Recently released documents show that at least 15 phones used by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team of investigators were 'accidentally' wiped clean after the devices were requested by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.
The Federalist's Sean Davis reports that Mueller deputy Andrew Weissman, who is now fundraising for Joe Biden, and various other investigators -- like James Quarles, a longtime Democratic donor, and Kyle Freeny, also a longtime Democrat donor -- all claim their phones were accidentally wiped clean.
"Phone was accidentally wiped prior to records review," read the entry for Kyle Freeney.
Twelve other names, all redacted, also claimed their phones were 'accidentally' wiped clean.
The new documents show a key tactic used by the Mueller team was to place the phones on airplane mode, lock them, and then claim not to remember the password.
"Phone was wiped prior to review because phone was in airplane mode and the passcode was not provided -- therefore the phone had to be restored to factory settings without review," read an entry for a phone assigned to a redacted individual.
"Phone was in airplane mode, no passcode provided, data unable to be recovered, so had to be wiped," reads another entry.
As Davis asks, "What are the actual probabilities of more than a dozen top Mueller officials all 'accidentally' nuking their phones or accidentally putting them in airplane mode, locking them, and 'forgetting' their passwords so the [inspector general] couldn't access and examine them?"
On a related note, U.S. Attorney John Durham's criminal investigation into the origins of the Obama administration's phony Russia investigation recently netted its first guilty plea. Mueller lawyer Kevin Clinesmith pled guilty to felony charges related to fabricated evidence that was used to obtain a FISA warrant to spy on former Trump campaign official Carter Page.
In an interview earlier this week, Attorney General William Barr said more criminal charges could stem from U.S. Attorney John Durham's ongoing review of alleged misconduct and the origins of the Russia investigation.