The New York Times is now reporting former FBI Chief Legal Counsel James Baker has resigned from the FBI. This follows a similar announcement for Lisa Page.

James Baker and Lisa Page were part of the “fab five” (Baker, Page, Strzok, Ohr, Priestap) previously suspected as cooperating with IG and FBI INSD investigators in exchange for some form of process leniency. James Baker was removed from his position as FBI Chief Legal Counsel on December 21st, 2017. He has been holding down some previously unknown position inside the FBI until today.

WASHINGTON — Two top F.B.I. aides who worked alongside the former director James B. Comey as he navigated one of the most politically tumultuous periods in the bureau’s history resigned on Friday. One of them, James A. Baker, served as the F.B.I.’s top lawyer until December when he was reassigned as the new director, Christopher A. Wray, began installing his own advisers. Mr. Baker had been investigated by the Justice Department on suspicion of sharing classified information with reporters. He has not been charged.

[…] Mr. Baker said in a telephone interview that he would be joining the Brookings Institution to write for Lawfare, its blog focused on national security law. (read more)

The New York Times (Michael Schmidt) focuses a great deal of energy attaching James Baker’s current perspective to James Comey as opposed to Andrew McCabe. Remember, Schmidt was the leak recipient from Comey via Benjamin Wittes (loyalty articles etc.).

Additionally, Baker going to work for Wittes at Lawfare..

(Hi Ben!)

….indicates he has NOT been granted prosecutorial immunity. If James Baker had immunity as part of his cooperation deal he would not be going to work for Wittes at Lawfare blog.

Additionally x2, this relationship solidifies our previous analysis that the Lawfare group was/is far more involved in the overall conspiracy scheme than all other reporting was highlighting. The Lawfare group were the ‘outside government’ team who were coaching the DOJ/FBI “small group” on how to execute the “Insurance Policy”.

It is transparently obvious from the way this NYT story is framed (Schmidt), that James Baker is seeking to hug up against James Comey for all pending legal issues. This puts Andrew McCabe on the outside of the circled-wagon defenses.

Big news.

Additionally x3, this also indicates the IG report is rapidly moving toward its conclusion, and also indicates that federal prosecutor John Huber is not granting immunity to the cooperating group.

The most interesting people in the ongoing investigation were those principals who clearly were in/around the center of 2015/2016 activity; were caught in 2017, yet remained inside the FBI and DOJ National Security Division (DOJ-NSD) ie. Main Justice.

♦James Baker – The former FBI chief legal counsel and close adviser to FBI Director James Comey. In addition to coordinating the “small group” activity to exonerate Hillary Clinton, Baker was also a recipient for some of the Comey Memos of recent release. This puts Baker in a position to understand the “insurance policy” described by FBI Agent Peter Strzok and FBI Counsel Lisa Page. Additionally, Baker would be able to identify the level of knowledge and participation of Director Comey, and is therefore perhaps the biggest risk to Comey specifically. December 21st, 2017, Baker was removed from any responsibility but remains inside the FBI in some capacity; he was therefore considered a cooperating co-conspirator for the FBI Inspection Division (INSD), IG Horowitz and likely prosecutor Huber.

♦Lisa Page – The former designated counsel from Main Justice assigned to assist Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. We know from open-sourced information; from her own released text messages; and from congressional releases, that Lisa Page was the person who provided the text messages to INSD and the Inspector General. Page’s account of the media leak instructions she received from McCabe conflicted with her boss, and ultimately led to the proof of McCabe’s false statements. Lisa Page was the connective bridge within the team joining the DOJ-NSD to the FBI operation. Obviously Page and FBI Agent Peter Strzok were working closely at the heart of the “small group” activity. They were the footsoldiers carrying out the orders passed down from Lynch/Yates (DOJ) and Comey/McCabe (FBI). After cooperating with the INSD and IG investigation, Page quit the Mueller team in June of 2017.