump, wanting to stop him from becoming president, and an “insurance policy” in the event he was elected. Strzok was removed from the special counsel’s office when the IG informed Mueller about the messages. With the exception of Page’s phone, all of the phones were wiped in the months after the messages between Page and Strzok were made public in early 2018.

The wiping of so many phones by employees working on what was at the time the highest-profile investigation in the United States is sure to raise concerns that the deleted data may have contained evidence of improper or criminal conduct. One FBI attorney who was discovered to have sent text messages that were biased against President Donald Trump has since pleaded guilty in federal court to a false statement charge in connection to an email he forged.

“Congress and the American people are owed answers regarding Special Counsel Mueller and his team,” Grassley wrote.

Focus News: Grassley Presses for Answers on iPhones Wiped by Mueller Staff

Everyday Cheapskate: Turn Your Barbecue Grill Into a Baking Oven

If you have an outdoor barbecue grill with a cover, you can turn it into an outdoor oven. Why would you want to do that? To preclude the need to heat up your kitchen to bake pizza, cookies, cakes, bread, and casseroles. And to expand your camping-out cooking repertoire. General You can bake nearly anything with a covered grill. If your grill doesn’t have a cover, improvise with a large inverted pot. The heat rises and circulates in the covered area, just as it does in your oven. The heat source can be charcoal, gas, or even wood, but gas is preferable because it is easier to control and does not transfer a smoked taste to the baked items. Temperature This is the challenge. The hardest part of using a…